They Keep Going and Going

Published on January 13, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Houston Aeros News Release


Houston went 2-0-1 last week to increase its unbeaten streak to 12 games at 10-0-2. The Aeros' record for the longest unbeaten streak is 13 games (12-0-1) set Dec. 20, 1997 - Jan. 16, 1998. The Aeros could tie that record on Wednesday in Chicago when they visit the Wolves.

THE WEEK THAT WAS:

JANUARY 9: No lead was safe at Compaq Center as the Aeros and the Chicago Wolves skated to a high-tempo 4-4 tie. Chicago started the scoring. Then the Aeros tied it on the first of four power play goals, as Hnat Domenichelli scored. Chicago regained the lead just 18-seconds into the second period. But Domenichelli scored again, followed by Jean-Guy Trudel, and the Aeros led 3-2. The Wolves came back to tie the score. Then, Curtis Murphy registered a power play goal that put Houston ahead 4-3. Just 1:07 later, Chicago tallied again to finish the scoring in a wild affair. The Aeros outshot their opponents soundly, 44-30, and went an amazing four-out-of-five on the power play.

JANUARY 10: The Aeros defeated the Cleveland Barons 5-2 on Friday night to increase their unbeaten streak to 11 games (9-0-2). Frederic Cloutier picked up the win in his first AHL start, turning away 27 of 29 shots. Houston scored two power play goals in the first period by Curtis Murphy and Lawrence Nycholat. In the second, the Barons collected two power play goals of their own, but in between, Tony Tuzzolino scored his first goal of the year. In the third period, Jean-Guy Trudel tallied two goals, including one empty-net goal, to ice the game. Houston outshot Cleveland 39-29.

JANUARY 12: Houston traveled to Milwaukee and defeated the Admirals 2-1 in overtime on a goal by Sylvain Cloutier. The Aeros scored first midway through the opening period. Tony Virta registered a power play goal at the 11:22 mark of the first. David Cullen and Chris Dyment collected the assists. For Dyment, it was his third assist in three games. Milwaukee tied the game at the 15:34 mark of the second period. The Admirals doubled up the Aeros in shots in the third period, 13-6, but neither goaltender blinked. Then, exactly midway through the overtime period, Cloutier scored his third of the year to give the Aeros the win. Houston was outshot 30 to 23, but Derek Gustafson played extremely well, stopping 29 shots.

MIDSEASON REPORT: The Aeros are half-way through the 2002-03 season and if they were given a grade, it would have to be an "A." The team leads the West Division by 11 points (Utah and Milwaukee are tied at 45 points). Houston is the top team in the Western Conference, leading Norfolk and Grand Rapids by three points. Overall, they trail only Hamilton, who has gained at least a point in 24 straight games (20-0-2-2). Houston has the second best winning percentage in the league (.700). They are currently on a 12-game unbeaten streak (10-0-2) and started the season with an eight-game winning streak.

A GREAT GRADE: Houston's miscellaneous rankings reflect their standing in the AHL. The Aeros are the fifth-highest scoring team at 3.35 goals per game. They allow only 2.53 goals against, seventh best in the league. The Aeros enjoy shooting the puck as they rank second in shots on goal at 34.8. At the other end, they are the stingiest team allowing only 26 shots per game on their netminders. After a rough stretch, the power play has found its groove with seven goals in the last three games. For the season, it ranks 14th at 16%. The penalty kill also struggled, but has improved recently and now is 84.1%, 15th in the league.

BALANCING ACT: Houston's impressive record at the midpoint has come from a group effort. Excepting newcomer Ladislav Benysek who's only played in one game, every player on Houston's roster has at least three points. LW Jean-Guy Trudel leads the way in goals (18) and points (41). C Cory Larose is first in assists (26) and second in points. D Curtis Murphy is third in points (29) and second in goals (17). The Aeros have six players with at least 10 goals: Trudel, Murphy, Hnat Domenichelli (12), Mark Cullen (11), Cory Larose (10) and Kyle Wanvig (10). The team also has 12 players in double digits in scoring.

WHAT A GUY!: At the mid-point of the season, LW Jean-Guy Trudel has helped lead the Aeros to the top of the Western Conference. He leads the team in goals (18), points (41), and plus/minus (+18). He is also tied for the team lead in game-winning goals (4) and power-play goals (5). He ranks second in assists (23) and first goals (3). Trudel ranks seventh in the league in points. In the team's 12-game unbeaten streak, he has only been held off the scoresheet three times, collecting 6-9-15 in the 12 games. Trudel was chosen to participate in the AHL All-Star Game. He will play with teammate Travis Roche in the game at Portland, ME on Feb. 3.

