Updated Preview: Aeros-Bulldogs, Game 7

Published on May 24, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Houston Aeros News Release


The Aeros and Hamilton Bulldogs battle in Game 7 of the AHL's Western Conference Finals at Toyota Center on Tuesday night. The winner advances to the Calder Cup Finals. The losing team goes home. Face off is 7:05 p.m.

MAY 24, 2011

HOUSTON AEROS (2nd seed, West Division)

vs. HAMILTON BULLDOGS (1st seed, North Division)

BEST-OF-7 (TIED 3-3)

TOYOTA CENTER (7:05 p.m. CST)

OVERVIEW

The Houston Aeros and Hamilton Bulldogs clash in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals at Toyota Center. The series is a best-of-seven series with a 2-3-2 format in which the Aeros have home ice advantage. The Aeros won the first three games of the series but the Bulldogs battled back to win Games 4, 5 and 6.

HOW THEY GOT HERE

HOU --- Swept the Peoria Rivermen 4-0 in the first round...Defeated Milwaukee in seven games in the second round.

HAM --- Hamilton defeated OKC 4-2 in round one...Nipped Manitoba in seven games in round two.

--- Both teams won their respective Game 7's in round two to reach the Conference Finals.

DID YOU KNOW?

--- The Bulldogs are just the third AHL club ever to force a Game 7 after losing the first three games of a series. The previous two teams - the 1960 Rochester Americans and the 1989 Adirondack Red Wings - successfully completed the comeback. Both of those teams, however, had the luxury of playing Game 7 at home. Both the 1960 and 1989 series were for a berth in the Calder Cup Finals.

AEROS PLAYOFF NOTABLES

--- Houston's 61 shots in Game 6 vs. HAM tied a team record for the second-most shots in one playoff game and were the most since Houston peppered Hamilton's Ty Conklin with 84 shots in Game 2 of the 2003 Calder Cup Finals.

--- The 29:11 of overtime in Game 6 was the third-longest OT in Aeros team history.

--- The Aeros are 5-0 all-time in Calder Cup Playoff Game 7's. This is the first Game 7 at home since the team began play in the AHL.

--- With the Game 7 win over Milwaukee, Houston joined the Maine Mariners (5-0) as the only franchises in AHL history to win five Game 7's and became the first team ever with five Game 7 road victories to its credit.

--- The Aeros are 5-2 when scoring first.

--- When leading after 20 minutes, Houston is 3-0. They are 6-0 when leading after two periods.

--- Houston has outshot their opponents in 12 of 17 playoff games. They are 7-5 when doing so.

--- Opponents have scored first 10 times, but the Aeros have won six of those games.

--- The Aeros are 7-2 in games decided by one goal.

--- The Aeros are 11-10 all-time in Calder Cup Playoff games in which they can eliminate an opponent. This playoff season, the Aeros are 2-4 when they can oust an opponent

AEROS PLAYER NOTABLES

--- Maxim Noreau appeared in his 42nd playoff game as an Aero in Game 6 vs. HAM and cracked the top five for games played in team history. He finished with an assist on Earl's second period goal to pull into a third-place tie with 16 all-time helpers along with Stephane Veilleux.

NHL AFFILIATES

Houston Aeros (Minnesota Wild)

Hamilton Bulldogs (Montreal Canadiens)

WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS SCHEDULE

Western Conference Finals - Series "N" (best-of-7)

Game 1 - Fri., May 13 - Hamilton 1 at Houston 2

Game 2 - Sun., May 15 - Hamilton 2 at Houston 3

Game 3 - Tue., May 17 - Houston 3 at Hamilton 2

Game 4 - Wed., May 18 - Houston 1 at Hamilton 8

Game 5 - Fri., May 20 - Houston 2 at Hamilton 2

Game 6 - Sun., May 22 - Hamilton 5 at Houston 4 (2OT)

Game 7 - Tue., May 24 - Hamilton at Houston, 7:05 PM

--- ALL TIMES CST

PLAYOFF HISTORY

--- Houston defeated Hamilton in seven games to capture the 2003 Calder Cup.

