PEORIA, Ill – Two days after letting in 6 goals in his first ever AHL playoff game, Houston Aeros netminder Anton Khudobin stopped all 30 shots by the Peoria Rivermen to win 2-0 and even up the series.
Not only did Khudobin settle down and find his stride, the team in front of him did a 180 from Wednesday’s disjointed effort, playing a strong possession game, cleaning up rebounds, and keeping the pressure on Manny Legace and the Peoria defense.
Special teams, which have been a strong suit for the Aeros, were a non-factor in a game that was loosely called by referee Jeff Smith. Only four penalties were drawn in spite of a first period that featured continuous demolition derby-like hitting. Out of those, only two resulted in power play opportunities, both for Peoria.
Peter Olvecky, fresh from half a season with Minnesota in the NHL, warmed up the scoreboard with 9 seconds left in the first period. Jesse Schultz and Marco Rosa had the helpers on the goal.
Neither team put points on the board in the second period, though the Aeros continued to dominate play and got half of their 28 total shots.
However, the Rivermen came out strong in the third and grabbed the momentum for the first half of the period. The Aeros wrestled it back when Olvecky exited the penalty box to join Benoit Pouliot on a rush into the Peoria zone. Danny Irmen followed the pair and one-timed a pass from Olvecky behind a scrambling Legace.
Peoria pulled Legace for the man advantage but Khudobin fought the pressure off to maintain the shutout.
The teams head to Houston tomorrow morning for Game 3 tomorrow night, then games 4 and 5 on Monday and Wednesday.
Contact heather.galindo@prohockeynews.com
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