View From The Pressbox: Bring On The Bulldogs

Colton Gillies ties the score at 1-1 with 12.2 seconds left in the first period.

I've got a confession to make, I thought the Aeros were going to lose this game. I sent Andrew and Heather a note before the game, and I said it was going to be a blowout in Milwaukee's favor. Never have I been so glad to be so wrong.

I wasn't thrilled with the Aeros play in the first period, especially the first half of the period. I just thought Milwaukee was dominating the game, and from what Mike Yeo told me after the game, the guys on the team thought the same thing. And as the seconds ticked down to the intermission, I was thinking the Aeros should be thanking the hockey gods that Terry Koharski was so frigging blind so that they would be down only 1-0 instead of 2-0, only to have Colton Gillies strike and tie the game.

Casey Wellman was the man at the end. He buried that puck, learning from a mistake he'd made on a similar shot several shifts earlier, but if not for Gillies, I don't think Wellman has the chance to be the hero.

"That [Gillies] goal was huge for us," Yeo said after the game. "A number of reasons. I thought Milwaukee played a great first period. I thought that our first period was good, but the feeling on the bench was that Milwaukee was handing it to us good. I don’t think that was the case. They played a very good period and made us feel that because of it. But getting that goal kind of put things back into focus for us, and say, hey, we’re tied going into the period, and I think we know we’ve got another level."

That goal gave the Aeros some momentum, some much needed momentum. The second period was scoreless, though each team had some good chances, then Carson McMillan caught Jeremy Smith alone, being careless with the puck behind the net, and he rushed in from the blue line, got the puck, and found a way to get in the net before Smith or the Milwaukee defenders could stop it.

(Here's a stat: McMillan had three goals in the series. Two were overtime winners, and the third put the Aeros in the lead.)

Milwaukee was able to tie it on a nice goal, and it really, really looked like this game was going to go to OT. Then with about 2:00 left, the Admirals really went on the attack. They surrounded the net and Hackett and pounded him with shot after shot after shot. I thought for sure they were going to win, but Hackett came up big at the most important time of the series and he kept them out of the net. Drew Bagnall was able to make a great play on the puck and get it to Wellman, and BAM!, the Aeros were up.

"There was a crazy scramble in front," Hackett said. "I was lucky to make two or three big saves. My D, they helped me out great. Bags blocked a shot right at the end there. It went to Casey, and he buried it low glove. It was a crazy feeling when he scored that goal."

Here's how Colton Gillies described the sequence as he saw it from the bench.

"Man, our coach tells us, that’s playoffs," Gillies said. "That’s when a lot of goals do happen. The other team is focusing on trying to get that puck home, and guys are sacrificing in front of the net to block the shot, and taking guys out. It just takes one good bounce and we’re off in the other direction.

"It was obviously an emotional rollercoaster on the bench watching it all develop. But it worked out."

I hate to do this to you, but if you want to read what Casey Wellman and Mike Yeo said about the goal, then you're going to have to check the Press tomorrow because I've got to do something to get you to read over there.

This was an incredibly tough series. I was tough on Matt Hackett a lot, but damn, when it was the most difficult, there at the end, the guy really came through. And who doesn't feel for Jeremy Smith. The guy had an incredible series. He did what you want a goalie to do, until the end when he just couldn't do it anymore.

"Jeremy Smith, he had an unbelievable series," Welmman said. "I think we out shot them almost every game. I think it might have been every game. He was coming up with saves left and right. There was obviously some frustration on our side, but we were trying not to let it get to us. We just wanted to get pucks to the net and get guys there for rebounds and second and third opportunities."

I think I'll close this out with Matt Hackett who just summed up this series, and this game seven, just perfectly.

"It’s just fun," he said. "It’s playoff hockey. It’s what you do playing as a kid. You play on the road hockey. It’s overtime, all the time, game seven. Tonight was a special game. It was close again. I didn’t have that much work this series, and it was tough for me to kind of stay focused. But Smitty he had a lot of shots, and it was different for me. But I got used to it later on.

