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Pre-Christmas vacation over, Aeros back home on Santa Hat Night

December 16, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Houston Aeros News Release


The Houston Aeros' latest edition of "Happy Hour" is set for Thursday, and will include a Santa Hat giveaway. The first 3,000 fans will receive the Santa Hat as the Aeros take on the Norfolk Admirals at 7:05 p.m.

Saturday at 7:35 p.m., the Aeros take on Norfolk again on Teddy Bear Toss/Toy Drive Night, and the first 3,000 fans will receive a Santa Bobblehead.

For Thursday's Aeros Happy Hour, get a corner ticket plus free parking for just $15, and enjoy pre- and post-game drink specials ($1 well drinks and drafts) at The Bus II across from Toyota Center. Or, get a center ice seat, free parking, $10 in Toyota Bucks and pre- and post-game drink specials at The Bus II for $30. Call 713.974.PUCK to order, or order online at www.aeros.com/themenights. Username is Happy, password is Hour.

Both Thursday and Saturday, the men of the 15th annual Houston Fire Fighters Calendar will drop the puck and will also be available to take pictures with fans (cameras not provided). They will also participate in an intermission tug-of-war. For both games this week, the Aeros are offering a corner ticket plus Fire Fighters Calendar for $25. Order online at www.aeros.com/themenights. Username is Fire, password is Calendar.

Five things you need to know
· Aeros centerman Mark Cullen and winger Stephane Veilleux recently became the 18th and 19th players, respectively, in team history with 100 points. The players each have 102 points, tied with Michael Maurice for 15th on the all-time list. Cam Stewart is 14th with 108.
· Houston, which is third in the AHL on the power play at 20.3 percent, is 7-for-21 (33.3 percent) in its last four games. The Aeros, who had a franchise-record-trying four PPG 11/20 in Syracuse, are 11-for-35 (31.4 percent) over their last seven games and 15-for-54 (34.1 percent) in their last 11 games, a span that has seen them outscore their opponents 15-7 on their respective man advantages.
· The Aeros are 1-2-1-0 to begin a season-long eight-game homestand. Houston, 4-5-1-0 at home, hasn't played since 12/3, its longest stretch between games since 12/31/95-1/15/96. Houston has dropped from second place, two points out of first, to fourth place and 10 points back. The Aeros are in a span where they play 13 of 16 games and 20 of 25 at Toyota Center. Houston has played on seven or more days' rest just twice since joining the AHL in 2001-02 and lost those games - both last year - by a combined 10-3 margin.
· The Aeros have won three straight home regular season games against the Admirals since dropping the first game 2-0. Norfolk last won in Houston in the regular season on 12/19/02, a 2-0 decision.
· Aeros winger Stephane Veilleux has three goals over his last two games, one off his career-best three-game goal streak, set 2/3-2/6/03. Veilleux has goals in back-to-back games for the second time this season, marking the seventh time this season an Aero has accomplished the feat. No Aero has a goal in three straight games. Veilleux has a three-game point streak (3-1=4) overall. Veilleux had five PPG in his first three seasons in Houston, and he has five already this season.

Admirals at Aeros (Aeros are 5-3-0-0 overall, Aeros are 3-1-0-0 at Houston)
· Tonight is the ninth all-time regular-season meeting between the teams - fifth in Houston.
· The Aeros went 3-1-0-0 last season against the Admirals, sweeping two home games, then splitting a two-game set in Norfolk.
· Since dropping the first meeting 5-4, the Aeros are 5-2-0-0 against Norfolk.
· Houston and Norfolk met in the 2003 Western Conference Semifinals, with the eventual Calder Cup champion Aeros winning the series 4-2.
· The teams have gone into overtime once - with the Aeros winning a 2-1 game 1/30/02 in Norfolk.

Scouting the Aeros
Houston is 1-2-1-0 to start an eight-game homestand and is 1-3-1-0 overall in its last five...Mark Cullen (6-11=17) and Stephane Veilleux (9-8=17) are the Aeros' leading scorers, just ahead of Pierre-Marc Bouchard (5-11=16)...Veilleux has a team-best nine goals, including three in the last two games...Houston has 18 players with at least one goal...Nineteen-year-old Brent Burns (4-8=12), Zbynek Michalek (2-7=9) and Erik Reitz (0-9=9) anchor the blueline...Mike Smith is 7-5-0 with a 2.86 gaa, while Josh Harding (5-7-1, 2.01 gaa) has missed the last two games with a concussion.

Scouting the Admirals
The Admirals lost four straight by a combined 16-5 score before rallying late for a 5-4 shootout win over AHL-leading Manchester yesterday afternoon...Norfolk, which will play the next nine games without suspended head coach Trent Yawney, snapped a streak of five straight games with two or fewer goals, and it has reached the three-goal plateau now twice in the last 10 contests...Rookie Rene Bourque leads the way for Norfolk with 17 points (8-9=17), while former Aero Marty Wilford is the team's leading defensive scorer with 13 points (1-12=13)...Top goalie prospect Craig Anderson (8-1-1, 1.74 gaa) is out following hip surgery this week, leaving Michael Leighton (4-7-1, 2.36) and Adam Munro (3-4-0, 2.75) to tend the nets...Chicago Blackhawks assistant coach Bruce Cassidy will coach in place of Yawney.

