The Milwaukee Admirals dropped the first game on its season-long five-game road trip Friday in Houston, 4-1.

The loss was Milwaukee's second straight.

The Aeros entered the game with the worst power play unit in the AHL, converting just 9.4% of the time. Meanwhile, the Admirals penalty kill unit was number-one in the league at 90.2%.

Those stats were turned upside down as the Aeros scored three power play goals in six tries. Two were 5-on-3 goals. The first came at 8:19 if the first when Adrian Foster slapped in a loose puck past Pekka Rinne while Oliver Setzinger and Janne Niskala were in the Admirals penalty box.

Houston's Steve Kelly scored a 5-on-4 goal at 9:58, with just one second left in the Niskala penalty, to give the Aeros a 2-0 lead.

The Aeros made it 3-0 at 6:21 of the second when defenseman Paul Albers fired a wrist shot over Rinne's right shoulder during another 5-on-3 power play for the Aeros.

Milwaukee's Antti Pihlstrom finally got his team on the board when he completed a pretty passing play with Kevin Klein and Matt Ellison. Klein carried the puck up the right wng boards and stopped as he crossed the Houston blue line. Klein spotted Ellison on the left wing boards and made a pass across. Ellison then found Pihlstrom on the right post for the easy goal. It was Pihlstrom's sixth of the year, which ties him with Mike Santorelli for the team lead. The goal came at 10:41 of the third.

The Aeros quickly reclaimed a three goal cushion when former Admirals forward Marco Rosa fired a wrst shot over Rinne's glove at 12:09 of the third.

Rinne made 17 saves on 21 shots. Milwaukee totalled 17 shots for the game.

The Admirals play at San Antonio Saturday at 7 p.m.