HOUSTON TAKES 2-1 SERIES LEAD OVER
MILWAUKEE WITH 3-1 VICTORY TUESDAY NIGHT

HOUSTON, Texas – The Houston Aeros celebrated Cinco de Mayo with a 3-1 win over the Milwaukee Admirals giving the club a 2-1 series lead in front of 3,047 fans at Toyota Center Tuesday night. Aeros goaltender Anton Khudobin knocked aside 27-of-28 shots for his sixth win of the playoffs. The next two games of the West Division Finals remains in Houston for Games 4 and 5 later this week.

Games 4 and 5 are at Toyota Center on Thursday, May 7 and Saturday, May 9 respectively. Tickets for both games are available by calling (713) 974-PUCK or visiting AEROS.com.

GAMESHEET

The Aeros scored the all-important first goal just 5:41 into the opening period on an even-strength goal by Krys Kolanos. Defenseman Brandon Rogers blasted a slap shot on Admirals’ goaltender Drew MacIntyre that went through traffic and trickled to Kolanos on the far side. Kolanos patiently flipped the puck over MacIntyre’s sprawling stick to give the home team a 1-0 lead.

Houston was forced to kill two penalties in the opening period and finished 0-1 on the power play, but had 32 seconds remaining in a second power play as the teams went to the locker room for the first intermission. Milwaukee held the edge in shots after one period 9-7, but it was the Aeros who took the one-goal lead into the break.

The Admirals pressured the Aeros early and often in the second period. Milwaukee outshot Houston 13-4 in the period although the Aeros had 2:32 of power play compared to no time on the power play for Milwaukee. Ryan Jones tied the game at one with 1:35 remaining in the second period when he took a drop pass from Patric Hornqvist and wristed a shot from the left circle that went far side over the glove of Khudobin. It marked Jones’ third goal in the past two games for the Admirals.

After two periods, Milwaukee had a 22-11 advantage in shots however the teams were tied at one. The Aeros only registered four shots on goal in the second period marking the sixth straight period that Houston hasn’t registered more than seven shots total.

Matt Beaudoin unlocked the 1-1 tie at the 5:14 mark of the third period on a five-on-three power play goal. Defenseman Maxim Noreau unleashed a shot from the point and Beaudoin was their to tip it past MacIntyre. The goal marked Beaudoin’s third of the post-season, all of which have been on the power play.

Houston had to kill off a late short handed situation with just over four minutes to play, giving the Admirals a chance to tie the contest. However, the Aeros successfully killed the third short-handed situation of the night. The scoring wasn’t over just yet, though. Justin Falk picked up a turnover in the Aeros defensive zone and sent it to Corey Locke in the neutral zone. Locke danced around a defender between the top of the faceoff circles and wristed the puck past MacIntyre’s left skate for the 3-1 lead with just 1:51 remaining in the contest.

Milwaukee skated 6-on-5 for the remainder of the contest with MacIntyre pulled from net in favor of the extra attacker but the team couldn’t convert, giving the Aeros a 2-1 series lead. MacIntyre knocked aside 13-of-16 shots in the contest for just his second loss of the playoffs.

Notes:
- Krys Kolanos's first period goal helped boost the donation to Hockey Heals for Bo's Place for a season-total of $12,100. Each goal during the Calder Cup Playoffs is worth a $500 donation and each assist is worth $100.
- Houston goaltender Anton Khudobin improved to 4-0 after a loss during this playoff series, allowing only five goals in the four contests.
- Houston has not posted more than seven shots in a period over the last seven periods, dating back to the third period of Game 1 in this series.
- The Aeros welcomed Houston Dynamo Head Coach Dominic Kinnear, goalkeeper Pat Onstad and defender Andrew Hainault to drop the first puck. (pictured below)