Houston, Iowa Set For Rematch

Published on January 13, 2006 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Houston Aeros News Release


Five things you need to know:

Aeros C Erik Westrum (18-38=56) and RW Kirby Law (24-31=55) rank first and second in the AHL in scoring. They are trying to become the first duo from the same team to finish 1-2 in the league's scoring race Paul Gardner (112 points) and Jody Gage (99) turned the trick for Rochester exactly 20 seasons ago - in 1985-86. Both Westrum and Law have six points in the last two games. Law has a season-best 11-game point streak (10-12=22), and he has 30 points (14-16=30) in his last 15 contests alone. Law leads all AHL players with 24 goals. His 11-game point streak ties Westrum's team season-best, and the last Aero with a longer run was Brian Wiseman's franchise-best 15-game streak 12/27/98-1/30/99. Rookie C Patrick O'Sullivan has 32 points (16-16=32) in his last 23 games and is first in rookie scoring with 39 points (19-20=39). Rookie LW Roman Voloshenko has 31 points (20-11=31), tied for ninth among AHL rookies. D Curtis Murphy ranks second among league defensemen with 33 points (5-28=33). C Petr Taticek tied the Aeros' franchise record last night by recording an assist in his ninth straight game. He has 13 points (3-10=13) overall in the span. Brian Wiseman had an assist in nine straight games 11/23-12/12/97. Taticek has career highs in goals (nine), assists (16) and points (25) in just half a season. Taticek's assist streak is the second longest over the last two AHL seasons. Chicago's Tommi Santala had at least one assist in 11 straight games 2/9-3/9/05. Aeros RW and captain Kirby Law has six points (2-4=6) over his last two games, and his next goal will make him the 12th player in team history to reach 50 with the Aeros. Tuesday, Law became the 23rd Aero to notch 100 points, and his 104 (49-55=104) are just two behind Dan Cavanaugh for 20th place on the team's ledgers. Law scored his 200th professional goal Tuesday, and notched his 200th AHL assist Thursday. The durable winger has played in 140 consecutive AHL games - 119 with Houston. Aeros G Seamus Kotyk came to the rescue last night in relief of an injured Josh Harding, stopping all 16 shots sent his way over the final 40 minutes. While his All-Star teammate leads the league in wins and is among the leaders in games played and minutes, Kotyk has been able to remain sharp. The fifth-year pro is 3-0-0 with a 1.49 gaa over his last three appearances since 12/11. That run has helped Kotyk, 6-2-1, lower his gaa to 2.98 on the season. Houston is all the way up to second in the AHL in scoring at 3.79 gpg, trailing only Grand Rapids' 3.90 gpg. Since getting shut out 3-0 by Milwaukee 11/27, the Aeros have scored 72 goals in 15 games for a whopping 4.80 gpg average. Just once since the shutout have the Aeros been held to fewer than three goals, in a 7-1 loss at Hamilton 12/10. The Aeros have scored 53 goals in 10 home games since the 11/27 loss for an unbelievable 5.30 gpg average.

Stars at Aeros (Aeros are 3-0-0-0 overall, Aeros are 3-0-0-0 at Houston) Tonight is the fourth ever meeting between the Aeros and Stars, who are in their first season as the Dallas Stars' AHL affiliate. Houston makes the first of five trips to Des Moines 1/26. Houston won the first game, 5-3, on 11/3 behind a goal and an assist each from C Erik Westrum and D Kurtis Foster, while Westrum and C Patrick O'Sullivan each tallied a goal and an assist in a 3-2 Houston win that snapped Iowa's six-game winning streak 12/28. Tonight is a homecoming for four Iowa Stars players who spent the 2004-05 season in Houston. The Aeros had a partial affiliation deal with the Dallas Stars. Goalie Mike Smith, defenseman Patrick Traverse and forwards Junior Lessard and Marius Holtet all suited up for the Aeros last season. Smith went 19-17-3 with a 2.42 gaa and won Houston's lone playoff game. Traverse tallied 15 points (6-9=15) in 72 games, but he's injured and not expected to play tonight. Lessard, the 2004 Hobey Baker winner, tied for 12th on the Aeros' roster with 22 points (11-11=22) in 71 games. Holtet notched 12 points (7-5=12) in 54 games. Iowa also features the injured David Oliver, a member of the Aeros' 1999 Turner Cup winning team.