2004-05 meetings (First of four meetings)
TONIGHT: Norfolk at Houston
Saturday: Norfolk at Houston
December 30: Houston at Norfolk
December 31: Houston at Norfolk

Last game (12/3)
Nathan Horton's second goal of the game, 46 seconds into overtime, helped the San Antonio Rampage rally for a 2-1 win over the Houston Aeros at Toyota Center. Travis Scott made 42 saves for San Antonio. Mike Smith made 28 saves and Stephane Veilleux scored a power play goal for Houston.

Quick Hits
· Aeros defenseman John Erskine enters tonight's game with 991 career penalty minutes, including an AHL-blueliner high 122 this season.
· Houston has scored more goals in the first period at home (15) than it has in the other three periods plus overtime combined (13).
· Aeros winger Kyle Wanvig enters tonight's game with 15 career PPG's, tied with Travis Roche for the team's most since entering the AHL in 2001-02. Mark Cullen has 14 PPG's. Wanvig needs two more to tie Cam Stewart for 10th on the team's all-time list.
· Houston has hit the double digit mark in shots in 14 of its last 15 periods over the last five games.
· Norfolk has scored first 17 times, the third most times in the AHL. The Admirals at 10-5-0-2 in those situations.
· The Admirals have allowed 11 first-period goals, tied for the fewest in the AHL, while scoring 21.
· Norfolk toughman Shawn Thornton fought Erik Reitz twice in 2003-04 and Derek Boogaard once. The Ads rank third in the AHL in PIM/game (29.97).

Aeros needed a break
Houston's 13-day break without games came at a perfect time, as the team has lost an astounding 77 man games to injury in 2004-05. Chris Heid has yet to play this season, Mikko Koivu missed 12 games due to appendicitis and alternate captain Todd Reirden missed eight contests. Injured Aeros when they began their hiatus included Pierre-Marc Bouchard, who led the team in scoring when injured 11/20, three-time AHL All-Star Ray Giroux and Josh Harding, the Minnesota Wild's top goaltending prospect. Harding received a concussion with five seconds left versus Utah 11/28.

Smith has lost three straight
· Aeros goalie Mike Smith has lost three straight decisions, tying a career-high, after going 7-2-0 in his first nine decisions. Smith is 0-3-0 with a 3.02 gaa in his last three starts. He had lost three straight on three prior occasions, last coming 12/27/03-1/3/04 with Utah.
· Smith is 7-2-0 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 four straight wins 10/24-11/13 tied his career high, set 11/28-12/7/03.
· 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 2-0 in shootouts.
· The 6-foot-3, 210-pounder is 4-0-0 with a 2.77 gaa on the road but 3-5-0 with a 2.92 gaa at home.

PP unit clicks again
· Houston, which is third in the AHL on the power play at 20.3 percent, is 7-for-21 (33.3 percent) in its last four games. The Aeros, who had a franchise-record-trying four PPG 11/20 in Syracuse, are 11-for-35 (31.4 percent) over their last seven games and 15-for-54 (34.1 percent) in their last 11 games, a span that has seen them outscore their opponents 15-7 on their respective man advantages.
· The Aeros are 9-6-2-0 when scoring a PPG and 3-4-0-1 when not scoring a PPG.
· Houston has 13 players with at least one PPG, tops in the AHL.
· Overall, the Aeros have outscored their opponents 26-14 on the power play.
· The Aeros have allowed six shorthanded goals, the last by Utah's Randall Gelech's 11/26. That total has them two behind Manchester's eight SHG allowed.
· Norfolk ranks fourth in the AHL on the penalty kill at 88.6 percent, but the numbers on the road drop to 84.5 percent, 11th in the league.
· The Admirals have killed off just 21-of-26 shorthanded chances (80.8 percent) over their last five games.

Houston seventh on the PK
· Other than a 2-for-4 power play performance by Milwaukee 11/13, Houston has been rock solid to move into seventh place in the AHL at 87.1 percent.
· The Aeros have killed off 69-of-76 (90.8 percent) shorthanded chances over the last 15 games.
· Houston is 6-5-1-1 when not allowing a PPG and 6-5-1-0 when allowing a PPG.
· The Aeros are tied for sixth in the AHL with four SHG.
· Norfolk is tied for 15th in the AHL on the power play at 14.8 percent, but the Admirals are third on the road at 20.0 percent.
· The Admirals are 4-for-22 (18.2 percent) with the man advantage over their last five, including a 2-for-4 performance versus Manchester yesterday.

First and last two minutes are crucial
Houston has scored just five goals in the first or last two minutes of a period this season. The Aeros' opponents, meanwhile, have 17 goals in this crucial time. Houston is 1-5-0 this season when allowing a goal in the opening two minutes of a period.

Aeros/Admirals connections
· Houston defenseman Chris Heid played juniors with Brandin Cote and Matt Keith for three seasons (1999-2002).
· The Admirals' Marty Wilford played 45 games for the IHL Aeros in the 1999-2000 season, notching nine assists and 30 penalty minutes.
· Houston head coach Todd McLellan and the Admirals' Trent Yawney were teammates in the 1983-84 and 1984-85 seasons with WHL Saskatoon. Yawney is currently serving a 10-game AHL suspension.
· Admirals goalie Craig Anderson and Aeros defenseman Todd Reirden each hail from suburban Chicago.
· Houston's Todd Reirden was teammates with Norfolk's Mike Brown in AHL Cincinnati in 2002-03.
· Aeros winger Kyle Wanvig and Norfolk's Jim Vandermeer were teammates from 1999-2001 with WHL Red Deer, and helped the Rebels to the 2001 Memorial Cup over Houston's Stephane Veilleux. Vandermeer and Aeros captain Kirby Law spent three seasons in the Flyers organization.



American Hockey League Stories from December 16, 2004


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