Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word

This is, I think, the hardest post to write that I've ever done here. The interviews were hard to transcribe, listening to the inflections in the voices of Mike Yeo and Jon DiSalvatore, the emotion, the passion, the disappointment, the feeling that they had just let down not only themselves, but the fans, especially the fans.

This isn't how the Aeros wanted this season to end. Not losing game six on home ice after having a 2-1 lead in the third period. Not losing a game on a desperation play by a Binghamton defender coming from nowhere to block a Patrick O'Sullivan shot that appeared to be a sure goal with about 50 seconds left that would have sent the game to overtime. Not after they finally got their power play working. Not after they left everything they had out there on the ice.

In the end, the Aeros just couldn't go any further. All of the game sevens. All of the physical play. The injuries. In the end, it was just too much. Especially with a 19-year-old rookie goalie named Robin Lehner playing out of his mind.

The better team won last night. The Senators getting the 3-2 win to win the Calder Cup in front of 10,000-plus screaming Aeros fans. So, for one last time, lets get to the notes, quotes and observations from game six.

1. First, here's the link to my game story in the Press. I know you're sick and tired of my pushing this, but this will be the last time for awhile. I don't know what the status of Aeros coverage in the Press will be for next season, but they've indulged me for four seasons, so go over one last time this year, read the story, leave some comments. Let them know you care (and damn, what do you know, people from Binghamton are already bitching about it though I say nothing but good things about the team).

2. Despite the Aeros loss, this was easily the best game of hockey I've seen in a long time. Perhaps it had something to do with Terry Koharski not being around, but David Banfield and Jean Hebert did an excellent job of officiating this game. They kept the scrums to a minimum. They called the penalties that needed to be called. They didn't get in the way of the flow of the game. Perhaps the league listened to Mike Yeo, perhaps they didn't. But still, nice job of officiating.

3. I think the bravest person around last night was Jon DiSalvatore. It's Mike Yeo's job to talk to us media folks, win or lose. But DiSalvatore could have said no. I don't think any of us would have objected. I think we would have all understood. But the guy's the captain. He's been the go-to guy for a comment all season. So we asked for him, and he came out, and he talked to us. You could tell it was hard. You could tell he was dying inside. Dying for himself, his teammates, the fans. But he stood there one last time and answered our questions.

There was a reason the guys elected him to be the captain. And we've seen it many times out there on the ice. But his performance after this game, standing there, facing us, after this, that's why he was the captain.

4. "If I can say right now, thank you to all of the fans," DiSalvatore said at the very end. "I do want to thank them. They were tremendous. They showed up tonight, and they were great. We really appreciate that support. We’re upset that we couldn’t bring a championship, but we appreciate all of the support that they’ve given to us, and we hope that they’re back next year for sure."

5. The crowd last night was fantastic. The Aeros are a minor league team in a major league town. They battle for attention with the Astros, the Texans, and the Rockets. The Dynamo probably get more attention. They're there with the Cougars and the Owls. But despite that, they went out and won games. They demanded attention, and the fans, the city paid attention. There were over 10,000 folks inside Toyota Center last night banging their thundersticks and clanging the cowbells. I was down there in the corner in the third period, and you could feel it.

6. "It was an interesting year for me, coming back here," Mike Yeo told us. "We had some amazing, passionate fans, but I think things kind of grew as the playoffs went on. Those passionate fans, I’m really happy for them that they got awarded with a long playoff run, and I wish we could have delivered to them what I believe that they deserve as well. I think our fans are the best in the league. I also think that with the help of the media – the media was great for us throughout the playoffs, and I think that picking up – I think we picked up a lot of new fans along the way. I think people got a chance to see what it’s all about. The passion that’s out there. The energy level that’s out there. The speed and intensity of the game. And our crowds were just unbelievable. Again, I wish in front of that crowd tonight, to see how classy they were, to see them cheering on right to the very end, I wish that we could have delivered a different outcome."

7. About that outcome. What a punch in the gut. Binghamton played great hockey. But the injuries were the doom for the Aeros. Cody Almond and Jared Spurgeon were probably, along with Colton Gillies, the team's best penalty killers, and they couldn't play. Jon DiSalvatore said the special teams were a wash -- each team had two goals on the power play -- and that it was the five-on-five that did the Aeros in. And perhaps he's right. Once again, going to the injuries to the Spurgeon and Almond.

We saw way too little of Spurgeon this season. That's because he was up with the Wild way before he was supposed to be up with the Wild, and he stayed up there because of just how good he was on defense. And Cody Almond had been a key piece to making the chemistry of the first line just right, providing the grit to go with DiSalvatore and O'Sullivan.

8. One of the things that Yeo and DiSalvatore have spoken about all year is the character of this team. About how they've banded together, become a family. Maybe it's kind of a cliche. But for this team, it worked, and Yeo says that why this team went as far as it did.

"You know what, when you see a guy go out and put his own agenda aside, and do everything he can to help the guy next to him, to help you, to help his teammates, that’s when you know that guy’s a winner. That’s a guy you want to go out and do the same thing for. That’s what we have with this group. It’s a group that cared an awful lot about each other. I think that that came from each guy giving everything he could for the group. It was a very special group."

9. Jon DiSalvatore was asked what that one thing, above any other thing, would be that he remembers about this season. He didn't mention a game, or a goal. He mentioned his teammates.

