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Boogaard Bobbleheads tonight as Aeros take on red-hot Moose

January 14, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Houston Aeros News Release


Five things you need to know
· Aeros goalie Mike Smith has appeared in 13 straight games - 11 starts - including one game where he replaced the injured Josh Harding with five seconds remaining 11/28. Smith's 13-game run is two off Frederic Chabot's franchise record, set 12/8/99-1/21/00. Smith has a 1.01 gaa over his last four games, with a 2-2-0 record. He is 5-5-0 with a no decision in relief since Harding got injured, but he sports an impressive 1.92 gaa in that span to lower it from 2.94 to 2.41. The Aeros had scored only 20 goals in 10 games since Smith took over as the full-time starter, prior to putting up seven goals Tuesday. Smith hasn't allowed a goal in 93:40 entering tonight's game.
· Manitoba is 14-2-2-1 on the road after last night's 3-0 win in San Antonio. It is well on its way to bettering Grand Rapids' 2002-03 AHL record of 26 road wins. The Moose has at least a point in 12 consecutive games away from Winnipeg and hasn't lost in regulation on the road since 10/26 at St. John's.
· Houston is 2-4-0-0 to begin a stretch of nine straight games versus teams with records above the .500 mark. The teams have a combined .638 points percentage. The Aeros next play a team with a losing record 1/21 in San Antonio.
· Houston has killed off 41-of-44 shorthanded chances in the last 10 games (93.2 percent), and Milwaukee has the last three PPG versus Houston. Other than that, the Aeros have killed off 28 straight opportunities since 12/2 to improve to 88.5 percent, third in the league.
· The Moose has outscored its opponents 51-28 in the third period, easily the best margin in the AHL. While Manitoba's 51 third-period goals are the most in the AHL, Houston has yielded just 23 - second in the league - and five of those tallies have been empty-net goals. The Moose's 51 third-period goals are one more than the Aeros have scored in the second and third combined.

Moose at Aeros (Aeros are 35-15-10-0 all-time, Aeros are 18-7-5-0 at Houston)
· Tonight is the 61st all-time meeting between the teams, 31st in Houston.
· The teams split four games in 2003-04, with each team going 1-1-0 on the other team's ice.
· The Aeros are 9-6-1-0 against the Moose, including a 5-3-0-0 mark at home, since moving to the AHL in 2001-02.
· Since the Moose moved from Minnesota to Winnipeg, Houston is 27-13-8-0 against the team.
· The teams went to overtime/shootout 18 times in 44 IHL games, but just once in 16 AHL contests.
· Houston has won three of the last four home meetings, with the lone blemish a 3-1 matinee defeat 11/4/03.

Scouting the Aeros
Houston has split the first two games of a five-game homestand, most recently blasting Milwaukee 7-0 on Tuesday...Stephane Veilleux (13-10=23) is the Aeros' leading scorer, just ahead of Rickard Wallin (6-15=21)...Veilleux has 13 goals, five more than any other Aero...Houston has 19 players with at least one goal...Nineteen-year-old Brent Burns (5-8=13), Erik Reitz (0-11=11) and Zbynek Michalek (2-9=11) anchor the blueline...Mike Smith is 12-8-0 with a 2.41 gaa, while Josh Harding (5-7-1, 2.01 gaa) has missed the last 11 games with a concussion...Smith has appeared in 13 straight games - 11 starts - two shy of Frederic Chabot's franchise record.

Scouting the Moose
Behind Jimmy Roy's first hat trick in more than five years, Manitoba took over first place in the entire Western Conference by continuing its assault on the AHL with a 3-0 win over San Antonio last night, its third straight win and sixth in seven attempts...Manitoba's potent offense is led by Jason King (21-20=41) and Peter Sarno (6-34=40), while Ryan Kesler (18-17=35) and Lee Goren (19-15=34) give the Moose further depth...Veteran Nolan Baumgartner (5-17=22) is the team's leading defensive scorer...Alex Auld is 13-4-1 with a 2.23 gaa, while Wade Flaherty, who backstopped Milwaukee to the Calder Cup in the spring, is 12-6-1 with a 2.29 gaa.

2004-05 meetings (First of 4 meetings)
Tonight: Manitoba at Houston
Sunday: Manitoba at Houston
March 19: Houston at Manitoba
March 20: Houston at Manitoba

Last game
Rickard Wallin notched a goal and two assists, Ray Giroux was one of five players with a goal and an assist, and Mike Smith made 16 saves for his third shutout of the season, as the Houston Aeros crushed the defending Calder Cup champion Milwaukee Admirals 7-0 at Toyota Center for the biggest home win in their 11-year history.

