The San Antonio Rampage and Houston Aeros reconvened on Sunday for an afternoon matchup at the AT&T Center, less than twenty four hours after a stunning Aeros 3-2 come-from-behind overtime victory on Saturday night. Unfortunately for the Rampage, Sunday’s contest saw Houston emerge victorious for the second consecutive day, by a final score of 2-0.
Unlike Saturday’s contest that included four fights and saw referee Ghislain Hebert whistle Houston and San Antonio for a combined 20 penalties, totaling a combined 64 minutes among the two clubs, Sunday’s game featured only five combined infractions for a total of ten penalty minutes. San Antonio’s two penalties and four minutes in the box on the afternoon represent a 2009-10 season low.
The first two periods of Sunday’s matchup featured strong goaltending for both teams, as Rampage netminder Al Montoya and Houston goaltender Anton Khudobin turned away 21 and 18 shots, respectively, without surrendering any goals during the first two frames.
After the two preceding periods, Houston would find the scoreboard first on a goal by center Andy Hilbert at the 4:39 mark of the third. Hilbert, who was returned to the Aeros by the NHL’s Minnesota Wild this morning after suiting up for Minnesota last night against Carolina in St. Paul, converted on a cross-ice pass from Houston left wing Colton Gillies. Chasing after a dump-in by Aeros center Cody Almond, Gillies beat a Rampage defenseman to the loose puck near the right faceoff circle in San Antonio’s defensive zone and extended his arms sufficiently to tap the puck over to the left-handed Hilbert above the crease. Hilbert then deked Montoya before finishing on his forehand to give Houston a 1-0 lead.
With less than two minutes remaining in the third period, San Antonio head coach Greg Ireland pulled Montoya for an extra skater, hoping for some of the same good fortune enjoyed by Aeros head coach Kevin Constantine, who saw his Houston club score after emptying their net late in Saturday’s game. Unfortunately for the Rampage, the Aeros took advantage of the vacant San Antonio goal, as Houston right wing Jean-Michael Daoust found the back of the empty net from the neutral zone with 44 seconds remaining.
Montoya made 26 saves on 27 Aeros shots, while Khudobin turned away all 28 of the Rampage shots he faced to earn his fourth victory of the season.
Despite posting a 0-2-1-0 record on the weekend, the San Antonio still maintains hold of first place in the AHL’s West Division with 14 standings points. The Rampage will return to action on Friday when they host another West Division foe, the Texas Stars, in a 7 p.m. contest at the AT&T Center.