"It’s always going to be the guys," he said. "It’s us in there. We go through everything together. You experience different relationships with guys. You battle, and you grind, and you challenge each other, and at the end of the day you guys are all fighting for the same thing. And you come together – you learn so much about the character of guys, and what it took for what guys to get to this level, and how guys are experiencing pro careers differently, and how we all become part of it with each other. These relationships that you build, especially going this far is – they’re a lifetime. They become lifetime friends, and warriors that you’ll just go to battle with any day."

10. In the end, Binghamton was just the better team last night. Particularly Robin Lehner. "He’s fantastic. He was fantastic," Yeo said. "Certainly in the second period we had great chances. We could have extended our lead. We couldn’t get that third goal. He’s huge. He’s a big guy. He covers an awful of lot net. He was great."

11. It was tough to see the Aeros lose last night, to lose the series. It was tough to see Binghamton celebrating on the ice while the Aeros skated in a daze, trying to grasp what had just happened. But despite all of that, I had a slight tinge of happiness. Not so much for the Senators as a team, because I don't really know that team. But I do know two of the players, Barry Brust and Corey Locke.

Barry Brust was my money quote, my go-to-guy for three years in Houston. He'd always give a great quote, win or lose, especially if he had just lost a game. He's a good guy, hell, he's a great guy. And Corey Locke was only here for one season, but that season, two years ago, he was a star. He was Mr. Dependable. The guy just had, still has, this ability to put points on the board. And while not as great a quote as Brust, he would always talk and do his best to give us what we needed.

So as tough as it was to watch the Aeros lose, to see the guys I've been covering and getting to know this year lose, I want to congratulate Brusty and Corey and their teammates.

12. Finally, it's been awhile since I've posted a video. But there's this song that's been running through my head since the game ended last night. Perhaps it's because of the way Yeo and DiSalvatore kept trying to apologize to the fans and to each other for letting everybody down. Perhaps it's because the song is used in Slap Shot, one of my favorite movies. But it just seems to fit the mood I'm in, so here's Elton John with "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word."



I'll be back later this week with my thoughts on the season and a whole bunch of thank yous.

In flight and photos from Game 2

Well, gang, the Aeros looked the other way while I sneaked into the luggage compartment of the charter flight they're taking up to Bingo. So, T3I will be with you all week, live in Binghamton, covering morning skates, games, and any other trouble I can find.

It's just Ms.C for now but John is getting in for the Friday and Saturday games and maybe Drew makes an appearance if we get lucky. I'll do my best to get you good info all week.

Credit to the Wild for stepping up for some nice travel arrangements. I saw lots of players' faces light up as they boarded the plane. In particular, one tall defenseman had the biggest reaction, even though he's spent plenty of time with the Wild flying just as swankily.

Just goes to show how much it's appreciated, but especially by the extra tall boys who would otherwise have their knees up by their noses in coach.

Anyway, without further ado, here are Chris "Beer Me" Jerina's photos of Game 2. If you want to see all of them, along with Saturday's morning skate, go here.

Okay, just ONE Brusty pic. Because... well... just look. *wolf whistle*

Awesome shot of Carson McMillan rendering his mouth guard useless

Bags doesn't get enough love here, but this is a nice shot.

Okay, back to goalies...

Oh my....

For the Locker fans...

Bunch more where these came from. In the mean time, I need a nap. Gonna be a busy week.

Easily Amused: Photos

Okay, okay, here are some real pictures, too, from Chris "I'm effing stuck in Atlanta" Jerina.

It wouldn't be right to not start out with a Brusty pic. I mean, this is The Dream after all.

Just stoppin' pucks. NBD.

This guy should always wear a beard. It works. Rawr.

The J.M. stands for "Crazy Eyes" in French.

Ortmeyer's shot on his game winner

And then the WOOOOOO!

And Ortmeyer's first goal.

More WOOOOOOO!

Anyway, many more here if you want to look through them.

See you tonight!

Corey Locke, AHL MVP

Congrats to former Aeros Corey Locke who, today, was named the AHL's Most Valuable Player. He had a tremendous season with the Aeros several seasons ago, and he was a good guy for us to deal with in the locker room while he was here.

Congrats, Corey.

Your "Fred Trask Photo of the Season Competition" Winner is...

Well done, T3I readers! And it was a tight one to the finish. Final was 49.2% for Locke's goal on Legace to 50.8% for Brusty's diving save.

(Addition -- Here is Andrew's Chronicle game story from that game. There was not a lot of space in the paper, though, and the whole graph about Brust's save on MacKenzie was cut. There is, however, a decent quote from Brusty himself.)

I made some suggestions to the boys as to what kind of prize the winning player in the photograph should get, but was told they were all inappropriate. I hear that a lot. Hmph.

Well, anyway, thank you a million times over to Fred for giving us all these wonderful shots to enjoy and reminisce about a special season. Thanks to Brusty for busting out the rock star shit on that save. That's just sick.

And thanks to Andrew for organizing the brackets in a way that I am just too much of a girl to do.

And, of course, thanks to you all for voting and being such solid fans. Here's to another season of killer saves, goals, fights, celebrations, swoops, hits and more!

Locke Departs for Big Apple

The New York Rangers announced that they have signed Corey Locke to a contract. There are no details to the agreement other than a Rangers release that they have signed Locke.

Locke was one of the Aeros major scorers and contributors last season, and like the other big scorers, he was a free agent. I have yet to see anything regarding the contract status of Krys Kolanos, Jesse Schultz, or Matt Beaudoin who were the team's other big scoring contributors.

Round 3, Game #4 -- Aeros vs. Moose -- Photos

Nothing but goals tonight ...

Here is the Corey Locke goal as it goes past Schneider
Here is a series showing the Robbie Earl goal.

