Aeros vs Peoria 3/21 -- OMFGMANNYLEGACE

My subject pretty much sums up the game for me. I mean, I knew I was a fan of the guy and I was excited to see him (but still hoping he'd lose, just not in an embarrassing way), but I didn't realize HOW excited I was until the teams hit the ice.

My delight at getting to see him in person pretty much consumed the game for me, even though it was an incredibly important game that I normally would have been all, "Booyah, bitches!" after with the win. It was more like, "Oh, good win. OMFGISTOODTHREEFEETFROMMANNYLEGACE!"

Yeah, I'm a card carrying member of the Dork-Out for Goalies Club. And I'm okay with that. And judging by John's post-gamer, that feeling was shared in the Aeros locker room, so I'm in good company.

But once I get past that, I gotta say, I was impressed with the team tonight and here's why: I felt like when they came out, they were seeing the ice really well. Passes were connecting perfectly and they were gutting their way out of difficult situations with grace, but I didn't feel like the feet were moving in the first period. And watching Legace, I wasn't sure he was even breaking a sweat. His body language was totally, "When are you gonna start taking real shots at me, fellas?"

Here's why I'm impressed though... in spite of that, they dominated play nearly the entire game with their strong puck possession, everybody was shooting at the net (maybe they read my blog and decided to play the odds?) It was clear that the priority was getting lots and lots of rubber at Legace, and they carried out the master plan beautifully. AND they did it after a 6 day layoff. Who are these guys?

And by the third, they definitely had Manny working hard as they spent an inordinate amount of time in Peoria's zone. (And as a side note, I completely agree that Manny should have been the #2 star... stopping 20 shots and getting the win is great, but Manny was tested pretty hard with the PP activity the Aeros had and 30 saves. He kept the Rivermen in this game, no doubt about it.)

Finally, props to Jason Ryznar for the game winner against a damn good goalie. They come few and far between for that guy, but he makes 'em Count. Ah-ah-ah-ah....

And to avoid being too Sunshine Clubby, I will say there were some colossal defensive lapses. Like, slap-yo'-mama stinkers.

Falker had a bad game, but also made some critical blocks in front of Schaefer, so maybe there's a balance there. Some guys have a nack for having their stick in the right place at the right time (Lord help me get thru this sentence without saying anything dirty) and he strikes me as one of them. (Phew.)

It just goes back to decision-making with the puck in open ice for him. I get the "John Scott Uh-Ohs" in my gut when he's touching the puck in any capacity other than clearing the rebounds from in front of Schaefer or blocking shots. But he's a kid still and works hard, so there's time.

Finally, presumably Madsen was the Hrkac scratch. While Hrkac did appear to be sucking wind pretty hard and was a step behind at times, I hate to say it, but I think he's an improvement to the line-up over Madsen. What say you, Aeros fan? Two blondes, 20 years apart... which one do you hitch your playoff wagon to?