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Wallin, Aeros "school" Griffins on PP on Chronicle in Education Day

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


Houston, TX – Kevin Mitchell, former Griffin Chris Bala and Zbynek Michalek scored on the power play in a team-record 1:49 late in the first period and Rickard Wallin returned after a 17-game injury absence to assist on the trio of goals, as the Houston Aeros beat Grand Rapids 4-1 in front of 5,119 on Chronicle in Education Day at Toyota Center. Kyle Wanvig also scored and Johan Holmqivst finished with 25 saves for the Aeros, who snapped a six-game winless streak (0-5-1-0) and joined Cincinnati as the only AHL teams with three victories against the league-leading and defensive-minded Griffins. Houston moved to 51 points, one better than fifth-place Cincinnati in the West Division. Jiri Hudler scored and Joey MacDonald turned aside 31 shots for Grand Rapids, which scored first but had a three-game win streak snapped and lost for just the second time in eight games. MacDonald had stopped 83 of 84 shots in his previous three starts. The Griffins, atop the league with 74 points, entered the game allowing just 1.91 goals per game, third in the league, and had the fourth-best penalty kill unit. Grand Rapids had yielded just 15 goals over its previous 13 games.

The 3,000-plus kids didn't have to wait long for the tough stuff, as Wanvig and the Griffins' Ryan Bonni dropped the gloves just 3:12 into the game.

Grand Rapids took a 1-0 lead with 13:03 left in the first. Hudler, camped out all alone on the right doorstep, swiped a cross-crease pass by Ryan Barnes for his 11th of the season. The Griffins have scored the game's first goal 36 times, a league-high.

Houston had a great chance with 8:30 remaining in the first. Wanvig rattled a 2-on-1 shot off the post, and Mark Cullen was impeded from behind as he tried to poke the rebound out of mid-air and into the empty net.

The Aeros scored three times in a span of 1:49 after a five-minute high-sticking major to Kory Karlander with 4:23 left in the first. Karlander whacked Dan Cavanaugh in the face, sending the Aero hard to the ground. The three goals in 1:49 bettered the 19-day old team record of 1:51, set by Darby Hendrickson, Christoph Brandner and Mika Hannula on January 30 in Manitoba.

Houston scored just 1:17 into the man advantage, as Mitchell took a pass from Travis Roche (two assists) at the center point and rifled it past a screened MacDonald for his second of the season.

The Aeros then went up 2-1 on the same power play only 28 seconds later. Bala took a pass in the left circle in transition from Michalek and slipped it under MacDonald's legs for his ninth of the season.

Mitchell then helped Houston keep the lead, when, with Holmqvist out of the net, he picked up a Matt Ellis attempt off the goal line.

Michalek made it 3-1, still on the power play, with 1:17 remaining in the stanza. Roche left a drop pass for Michalek, whose one-timer eluded MacDonald for his fourth of the season. MacDonald's backup was Penn State product Mark Scally, who is winless for ECHL Texas this season.

Wallin, who last played on January 9 against Worcester, picked up the second assist on all three first-period goals.

Grand Rapids entered the game plus 13 goals in the first period, second among all AHL teams.

Houston nearly made it a three-goal advantage two minutes into the second with Grand Rapids on the power play. Marc Cavosie streaked in on a 2-on-1 with Bala on the left wing, but MacDonald just got enough of Cavosie's wrister with his glove to keep the puck out of the net.

Wanvig did put Houston up 4-1 with just 16.8 seconds left in the second, as he poked in a loose puck in front of MacDonald for his team-best 19th of the season. The tally came 22 seconds after another Aeros power play expired.

Holmqvist stood his ground early in the third, blocking a Derek King shot deep in the crease as King raised his arm to celebrate.

Perhaps Holmqvist's best save of the game came with 1:33 left, when he kicked out his left pad quickly to turn aside Bonni.

Houston finished 3-for-6 on the power play, while Grand Rapids went 0-for-3. The Aeros matched their season-high for man-advantage goals, having gone 3-for-6 October 28 in a 5-1 win over Cleveland. Houston had been 0-for-6 on the power play over its last three games. The Griffins had killed of 36 of their last 38 shorthanded attempts coming into the game

Notes:

Wallin joined Roche and Stephane Veilleux as Aeros with three-helper games this season. He became the ninth Aero with three points in a game. The Aeros are unbeaten (4-0-2-0) when Wallin has two or more points.

Wallin's other three-assist game came on November 21, 2002, against Hartford. He followed that up with two goals and two assists for a career-high four points the next night versus Cleveland.

Wallin has six assists and seven points in five games versus Grand Rapids this season.

The team that scored first won each of the first four meetings this season, but now the last two have seen the team allowing the first goal emerge victorious.

Mitchell is definitely what you could call a power-play specialist. Each of his five AHL goals has been with the man advantage, as have 16 of his 20 pro goals. Nine of his 13 points this season have come on the power play. Mitchell has 10 points (1+9=10) in the last 13 games.

The Aeros earned their fifth win when allowing the game's first goal (5-20-4-2).

Houston led after one period for just the third time in 14 games.

Grand Rapids lost for just the fifth time when scoring first (26-5-5-0).

The Griffins' Michel Picard had his seven-game point streak snapped.

MacDonald entered the game 20-3-2 with a 2.04 goals against average on the road with Grand Rapids. He surrendered four goals for just the third time on the road – first since January 3 of this season when he gave up five in a 7-0 loss in Milwaukee.

Wanvig has 12 of his 19 goals at Toyota Center. The Aeros' leading scorer had been without a point in nine of the last 10 games.

Houston won for the fourth time in the last 12 regular-season meetings with the Griffins (4-8-0-0).

The Aeros entered the game 2-for-28 on the power play versus Grand Rapids this season.

Houston earned its third win since December 12 against a team with a winning record, with two of the victories coming against the Griffins. Holmqvist had been 0-4-1 in his last five starts.

The Aeros improved to 17-0-3-1 when allowing one or fewer goals. They have only two wins when allowing more (2-26-7-2).

Houston had gone 4-11-2-0 without Wallin.

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