 | Tony Quesada picked up his first AHL win and shutout Saturday (Photo by Jason Villanueva) |
Monday, April 9, 2007
713.361.7930 (Direct Line)
AEROS WEEKLY REPORT
Coming Attractions – Maple Leaf Pub Happy Hour Game Wednesday; Final two home games Friday, Sunday
All ticket orders placed between today and Sunday at 3 p.m. will be entered into a drawing for special prizes including Aeros autographed memorabilia, golf passes, Cirque du Soleil tickets, and more! All orders placed by calling 713.974.PUCK are eligible.
TUE, at MIL, 7 p.m
The Aeros are 3-2-2-0 against Milwaukee this season heading into the teams’ final meeting. At Bradley Center, Houston is 1-1-1-0. After going 3-0-1-0 in the season’s first four meetings, the Aeros are 0-2-1-0 in the last three. The teams played four straight one-goal games January 23-February 11. Houston is 36-38-9-2 all-time against Milwaukee, with a 16-21-4-0 mark at Bradley Center.
Milwaukee (38-25-4-9) will finish as the West Division’s third seed, meaning a match-up with either Omaha or arch-rival Chicago. But the Admirals have lost two straight.
WED, vs. IOW, 7:05 p.m.
Maple Leaf Pub Happy Hour
Call 713.974.PUCK today to order the Maple Leaf Pub Happy Hour package! Use the Maple Leaf drink coupon to watch the Wild take on the Anaheim Ducks in Game 1 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals after the Aeros’ game!
The Aeros are 3-4-0-1 versus Iowa this season, and winless at home (0-2-0-1). The Stars swept a pair of 3-2 decisions at Toyota Center on February 22 and 23 – with the second coming in a shootout. That came after Houston won three in a row overall against Iowa.
Iowa (40-33-3-1) enters the week with 84 points – four points from clinching the West Division’s fourth and final playoff spot. That’s a combination of points gained by the Stars, and points lost by fifth-place Peoria.
FRI, vs. IOW, 7:35 p.m.
Aeros Hall of Fame Trading Card Giveaway (3K)
Four Packs of tickets are available starting at just $44. Call 713.974.PUCK to order. It's also The Alvarez & Marsal BP MS 150 benefit. Proceeds of ticket sales through the attached flyer will go towards the Alvarez & Marsal MS150 team to donate to the National MS Society! Funds raised will help fund research and support the Lone Star Chapter of the National MS Society. Cash donations will also be taken.
The Aeros are 10-7-0-1 all-time against the Stars, including a 4-3-0-1 Toyota Center mark.
SAT, at SAN, 7 p.m
The Aeros are 5-4-0-1 against San Antonio this season – the teams each have 11 points through 10 meetings. Houston has struggled at AT&T Center, going 1-3-0-1, including two straight losses – capped by a 6-0 Rampage victory in the last meeting, January 14. The teams play 12 times this season, but this will amazingly mark the first meeting in exactly three months, after the teams played six times between December 14-January 14. The Aeros are 37-12-6-3 all-time against the Rampage, with a 13-9-4-3 road mark.
San Antonio (31-40-2-4) has lost two straight and is 3-5-1-1 in its last 10. The Rampage has three games remaining, and enters the week six points up on seventh-place Houston, which has two games in hand.
SUN, vs. SAN, 5:05 p.m.
Rally Towels (3K)/Family Day/Home Fan-ale/Miss Aeros Appearance
Call 713.974.PUCK today to order the Family Day package!
The Aeros are 4-1-0-0 at home versus the Rampage, bringing their all-time home mark against San Antonio to 24-3-2-0. Houston is 17-1-2-0 in the last 20 home meetings.
All Aeros games are broadcast live on KNTH 1070-AM and through Aeros.com.. For $6, you can also watch the game live via B2 Networks. Visit Aeros.com 10 minutes prior to gametime to order.
Player of the Week G Tony Quesada
4/7 at OMA, 41-41, W
Totals – 1gp, 1-0-0, 0.00 gaa, 1.000 pct.
After losing first eight decisions, posted 41 saves in 1-0 OT win at Omaha, the Aeros’ first win there in eight tries… Entered the game 0-8-0 with a 5.06 gaa and a .855 save pct., and was removed from his last start against Omaha, a 10-2 Knights’ victory…That mattered little, as Quesada stopped 10 shots in the first period, 18 in the second, 12 in the third and one in overtime.
Notables –
C Jason Morgan, who played in his 500th AHL game Friday, has eight points (3-5=8) in his last eight games.
