Round 2, Game 5: Mama said there'd be days like this

Happy Mother's Day to all you Aeros-loving moms, and especially all you hockey moms who put up with your cars smelling like hockey gear. I am my own hockey mom, so I know that funk and it ain't pretty.

And of course, same to all the Aeros' moms as I have no doubt they made many sacrifices (or for Benny, Matt, and Max's moms... beaucoup sacrifices) to get them where they are today.

So, as usual, I got my hopes up, got all positive, and the boys are headed back to Milwaukee. This is why, the more important the game, the more negative I tend to be. I know it bugs some folks, but it works! Plus, I'm always pleasantly surprised if I'm wrong, or if I'm right, I'm at least mentally prepared for it.

Once again, I was assigned to the visiting locker room (well, unfortunately not the actual locker room) to talk to the coach and it was certainly a lighter atmosphere than Thursday. Lambert lamented a rather atrocious penalty kill, but was otherwise happy to see his team finally get a win in exchange for a winning effort, which he felt the team had put out all three games in Houston.

He thought they got to Anton a bit (and 19 shots in a single period will do that to you, especially after letting in a couple in the first). I can attest that 4 goals feels like 7. It gets in your head, so I was glad to see him sit.

And I still really like the way Climie looked as he stopped all 16 shots he saw in his half of the game. Absolutely zero unnecessary drama in his game, which is a welcome relief. He's cool as a cucumber.

The one thing I noticed was that the Aeros just weren't as aggressive in their own zone as usual. There seemed to be a second delay to everything they were doing. I kept saying, "They're just watching! Why are they just watching?!" It was weird. Like the air around them was a bit thicker than that around the Admirals.

Oh well. As Lambert said, "It is what it is, and we’re going to have to focus now on Game 6."

Couldn't have said it better myself, Coach.