Observations From The Morning Skate -- The Power Dancers Edition

"This is great," Tony Hrkac said this morning. "This is unbelievable. It’s a great bunch of guys. Not too many guys get a chance to do this. When you retire you think oh yeah I can play, I can play…I’ve got a chance to do it, and this has been a terrific experience."

I talked to Tony Hrkac after the morning skate for what I consider to be obvious reasons. He's the old guy on the team who was brought on for his experience, especially his Calder Cup and Stanley Cup experience. So if there's going to be an elder statesmen on the team, some one who's going to be Mr. Serious and keep the guys focused on winning, it's got to be Hrkac.

Well, yeah. Kind of.

The thing is. I don't think the guy can be too serious. He's having too much fun playing hockey, doing what he thought he would never get the chance to do again. And not only is he playing, he's contributing, with nine points (1-8=9) in 10 games.

But that said, one would also think that games like tonight's Game Five with Milwaukee, a game that sends the Aeros to the next around against Manitoba should they win, would be rather routine for a guy like Hrkac who has played on a Stanley Cup winning team as well as a Calder Cup winning team. If there's anyone who doesn't get butterflies in his stomach for a game like this, it would be Hrkac, right?

Well, no.

"Oh yeah. I think you should," Hrkac said about the butterflies and being nervous. "It means you’re into it and ready to play. This is a fun game. But you want to do well, so when you’re nervous a little bit, that’s a good sign."

I don't know how nervous all of the guys are about tonight's game, but they did appear to be having a good time on the ice this morning. Justin Falk is a bit of the comedian. He lets out this loud whoop whenever one of his shots gets close to the net, then he goes into this goofy dance which is part Krys Kolanos and part Marco Rosa. Other guys are banging around or trying to get the pucks into the stands. So if this morning is any indication, they're not gripping the stick too hard.

"You know their backs are against the wall," Hrkac said of Milwaukee. "They’re going to come out flying, so you just have to match or be better than them. We know we can play well. We know we can beat this team, but it’s going to have to be our best game. They’re going to come out flying. They’re a good team. They’re just not going to give it to us. We can’t go out there squeezing our sticks and being overly nervous and not making good plays or mental mistakes. It’s still the same game, but probably a little higher tempo. You’ve got to keep guys relaxed a little bit and ready to go."

So based on what I saw this morning, and based on the criteria from Hrkac, I say they're ready to go tonight.

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I've been reading that the Admirals aren't exactly having fun out on the ice. Tuesday night, it was the officiating. Thursday night, it was supposedly the heat and humidity and the condition of the ice. If they didn't like the ice on Thursday, then they're really not going to like it tonight.

The Rockets played a late game last night, which means the ice was covered by the wood floor and stands really late into the night. And I'm sure Toyota Center officials weren't too concerned with keeping it cooled down. The building itself, this morning was warm and very humid, more so than it's been the other times this week.

So I was curious. In the past, I've asked Kevin Constantine about the ice, and how it affects the team, and his response has always been that it affects each team because each team has to play on it and each team has to deal with the humidity. But I got to thinking, the Aeros are used to this, and judging by the statements coming from Milwaukee, they're not used to it, and they're not liking it. So I asked Constantine if this could, actually, be giving the Aeros a special home ice advantage. He said no.

"During the regular season, I think that answer would be a yes because we’d be here and we’re used to it," he said. "But I think when you go into the playoffs with both teams spending an equal time in each city you’re all under the same conditions. So I don’t think it’s as much an advantage in the playoffs."

As for the game tonight, Constantine, who despite the wins hasn't been entirely pleased with his team's play, expects Milwaukee to come out on the attack. So he'd like for his guys to respond by becoming the aggressor and attacking the Milwaukee zone instead of laying back on defense.

As to how he wants his team to handle this game with the possibility of playoff advancement just waiting for them, he's also hoping for the team to be attacking. "We just talked about taking an aggressive attitude into the game," he said. "Sometimes you get in these situation, and you just kind of hope it works out because you don’t feel the pressure to make it work out."

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The definite scratches for tonight are Dane Crowley, Tomas Mojzis, Jesse Schultz, John Adams, Nolan Schaefer, and Barry Brust. Once again, Albers was skating, and he looked good. I've got nothing to back this up with, but I'd expect to see him back on the ice tonight taking Mojzis's spot. As to Mojzis, Constantine says he is day-to-day but will return before Jesse Schultz.

I talked to Nolan Schaefer briefly. He says his knee is feeling good and he's ready to play. He was frustrated earlier because the rehab wasn't going as expected, but he says he's in good spirits now because the knee doesn't hurt and because the team is winning.

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The referee for tonight's game is Jeff Smith. He doesn't believe in blowing the whistle. So who knows who this will help or hurt tonight. That could mean that the Aeros won't get nailed for some of those stupid penalties they like to commit, but it could also mean that the Admirals are just going to whale away on whichever Aero is handy.

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As to the photo...I suppose I knew this and forgot, but while waiting for Constantine to emerge from the locker room this morning, I noticed the sign for the Rockets Power Dancers, and it dawned on me that the Aeros share the same locker room with the Power Dancers.

I bet that locker room could tell some stories.

And I'll be back with Inside the Numbers later this afternoon.