BLUE LINE, RED LIGHT: The Aeros d-men have been quite offensive and the charge has been led by Curtis Murphy. He has 17 goals already, just five short of his career-high. He had a six-game goal streak snapped Sunday, which tied for the longest goal-streak in the AHL this season. He is second on the team in goals, third in points (29) and tied for first with five power play goals. Murphy also leads the team with four first goals. He is the top blueline goal scorer in the AHL and is third in points. The other defensemen have done their share also. Lawrence Nycholat had a seven-game point streak snapped Sunday. It's the point streak for an Aero this season.

He has set career-highs in goals (4), assists (15) and points (19). He is second in plus/minus at +17, and ranks first in Aeros assists by a defenseman. All-Star Travis Roche has contributed 7-14-21 and five of his goals have come on the power play. David Cullen has 1-14-15. Even the three rookie d-men have gotten into the act. Erik Reitz has 5-8-13 while Chris Dyment has 1-3-4 and Zbynek Michalek has 1-2-3.

SCORING FIRST IS GOAL ONE: Scoring first is very important to the Aeros as the team is 16-1-1 when striking first. Houston is 10-9-3 in the 22 games their opponent has scored first. After not scoring the first goal in seven straight games (1-5-1), the Aeros have struck first in nine games in the current 12-game unbeaten streak. And once Houston gets the lead, they don't look back. The Aeros are 15-0-0 when leading after one period, and an impressive 19-1-2 when leading after two.

RECENT TRANSACTIONS: 1/7/03: G Dieter Kochan recalled by Minnesota, LW Hnat Domenichelli reassigned by Minnesota, G Frederic Cloutier recalled from Louisiana; 1/9/03: Signed D Darryl McArthur to PTO; 1/11/03: D Ladislav Benysek assigned by Minnesota, LW Dennis Shiryaev released from PTO, D Darryl McArthur released from PTO.

SPONGE BOB IS COMING!: Sponge Bob Square Pants, the wildly popular cartoon character, will be at the Aeros' games versus Manitoba on Saturday and Sunday. Game times are 7:30 PM and 5:00 PM respectively. For tickets or more information, log onto www.aeros.com or call the Aeros office at 713/974-PUCK.

NEWS AND NOTES:

* C Cory Larose is second in points and first in assists on the Aeros with 10-26-36 and had a seven-game point streak (5-5-10) snapped Sunday. He is tied for first on the team with four game-winning goals and ranks 20th in the league in scoring;

* LW Hnat Domenichelli has 2-2-4 in three games since being reassigned by Minnesota. Overall he's fourth on the Aeros in points (25) and third in goals (12);

* D Chris Dyment has collected an assist in each of the past three games, his first assists as a pro;

* G Derek Gustafson is unbeaten in his last six starts (4-0-2). His 2.48 GAA ranks 16th in the league;

* G Frederic Cloutier won his AHL debut on Friday, turning away 27 of 29 shots;

* The Power Play has seven goals in the last three games. Overall, it's 43 of 268/16%, ranking 14th;

* The Penalty Kill has allowed four goals in the last 39 chances (89.7%) and now is 185 of 220 overall, 84.1%, ranking 15th.

WILD WATCH: Minnesota currently has a record of 22-14-7-1 for 52 points. They trail Vancouver by three points for the Northwest Division lead. The Wild continue a six-game homestand against the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday, then host the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday and end the homestand with a visit from the Anaheim Mighty Ducks on Saturday.

ICEGATORS REPORT: Louisiana won their only game last week, and remain the top team in the Southern Conference with a record of 23-8-8 for 54 points. The win was Head Coach Dave Farrish's 400th as a head coach. This week, they travel to Arkansas to take on the RiverBlades on Tuesday, then host the Columbus Cottonmouths on Friday before Arkansas visits on Sunday.

UPCOMING GAMES

WEDNESDAY 1/15 AT CHICAGO

The Aeros continue to the three game road trip at the home of the defending Calder Cup Champions. Houston is 1-1 against the Wolves this season.

FRIDAY 1/17 AT MILWAUKEE

Houston returns to the Bradley Center for the second game in a week. The division rivals have only met in the playoffs once, in 1998, which Milwaukee won, 3 games to one.

SATURDAY 1/18 VS MANITOBA

The Aeros return home for a quick two-game set against the Manitoba Moose. Houston plays their old IHL rival only four times this season.

SUNDAY 1/19 VS MANITOBA

Houston hosts the Manitoba Moose on Sunday before departing for a seven-game, 13-day road trip prior to the All-Star Break.

WEDNESDAY 1/22 AT HARTFORD

Houston visits Hartford for the only time this season to start the long road trip. In November, the Aeros downed the Wolf Pack 4-3 in overtime at Compaq Center.

ON THE AIR: Houston Aeros games can be heard on AM 700 "The Voice" KSEV this season with "The Voice of the Aeros" Ken Double providing the play-by-play. The games can also be heard at www.aeros.com.

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American Hockey League Stories from January 13, 2003


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