JAN. 9, 2011: AEROS VS. SAN ANTONIO RAMPAGE, 4:05 PM
PREVIEW
The Houston Aeros (20-18-1-2) close out a three-in-three weekend at home vs. the San Antonio Rampage (25-13-10-0). Despite a 4-0 loss at San Antonio last night, the Aeros didn’t lose any ground in the West Division race. They remain in the No. 6 position and sit just eight points behind the second place Rampage. Today’s game is the eighth of 10 meetings this season and the fourth since Dec. 27. After today the teams don’t play again until March 19-20.
UPCOMING GAMES
Jan. 12 at Rockford, 6:35 p.m. CST
Jan. 14 at Chicago, 7:30 p.m. CST
Jan. 15 vs. Grand Rapids, 7:35 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: 20-18-1-2, 43 pts., 6th West Division
HOME: 10-6-1-0
ROAD: 10-12-0-2
STREAK: LOST 1
NHL AFFILIATES
Houston Aeros (Minnesota Wild)
San Antonio Rampage (Phoenix Coyotes)
AEROS SPECIAL TEAMS
PP: 16.3% (17th)
PK: 85.0% (7th)
AEROS LEADERS:
POINTS: Earl (11-14-25)
GOALS: Earl (11)
ASSISTS: Noreau (16)
PIM: Kassian (96)
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
VS. SAN ANTONIO --- All-time Series (58-27-8-4, Home: 35-10-3-0, Road: 23-17-5-4)…Season Series: 3-4-0-0 (Home: 2-1-0-0, Road: 1-3-0-0)…Today’s game is the eighth of 10 meetings… The teams finish the season series March 19 (HOU) and 20 (at SA).
SERIES BASICS --- PP: 4/34 (11.7%)…PK: 24/32 (75%)…HOU Leading scorers (Almond 3-3-6/Wellman 5-1-6).
SERIES NOTABLES: Houston won three-in-a-row vs. SA from Dec. 10-Jan. 1…SA won the first three meetings…SA shut out the Aeros on Oct. 23. Matt Climie made 26 saves…Casey Wellman scored four goals vs. SA on Dec. 10...HOU scored goals 20 seconds apart in the final minute to secure a 4-3 win at home on Jan. 1…SA shut out the Aeros on Jan. 8. Climie made 24 stops.
LAST SEASON --- The Aeros went 7-3-1-1 vs. the Rampage last season (4-2-0-0 at home, 3-1-1-1 on the road)...The Aeros outscored the Rampage 37-31 overall...Five games last season were decided by one goal (1-1 OT, 0-1 SO)...The Aeros won the first four games against the Rampage last season..
TAKE NOTE--- Cody Almond and Carson McMillan each need three games to reach the 100-pro game mark…Chad Rau played his 100th pro game at SA on Jan. 8…JM Daoust needs eight games to reach 400 pro and three points to reach 300…Houston’s Max Noreau is second among AHL defensemen with five PPG.
ON THE SHELF --- Casey Wellman has missed the last seven games with a lower body injury…Robbie Earl missed last night’s game with an upper body injury.
ROUGH ROAD --- Houston has lost seven of nine away from home dating back to Dec. 12. 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 won seven of 10 at home dating back to a Nov. 21 victory over Texas. Four of those wins have been decided by one goal; a pair has been decided by two goals.
SCORE FIRST! --- Houston leads the AHL in first goals (25) and is 17-6-0-2 when scoring first. Cody Almond leads the club with three first-goals. Five other players have two game-opening tallies.
TURNSTILE TIDBITS --- Through 17 home games, the Aeros are sixth in the AHL with an average attendance of 6,024…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…As of Jan. 6, 2010, the Aeros averaged 5,457 through 21 games.
HEATIN’ UP --- Robbie Earl has points in five of his last six games (3-4-7).
SCHEDULE NOTES --- The Aeros play 13 games in January with seven of those games at home. Six games this month are against West rivals.
RECENT ROSTER MOVES --- D Jamie Fraser was recalled from Elmira on Jan. 8…G Josh Tordjman was recalled from BAK on Jan. 8…G Dave Weninger was released from his PTO on Jan. 8… G Dave Weninger was signed to a PTO on Jan. 7…F Jed Ortmeyer was loaned from MIN on Jan. 5…F Peter Zingoni was returned on loan to BAK on Jan. 5…F Pascal Morency was loaned to BAK on Jan. 4…
LAST GAME QUICK RECAP
Matt Climie made 24 saves for the San Antonio Rampage in a 4-0 win over the Houston Aeros Saturday night in front of 6,930 fans at the AT&T Center. Climie earned his third shutout of the season and second against the Aeros. Andrew Ebbett’s first period goal held up as the game-winner.
