Do you guys remember the Milwaukee Short Shifts blog?Well some of the same guys have another blog going, and I highly recommend reading them and adding them to your blog roll.
Also here is a link to Dave Boehler's article in the Milwakuee Journal-Sentinel. (That is where I got the picture for this post. What a photo! You can clearly see the JS photog got it right when Wellman's shot hit the net. Game. Set. Match. I have a new screensaver)
Both stories have some good quotes from former Aero player and MKE head coach Lane Lambert.
Basically the take that I get from them is that Jeremy Smith kept them in the series, which I agree with. And pretty much everyone in Milwaukee thinks Matt Hackett is a (using their words here) douche bag.
Apparently, he gave a little back to a group of fans that were giving him the business in the games up there. Did anyone notice any of that going on?
Man, they really hate Hackett right now, and I sense that their fans want no part of the "well, I want the Aeros to win because they beat our team" side of things.
They want Hackett's arse handed to him.
Either way, the Chicago Wolves are long in the rearview mirror as the Aeros biggest rivalry. Based on the last three years alone, I would have to say that the Aeros and Admirals are now a pretty good rivalry.
Milwaukee always wins the regular series, and the Aeros (recently) have won when it counts.
Thoughts?
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It would be interesting to see the all-time records in Regular vs. Postseason for these two teams.
I seem to recall similarly that the Admirals tend to dominate the Chicago Wolves in the regular season, but the Wolves record is much better in the postseason.
I think the Admirals put up a good fight through the series with all these ATO's, and that things would probably be different if Nashville didn't cherry pick the best for their NHL cup run. Houston had all their Minne Wild guys the whole time.
I read the blog site. Personally, I thought Smith was awesome...at least he was here in Houston. I can't figure why fans would be blaming him for the series loss. And of course they blame the fact that the Wild didn't make the playoffs so we had all our players. Well, we got to the playoffs without all our players, some of whom were up there almost the entire season. Then to boo at the end? Those fans should take a lesson from the Predators fans...who were very classy. What did Hackett do to tick everyone off? They say some awful things about him.
I didn't see Hackett do anything. Then again, I was watching Wellman when he scored, and Hackett says he celebrated when that happened. Personally, I think it's a group of fans who can dish it out, and they were dishing it out at Hackett, but they can't take it when somebody responds to them.
That's the impression I'm getting, too, John. One of the pics I'm posting in a few minutes lends itself to that theory.
One of the admiralsroundtable commenters says, "I had a good view of Hackett taunting them over there, it wasn’t just a normal “stretch out the legs” kind of skate they do during game breaks."
So he skated, but in a taunting way...?
I love the "Well, you had everyone back from Minnesota" argument myself. How many players were actually with the Wild that would not have been playing in the AHL playoffs? Only names I can think of are Spurgeon and possibly either Falk or Scandella.
And obviously only seeing Hackett in the 2nd Pds, I have NO clue what the massive hate is, besides the fact he punched Watson after the interference call back on 4/1... then confronted Josi about Josi's little hack after play in Game 2.
I've heard comments from people who sit behind the goal in the 2nd pds that Hack has said/mouthed/whatevered things to them... which again, if you're going to tell him he sucks and all that, don't whine if he responds back.
Thanks for the shoutout and endorsement, Andrew. That's very cool of you guys.
I didn't see any of the Hackett stuff, but John was telling me before the game about how confident/cocky Hackett can be sometimes. So I guess I'm not too surprised, nor am I too surprised by the fan reaction. Emotions were running high. It was a hell of a finish. But one of the commenters on our blog I think put it best -- fans need to be able to take it if they want to dish it out. Don't have to like the goalie, but he won. And there's nothing that name-calling will be able to change about it. That said, I wouldn't generalize the fan base by what some of them did after a heartbreaking gutwrenching game 7 loss. Every team has been there. But your commenter is right -- The Preds fans were very classy in defeat. But I don't know if that should be expected to be the norm instead of the exception.
Great playoff series. Great season for both teams. Biggest rival? Tough to say. I don't think we see you guys enough during the regular season to get to that point. Caps fans circle the games against Pittsburgh on their schedules....I don't think Aeros and Ads fans will do that for each other next year. Still, if the teams meet again in the playoffs next season, I think it'll be even more intense than this series was.
As for rooting....I'm pulling for Charlotte. After knocking off Hershey and WB, they're a great story.
As for Smitty....the 2nd Aero goal stunk. But it's not what lost them the game.
Thanks for a great series.
The players and some of you folks may feel differently but I really don't have the available space for a proper Admirals rivalry right now. San Antonio has had that catagory filled to the brim and over flowing for a loooong time. Bless their tiny little hearts. Of course if we need to have a dust up with anyone, including the Admirals, I'll try to open up a bit of room for some bad mojo.
OH BILLY, you sure about all that pardner?
I laugh at all the comments about the Aeros having all these NHL'ers. It was what, Scandy and Spurge? Its not like we got someone like Koivu.....
As for the 'you got your guys back from Minny' argument.... Who knows how the parent club would have managed the Aeros if they had made the playoffs. In the Ads case, Laakso was gone for a few games just to watch some NHL games from the stands. That's frustrating, but it's the nature of the beast. It's a developmental league.
But if any combination of Scandella, Spurgeon, Falk, Noreau, and maybe Earl were up with Minny, how much of a drop off would there be with the guys replacing them? While the Admirals would have LOVED to have had Halischuk, Geoffrion, and Blum the whole time, they ended up with 38 games played by guys on ATO's in the playoffs. Young guys can be great, but that's a lot of learning on the fly when the margin for error is so tiny.
But it is what it is. I'm not complaining. But I think that may be where the 'you guys had your guys back' argument may be coming from.
And it's not why the Aeros won. They won because they earned it.
Ryan said: "the Aeros won because they earned it"
If you would ask any Aero who the MVP was in this series, you would probably get a bunch of blank stares...because the Aeros "play and fight as a team"...this is their intangible strength.
Recall, for a moment, the credo of the Navy SEALS (recently in the headlines) since their 1962 formation: "we are a special team... because we fight as a team...one unit, one mind, one strategy" (Reference: Marcus Luttrell's 2007 book.."Lone Survivor"...suggested reading for every American).
Go Aeros!!!
Ryan, I think I'll throw my hat in for Charlotte down the stretch as well, if only for the Zack Bennett story. As for the Ads/Aeros series, I've said on other social networking media that it was the best hockey I've ever seen, congrats to the Aeros and good luck next round vs Hamilton
So what is everyone's opinion about the Bulldogs? Do you think they are a harder team then the Admirals?
The Bulldogs have the top rated goalie in the league as well as two top ten scorers. I'd say it's going to be a dog fight.
Re: my above comment:
Dog gone it, in my haste to get to the punchline I missed the word "playoffs'" as in "the playoffs' top rated goalie"....I guess I was just begging for it, getting in a rush will come back to bite you almost every time. It's put me in the dog house more than once.
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