Aeros Weekly Update--Nesting Dolls, Santa Hats on tap

Published on December 12, 2005 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Houston Aeros News Release


Coming Attractions:

FRI, vs. PEO, 7:35 p.m. Josh Harding/Patrick O'Sullivan/Roman Voloshenko Nesting Dolls (3K) Buy tickets Peoria makes its first trip to Houston as an AHL team. The St. Louis Blues moved their affiliate from Worcester to Peoria this season. The Rivermen jersey hasn't been seen in Houston since the IHL Rivermen beat the Aeros 5-4 on February 16, 1996. Houston beat Peoria 3-1 at Carver Arena on October 14 in the teams' first meeting of the season.

SAT, vs. PEO, 7:35 p.m. Aeros Santa Hats (5K) Buy tickets The Rivermen have lost four straight after a 15-6-1-0 start to drop to third in the West Division with 31 points (15-10-1-0=31). This will mark just Peoria's 10th road game of the season. Peoria features LW Peter Sejna, the 2003 Hobey Baker winner who is tied for fourth in the AHL in scoring with 34 points (15-19=34). Peoria ranks second in the AHL in PIM/game.

All Aeros games are broadcast live on KNTH 1070-AM and through aeros.com. For $6, you can also watch the game live via B2 Networks. Visit aeros.com 10 minutes prior to gametime to order.

Spend the holidays with the Aeros - Get your favorite Aeros fan(s) an Aeros "Holiday Stuffer". Starting at just $44, this great holiday gift includes four vouchers for tickets to any regular season game, one free ticket to either the December 26 of December 28 game, a free Aeros T-shirt and a $10 James Coney Island gift certificate. Please call 713.974.PUCK to order, or click here to print an order form to fax in.

The Aeros are also offering the Holiday Voucher Book Package. It starts at only $100, and includes 10 vouchers to any regular season game and two free tickets to either the December 26 or December 28 game. For those that order glass, center ice or corner seats for this package, receive a free 2004-05 game used hockey stick. Supplies are limited, so act soon! To order the Holiday Voucher Book Package, please call the Aeros office at 713.974.PUCK. Click here to print an order form to fax in.

Aeros spend the week in the community - Tuesday, Matt Foy and Dustin Wood will attend "Skate with the Pros" at Sugar Land Ice & Sports Center, the Official Training Facility of the Houston Aeros. The event is from 6:30-8 p.m. Admission is $10. For more information, please visit www.sugarlandice.com. Players subject to change. Josh Harding, Erik Westrum, Patrick O'Sullivan, Josh Olson, Joel Ward, Clayton Stoner and Aeros staff members will help build bikes for underpriviledged kids at Reliant Arena as part of Elves & More. CBS Evening News will be filming that evening! Looking ahead to Blood Drives later in the month...Friday, Dec. 16 the donor coach will be parked on LaBranch at Toyota Center from 2-7 p.m. leading up to the game against Peoria. Saturday, Dec. 17 from 2-7 p.m. at Sugar Land Ice & Sports Center and the Willowbrook Aerodrome blood drives will also occur. Monday, Dec. 19 there are two places to donate - "The Hangar", the Aeros' official merchandise store located inside the Park Shops from 11 a.m.-2 p.m., and Memorial City Mall from 2-7 p.m. All donors at each Blood Drive will receive a commemorative Aeros Blood Drive T-Shirt.

All-Star voting underway - Aeros fans, no fewer than six Aeros are among the league leaders in several offensive and defensive categories. Do you think they deserve an appearance in the 2006 RBK Hockey AHL All-Star Classic in Winnipeg. Click here to vote your favorite Aero into the Game, and for a chance to win a team-autographed 2006 AHL All-Star Jersey.

Notables - The Aeros have trailed at some point in nine of their 19 victories. Six of the nine victories have come on the road. Aeros D Curtis Murphy became the third-leading scorer on the blueline in team history last week, and he's poised to enter the Top 10 overall this week. Murphy's 122 points in two-plus seasons with the Aeros are just one behind Scott Arniel for 10th and two back of Stephane Veilleux for ninth. Murphy is only seven points from becoming the second-highest defenseman scorer in team history (Jeff Tory had 128 points). Murphy's 21 points (3-18=21) this season are tied for second in the AHL among blueliners. Houston returns home this weekend to begin a five-game homestand, and that's good news for the Aeros. Houston, 10-2-1-1 at Toyota Center this season, is 16-2-1-3 in its last 22 regular-season home games, and 24-4-1-3 in the last 32. C Erik Westrum rides a five-game point streak (2-5=7), his third point streak of five or more games this season. Westrum's four-game assist streak ties both a team season-high and a career-high. He also posted five assists in four straight games March 15-21, 2003. Westrum's 39 points (12-27=39) lead the AHL and are also just three behind his career-best, set in 2001-02 in Springfield. Westrum notched 42 points (19-29=42) in that, his rookie season. LW Roman Voloshenko also has a five-game point streak (4-3=7), one off his season-high November 6-25. He has points in 11 of his last 12 games, having been held off the scoresheet only in a 3-0 shutout loss to Milwaukee on November 27. Voloshenko has 16 points (8-8=16) in his last 12 games. The Aeros are 9-1-0-0 when the rookie has a goal, 7-0-0-0 when he notches a point and 14-1-0-0 when he posts at least one point. Thirteen of the Aeros' first 21 games were decided by one goal. Since then, however, eight straight games have been decided by at least two goals, including the last seven straight by three goals or more. Twelve of Houston's 22 goals in its last five games have come from the line of LW Roman Voloshenko, C Erik Westrum and RW Kirby Law. Four other goals have come from C Patrick O'Sullivan, who joins Voloshenko and Law on the top power play line with Westrum playing the point. Houston is 11-1-0-0 when outshooting an opponent and is 7-0-0-0 when allowing fewer than 30 shots. The Aeros have killed off 48-of-49 shorthanded chances (98.0 percent) in their last nine home games. Cleveland scored the lone goal of that time frame on a five-minute power play November 30. Houston has allowed just seven power play goals on 91 chances at Toyota Center this season, good for a 92.3 percent kill rate. The Aeros were second in the AHL last season with a franchise-record 92.5 percent kill rate at home, allowing just 12 goals on 161 chances.

