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JAN. 26, 2011: AEROS AT SYRACUSE CRUNCH (6 p.m. CST)
PREVIEW

The Houston Aeros (26-19-1-3, 56 pts.) finish off a three-game road trip at the War Memorial at Oncenter against the Syracuse Crunch (16-24-1-4, 37 pts.). The Aeros enter tonight’s game winners in eight of their last 11 games and battling for the No. 1 spot in the West Division and Western Conference. Houston is tied with Milwaukee, San Antonio and OKC with 56 points. All four teams are three points out of first place in the West Division. Syracuse enters the game with a 16-24-1-4 record and sits in the No. 7 spot in the East Division, two points behind sixth-place Albany. The Crunch has won just three times in the last 10 games.

UPCOMING GAMES
Jan. 26 at Syracuse, 6 p.m. CST
Jan. 28 vs. Abbotsford, 7:35 p.m. CST
Feb. 4 vs. Texas, 7:35 p.m. CST
Feb. 8 at Texas, 7:30 p.m. CST
Feb. 9 at Rockford, 6:35 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…………………………26-19-1-3, 56 pts.
STANDING…………...........................T2 West Div.
HOME……………………………………...13-6-1-1
ROAD…………………………………….13-12-0-2
STREAK…………………………................LOST 1

AEROS SPECIAL TEAMS
PP: 16.6% (18th)..............................PK: 84.7% (7th)
PPG: 36..........................................................SHG: 4

NHL AFFILIATES
Houston Aeros……………. ……..(Minnesota Wild)
Syracuse Crunch………………….(Anaheim Ducks)

AEROS LEADERS
Points………………………………………Earl (31)
Goals……………………………………….Earl (14)
Assists…………………………………..Noreau (21)
PPG……………………………………...Almond (6)
PP-Pts…………………………………...Noreau (16)
SHG…………………………………...McMillan (2)
SH-Pts…………………………………McMillan (3)
PIM.....……………………………......Kassian (100)

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

ALL-TIME AEROS RECORD: 6-5-0-1 (4-2-0-0 at home, 2-3-0-1 at Syracuse)

SEASON RECORD: 0-0-0-0 (0-0-0-0 at home, 0-0-0-0 at Syracuse)
ABOUT THE CRUNCH: The Crunch has the third-lowest goals for average 2.33  and the fifth-highest goals against average in the AHL...Syracuse is the primary affiliate of the Anaheim Ducks...They’ve played the second-fewest home games in the AHL so far this season (20)...The Crunch had been the affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets from 2000-2010...The franchise began as the Hamilton Canucks in 1992 and was affiliated with Vancouver until the 2000-01 season.

AEROS TIDBITS --- Houston tied a season-long three-game road winning streak on Jan. 22 at LE; the streak was snapped on Jan. 23 at TOR...The Aeros scored the first goal for the AHL-leading 31st time on Jan. 23 at TOR; they are 21-7-0-3 when doing so… Jon DiSalvatore had a five-game scoring streak snapped while Patrick O’Sullivan had a four-game streak snapped on Jan. 23 at TOR…The Aeros penalty kill had held opponents to one or no goals in 16-straight games prior to Jan. 23… 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 (49)...Houston and Toronto have played the most road games in the AHL so far this season (28)...The Aeros are 8-2-0-1 in the month of January.

MILESTONES --- J.M. Daoust played in his 400th pro game on Jan. 23. His next point will be his 300th as a pro... 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 five road games... Their most recent 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 of six games straight (3-4-7) and assists in four-straight…Robbie Earl has points in 12 of his last 15 (6-7-13) and goals in three of four …Max Noreau has assists in four of his last six (0-5-5)…Patrick O’Sullivan has points in four of five games (2-3-5)…Warren Peters has goals in two-straight

AEROS GOALIES --- Anton Khudobin won his first AHL start since Dec. 27 with 25 saves in a 2-1 victory at LE on Jan. 22. He spent almost two weeks on recall to MIN from Jan. 8-20…Matt Hackett is 5-2-1-1 in his last eight decisions and 3-1-0-1 in his last five.
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.

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
e offense but the Houston Aeros relinquished a two-goal lead in a 4-2 decision to the Toronto Marlies Sunday at Ricoh Coliseum. The loss halted Houston’s points streak at seven games (6-0-0-1) and dropped the team into a three-way tie with Oklahoma City and Milwaukee for the No. 2 position in the West Division.

WHAT THE BIG CLUB’S UP TO
Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Chuck Kobasew each had a goal and an assist for the Wild, which won for the 14th time on the road with a comeback victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night. Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom stopped 31 of 33 shots to pick up his second win in three games since coming back from a hip injury. The Wild won for the first time this season after trailing entering the second period.