Couple of Well-Deserved Stick Taps for Brust, DiSalvatore

Overall it was a very good weekend for the Aeros, who earned four points against the best and worst teams in the AHL. After Friday's win at San Antonio, the Aeros got a goal five seconds into OT to beat the Abbotsford Heat. You can read more about that game below.

But a couple of former Aeros, two very popular former players were in the news over the weekend, so we'd be remiss by not mentioning that.

Brust lines up for a save against the Milwaukee Admirals

Barry Brust, who helped man the pipes between 2007 and 2010, set an AHL record this weekend. He set the new mark for the longest shutout streak against the San Antonio Rampage on Saturday night.

Before James Wright ended it later in the game, Brust went 268 minutes and 17 seconds without allowing a goal. That surpassed the previous AHL record of 249:51, established by Hockey Hall of Famer Johnny Bower with the Cleveland Barons in 1957.

I talked to Barry after the game in Houston on Sunday, and asked him how long he knew he was going to get the start against the Rampage. The Heat have three goalies, and Brust has gone several weeks between starts. Brust said he knew for awhile, but things could change. That helped him prepare for all the hoopla that led up to his most recent start.

I also asked him what was going through his mind as the second ticked off leading up to the record. He just told me that he did whatever he could do to keep from looking at the clock. He was excited, happy, thankful and relieved when it finally made it to the 19th minute without allowing a goal.

Here is more about the record from The AHL:

Brust, who finished Saturday’s 3-2 shootout win with 26 saves, is now 5-0-0 on the season with a 0.59 goals-against average and a .978 save percentage, stopping 131 of 134 shots overall. The 29-year-old native of Swan River, Man., is 101-71-9 in 196 career AHL games, and was a member of the Binghamton Senators’ Calder Cup championship team in 2010-11. 

In setting a record that stood for nearly 55 years, Bower – a three-time AHL MVP and three-time Calder Cup champion in his career – helped Cleveland to a 2-2 tie with the Buffalo Bisons on Nov. 27, 1957, before shutting out the Hershey Bears (Nov. 30), Springfield Indians (Dec. 1) and Hershey again (Dec. 5). His streak was ended by Buffalo’s Lou Jankowski on Dec. 7.

(Aside from Ms.C: Wild horses couldn't have kept me from that game, so InGoal Magazine asked me to write a little something up afterward. Since I was the only reporter there, here's the exclusive with Brusty and Coach Ward after the game.)

Also over the weekend, former Aeros captain Jon DiSalvatore recorded his 500th career AHL point on Sunday in the Heshey Bears' win over the Toronto Marlies. DiSalvatore captained the Aeros to the 2011 Calder Cup finals and is now the fourth leading active player in the AHL. More amazingly, he's play for 10 different coaches in each of his 10 AHL seasons, and I think that is a record that will never be broken. That is just mind-boggling for someone who has been in the league for so long.

Jon, as many of you know, was a stand-up guy and always answered the tough questions ... win or lose. He had a rough plus-minus year during his first year in Houston, but he rebounded with back-to-back seasons with a career-high 28 goals. And he was money during the 2011 playoffs and scored one of the biggest goals in franchise history during Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals against Hamilton.

DiSalvatore wins the West Finals vs. Hamilton in 2011

I was really hoping there'd be enough cash to persuade him to stay another year or so, but he got a great deal from the Yankees of the AHL. Here is some more about Jon from The AHL:

DiSalvatore, a 2000 draft pick by the San Jose Sharks, is in his 10th professional season and first with the Bears. 

He has totaled 209 goals and 291 assists in 696 career games with Hershey, Houston, the Lowell Devils, San Antonio, Peoria, the Worcester Sharks and the Cleveland Barons, reaching the 20-goal plateau in each of his first nine campaigns. 

DiSalvatore captained the Houston Aeros to the Calder Cup Finals in 2010-11, and made his first AHL All-Star Classic appearance in 2012. 

DiSalvatore ranks fourth among active AHL players in career scoring, behind Toronto's Keith Aucoin (794 points), Chicago's Darren Haydar(736) and Providence's Trent Whitfield (583).

Hey Look, It's Playoff Media Day

Joined some of my fellow media members out at SLICE for practice today. For what it's worth, the guys looked loose, I saw laughs and smiles, and the beginnings of playoffs beards were evident all around, except for Jon DiSalvatore, who we discovered last season can't really grow a beard, and John Torchetti, who was clean shaven.

The Aeros were a team that struggled this season. They struggled at times because of injuries in Houston. They struggled often because of injuries with the Wild. The team's best scorer was traded at mid-season and not replaced. The emotional leaders of the team, Jed Ortmeyer and Warren Peters spent most of the season with the Wild (where they weren't quite appreciated by that team's fandom).

Matt Hackett was good in goal, when he was here, but he spent lots of hours on airplanes between Houston and Minneapolis-St.Paul. But amazingly, even when Hackett was gone, the goaltending excelled. And if the Aeros are going to make a run for it this season, the key is going to be the play of Hackett. The players know it, Torchetti knows it, and Hackett knows it.

"He’s going to probably be the key [the Barons are] going to focus on as well," DiSalvatore told us today. "He’s got to be a huge leader for us in the playoffs. We’re going to lean on him. He knows what it takes to get all of the way there. It’s not going to be a surprise for him. Maybe he’ll be a little more comfortable in that setting right now. He’s a guy that’s got to be determined to outplay [Barons goalie Yann] Danis, and I think he’s up for the challenge and excited about it. It’s another year of maturity for Hackett, so I think you can expect good things out of him."