This is the first Matt Beaudoin goal.

And finally, the Matt Beaudoin game winner in OT.

All Photos:Fred Trask

Round 3, Game #4: Aeros vs. Manitoba, Some Quick Notes

Sorry for the delay. It's taking us a little extra time to film the video segment -- and Andrew will be posting that in a bit. And I've still got a post for the mothership to write, but...

The Aeros won 5-4 in overtime. Who saw that coming? It was the Matt Beaudoin show tonight, as he was in on four of the five goals with two goals and two assists. Tony Hrkac and Corey Locke also had nice games.

We're not sure what the injury to Anton Khudobin is, though I did see him in the trainer's room after the game. Kevin Constantine told us that Khudobin injured himself sometime in the third, but the coaches weren't even aware of it at the time and didn't know about it until the intermission, at which point, he said, they had no choice but to go with Nolan Schaefer for the overtime.

There'll be more to come later, but I just thought I would go ahead and throw that information out. Make sure to come back in a bit because Andrew will be posting video and all of us will have more informative posts to come.

Round 2, Game #7: Aeros vs. Milwaukee -- The Pretender Edition

“If you can’t get yourself ready for a game like this,” Clayton Stoner said after Wednesday’s morning skate, “then you don’t deserve to be here.”

Guess what? The Aeros were ready, and they deserved to be here.

The Milwaukee Admirals came out hard, slamming guys into the boards and hitting any guy in the dark green shirts any chance they got. But the Aeros were ready. And when it counted, it was the Aeros who did the actual damage. They didn’t slam Admirals into the board. They hurt them in a different fashion.

They scored goals.

Corey Locke, the team’s leading playoff scorer (and one of the AHL leaders) with 13 points (7-6=13) got a pass from Max Noreau and Locke got the puck past Milwaukee goalie Drew MacIntyre to make the score 1-0 at the 3:34 mark of the first. The point was Locke’s 14th of the playoffs, but the team barely had time to celebrate before Krys Kolanos got a pass from Marco Rosa, and Kolanos took the puck and buried it in the net to make the score 2-0 at 4:23.

And just like that, the Aeros had Game Seven won.

“I think it was pretty big,” Corey Locke said of his goal. “Especially after we got beat pretty bad and got shut out. The [Admirals had] confidence and MacIntyre’s got confidence. I just got a lucky bounce. It went to the net, it hit me, and it landed right in front of me. I just put it over the net. It was just kind of the bounce we needed, and we weren’t getting those in Games Five and Six.”

Coach Kevin Constantine agreed, calling those first two goals the key to the victory.

“I felt…the guys with the ability to get some things offensively done would have to get it done,” Constantine said. “And Krys Kolanos and Corey Locke got our first two goals. And not to take away from the other goals, but those are huge. When you lose seven-nothing, you need something good to happen early to remind yourself you’re okay. So those two goals by those two guys were just big, big, big. I tip my hat to those two guys to put our confidence level back to where we could compete in a Game Seven.”

The Aeros did more than compete. They dominated, playing perhaps their best all-around game of the playoffs. The defense was, for the most part, solid in front of Anton Khudobin (the defense did let Khudobin down on the Admirals second goal), Khudobin was solid, and the offense was good, keeping the puck in the Milwaukee zone for large parts of the game.

With Houston up 2-1 in the second, Clayton Stoner scored what proved to be the game-winner at 14:21 on the power play to make the score 3-1. And after Milwaukee scored in the closing minutes of the second to make it 3-2 and give a slight momentum shift, Bryan Lundbohm, getting a great pass from Tony Hrkac – who faked out Drew MacIntyre – buried the puck at 5:30 of the third to put the Aeros up 4-2.

Milwaukee would not challenge after that. And Corey Locke, who started the scoring, ended the scoring, getting the empty-net goal at 18:09 to make the final score 5-2.

“It’s awesome,” Stoner summed up at the end. “I can’t really describe the feeling. The game’s just so intense. Everyone’s up on the bench the whole game, and every guy’s just yelling and pulling for each other. And when it comes to the end of the game, when that final buzzer rang we felt great because we knew that we gave it all.”

Gave it all they did, because they were ready.

SOME MISCELLANEOUS GAME NOTES:

One of the keys of the game was Anton Khudobin. Khudobin was on top of the world last Thursday night after he shut out the Admirals on his birthday. But he got pulled early from Games Five and Six. And with Nolan Schaefer available, there was some thought that Kevin Constantine would turn to the veteran. Instead, Constantine went with Khudobin yet again.

And the move paid off.

"It felt good," Khudobin said. "It was a kind of pressure, Game Seven. For the second time in my life. But we scored right away two goals, so there wasn't any pressure on me any longer."

Khudobin said he spent the past several days working with the coaches on his play. "I talked to our coaches, and they told me what I did wrong."

One thing Khudobin did, which the rest of the team also said they did, was forget Monday night. "I forgot about everything," Khudobin said. "I just focused on this game."

Constantine didn't think Khudobin was at his best in the game, but in the end, that didn't matter. "The bottom line is he got it done," Constantine said. "I thought he battled with the puck a little. I didn’t think the saves came easy to him. I thought he was kind of fighting all night….He’s had two game sevens under pressure where he’s given up two goals in each, and I think that’s pretty good."

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The goal that probably put the game away was scored by Byran Lundbohm at 5:30 of the third to make the score 4-2. It's been a bit of a frustrating season for Lundbohm as he battled injuries for most of the season and sought to find his place on the team. But he's been a surprising playoff presence. So it was nice to see Lundbohm get one of the goals.