"I’m proud of the boys right now. They did a great job."

So good night from Milwaukee and an incredible game seven. Please read my post in the Press tomorrow/Wednesday. We'll see you on Friday night at Toyota Center for Game One against Hamilton.

P.S.: My MVP of the series is easy. It's Colton Gillies. But you can feel free to argue that out.

P.P.S.: Dear AHL, please do something about your officials. Terry Koharski missed Roman Jofi's goal in the first period. I really fail to understand how he refused to call that a goal. Then he missed a Chad Rau goal later that period. If you're not going to go to replay, then at least get some guys out there who have some decent eye sight.

Note and Observations For Game Seven Prep

Okay, before you do anything else, go read my story on last night's game that is currently in the Press. There's a few quotes I didn't get in last night, and I think the quotes from O'Sullivan and Ortmeyer best represent the mood of the team.

Now the important stuff, game seven.

The Aeros will skate at about 1:30 at Bradley Center today. And part of that skate will involve putting their mind in the right place. They've got to shake off Sunday's game, they've got shake off the disappointment of blowing the lead with 5:00 left. That game is over.

"Game sevens are exciting," Jon DiSalvatore said last night. "Obviously it would be great to close it out right now, but playoffs are an exciting time, and game sevens are an exciting time. We’ve got to shrug it off. Obviously it’s a tough loss to take, but we’ve got to get our heads right, wrapped around what we can do better. And just get excited for a game seven. It’s a good time."

Then he continued with how he wants the youngsters thinking.

"We can’t waste any time feeling sorry for ourselves right now. Let’s enjoy it. Let’s be upbeat and positive. Embrace the day, get better tomorrow, and get ready."

Jed Ortmeyer wants the guys thinking this: the pressure is on Milwaukee, not Houston. Milwaukee's the number one seed. Milwaukee's the home team.

"We came up a little bit short, but we’ve tried to take our game to them the last three games or so," he said. "The hits and the grinding and the shots on their goalie are going to take its toll. Like I said, the pressure’s on them."

And then this from Patrick O'Sullivan: "It’s tough, leading with five or six minutes left. It’s not a fun feeling right now, but take tonight to clear our minds, get back to practice tomorrow and refocus, and like I said, it’s a game seven, and those are fun to play."

Frankly, I think Mike Yeo saved yesterday's game. Sure, the Aeros lost, but they were losing their cool and making stupid play after stupid play, stupid penalty after stupid penalty, and he called a timeout and said something that got them back on track. There were some guys sitting next to me who I think might have been scouts -- they were sitting in spots reserved for the Aeros, but they weren't Aeros guys -- and they were talking about how impressed they were with Yeo and how he got a team quickly spiraling out-of-control back under control.

What are the keys for Game Seven?

Well, Matt Hackett has to play an entire game. Not all of the goals that happened yesterday were his fault. There were the continued defensive breakdowns and pucks deflecting off of players -- like the OT winner. But he's got to play an entire game like he did for the last 15 minutes of the second period and the first half of the third period yesterday. He doesn't need to be Jeremy Smith out there, but he's got to be more consistent.

More importantly, the guys have to play their roles. Ortmeyer and DiSalvatore noted that the problem at the start was that everybody wanted to play the hero and they got out of their roles and they started playing really stupid hockey.

On the plus side, Patrick O'Sullivan finally figured out how to get past Jeremy Smith last night. He and DiSalvatore have been taking their shots all series, good shots, but they broke through last night. And that pass O'Sullivan made to DiSalvatore for the second goal was just a thing of beauty.

And in that fashion, the Aeros can't worry about Smith.

"He’s standing on his head," O'Sullivan said last night. "100 saves in two games in Houston. That’s why they were in those games in our rink for sure. We dominated those games, and he kept them in it. We’ve got to continue to try and get traffic. He’s a good goalie. Goalies get hot in playoffs, and teams do well because of that. And I certainly think that’s the case with them. But we’re not concerned with what they’re doing or guys on that team as much as what we have to do. And what we can control is how hard we play, and we’re going to have a better start next game and we’re going to be okay."

