Some Game Five Photos and Additional Notes

For those of you who decided not to give your hard-earned bucks to AHL Live so that it could fail for you again, I thought I would share some photos from the game. But first, a few notes.

1. You'll be pleased to note that some Binghamton fans consider the Aeros to be the dirtiest team they've played this year. Good for them, because if that's what they think, they wouldn't have been able to handle some of the teams the Aeros have handled this year. And I'm sure that if you ask many of the Aeros fans, they're not going to want to say too many nice things about the Senators style of play.

2. There was a comment below on Pascal Morency and the Clear Day Roster. And no, Morency was not on the Clear Day Roster. But AHL rules allow players not on the Clear Day Roster to play in the playoffs in case of an emergency situation, such as the injury to Cody Almond. Morency has been with the team since the playoffs started, and he's been skating with the Black Aces.

3. If Jared Spurgeon can't play on Tuesday, I'd expect his replacement to be Jeff Penner, who played during the Peroia series because of the injury to Marco Scandella. I haven't heard any updates on Almond or Spurgeon. I'll go out to to the skate tomorrow to see if I can get any information, but I doubt I'll get anything definitive.

4. Now for the photos....


This is Jared Spurgeon on the ice as Jody Green works on him. And it was at this point that the arena was screaming out taunts at Matt Hackett.


This is a photo of the Binghamton mascot being lowered from the arena rafters. The picture doesn't do the absurdity of this event justice because the mascot primarily just hangs there as he's lowered -- I got him moving his arms -- and it kind of looks like he's being lynched.


Here is JM Daoust getting the first goal of the game for the Aeros. He just did his standard hang around the net and be a pest thing.


Here's Daoust's second goal. You can't really see it in this photo, but I thought Robbie Earl deserved an assist because just before this it was like Earl and the goalie were wearing the same uniform, so smothered and screened did Earl have him.


And here's Hackett making a heroic effort to stop a shot. He can't quite stop it though, as Binghamton scores its third goal.

Thoughts from Last Night and Daoust Audio

Gosh, last night was just a miserable affair. Not only did we have to suffer through the rousing success of Andre "The Giant Dbag" Deveaux, but also the utter failure of the team I lauded just a few days earlier for playing exactly the opposite of how they played last night.

It was to be expected, though. Well, maybe not expected, but it didn't come as a total shock. The level of intensity required for this team to put up decisive wins is pretty high, especially against a team fighting for their playoff lives. You can want it really badly but still not find the will to suffer for it when push comes to shove.

And to tell you the truth, I don't think home ice matters all that much. I don't have numbers to back it up, but it seems to me that the big key has just been to get in the door. And what you do from there is what really matters... not so much where you do it. But like Yeo said last night, it's more about the mentality going into the playoffs. How hard is it going to be to flip that switch back into playoff mode if they're phoning it in the rest of this weekend?
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Anyway, one bright spot was talking to JM Daoust after the game. He was a scratch but was nice enough to take a couple of minutes to talk to us about his Man of the Year selection by the Aeros. Honestly, he could read the newspaper to me in that French-Canadian accent and I'd be smiling and cooing, plus he's just a funny guy.

It's kind of hard to hear, but the gist of the convo is he's talking about some of the things he and the guys do to help out around the community. First thing he talks about is going to the outdoor rink at Discovery Green and skating with the kids. He said the rink is small and the kids don't know how to skate, so they just go from board to board and BOOM into the boards. And their parents can't skate either so they can't help.

Then he was trying to say something but could only think of it in French. He managed to get out what he wanted to say in English and Andrew asked for it in French anyway (which I was grateful for because I just wanted him to keep talking). No dice but he was still hopelessly charming.

Here's a link to the audio in case this embedding thing on Blogger doesn't work.

Pics from 1/18 Milwaukee game

Okay, a fresh day and a good 12 hours since I was yelling obscenities at my laptop screen... maybe I can say a few things.

One thing Chris Jerina, who shot the game for us, pointed out to me was that Buck was in for Daoust last night. I haven't checked with the team to see if this was a healthy scratch or not, but I'm going to assume it was, since he played the night before. (Artandhockey says Joe might have said he was injured last night...)

