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Aeros Win Twice but Fall out of First

March 3, 2003 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Houston Aeros News Release


The Aeros won both games at home last week, but fell to second in the Western Conference as the red-hot Grand Rapids Griffins passed them in points 88-87. Houston can regain the top spot with a win tonight in San Antonio. This is a busy week for the Aeros as they play five games, two on the road and three at home.

THE WEEK THAT WAS:

FEBRUARY 28: In what was clearly his most spectacular game of the season, Aeros' goaltender Derek Gustafson kicked out 30 shots for his second shutout, as the Houston Aeros defeated Chicago 2-0 on Friday night. The Aeros Penalty Kill, led by Gustafson's great goaltending, went an astounding 8-8 against the highest scoring Power Play in the AHL, to earn the victory. After a scoreless first period, Mark Cullen scored a Power Play goal at the 15:19 mark of the second period. Gustafson was credited with an assist, his first as a pro. Rastislav Pavlikovsky celebrated his return to the lineup, after missing ten games due to injury, by netting his ninth goal of the year in the third period. The Aeros were outshot for one of the few times this season, as Chicago fired 30 and the Aeros were credited with 24 shots.

MARCH 1: The Aeros hosted the Milwaukee Admirals on Saturday and won 4-3 on the strength of three power play goals. Houston jumped out to an early lead when Dan Cavanaugh scored the first power play goal 2:56 into the game. About five minutes later, Tony Tuzzolino put Houston up by two and then at 15:02 of the first, Travis Roche scored with the man-advantage. However, Milwaukee's Cameron Mann and Wyatt Smith scored 20 seconds apart before the end of the first period. The lone goal in the second period was Houston's third power play goal of the night, this one by Rastislav Pavlikovsky. Milwaukee drew within one on Pascal Trepanier's goal 4:38 into the third, but the Aeros stayed strong. Derek Gustafson kicked aside 20 of 23 shots for his 20th win this season. Houston's power play was 3 for 6 and they stopped Milwaukee on all eight of their power play chances.

JUGGLING ACT: The Aeros have juggled their line-up recently due to injuries and trades, but continue to win thanks to a group effort. Five players scored Houston's six goals over the weekend and 11 players picked up points. Fifteen current Aeros have posted a game-winning goal led by D Lawrence Nycholat and LW Jean-Guy Trudel who have four each. Every skater on the Aeros roster has at least two points, and 15 players are in double-digits in scoring.

THE LEADERS: Several Houston Aeros find themselves among the league leaders in several categories. LW Jean-Guy Trudel (24-43-67 points) has dropped to third place (tied) in overall points. Trudel is scoreless in three games, only the third time this season he's gone this long without a point. Trudel also ranks third in assists. Curtis Murphy leads all AHL defensemen with 20 goals, and is second overall in scoring with 43 points. Travis Roche ranks 11th in points (10-26-36) and Lawrence Nycholat is tied for 15th (9-23-32). Mark Cullen is now tied for 18th among AHL rookies with 15-21-36 points. And Derek Gustafson is tied for 15th among AHL goaltenders with a GAA of 2.58.

THE RACE: The Aeros have a dominant 17-point lead in the West Division following two wins this weekend over Chicago and Milwaukee, but the race for the conference title is a different story. The Grand Rapids Griffins have been red-hot and have taken over first place in the conference 88-87 points. The Griffins have won five straight, including three games over the weekend. The two teams meet three more times, once in Grand Rapids, and twice in Houston, including the April 5th season closer.

NUMBER 200 WAS MEMORABLE: Friday night was the 200th win for the Aeros at Compaq Center. This season is the final season for hockey at Compaq Center, as the Aeros are planning the move into the new downtown Houston Arena for next season. The Aeros have enjoyed a great record in the building formerly known as "The Summit" over the past nine years. The record is 201-115-42-3 (a .619 winning percentage) on home ice.

BIRTHDAY BOYS: C Dan Cavanaugh and RW Rastislav Pavlikovsky celebrated their birthdays a little early with power play goals on Saturday. Pavlikovsky made his return to the line-up on Friday after missing 10 games and has 2-1-3 in the past two games, including Saturday's game-winner. He turned 26 yesterday. Cavanaugh scored Houston's first goal against the Admirals, his 10th of the season. He has already passed his rookie totals of three goals and 19 points with 10-11-21. He turns 23 today.

