MARCH 27, 2011
HOUSTON AEROS – T1, West Division (43-26-1-5, 92 pts.)
vs. OKC BARONS – 4th, West Division (36-27-2-9, 83 pts.)
TOYOTA CENTER (4:05 p.m. CST)

OVERVIEW
The Houston Aeros and OKC Barons close out a three-game set at Toyota Center on Sunday at 4:05 p.m. The Aeros beat the Barons 4-1 on Friday, 6-5 in a shootout on Saturday and have won six of their last seven games.  The Barons end a nine-game road trip today.

LAST FIVE GAMES/LAST RESULT
Houston (4-1-0-0) --- March 25 (HOU 6 vs. OKC 5 SO)
OKC (1-2-0-2) --- March 25 (OKC 5 at HOU 6 SO)

WHERE THEY STAND
The Aeros, with 92 points, are tied for first place in the West Division with the Milwaukee Admirals. OKC is tied with Chicago and Peoria for the No. 4 spot in the West Division.

WHAT THE GAME MEANS
An Aeros win coupled with a Milwaukee regulation or OT loss vs. SA would give the Aeros sole possession of first place. If the Barons win and both CHI and PEO lose then OKC would gain possession of the last guaranteed playoff position in the West Division.
 
SERIES NOTES
Houston is 7-1-0-0 vs. the Barons this season (3-1-0-0 at home, 4-0-0-0 on the road)…  HOU has won the last five meetings… HOU has scored the first goal in six of the eight games… HOU is 11/44 on the PP while OKC is 10/48.

BARONS PRE-SCOUT
OKC is at the end of nine-straight away from home (2-2-0-4)… Alexandre Giroux is tied for second in the AHL with 70 points and tied for fourth in goals with 30…  Colin McDonald is tied for first in the league in goals with 34.

AEROS LAST GAME QUICK RECAP
Casey Wellman scored the deciding shootout tally and notched a goal and a helper in regulation as the Houston Aeros edged the Oklahoma City Barons 6-5 in front of 7,927 on Saturday night at Toyota Center. The win moved the Aeros into a tie for first place with the Milwaukee Admirals in the AHL’s West Division playoff race. The Aeros have four more wins than the Admirals and have also played three more games. Chad Rau notched a goal and assist for Houston while Maxim Noreau registered his 10th multiple assist game of the season with a pair of helpers.

NHL AFFILIATES
Houston Aeros (Minnesota Wild)
OKC Barons (Edmonton Oilers)

WILD UPDATE
The Wild is 35-32-8 and is 11th in the NHL’s Western Conference with 78 points. They sit 10 points out of a playoff spot with seven games remaining.

AEROS UPCOMING GAMES
March 31 vs. CHI, 7 p.m.
April 1 at MIL, 7 p.m.
April 10 vs. OKC, 4:05 p.m.

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 NOTABLES
--- The 5-1win over SA on March 19 gave the Aeros 40 wins in a season for the 10th time as a franchise.
--- Houston is 33-18-1-1 vs. West Division teams (18-8-1-0 at home).
--- This weekend’s games mark the fifth three-in-three set home in franchise history, and the first versus one team.
--- Last season’s the Aeros had a home three-in-three from Feb. 12-14 (2X vs. GR, 1X vs. CHI).
--- The first home three-in-three occurred Dec. 7-9, 2001, when the Aeros played Hartford twice and Manitoba once.
--- The Aeros are 8-6 in these games, with two OT wins.
--- This is the first time the Aeros have hosted one team for a three-in-three.
--- Houston’s recent four-game winning streak was the longest since a six-game run from Jan. 26-Feb. 11.
--- Opponents have scored the first goal in 10 of the last 13 games.
--- The three-goal first period by the Aeros on March 25 matched a season-high in the opening period set three other times, most recently March 2 versus Rockford.
--- The Aeros have had 30 or more shots in 16 of the last 19 games.
--- The Aeros are 24-9-0-3 since Jan. 1.
--- 42 of Houston’s 43 wins have come when the team allows three or fewer goals.
--- The Aeros have earned 31 of their 43 victories when scoring the first goal of the game.
--- Jon DiSalvatore leads the team with 14 multi-point games and six multi-goal games.
--- Robbie Earl set a career-high with his 20th goal on March 26 vs. OKC.
--- Maxim Noreau registered his 10th multiple assist game of the season with a pair of helpers on March 26 vs. OKC.

AEROS GOALIES
Matt Hackett is 4-0-1 in his last five decisions…  Hackett won a personal season-high four in a row from March 13-20…  Hackett improved to 11-4-2 at home with the March 25 win vs. OKC and has won four in a row at Toyota Center… Josh Tordjman is 4-1-0 in six appearances this season.

AEROS HOT STREAKS
--- Patrick O’Sullivan; Points in 14 of 17 games (9-15-24)... 24 of 31 as an Aero this season (17-22-39).
--- Jon DiSalvatore; 18-18-36 since Jan. 14 (points in 25 of 32)

AEROS INJURY UPDATE
Jamie Fraser is out with an upper body injury… Matt Kassian is out with a lower body injury… Tyler Cuma is out for the season with a knee injury suffered Feb. 13, 2011 vs. PEO.

AEROS SPECIAL TEAMS
POWER PLAY --- Is 6/18 in the last three games… Has multiple PPG in 14 games and is 10-2-0-2 in those games… Set franchise record and AHL season-high with six PPG on March 2 vs. RFD… Was held to one or no PPG in 15 straight games prior to Feb. 4 (2-for-4).

PENALTY KILL --- Opponents are 6/19 on the PP in the last three games… Held opponents to one or no PPG in 15 straight games until TOR went 2-for-5 on Jan. 23…Has allowed multiple PPG in nine games and is 2-7-0-0 in those contests.

AEROS RECENT ROSTER MOVES
D Nate Prosser was reassigned by MIN on March 27… F Warren Peters was reassigned by MIN on March 25… D Nate Prosser was recalled by MIN on March 19… F Joel Broda was reassigned to BAK on March 18… F Chris Lawrence was released from his PTO on March 14… F Scott Campbell was signed to an ATO on March 14… F Casey Wellman was reassigned by MIN on March 10… D Marco Scandella was recalled by MIN on March 9… F Casey Wellman was recalled by MIN on March 9.

AEROS PRONUNCIATION GUIDE
6 - scan-DELL-uh
14 – deh-SAL-vuh-tohr
20 – ROWH (like now)
22 – ORT-migh-uhr
26 – Max-uhm naw-roh
32 – FRED-haym
42 – KAS-ee-uhn
61 – KOO-muh
62 – DAH-ooh
Yeo – YOH
Sydor – sugh-DOHR
Tretiak – TREE-tee-ack