"It was obviously pretty sweet," Lundbohm said. "Especially doing it against a team I played for before. I wanted to just keep myself in good shape and ready, and I’ve been really given a good opportunity, and I’m making the most out of it. It’s definitely exciting. We’ve got a special team here."

The special team concept is one that runs through the locker room as everybody says the best part was winning it for the rest of the guys.

"It’s great to win with these guys," Locke said.

"That’s a group of guys in there that really care," Constantine said. "They really want to be successful. And they got it done."

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The Aeros made AHL history with this victory. They became the seventh team in AHL history to win two Game Sevens in one playoffs. And with the Game Seven victory, Kevin Constantine himself went back in the books as, once again, he took an underdog into the opposition building and won a Game Seven.

When asked how he pulls this off, Constantine kind of shrugged. "I don’t know why," he said. "I don’t know how, really."

And with the win, the Aeros are now 6-1 all-time in Game Sevens, and they are 4-0 in Calder Cup Game Sevens. And all four of the AHL wins have come on the road. And it should be noted that, once again, the team leading after the first period won the game. In this series, the team to lead after the first period was 7-0.

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Oh, I just feel the need to note that I, and I only of the T3I staff, picked the Aeros to win this series. So there.

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The Admirals came out on the ice just before the start of the game to some music from the Foo Fighters. Specifically, they came out to "The Pretender." And as they played that song, I couldn't help but wonder if they had picked the wrong song, because, in many ways, if you listen to the song, the lyrics are more descriptive of the Aeros.

So, to play us out, here's Foo Fighters with "The Pretender."

Foo Fighters - New Music - More Music Videos

Round 2, Game #5 -- Aeros vs. Milwaukee -- Photos

Early on you could sense what kind of night it was going to be. The team seemed just a bit off from the get go. Here you can see Anton Khudobin just misses on a puck he probably should have let go over his head. It hit the top of his glove and fell to the ice behind him. It was fortunate that it did not end up in the net.
Here is the first of two goals by Bryan Smolinski. Anton probably should have had it, as the shot was from a long way out and there wasn't much traffic in front of him.
The Aeros went back down ice and Benoit Pouliot almost got this one in as Drew MacIntyre didn't get all of the puck. It lay in the crease for a few seconds before it was cleared. Bryan Lundbohm couldn't quite get to it in ime to bang it home.
Justin Falk lost and edge going back for the puck in the Aeros end and Bryan Smolinski got his second of the night. Again it looked like this was a stoppable shot. Anton went down a bit early and Smoke made him pay.

Anton got this one in the glove for a nice save in the 2nd period.

Andreas Thuresson whistled this one past Khudobin. I couldn't tell if Anton was screened on the shot or not.
And finally this was the postion of the Aeros (you can see five Aeros here) when Kelsey Wilson scored the final Miulwaukee goal of the night. This one chased Anton from the net.

Matt Climie came in to mop up and he was put to the test early.

Mitch Love got a bit carried away in front of the Milwaukee goal here in the 3rd period.
Referee Jeff Smith send him to the box for 2 minutes. Love was incensed that he was the only one sent to the box, giving Milaukee a 2 minute power play.
Drew MacIntyre robbed Corey Locke on this shot. MacIntyre was actually falling to the ice as he tripped over his own feet getting back to the post.
Locke made up for it by scoring from almost the same spot a few minutes later with the Aeros on the power play.

I liked this shot of Matt Beaudoin.

Robbie Earl scores the final Areos goal of the night but the Aeros come up short.
MacIntyre was pretty upset that this one would count as he pleads his case to Jeff Smith.


All Photos:Fred Trask

Round 2, Game #5: Aeros vs. Milwaukee -- Mr. Blue Sky Edition

The numbers said that the team to score first in this playoff series wins the game. The numbers said that the team to score a power play goal in this series wins the game. The numbers lied.

The Aeros scored first, in the first period, on the power play, when Corey Locke, off a pass from Maxim Noreau, fired a shot past Milwaukee's Drew MacIntyre at 9:13 to put the Aeros up 1-0. The lead was short-lived as, less than a minute later, Milwaukee's Bryan Smolinski got the turnover and beat Anton Khudobin at 10:09. And eight minutes later, after a Justin Falk turnover deep in the Aeros zone, Smolinski again beat Khudobin to put Milwaukee up 2-1.

Smolinksi's assault continued in the second period when he assisted Andreas Thuresson at 5:53 to put Milwaukee up 3-1. Milwaukee then took advantage of another Houston turnover at 10:24 of the second as Kelsey Wilson snapped a shot past Khudobin to make the score 4-1. At that point, Khudobin, the star of Game Four for Houston, was pulled from the game and replaced by Matt Climie, who blocked all 16 shots that he faced. But it was too late. The damage was done.

The game, officiated by Jeff Smith, was just as any game officiated Jeff Smith is: few whistles; lots of action; lots of hits. "We knew going in, that the way the ref called the game, that there wasn’t going to be much special teams," Aeros coach Kevin Constantine said. "So there wasn’t, until late. You’ve got to find a way to battle through the more physical playoff game. That’s a throwback to 15 years ago. That style of play. But we knew that going in. That’s the way he calls a game."

And the physical play didn't really seem to bother either team. Houston's problems were much the same as the problems they've faced in the first five games, no matter the official. The team was sloppy. They made mental errors. They let Milwaukee dictate the flow of the action -- which meant the puck was in Houston's zone much of the night. They committed stupid turnovers and neglected the easy shot attempt while taking the hard.

