JAN. 23, 2011: AEROS AT TORONTO MARLIES (4 p.m. CST)
PREVIEW
The Houston Aeros (26-18-1-3, 56 pts.) close out a three-in-three weekend with a game at Ricoh Coliseum against the Toronto Marlies (21-18-0-7, 49 pts.). The Aeros won for the eighth time in their last 10 games last night with a 2-1 victory at Lake Erie. The win moved Houston into a first place tie with the Milwaukee Admirals in the AHL’s West Division. The Aeros have standings points in seven-straight games (6-0-0-1) and are one point out of the Western Conference lead held by the Hamilton Bulldogs. Toronto is tied for the No. 3 spot in the North Division. The Marlies recently completed a nine-game road trip that spanned Dec. 31-Jan. 19 in which they posted a 3-4-0-2 record. They returned home last night and beat Peoria 4-0 thanks to James Reimer’s 29 saves and third shutout of the season.

UPCOMING GAMES
Jan. 23 at Toronto, 4 p.m. CST
Jan. 26 at Syracuse, 6 p.m. CST
Jan. 28 vs. Abbotsford, 7:35 p.m. CST

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 at www.ahllive.com.

AEROS AT A GLANCE
RECORD…………………..26-18-1-3, 56 pts.
STANDING…………..... ...........T1 West Div.
HOME…………………………… …13-6-1-1
ROAD………………………………13-12-0-2
STREAK……………..POINTS IN 7 (6-0-0-1)

NHL AFFILIATES
Houston Aeros……………. (Minnesota Wild)
Toronto Marlies…........(Toronto Maple Leafs)

AEROS SPECIAL TEAMS
PP: 16.9% (16th).....................PK: 85.3% (7th)
PPG: 36..................................................SHG: 4

AEROS LEADERS
Points………………………………...Earl (31) Goals…………………………………Earl (14)
Assists……………………………Noreau (21) PPG……………………………….Almond (7)
SHG…………………………….......Gillies (2) PIM……………………………Kassian (100)

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
GAME-NIGHT TIDBITS: HOU’s Max Noreau is T2 in PPG among defensemen (5)…Last night’s win put Houston one game over .500 on the road for the first time since mid-December… Both teams rank in the top-7 in AHL penalty-killing. HOU is seventh, while TOR is third.

VS. TORONTO MARLIES
ALL-TIME AEROS RECORD: 23-17-2-0 (11-6-2-0 at home, 11-12-0-0 at Toronto)
SEASON RECORD: 1-0-0-0 (1-0-0-0 at home, 0-0-0-0 at Toronto)
Toronto enters the week with a 20-16-0-7 record, good for third place in the North Division...The Aeros PP is 1-for-6 against the Marlies while TOR is 0-for-8...This is the second of two meetings.

IF YOU ONLY KNEW --- Prior to a 3-2 SOL vs. GR on Jan. 16, the Aeros had won five straight shootouts dating back to Nov. 27 and were 4-0 at home…Houston wrapped up a four-game-in-five-day run on Jan. 16 and posted a 3-0-0-1 record over the stretch…The Aeros are unbeaten in regulation at home (5-0-0-1) since Dec. 26... Along with the Chicago Wolves and Lake Erie Monsters, the Aeros have played the most games in the AHL so far this season (48).

MILESTONES --- J.M. Daoust’s next game will be his 400th as a pro. He has 299 pro points (132-167-299) entering action on Jan. 23…Jon DiSalvatore’s 31st point this season will be his 400th as a pro. He needs three points to get there. He also needs 25 games to reach 600 pro…Max Noreau needs three goals to reach 50 pro…Warren Peters needs 28 games to reach 600 pro…Drew Bagnall needs 12 PIM to reach 500 pro…Patrick O’Sullivan needs five points to reach 300 pro…Jed Ortmeyer needs 27 games to reach 300 pro.

NOREAU TO ALL-STAR GAME --- Maxim Noreau has been selected to participate in the 2011 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Capital BlueCross. The game is scheduled for Jan. 31 at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pa. Noreau, 23, will be a member of the 2011 Western Conference All-Star Team. He also represented the Aeros at the 2010 AHL All-Star Classic as a member of Team Canada.

ROAD RAGE --- Houston has won three of their last four road games... Their current three-game road win streak tied a season high…The team dropped four-of-five during a five-game road trip from Dec. 12-18 and was outscored 17-10 during that run.

HOMEBOYS --- Houston has points in six-straight at home dating back to Dec. 26…They have also won 10 of 14 at home dating back to a Nov. 21
victory over Texas. Five of those wins have been decided by one goal; four have been decided by two goals.

TURNSTILE TIDBITS --- Through 21 home games, the Aeros are sixth in the AHL with an average attendance of 6,144…The 10,552 on hand for the Jan. 1 game was the largest crowd for an Aeros contest since Dec. 3, 2009, when 11,291 watched the Aeros and Rampage at Toyota Center.

HEATIN’ UP --- Jon DiSalvatore has points in five straight (3-4-7) and assists in four-straight…Robbie Earl has points in 12 of his last 14 (6-7-13) and goals in three straight…Max Noreau has assists in four of his last five (0-5-5)…Patrick O’Sullivan has points in four straight (2-3-5).

AEROS GOALIES --- Anton Khudobin won his first AHL start since Dec. 27 with 25 saves in a 2-1 win at LE on Jan. 22. He spent almost two weeks on recall to MIN from Jan. 8-20…Matt Hackett is 5-1-1 in his last seven decisions.

SCHEDULE NOTES --- The Aeros play 13 games in January with seven of those games at home. Six games this month are against West rivals…The team plays its next three on the road…The team traveled to Cleveland on Saturday morning, then bused to Toronto after the game.

RECENT ROSTER MOVES --- G Josh Tordjman was loaned to BAK on Jan. 20…G Anton Khudobin was reassigned by MIN on Jan. 20…F Peter Zingoni was released on Jan. 20…F Joel Broda was reassigned to BAK on Jan. 19… C Cody Almond was recalled by MIN on Jan. 17...G David Brown was released from his PTO on Jan. 15…G Matt Hackett was reassigned by MIN on Jan. 15.
 
LAST GAME QUICK RECAP
The Houston Aeros won for the eighth time in their last 10 games and jumped into a first place tie with the Milwaukee Admirals in the AHL’s West Division with a 2-1 victory Saturday night over the Lake Erie Monsters at Quicken Loans Arena. Robbie Earl extended his goal streak to three games, Jon DiSalvatore extended his scoring streak to five games and Anton Khudobin turned aside 25 shots as the Aeros won their third-straight on the road.

WHAT THE BIG CLUB’S UP TO
Devin Setoguchi scored a pair of goals in the second period to help the San Jose Sharks match a season high with their fourth straight win, 4-3 over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night. The Wild’s four-game win streak was snapped in the loss. They have one game left - at Chicago on Tuesday - before the All-Star break.