Hartford tops Aeros 1-0 in OT
January 8, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Houston Aeros News Release
Houston, TX â Ken Gernander scored the game's lone goal with 12 seconds left in overtime and Jason Labarbera made 31 saves for his second straight shutout of Houston, as the Hartford Wolf Pack handed the Aeros a 1-0 defeat at Toyota Center. Hartford has won three straight after a franchise-record five-game losing streak. Johan Holmqvist turned aside the first 28 shots he faced against his former team but let Gernander's in the net. Houston, which is winless in its last seven games (0-1-5-1), has picked up points in six of those contests.
Holmqvist spent three seasons in Hartford, before a trade for Lawrence Nycholat brought him to Houston last March. Holmqvist was the Calder Cup playoff MVP for Houston. The Wolf Pack also feature another former Aero, Cory Larose.
Rookie Dominic Moore started the winning play with a great individual effort moving the puck through the neutral zone. Zagging around defenders, Moore skated into the Houston zone and fed Gernander on the left wing. The 13-year journeyman (10 of them in the Rangers system) blasted one over Holmqvist glove side for his seventh goal of the season.
Houston nearly won it in the first minute of overtime, but a spectacular save by Labarbera kept his team in the game. He moved from his right to left and stacked the pads on Houston's Darby Hendrickson, who was trying to finish off a 2-on-1 from Matt Foy. Hendrickson and Larose duked it out in a lightweight matchup by the Hartford bench seconds later
Each team hit the post once during regulation play, with the Aeros' Zbynek Michalek nearly striking midway through the first period on the power play.
The Aeros finished 0-for-5 on the power play, just the third time in 15 games they failed to score on the man advantage. Hartford went 0-for-4.
Labarbera also shut out Houston 4-0 November 29, making 29 saves. Labarbera backed up Holmqvist for much of his time in Hartford.
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