Still, with all of that, and with Milwaukee playing the way a 107-point should play, the Aeros got back in the game and had a good chance to send the game to overtime. And amazingly, the reason for this was Jeff Smith, who called two penalties on Milwaukee that led to two Houston power plays and two Houston goals. Corey Locke got his second power play goal of the night at 8:52 of the third when he knocked in the rebound of a John Lammers shot to make the score 4-2. Then at 18:10, with Houston again on the power play, Ronnie Earl stuffed in the rebound of a Marco Rosa shot to make the score 4-3.

"Yeah," Robbie Earl said when he was asked if he thought the team was going to catch Milwaukee. "We had a good feeling. But we came up short."

But despite playing without a goalie and going with the extra attacker for most of the final minute of the game, the Aeros were not able to get off a good shot and lost the game 4-3 to send the series back to Milwaukee with the Aeros up three games to two.

"We’ll go back to work on Monday," Corey Locke said. And back to work they will go as the series resumes with Game Six in Milwaukee on Monday night.

SOME MISCELLANEOUS GAME NOTES:

"We didn’t expect to win three straight," Robbie Earl said after the game. "This was the Milwaukee team we were ready for. That’s the same team we’ve been playing this whole series. They’ve could just have as easily lost this as we did. It was a definitely a good effort on their part, and we’ve just got to cut some errors."

The magical Aeros mantra: cut the errors. The errors didn't hurt the Aeros in their three wins, but they've sure hurt the team in the two losses. And the errors are the same ones the team's made all year. Giving up quick goals after getting a score. Bad turnovers. At least the team doesn't have the stupid penalty excuse to use in this one.

But once again, the team's worst error was letting Milwaukee dictate the flow of the game, and that flow included playing large chunks of the game in the Houston zone. Anton Khudobin wasn't perfect tonight, but there's only so much one person can do when confronted with unexpected turnover after unexpected turnover.

"I didn’t mind our first period," Kevin Constantine said. "We made two big mistakes. We probably made more little mistakes the previous night, but they were littler. The mistakes we made tonight were bigger. Less mistakes, but bigger mistakes. Which gave them two goals. Those were momentum changes in the first there when we had the lead and gave it up."

Corey Locke feels the team's problem was that most of the play was in Houston's zone.

"There are a few things we need to clear up," Locke said. "Not major things, but we’ve got to start playing down in their end more and not in ours. That puts a lot of pressure on our defensemen and goalies….we’ve got to start generating something, and it’s got to be down in the offensive end."

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One of the few bright spots for the team was the continued excellent play of the team's power play. The Aeros were perfect on the power play, and if not for that, the team might easily have been shut out. The downside is that the power play demonstrated just how bad Houston's five-on-five play has become.

The Aeros actually generated 30 shots for the game, and were finally able to break the seven shots a period lull they've been stuck in. But it appeared from the press box that a majority of the good shots were generated on the power play, plus one great short-handed chance at 12:58 of the first when Drew MacIntyre made a great stop of a Benoit Pouliot shot that would have put the Aeros back in front, and could have possibly turned the game around.

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Another bright spot was that Corey Locke's first period goal was during the Bayou City Wings minute. So keep your ticket stub and go pick up your free wings when you get the chance.

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Remember, I predicted the Aeros to win this thing in six games. So it should have been expected they would lose a Game Five. They don't want to disappoint me, I imagine. But to help everybody else get over their disappointment with the loss, here's Electric Light Orchestra with "Mr. Blue Sky."

Round 1, Game #7: Aeros vs. Peoria -- Aeros Win! Aeros Win!

It was a tale of two games. The game played in the first and the third period. The game played in the second period. The Houston Aeros were clearly the best team on the ice in the first period. They were clearly the worst team on the ice in the second period. The question would come down to the third period.

Which Houston Aeros team would show up. The one that attacked Manny Legace and got off 14 shots on goal in the first period. Or the one that played it safe and got off zero shots in the second period. The one that roared off to a 2-0 lead. Or the one lucky to limp off of the ice tied 2-2.

“We just knew going into the third that it was going to be the most important period of the year,” defenseman Max Noreau said after the game. “So the guys were pretty pumped up…”

“We just knew we were tied 2-2 and had the chance to be in the game,” said forward Corey Locke. “We wanted to come out in the third like we did in the first and not like we did in the second.”

“The first period tonight looked exactly like the first and second periods on Saturday night,” coach Kevin Constantine said We played two great periods Saturday, and we played a great first period tonight….So it didn’t surprise me at all that they came back in the second and we sat back and let them come back. It didn’t surprise me that this series went into the final period with the two teams tied because that’s the way the whole series has gone.”

The Aeros of the first period came out to play in the third. They only got eight shots in the third. But they made those eight shots count, getting three goals to get the 5-2 upset Game Seven victory over the Peoria Admirals last night.

The game got off to a quick start for the Aeros as Krys Kolanos shoved the puck past Peoria’s Manny Legace at 1:39 of the first period for the 1-0 lead. Max Noreau’s phantom goal came at about the 6:00 mark, but the score was still 1-0, and Anton Khudobin had been lucky to not give up any goals to the Rivermen.

But at 9:30 of the first, Tomas Mojzis went to the penalty box to put Peoria on the power play. And at 11:01 Ronnie Earl stepped in front of a Peoria pass, got the puck and put on a burst of speed not often seen from a player wearing the Aeros green. Marco Rosa took off after Earl which was a good thing because while Earl got off a great shot, Manny Legace stopped it. The puck rebounded out to Rosa who was in just the right spot to push it past Legace and give the Aeros the 2-0 lead off of a short-handed goal.

