Round 1, Game #4 -- Aeros vs.Peoria -- Photos 1

Just some commentary and a few quick photos tonight, I'll have more tomorrow.

First off, once again Anton was not THE reason the Aeros lost this game but he was not sharp at all and couldn't keep the Aeros in the game. It was clear he was not sharp and not seeing the puck well from very early on. Coach stayed with him a goal too long in my opinion as I would have removed him after the end of the 2nd period since the 3rd Peoria goal was a joke where Anton got a piece of the puck with his glove and then lost all sense of where it was. Unfortunately it was on the ice behind him just sitting there waiting to be knocked in by Peoria. It was one of those goals that just made you sick. But the real story was the rest of the team. Benoit Pouliot was a turnover machine. I swear he turned over the puck more times that the Aeros got the puck on net. The team defense did not take care of business and did not clear away pucks that sat there after the juicy rebounds or they were misplayed by Anton. The offense was disjointed and at least 3 empty nets were missed. It was a team loss for sure. On the way home the family told me it looked like Anton was very upset when he was pulled after a joke of a goal made the score 4-2 Peoria. They said he went directly to the locker room and Coach joined him not long after. Anton, I'm happy that you cared enough to be emotional but you deserved to be pulled.

Tonight I'll give you the good, the bad and the ugly.

The Bad

The first goal was a shocker. Mitch Love was in a bit of a tussle with several Rivermen and I thought for sure there was going to be something developing off of the face off to the left on Khudobin. For that reason, I wasn't watching the net when the goal was actually scored. Since the Aeros are too cheap to show replays in the arena on weekdays there was no replay for those who missed it to see what actually happened. Andrew and John have one theory, the Aeros press release has another. Who knows.

I did catch this shot of Paddock's reaction as it went in. You can just see the puck poking up above the skirt about 3/4 of the way in the net on the near side.

The Ugly

Jesse Schultz and Matt Beaudoin managed to get Manny Legace way out of position and Beaudoin had an completely open net. Unfortunately he never got complete control of the puck and a fantastic scoring opportunity was squandered.

The Good

And finally, the good. Tony Hrkac had a fantastic tip in of a Paul Albers shot to tie the game at one. (See the puck circled in red) Manny went into a crying act with referee Frederick L'Ecuyer but L'Ecuyer was having none of it. It was clearly a good tip in and a great boost to the Aeros when they needed one.

More tomorrow.

All Photos:Fred Trask