Slow start dooms Aeros, who fall 5-2 in Norfolk
December 30, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Houston Aeros News Release
NORFOLK, Virginia â Quintin Laing and Shawn Thornton each tallied a goal and an assist, as the Norfolk Admirals cruised by the Houston Aeros 5-2 at The Scope. Michael Leighton made 31 saves, and Rene Bourque, Mike Brown and Eric Nickulas also scored for Norfolk, which reached the five-goal plateau for just the second time this season and has won two straight.
Stephane Veilleux and Kirby Law each scored and Kyle Kettles stopped nine-of-12 shots for Houston, which has lost two straight in regulation for the first time since November 24-26. Mike Smith, pulled in last night's 4-1 home loss to Milwaukee, made 16 saves in two-plus periods of relief.
The teams meet again at 5 p.m. Friday.
Laing and Thornton combined for the first two goals in a span of 4:05 early in the game at Norfolk seized control. Thornton assisted Laing at 3:13, and Laing and Michal Barinka returned the favor as toughguy Thornton got his second of the season.
Brown ended Kettles' night with 3:30 remaining in the first, as his third of the season (against 155 penalty minutes) pushed Norfolk's lead to three goals. Kettles was making his first AHL start since April 9 of last season.
In its last two road games, Houston has been outscored 5-0 in the first period.
The Aeros were able to stay within three until late in the second, when Bourque, a rookie leading the Ads in scoring, got the puck by Smith. The tally came with 1:55 left in the period. Houston has allowed 20 goals in the first or last two minutes of a period this season, while scoring only seven in that span.
Veilleux got Houston on the board at 4:18 of the third, as Pierre-Marc Bouchard slipped a pass from behind the net to Veilleux, who backhanded the puck past Leighton for his 12th of the season â sixth on the power play. Veilleux's 12 goals are one off his career-best, set last season.
Shortly thereafter, the Aeros got a 4-on-3 power play after a too many men on the ice penalty and didn't get a shot on Leighton. Then, 26 seconds later, Norfolk restored the lead to four goals when Nickulas tapped a rebound off an Aeros defender in front and past Smith for his first goal of the season.
Law finished the scoring with his seventh of the season with 5:34 left.
Thornton and Erik Reitz fought at the 20:00 mark of the third, their third bout in the past two seasons. Thornton got an instigator penalty on the play.
Houston went 1-for-7 on the power play and is 13-for-50 with the man advantage in its last nine games. Norfolk sports the league's best home penalty kill unit. The Admirals finished 0-for-3 on the power play.
Notes:
Aeros defenseman John Erskine went over the 1,000-career penalty minute mark when he picked up a minor penalty at 7:55 of the second.
Veilleux scored his sixth goal in the last seven games.
The Aeros, who wrapped up a 4-3-1-0 homestand last night, played their first road game in a span of 36 days, since November 24 in Chicago.
Norfolk beat Houston for just the third time in the last 10 regular-season attempts.
The Aeros failed to score in the first period for the first time in nine games.
Norfolk, 9-3-0-0 at home, won a game at The Scope by more than one goal for just the second time this season.
Houston's nine goals allowed over its last two games are one off its season-high in the category. The Aeros gave up five goals each to Chicago and Cleveland October 20 and 22.
The Aeros, whose plane left at 5:50 this morning, fell to 8-4-1-0 when playing the second or third game of back-to-back contests. Houston is 3-9-1-1 when scoring two or fewer goals.
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