I'll close with this statement from Mike Yeo:

"Playoffs aren’t any fun unless you get a chance to play a game seven. It’s difficult, there’s no question, to sit and say we had a chance to wrap it up. We’ve won a lot of hockey games this year, and we feel a lot of confidence in that room. We have a chance to go out here and play a great game and put all our chips in and give ourselves a chance to win a game seven. I think, if you look at the first series and how things went, and we don’t want to look past Milwaukee here, but if you do want to accomplish moving on and having success further, past this series, then you have to play against these hard games and against these hard teams. Milwaukee’s been a great opponent so far, and I expect [Tuesday] to be the same."

Aeros Win Another Thriller, Take 3-2 Series Lead

This is what it looks like in the scrum after a huge win.

When the Milwaukee Admirals took the 2-0 lead on a short-handed goal with just five seconds left in the second period, I turned to Heather and Andrew and made the following statement: it's all over. The Aeros are going to lose tonight. Then they're going to lose Sunday.

While a bit dramatic, one couldn't be blamed for thinking this, seeing as how the Aeros were losing 2-0 in a game they were absolutely dominating. They had out-shot Milwaukee 38-16. They were playing physical hockey, and they were forcing the action in the Milwaukee's zone. There's just no way they should have been trailing, except that Matt Hackett had a brain fart on the first goal and there was a huge defensive breakdown on the shortie.

But Milwaukee goalie Jeremy Smith was just light's out dominating this game, stopping anything and everything the Aeros were throwing his way. There was just no way, NO WAY, the Aeros were going to make a comeback and win this game.

NO FRIGGING WAY!

We know now how the game turned out. Robbie Earl scored on a 5x3 power play with 4:22 remaining in the game. Then Jon DiSalvatore hit Chad Rau with a beautiful pass and Rau buried the puck with 1:22 left to tie the game. Then Robbie Earl again, off a play by Casey Wellman, netted the game-winner at the 8:45 mark of the overtime.

And just like that, the Aeros got the 3-2 OT win for the second night in a row to grab the 3-2 series lead over the Admirals.

What more can be said after that? Well...

1. I think Jeremy Smith could kill his entire team and get off with justifiable homicide. He faced 53 shots in this game as the Admirals defense struggled to keep the Aeros out of the offensive zone. The Aeros weren't successful for most of the night, but the reason they weren't successful was that Smith was getting to everything.

That said, the Aeros knew they could get to him. They knew if they kept attacking he would break because he's only human. Here was the Aeros game plan as the game got late.

"He was great, again," Mike Yeo said. "He’s played – the one thing you keep saying is we can grind him down, too. If he’s going to make 50-something saves then we’re going to get to the net, and we’re going to get to the net. And we’re going to keep throwing pucks there, and eventually he’s going to get tired, too.

"He played back-to-back, and he played two hard games in a row. So hopefully we’re going to get to him as well."

And eventually, the Aeros did get to him. It took nearly the entire game, but they got to him.

2. Fifteen of the 53 shots Smith faced came off of the sticks of Robbie Earl and Chad Rau. Earl, specifically, has been attacking Smith the entire series, but he hadn't been having much success. Until tonight, when the team needed him the most.

3. Of the game-winner, Earl gave the credit for the play's success to Casey Wellman who won a face-off and started the action. Earl claims to have just been in the right place at the right time.

"Off the face-off, Wellman had it," Earl said. "I’m not sure what happened, but I know he cycled it back down to me. And I was able to get the bead on the D and was able to cut back, and then I saw a bunch of legs and I decided to pick one out, and it went in."

4. Earl's goal comes off of the rype of play that Yeo wants to see. Attacking the net. Again, and again, and again, forcing Smith to make plays. And he thought they were better at it tonight than they were in game four.

"That’s where you give the guys a lot of credit," Yeo said. "I thought last game we started to try to get a little too precise with our shots. Tonight we were just focusing on getting them to the net and creating those battles in front of the net. Those are hard plays for the goalie, and physically draining when you’re scrambling around and there’s traffic in front and guys are poking at pucks. I thought we did a nice job with that."

