As this team has revealed itself to those of us on the outside of it, this is the kind of game I've come to believe is in them.
And I mean that with both the good and the bad. The bad being that terrible few minutes at the end of the second when, suddenly, everyone in a bomber sweater just. stopped. skating. and Khudobin was having some pretty rotten puck-luck being the only one on the ice still playing. As I tweeted, that period just couldn't end fast enough.
The bad also being nearly 13 minutes of the third period without a single shot on goal. And usually we see the shot count doing something unusual and think, "Oh, the shot counter is asleep at the wheel, right?" But not last night. It seemed accurate, which is pretty scary.
But the good, and what is really at the heart of this team, is the resiliency and maturity to not panic, not grip, and not get discouraged, but instead, to regroup in the second intermission, continue to take advantage of chances, even if they were few and far between, and keep working together and standing up for each other.
Moments that stood out to me as critical:
The Power Play Goal As Andrew said, it had to happen eventually, so you know it's coming, but it still feels really good to get it done. And carrying over from Thursday, it was especially nice that it came from Noreau's shot from the point that Zingoni deflected in the net. Noreau is on a monkey-shedding spree! DiSalvatore's Goal With no shots for 13 minutes in the third, there are a couple of options: A) San Antonio finally pots the tying goal when the Aeros and Khudobin just can't withstand the onslaught any more. B) SA goalie Tordjman gets flat and bored not seeing any shots and isn't sharp when he finally does see some shots.
Luckily for the Aeros, the universe gave them option B and DiSalvatore got the insurance goal and, if you're like me, you started to think, "Okay, maybe this team isn't going to choke away a 3-0 lead like SOME teams *cough*lastyearsAeros*cough*"
Kalus's Goal So, Kalus sweeps across the front of the crease with the puck knocking a Rampage defenseman into Tordjman. They both end up in a pile to one side of the net, Tordjman on his butt, presumably waiting for the goaltender interference whistle that never came. Kalus picks up the puck and just wraps it around the other post while Tordjman and his d-man sit there in disbelief.
You're looking at the ref waiting for a wave-off or something, but nope. I'm no ref and I'm no expert, but gosh, how is that not goalie interference? At least, if I'm the goalie there, I'm expecting a call (but hopefully have the wherewithal to still play to the whistle). Are we not talking about this because it's the Aeros who prevailed there? Or because I'm wrong?
But at that point, it's over and you can see it in San Antonio's body language. Stick a fork in 'em.
Fights Did the Aeros lose any of those fights last night? Punch of the night had to be Stoner's clocking of Bodie. Hard headed guy, that Bodie. His running around didn't help his team too much, I don't think. Might want to just play some hockey next time. But then again, the rivalry blood was boiling at a good clip last night, so maybe it's just one of those things.
Anyway, good win, if a bit sketchy at times. John's quotes from Khudobin were great and really reflect what I saw in his game. He was so good in the third and deserves props for having the mental fortitude to come back and be a wall after a couple of quick goals at the end of the second. Always good to get a little break to regroup after something like that.
Looking Ahead Aeros are @ Lake Erie Friday and Saturday and then turn around and head home to play an afternoon game against the Chicago Wolves (special guest stars Chris Chelios and Manny Legace) on Sunday. Five days off is never good and Lake Erie and Chicago are no slouches, so this will be a great test of where this team really is.
Assuming I don't get a better offer, I'll be tweeting the games on Friday and Saturday for those who don't have AHL Live, so be sure you're following @3rdintermission on Twitter.
The Aeros played, without a doubt, their best game of the season tonight. As a result 8443 people got to see not only a 5-2 Aeros win, but also got to see an entertaining game that at times resembled not so much hockey as we have come to know it, but hockey as played in Slap Shot.
The Aeros dominated play in the first period, out-shooting the San Antonio Rampage 13-4, but also out hitting them. But they left the period with only a 1-0 lead because, as has become the norm, they just couldn’t hit the back of the net. The one goal was outstanding however as, at 11:31, Peter Zingoni got his stick on a Max Noreau slap shot from the point and thus deflected the puck just a touch to let it slip past Rampage goalie Josh Tordjman for the 1-0 lead.
But wait, it gets better. Not only did the Aeros take the lead on the shot -- a lead they never surrendered -- but the goal came on a power play. Yes, you read that right. The Aeros, are their 45th power play chance since last getting one, also against San Antonio, found a way to get the power play goal.
Things were just getting good, though.
