Ducks beat Aeros 3-1, take 1-0 series lead

April 15, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Houston Aeros News Release


Houston, TX – Tony Martensson and Chris Kunitz notched power play goals three minutes apart midway through the second period, leading the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks past the Houston Aeros 3-1 in Game 1 of the West Division Qualifying Round at Toyota Center. Casey Hankinson also scored and Ilya Bryzgalov finished with 28 saves for Cincinnati, which won just its third playoff game ever and can finish off the two-game sweep Saturday at Toyota Center at 7 p.m. The Ducks have never won a playoff series in previous three appearances. Christoph Brandner scored in the first period and Frederic Cloutier turned aside 35 shots for Houston, which had won its last nine Game 1 appearances. The defending Calder Cup champion Aeros are 4-1 in two seasons under Todd McLellan when facing elimination. Game 3 is Sunday at 5 p.m. at Toyota Center if Houston can stave off elimination Saturday.

Seven of the eight Game 1 victors in the two prior seasons of the Qualifying Round format have gone on to win the series. The lone exception was Cincinnati, which beat Chicago 3-2 in Game 1 in 2002, but lost two games to one to the eventual Calder Cup champion Wolves.

Houston finished 0-for-7 on the power play, while Cincinnati went 2-for-5. The teams finished the regular season tied for 25th in the 28-team AHL with a 12.1 power play percentage. The Aeros are one for their last 39 on the power play and haven't scored on their last 38 chances against the Ducks. Houston has also yielded 14 man-advantage tallies on the last 51 attempts.

Brandner opened the scoring only 4:41 into the game. Michael Schutte hit Brandner in stride at center ice, and the Austrian split a pair of Cincinnati defenders with stunning speed to break in alone on Bryzgalov. Brandner's quick wrister went high blocker side on the netminder, as Houston scored the game's opening goal for the first time in eight contests.

Cloutier was perfect with 13 saves in the opening period, and he stood his ground to twice rob Kunitz in transition with less than six seconds remaining. Cloutier left a tempting rebound on the doorstep, but recovered in time to swallow up the attempt.

Three minutes later, Cloutier rescued the Aeros when an errant pass in front of the goalie landed on the stick of Dan Bylsma, whose shot was kicked aside by netminder.

The Aeros took the lead into the locker room after 20 minutes for the second time in 15 games. They also lost the other game, 5-2 in Worcester on March 17.

Martensson and Kunitz scored three minutes apart on the power play for Cincinnati midway through the second to take the lead.

The Ducks evened things up on the power play with 11:52 left in the second, with Jeff Hoggan in the box for high sticking. Mark Popovic fired a shot from the left circle, and the rebound ping-ponged in the crease, clanking off Curtis Glencross before Martensson slipped it inside the post on Cincinnati's 20th shot of the game.

A slashing call to Travis Roche set up the Ducks' second power play goal of the period, exactly three minutes later with 8:52 remaining. Martensson, along the left boards, sent a nice cross-ice pass to Kunitz at the edge of the right circle. The rookie blistered a one-timer top shelf over Cloutier to give Cincinnati its first lead at 2-1.

Cincinnati enjoyed a 16-8 shot advantage in a dominating second period.

The Ducks pushed their lead to two goals 2:59 into the third, with the teams 4-on-4. Hankinson lifted a rebound of a Mike Mottau miss into an open net.

None of Houston's seven third-period shots eluded Bryzgalov. The Aeros pulled Cloutier with 2:27 remaining but couldn't duplicate a two-goal, last-minute comeback against Cincinnati from earlier this month.

Notes:

The Aeros are winless in the last six meetings against Cincinnati (0-3-3-0) since a 7-2-1-1 start.

Houston is 0-2-2-0 in the last four home meetings with the Ducks.

The Aeros lost for just the second time in the last 10 home games (5-2-3-0).

Houston's last Game 1 loss came in the 2000 Western Conference Semifinals against Utah. The Aeros won the next four games to eliminate the Grizzlies.



American Hockey League Stories from April 15, 2004


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central