Even though this personnel shift didn't have an effect on the scoreboard, I believe it was overdue. JM was good enough last season to earn a 2-way NHL deal, but for whatever reason, is not the same player this year. I'm always hesitant to unload both barrels when I see this happen because maybe there's an injury or something going on.

But what I see is Robbie Earl setting him up time and again and Daoust just not doing anything with it. I see him throw a few hits a game, usually after plays like this, and I feel like they're just to make it look good. I dunno. JM's such a nice guy, I don't wanna be a dick, but he was thisclose to a "Dear JM" letter from me. I'll put it in my back pocket for now, but I hope we start to see Earl's hard work rewarded by his linemates sooner than later. It would make tremendous difference to convert on some of those opportunities.

/difficult talk

Anyway, here's pics from the game, courtesy of Chris "I Got Your Credential Right Here" Jerina. Thanks as always for the great stuff, Chris!

Wee! Love a good snow shower. 

Noreau throwing a pretty hip check (channeling Cuma?), but unfortunately got a penalty for it. Second time this season I've seen AHL refs call a penalty on a clean hip check. Maybe it's a dying art because guys are tired of going to the box for it.

Love this. Shows how damned hard it is to be a goalie in the AHL, but also I admire Smith's restraint for not just nutting Almond right there. So effective, but so verboten.

Earl's shootout goal. You can see the puck in the upper glove side corner of the net. Also, Smitty... nice and bendy. Rawr.

The shootout shot that made steam come out of my ears. Straight up the middle, knew right where it was coming. Can of corn for Smith. And it wasn't the only shot like this from the Aeros.

Oh look! 

*grumble*

Scouting note on Smith: He's just teasing you with that 5-hole. Get him moving.

Couple of glamour shots because I like those:

McMillan warming up. Cool perspective.

Your mother and I wish you'd wear more neck protection. Just sayin'. 

Anyway, here are the rest of them for your viewing pleasure. Some fun ones in there. Thanks again, Chris!

Wild signs JM Daoust to first NHL contract

I was just about to shut Twitter down for the night when this little number popped across my feed:

Here's the link. It's a one year, two-way deal and a pretty nice salary for the AHL. Plus, it's a really big deal for him to get that first NHL contract. Remember that NHL teams can only carry 50 contracts, so it's gotta feel good for him to reach that milestone in his career.

Daoust had a Beaudoin-like season, surprising everyone with his game-changing ability, but frankly, did it with a lot less talent around him. You have to love a guy who can bring energy AND scoring so consistently and stay healthy while being so small and slippery, yet playing a physical game.

He was one of only a couple of guys I was pretty sure would be back, because he wasn't SO amazing that his price was going to be through the rafters, but he certainly proved his value last season. And on that note, I'll have a post for you, hopefully this weekend, on the forward situation for next season. Who's back for sure, who isn't, etc.

Aeros 2, IceHogs 3 - Best overall game in awhile

Everybody knows by the now the Aeros came up on the wrong end of a 3-2 score Wednesday night in Rockford.

They were outplayed early, and then just when it looked like they were ready to turn things around, they allowed a goal with less than 30 seconds left in the second period. That goal killed them.

They were also screwed three times in the third period, and thankfully one of the "screwings" got unscrewed. Sorry about all the screwing there. Won't happen again on THIS blog.

First, referee Shaun Davis (at least 35 feet away from the play) waived off a goal by JM Daoust because he ruled that Daoust interfered with IceHogs goalie Corey Crawford. It was a bang, bang play, but after watching the replay and seeing the picture here (above) by Chris Jerina, it is obvious that Daoust was pushed into Crawford. That goal SHOULD have counted.

Later in the period, and eerily similar to what happened in the playoffs last year, Max Noreau had a shot go right through the net. At first, play continued, but after talking to the goal judge and talking to each other and talking to both captains, Davis and his crew got it right and awarded the goal.

All photos by Chris Jerina

With time winding down and Khudobin on the bench for an extra attacker, the Aeros had a one gasp left when JM Daoust looked to break free setting up a possible shot on goal. He was hauled down by the IceHogs and the game ended. I was thinking penalty shot, and Daoust was thinking penalty shot, as he had a lengthy discussion with Davis well after the game had ended.

