QCY, 03/13 --- View from the Press Box

Before the game got started tonight, I looked over at John and Heather and told them that the final score tonight would be 5-2. I just had a feeling that one of the two teams tonight was going to win big.

Either Quad City would come out flat based on the bad news about their franchise leaving Moline after this year, or they would have given up pretty much knowing they needed to win both games in Houston this week just to make it to the playoffs.

The Aeros stood to take advantage of those two scenarios, but neither panned out. Instead it was the Aeros who looked like garbage and ended up choking away two big points on a night where both Chicago and Rockford picked up wins.

Corey Locke said the Aeros matched the Flames intensity in the first period and then failed to keep up the rest of the game. He was right, and on a night were Nolan Schaefer was clearly off his game, the Aeros had no chance after they failed to get anything in the net past Leland Irving.

After the game, I asked Kevin Constantine if he thought the Aeros not scoring on the long two-man advantage that spanned the second and third periods was the turning point in the game. He agreed that was a big part of the game, but said the team had already stopped working before that. I am quite sure John will have more on that point later, but the point I want to make is that this Aeros team, although good when it wants to be, does not bring "it" every night and I don't know why.

Saturday night in San Antonio is going to be VERY interesting. The Rampage keep losing games where they outshoot teams 4,022 to 6. They are definitely out of the playoffs now, so maybe they tank another game that the Aeros have to win.

My guess is that won't happen and the Aeros really need to be ready for an all-out assault.

Three Stars -

1) Bowers, QCY ... he scored the last three goals of the game, including a cheap empty netter that sent him to the bench for an ridiculous overly dramatic celebration. Now if I find out that he made promise to a dying relative or a sick kid before the game that he was going to do that, I am going to feel like horse doo doo.

2) Van der Gulik, QCY ... he deserved the second star because of three helpers tonight. He always brings it against the Aeros and tonight was no different.

3)Morten Madsen, HOU ... He did not deserve the third star, but I guess he got one since the Aeros always give one to the home team generally. He scored a nice backhander with one second left in the first period, but QCY's Leland Irving should have been the third star. Probably the only player on the ice who had a worse game than Nolan Schaefer (again, not all his fault) was the Flames' starting goalie, Matt Keetley. The Aeros picked him apart and he was giving up one big juicy rebound after another. When Irving stopped Pouliot on the Aeros last good scoring chance of the game early in the second period, a statement was made and the Aeros' fate was ultimately sealed.