Friday's game in Houston began three games in three days for the Monsters, as well as kicked off a season-long seven-game road swing. Unfortunately for Lake Erie, the trip got off to a rough start, as the Monsters were shutout by the Aeros, 3-0. Houston outshot the Monsters by a 41-25 count.

It was the sixth shutout loss of the season for Lake Erie, as well as the 10th overall loss in the past 14 games for the team. The Monsters are now 15-17-3-4 and tied for sixth place in the North Division.

The Aeros would outshoot the Monsters 18-10 in the first period, but would only get on the board thanks to a penalty shot at 13:08 by Jean-Michel Daoust. It was the first successful penalty shot allowed by the Monsters since October 22nd. The first period ended with the Aeros leading 1-0.

Houston again bested Lake Erie in shots in the second period, 15-8. It would take until the 14:21 mark for the Aeros to strike again. Chad Rau scored off an assist from Robbie Earl, giving Houston a 2-0 lead.

Earl would find the back of the net for himself two minutes later, scoring on the power play at 16:31. Warren Peters and Jed Ortmeyer assisted, ending the second with a 3-0 Houston advantage.

The two teams were more evenly matched in the third frame, as Lake Erie recorded seven shots compared to just eight from Houston. Neither team was able to capitalize, resulting in the 3-0 final.

It was the first Lake Erie loss of the season against the Aeros (2-1).

Monsters netminder Jason Bacashihua posted 38 saves on 41 shots in his first game since December 30th. Across the ice, Matt Hackett backstopped Houston with 25 saves.

Lake Erie will now play in Texas on Saturday and Oklahoma City on Sunday.