ROCKFORD ICEHOGS-HOUSTON AEROS FIRST ROUND PLAYOFF PREVIEW

Rockford, Ill.- In their first season in the American Hockey League, the Rockford IceHogs begin their quest for the Calder Cup. The IceHogs are matched up with the Houston Aeros in the First Round of the Calder Cup Playoffs. The IceHogs have home ice advantage for the best-of-seven series. The following is a first round postseason preview of the IceHogs-Aeros series.

Game Date Location Time (all times CDT)
Game 1 Fri., April 18 at Rockford 7:30 p.m.
Game 2 Sat., April 19 at Rockford 7:05 p.m.
Game 3 TBD at Houston TBD
Game 4 TBD at Houston TBD
Game 5 (if nec.) TBD at Houston TBD
Game 6 (if nec.) Sun., April 27 at Rockford 5:05 p.m.
Game 7 (if nec.) Mon., April 28 at Rockford 7:05 p.m.

2007-08 Aeros-IceHogs Season Results:
Wed., Oct. 17: Rockford 3 at Houston 2
Wed., Nov. 28: Houston 0 at Rockford 3
Tues., Feb. 5: Houston 3 at Rockford 1
Fri., Feb. 8 Houston 6 at Rockford 1
Thur., Mar. 13 Rockford 4 at Houston 0
Sat., Mar. 15 Rockford 2 at Houston 3

Rockford Overall Comparison Houston
44-26-4-6 Record 45-29-2-4
98 Points 96
2nd-West Place 3rd-West
3.09 (6th) Goals/Game 2.58 (26th)
2.89 (16th) Goals Against/Game 2.23 (1st)
26.35 (2nd) PIMs/Game 18.10 (18th)
18.6% (7th) Power Play 13.6% (28th)
84.0% (10th) Penalty Kill 87.0% (2nd)

Rockford Regular Season Leaders Houston
Martin St. Pierre 87 Points Joel Ward 41
Troy Brouwer 35 Goals Joel Ward 21
Martin St. Pierre 67 Assists Erik Reitz 26
Kris Versteeg 174 Penalty Minutes John Scott 184
Petri Kontiola +17 Plus/Minus Brandon Rogers +17
Corey Crawford 29 Wins Barry Brust 24
Wade Flaherty 2.54 Goals Against Average Nolan Schaefer 2.06
Wade Flaherty .917 Save Percentage Nolan Schaefer .924

Rockford Regular Season Leaders vs. Houston
Troy Brouwer 5 Points Brandon Rogers 5
Joel Ward
Troy Brouwer 2 Goals Brandon Rogers 2
Derek Nesbitt Joel Ward
Colin Fraser Adrian Foster
Dave Bolland Clayton Stoner
Kris Versteeg Ryan Hamilton
Peter Olvecky
Troy Brouwer 3 Assists Cal Clutterbuck
Bryan Bickell Brandon Rogers 3
Petri Kontiola Marco Rosa
Martin St. Pierre Joel Ward
Kris Versteeg 13 Penalty Minutes John Scott 12
Dave Bolland +3 Plus/Minus Marco Rosa +3
Wade Flaherty 2 Wins Barry Brust 2
Wade Flaherty 1.93 Goals Against Average Anton Khudobin 1.18
Wade Flaherty .927 Save Percentage Anton Khudobin .941

Rockford Team vs. Team Houston
3 Wins 3
14 Goals 14
25 Assists 22
39 Points 36
+5 Plus/Minus -5
121 Penalty Minutes 86
145 Shots On Goal 155
20.0% Power Play 16.3%
83.7% Penalty Kill 80.0%

IceHogs Playoff History
Appearances: 5
AHL Appearances: 0
Last Appearance: Won 4-3 (best-of-seven) vs. Kalamazoo Wings (‘06-07)
All-Time Record: 24-21
Home Record: 17-5 (Last, 3-1 W; vs. Kalamazoo on 5/24/07)
Road Record: 7-16 (Last, 1-6 L at Kalamazoo on 5/22/07)
Overtime Games: 2-4 (Last, 3-2 W; vs. Kalamazoo on 5/11/07)
Playoff Series Win: 5 (Last, 4-3 vs. Kalamazoo, Colonial Cup Finals in 2007)
Championship: 1 (2007 Colonial Cup)

For more information on the IceHogs first round match-up with the Aeros, contact the IceHogs at (815) 986-6465.