From: Patrick Armstrong, Director of Communications
713.361.7920 (Direct Line)
Scott Henninger, Communications Manager
713.361.7930 (Direct Line)
Monday, February 11, 2008

HOUSTON AEROS WEEKLY UPDATE: FEBRUARY 11

HOUSTON, Texas – The Houston Aeros (26-19-2-3) extended their road-winning streak to five games before losing Sunday in Toronto. The club defeated the then division-leading Rockford IceHogs twice, 3-1 and 6-1, tying a club record of five power-play goals Friday night. The team will play the next six of eight games on the road before spending the majority of March at home. Houston hosts Iowa this Friday and Sunday to close out the season-series. The Sweetheart of a Deal is still going on so call 713.974.PUCK or visit Aeros.com to purchase tickets.

TUES. at PEO, 7 p.m. -- WED. at CHI, 7 p.m. -- FRI. vs. IOW, 7:35 p.m. -- SUN. vs. IOW, 4:05 p.m.

Tuesday
Houston will visit the Peoria Rivermen (28-18-4-4) for the third time this season with the Aeros winning the first two contests, 3-1 and 3-2 in OT. Peoria is tied for third in the West Division with San Antonio, seven points ahead of Houston. The Aeros are 3-1 so far this year against Peoria with two games decided in overtime. Houston has a record of 12-10-1-1 all-time against the divisional opponent.

Wednesday
The Chicago Wolves (35-13-1-0) currently lead the division and have defeated the Aeros in both of the prior meetings this season, including the season-opener at Toyota Center. Houston is looking for the first win against the Wolves in nearly a year. The last victory came on February 17, 2007 at home. Houston leads the all-time series 41-33-14-4 but is currently riding a four-game losing streak against the club dating back to 2/18/07 of last season.

Friday, Sunday
The Iowa Stars (23-25-2-2) have won four of the six meetings so far this season, one in OT. The Aeros shut out the Stars 5-0 in the last match-up evening the all-time series at 12-12-1-1. The Stars are the only team in the West Division that is below .500 but only trail the Aeros by seven points. Sunday is also family day, click here for more information on the specials.

Aeros Player of the Week: LW Peter Olvecky

Tue. at Rockford        1-0=1   Netted game’s first goal
Wed. at Quad City      0-1=1
Fri. at Rockford           1-0=1  Tallied game-winner
Sun. at Toronto           0-0=0
Totals                           2-1=3
Left wing Peter Olvecky extended his point-streak to four points (3-1=4) in four games with two goals and an assists in the first three contests this week. The three points this week, all four in the streak, came on power-plays. Tuesday’s goal was the game’s first marker against Rockford en route to a 3-1 Aeros win. Olvecky’s assist on Wednesday was part of the clubs second goal in a 3-2 shootout victory over Quad City. The winger also netted the game-winning power-play goal in a 6-1 win over Rockford, his third game-deciding goal of the season.

TEAM NOTES
• The three-straight road wins early in the week marked a season-high five-game winning streak (1/1-2/8) which ended in Sunday’s loss to Toronto.
• Prior to Tuesday’s contest the Aeros were 2-31 on the power-play in six games. In the four contests last week Houston went 8-29, including a 5-12 outing on Friday which tied a team record for most PPGs in a game.
• Houston has only allowed one power-play opportunities in each of the last two games, setting a season-low. The Aeros averaged over 5.6 opportunities per game prior to Friday’s contest.
• C Steve Kelly, who already has two daughters, celebrated the birth of a baby boy Monday morning. Kelly missed Tuesday and Wednesday’s games and recorded a pair of assists on Friday night in Rockford, his first game back with the team since his son’s birth.
• The Aeros play six of their next eight games on the road before playing 11 of 14 games in March at home.

Affiliation News
The Minnesota Wild (32-20-4) lead the Northwest Division with 68 points. Colorado, Calgary and Vancouver only trail by 3, 4 and 5 points respectively in one of the tightest divisions in the NHL.

Brent Burns recorded game-deciding goals in the last two games, last night in a shootout and Saturday in overtime. Burns leads all Wild defenseman with 30 points (10-20=30) and ranks sixth on the club. Minnesota will travel to Edmonton to play Tuesday and Vancouver on Thursday before returning home to face Nashville on Sunday. The club hosts Vancouver on Tuesday, February 19 and the Aeros will be hosting a Wild viewing party at Maple Leaf Pub starting at 6:30 p.m.

The ECHL’s Texas Wildcatters (37-4-3-4) clinched a playoff birth after recording a season-high ninth straight win on Saturday. John McNabb leads the team with 58 points (21-37=58) and has recorded 54 PIM in 48 games. The Wildcatters will have four road-games this week, one each in Trenton, Elmira, Johnstown and Reading.

LAST WEEK
2/5 - HOU 3 at RFD 1 – W
2/6 - HOU 3 at QCY 2 – SOW
2/8 - HOU 6 at RFD 1 – W
2/10 - HOU 0 at TOR 1 – L

Tuesday, February 5: The Houston Aeros defeated the division leading Rockford IceHogs 3-1 in Rockford MetroCentre on Tuesday night. Peter Olvecky's goal at the 13:41 mark of the second period opened the scoring and ended a scoreless drought of 135:30 against the IceHogs. Houston had not scord a goal since the first period of the first game against Rockford. The win returned the Aeros to .500 on the road with a record of 10-10-1-1 away from Toyota Center.

Wednesday, February 6: Nolan Schaefer proved better in the shootout as the Houston Aeros earned two points and their fourth straight road victory in a shootout win against the Quad City Flames Wednesday night 3-2. Schaefer stopped 28 of 30 shots and improved his record to 5-0 in shootouts. Morten Madsen scored a goal and had the game-winner in the shootout and John Scott scored his first goal of the season to provide the offense for Houston.

Friday, February 8: The Houston Aeros tied a franchise-record with five power-play goals to roll past the Rockford IceHogs 6-1 in front of 3,820 fans at Rockford MetroCentre. The Aeros set a season-high five-game road win-streak with the win over Rockford. Aero's captain-defenseman Erik Reitz led the team with three assists, which ties his season/career-high in points and assists. Rockford left wing Troy Brouwer netted the clubs only goal of the night. Houston’s rookie goaltender Anton Khudobin got his first-career professional start and stopped 21 of 22 shots on net for the win.

Sunday, February 10: The Toronto Marlies behind Justin Pogge’s 33 saves shutout the Houston Aeros Sunday evening 1-0 at the Ricoh Coliseum. Andy Wozniewski provided the only offense for both teams scoring with just over five minutes remaining in the game. Aeros’ goaltender Nolan Schaefer stopped 27 of 28 shots in the game but didn’t have any support in the offensive end as the Aeros were shutout for the third time this season.

The Aeros return home Friday to face Iowa and don’t forget, the Aeros have a Sweetheart of a Deal going on throughout the Valentines time of year. Click here to learn more about the Sweetheart of a Deal presented by McDonald’s. The Aeros' Old School jersey auction ends Tuesday at 12:01 p.m. so visit now to make sure you’re the winner of the autographed jerseys! ---HOUSTON AEROS---