John Torchetti was big with the Hackett praise, as well: "He’s a big reason why we got in. That third period [Sunday], he won us the playoff spot. He was fantastic in every situation. And last year his experience, coming through as a rookie playing all of the way to the finals. And we all know what a hot goaltending can do to a team."

And Hackett gave his thoughts on taking what he went through last season and using this time around: "Playoffs are always the same. It’s always intense, everything’s a lot more amped. I played a lot last year. I played 24 games, something like that. I have experience. I know what to expect. Last year I was a little nervous starting off, but I’m sure I’ll be fine this year."

To a man, they're convinced that all of the roster shakeups during the season will play to their advantage. The young kids had to play in big situations, get big minutes they hadn't been expected to get. And with the rosters set, with the Wild unable to take anymore players away, the guys will get to experience some continuity.

"We’ve been talking about this all year," DiSalvatore said. "It’s been a struggle for guys that come in and out of the lineup to get comfortable. That’s what you have to do. You have to try to get guys as comfortable as possible. Guys that might not have played high-end minutes, they’re getting the opportunity. They’ve grown. We have a lot of guys who have grown and matured this year, so we feel like that experience is going to help them with this next level of pro hockey, which is playing in the playoffs. So we feel like that’s going to help them. And hopefully they feel comfortable enough, and they feel confident enough, that they can just go out and do their job."

"I just think that there’s been a lot of opportunity here this year," Drew Bagnall added. "We’ve obviously had to deal with a lot of injuries, most teams do, and we’ve had guys kind of benefit from it. They’ve been able to play in pressure situations that, maybe without those injuries they wouldn’t have been able to play in, so hopefully moving forward that can help them to contribute more in the playoffs when there is more on the line and they have to assume an even bigger role."

Bagnall also pointed to something that everybody senses. The guys love playing at Toyota Center, and they love the crowds, but as great as the crowds are -- more on that in a minute -- it's the conditions inside of Toyota Center which are the biggest help for the Aeros.

"Also, I think the fact that it’s a warmer building, it’s not an easy rink to play in, conditioning-wise, that might give us an edge, too," he said. "We’re used to it. We know the kind of preparation you need to have going in, and if we can get even that little bit of an edge on them – if they’re not ready, that could really help us. So we have to be prepared and take care of ourselves."

And the players are all depending on the folks in attendance to help out.

"I really like the fact that we got to play here at the Toyota Center," Bagnall said. "I love playing there. The atmosphere is great. We’ve had terrific support all year, and last year in the playoffs, it was almost deafening in the building, and for a  building that size to be that loud, it was really impressive."

"I think we have the best fans in the league," DiSalvatore said. "The support I’ve experienced here in Houston has been phenomenal. They are an extra player. I look at them as an extra player for us. They bring an energy to our team. They lift us up; they keep us going. We use them. It’s a major advantage for us to be able to start out at home and maybe jump out ahead in this series right off the bat."

 So I get the feeling they're hoping for a packed building tomorrow night.

Aeros Honor Jon DiSalvatore

The Aeros did a really classy thing tonight, honoring Jon DiSalvatore for his play with the team. He was awarded an aluminum hockey stick, modeled after his own stick, down to the curves, engraved with his name and celebrating his scoring 20-plus goals for nine straight AHL seasons. He was also honored with a crystal puck, and with the game puck from the game where he became the Aeros all-time leading scorer (AHL seasons only).

 We here at T3I get the honor of dealing with DiSalvatore on a nightly basis, and he truly is a good and classy person, as a player, a teammate, the team captain, and in his off-ice activities. So we're offering our congratulations, as well. And below are some photos from the pregame ceremony (featured in the photos are Joe O'Donnell, team president David Burke, GM Jim Mill, DiSalvatore, and his wife and children).

The Bonding Trip

It's no secret that I'm not much of a fan of the AHL league offices, especially when it comes to the treatement of the teams in the Western Conference. You know, those teams that actually have to get on airplanes to journey to their next arenas for games. I'm also of the opinion that the league tends to treat the Aeros and the other Texas teams like crap, mainly when it comes to scheduling. I can't for the life of me figure out why the Aeros had to turn around and play at noon the day after a night game. And it was my opinion that while the Aeros put out a good effort yesterday, they were clearly gassed while playing against a rested team.  (Apparently I'm an idiot who has no idea what he's talking about since it appears the Aeros are the one's who requested the 12:05 start yesterday.)

But at least that was a home game. The Aeros aren't going to have any home games for awhile. Their next 11 games are on the road -- four of the games are in Abbotsford. True, the Aeros have been an excellent road team this year while playing poorly at home, but still, 11 straight road games are going to be taxing for any team, even if the team plays good hockey on the road like the Aeros. (The Aeros are 23-12-3-9, 58 points on the season, but only 9-7-3-6 at home with a 14-5-0-3 road record)

We asked John Torchetti and Jon DiSalvatore about the challenges that await the team, and how the team will adjust to that many on the road. And they didn't sound too worried, not that they would tell us they worried.

"We just want to come out – we want to keep our success going." Torchetti said. "We’ve got some big challenges. We play some good teams, so we’ve got to be ready that. I just think it’s a good challenge for us as a team. It gets us some time to go bond, which is big."

DiSalvatore claims the road games are easier to handle because the player time is more regimented and there are fewer distractions, which could be partly behind their better road play.

"There’s more distractions when you’re at home than when you’re on the road," he said. "Your schedule for the most part is set with you. So guys are tuned pretty well when you’re on the road. You have an itinerary that you follow so it’s easy to kind of reign guys in; keep a little bit more of a cohesive unit when you’re on the road. You go to dinner a lot. You associate a lot. You go to movies on the off days. You’re really together way more than we ever are when we’re at home."