The Rampage were on the power play early in the second period when Mr. Penalty Kill, Danny Irmen, got the puck and went into Krys Kolanos mode. Dragging Chad Rau with him, Irmen split for the San Antonio net and drew Tordjman toward him. As he did that, he sent a nice backhand pass to the trailing Rau who had buried the puck in the wide open net to put Houston up 2-0. And at 4:25, just seconds after the end of an Aeros power play, Clayton Stoner fed Robbie Earl and Earl, taking advantage of the angle he was at in terms of the goalie, went top shelf to put Houston up 3-2.
All of this scoring action was mixed with some hits that jarred even those of us sitting up high in the press box. Matt Kassian engaged in three fights, defeating Francis Lessard in the first, Troy Bodie in the third, and Ryan Hollweg after the game ended. Nathan Smith went after Kevin Porter after Porter attempted to decapitate Colton Gillies toward the end of the first period. Clayton Stoner took out Bodie in the second, and Petr Kalus and Sean Zimmerman went at it late in the third.
The Rampage got two goals late in the second, and came near to tying the game when a shot went off the post at about 19:10 of the second, but Jon DiSalvatore scored at 12:56 of the third to make it 4-2, then at 14:45, Petr Kalus came down on a breakaway attempt. He missed the initial shot but knocked the defenseman into Tordjman. Before Tordjman could recover, Kalus got the puck, went behind the net and got the wraparound into a wide open net to make it 5-2.
“It’s a rivalry game,” Kevin Constantine said afterwards. “It’s the team we’ve played the most since I’ve been down here. I think the rivalry goes way past me coming here as a coach. It’s a good rivalry game, and rivalry games always have a little more emotion and a little more passion in it. It’s pretty entertaining when a game gets that way. It was nice to get a win. It’s a nice heated rivalry, and that’s all good for the game.”
And it’s even better for the game when the Aeros get the win. And get the win they did.
SOME MISCELLANEOUS GAME NOTES:
With the win, the Aeros record improved to 8-7-0-0 (16 points). But even better than that, the win moved the Aeros past San Antonio and Peoria and into a tie for second place with Rockford. The Aeros are behind only Texas, and they are now a point up on the Rampage and Rivermen. And for any of you who care, the Aeros are still in second place of the so-called Lone Star Faceoff.
The Aeros next play on Friday the 13th when they take on the Lake Erie Monsters -- how appropriate, I guess -- in Cleveland. They also play the Monsters on Saturday, then return home to take on the Chicago Wolves next Sunday.
***************** What can one say about that Aeros penalty kill? They killed off another three San Antonio power plays. The Aeros have now killed 53 of 55 power plays this season. That is the number one penalty kill in the AHL.
"It starts with pride," Kevin Constantine says of his team's penalty kill. "And then it starts with trying to be fairly aggressive and put a lot of pressure when we can. It certainly has to be great goaltending -- that’s a big part of your penalty kill. And then maybe the occasional shot blocking if you get in trouble. We didn’t anticipate having the percentage that we have now. We’ve been in the top five the past two years, so the idea of being in the top five was something we were shooting for. This is a little above what are expectations were. It’s been nice to have that….The guys have done a great job killing."
The most spectacular of tonight's penalty kills had to be in the second period when the Aeros got the short-handed goal to go up 2-0. The play saw Danny Irmen breaking free with the puck and hitting Chad Rau with a fantastic pass and a wide open net. And just like Danny Irmen said his first goal on Thursday night would not have been possible without the play of Clayton Stoner, Rau said that this goal would not have been possible without Irmen's passing.
"It was a gift from Danny," he said. "I just tapped it in. He made a heck of a play. He made a nice backhand pass, and draw the guy to him and it was an empty net. It was a super nice play."
As for getting the short-handed goal, Rau said that a thing like that is a blast.
"It’s pretty nice," he said. "Your main concern out there is playing defense and making sure they don’t get one. So anytime you can kind of get an opportunity where they’re thinking more offense and they break down…it’s great….It doesn’t happen too often."
************** Speaking of not happening too often...did I happen to mention that the Aeros scored a power play goal? And their third goal came just about two seconds after another power play expired. Could it be possible that with the proverbial monkey off of their backs the Aeros are going to break lose for the rest of the season on the power play?
"It would be nice if that happened," Constantine said. "If one turned into a nice 15-20 percent power play based on maybe getting some confidence from scoring. I don’t know if that’s going to happen. We need to keep working on it. We need to get that power play a little more consistent. You can see tonight it kind of changed the game because we scored on a power play and we haven’t been doing that. I’m just really happy those guys got some goals with it tonight."
************* And let's not forget the stellar play, once again, of Anton Khudobin. I've got to confess, I didnt' always have confidence in Anton's abilities when he was up with the team last season. But the playoffs seemed to bring out the best of him last year, and it sure looks as if that confidence has stayed with him this year.
