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Aeros welcome Wolves on Boy Scout Night

January 29, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Houston Aeros News Release


Five things you need to know
• Houston's Mikko Koivu, selected to the PlanetUSA All-Star Team Thursday, enters tonight's game with a team season-high seven-game point streak. Koivu has 10 points (6-4=10) in the last seven games, and his four-game goal streak was snapped Tuesday. Koivu is second on the team with 24 points (12-12=24), despite missing 12 games due to an appendectomy in late October. Koivu's seven-game point streak is the best for an Aero since Rastislav Pavlikovsky had a nine-game streak from 2/1-3/11/03. Teammate Stephane Veilleux carries a four-game point streak (1-4=5) into tonight's game. That ties Veilleux's season-high.
• Aeros goalie Mike Smith has appeared in 19 straight games - with 17 starts in that span - including one game where he replaced the injured Josh Harding with five seconds remaining 11/28. Smith's 19-game run is a new franchise record, eclipsing Frederic Chabot's old mark of 15, set 12/8/99-1/21/00.
• Twelve of the last 21 meetings between Houston and Chicago have gone into overtime.
• Houston is an amazing 10-2-0-0 when getting outshot, or the shots are even. The Aeros, meanwhile, are just 9-15-2-2 when outshooting an opponent. Aeros goalies don't mind work - they are only 2-10-1 when seeing 23 shots or less, but 17-9-1 when seeing 24 or more. The Aeros have outshot their opponents by a combined 85-42 in the last two games, but have won neither.
• Three is the Aeros' magic number. They are 15-3-1-1 when scoring three goals or more, but 4-14-1-1 when scoring two or fewer. Similarly, Houston is 14-4-1-1 when allowing two or less, but 5-13-1-1 when yielding three or more.

Wolves at Aeros (Aeros are 29-21-13-4 overall, Aeros are 17-6-8-2 at Houston)
• Tonight is the 68th all-time meeting between the Wolves and Aeros - 34th in Houston.
• Houston is 1-1-1-0 this season against the Wolves, with the lone home meeting resulting in a 4-3 OT win 10/24.
• The Aeros went 1-5-4 against Chicago in 2003-04, including a 1-1-3 home mark and an 0-4-1 record on the road.
• The Aeros have just four wins in the last 19 matchups (4-7-5-3), but they have points in 12 of those games.
• The Wolves have three former Aeros on the roster - Travis Roche and Cory Larose are the top two point-getters in AHL Aeros history, while Greg Hawgood also plays for Chicago.

Scouting the Aeros
Houston is winless in its last two (0-1-0-1), both at home, following two straight wins...Stephane Veilleux (14-14=28) is the Aeros' leading scorer, ahead of Mikko Koivu (12-12=24)...Houston has 20 players with at least one goal...Nineteen-year-old Brent Burns (5-10=15) anchors a well-balanced blueline that includes three players with 13 points...Mike Smith is 14-11-1 with a 2.43 gaa, while Josh Harding (5-7-1, 2.01 gaa) has missed the last 17 games with a concussion.

Scouting the Wolves
Chicago has rebounded from a three-game losing streak to win three straight, including last night's 3-1 decision in San Antonio...J.P. Vigier, who spent the entire 2003-04 season in the NHL and was a 10-goal scorer for Atlanta, leads the Wolves with 43 points (17-26=43)...Former Aeros Travis Roche (9-20=29) and Greg Hawgood (2-26=28) pace the blueline...First-half AHL MVP Kari Lehtonen is 22-13-1 with a 2.31 gaa, while Michael Garnett is 4-3-0 with a 3.03 gaa.

2004-05 meetings (Fourth of 10 meetings, Aeros are 1-1-1-0 overall, Aeros are 1-0-0-0 at Houston)
October 20: Houston 4 at Chicago 5 (OT)
October 24: Chicago 3 at Houston 4 (OT)
November 24: Houston 0 at Chicago 3
Tonight: Chicago at Houston
February 2: Houston at Chicago
February 12: Houston at Chicago
February 18: Chicago at Houston
February 19: Chicago at Houston
March 9: Houston at Chicago
April 15: Chicago at Houston

Last game
Jerred Smithson snapped a tie 2:50 into the third period on Milwaukee's lone shot of the final 20 minutes, and Brian Finley made 34 saves, as the Admirals rallied from two goals down to earn a 3-2 victory over the Houston Aeros at Toyota Center. Rickard Wallin and Stephane Veilleux each scored power play goals for Houston.

Quick Hits
• Houston plays just three of its remaining 40 games against non West Division opponents. The Aeros have a home game left versus Hartford 3/4, before traveling to Manitoba on 3/19-20. Currently, the Aeros have played 21 out-of-division games but only 19 within the West.
• Tonight the Aeros play game three of a six-game stretch against Milwaukee, Chicago and Grand Rapids, the teams who along with the Aeros own the top four winning percentages in the West.
• The Aeros have allowed 26 third-period goals, tied with Rochester for fewest in the AHL. No other team has yielded fewer than 31.
• Houston is 9-10-1-1 at home and 10-7-1-1 away from Toyota Center. The Aeros and Grand Rapids are the lone two AHL teams with winning records on the road but not at home, and they are one of five AHL teams with a losing home record.
• Chicago has allowed 44 first-period goals, fifth-most in the AHL. But the Wolves have scored 46 times in the opening 20 minutes, third in the league.
• The Aeros have four home regulation losses when leading after one period. Only Edmonton (three) also has more than two.
• Aeros captain Kirby Law enters tonight's game with 999 career PIM's in 503 games.
• Aeros winger Kyle Wanvig turns 24 today.