(As an aside, I covered a religious event featuring baseball player Josh Hamilton on Friday night. Hamilton's a drug and alcohol addict who makes a habit off falling off the wagon during the off-season. A time when he's got no schedule to follow, so he turns to his demons then. So maybe DiSalvatore has a point about the set schedules and being able to reign people in.)

As for what the team is expecting to do on the road, DiSalvatore said that they can't look ahead to what they want to accomplish on the trip.

"You’ve got to be careful when you start to look ahead too much," he said. "We’re still a team that’s trying to work on a bunch of things. I know its a little cliché, but you really do have to take it one day at a time. We’re trying to build a foundation here; a lot like any winning team that wants to make a successful playoff run is trying to do. We’ve got to take every opportunity, a chance to go on and get a great road win, character wins. We showed this weekend some more character, and we’ve got to continue to show signs like that. Really, just take it section-by-section, minute-by-minute type deal, and work with some guys who are still maturing to being first year pros, playing a lot of minutes for us."

As it stands now, the Aeros are the fourth seed in the Western Conference for playoffs. I don't believe the road trip is going to destroy any playoff chances, especially not if they keep playing good hockey on the road. But my fear is that the team returns to Houston tired and beat up and still struggling at home.

Hopefully this road trip will position them for a successful playoff run. The team that bonded during a month-long road trip and is now ready to lay waste to all that come before them.

But frankly, all things considered, I just wish the AHL would stop screwing around and treating the Aeros the way Ted Turner treated the Atlanta Braves back in the early-80s, slot fillers to fill out a schedule. The team that plays all of the 11:00 a.m. matinees because somebody has to do it -- the Aeros play two 11:00 a.m midweek games on this schedule, including tomorrow's game in Chicago. Never mind.

Oh well, until next month.

Off To Atlantic City

Matt Hackett wants you to read about heading off to the All-Star Game

If you've got the chance, John's got a new story in the Press today about Jon DiSalvatore and Matt Hackett heading off to the AHL All-Star Game after Saturday's game in San Antonio.  It's the first AHL All-Star Game for both.

And for those of you on twitter, go welcome Jon DiSalvatore who has recently joined the crowded field of Aeros, including Matt Hackett, who is reveling in the fun that is twitter, though, it must be admitted, nobody quite yet stacks up to Matt Kassian.

All Star Aeros

The AHL All-Star Game rosters have been named, and Jon DiSalvatore and Matt Hackett will be representing the Aeros for the game to be played in Atlantic City on January 30.

Starting tomorrow, fans will have the chance to vote on the starting lineups for the game.  And you can do that by visiting theahl.com and completing the ballot. 

Kassian To The Show

The call-up express that is the Minnesota Wild continues today as Matt Kassian has been called up to the Wild.  Jon DiSalvatore, who played last night, is on his way back to Houston. 

Does anyone know if the guys on the Aeros roster get to keep their frequent flier miles on United/American/Southwest/USAir/Delta from all of the trips back and forth to St. Paul?

DiSalvatore and Prosser Called Up To Wild

One of the things John Torchetti was lamenting after last night's 2-1 OT win over the Rampage was just the lack of continuity with the Aeros.  What with the injuries and call-ups, it seems as if the Aeros have new players, new line combinations, and new lineups seemingly every game, which makes it difficult for the guys to settle into patterns and learn the tendencies of their linemates.

It was hoped last night, what with some guys having been recently returned, and four days between games, that the Torchetti would be able to get the actual Aeros out on the ice, get lines back to what they were supposed to be when the season started, and get some continuity to the team. 

That's not how things are going to be however. 

Jared Spurgeon was knocked out of the Wild lineup last night be a vicious hit into the boards, so the phone call came down to Houston.  On their way to St. Paul are Jon DiSalvatore and Nate Prosser.  David McIntyre tweeted last night that he hopes to return to the lineup soon, but otherwise, there may be some more guys from the ECHL/CHL joining the team this week.

For you Wild fans, be nice to DiSalvatore.  He's the team captain, and he does all of the little things that help your team win. This year, he's been sacrificing points so as to get the dirty, unrewarded stuff handled, and he's a great locker room guy.  Here's a piece I wrote on him for AHL.com about a month ago.

And if there's anything we can ask for the New Year, it's that the Wild get healthy and become, once again, the Minnesota Wild, and not the Minnesota Aeros as I've seen them referenced in some places, because that will be for the better of both clubs.

Photos from the 1-0 Win over San Antonio

There was only one goal scored in tonight's 1-0 Aeros win. And that goal was the seventh of the season for Justin Fontaine. (Quick note: the Aeros last won 1-0 on February 13, 2010, a 1-0 overtime win over Grand Rapids).

I thought you would like some photos. I had the camera on Jon DiSalvatore, so what you get is him moving in for a rebound should there be one, his reaction to the goal, then two photos of Fontaine skating for the bench to be congratulated by those guys there.

More With Jon DiSalvatore

As promised on Tuesday, I have some more stuff from my interview with Jon DiSalvatore which I didn't use. So, for Thanksgiving, I'm sharing here.

The hockey season is a long one. Games start at the first of October, and if you're in the playoffs, you can go into June. Then there are camps and practices starting in August and September. You're constantly having to train and workout, and at some point, you've got to find a way to mentally unwind from the season just past. Especially if that season ended in a Game Six loss of the Calder Cup Finals on your home ice.

And according to DiSalvatore, he's still feeling the bumps and bruises of last season, both physical and mental: "Even now though, we’re still feeling some of the aches and pains from playoffs. We’re trying to overcome some of that as we get going here. You never actually forget it because you’re body’s telling you that you were there just a few months ago. It’s definitely a feeling that I would love to repeat with this group of guys. It’s all here, but we have a ways to go yet."