Houston has been outshot 117-57 in the last three games, and hasn’t outshot any of its last 12 opponents.
The Aeros defeated Omaha 1-0 in overtime on Saturday, with D Curtis Murphy scoring with 37 seconds left. Houston’s last regular season overtime victory came last April 9 against San Antonio, with Murphy providing the heroics in a 5-4 decision at Toyota Center. The Aeros lost their first four OT decisions this season – three in the opening minute of the extra session.
Saturday’s game marked the Aeros’ first 1-0 road win since Nov. 6, 2004, when Josh Harding made 40 saves in Grand Rapids. It was Houston’s first 1-0 win of any kind since defeating Milwaukee 1-0 on February 5, 2005, behind 34 saves from Harding and a Matt Foy goal.
Since going winless in a franchise-record 15 straight road games (0-12-2-1) from January 13-March 18, the Aeros have points in four straight road games (3-0-1-0). That’s one of Houston’s season-high road point streak, which was straight wins from October 21-November 15.
Affiliation News
The National Hockey League’s Minnesota Wild (48-26-8) swept its final three regular season games and finished with 104 points – good for seventh place in the Western Conference…Minnesota will play Pacific Division champ Anaheim in the Western Conference Quarterfinals, in a rematch of the 2003 Western Conference Finals, won by the Ducks…Games 1 and 2 are in Anaheim on Wednesday and Friday, while Games 3 and 4 are in Minnesota on Sunday and Tuesday, April 17…C Wyatt Smith tallied six points (3-3=6) in 61 games and averaged 9:30 TOI…Smith scored two goals in Saturday’s season-ending 5-1 win over St. Louis…G Josh Harding went 3-2-1 with a 1.16 gaa and a .960 save pct. in seven games…Two of the Wild’s top five scorers – C Pierre-Marc Bouchard (20-37=57) and C Mikko Koivu (20-34=54) – are former Aeros, as is the team's leading defensive scorer, Brent Burns (7-18=25).
The ECHL’s Texas Wildcatters finished the regular season in second place in the South Division with 91 points (41-22-5-4) after dropping two of three games last week…Texas will play third-place Gwinnett in the division semifinals…The Wildcatters open up the series in suburban Atlanta on Saturday and Sunday...Due to a scheduling conflict, Texas will open with two road games despite being the higher seed…F Mark Rooneem has 22 points (10-12=22)…F/D Riley Emmerson has three points (2-1=3) and 99 PIM’s…G Matt Yeats, who attended Aeros camp, went 32-19-5-2 with a 2.96 gaa and a .910 save pct.
Aeros 1-1-1-0 in three games
PEO 8, HOU 2; PEO 4, HOU 3 (OT); HOU 1, OMA 0 (OT)
Tuesday: Charles Linglet finished with two goals and three assists, Ryan MacMurchy scored twice and Ryan Ramsay posted a goal and two helpers as Peoria routed Houston 8-2 at Toyota Center. Mike Glumac had a goal before being ejected in a first-period melee, and Yan Stastny and Rocky Thompson also scored for Peoria.
Joel Ward tallied a goal and an assist, Peter Olvecky also scored and Miroslav Kopriva made 33 stops for Houston.
Friday: Mike Glumac’s second goal of the game forced overtime with 1:24 left in regulation and Trent Whitfield won it with a breakaway goal 55 seconds into the extra session, as the Peoria Rivermen defeated the Houston Aeros 4-3 at Carver Arena.
Mattias Weinhandl scored a pair of third-period goals, John Scott added his first pro tally and Miroslav Kopriva made 31 stops for Houston.
Saturday: Rookie Tony Quesada was brilliant, making 41 saves for his first career win and shutout, and two-time Eddie Shore winner Curtis Murphy scored the game-winning goal with 37 seconds left in overtime, as the Houston Aeros knocked off first-place Omaha 1-0.
Curtis McElhinney stopped 18 shots for Omaha.
Aeros’ Practice schedule:
Monday – in MIL
Tuesday – at MIL, 7 p.m.
Wednesday – vs. IOW, 7:05 p.m.
Thursday – TBA
Friday – 10:15-11 a.m., pre-game skate; vs. IOW, 7:35 p.m.
Saturday – at SAN, 7 p.m.
Sunday – vs. SAN, 5:05 p.m.
Non game-day practices (unless specified) are at Sugar Land Ice & Sports Center, the Official Training Facility of the Houston Aeros.
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