5. The Aeros had doubts when they went to the locker room for the second intermission. They had been following the game plan, putting the puck on net and trying to create havoc, and they were losing. But Chad Rau said they talked about this and knew what they had to do.

"Just to stick with it," he said. "We knew for the most part, besides a couple of plays, a couple of turnovers, that we were playing a good game. That’s the kind of feeling we all felt. So we knew we just had to stick with what we were doing and come out of strong."

6. And Mike Yeo noticed this, saying that a mindset that Jeremy Smith was just too perfect began to get to the team in the second period, leading to the two goals.

"That is exactly what happened," he said. "One way we can get better is, once that happened, we started to force things a little bit and we put ourselves in some tough positions. You start to force a play into the middle. And now we’re all kind of caught on the offensive side of the puck, and we’re back-checking. There was some frustration in our game where we started to take some penalties. It’s a good lesson for us. One way, certainly, we can improve. And then when they scored that second goal, we were stretching a shift and we were forcing a play. You want to do the right thing. You just have to make sure you keep your focus and go and do it the right way."

7. As you read below, Admirals coach Lane Lambert attempted to have a heated discussion with the officials in their locker room after the game. And in some ways, that was understandable as the officiating in this game, hell, this whole series, was horrendous.

For instance, I'm still trying to figure out how, where two players drop their gloves, throw numerous punches to the face that land, don't get called for fighting but instead each get four minutes for roughing. And it appeared to me, numerous times, that both goalies were mauled and mugged by guys jumping all over them and jabbing them with sticks while they were covering the puck. So while I'm sure Lambert will be getting a hefty fine from the league office, I hope that somebody with the league will do something about Ghislain Hebert and Mark Lemelin.

For what it's worth, I think Lambert might have been right regarding the interference penalty on Grant Lewis as I felt it was a fantastic acting job on the part of Casey Wellman. Still, that shouldn't have caused the Admirals squad to melt down, get called for a delay of game penalty seconds later, and have to kill a 5x3 power play.

Also, for what it's worth, I've been going down that corridor for four years, and this is the first time any coach, either the Aeros or the opposing coach, has attempted to get to the refs after a game.

8. Once Earl made that first goal, you could feel the momentum shift. Still, I was really worried and I was mentally cursing Mike Yeo as Matt Hackett stayed in the net and stayed in the net and stayed in the net as the clocked ticked down. I was down in that corner, and I saw him keep looking at the bench, waiting for the sign to rush off so the Aeros could get that extra skater out there. The irony being, of course, that they didn't need the extra skater as Hackett wasn't even halfway to the bench when Jon DiSalvatore hit Chad Rau with that perfect pass which Rau then buried in the net to tie the game.

9. The Aeros were lucky tonight. As much as they dominated the action, they needed luck to swing their way, and swing it did when they got that 5x3 power play. And when they got that chance, they capitalized.

"We needed that," Earl told us. "It’s one of those moments where you’re like, okay this is do-or-die, and we were able to capitalize. That second goal, it was an unbelievable play, and a timely goal. It was a valiant effort by everybody, and now we’re up 3-2."

10. Yes, the Aeros are now up 3-2 and they're heading back to Milwaukee. You've got to wonder if all of the action he's been facing is going to get to Smith. But the Aeros can't worry about that. They've just got to concentrate on their game.

"They’re a strong home team," Rau said. "We know that. We’re going to have our work cut out for us when we get back to Milwaukee. We’re going to have to come with an even stronger game."

11. Games six and seven will be in Milwaukee. The Aeros will fly to Chicago on Saturday morning, then bus to Milwaukee. They've got the momentum on their side. But while it looks like the Admirals might be going into meltdown mode, that can't be counted on.

I hate to keep going back to this, but I have to go back to what Jed Ortmeyer said after the last regular season game. The key to winning a series is what happens on those days between games. You can't get too high; you can't get too low. You can enjoy it, but you've also got to put it behind you and focus on what's ahead. The Aeros can't worry about Jeremy Smith or how Milwaukee responds in an elimination game. The Aeros have to concentrate on their game, on their process. They've got to control those things they can control, and they've got to work hard.