As much as last year meant, DiSalvatore knows that it's not a thing that can be repeated because there's just no way to repeat the chemistry that team had. It was special. Not that this team doesn't have chemistry, or won't get the chemistry.

"Obviously we have a large core group of guys who have come back," he says. "There’s a tremendous amount of buy-in from a large number of guys we have back here already. The coaching staff is bringing the same feel, with some new energy. They’ve been great. They’re winners as well. They’ve been very successful as coaches before. They’re bringing the same kind of emotion and attitude towards what we’re trying to achieve. Now it’s just a matter of us all jelling. Again, it’s got to be a new foundation. We try to keep those same principles, we’re a hard-working, character team. We want to have teams in their own zone.

"We need to build that identity. Even though we have a lot of guys that still want to do it, when you have a few guys who have never played that way before, it takes some time for that all to jell. Yeah, we’re off to a good start, but there’s still a lot that our team needs to do to become that team that can go the distance in the playoffs."

There's also the matter of DiSalvatore being on his third coach in three years as an Aero. I specifically asked about the adjustment from Mike Yeo to John Torchetti, because being around the team last year, it was obvious how much Yeo fought for his guys and how much those guys for fought him.

"Of course they’re different," he told me. "They’re two different human beings. But they’re both great. There’s a really good feeling. Torch brings a really good attitude, really positive – not that Yeosie was ever negative, Yeosie was tremendously positive. They both have a really good – we call them player’s coaches. They both have a really good pulse on the team, they know how to relate to their players. They care about their players. And that’s what this coaching staff is bringing to this team, and that’s what the guys last year brought to the group we had last year. It’s the same, but it’s different in the sense that it’s good because they’re bringing the right kind of approach to the team that we need to be a winning team."

And here's the point that surprised me the most. The AHL made a big deal about reducing the season to 74 76 games from 80 games. It would cut travel costs. It would mean no more four games in five nights. It would be better for the players and mean much fewer midweek games. But so far, early in the season, DiSalvatore doesn't exactly like the new scheduling format. He thinks it might work, but right now, not so much.

"You can look at that schedule and see where it’s a little bit different," he says. "You get rid of the four-in-fives, but you have a lot of three-in-threes. You end up having to get on planes a little bit more actually because you can’t go up and bang out four teams up in the Chicago-area like maybe we did in the past. Maybe it’s a little more rest and practice – there’s going to be pros-and-cons to it, but we’ll just see how it plays out at the end.

"Houston always seems to start out with a lot of games early, and we’ve gone three-in-three, three-in-three, and that’s fine, so right now I can’t really tell you that there’s all that much difference."

That's it. Happy Thanksgiving everybody, and I hope to see you all the game versus the Texas Stars tomorrow night.

Jon DiSalvatore: The Heart of the Aeros

The Aeros media gurus asked us at T3I to assist them this year with providing material to the AHL.com "On The Beat" feature. And I was tasked with the first story. So...here's the link to the just posted story on Jon DiSalvatore, the captain of the Aeros. I hope you'll go over and give it a read.

And just a note, I got a lot of material from DiSalvatore that I didn't use in the story (and they didn't use my favorite photo) including his thoughts on the new scheduling, so I'll try to throw those up on your favorite website on Thursday as kind of a Thanksgiving stuffer.

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.

Pictures Are Worth A Thousand Words

What's that they say, pictures are worth a thousand words? Well, I'll throw up some words and some quotes later. But I think the photos say all that there really is to say.

Notes, Quotes & Observations from Game Five, Houston v. Binghamton: Or The Someone's Going To Get Fined Edition

If the Aeros would have played in game four like they played game five tonight, then it's quite possible the Aeros would be the Calder Cup champs right now. Instead, they're down 3-2 and coming back to Houston tonight on what has to be a rather depressing charter flight.

The Aeros dominated the action in every single period of the game, outshooting, outhustling, and outplaying the Senators in just about every aspect possible. Yet tonight, playing an outstanding game, the Aeros still lost by the score of 4-2. But along with losing the game, they possibly lost Jared Spurgeon for the rest of the series with a hit that saw him prone on the ice for several minutes while trainer Jody Green worked on him.

Corey Locke put the Senators up at the 9:19 mark of the first when the Senators took advantage of, you guessed it, a turnover. Jean-Michel Daoust tied the game at 11:08 when he scored on a wraparound, but at 12:17, Binghamton went back up awhen Erik Condra got free on a breakaway. But Daoust came through again, punching the puck past Robin Lehner at the 19:54 mark of the first period.

The Aeros would not score again, though they had numerous chances. But the Aeros fell victim to some questionable officiating as well as their own stupidity, and when they fell behind 3-2 on a Zach Smith power play goal with nine seconds left in the second period, it was obvious the Aeros were going to lose.

So now the Aeros return to Houston down 3-2 and having possily lost two key players, Cody Almond and Jared Spurgeon, to injuries for the rest of the series. But it's doubtful the Aeros are going to play any more stinkers like they did in game four. The question though is whether the Aeros are going to be able to take this to a game seven. And that's a question we'll get the answer to on Tuesday night.

Now on to fun the stuff, notes, quotes, and observations.

1. The AHL, as I discovered today, likes to throw fits when you criticize the competence of the officiating. So I'm not going to slam the officials. I actually thought they called a better game tonight than last night. But just because I was a bit more happy with the zebras doesn't mean that the Aeros were happy with the officiating.

