Houston hosts Grand Rapids for conference supremacy

Published on October 21, 2005 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Houston Aeros News Release


Tonight's game features the top two teams percentage-wise in the Western Conference, the two scorers in the American Hockey League, and six of the top 15. In addition, three-time NHL All-Star and two-time Stanley Cup champion Chris Osgood is scheduled to tend the nets for the Griffins. Houston's Erik Westrum (4-9=13) set a new career-high with a point in his sixth straight game last night. He's the lone Aero with a point in each of the team's games. He's tied for the league lead in scoring with Grand Rapids' Jiri Hudler's (9-4=13), who has four more goals than any other player. Westrum leads the circuit in assists. No other Aeros player in history had more than 11 points in a season's first six games. Westrum has a hand in 13 goals - 15 of the other 26 AHL teams haven't even reached the 13-goal mark yet. Following Westrum and Hudler is Houston captain Kirby Law, who is in third place with 10 points (5-5=10). Law is tied for second in the AHL in goals, trailing only Hudler's nine.

The Aeros have won five of their first six games for just the third time in their 12 years. In both of the previous seasons they accomplished the feat, they won the league title. Houston was also 5-1-0-0 in 1998-99, when it won the Turner Cup, but it lost its seventh game. The Aeros began their 2002-03 Calder Cup-winning season with eight straight victories. Houston comes into this game off an impressive 4-1-0-0 road trip that finished up with four consecutive victories, including a 4-3 shootout victory in Omaha last night. The Aeros won four straight on one occasion last season, but they haven't won five straight overall since a six-game run from 12/5-12/17/03.

The Aeros' "Green Curtain" defensive combo of Irishmen Kurtis Foster and Curtis Murphy has been wreaking havoc on AHL goalies in the season's first three weeks. Foster, who has three goals in the last two games, is tied for first among AHL blueliners in points with eight (3-5=8) and goals with three. Murphy, meanwhile, has six points (0-6=6), and he's tied for first among league defensemen in assists and is tied for third in points. Murphy is plus-seven through only six games, tied for second among all AHL players.

Aeros defenseman Curtis Murphy can move into the team's all-time top 10 list for assists with his next helper. Murphy has 72, tied with Mike Yeo for 11th place. His next assist will move him into a 10th-place tie with Rob Valicevic - only one behind Al Conroy for ninth. With 107 points, Murphy is tied for 18th on the Aeros' scoring list with Cam Stewart, one behind 17th-place Graeme Townshend and three off the 16th-place total of Rickard Wallin.

Houston rookie centerman Patrick O'Sullivan has started off his career with a four-game point streak. After missing the first two games of the season while rehabbing an injury suffered in Minnesota Wild training camp, O'Sullivan has notched a point in every game, plus a deciding shootout tally Tuesday in Omaha. His four points (2-2=4) tie him for fourth in the AHL among rookies. Teammate Roman Voloshenko, who tallied a hat trick the only other time he's stepped foot inside Toyota Center, is tied for second with five points (3-2=5).

Griffins at Aeros (Aeros are 25-23-7-2 all-time, Aeros are 14-8-5-2 at Houston) Tonight is the 58th all-time meeting between the teams - 30th for Houston at home. Houston went 4-2-0-2 against Grand Rapids in 2004-05, including a 2-0-0-2 home mark and a 2-2-0-0 road record. Counting Houston's 3-2 win at Van Andel Arena last week, seven of the last nine meetings in the last two seasons have been decided by one goal. Houston is 19-22-7-2 against Grand Rapids since starting off with a 6-1-0 mark. Since joining the AHL, Houston is 17-16-6-2 against Grand Rapids, including a 9-5-4-2 home mark and an 8-11-2-0 road record.

Scouting the Aeros

The Aeros are off to a 5-1-0-0 start, and a victory tonight would give them six wins in their first seven games for only the third time in their 12-year history...Houston is the first AHL team to reach 10 points...C Erik Westrum has 13 points (4-9=13) to tie for the AHL's scoring lead with Grand Rapids' Jiri Hudler...RW Kirby Law is third in the league with 10 points (5-5=10)...It took Law 19 games to reach five goals in 2004-05...He scored his fifth goal in only his sixth game this season...Law has four PPG this season after notching a total of five in 2004-05...D Kurtis Foster has eight points (3-5=8), tied for the AHL defensemen mark, and he has three goals in the last two games...Counterpart D Curtis Murphy is tied for the blueliner lead with six assists...C Patrick O'Sullivan, considered by many the Wild's top young prospect, has points in each of his first four pro games, including two goals...O'Sullivan scored the deciding shootout tally Tuesday...G Josh Harding is 4-1-0 with a 3.15 gaa...He leads the league in wins (four) and saves (176) and is second in minutes (296)...G Miroslav Kopriva won his North American debut last night, making 29 saves plus four-of-six in the shootout in a 4-3 win at Omaha.