--- The Aeros are in the Conference Finals for the second time in three seasons and fourth time since joining the AHL.

--- The Bulldogs are making their second straight Conference Finals appearance and fifth in the last 10 years.

--- The Aeros and Bulldogs played the second-longest playoff game in AHL history on May 30, 2003 in Game 2 of the Calder Cup Finals (72:56). Michael Ryder scored the winning goal for the Bulldogs in the fourth overtime.

AEROS GOALIES

--- Matt Hackett went 4-0 in the first round vs. PEO with a 1.68 GAA and .932 SV%.

--- Hackett was 4-3 vs. MIL in the second round with a 2.66 GAA and .881 SV%.

--- On the road, Hackett is 5-4 with a 2.94 GAA and .884 SV%.

--- At home, Hackett is 6-2 with a 2.26 GAA and .910 SV%.

--- Hackett's 38-save effort in Game 1 vs. HAM included 20 stops in the third period alone. The 21 shots he faced were one short of a franchise playoff record for shots allowed in a period.

--- Hackett's 21-save shutout in Game 2 vs. MIL was his first as a pro in the postseason and Houston's first since May 7, 2009, when the Aeros blanked the Admirals 2-0 at Toyota Center in Game 4 of the West Division Finals. It was their 14th shutout overall.

--- Hackett went 1-0-0 against the Bulldogs with a 0.69 GAA and .973 SV% in two appearances during the regular season.

--- Josh Tordjman was 4-1-0 in six overall appearances during the regular season.

LAST GAME QUICK RECAP

Nigel Dawes scored at the 9:11 mark of the second overtime to lift the Hamilton Bulldogs past the Houston Aeros 5-4 in Game 6 of the American Hockey League's Western Conference Finals on Sunday at Toyota Center. The Bulldogs forced a decisive Game 7 with the victory. That contest is set for Tuesday, May 22 at Toyota Center at 7:05 p.m. Down 4-2 with under 10 minutes left in the third period, the Aeros rallied for a pair of goals to force extra time.

AEROS SPECIAL TEAMS

POWER PLAY --- Is 6/29 vs. HAM... Went 6/32 vs. MIL in round 2... Went 3/24 vs. PEO in the opening round... Ranked 6th (20.2%) in the regular season... Jon DiSalvatore led the team with 14 PPG... Finished the season with goals in six-straight to set a season-high streak (18/45)...Also had goals in six-straight from Feb. 22-Mar. 4... Had multiple PPG in 16 games and was 12-2-0-2 in those games.

PENALTY KILL --- HAM is 4/24... MIL went 4/30 in round 2... The Ads scored a SHG in Game 5... PEO went 3/12 on the PP in the first round... Ranked 22nd (81.0%) in the regular season... Carson McMillan led the team with three SHG... Opponents were 16/46 on the PP in the final eight games of the season... Allowed at least a goal in a season-high seven straight (Mar. 22 - Apr. 2)... Held opponents to one or no PPG in 15 straight games until TOR went 2-for-5 on Jan. 23.

REGULAR SEASON SERIES NOTES

--- The teams met twice in a one week span in December and split the games (Dec. 14 at HAM, 3-1 HOU win; Dec. 21 at HOU, 5-0 HAM win).

--- HOU went 0/7 on the PP while HAM went 1/7. HAM scored a pair of SHG on Dec. 21.

--- Matt Hackett earned the win on Dec. 14 and entered the game on Dec. 21 in a relief role.

--- Curtis Sanford appeared in both games in goal for HAM. He is out with a shoulder injury and has not played since Feb. 26.

AEROS BROADCAST INFO

Follow the Aeros on News Talk 1070 KNTH and online at AEROS.COM with Joe O'Donnell providing the play-by-play call. Watch every game online at www.ahllive.com.