It's worked so far. Let's see if it keeps working.

(And just a reminder, T3I will be in the building for game six, and for game seven, if needed. I'll be there for both, and Andrew hopes to be there for game seven.)

Notes And Observations From Game Four

The two biggest Aeros stars of the game, Carson McMillan and Colton Gillies, celebrate at the end of the game.

The Houston Aeros 3-2 (OT) victory was actually about two Aeros team. There was the team that played in the first period, the third period, and the overtime. That team played with confidence, attacked the net, and basically made plays. Then there was the team in the second period that played like it was still Tuesday night. Luckily Milwaukee wasn't able to grab the lead in the second period, and the good Aeros were able to return and get the win.

So, on to some random thoughts and notes.

1. Great game, once again, by the third line as Colton Gillies, Warren Peters, and Jed Ortmeyer have really stood out and excelled in this series. Ortmeyer attacked the net early in the first period with a shot from mid-range. Gillies was in the right spot for the rebound, and the Aeros were in front.

2. The goals tonight came about from the Aeros doing what they do best. Attacking and getting what they call secondary goals -- goals off of rebounds or passes down in traffic and taking advantage.

"The style of play, like tonight, where we got our goals, was right in front," Gillies said. "They were secondary opportunities. That’s where you’ve got to get your goals with a team like this."

The Aeros didn't get many of those secondary opportunities on Tuesday night -- except from the third line, so they worked at getting more tonight.

3. Mike Yeo, as promised, made some line changes, but no lineup changes. I'll try to address the Matt Kassian situation in a bit, but first...Yeo moved Chad Rau up to the first line with Jon DiSalvatore and Patrick O'Sullivan and placed Cody Almond with Robbie Earl and Casey Wellman. The third and fourth lines were not changed, which made sense, especially with the third line, since that's the one line that has been working at a top notch level this entire playoff series.

"I thought that they did very well," Yeo said. "The offensive zone time from O’Sullivan, Rau, and DiSalvatore, they could have had four goals tonight. I thought that they complimented each other well. And I really like the physical presence that Cody Almond brings to Robbie Earl and Casey Wellman’s line. It gives them a guy that’s going to be hard on the forecheck, physical down low and strong on pucks and get to the net. It’s a nice – a different element on that line."

4. That said, the play of the top two lines still isn't where it needs to be. Robbie Earl was agonizingly close in the second period, and O'Sullivan's goal was on the power play. While I love the play we're seeing from the third and fourth lines, it's got to be asking for trouble to keep depending on them to handle the brunt of the scoring load.

5. Our friends in Milwaukee were a bit pissed the other night because they didn't think Mike Yeo said enough nice things about Milwaukee's game. So we asked him about the play of Milwaukee goalie Jeremy Smith, who is about the only reason this game went into OT.

"He was very good," Yeo said. "He was very good tonight. I give him a lot of credit for that. But there were a lot of things in our game that I really liked. I loved how many times we gave him opportunities to be good.

"The way we were taking pucks to the net, and the way we were shooting and attacking the net, not only off the rush, but in the offensive zone, I think we made it a much more difficult game for him. And that’s what he have to continue to do. He’s obviously a very good goalie."

6. The Aeros teased the fans who were around for the pregame skate as the Aeros sent out 19 skaters. One of those 19 was Matt Kassian. However, come game time, Kassian was indeed scratched. And frankly, despite what some desire, it is very doubtful that Kassian will be playing this series as the team likes what it's seeing from Brett Bulmer.

This quote from Yeo, when asked about the current McMillan line and the game-winner probably says it all.

"We let the other lines go out there and do their thing," he said. "Those guys – I thought that line was very good for us tonight. Not just in the overtime period, as far as Carson’s line. I thought that Bulmer, to me took another step in his game. And I think the last two games Palmer’s been very, very good.