Scouting the Griffins

Grand Rapids, AHL affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings, returns 13 players from its 2004-05 team that went 41-35-2-2 and missed out on the final playoff spot in the West Division by six points...The Griffins now play in the North Division and take on Houston only four times this season...Grand Rapids is 4-1-0-0 after a 6-3 win in San Antonio on Wednesday...The Griffins' lone loss came one week ago, 3-2 at home versus Houston...C Jiri Hudler leads the AHL with 13 points (9-4=13)...He carries five-game goal, assist and point streaks into tonight's game...LW Kent McDonell is tied for the league lead with assists...G Chris Osgood, a three-time NHL All-Star and two-time Stanley Cup-winner, is in Grand Rapids on a rehab assignment from the parent Red Wings...He made 22 saves against the Rampage and is expected in net again tonight...G Drew MacIntyre is 3-1-0 with a 2.27 gaa and a .921 save pct. while G Joey MacDonald has been rehabbing off-season surgery...MacDonald hopes to play in early November.

2005-06 meetings (2nd of 4 meetings, Aeros are 1-0-0-0 overall, First meeting at Houston) October 14 Houston 3 at Grand Rapids 2

Tonight Grand Rapids at Houston

October 29 Houston at Grand Rapids

January 6 Grand Rapids at Houston

Quick Hits

According to research by Andrew Ferraro of the Houston Chronicle, Grand Rapids netminder Chris Osgood is an impressive 12-5-1-0 in his career in the regular season in the state of Texas. That counts time with Detroit, St. Louis, the New York Islanders and his start Wednesday against Grand Rapids. The Aeros have scored in 10 consecutive regulation periods, and they have goals in 15 of 18 periods overall through six games. Houston has gone shorthanded 60 times in six games for an average of 10.0 chances per game. Portland (41 times in four games) leads the league in average penalty kill opportunities at 10.25 per game. The Aeros have an AHL-high 65 minor penalties. Grand Rapids ranks fifth in the AHL in power play percentage at 24.2 percent, and the Aeros are only 20th on the penalty kill at 81.4 percent. However, Houston knocked off 12-of-13 shorthanded chances against the Griffins last Saturday in Grand Rapids. Grand Rapids is a perfect 3-0-0-0 on the road, outscoring its opponents by a whopping 14-6. The Griffins rank third in the AHL in goals per game (4.40), and Houston is tied for fifth (4.00). Grand Rapids has led after two periods in each of its three road games. Last night marked Houston's first win when trailing after two periods since defeating Chicago 5-4 on the road 2/12/05. The Aeros rank 27th and last in the AHL in shots against at 37.33. Last night, Houston outshot its opponent for the first time since Opening Night. Aeros centerman Erik Westrum has seven goals in only nine career games versus Grand Rapids. Wednesday in St. Paul, Minn., former Aeros LW Derek Boogaard scored his first NHL goal. Boogaard had one goal, eight assists and 466 PIM's for Houston from 2003-05, but he took only five games to pick up his first NHL goal.

Four former Aeros selected for Olympic potential Wednesday, Canada and Sweden announced their lengthy, "potential" rosters for the 2006 Turin Olympics, and four former Aeros are on the list. Pierre-Marc Bouchard is one of a whopping 81 players on Team Canada's potential list. For Sweden, it's 2003 Calder Cup MVP Johan Holmqvist, his teammate on the championship team Rickard Wallin, and Mika Hannula. All nations must submit potential rosters by Monday. Final roster selection for next February's games is set for 12/22.

Last Game (Thursday)

Kurtis Foster forced overtime with 2:23 left in regulation and Miroslav Kopriva made 29 saves and four more in the shootout in his North American debut, as the Houston Aeros rallied for a 4-3 victory over the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights at Omaha Civic Auditorium. Erik Reitz and Petr Taticek also scored and Erik Westrum's shootout goal in the sixth round of his 300th pro game was the game-winner for Houston, which became the first AHL team to reach 10 points.

Looking ahead

After concluding a five-game road trip last night, Houston returns home for a brief three-game homestand beginning tonight. It continues tomorrow versus Manchester - the Monarchs first ever trip to Houston - and finishes Tuesday against arch-rival Chicago.

Aeros looking for some finish

Omaha was able to rally to force overtime Tuesday behind three third-period goals. Houston has allowed a league-high 10 goals in the third. One of the reasons Houston has had trouble in the third period is the shot total. The Aeros have been outshot 85-53 in the third period.

Wild roster has 11 former Aeros, including eight from 2004-05 The Minnesota Wild opened up the season with 25 total players on the roster, counting injured reserve. Eleven of those played for the Aeros at one point in their careers, and eight in 2004-05 alone. Counting Dallas' John Erskine and Phoenix' Zbynek Michalek, 10 players off last season's team began the season in the NHL. Other notable Aeros opening up the season in the NHL are Robert Lang (Detroit), David Oliver (Dallas) and Jeff Hoggan (St. Louis), a member of the Aeros' 2002-03 Calder Cup winning team.

Aeros/Griffins connections

Aeros defenseman Anders Myrvold spent the 2003-04 season in Grand Rapids. Grand Rapids' Darryl Bootland and Eric Himelfarb and Houston's Joel Ward both hail from Toronto. Houston's Ryan Stokes played 13 games for OHL Barrie in 2002-03. The Colts' leading scorer that season was Grand Rapids' Eric Himelfarb. Grand Rapids' Kyle Quincey played two seasons at OHL Mississauga with Houston's Patrick O'Sullivan, and one with Ryan Stokes.

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American Hockey League Stories from October 21, 2005


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