From: Patrick Armstrong, Director of Communications
713.361.7920 (Direct Line)
Scott Henninger, Communications Manager
713.361.7930 (Direct Line)
Monday, March 31, 2008

HOUSTON AEROS WEEKLY UPDATE: MARCH 31

HOUSTON, Texas – The Houston Aeros moved closer to a playoff spot after earning five points last week with a record of 2-1-0-1. Three of the four games played were decided by one goal, two of which in shootouts. The team’s magic point-number is now at nine over the Peoria Rivermen.

Houston (40-26-2-4) is in the midst of their longest road trip of the season with eight games in 14 days which started on Saturday in Chicago. Lake Erie will host the club on Wednesday night before a three-in-three set this weekend in Grand Rapids, Milwaukee and Peoria. Jason Shaver will be calling each game on AM 1070-KNTH so tune in as the Aeros strive for the post season. Houston returns home for games on April 12-13 to round out the regular season. The two games against Milwaukee could have big playoff implications so call 713.974.PUCK and get your tickets today to not miss out on the action!

LAST WEEK
3/25 – HOU 3 vs. PEO 2 – W-SO
3/28– HOU 1 vs. PEO 5 – L
3/29 – HOU 4 at CHI 3 –W
3/30 – HOU 3 at MIL 4 – L-SO

Tuesday, March 25:
The Houston Aeros completed a comeback from two goals down as Shawn Belle netted the only shootout goal for a 3-2 victory over the Peoria Rivermen in front of 3,346 fans at Toyota Center Tuesday night. The first five shots in the shootout were blocked before the Aeros’ Shawn Belle recorded the only goal as the club's third shooter. Brust blocked the remaining two shots for his second shootout win of the season.

Friday, March 28:
The Peoria Rivermen took a 4-0 lead before the Houston Aeros recorded their only goal of the game in the second period. Peoria regained their lead for a 5-1 victory in front of 7,946 fans at Toyota Center Friday night.

Saturday, March 29:
The Houston Aeros came out strong reaching a four-goal lead before a late rally brought the Chicago Wolves within one goal but Houston was able to hold on for a 4-3 victory Saturday night at Allstate Arena in front of 9,636 fans. The Aeros started the game off fast with Danny Irmen scoring the first goal only 66 seconds after the opening puck drop and recorded his second of the night only minutes later.

Sunday, March 30:
In a battle for sole possession third place in the West Division, the Milwaukee Admirals defeated Houston Aeros 4-3 in a shootout Sunday evening at Bradley Center. Houston’s Ryan Hamilton led all scorers with a pair of goals, but Matt Ellison’s shootout winner gave the Admirals (41-27-3-2) the victory and a one point lead over Houston (40-26-2-4) and San Antonio for third place in the West.

THIS WEEK
WED. at LEM, 6 p.m. CST
FRI. at GRA, 6 p.m. CST
SAT. at MIL, 7:30 p.m. CST
SUN. at PEO, 3 p.m. CST

Wednesday, April 2
The Aeros hold a 3-0 record against the Lake Erie Monsters with one game being decided in a shootout. Wednesday’s game will be the fourth and final meeting of the season. The club is out of playoff contention and is riding a five game winless streak (0-4-1-0) heading into this week. Don’t forget to tune in to Jason Shaver on AM 1070-KNTH or online at AEROS.com for each of these road games to keep up on the action!

Friday, April 4
The Grand Rapids Griffins fell to the Aeros 4-3 in an overtime contest on December 1, the only other meeting this season. Houston holds a 30-26-7-2 all-time record against the Griffins heading into Friday’s contest, the last this season. Grand Rapids is also out of the playoff race and has a record of 2-7-0-1 in their last ten games. The game also marks the last of non-divisional opponents for the Aeros.

Saturday, April 5
Saturday’s game against the Milwaukee Admirals will be the fifth meeting of the season as the Aeros have a record of 1-1-0-2 in the first four contests. Houston just lost 4-3 in a shootout at Milwaukee last night. The game also marks the second of five meetings over 15 days, including a three-in-three to round out the season April 11-13. Houston trails the Admirals by only one point for the third spot in the division. With four of the last eight games of the season against each other, the teams will truly be dueling for playoff positioning.