Mike Yeo's generally a pretty levelheaded guy, and he doesn't generally make statements that can be seen as criticisms of other teams or of officiating. But someone removed his filter tonight.

"If you didn’t ask me about [the officiating], I was going to ask you if you wanted to ask me about it," he said. "But certainly we took some penalties we shouldn’t have taken. But at the same time, I think that some were either called that shouldn’t have been called, or I think that there were some penalties that should have been called that were not called.

"The one thing that you ask is don’t just manage the game. As soon as it’s 4-2 in power plays you know that they’re going to call one. At the same time, we’re dominating puck possession time, and I think that, minus last game, we’ve dominated puck possession time in the entire series, yet they have 21 power plays to our 17. And we’re not known as being an undisciplined team. That’s not because we’re being undisciplined, they’re doing the same stuff after the whistle that we’re doing, both teams are doing that stuff. But the play between the whistles, when you’re actually playing, when you have the puck that many times, your team should be on the power play more than it should be short-handed."

But wait, there's more. Here's what he had to say being asked about Jared Spurgeon's injury in the second period.

"That’s one we’ll have to watch again and see if that was worthy of a call. If we lose a defensemen there, that’s tough. Same thing with Prosser in the third period when a guy leaves his feet. If it’s a penalty it’s a penalty. Doesn’t matter the situation, call it."

2. Jared Spurgeon's injury looked rather ugly to me, worse than Cody Almond's last night. I didn't see the hit. But even after he was down along the board it appeared that one of the Senators kept going at him. He lay on his stomach for awhile, then was able to turn over on his back, which is how he stayed for awhile while Jody Green worked on him. He eventually stood and was essentially pulled off the ice by Green and one of his teammates as he didn't really skate and really appeared to be favoring his left leg.

And of course, it was at the time of this injury, when the injury was obvious because the trainer was out on the ice and looking him over, that the Binghamton fans chose to start shouting out their taunts at Matt Hackett. A real classy move. We noted this on twitter, and we were informed that "hey, we clapped when he went off the ice."

3. The officiating isn't the reason the Aeros lost this game. They lost for the old familiar reasons. Turnovers and good goal tending from the opposition. Who knows what can be done about the turnovers? That just seems to be the team's modus operandi. And for the most part, Yeo was happy with the team's play, being really upset only about Binghamton's final goal.

"I was [happy with our play] up until about seven minutes left in the game, and then their fourth goal is a result of us forcing a play and not paying attention to detail the right way," he said. "We gave them that one. Otherwise, I think you could see five-on-five, we play that way and they feel pretty confident ourselves.'

4. DiSalvatore is confident in the team's ability to win this series. Especially if they keep playing the way they played tonight.

"Absolutely. Absolutely," he said when asked if they could win the Cup. "We’re extremely confident right now. More so now that we put forth a good effort again. After we felt like we kind of let go a little bit in game four. What we did tonight was just another affirmation that if we put forth a good effort, we dominate. We felt like the balance was more to our favor as far as chances were going tonight. So we feel like if we do that, we’re going to have a 70-30 game as far as game six is concerned. We have the utmost confidence that we can bring this thing home."

5. The stars of this game were the fourth line of J.M Daoust, Pascal Morency, and Carson McMillan. Daoust first saw playoff action toward the end of the Hamilton series, and Morency saw his first action of the playoffs. But together with McMillan they set the tone of the play, controlled the action, and made pests of themselves.

"Those guys are a tough line to play against," Yeo said. "They’re looking for every opportunity to finish every check. They’re going to force you to go back – they’re d-men to go back – that’s the type of game that we play. That’s the type of game that we want to play. Over and over and over again. They pay attention to detail, and when it’s time to defend, they defend the right way. But when they get the puck, it’s a matter of how quick can we get to the defensive zone and how many times can we make their D go back and force them to play in their own zone.

"When they get to the offensive zone, I like the way that they manage the puck. I like the way that they get the cycle game going. Again, they don’t have a mentality where I’m going to turn every touch into the goal. Because of that, they end up getting a lot of scoring chances. They manage the puck well. They force their team to defend, and that’s when you end up getting the good chances."

6. The Cody Almond injury forced some line shuffling. Casey Wellman was moved back to the first line with Chad Rau joining Robbie Earl and Jarod Palmer on the second line. The third line stayed intact, and then there were Daoust, McMillan, and Morency.

Yeo was adamant after the game that the shuffling was totally due to Almond's injury, and would not have come about because of the game four result.

"It was a direct result of Cody’s injury," he said. "Last game – we knew last game what it was, we didn’t show up, plain and simple. So we were comfortable with the lines we had, and we were going to give those guys a chance to respond. Cody couldn’t go, and when you’re looking for answers you go back to previous experiences and those guys had played together before and they’d done a nice job together, so we put those guys out."

7. The fourth line was outstanding tonight. There's no question about that. And while the overall effort was there, some of the Aeros still appeared to have a bit of an off-night. Yeo was asked his thoughts on Jed Ortmeyer and Patrick O'Sullivan and whether he could get more out of them than what he's been getting.

"You know what? Those guys have gotten us here. I’m not going to sit here and point fingers at anybody because those guys have gotten us to this opportunity. All our focus is on is winning the next game because if we do that, we’re playing in a game seven.

"And those guys again, not only their on-ice contributions, but when you’re dealing with young kids like we have year, their leadership, the way they help them prepare, the way they help them deal with the ups and downs, our leadership group and our core group has been phenomenal up to this point."

8. And unlike in Hamilton, where the Aeros had the series lead, this time, they're time they're the team fighting to stay alive. But DiSalvatore said that doesn't matter.

