Streak is over; Aeros tied for fourth

January 26, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Houston Aeros News Release


Week in review: CLE 3, HOU 1; CLE 5, HOU 3; HOU 4, SYR 1

The Aeros went 1-2-0 last week, with a 4-1 win over Syracuse on Saturday snapping a franchise-record 13-game winless streak. The game also marked the return of head coach Todd McLellan, who had missed five straight games due to illness.

Houston enters this week with 42 points, tied with Cincinnati for fourth place, two points ahead of sixth-place San Antonio in the AHL's West Division.

Saturday, Johan Holmqvist turned aside 29 shots and Kevin Mitchell and Chris Bala each posted a goal and an assist as the Aeros rolled 4-1 over the Syracuse Crunch in front of 11,624 fans on Johan Holmqvist Bobblehead Night at Toyota Center.

Friday, Brad Boyes posted two goals and an assist and Tavis Hansen and Miroslav Zalesak each added a tally and a helper, leading the Cleveland Barons over the Aeros, 5-3, at Gund Arena. Robert Mulick scored his first goal in 239 career AHL games and Seamus Kotyk made 40 saves for Cleveland.

Travis Roche, Stephane Veilleux and Michael Schutte each scored for Houston.

Wednesday, Boyes and Hansen scored 53 seconds apart early in the second period, as the Barons beat the Aeros 3-1 at Gund Arena. Former Aero Greg Labenski added a third-period goal and Nolan Schaefer finished with 19 saves for the Barons.

Dan Cavanaugh scored his first goal in 18 games and Holmqvist posted 20 saves for the Aeros.

Coming attractions:

TUE, HOU vs. CIN, 7:00 p.m.

2-for-1 Tuesday on Center Ice Tickets

The Aeros are 2-1-1-0 this season against the Ducks, winning the lone meeting at Toyota Center, 3-1 on December 5 to snap an eight-game winless slide. Houston is 7-2-2-1 all-time against Cincinnati, including an unbeaten 4-0-1-0 mark at home. The Aeros have won the last three home meetings with the Ducks. Cincinnati goalie Ilya Bryzgalov is looking for his second ever win against the Aeros (1-6-1). The Ducks and Aeros are tied for fourth place with 42 points, and Cincinnati is winless in the last three games (0-2-1) after a stretch of just one regulation loss in 10 games.

FRI, HOU at MAN, 7:30 p.m.

The Aeros open up a two-game set in Winnipeg against the Moose. The teams split a pair of games at Toyota Center in early November. This will mark the 59th all-time meeting between the clubs, with the Aeros holding a 34-14-10-0 advantage. Houston, though, has just one win in the last four meetings overall (1-2-1-0) and is winless in the last three trips to Manitoba (0-2-1-0). Manitoba is led by Brandon Reid (10g, 23a). The Moose snapped a six-game winless streak Saturday.

SAT, HOU at MAN, 7:30 p.m.

Streak over – The Aeros not only snapped a franchise-record 13-game winless streak (0-5-7-1) Saturday, but they also stopped a six-game home winless streak (0-4-1-1). Houston's previous overall franchise record winless streak was eight games, set earlier this season. The Aeros' six-game home winless streak was a season high and two short of the franchise record, set from December 5-31, 1995. Houston enters this week with an active winless streak though - on the road. Houston is 0-4-3-0 in its last seven road games, one more than its franchise record-tying, 0-4-1-1 run from November 20-December 3 of this season.

All Mitchell does is score power play goals – Defenseman Kevin Mitchell's first goal in an Aeros uniform came Saturday on the power play, but that shouldn't be a surprise. In his three-year pro career, including ECHL totals, Mitchell has 19 goals - and an eye-popping 15 have come on the power play. Each of Mitchell's four AHL goals have been on the power play. Mitchell's last non power play goal came 13 months ago - on December 7, 2002, with ECHL Louisiana against Arkansas. Last season with the IceGators, Mitchell had 23 of his 34 points on the power play. With the Aeros, three of his six points are on the power play.

