Student Publications
University of Houston
151C Communications Bldg
Houston, TX 77204-4015
713.743.5350

©1991-2007
Student Publications,
All rights reserved.

Last modified:

Contact:
ktruitt@uh.edu

Sports

Aeros are discretely heating up the rink

He Hate Me

Fabian Sifuentes 

Houston's most successful professional sports team for the last decade has not missed the playoffs since 1996. During that time, they have had only one sub .500 win season, and they have won two championships in two different leagues. Quite frankly, Houston hockey fans have had a lot to cheer for over the last 10 years.

With five games left in the regular season, the Aeros are one win away from matching a team record for wins since entering in the American Hockey League in 2001. 

En route to winning their first Calder Cup in the 2002-2003 season, the Aeros won 47 regular season games. Currently, they have 46 wins and are three points behind the Milwaukee Admirals in the West Division of the AHL's Western Conference standings.

If the regular season ended today, the Aeros would have the third seed in the Western Conference playoffs behind the regular season conference champion Grand Rapids Griffins and the Admirals. 

In the 2003 Western Conference Finals, scrappy play by defenseman Curtis Murphy helped the Aeros win Game 7 of their seven game series against the Griffins in Grand Rapids.

After playing a season for the 2004 Calder Cup Champion Admirals, and another season in Russia for Yaroslavl Lokomotiv, Murphy has returned to the Aeros better than ever. 

He has scored a career-high 60 points from 10 goals and 50 assists, another career high.

The experience from winning an IHL Turner Cup championship in Orlando and two Calder Cup titles in Houston and Milwaukee will provide an invaluable locker room presence for another Aeros championship run. 

This is a bandwagon you have my permission to hop on. Hockey is a fast-paced, hard-hitting sport. If you are lucky, you may see a hard hit turn into a glove dropping fight. 

But hockey is not only centered on fighting. That is an understandable misconception, since ESPN replays love to show blood. Hockey is sportsmanship at its finest. This is evident at the end of every playoff series, when both teams line up to shake hands. 

If you feel intimidated about seeing a game, just learn the name of the opposing goalie so you can yell at him all game. You will fit right in. 
 

Send comments to dcsports@mail.uh.edu