"At the end of the day, it’s still, you’re playing for your lives," he said. "We’ve put in two situations where we’ve played for our lives before, so we know how to handle that situation. What it comes down to is all of the preparation we put forth the entire year, that all comes to the forefront right now. We close our eyes, we see, we visualize what our game is, and we go out there and do it. That’s all we’ve got to worry about. We’ve got to manage our emotions, and we’ve just got to go out there and do what we’ve been doing all year."

9. I saw on Twitter today the Aeros have already sold over 7,000 tickets for game six. That's great news because there's nothing like a packed and loud arena for hockey. But one thing, let's keep things in check. I wasn't at game two, but I heard that a beer was tossed on the ice at one point. Let's not do that, especially not after the Binghamton fans littered their ice with trash after game three. And folks, this shouldn't need to be said, but if there's an injured opposing player on the ice, don't taunt. Be respectful.

10. And I've got a message from Jon DiSalvatore for those of you who will be turning up at Toyota Center: "Bring it! Bring it as loud and as crazy as you can bring it. We’re excited to get home and play for them. They’ve been great all year, and we expect them to be a huge boost for us coming home."

That's it from Binghamton. I've got a 7:50 a.m. flight out of Philadelphia, which means that I need to leave Binghamton in about two hours if I want to get there in time to deal with the rental return and the security line hassles. So everybody get some sleep while I deal with the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and I'll see everybody on Tuesday night at Toyota Center for game six.

Rest, Relaxation, and Inspiration: The Aeros Prep For Game Three

While Heather was prepping for her journey to Binghamton on Monday, I headed up to SLICE to get in a few last interviews with some players before they got on the bus to the airport. What I saw was a team in good spirits and that was confident of their ability to handle the Senators.

I've got a piece over at the mothership today on the road the Aeros traveled get to this match up against the Sens, and the importance of Jed Ortmeyer in how that all happened along with some player appreciation for the crowds at Toyota Center throughout the season, especially last weekend.

But as always, there's not enough space to go with all of the material that I got. So...

I asked Jon DiSalvatore about how the team had evolved from the one that was in seventh place and dropping in late-December to the one we have today. In the Press, I quote him talking about a meeting the team had where they talked about writing their story for the season, and how they wanted that story to go. But because of space, I didn't put in the rest of the quote, where he talks about the roles that Jed Ortmeyer, Patrick O'Sullivan, and Matt Hackett played in getting the Aeros to where they are right now.

"Along with that [meeting] came some key pieces to our puzzle, too," he said. "And over the next week we added Jed Ortmeyer who has proven to be one of the most valuable guys to our team as far as what he brings in leadership ability, and just the type of player he is. The type of player that he is, guys can just look at and know he brings it every night. And of course Patrick O’Sullivan. And I think once he came, he added so much to our offense, where our offense jumped up a whole point, I believe. Our power play started to get better. And those are all key things. And you take that along with younger guys maturing, and taking on responsibility, and giving our goaltender the opportunity by a trade to take on the number one position."

I then asked Ortmeyer his thoughts about the credit the guys have been giving him for the Aeros turnaround. And it's credit that he didn't really think he deserved.

"I don’t know if I deserve that," he said. "The talent was here. Just having a little bit more accountability and bringing in a little more depth with Sully and myself, that helped push guys a little bit further. Being around the young guys, it’s fun for us, when they ask us questions about guys we played with and stories from some of the guys that are in the hall of fame now. I think it’s exciting, and I think that’s what pro hockey is. We’re able to pass down things that we’ve experienced that hopefully they’ll be able to pass down some stuff when they get to our age."

The guys were in good spirits on Monday, and one of the reasons for that dealt with them finally being able to get some days off. It wasn't so much the time off they needed because of physical issues, but needing the time off for a mental break after playing two tough seven game series with almost no time off between series.

"Going back-to-back seven game series, and kind of jumping from one series to the next, and the mental ground that takes place in going through some of those games, and then getting yourself ready for the biggest series of them all, it was important for us to get some rest," DiSalvatore said. "I think more so – I think guys physically feel that they just needed the rest, but mentally I think it’s going to turn out to be more beneficial than anything else. Just to kind of take a break and get away from it for a couple of days. Guys are always constantly thinking about it, but just to kind get of way from it, get rid of the feeling, the sting of the loss. And just get away from the rink and just kind of decompress a little bit is going to prove to really benefit us as we go refocus for the next couple of days."

Both DiSalvatore and Ortmeyer said pretty much the same thing when asked about Binghamton. A good team with speed and offense weapons and good goalies. But both were equally adamant about one thing. The team has to concentrate on its game. On making sure they do all of the little things, on focusing on their individual shifts and focusing only on those things they can control. And I'll go with this quote from Ortmeyer which I used in the Press story, because it really gets to the heart of the matter.

"We need to take a lesson from the Hamilton series," he said. "We got away from our game that we had success from, and it almost came back to bite us. They took us right down to the end. Game one [against Binghamton] we played the way we wanted to play, and we were able to get the win, and in game two, we started off not playing our style of game. We were fortunate that Hack made some big saves and kept us in the game."

I'll leave it to Heather for now. I'm sure she'll get something up here nice and quick after the game tonight, and as much as she hates transcribing interviews, I'm sure she'll make the effort to get some for the post. I, meanwhile, have an early flight to Philly tomorrow with a three hour-plus drive to Binghamton to look forward to, but I'll be there for games four and five where hopefully there will be a lot of good news.

P.S.: Before I go, I've got a message from DiSalvatore and Ortmeyer for the fans who have been coming out to Toyota Center, especially this past weekend.

