Ryan Stanzel
Director of Communications
Thursday, April 6, 2006
713.361.7930 (Direct Line)

THREE AEROS ON AHL'S FIRST TEAM

HOUSTON, Texas – Houston Aeros right wing Kirby Law, center Erik Westrum and defenseman Curtis Murphy have been named to the 2005-06 American Hockey League First All-Star Team. The Aeros are the first team since the 1998-99 Providence Bruins to place three players on the league’s top All-Star unit.

Law, 29 (3/11/77), currently leads the AHL in scoring with a career-best 104 points, and is also first with 64 assists. The 6-foot-1, 191-pound native of McCreary, Man., has played in 176 consecutive AHL games, including all 155 as an Aero. Law is in his second season as an Aeros captain and represented the Aeros at the 2006 AHL All-Star Classic. With five games remaining, Law is five points behind Brian Wiseman’s 1998-99 franchise-record of 109 points.

Westrum, 26 (7/26/79), led the league in scoring for much of the season and is currently in third place with a career-high 92 points (31-61=92), despite his recall by the NHL’s Minnesota Wild on March 20. The 6-foot, 204-pound native of Minneapolis, Minn., has not picked up a point in seven games with the hometown Wild. Westrum was Phoenix’ seventh-round pick (No. 187 overall) in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft and was acquired by Minnesota along with defenseman Dustin Wood for defenseman Zbynek Michalek on August 26, 2005.

Murphy, 30 (12/3/75), ranks tied for second among all AHL defensemen in points with a career-best 60 (10-50=60). His 50 assists, also a career-high, tie him with fellow First Team All-Star Andy Delmore of Syracuse for the most among AHL blueliners. The 5-foot-8, 195-pound native of Kerrobert, Sask., has been named to the First Team for the third time, having also accomplished the feat in the 2002-03 and 2003-04 campaigns before spending last season in Russia. Murphy is just the seventh blueliner in AHL history to receive as many as three First Team nods, and he is the first in the last 30 years. The two-time Eddie Shore Award winner was also First Team International Hockey League in 2000-01. Murphy is a three-time champion at the pro level (2001 Orlando, 2003 Houston, 2004 Milwaukee), and he won a collegiate national championship with North Dakota in 1997.

2005-06 AHL First All-Star Team
Goaltender – Dany Sabourin, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
Defenseman – Andy Delmore, Syracuse
Defenseman – Curtis Murphy, Houston
Left Wing – Donald MacLean, Grand Rapids
Center – Erik Westrum, Houston
Right Wing – Kirby Law, Houston

2005-06 AHL Second All-Star Team
Goaltender – Wade Flaherty, Manitoba
Defenseman – Bryan Helmer, Grand Rapids
Defenseman – Tomas Pock, Hartford
Left Wing – Jiri Hudler, Grand Rapids
Center – Keith Aucoin, Lowell
Right Wing – Dustin Penner, Portland


---HOUSTON AEROS, BE A FAN---