OPENING BELL: Houston loves to score the first goal of the game with good reason. The Aeros are 27-1-2 when they score first, including 11-1-1 on the road. And once they get the lead, Houston is hard to beat. When leading after one period, the team is 25-0-1-1. Leading after two, the Aeros are 29-1-3-0. Houston also knows how to stage a comeback as they are 5-13-2-1 when trailing after two periods of play.

RECENT TRANSACTIONS: 2/28: F Shawn Legault reassigned to Austin (CHL).

NEWS AND NOTES:

* D Lawrence Nycholat collected three assists on the power play Saturday night and leads the team at +23;

* RW Rastislav Pavlikovsky collected 2-1-3 in two games over the weekend;

* G Derek Gustafson collected an assist Friday night. It was his first pro assist and the first goaltender assist for Houston since Nov. 21, 2001 when Jamie McLennan assisted on a Brendan Yarema;

* D Curtis Murphy has 1-2-3 in his last four games;

* G Derek Gustafson's 20 wins lead Houston and his 2.58 GAA ranks 15th in the AHL;

* G Frederic Cloutier is 4-2-2 in eight AHL starts with a 2.42 GAA and .905 save percentage;

* The Power Play has scored went three for six versus Milwaukee and is now 13th in the AHL at 68-403/16.9%;

* The Penalty Kill blanked Chicago and Milwaukee on a combined 16 chances over the weekend. For the year, the penalty killing ranks 14th in the AHL at 287of 340/84.4%; OFF-THE-ICE HAPPENINGS: Saturday, March 15 is a busy day for Houston Aeros Charities. It is the culmination of two events, Kiss-A-Pig and "Jerseys Off Their Backs." Kiss-A-Pig is a fundraiser for the American Diabetes Association. Several contestants, including Aeros D Travis Roche, are working to raise money. The lucky winner, with the most money raised, will pucker up and kiss a pig during an intermission at the Aeros game. "Jerseys Off Their Backs" is raising funds for Muscular Dystrophy Association. $1 scratch-off tickets are being sold at every home game and every ticket is a winner, thanks to Kroger. Twenty tickets are grand prize-winners. Each grand prize-winner will receive a jersey straight from the back of an Aeros' player following the game.

WILD WATCH: The Minnesota Wild are in sixth place in the Western Conference standings with a record of 32-23-8-1, 73 points. The Wild play four times this week starting at home vs. the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday. Then they travel for three: the Nashville Predators on Thursday, the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday, and the Atlanta Thrashers on Sunday.

ICEGATORS REPORT: Louisiana clinched a berth in the East Coast Hockey League playoffs. They currently rank second in the Southwest Division with a record of 32-16-11 for 75 points in 59 games. The IceGators play three times this week, all at home: Friday versus long-time rival, the Pensacola Ice Pilots, on Saturday they host the Jackson Bandits and wrap the week up on Sunday against the South Carolina Stingrays.

UPCOMING GAMES

MONDAY 3/3 AT SAN ANTONIO

Houston plays a rare Monday game at San Antonio. The Aeros are 2-0-1 at the SBC Center this season and go back twice more in March.

WEDNESDAY 3/5 AT MILWAUKEE

Houston visits the Bradley Center for the final time this season. After tonight's game, the Aeros and Admirals have one game remaining in Houston on March 15.

THURSDAY 3/6 VS CHICAGO

The Aeros play the middle game of three-in-three and the first of back-to-back against Chicago at Compaq Center. The Aeros won two and tied one vs. the Wolves on home ice.

FRIDAY 3/7 VS CHICAGO

Houston hosts Chicago for the final time in 2002-03. The Aeros make one more visit to the Windy City at the end of March.

SUNDAY 3/9 VS SAN ANTONIO

The Aeros play the San Antonio Rampage for the second time in six days. The Rampage have not visited Houston since early November and come back for two games in April.

ON THE AIR: Houston Aeros games can be heard on AM 700 KSEV "The Voice" with "The Voice of the Aeros" Ken Double calling the action. The games are also available via the internet at www.aeros.com. Tonight's game from San Antonio will be televised on Fox Sports Southwest at 7:00 PM. Troy Gamble will join Ken Double in the broadcast booth.



American Hockey League Stories from March 3, 2003


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