Scouting the Aeros The Aeros (28-9-1-1) have the AHL's second-best record, trailing only Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (29-4-2-1=61, .847 pct)...The Aeros' West Division lead is nine points over Milwaukee, which has two games in hand...Houston has won 10 of 11 and 13 of 15 overall...A victory tonight would tie the 1998-99 Turner Cup championship team for most wins (29) after 40 games...C Erik Westrum has 56 points (18-38=56) to lead the AHL in points and assists...RW Kirby Law is second in the league with 55 points (24-31=53) and is first in goals and second to Westrum in assists...C Patrick O'Sullivan is first in rookie scoring with with 39 points (19-20=39)...LW Roman Voloshenko (20-11=31) has the league lead in goals among rookies and is tied for ninth among first-year players in points...D Curtis Murphy is second among AHL defensemen with 33 points (5-28=33)...G Josh Harding is 21-7-0 with a 2.63 gaa to rank first in the league in wins, tied for third in save pct. (.924) and 13th in gaa...Harding is 27-7-1 in his last 35 regular-season decisions...G Seamus Kotyk is 6-2-1 with a 2.98 gaa.

Scouting the Stars Iowa (19-16-1-1), AHL affiliate of the Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers, has gone 9-4-0-0 in its last 13 games, with two of the losses coming to the Aeros...The Stars have won six of nine road games, again with two losses to Houston...Iowa is tied with Omaha for third place in the West Division with 40 points...C Toby Peterson leads Iowa in scoring with 30 points (11-19=30)...Former Aero RW Junior Lessard is second with 23 points (12-11=23), including nine (5-4=9) in the last four games...Former Aero D Patrick Traverse paces the blueline with 15 points (2-13=15) despite missing 16 games due to injury...G Dan Ellis is 10-7-0 with a 2.49 gaa, while former Aero G Mike Smith is 9-10-1 with a 2.47 gaa.

2005-06 meetings (4th of 10 meetings, Aeros are 3-0-0-0 overall, Aeros are 3-0-0-0 at Houston) November 3 Iowa 3 at Houston 5 December 28 Iowa 2 at Houston 3 Last Night Iowa 1 at Houston 6 Tonight Iowa at Houston January 26 Houston at Iowa February 17 Houston at Iowa February 18 Houston at Iowa February 23 Iowa at Houston March 25 Houston at Iowa April 16 Houston at Iowa

