PEORIA, Ill. --- Patrick O’Sullivan and Cody Almond netted shootout goals as the surging Houston Aeros edged the Peoria Rivermen 4-3 on Friday night at Carver Arena.

With their sixth straight victory and 12th in 14 games (12-1-0-1), Houston maintained a two-point lead on San Antonio for first place in the West Division race. Peoria and Milwaukee each sit three points out of the top spot. The six-game winning streak is a season-high for the Aeros.

The Aeros got regulation goals from Nate Prosser, O’Sullivan, and Colton Gillies, who converted a penalty shot at 4:54 of the third period to snap a 2-2 deadlock. But Rivermen forward Nicholas Drazenovic tied it back up at 12:16 with his second goal of the night.

Rookie Phil McRae also scored for the Rivermen and then registered his club’s lone shootout goal in the first round. Three of Peoria’s last four games have extended to the shootout, with the Rivermen dropping two of those contests.

Houston goaltender Anton Khudobin (18-9-1) made a season-high 40 saves in net through 65 minutes and then stopped four of five shootout bids, running his personal winning streak to six games.

The Aeros play host to the Rivermen at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Sunday. The team returns home with a kid’s day game on Thursday, Feb. 17, at 11:05 a.m. Call 713-974-7825 (PUCK) for more information on Aeros tickets and other promotions.

DECIDING GOAL
Almond (5th round, shootout)

POWER PLAYS
HOU: 1/5
PEO: 2/5

GOALIES
HOU: Khudobin (40/43; 4/5 SO, W)
PEO: Allen (24/27; 3/5 SO, SOL)

TEAM RECORDS
HOU: 32-19-1-3
PEO: 30-18-2-3

AEROS STARTERS
F: (LW) Gillies, (C) Peters, (RW) Peters
D: Bagnall, Fredheim
G: Khudobin

AEROS SCRATCHES
Wellman, Kalus, Noreau, Buck

NEXT GAME
Feb. 13 vs. Peoria; 1 p.m.

BOMB DROPPINGS
The Aeros won their sixth consecutive game a season-high and longest since Feb. 8-21, 2009... The win was their fourth-straight on the road, which set a season-high streak…  All 32 of Houston’s wins have come when the team allows three or fewer goals… 26 of Houston’s wins have come when they score the first goal...  Patrick O’Sullivan has four points (5-2-7) in his last five games. He extended a team season-long goal scoring streak to five games… Maxim Noreau returned to the lineup after sitting out Wednesday's game with an undisclosed injury… Anton Khudobin has won seven of his last eight starts and six in a row, a season-high. The shootout win was his fifth in a row... Casey Wellman sat out his fifth straight game with an undisclosed injury... Colton Gillies scored on a penalty shot, Houston's first on the road since Feb. 21, 2010. Chad Rau beat Ben Bishop of Peoria in that game. Overall it was Houston's second penalty shot goal of the season.