Anton didn't face a lot of action for the first half of the game. And as I've been told by numerous goalies, it's hard for a goalie to mentally stay in a game when he's not under the gun.
"It’s actually pretty hard when I don’t have lots of shots…," Khudobin said. "I try to stay focused on every puck. Sometimes, it’s just happening, like they score a couple of goals….Third period I just focused on their puck and I stopped all of them."
Which, he said, is difficult when it comes to San Antonio.
"They love to shoot from everywhere," he said. "So I have to beware of shots from everywhere. And actually they’re a really tough team to play against. They try to hit everybody. They’re running around. It’s just tough…."
It may be tough, but he handled it.
***************** As Constantine said, this was a rivalry game between two teams that have already faced each other a bunch this season. And they looked like they were really sick of seeing the other guy opposite of them. I haven't seen this many fights in one game in a long time. Chad Rau attributed the fighting to the fact that both teams play pretty aggressive hockey and that this draw clashes.
That might be, but maybe it's just like John Lennon once sang, "All You Need Is Love." Yep, maybe all the Aeros need is Mitch Love to bring the fighting down a notch though I have to say that Kassian was quite impressive. And I don't think I've ever seen Stoner that angry before.
So let's go out tonight with The Beatles and "All You Need Is Love."
In case you missed it, Barry Brust and Peter Zingoni did a little ACTING yesterday! (in honor of Al Montoya's return to Houston? Nah, but we like the timing anyway)
The Aeros played three good periods Thursday and were rewarded with a 4-1 win over their long time AHL/IHL rivals.
Nice to see Noreau on the scoresheet, and Danny "Forsberg" Irmen in highlight reel form. The offensive play of the game to me was when Clayton Stoner rushed toward the net only to dish over to Irmen for the easy tap-in.
For a second there, I thought I was watching Paul Coffey and Dino Ciccarelli (circa 1996).
That goal was good, even though the Moose would even it up when Rosa converted a rebound late in the opening frame.
Heather and John have more on the game, but below is our post-game video blog. Things that stand out to me after this game are:
0-for-43
Welcome back, Anton
Good to see more than one goal go in
Penalty kill was methodical and good
Temperature was very warm at ice level, and the Aeros used it
The Aeros need more from Duncan Milroy, and Ryan Lannon (healthy scratch)
How many sticks in Nate Smith going to break trying to hit a one-timer?
Irmen is on pace for 28 goals this year (but call-ups to Minny will hurt this)
JM Daoust is on pace for a career-high 28 helpers this year
Sorry this is late. My internet decided to hate me when I got home last night.
First of all, great job on the Canadian anthem, Ally. You definitely won the pre-game.
Second of all, awesome job on the hockey playing, Aeros. Okay, so the really really wicked power play schnide is still rolling along ever so inhospitably, but that will come. Doesn't really matter HOW you win, does it?
Third, how pretty were those Irmen goals? Mainly, Stoner's dancing through the Manitoba defense like Pavel Datsyuk that set it up, but Irms was in the right place to finish it.
Fourth, I guess I'm most excited for Max Noreau, who was leading the team by a significant margin in shots on goal and had yet to land one in the back of the net. But tonight, he got 'er done.
I apologize for my stick figure monkey looking like a pile of poo but that's what you get when you don't have Fred's photos, which we miss more and more as each game goes by.
I actually had to google "dead monkey" to draw that. I don't recommend doing that yourself. It's kinda sad.
But shedding that theoretical monkey is great, so here's to an opening of the Noreau Scoring Floodgates, bitches.
It was also great to have Khudobin back in net. Let's just say, I have a new appreciation for him, even though that one goal was a bit of a mess, both defensively and a bit overplayed on his part. He looked pretty good, got pretty lucky, and had some excellent help clearing the puck to safety. What more can you ask for as a goalie?
Plus, how about those new pads? Ahhh, new gear.
More of San Antonio on Saturday. You guys tired of them yet? I'm getting there, though perhaps feisty Al Montoya will make it interesting again, eh? See you then.
The Aeros were a little rested. The Manitoba Moose were a bit tired, and were missing some key players due to call-ups and injuries. But that didn’t matter to the Aeros. All that mattered was the team’s 4-1 win before 3163 fans inside Toyota Center.
“They’re a great team,” Danny Irmen said. “Well coached. They’re missing a lot of guys. But we’ll take the win. A win’s a win. We played really well tonight.”
One of those playing well tonight was, of course, Danny Irmen, the subject of a Thursday post in the Houston Press. Irmen got the game’s first two goals for the Aeros, the first coming at 13:43 of the first period off of a fantastic pass from Clayton Stoner.
“I could have scored that goal blind,” Irmen said. “I sat my stick on the ice and he put it on there and it went it. It was a great play by [Stoner].”