Player of the Week RW Kirby Law 12/9 at ROC 1-3=4, +1 12/10 at HAM 0-0=0, -3 12/11 at CLE 2-1=3, +2 Totals - 3gp, 3-4=7, E Tallied seven points (3-4=7) as Aeros went 2-1-0-0 playing three road games in three nights...All seven of Law's points came in bookend wins...Notched goal and three helpers in 5-2 win at ROC Friday...Scored two goals and added assist - all in third period - as Aeros won 4-1 win CLE Sunday...His goals came 2:01 apart early in the third, with one on the power play...Ranks tied for second in AHL in scoring with 36 points (16-20=36), trailing only teammate C Erik Westrum (12-27=39)...Law's 16 goals are tied for third in AHL, trailing only ROC's Jason Pominville (19 and recalled to Buffalo) and rookie teammate and LW linemate Roman Voloshenko (17)...Tied for fifth in AHL in PPG with eight...Tied with Voloshenko for team lead with four multiple-goal games...Second behind Westrum (12) in multiple-point games...Has four games with three or more points...Eight of his 16 goals have come in the third period...Tied for team lead with three GWG.

Down on the Farm - The CHL's Austin Ice Bats are 9-11-0 for 18 points, fourth in the Southeast Division...G Miroslav Kopriva, last week's CHL Player of the Week, is 5-1-0 with a 1.83 gaa and a .945 save pct...D Aaron Schneekloth has 15 points (6-9=15) in 20 games...All six of Schneekloth's goals have been PPG...The ECHL's Pensacola Ice Pilots are 9-11-3 for 21 points, tied for sixth in the South Division but only five points out of first...LW Adam Courchaine, last week's ECHL Player of the Week, has 17 points (10-7=17) in only 13 games...LW Mark Rooneem has six points (2-4=6) in 13 games...D Chris Heid has seven points (1-6=7) in 16 games...The ECHL's Toledo Storm is 10-7-3 for 23 points, good for fourth in the North Division...LW Mike James has eight points (4-4=8) and 79 PIM's - second on the team - in 19 games.

Aeros win two of three, lead West by six points HOU 5, ROC 2; HAM 7, HOU 1; HOU 4, CLE 1

Houston notched a pair of three-goal wins in three nights over the weekend, with a 7-1 loss at Hamilton sandwiched in between. The Aeros are 19-8-1-1 for 40 points - six clear of Milwaukee (16-6-1-1) for first place in the West. The Admirals have five games in hand. Houston's 40 points lead the Western Conference and rank tied for second in the AHL behind Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (21-1-2-1=45).

Friday: Kirby Law posted a goal and three assists, Roman Voloshenko scored two power-play goals and Josh Harding finished with 38 saves to move into third place on Houston's all-time victories list, as the Aeros defeated the Rochester Americans 5-2 at Blue Cross Arena at War Memorial. Patrick O'Sullivan scored with 0.3 seconds left in the first period and Bryan Lundbohm added an empty-net goal for Houston.

Saturday: Marc-Antoine Pouliot, Francis Lemieux, Maxim Lapierre and Corey Locke each posted a goal and an assist, as the Hamilton Bulldogs erased a first-intermission deficit for a big 7-1 win over the Houston Aeros at Copps Coliseum in a rematch of the 2003 Calder Cup Finals, won by Houston in seven games. Yann Danis made 16 saves, and Duncan Milroy, Michael Lambert and James Sanford also scored for Hamilton, which has won two straight after notching just a single win in its previous 12 games. Peter Vandermeer, Andrei Kostitsyn and Danny Syvret each chipped in two assists as 13 different Bulldogs found the scoresheet. Voloshenko scored his team-leading 17th goal - 10th on the power play - and Harding made 20 saves for Houston

Sunday: Law tallied two goals and an assist in the third period, Erik Reitz and Josh Olson each scored a shorthanded goal and former Baron Seamus Kotyk made 25 saves, as the Houston Aeros rallied from an early deficit for a 4-1 victory over Cleveland at Quicken Loans Arena.

Aeros' Practice schedule: Monday - Travel Day Tuesday - TBA, Sugar Land Wednesday - 10-11:30, Sugar Land Thursday - 10-11:30, Sugar Land Friday - 10-11, pre-game skate, vs. PEO, 7:35 p.m. Saturday - 10-11, pre-game skate, vs. PEO, 7:35 p.m. Sunday - Off

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American Hockey League Stories from December 12, 2005


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