ROMAN EMPIRE

HOUSTON AHL-leading scorer Jiri Hudler was the story coming into Friday nights Western Conference showdown, scoring a frenetic nine goals and four assists in just five contests, but Houston left-winger Roman Voloshenko stole the show as the Grand Rapids Griffins fell to the Aeros at the Toyota Center, 7-3.

Hudler stretched his goal-scoring streak to six games, notching his tenth goal of the young season on a power play at 2:40 of the third. The streak ties the all-time club mark shared by former Griffins stars Kip Miller and Pavol Demitra.

Voloshenko exploded out of the gate, however, drawing first blood just 28 seconds into the contest on a 50-foot blast that stunned veteran goaltender Chris Osgood, who was playing his second game in a rehabilitation assignment for the Detroit Red Wings. Osgood will take another step in his recovery process with a scheduled third start in four nights in Saturdays home match-up against Omaha.

Voloshenko continued his assault on the Griffins net, answering Valtteri Filppulas game-tying goal with a power play strike at 9:59 of the first to take a 2-1 Aeros' lead into the intermission.

Houston battered the Grand Rapids penalty kill with two more unanswered goals on the man advantage by Peter Olvecky and Petr Taticek, before Voloshenko beat Osgood with another long-distance dedication a wrister from 35-feet to register the hat trick with 2:31 left in the second. Team captain Matt Ellis gave the Griffins hope with his second goal in two games just 19 seconds later, narrowing the deficit to 5-2 at the end of two periods.

Linemates Eric Manlow and Kent McDonell helped Hudlers marker in the third to make a game of it at 5-3, but Voloshenko delivered the dagger with a deflection off a Kurtis Foster shot from long range at 10:42 of the frame the fourth goal of the night for Voloshenko, and the fourth power play goal of the night for Houston. Peter Olvecky salted the Griffins away with an empty-netter, his second score of the night, to make the final 7-3.

Grand Rapids returns from a 1-1 road trip at 4-2-0-0, good for a three-way tie with Rochester and Manitoba atop the North Division. The Griffins take on the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights in the first-ever match-up between the two clubs on Saturday. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Van Andel Arena.