Sunday, April 6
The Aeros head to Peoria this Sunday after hosting the team in a pair of games last week in which Houston came out 1-1 including a shootout win. The game will mark the final meeting of the season between the teams. Houston is 5-2 against the Rivermen this season including two overtime wins and the fore mentioned shootout win. Peoria is currently in sixth place in the division but are only five points behind the Aeros. Houston’s magic points-number of nine is over the Rivermen. Every Houston win or Peoria regulation-loss would decrease the magic number by two and any overtime/shootout loss by either team reduces the number by one.

Aeros Player of the Week: LW Ryan Hamilton

Day      Opponent        G  A  PTS  Notes
Tue.      vs. Peoria          1  0  1       Aeros first goal of two in third period comeback
Fri.        vs. Peoria         0  0  0
Sat.       at. Chicago       DNP
Sun.      at. Milwaukee    2  0  2      Second 2-goal game in 4 games, tied game
Totals                             3  0  3

Ryan Hamilton returned on Sunday at Milwaukee after missing a game to injury and had two goals, both in the third period in the Aeros 4-3 shootout loss to the Admirals. Hamilton’s two goals helped the Aeros earn a much needed point in the West Division standings. He scored 3:39 into the third period to give the Aeros a 2-1 lead, but Milwaukee fought back and took a 3-2 lead before Hamilton’s second goal. He tied the game with 2:08 remaining and forced the game into overtime. It marked his second career two-goal game having one just a week earlier on March 23 in a 3-2 win over San Antonio. He had not had a two-goal game in his first 123 pro games. Hamilton also scored a goal in the Aeros 3-2 shootout win over Peoria on Tuesday, March 25 in a come-from-behind victory.

TEAM NOTES
• The race in the West Division is as tight as it has been all season. Houston is tied with San Antonio for fourth place, each with 86 points, and they are just one point behind the Admirals for third place. Rockford sits in second with 90 points and Peoria is sixth with 81. Houston’s magic number to reach the playoffs is nine points meaning a combination of Houston wins and Peoria losses that reaches nine points will get the Aeros back into the playoffs.
• Houston’s record in the third game of three game sets went to 4-1-0-1 after the setback to the Admirals on Sunday night. The final two weekends of the season will see the Aeros play three games in three nights in each of those weekends.
• The Aeros have recorded points in seven straight road contests going 6-0-0-1 in that time. They had a season-high six straight road-wins before losing in overtime to Milwaukee on Sunday.
• Aeros left winger Ryan Hamilton had the team’s 12th two-goal performance on Sunday in Milwaukee. It tied Hamilton’s career high for goals in a game, but the Aeros have not yet had a hat trick this season. Hamilton has had two two-goal games in his last four outings.
• 12 of the Aeros last 13 wins have been decided by one goal. Three have been decided in overtime and two in shootout. The Aeros are 13-6 this season when games are decided after regulation time, they are 6-2 in overtime and 7-4 in shootouts. They have earned 32 points this season in overtime or shootout, one behind league-leading Providence (33).
• Houston is 17-5-1-1 against teams outside of their division and 23-21-1-3 against teams within their division this season. Only two games left on the schedule are against non-divisional opponents, their next two games, Wednesday in Lake Erie and Friday in Grand Rapids.
• Since February 1, the Aeros have a record of 16-8-0-2 and they are 8-2-0-1 in their last 11 road games. They will continue their longest road trip of the season on Wednesday in Lake Erie. Houston has six more games on the eight-game trip.

Affiliation News
The Minnesota Wild (43-28-9) clinched a playoff berth with Nashville losing yesterday prior the Wild’s 3-2 shootout win over Colorado. Minnesota currently stands atop the Northwest Division but can clinch the division and the third playoff spot with a win in either of their last two games.

Marian Gaborik leads the club with 80 points and 40 goals with Pierre-Marc Bouchard recording a team-high 49 assists. Goaltender Niklas Backstrom leads the team with 32 wins, a 2.33 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage.

The ECHL’s Texas Wildcatters (52-7-4-7) have clinched the South Division and will host the Mississippi Sea Wolves in the first round of playoffs as soon as the regular season concludes this weekend. The 115 points for the team leads the league by four and tops the South Division by 24. John McNabb leads the team with 81 points (32-49=81) and has recorded 87 PIM in 69 games. The Wildcatters head to Florida for a pair of games against the Everblades this weekend to round out the regular season.

Houston returns home for the last two games of the season on April 12-13 against the Milwaukee Admirals. The Admirals currently have a one point lead over Houston residing in third place so playoff positioning could be determined that weekend! Don’t miss out on the intense action on the ice and order your tickets today by calling 713.974.PUCK!

---HOUSTON AEROS---