Aeros vs. Peoria 3/21 -- Aeros Hold Up Under Pressure to Defeat Peoria 2-1

“We’ve done it before, it seems,” Matt Kassian said tonight.

And that done it before is come back for a thrilling 2-1 victory over the Peoria Rivermen. The done it before is coming back from a first period deficit to win a game. The done it before is coming back against a team that is, in many ways, better than the Aeros. The done it before is just continuing to play their game of outhitting the other guy. The done it before is letting the 5,974 fans inside Toyota Center leave on a happy note.

This wasn’t an easy game for the Aeros, despite the fact that, for the most part, they appeared to out skate Peoria and just seemed, at times, to dominate the action. But it’s not often the Aeros find themselves up against a proven NHL goalie like Manny Legace who by way of some bad play with the St. Louis Blues earlier this season and some disagreements with management, finds himself consigned to the AHL. And if it weren’t for Legace’s play in goal for Peoria tonight, the Aeros might well have won the game 4-1 or 5-1, such were some of the shots that they were getting and Legace was stopping.

Peoria took the early 1-0 at 3:55 of the first period when the Aeros defense turned over the puck to Peoria’s Cam Paddock who then beat Nolan Schaefer for the goal. Matt Beaudoin beat Legace at 4:17 in the second to tie the game, leaving it to the most unlikely of lines to once again lead the Aeros to victory.

The Aeros were pressing the action all night, and at 9:31 of the third, the line of John Lammers, Matt Kassian, and Jason Ryznar crashed Legace and the net. Lammers sent the puck toward Legace and Jason Ryznar was in the perfect position to take advantage.

“Lammers threw it at the net, the rebound kicked out,” Ryznar said. “And Legace gave me pretty much the whole net.” And just like that, the Aeros were up 2-1.

The Aeros weren’t out of danger, though, not after what appeared to be a Peoria cheap shot on Corey Locke with about two minutes left in the game that found John Lammers ultimately winding up in the penalty box at 18:53 for unsportsmanlike conduct when it appeared that he tried to retaliate. Still, with the 6x4 advantage, Peoria didn’t get off any decent shots and the Aeros skated to the 2-1 victory.

“Obviously they were up one-nothing,” Kassian said, “but we felt we outplayed them and had more chances than they did. Once again it was a case of us sticking with it and bearing down.”

And coach Kevin Constantine was please with the win. Not only did it let the Aeros gain some ground on Peoria, but the win came at home. “Our home games are so precious for us now,” he said. “We’re down to only five left. We can’t give away points at home.”

Tonight the Aeros didn’t give away any points. As has become their standard operating procedure, they fell behind early then clawed their way back to get the win. A win over a division opponent with whom they were tied for second in the points standings. These two teams play again at 4:05 on Sunday afternoon for what promises to be a tough rematch.

SOME MISCELLANEOUS NOTES:

After tonight, the Aeros stand alone in second place of the AHL’s West Division with a record of 34-25-1-8 (77 points). With the loss, Peoria dropped to third place with a record of 36-31-2-1 (75 points). Rockford is in fourth place at 34-26-0-6 (74 points) and Chicago sits in fifth at 35-32-2-2 (74 points). Iowa is close behind in sixth place at 30-27-4-8 (72 points), and the soon-to-be-departing Quad City Flames are still hanging around in seventh place at 28-30-6-6 (68 points).

The Aeros play Peoria again on Sunday, which gives them another chance to put some space between them and the rest of the division. Things don’t ease up as they take on the division leading Milwaukee Admirals in Milwaukee on Wednesday, then play Rockford here in Houston on Friday, Peoria in Peoria on Saturday, and Rockford in Rockford on Sunday afternoon.

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It’s not often the Aeros face a goalie who is of the caliber as Manny Legace, so the guys cherished beating him.

To Matt Kassian, who assisted on Ryznar’s game winner, the key was shooting the puck. “He’s proved himself at the NHL level,” Kassian said of Legace. “He knows what he’s doing. For us, it’s just lots of shots, shoot the puck, and if you go the net you might get a rebound or two and it all works out.”

For Jason Ryznar, it was one of the moments to tell relive again and again with the gang. “It’s pretty cool,” he said. “He’s an unbelievable goaltender and shouldn’t be in this league. But that’s one to tell the boys about back home.”

And speaking of Ryznar, here’s an interesting stat. He’s got three goals this season. Two of them have been game winners.

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During the intermissions (and the game, as well), Andrew, Heather, and myself like to peruse the Aeros and opposition stats to get an idea of what to expect. And while we knew Peoria was a good team, the fact that they were 18-1-1-1 (now 18-2-1-1) on the season when leading after one period looked to be a pretty daunting stat for the Aeros to overcome, which makes their victory even more impressive – then again, it helps to remember that the Aeros were 12-8-0-5 when trailing after one period (now 13-8-0-5).

Both teams also had impressive records for when they were tied after two periods. Peoria was 8-3-1-0 (now 8-4-1-0) and the Aeros were 8-6-1-2 (now 9-6-1-2).

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Corey Locke assisted on Matt Beaudoin’s second period goal. That makes for the eighth straight game this season that Locke’s gotten a point (2-7=9), which is a season high for the Aeros and which ties a career best for Locke. And with the assist, Corey Locke is now four points shy of his career-high point total, which he achieved last season with Hamilton.

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And for those of you who are interested, the newest Houston Aero, Tony Hrkac, got playing time tonight. While he didn’t score, coach Kevin Constantine was pleased with his play.

“He looked pretty good,” Constantine said. “It’s going to be hard to play any sport at a professional level without having played for four or five years. The best part, when he had the puck, the puck went to the right spot on the ice, so I think he made some really good decisions with the puck.”

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Mitch Love did practice with the team today, but sat out the game tonight due to the surgery earlier this week to repair the nose he broke in a fight during the Rockford game last Sunday. Barry Brust was the only other injured player. Morten Madsen, Dean Crowley, and Bryan Lundbohm were healthy scratches.

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Because every game this time of year is important, I thought I would play a little video to indicate the pressure the Aeros are under. So here’s Queen and David Bowie with “Under Pressure.”