Smith sets franchise mark
• Aeros goalie Mike Smith has appeared in 19 straight games - 17 of the appearances starts - including one game where he replaced the injured Josh Harding with five seconds remaining 11/28. Smith's 19-game run is a new franchise record, eclipsing Frederic Chabot's old mark of 15, set 12/8/99-1/21/00.
• Smith recorded his third shutout of the run and fourth overall 1/19, making 39 saves in a 2-0 win over Edmonton. It marked the third-highest save total for an Aeros goalie in a shutout, trailing only Chabot's 43 and Harding's 40. Smith is one of five Aeros goalies ever with four shutouts in a season.
• Smith is 14-7-1 when allowing zero or one goal in the first period, but he's 0-4-0 with a no decision when yielding two or more.
• Smith is 3-1 in his AHL career in OT and 3-1 in shootouts, and he went 3-1 in shootouts with ECHL Lexington in 2002-03.
• His three shootout wins are two off Jason LaBarbera's league-best total of five.
• The 6-foot-3, 210-pounder is 6-1-0 with a 2.37 gaa on the road but 8-10-1 with a 2.46 gaa at Toyota Center.
• In 19 home games, Smith has allowed 36 goals in the first two periods but just seven in the third.
• Smith has yielded only six third-period goals in 17 games played in December and January.

PP unit fifth
• The Aeros are fifth in the league on the power play at 18.5 percent.
• Houston is 4-for-16 (25.0 percent) in the last three games on the man advantage after an 0-for-9 stretch. In their last 23 games, the Aeros have outscored their opponents 29-13 on the power play.
• The Aeros are 15-10-2-1 when scoring a PPG and 4-7-0-1 when not scoring a PPG.
• Overall, the Aeros have outscored their opponents 40-22 on the power play.
• The Aeros have allowed seven shorthanded goals, the last by Norfolk's Quintin Laing 12/18.
• Chicago is 22nd in the league on the penalty kill at 81.7 percent and has allowed a league-worst 51 PPG. The Wolves' percentage drops to 80.4 on the road, good for 21st in the AHL.
• The Wolves had allowed a PPG in each of their last seven games (74.4 percent, 32-of-43) before killing off all four San Antonio attempts last night. Chicago has been shorthanded an AHL-high 279 times (95 more than Houston).

Houston fifth on PK
• Houston is fifth in the league on the penalty kill at 88.0 percent.
• Houston has killed off 57-of-63 shorthanded chances in the last 15 games (90.5 percent).
• The Aeros have killed off 123-of-136 (90.4 percent) of their shorthanded chances over the last 30 games.
• Houston is 12-9-1-1 when not allowing a PPG and 7-8-1-1 when allowing a PPG.
• The Aeros are tied for sixth in the AHL with six SHG, all by different players. Only Lowell and Manchester also have six different players with a SHG.
• Chicago is eighth in the league on the power play at 18.1 percent.
• The Wolves are 6-for-31 (19.4 percent) with the man advantage in the last six games. Chicago's 271 PP opportunities are fourth most in the AHL.

First and last two minutes are crucial
Houston has scored just 12 goals in the first or last two minutes of a period this season. The Aeros' opponents, meanwhile, have 22 goals in this crucial time. Houston is 1-7-0 this season when allowing a goal in the opening two minutes of a period.

Aeros/Wolves connections
• Wolves defenseman Greg Hawgood played two full seasons for the Aeros from 1997-99. Hawgood totaled 145 points (36g, 109a) in 157 games with Houston. Hawgood was John Erskine's teammate in Utah in 2001-02 and 2002-03, and Erskine played alongside Kyle Rossiter in Utah in 2001-02.
• Chicago's Colin Stuart played two seasons with Houston's Mark Cullen at Colorado College.
• Wolves assistant coach Marty Howe won a pair of AVCO Cups with the WHA Houston Aeros in 1974-75.
• Aeros assistant coach Matt Shaw was an assistant coach under John Anderson in Chicago in 1998-99.
• Houston's Kyle Wanvig and Chicago netminder Michael Garnett played two seasons together at WHL Red Deer, helping the Rebels to a Memorial Cup title over the Aeros' Stephane Veilleux.
• Chicago defenseman Jeff Dwyer and the Aeros' Ray Giroux each went to Yale.
• Chicago's Brad Larsen played for Aeros head coach Todd McLellan for three junior seasons with WHL Swift Current from 1994-1997.
• Houston's Todd Reirden totaled 15 points (3-12=15) in 88 games over two seasons with IHL Chicago from 1995-97.
• Chicago's Kari Lehtonen and Tommi Santala and Houston's Mikko Koivu all hail from Finland.
• Aeros winger Derek Boogaard played two seasons of juniors at Prince George with Chicago's Tim Wedderburn, who spent the 2003-04 season in Utah with Houston's Mike Smith.

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