Another Aeros team showed up for the second period. A team that didn’t quite believe in pushing the puck up the ice or in hitting the opponent. A team that got off zero shots. ZERO shots. It was a team that didn’t protect Anton Khudobin, and as the period ended, the Aeros were lucky to be tied 2-2.

“We had a great start. A great first period,” Noreau said. “I think maybe that gave us too much confidence. We let up in the second and gave them much skating room. And they got way more chances than we did. So we wanted to come out hard again in the third.”

And Krys Kolanos was blunt in his assessment of the team’s second period play. “We put too many pucks in the middle and let them gain momentum with their transition game,” he said. “I think that was a mistake on our part. And we took a couple of unnecessary penalties. So it was a discipline issue as well.”

Then came the third period. A third period that, for most of its first half, was pretty evenly played. But Matt Beaudoin, one of the few players to have a good second period (along with Krys Kolanos and Clayton Stoner) got off a shot at Manny Legace. A shot that rebounded way out to the top where Max Noreau was stationed. A rebound that found Noreau in just the right spot to fire off a shot that Legace didn’t stand a chance of stopping.

“The puck came bouncing out,” Noreau said. “I think Legace made a good save on the first shot and then their guys kind of went down when I faked the shot and I just walked around them. I saw traffic and I tried to put it high because he’s a smaller goalie and it’s been working for us. It’s the same place I went at last time [his Game Five overtime game-winner].”

The game stayed tight and the defense stepped up, helping Khudobin keep the Rivermen out of the net. Peoria several times tried to pull Legace so as to get the extra attacker, but each time, the Aeros were able to get the puck back in Peoria’s zone before Legace could clear the ice. But then, when Legace did get clear, the Aeros took advantage. First Corey Locke iced the game at 4-2 with his empty-netter at 19:37, and then with two seconds left in the game, Mitch Love got the empty-netter to make the final score 5-2 and to send the Aeros into a match-up with Milwaukee Admirals.

“It was a huge relief. Just kind of we did it,” Locke said of his empty-netter. “That they can’t come back from two goals in 25 seconds. I know that anything’s possible but we were pretty happy.”

The Aeros get to be pretty happy tonight. But it won’t last long as they’ve play again on Thursday night in Milwaukee.

SOME MISCELLANEOUS GAME NOTES:

Max Noreau told Joe O'Donnell on Saturday night that he's never won a playoff series, and that he thought he might be getting a stigma attached to him because of that. So in a way it's fitting that Noreau hit the game-winning goals in two of the team's four wins.

"It’s unbelievable," Noreau said about his goal, and the win. "When that puck went in I was ecstatic. And I’ve never felt this before. This was huge for me and I’m just glad we’re going on to the next round."

And then there's the case of Mitch Love. Love, who's become quite a fan favorite in Houston was playing in his first playoff series. And he chose the last seconds of his last game of his first series to get his first ever playoff goal. But anyone who's talked to Love knows that he's not much for basking in glory. When I asked him about the goal, he immediately changed the talk to the great play of his teammates.

"It’s just a credit to the guys," he said. "We just stuck with it. After that tough second period where they were kind of all over us, it just kind of showed the character we have in this locker room and the experience to come out in that third period and get three goals."

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I was sitting next to acting Wild GM and current Aeros GM Tom Lynn for the phantom Max Noreau goal. And Lynn couldn't believe that there was no goal. According to Kevin Constantine, the ref basically acknowledged that there was a goal, but that no one actually saw the puck go into the net and as such, they couldn't give the Aeros a goal.

"Tonight we scored a goal," Constantine said. "We scored a goal in the first period that went right through the netting. But the refs and the linesman couldn’t say they knew that a hundred percent. They said the guessing and the angles and the physics and everything else say yeah it was probably in. But because none of them saw it actually go through the netting, they couldn’t allow it."

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Neither Tom Lynn nor Kevin Constantine are sure of the status of Jesse Schultz. He hurt his ankle at the end of Game Six, and he was a scratch for Game Seven. Constantine doesn't think they'll know much about his status for another day or so. But I saw Schultz after the game, and he said he was in pain and he wasn't confident about playing anytime soon.

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I've got a lot more stuff. But I'm dead tired right now. You've got no idea how long a day it's been. So I'll try to get more of it up come Tuesday night or Wednesday as I'm looking at another long day on airplanes and in airports on Tuesday.

But instead of ending with a video, I'm going to end with something else. As any of you who read my ClownVision Chronicles blog are aware, I have this thing for Heidi Klum. Specifically, I like posting SI Swimsuit photos of Heidi Klum. So when I got on my Northwest Airlines flight to Detroit early on Monday morning, I took it as a rather good omen when I picked up the in-flight magazine to find this cover.

Sure, it's not Heidi Klum in a swimsuit, but it's still Heidi Klum. And as Heather, Fred, and Andrew will attest, I sent them this photo from Detroit and said that this was a good omen. So if I start posting photos of Heidi Klum over here, I'm now sure that you will understand why.

Round 1, Game #6: Aeros vs. Peoria -- A Few Quick Thoughts

Unlike some previous games, the Aeros dominated the first two periods of play. And unlike some of the previous games, the Aeros got their asses beat in the third period. I know people are going to blame the officiating for the 2-1 loss, especially as seeing as how the Aeros served about 30 straight penalties in the third -- I exaggerate, it was probably about 25. But here's the thing, they were all stupid penalties.