Of the three plays, the last one was most questionable. I can see why Davis would not want to award a penalty shot with five seconds left in a game, but he sure could have.

Don't get me wrong, the Aeros did not lose this game because of the third period.
They lost the game because they did not match the IceHogs intensity in the opening minutes and they allowed a last second goal to put them down 3-1 at the end of two.

The Aeros are awful when they trail after two periods, and they sure aren't very good when they allow the first goal of the game. Both of those hurt them Wednesday, but I would like to think that how they finished the match (and what Davis missed in the 3rd period) will inspire the Aeros to a big win Friday night in the rematch.

Another loss, though, and they'll creep closer and closer to last place.

11/18: Aeros 1, Peoria 0

Two little things this team seems to have an unpleasant knack for: getting "too many men on the ice" penalties and whiffing on grade A opportunities around the net.

To be fair, they also do lots of things well, like kill penalties in their sleep (how rocking was the PK tonight? It looked absolutely effortless against one of the best power play teams in the league) or blocking shots. But those two little things have been a consistent problem.

So much that I wanted to ask the equipment guys after the game if the sticks were too short or the skates were too tall, causing the stick-to-ice distance to be a little different than what they're used to.

The too many men is really rather inexplicable though. I haven't looked back at the score sheets to see how many times they've gotten this lately, but why is this so hard? I've never seen a team get that penalty so often in a stretch. Luckily, the PK is so good, it hardly matters, other than it's more time they're NOT getting to whiff on pucks at the other end.

Personally, I'm kinda numb after that game. I know a W is a W, but well, maybe it's my fault for splitting my attention with Brusty's game in Florida. (Like you'd expect anything else from me?)

Very quiet with shots only 12-11 for Peoria in the first two periods. The Everblades game, even on the fuzzy little B2 feed online, was more engrossing, at least until the third period where Brusty sat out due to what I'm told is a minor injury.

But things picked up midway through the third with Daoust's power play tap in off a Bishop rebound 11 minutes into the third.

The boys did a great job of holding down the fort and blocking a ton of shots to hold the shutout for Khudobin. I KNOW Peoria got more pressure on them than the official-but-piddly 4 shots on goal in the third indicates.

Anyway, congrats to Khudobin on his shutout, always a special accomplishment. The team played beautiful defense on top of Anton just being on his game and stamping down every little fire in his crease. He should get an endorsement deal from... oh, never mind. That joke is too gross even for me. You're welcome.

I'm going to miss Friday's game against Milwaukee, at least in person, but I WILL be there Sunday, dog in tow (though I'm thinking he's probably not allowed on press row, so he and Mr. C will be hanging out over in the dog section). Can't wait for that! See you there.

10/25: Aeros v. Rampage

The Aeros went to San Antonio Saturday knowing that, to stay above the Mendoza Line, they really needed to split the weekend.

And while they still surrendered a point in the standings to the Rampage with the OT win Saturday, they gained on them by three with the 2-0 win today, and that's the kind of thing you have to do early in the season if you want to secure that playoff berth with room to breathe.

I only saw the final 13 minutes of the game and apparently JUST missed the game winning goal by Andy Hilbert (um, welcome back!), but it appears it was a pretty even game based on shot counts. And after having beat each other silly yesterday, there were only 5 penalties today.

Anton Khudobin got the shutout, but looked rattled and the credit all goes to his defense. I'm KIDDING. Settle down. He stopped 28 shots on the way to the perfect game, while Al "Crazy Eyes" Montoya at the other end stopped 27 of the 28 he faced.

The second goal was an empty netter by the always fiery Daoust. He's a smart, slippery little hockey player. My bold prediction is that he's the one everyone will be crying over when the Aeros don't re-sign him next season.

That's really all I've got since I didn't see the whole game. Though, BTW, this was San Antonio's second game being shut out in 3 days. If you read the San Antonio write-up, it's clearly one of those weekends that makes a team and its fan base start to wonder what they've really got.

They're a LOADED team in terms of offensive talent, so I think those who were around for the full Aeros season last year can relate to the "WTF?" feeling they're having at this dry spell.

Okay, gotta go play some hockey myself, but we'll see you back here on Tuesday when the Aeros face Hamilton at the Toyota Center.