"It was incredible," DiSalvatore said. "As much as we want to go and win the series in Binghamton – that’s the ultimate goal – we would love to do it in front of our crowd as well. They have been fantastic. The way they turned out all season, I really feel we were one of the top attendance teams in the league."

Then Ortmeyer followed up: "It’s great. It’s a great arena. The acoustics are great. It’s loud. It’s an NHL-style arena when you get that many fans in there. It’s exciting. It definitely gives you a little extra boost of energy. I think the fans have started – they’re coming out at the end of the season. It’s an exciting time of year. Who wouldn’t want to be around for a playoff run, especially in the finals? We’re happy that the fans have come out to support us, and we’re looking for more support down the road."

Notes, Quotes, Observations, And End Game Controversies -- A Fun Night In Houston

Sorry folks, this is going to be quick. They're doing electrical work at my apartment complex tomorrow and shutting off the power at 9:00 a.m., so I've got to get some sleep. But I wanted to throw out a few things, and answer some questions.

1. Some of you have wondered why Hamilton got so upset over the DiSalvatore game-winner, besides it being the game-winner. Hamilton was arguing that Drew MacIntyre was in control of the puck, so the whistle should have been called. This is an issue we've seen all series with the officials taking forever to blow the whistle, allowing players to play whack the goalie.

I was down at the other corner, but I checked my photos of the sequence. In most of them, I can't tell anything because there are too many players blocking my view of MacIntyre, but I do have this one photo below. And if you look closely under MacIntyre's pads -- click on the photo to enlarge it -- you'll see that the puck is free. This is just a split second before the goal is called.


Here's what Jon DiSalvatore had to say about the play: "The puck was thrown at the net. It was laying there between his pads. I think he may have thought he had it covered, so throw everything at him and see what happens. Sometimes that’s the way you’ve got to get it through that guy."

2. This next sequence of photos involves the very end of the game where we had the scrum in front of Matt Hackett and where it looked like some of the Hamilton players were going to kill the officials. The issue here, as I understand it, was that the Hamilton players felt one of the Aeros, and I heard Justin Falk's name, covered the puck with his hand while in the crease, thus there should have been a penalty shot called.

This happened just in front of me, so I checked my photos. If you look closely, you'll see the puck right below the "4" of Falk's sweater. You can't see the puck in the final photo as it appears that he's rolled over on it.

Three things. If you look at the photos, it appears that Terry Koharski is looking right at the puck and at Falk. Second, from these angles, I don't see how Falk could have grabbed hold of the puck. Third, in the final photo it looks as if Warren Peters was making a grab for the puck, but that's the best shot I have as chaos ensues in the photos I have after that.






3. We get lots of access to these guys during the season, so we get to know them. And as much as advancing to the Calder Cup means to all of these guys, I think it means more to Jon DiSalvatore than it does anybody. He's spoken in the past about never winning a playoff series, and about how special this group of players is, and how much he wanted this. And now he's got it.

"You can go around the league and find maybe more talented teams than our team, just on paper," he said after the game. "But character-wise, top to bottom, the depth that’s on our team, the coaching staff. Everything has just come together so nicely and we’ve grown so much. Guys have brought into the process of maturing as people and as athletes. You see that all come together in 20 minutes of a hockey game. Everything that we battle through to persevere and come out. That’s what makes it so special. We put in all that extra time throughout the year just for a moment like that. And that’s why this team’s so special."

4. This couldn't have been an easy night for Casey Wellman. Wellman's struggled throughout out the playoffs, and tonight he was on the fourth line after having started the playoffs against Peoria on the top line. So playing on that fourth line, Wellman went out and had his best game of the playoffs, scoring the second and third goals of the game.

"This series has been a struggle," Wellman told us. "Obviously we went up three games, and lost three in a row. And personally, it’s been kind of a struggle for me. But these are the games you dream about, game sevens, and I’m glad I was able to step up for our team."

5. And we asked Mike Yeo about the move, and Yeo responded: "It’s a response by him. It’s a tremendous response, and that’s what you’re looking for, and that’s how we got to this point, really. I give Casey huge credit for the way he responded tonight…."

6. And let's hear it for you fans who were attendance. That was the loudest I've heard Toyota Center in years. There were 6,000-plus in attendance, and your presence was felt every moment. You have no idea how much it meant to the players, and how they fed off of it. That's what home ice advantage is all about.

"We haven’t been a team to go to center ice and salute the crowd before. I think it’s a great tradition, and it’s something that I would like to see," Yeo said. "But the guys thought it was appropriate tonight because that crowd was unbelievable. I thought that just the game, the excitement value of it, just the energy that the crowd brought to the game and the life that they brought to our players was phenomenal."

That's it. I'm out of here. I'll try to post a link to the mothership story whenever it goes up, providing I can find some power and a wireless connection somewhere. Also, some bad news. I'm not going to be at games one and two because of previous vacation plans, so there won't be any photos. Maybe Heather will nice enough to bring out the pen and paper and do us some stick figure drawings, though I'm sure all of her attention will be focused on Mr. Barry Brust. But the good news is that I will be in Binghamton for games four and five.

Goodnight everybody. It's been an incredible evening.

Notes, Quotes & Observations from Game Six and The Brink of History

Before you do anything else, or after, go read my story in the mothership. Please.

Heather handled the doom and gloom below. But I wanted to throw out some quotes from Yeo and DiSalvatore, and maybe offer up a little analysis. So...

I've had the pleasure, the past couple of years, of getting to know Tom Franklin. Tom's the radio voice of the Houston Cougars, and he's a mainstay of the Houston media -- he also did some PA work for the Aeros when they first started back up in the 1990s. But if Tom's best known for one thing, it's for being the radio voice of the Houston Oilers during their final stretch of glory in the early-90s.