At some point, the Aeros have to learn to adjust to the referee. They can handle the Jeff Smith-type refs easy because he doesn't call penalties. But when they have a guy who blows the whistle, they keep playing like it's Jeff Smith out on the ice. And the worst offenders were Benoit Pouliot and Corey Locke. And yes, I watched the game, and I saw Locke get knocked about at the end of the game with the result being no call, but with just about two minutes left in the game and your team down by a goal, you don't wait until the puck is heading in the other direction and you're nowhere near the puck to slash a guy in retaliation. So as much as it hurt the team, Corey Locke fully deserved those four minutes in the box. And that, of course, killed the Aeros chances for the night.

I've got no complaints with Anton Khudobin's play. I liked how the team worked and dominated in the first two periods. The team had chances, especially Krys Kolanos. And John Lammers nearly made a shot storming out of the penalty box in the third that would have tied the game. But that didn't happen.

Game Seven will be Monday night, and it's also in Peoria. And let's hope Kevin Constantine gives the boys a good shouting out, because they deserve it for that awful third period play. And hopefully, Jesse Schultz wasn't as injured as he looked while he limped off of the ice at the end of the game. And if he is, let's hope Mitch Love gets a little chance for some retribution.

Round 1, Game 3: Aeros vs. Peoria -- It Don't Come Easy

“I’m proud of our guys,” a tired Kevin Constantine said from his office. “It was a travel day from hell. I’ve never been part of that. Something that crazy travel wise, and still played a game. I couldn’t imagine a more adverse condition to put a team under than that. And the guys they hung there. I didn’t hear them complain or moan. They just kind of came to the rink and said let’s do this.”

What the Houston Aeros did was play one of their better games of the season, virtually shutting down the Peoria Rivermen offense for the second game in a row, and relying on the offensive artistry of Corey Locke and Krys Kolanos to get the 2-1 victory before a surprisingly big crowd of 4092 at Toyota Center on Saturday night.

The first period was quick and crisply skated as neither team showed signs of the travel fatigue that should have been overwhelming them, especially the Houston Aeros. And while the Aeros were attacking the offensive end and getting some nice scoring opportunities, neither team really appeared to be close to breaking through on the scoreboard.

Then Peoria’s Jonas Junland was sent to the box for interference at the 8:58 mark of the second period. Fifteen seconds later, Krys Kolanos found himself all alone near the blue line, a wide open swatch of ice available for him to fire the puck down. Which he did. Only he angled the puck a bit so that instead of heading directly toward the goal, where Manny Legace was moving into position to block the shot, the shot went to Legace’s side to this spot near the crease where the ice was open and Legace’s back was turned. And Corey Locke was just standing there and he got his stick on the puck and nicely directed it into the goal to put the Aeros up 1-0.

The Rivermen tied the score 1-1 at 3:10 of the third. But at 9:57, Peoria’s Julian Talbot was sent to the box for slashing. And at 10:02, Krys Kolanos found himself all alone up near the blue line with a wide open swatch of ice available for which to fire the puck down. And he did. And Legace turned to face the puck. And Corey Locke appeared in that same spot behind Legace. And the puck went to Locke and not Legace, and Locke put the puck in the goal. And just like that the score was 2-1.

“Never,” Corey Locke answered when asked if he and Kolanos had ever practiced that play. “It’s just going to the net and his throwing pucks on it. I got lucky tonight.”

Corey Locke may want to call it lucky. But it looked more like precision. More like two highly-skilled offensive players seeing the easiest path to getting the puck in the net, then those two highly-skilled offensive players executing the play on bad ice and while jet lagged and fatigued.

And just as suddenly as the Aeros were able to score two goals on two power plays they were able to assume command, and the 2-1 series lead, of a playoff series in which they’re playing against one of the hottest teams in the AHL.

“We’ve had a pretty brutal schedule [this season],” Locke said. “I hate to say it, but we might have been used to this stuff a little bit more. We knew that we had to come and do a job no matter what happened, and that’s what we did tonight.”

The Aeros will get to use Sunday for some much needed rest and sleep. But now that they’ve got the momentum, let’s hope that a day off for sleep and rest doesn’t have a negative effect. Then again, maybe if the guys just let Locke and Kolanos play pitch and catch with the puck it won’t matter.

SOME MISCELLANEOUS GAME NOTES:

Anton Khudobin had a rough end to the season, especially as he was just seemingly thrown out onto the ice due to the injuries to Barry Brust and Nolan Schaefer. And while some of the bad play was clearly attributable to Khudobin – witness his problems with rebounds – Brandon Rogers took the blame at the end of the season as he said that the defense had let Khudobin and the team down.

But after getting beat up against Peoria in Game One, Khudobin has been nearly perfect. The defense has clearly played better in front of him – finally, it appears, stepping up to the situation. But Khudobin definitely deserves the praise for not letting Game One destroy him mentally.

“He’s been playing great,” Corey Locke said. “Even game one it was a just a tough couple of breaks for him. He’s doing a great job and we’re just trying to clear the ice from in front of the net. We know they’re going to send guys there. They want to get pucks into the net all of the time, and bodies. They’re going to keep throwing it at him.”

“We thought he finished with a good game in the regular season against San Antonio,” Kevin Constantine said. “And in game one of the playoffs we really had a bad start. The shots were like 13-1. So we wanted to kind of reserve judgment. And then he’s had two good games, so he’s put three and four really good games together.”

And with neither Nolan Schaefer nor Barry Brust being close to returning to action, it appears that Khudobin has picked the best part of the season to get his goalie legs under him.