And his second goal came off of a nice pass from Jon DiSalvatore who snuck around the back of the net to feed Irmen up top for the goal. That goal at 1:51 of the second broke up a 1-1 tie that the Aeros were disappointed to find themselves stuck in.
“We actually thought, even in the first period,” Kevin Constantine said, “we thought it was kind of bummer to come out of it one-one because we thought we had much better scoring chances in the first. But it was just nice to see some goals go in.”
On top of Irmen’s two goals was a two-goal performance from Max Noreau who had been without a goal this season. The first goal came at 19:03 of the second period off of a Marco Rosa turnover that Noreau turned around and slammed into the net.
“I looked at Clayton Stoner and I just said I’ll take that one,” Noreau said. “It was my first goal. It doesn’t have to be pretty. I just wanted to get that monkey off my back. He looked at me with a big smile and I just said I’ll take whatever I can get right now.”
The Aeros dominated this game in just about all aspects of the game, which was fun to watch since this has been seen so seldom this season. And just as Noreau didn’t care that his first goal was ugly, the Aeros don’t care that the Moose were tired. They just wanted the win. And the win they got.
SOME MISCELLANEOUS GAME NOTES:
With the win, the Aeros record is now 7-7-0-0 (14 points). And amazingly -- especially when you think of their play this season -- the Aeros, with the loss tonight by the San Antonio Rampage, find themselves in a three-way tie for second place. And seeing as how the Aeros face the Rampage this weekend, maybe the Aeros will be able to move past San Antonio in the standings.
************** This game was the 1100th of Kevin Constantine’s coaching career. With the win, his record in the USHL, IHL, WHL, AHL, and NHL is 569-399-114-18.
************** I’m not going to take a lot of time tonight -- I’m tired and I’ve got this temp job thing I have to get to early in the morning. So I’m dedicating the end of this post to Max Noreau. Noreau has been frustrated with his game this season, and this was a nice night for him.
“It was a little bit frustrating,” he said after the game. “But at the same time, when you’re getting your chances you can’t be too frustrated. At some point, even though you might be snake bit a little bit, it will come.”
And come it did with two goals and an assist, which as he said, let him get that monkey off of his back. So speaking of getting the monkey off of his back, here’s The Beatles with “Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except For Me And My Monkey.”
Greetings from the Toyota Center basement where I bring news that Anton Khudobin (pictured, left in warmups Thursday) got the call to make the start against Manitoba. He did not play in Minnesota, and has not been on the ice in a live game since shutting out the Rampage two weeks ago.
Also, Pete Zingoni dressed tonight and should be in the lineup for the first time since Oct. 24, also against San Antonio. Zingoni scored goals in three of the Aeros first four games and continued to make an impact up until his injury.
With Andy Hilbert out at least a month with a knee injury, getting No. 10 back in is a welcome sight. Also, that means that either Brandon Rogers or JP Testwuide can go back to playing their natural defensive position.
Winnipeg Free Press writer Tim Campbell had the best line during the pre-game mean tonight. The Aeros recent troubles and power play woes are well-documented (0-for-38), but the Moose are struggling as well ...
"Why don't we just finish the warm-up and go straight to the shootout...," he said.
Heck, the way the Aeros have been playing lately, I think they'd take the point without risking the loss of two.
Here's the bottom line for Your Houston Aeros: They friggin' need to get the puck in the net. They need to get off this mind-boggling power play schnide. They need to get it done 5 on 5, too. The goalies can't offer up shutouts every game.
So, with that in mind, I thought it might be time to call in the Goalie Angel to sprinkle some scoring dust on the boys sticks while they take their pre-game naps.
Go, Goalie Angel, Go!
Okay. Let's see how that works.
7:05 tonight -- Marco Rosa and the Manitoba Moose -- Canadian Anthem! -- See you there...
John's latest for the Houston Press about the Aeros is out today, so go check it out right here and leave comments so that they know you like Aeros coverage in the Press.
As some of you have mentioned in the comments, the Wild have returned Anton Khudobin to the Aeros. I'd be very surprised if he didn't start tomorrow night against the Manitoba Meese.
Also, it took a day longer than I expected, but the CHL and AHL transactions show that Brett Jaeger, who was filling in for Anton, has been returned to his Texas Brahmas. (Jaeger photo courtesy of Robert Keith of Texas Brahmas Insider)
Neither goaltender got game minutes during his respective call-up, but it's always good to get that time with a higher league, practice against faster, better shooters, and get a sense of where you stand and what you need to work on. So good for them, but I'm sure both fan bases are ready to get their starting goalies back in the fold and on the ice.
DiSalvatore's Goal
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