Quick Hits The Aeros play game three of a seven-game homestand tonight. Houston has won 14 of 16 at home and is 17-3-1-1 at Toyota Center this season, 23-3-1-3 in the last 30 regular-season games there and 31-5-1-3 in the last 40. Houston's best home mark in team history was in 1998-99, when it was 32-6-3. The Aeros are in a stretch of games where they won't play outside the state of Texas for 37 days, until traveling to Chicago 1/22. Houston has trailed at some point in 13 of its 28 victories, with four of the wins coming when trailing by two goals. The Aeros had 16 come-from-behind victories in 2004-05. They are an impressive 11-4-0-0 when allowing the game's first goal, including last night's victory. Aeros RW Matt Foy has 16 points (4-12=16) in only 15 games since being assigned to the Aeros from the Minnesota Wild 11/26. Foy has points in eight of his last 10 games, with 15 points (4-11=15) in that span. Foy had seven multiple-point games in his first two seasons with Houston, but he has five already in 2005-06. His 12 assists are one off his career-high, set in his rookie campaign of 2003-04. The Aeros are 8-1-0-0 this season when Foy has at least one point. Aeros D Curtis Murphy has 16 points (2-14=16) in his last 15 games. Murphy has 134 points with Houston, moving into fifth place on the team's all-time list. Murphy ranks second among blueliners in team history in both points and assists. Murphy ranks second among all AHL defensemen in points this season (5-28=34). The Aeros are 18-3-0-0 when Murphy has an assist and 19-3-0-1 when he has a point. Houston rookie D Clayton Stoner has four points (2-2=4) over his last five games. Since finishing minus-three 12/10 at Hamilton, C Erik Westrum has posted an even rating or better in each of his last 11 games, going plus-12 in that span, including plus-10 in the last seven games. Aeros linemates C Erik Westrum and RW Kirby Law each have at least one point in each of the Aeros' 10 home games since getting shut out 11/27 by Milwaukee. Westrum and Law both have 20 points in the last 10 home games. The Aeros are 27-2-0-0 when scoring three goals or more, but 1-7-1-1 when scoring two or fewer. Three is also the magic number defensively, as Houston is 25-2-1-1 when allowing three of fewer goals and 3-7-0-0 when yielding four or more. Houston is 15-1-0-0 when outshooting an opponent. The Aeros are 11-0-0-0 when allowing 29 shots or fewer. The Aeros are 12-3-1-1 in one-goal games, and an impressive 18-4-1-1 in games decided by two goals or less. Thirteen of the Aeros' first 21 games were decided by one goal. Since then, however, just four of the last 18 games has been of the one-goal variety. The Aeros' plus-16 first-period margin (44-28) is just one off Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's league-best plus-17 (38-21). Houston has outscored its opponents 9-3 in the first period of its last four games. Houston has scored a goal in nine straight regulation periods, an impressive feat but far from its season-high. The Aeros scored in 16 straight periods 12/11-12/28, before Iowa blanked them in the third period.

Power play update Houston is tied for third in the league on the power play at 21.6 percent. The Aeros are 27-for-92 (29.3 percent) with the man advantage in the last 15 games. Houston is 8-for-27 (29.6 percent) in the last four games, scoring two PPG in each contest. It's the Aeros' second streak of four straight games with at least two PPG this season, having also done it 12/16-12/26. The Aeros are 18-2-0-0 when scoring at least two PPG. Iowa ranks tied for 18th in the AHL on the penalty kill at 82.2 percent. The Stars have killed off 20-of-25 shorthanded chances (80.0 percent) over their last six games. Houston is 5-for-20 (25.0 percent) on the power play versus the Stars this season.

Penalty kill update Houston is tied for sixth in the AHL on the penalty kill at 84.5 percent. The Aeros are a perfect 10-for-10 on the PK in the last two games since Grand Rapids went 5-for-10 on 1/6. Houston is 12-1-0-1 when not allowing a power play goal and 21-3-1-1 when allowing one power play goal or fewer. Staying off the PK is huge for the Aeros, who have seen four of their nine regulation losses come when allowing 10 power plays or more. Iowa ranks 24th in the AHL on the power play at 12.8 percent. The Stars are 3-for-34 (8.8 percent) with the man advantage in their last six games. Iowa is 3-for-19 (15.8 percent) on the power play versus the Aeros this season.

Last Game (Thursday) All-Stars Erik Westrum (2-1=3) and Kirby Law (1-2=3) each picked up three points for the second straight game and fellow All-Star Curtis Murphy notched a goal and an assist, as the Houston Aeros earned a 6-1 victory over the Iowa Stars at Toyota Center. Matt Foy and Roman Voloshenko also scored, Patrick O'Sullivan, Bryan Lundbohm and Peter Olvecky chipped in two assists apiece and Seamus Kotyk made 16 saves in relief of an injured Josh Harding for Houston. Loui Eriksson scored and former Aero Mike Smith made 17 saves in two periods for the Stars, who fell to 9-4-0-0 in their last 13 and 0-3-0-0 against the Aeros this season. Dan Ellis stopped five shots in relief.

Aeros/Stars connections Houston's Clayton Stoner and Iowa's Shawn Belle were defensive partners for three full seasons at WHL Tri City. Aeros defenseman Erik Reitz spent the 2001-02 season at OHL Barrie along with Iowa's B.J. Crombeen. Houston's Erik Westrum and Iowa's Toby Peterson each hail from Minneapolis, Minn.

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American Hockey League Stories from January 13, 2006


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