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The Aeros won Game Three due to some offensive mastery from Krys Kolanos and Corey Locke. We’ve grown accustomed to this kind of mastery this season as Locke was the team’s leading scorer and Kolanos led the team in goals scored.

Through this postseason, the Aeros have scored eight goals. Krys Kolanos has one goal and three assists. Corey Locke has three goals and an assist. That is another good example of stepping up one’s play when everything is on the line.

Another key offensive asset for the Aeros in this series has been Peter Olvecky who arrived back from his stay with the Wild in time for the Game One loss. Olvecky has two points in the series, a goal and an assist in Game Two. And seeing as how the team only scored two goals in Game Two, his contribution is rather obvious.

However, as was mentioned in a couple of post below, Olvecky has played his last game for the Aeros this season. The NHL rules state that if a player’s NHL season is over, then the first priority is the World Championship if he’s invited to play. And Olvecky was invited to play, so he will be leaving the team.

“He’s been great for us,” Constantine said. “He’s been a big, big plus. But it’s no different than today’s travel. This team’s gone through a lot this year….we’ve been through stuff like this all year.”

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During the delay, while waiting for the Aeros to arrive at Toyota Center, Fred Trask and myself sat in the press dining room chatting with ourselves and with some of the officials who were already at the game – some, but not all, as it appears that two of the officials were on a plane with the Aeros as they didn’t arrive until the same time as the Aeros.

At one point, Fred said he wondered if all of the team’s three-in-three’s, day of travel, and standard airport and weather delays they’ve suffered through this season might work to their advantage. Like all of that – and Constantine said afterwards that this was the 11th time this season the team played on a travel day – was just preparation for this game against the Rivermen.

Unconfirmed rumor has it that this was the first time this season that the Rivermen have a played a game on the same day that they had to fly to another city – we asked Constantine, but he didn’t know. But for the Aeros, this was, in many ways, familiar territory. Sure, they’ve never had to delay a game for an hour because the team hadn’t arrived at the airport yet, but these guys are pretty used to hitting the rink and playing after being on an airplane all day.

And the Aeros initially wanted this game played on Sunday, but the AHL wanted it played on Saturday, so even with the travel difficulties, there was no thought given to postponing this game until Sunday.

“Once you’ve got people coming and you’ve paid for the building, I mean it’s really rare that anybody’s ever going to postpone,” Constantine said. “Most of the time they play at all cost. We were shooting for Sunday, but the league has a lot to do with playoffs and scheduling and stuff. And the schedule is what it is, and the travel is what it is, and the weather is what it is, so all we can do is show up and do our best and fortunately it was good enough.”

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I was rather impressed by the crowd for the game. The announced attendance was 4092. And it looked to be a bit smaller, but not much. Still, considering that weather was so bad that the city actually issued warnings requesting that nobody travel, and considering that the Aeros didn’t know until Thursday that they would be playing on Saturday, I say nice job to everybody that made it out to the game.

Now that said, what say we get an actual crowd out for Monday’s Game Four? This team never draws for weekday games, and the attendance for last year’s playoff games with Rockford was pitiful. I know that many of you have to work the next morning, but that doesn’t stop 30,000 from showing up at Minute Maid Park to watch the Astros lose. So how about it? Let’s get some people out to Toyota Center on Monday night.

Also, I think the Aeros need to do a little bit better job of announcing things regarding these games. I know that, at one point, a mass e-mail was supposedly sent to people on the Aeros e-mail list stating that the start of the game would be delayed because of the Aeros problems with getting to Houston. But I heard from several people who are on this list and who said that they did not get this notice, and only knew of the delay from The Third Intermission.

The Aeros should have posted something on their website, but unless you happened to look over at the scoreboard, you would not have seen anything as there was nothing posted under news. At least the Aeros did go ahead and open the doors at 6:30 as scheduled, but I just think that more could have been done.

And on the a side note, while I was thrilled to be able to tell a couple of the Lady Dynamics that the game time was actually moved to 8:25 from the original 7:35, they really should have been informed by the team.

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Finally, I can’t thing of any song more fitting to play us out on tonight that Ringo Starr with “It Don’t Come Easy.” Getting to this game wasn’t easy. Playing the game wasn’t easy. And getting the win wasn’t easy. So until Monday night, here’s Ringo.

Round 1, Game #3 -- Aeros vs.Peoria -- Photos

Wow!

Who would have guessed the Aeros had a game like that in them after such a travel nightmare? Perhaps I was right when I said that all of their tribulations this year were to prepare them for game 3 vs. Peoria.

The game started off a bit physical. Curtis Fraser hit Danny Irmen, late, high and hard, in front of the Peoria bench.

Mitch Love took offense to the hit and decided he needed to teach Fraser a lesson with a rare playoff game fight.

After the fight Mitch tries to get the crowd pumped up.

Anton Khudobin had another good night in the net. Here he makes a huge toe save early in the game.

Here you can see why Ms Conduct calls Anton "Dimples".

Corey Locke opened the scoring with a power play goal. He tipped in a shot from Krys Kolanos on the blue line.
Corey Locke followed that up with another power play goal from Krys Kolanos. This one he knocked in off of his body on a shot/pass from Kolanos on the blue line.

Locke was pretty excited with this one.

And so was Kolanos as he jumped up high in the air to celebrate.

Great job handling the adversity Aeros!

And finally, good luck to Peter Olvecky as he heads to the World Cup. It's quite an honor to represent your country. Do well Peter and enjoy the ride.
All Photos:Fred Trask