The Houston Aeros overcame a stunning turn of events at the end of regulation and barely survived another comeback attempt in the shootout to earn a 6-5 victory over Omaha at the Civic Auditorium on Tuesday night.
The Ak-Sar-Ben Knights raced out to a 2-0 lead as Warren Peters and David Moss scored within the first 4:05 of the game.
The Aeros quickly charged back, getting two goals each from Kirby Law and Kurtis Foster to go up 4-2. Patrick O’Sullivan‘s goal at 1:26 of the third period gave Houston a comfortable three-goal lead.
Carsen Germyn scored at 7:09 to pull the Knights closer before Moss (17:57) and Mark Giordano (19:03) each scored on a 6-on-3 advantage, with two Aeros in the penalty box and Omaha goaltender Brent Krahn off for an extra attacker.
Houston would wind up with two power plays during the overtime period, but could not score.
Erik Westrum, who had three assists in regulation, Law and O’Sullivan scored on the Aeros’ first three attempts in the shootout, but Richie Regehr and Darren Lynch answered for the Knights before Josh Harding shut the door on Moss to seal the win for Houston.
With the win, the Aeros move into a tie for first place in the West Division at 4-1-0-0. The Knights fall to 2-2-0-1.
The clubs meet again in Omaha on Thursday.