"But that’s set up because we’re playing our game. Those guys get on in a good change. And now [Milwaukee’s] tired and we’re able beat them on an icing call. And we’re able to keep tired guys in the defensive zone and force them to defend down there.

"As much as a credit as it to those guys, because they played a great game, it’s also a credit to the other guys who were on the ice before them."

7. Carson McMillan has two goals in the playoffs this season. Both goals have been game-winning goals, and both goals have been in overtime. We spoke to McMillan after the game, but because I have to give something to the Press, you're going to have read his thoughts about the goal there.

However, McMillan did offer up some thoughts on the line shifting, and about how the team just sticks together no matter what.

"We’re a close group," McMillan says. "Anytime we shift lines, it’s just – maybe it might click some more chemistry. I think the guys just went out tonight and wanted to work hard for each other. When you do that, good things happen."

8. Friday will be the last time for the Aeros to take advantage of the home ice against Milwaukee. The Aeros are hoping to take advantage of the so-called hot ice. That said, they know they just can't depend on the heat/conditions to get to Milwaukee.

"It is a hot rink," Gillies said. "Our fans are great to us, too. That helps us out, huge. We can hope for that, but we’ve got to be ready. They’re going to come out really hard. It’s going to be an intense game tomorrow for sure."

And that was echoed by McMillan: "I think sometimes it is [the hot rink being an advantage], but they came early, probably got a couple of practices in. I’m sure they’re used to it by now. We’ve just got to stay hydrated, because it is hot, and stick to our game and know that good things happen."

10. The series is tied 2-2. Milwaukee's owned the odd-numbered guys, and Houston's owned the even-numbered games. Does that change on Friday night? Well we'll know this evening.

Aeros Lose: A Bad Night In Photos

Mike Yeo and Colton Gillies gave us some decent quotes after the game, which was good of them. So I'll have some of those later. For now, a few pictures which, I think, best define this game.

First we have the celebration after Jared Spurgeon's power play goal to put the Aeros up 1-0. I like this kid. It's a shame we're not going to see him next year, but he was too good for the Wild this past year to let him come back here next season.


This photo shows just how close the Aeros were to going up 2-0 in the first. If that happens, things might turn out different. Instead, Ryan Ellis comes from nowhere to get his stick on a puck that Jeremy Smith was not going to stop.


Here, to me, is the most amazing call of the night. This is Robbie Earl interfering with Smith. Yes, this is when Earl got called for goaltender interference. No, he doesn't do anything else. Trust me, I've been spending a lot of time lately watching the play in front of the goalie, and this is nothing compared with what Jon DiSalvatore and Warren Peters do nightly, or were doing tonight. So as bad as the missed goal was, this to me is more outrageous because at least they eventually got the goal call right.


Speaking of that goal...I don't have a good shot of it because I was down in the opposite corner by Matt Hackett. But the Aeros sure as hell reacted to as if it was a goal.

I'm not sure how many of you follow the Milwaukee Admirals on twitter, but they're damn maddening to follow because the only thing they don't tweet during a game are player bowel movements -- no, I'm not exaggerating. They tweet line shifts, passes, and icing calls. So for me, the best part of this whole thing was reading their tweets as they go ballistic that the refs were reviewing the replay. Only they weren't reviewing replay, as you can tell from Warren Peters begging them to look up at the video board as the goal was replayed. And trust me, I watched, and shot. They never looked up. And they weren't looking at any monitors or else Peters wouldn't have been going so ballistic when they weren't looking up at the video boards.


So here's the goal being allowed. From the best I could figure, this is what happened. There was a stoppage in play and the Aeros got on them about the no goal. So they did the baseball umpire thing and conferred. I think that one of the refs thought it was a goal but hadn't had time to say anything before the other called it a no goal. They talk. Then the one who said it wasn't a goal went over to the corner with a linesman and conferred with the goal judge who said that it was a goal. So he did the right thing and called it a goal. Not that it mattered because the Admirals came right back and scored.


But at least one good thing happened, the Admirals tweeters had to tweet about something other than icing calls.