In the community – Members of the Aeros front office will be at the Food Court at the Shops at Houston Center today and Tuesday from 11 a.m.- 1 p.m. to distribute ticket information and sell merchandise. Fans can also register to win tickets and memorabilia. In addition, members of the front office, Sonic Boom and Strikeforce will be on hand at Bud Bowl this Friday and Saturday at Minute Maid Park. The two-day bonanza leads up to Super Bowl XXXVIII, set for Sunday at Reliant Stadium.

Former Aeros in NHL All Star Game - Former Aeros Filip Kuba and Robert Lang have become the first IHL/AHL era Aeros to be selected to the NHL All-Star Game after wearing the Houston uniform. Kuba registered nine points (3g, 6a) in 27 games with the IHL Aeros in 1999-2000 and will represent the Minnesota Wild in the game, in St. Paul next month. Robert Lang, who notched eight points (1g, 7a) in nine games with the IHL Aeros in 1997-98, is Washington's lone representative after Jaromir Jagr was traded to the New York Rangers. Lang is enjoying his finest NHL season with 58 points (23g, 35a) in just 50 games.

Roche gets 100, twice - Houston defenseman Travis Roche has two goals and eight assists in the last 12 games, and he reached a pair of milestones Saturday. Roche's assist on Kevin Mitchell's 5-on-3 game-winning goal in the second period was his 100th point as a pro, while his helper on Kyle Wanvig's third-period goal was his 100th point as an Aero. Roche has 101 points (31g, 70a) in 167 pro games, while he has 100 points (31g, 69a) in 157 Aeros games. Roche has one assist in 10 career games with the Minnesota Wild.

Cavosie tied with rookie season numbers - Marc Cavosie just played in his 42nd game of the season, and his five goals, 14 assists and 19 points are identical to the numbers he put up in his 2002-03 rookie season. Cavosie has five assists in the last six games and he has three multi-point games, one better than his total from last season.

Getting a lead and keeping it - The Aeros have been great all season when scoring first, but not in the last month. Saturday win was the Aeros' first when scoring first in eight games. Houston had been 0-3-4-0 in its last seven games when taking a 1-0 lead. Overall when scoring first, the Aeros are 12-4-5-1, including a 6-1-3-0 mark at home.

Holmqvist gets the win - Saturday was Johan Holmqvist's first win since December 26, in addition to it being the night where 3,000 bobbleheads with his likeness were given away. Holmqvist didn't disappoint, turning away 29 shots and coming within 1:02 of his third shutout of the season. Holmqvist had been 0-4-3 in his last seven decisions, one shy of his career-high winless streak. The Aeros also hadn't won any of Holmqvist's eight starts prior to Saturday night. Holmqvist is now 13-17-5 with a 2.70 goals against average this season.

Player of the week D Kevin Mitchell -

Had three points (1g, 2a), including first goal as an Aero, and was an impressive plus two as Houston went 1-2-0 last week...Assisted on Michael Schutte's third-period goal in 5-3 loss to Cleveland on Friday...Scored 5-on-3 goal that went down as the game-winner with 4.5 seconds left in second period of 4-1 win over Syracuse on Saturday...Has six points (1g, 5a) in 17 games with the Aeros this season...Friday marked his first point with Houston since November 28, a week before he was reassigned to ECHL Louisiana.

Mitchell this week...

1/21 at CLE 0-0-0, E

1/23 at CLE 0-1-1, +1

1/24 vs. SYR 1-1-2, +1

Totals - 3gp, 1g, 2a, 3 pts, +2

Aeros' Practice schedule:

Monday - 10-11:30, Sugarland

Tuesday - 10-11, Pre-game skate, vs. CIN 7 p.m.

Wednesday - 10-11:30, Sugarland

Thursday - Depart for Manitoba

Friday - Pre-game skate, at MAN 7:30 p.m.

Saturday - Pre-game skate, at MAN 7:30 p.m.

Sunday - Off



American Hockey League Stories from January 26, 2004


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