Quick Hits
· Houston is averaging 4,933 fans through 16 home games, which is a 13.9 percent increase over the same time span in 2003-04.
· Tonight, Houston's Dan Cavanaugh will play in his 253rd game with the team, tying Trent Cull for fifth place on the team's all-time list. Meanwhile, Kirby Law enters this game having played in 497 professional games, including NHL, AHL and IHL.
· Houston is just 9-12-2-1 when outshooting an opponent, but it is 8-2-0-0 when getting outshot or the shots are even. Aeros goalies don't mind work - they are only 2-7-0 when seeing 23 shots or less, but 15-9-1 when seeing 24 or more.
· Tuesday's game marked the seventh time that Houston has scored in all three periods, and it is 6-0-1-0 in those games.
· The Aeros have lost four of six, but they are 5-1-0-0 in the last six games that veteran defenseman Todd Reirden plays.
· Manitoba is 12-3-0-1 against non-North Division foes.
· When Moose goalie Wade Flaherty made his pro debut in the ECHL in 1989, Aeros netminders Josh Harding and Mike Smith were five and seven years old.
· The Aeros scored seven goals in a span of 41:05 Tuesday. Entering the game, they had scored seven goals in the last 319:09.

Smith holding them down
· Aeros goalie Mike Smith has appeared in 13 straight games - 11 starts - including one game where he replaced the injured Josh Harding with five seconds remaining 11/28. Smith's 13-game run is two off Frederic Chabot's franchise record, set 12/8/99-1/21/00.
· Smith has a 1.01 gaa over his last four games, with a 2-2-0 record.
· Smith is 5-5-0 with a no decision in relief since Harding got injured, but he sports an impressive 1.92 gaa in that span. The Aeros had scored only 20 goals in 10 games since Smith took over as the full-time starter, prior to putting up seven goals Tuesday.
· Smith is 12-5-0 when allowing zero or one goal in the first period, but he's 0-3-0 with a no decision when yielding two or more.
· Smith's OT loss to San Antonio 12/3 was his first ever in the AHL post-regulation. He is now 3-1 in OT and 3-0 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 5-1-0 with a 2.42 gaa on the road but 7-7-0 with a 2.41gaa at Toyota Center.
· In 15 home games, Smith has allowed 26 goals in the first two periods but just five in the third.
· Smith has yielded only three third-period goals in 11 games played in December and January.

PP unit sixth
· The Aeros are 1-for-17 (5.9 percent) on the power play over their last three games since scoring a PPG in 10 straight to set a new franchise record. In the last six games, Houston is 4-for-41 (9.8 percent) with the man advantage to fall into sixth place in the AHL at 18.5 percent. In their last 20 games, the Aeros have outscored their opponents 23-10 on the power play.
· The Aeros are 14-8-2-0 when scoring a PPG and 3-6-0-1 when not scoring a PPG.
· Overall, the Aeros have outscored their opponents 34-19 on the power play.
· The Aeros have allowed seven shorthanded goals, the last by Norfolk's Quintin Laing 12/18. That total has them three behind Manchester's league-high 10 SHG allowed.
· Manitoba ranks seventh in the AHL on the penalty kill at 87.6 percent, but it's just tied for 17th on the road at 83.8 percent.
· The Moose has killed off 12-of-14 (83.3 percent) of its shorthanded chances over the last five games.

Houston third on PK
· Houston has killed off 41-of-44 shorthanded chances in the last 10 games (93.2 percent), and Milwaukee has the last three PPG versus Houston. Other than that, the Aeros have killed off 28 straight opportunities since 12/2 to improve to 88.5 percent, third in the league.
· The Aeros have killed off 107-of-117 (91.5 percent) shorthanded chances over the last 24 games.
· Houston is 11-7-1-1 when not allowing a PPG and 6-7-1-0 when allowing a PPG.
· The Aeros are tied for fifth in the AHL with six SHG, all by different players. Only Lowell and Manchester also have six different players with a SHG.
· Manitoba is tied for fourth in the AHL on the power play at 19.0 percent, and it is a robust 21.6 percent away from Winnipeg, easily the best of any road AHL team.
· The Moose is 3-for-18 (16.7 percent) with the man advantage over the last five games.

First and last two minutes are crucial
Houston has scored just 10 goals in the first or last two minutes of a period this season. The Aeros' opponents, meanwhile, have 21 goals in this crucial time. Houston is 1-6-0 this season when allowing a goal in the opening two minutes of a period.

Aeros/Moose connections
· The Aeros' Mark Cullen played three seasons with Manitoba's Justin Morrison at Colorado College. Aeros assistant coach Matt Shaw played for Colorado College in 1988-89 and was an assistant coach there from 1990-92.
· Houston head coach Todd McLellan coached Manitoba's Tim Smith from 2000-2002, Nathan Smith from 1998-2000 in WHL Swift Current, Josh Green from 1996-1997.
· Aeros captain Kirby Law spent two seasons at AHL Philadelphia with Manitoba's Joe DiPenta.
· Houston's Ray Giroux and Manitoba's Josh Green were teammates in 1999-2000 with the New York Islanders and AHL Lowell.

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