AEROS REGULAR SEASON NOTES

The Aeros finished the regular season with a 46-28-1-5 (98 pts.) record for the No. 2 spot in the West Division. The Aeros had the most wins in both the division and the Western Conference. Only two other teams finished with more wins (WBS - 58, Portland -47). Milwaukee won the West Division title for the fourth time in eight years and topped 100 points for the fifth time since 2003-04. They finished with a 44-22-6-8 record.

AEROS PRONUNCIATION GUIDE

6 - scan-DELL-uh

8 - LOFF-kwist

10 - FOO-coh

14 - deh-SAL-vuh-tohr

20 - ROWH (like now)

22 - ORT-migh-uhr

26 - Max-uhm naw-roh

32 - FRED-haym

42 - KAS-ee-uhn

61 - KOO-muh

62 - DAH-ooh

Yeo - YOH

Sydor - sugh-DOHR

Tretiak - TREE-tee-ack

AEROS PLAYER NOTES

4 Jamie Fraser --- Has not played

5 Jeff Penner --- Had three assists in the first round... DNP vs. MIL

6 Marco Scandella --- 1-1-2 in 7 games vs. MIL

7 Casey Wellman --- Scored series clinching goal vs. MIL

8 Sam Lofquist --- Has not played

10 Kris Foucault --- Has not played

11 Brett Bulmer --- Made pro debut in GM 1 vs. MIL

12 Cody Almond --- Had primary assist on OT GWG in Game 5 vs. MIL

14 Jon DiSalvatore --- Had two goals in GM 3 at HAM incl. GWG

15 Nate Prosser --- 1 assist in 11 games

16 Patrick O'Sullivan --- Had points in each of first five playoff games... Set franchise record w/ 12 shots in GM 5 vs. MIL

17 Robbie Earl --- Scored 2X incl. OT GWG in GM 5 vs. MIL... Had 3 assists in GM 3 vs. MIL

18 Colton Gillies --- Had GWG in GM 2 vs. HAM... Leads team w/ 7 goals

19 Jarod Palmer --- Assisted on OT GWG in GM 4 vs. MIL

20 Chad Rau --- Had GTG in GM 5 vs. MIL

21 Colton Jobke --- Has not played

22 Jed Ortmeyer --- Scored GWG in GM 1 vs. HAM... Has goals in two-straight games.

24 Scott Campbell --- Has not played

25 Warren Peters --- ENG in GM 7 vs. MIL

26 Maxim Noreau --- 0-2-2 in GM 4 vs. MIL and assisted on OT GWG

27 Carson McMillan --- Had OT GWG's in GM 2 vs. PEO and GM 4 vs. MIL... Only Aero to have multiple OT GWG in postseason.

28 Jared Spurgeon --- 0-2-2 vs. HAM in GM 2...1-1 -2 vs. MIL in GM 3

29 Drew Bagnall --- Had GTG in GM 4 vs. PEO

31 Matt Hackett --- Has started every postseason game

32 Kris Fredheim --- Has not played

37 Pascal Morency --- Has not played

39 Brandon Buck --- Has not played

41 Josh Tordjman --- Made relief appearance in Game 4 at HAM

42 Matt Kassian --- Was plus-2 in RND 1 vs. PEO

44 Justin Falk --- 0-1-1 in GM 1 vs. PEO

56 Joel Broda--- Has not played

61 Tyler Cuma --- Injured

62 JM Daoust --- Scored a goal in first playoff appearance in GM 5 at HAM

ROAD GAME WATCH PARTIES

Watch every Aeros playoff road game at the Maple Leaf Pub and at Nick's Place, the official Aeros watch party headquarters. Join other fans to cheer on the team and enjoy drink specials and Aeros prizes.

AEROS SEASON TICKETS

Aeros season ticket holders can renew their seats by calling 713-974-7825 for first priority for the 2011-12 season.

STUFF TO DO IN HOUSTON?

Aeros hockey is an awesome night out in Houston! It's major league fun with affordable family prices. Get ticket packages with parking included, or bring out your office or youth sports team for a great group event. Call 713-974-7825 to save money off box office prices and take advantage of the best Aeros ticket packages.

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



American Hockey League Stories from May 24, 2011


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central