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Teddy Bear Toss, Bobbleheads tonight

December 18, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Houston Aeros News Release


It's Teddy Bear Toss/Toy Drive Night, and the first 3,000 fans will receive a Santa Bobblehead.

Tonight, 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 winger Stephane Veilleux has four goals over his last three games, tying his career-best goal streak, set 2/3-2/6/03. Veilleux has a four-game point streak (4-1=5) overall, tying the longest such streak on the team this season. He scored four straight Aeros goals 12/2-12/16 until Kirby Law's third-period tally. Veilleux had five PPG in his first three seasons in Houston, and he has five already this season. His 10 AHL goals are three off his career-high set last season. Seven of his 10 goals have been Houston's first goal of the game. Veilleux had four goals after 26 games last season.
• Houston, which is tied for second in the AHL on the power play at 20.6 percent, is 8-for-24 (33.3 percent) in its last five games. The Aeros, who had a franchise-record-trying four PPG 11/20 in Syracuse, are 12-for-38 (31.6 percent) over their last eight games and 16-for-57 (28.1 percent) in their last 12 games, a span that has seen them outscore their opponents 16-7 on their respective man advantages.
• Aeros captain Kirby Law has posted five points (1-4=5) over his last five games, including a goal and an assist in Thursday's 2-0 win over Norfolk. Law has seven points (3-4=7) in the last eight games, and is a plus-three in that span.
• Houston goalie Mike Smith's shutout Thursday lowered his career December gaa to 2.18, easily the best among all months. Smith is 6-5-0 with a .928 save pct. and two shutouts in December.
• The Aeros have won four 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.

Admirals at Aeros (Aeros are 6-3-0-0 overall, Aeros are 4-1-0-0 at Houston)
• Tonight is the 10th all-time regular-season meeting between the teams - sixth 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 6-2-0-0 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 2-2-1-0 to start an eight-game homestand but is unbeaten in regulation in its last two (1-0-1-0)...Stephane Veilleux (10-8=18) is the team's leading scorer, just ahead of Mark Cullen (6-11=17)...Veilleux has a team-best 10 goals, including four in the last three games...Houston has 18 players with at least one goal...Nineteen-year-old Brent Burns (4-8=12), Erik Reitz (0-10=10) and Zbynek Michalek (2-7=9) anchor the blueline...Mike Smith is 8-5-0 with a 2.64 gaa, while Josh Harding (5-7-1, 2.01 gaa) has missed the last three games with a concussion.

Scouting the Admirals
The Admirals have lost five of six, with the lone win coming in a shootout over league-leading Manchester...Norfolk, which will play the next eight games without suspended head coach Trent Yawney, has scored two or fewer goals in six of the last seven games and has reached the three-goal plateau twice in the last 11 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 (4-8-1, 2.34) 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 (Second of four meetings, Houston is 1-0-0-0 overall, Houston is 1-0-0-0 at Houston)
Thursday: Norfolk 0 at Houston 2
TONIGHT: Norfolk at Houston
December 30: Houston at Norfolk
December 31: Houston at Norfolk

Last game
Mike Smith made 33 saves for his second shutout, Stephane Veilleux extended his goal scoring streak to three games and Kirby Law tallied a goal and an assist, as the Houston Aeros returned from 13 days of pre-Christmas vacation with a workmanlike 2-0 win over the Norfolk Admirals at Toyota Center. Michael Leighton turned aside 32 shots for Norfolk.

Quick Hits
• The Aeros have scored a first-period goal in each of their last five games, and in eight of nine. Houston has outscored its opponents 30-27 in the first this season.
• 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 (16) than it has in the other three periods plus overtime combined (14).
• Houston, which has outshot six straight opponents, has hit the double digit mark in shots in 16 of its last 18 periods over the last six 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 12 first-period goals, second fewest in the AHL, while scoring 21. Only two teams (Manchester, St. John's) have a better first-period ratio.
• The Aeros are in a span where they play 13 of 16 games and 20 of 25 at Toyota Center.

Smith rebounds
• Aeros goalie Mike Smith lost three straight decisions, tying a career-high, prior to shutting out Norfolk on 33 shots Thursday.
• Smith is 8-2-0 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 4-5-0 with a 2.58 gaa at home.

PP unit clicks again
• Houston, which is tied for second in the AHL on the power play at 20.6 percent, is 8-for-24 (33.3 percent) in its last five games. The Aeros, who had a franchise-record-trying four PPG 11/20 in Syracuse, are 12-for-38 (31.6 percent) over their last eight games and 16-for-57 (28.1 percent) in their last 12 games, a span that has seen them outscore their opponents 16-7 on their respective man advantages.
• The Aeros are 10-6-2-0 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 27-14 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 four behind Manchester's 10 SHG allowed.
• Norfolk ranks fifth in the AHL on the penalty kill at 88.2 percent, but the numbers on the road drop to 84.0 percent, 14th in the league.
• The Admirals have killed off just 23-of-29 shorthanded chances (79.3 percent) over their last six games, in which they are 1-5-0-0.

Houston eighth on the PK
• Other than a 2-for-4 power play performance by Milwaukee 11/13, Houston has been rock solid to move into eighth place in the AHL at 87.1 percent.
• The Aeros have killed off 71-of-78 (91.0 percent) shorthanded chances over the last 16 games.
• Houston is 7-5-1-1 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 17th in the AHL on the power play at 14.6 percent, but the Admirals are third on the road at 19.4 percent.
• The Admirals are 4-for-24 (16.7 percent) with the man advantage over their last six, including a 2-for-4 performance versus Manchester Wednesday.

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.

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