Those Oilers, despite the gaudy stats, the good records, and the numerous playoff appearance, aren't necessarily viewed through of prism of fondness. And the reason for that is, despite an ability to run up the score and win big in the regular season, they just could not find a way to win games in the playoffs. And they didn't just lose games in the playoffs, they LOST games in the playoffs.

They would storm out to big leads over the likes of the Broncos or the Chiefs or the Bills, but despite the size of the lead, they would find a way to lose, a way that inevitably meant a last-minute drive led by a John Elway or a Joe Montana that the mighty Oilers defense suddenly couldn't stop.

I did a story in the mothership on Tom, and I asked him about the infamous Buffalo Bills playoff game of January 3, 1993. You know the one. The one they show over and over and over and over on the NFL Network. The one where the Oilers jumped off to the 28-3 halftime lead before increasing it to 35-3 early in the third. Yeah, that game, where the Bills were led not by Jim Kelly, but by his back-up, Frank Reich. Yeah, that one, the one the Oilers lost 41-38 in OT. The biggest come from behind victory in NFL playoff history.

And one of the things we discussed was when he knew the Oilers were going to lose that game. Read the answer here.

All of that's a long way around to getting to this point: the Aeros are on the verge of history, and it's not a good kind of history. Before yesterday, there had only been two occasions when a team, losing 3-0 in an AHL playoff series, had forced a game seven. Now there are three occasions. And on both previous occasions, that team coming from the 0-3 deficit won game seven.

So yeah, the Aeros jumping out to a 3-0 series lead and becoming only the third AHL team to find themselves having to then play in a game seven after having squandered the series lead are, roughly so to say, on the verge of joining the Houston Oilers in the epic annals of Houston sports misery.

1. You know, both Andrew and I predicted this would be a seven game series. And that the Aeros would win it in seven. But neither of us predicted it would get to game seven because the Aeros were choking away a 3-0 series lead.

2. I was in Milwaukee after game six, and I spoke to several of the Aeros, and to coach Yeo. I spoke to them again after yesterday's game. And though they're putting on the brave face and saying the right things, the tone in the voice was different. Game six in Milwaukee was also a loss in OT, but the team just seemed to feel that things would be fine and that of course, a series with Milwaukee was going to go seven.

But yesterday, there was just this despondent sound in the voices I didn't hear in Milwaukee. Perhaps it's just the nature of that game, and the crappy officiating, and finding a way to score two goals to send it to OT that just really deflated the team more than normal.

3. For instance, maybe I'm reading too much in this statement from Jon DiSalvatore, but I haven't heard him say something like this before. And while the players are unnamed, he just never goes about throwing guys under the bus. Until last night.

"Obviously this loss kind of stings," he said. "But there’s a lot of great things that happened in that game for our team tonight. We showed how resilient we are, being down two goals and bouncing back. Obviously out-shooting them, I think that we controlled and dictated most of the game. But obviously it just goes to show you, one play’s the difference. I’m not blaming anyone, but one play is the difference in situations like this." Emphasis mine.

4. But these one plays have been making the difference, yet game after game it seems that, at least two or three times, Hamilton has an odd-man rush on Matt Hackett because somebody's turned the puck over and there's no defense around to help out. And while it would be nice if Hackett were able to pull a Drew MacIntyre and stop 57 of 61 shots in one game, it's hard to put all of the blame on the goalie when he's dealing with breakaways and odd-man rushes time and time again because of poor puck handling.

5. The Aeros can win on Tuesday. But to do so, they have to come out and play a complete game. They played a good first period. They played a good second half of the third period. And it was during those stretches that they pressured MacIntyre with shot after shot after shot.

6. "Just keep doing it. That’s all you can do," Mike Yeo said about dealing with MacIntyre. "Obviously you look at video and you look for weaknesses. And certainly the more traffic you can get around him the more you’re going to make it difficult for him to see the puck and control his rebounds. Having said that, you can’t try to get too precise with your shots. When you do that, that’s when you start missing the net. That’s when you don’t get them off because you take that extra second, and that’s when – that opportunity when the puck gets to the net and we’re banging in the rebound, that opportunity’s lost. We have to make sure to just continue to shoot pucks and go to the net. Certainly, when you’re in tight you want to go in upstairs. We have to put pucks in places where he’s kicking out the rebounds. But otherwise, just keep shooting."

7. Dear Aeros, yes, the officiating sucks. It's beyond suck, if that's even possible. And putting both of the guys named Hebert on the same crew and having them work a playoff game was just beyond stupid. But damn it, you've got to forget about those bastards. I know they're missing obvious penalties that are happening right in front of them while inventing phantom calls to nail you with. But don't let that affect your play on the ice.

The game was lost for the Aeros during a five minute stretch at the end of the second period and the start of the third period. It began when Colton Gillies got called for doing something to the goaltender that nobody in the entire building not named Hebert could see. Then Jed Ortmeyer is somehow about to start up on a rush and he's interfered with, which is great because it would be 4x4 hockey. Instead, the Heberts don't see the interference, play goes on, and Hamilton gets a goal on the power play to tie it at 2-2.

And things just went downhill from there with Hamilton scoring shorties right before, and right after, the second intermission. Yes the Aeros got back into the game and sent it to OT, but it was the loss of composure at that time in the second that cost the Aeros this game.

8. Game seven can be won. DiSalvatore said afterwards that the team needs to wipe away the negatives, focus on the good things, and come out and play.

"We have to try to forget about the pain that we’re feeling right now, the sting of the loss right now," he said. "But we have to recognize and see what we did so well this game. I think, it’s just when we get away from the details of our game that we give them opportunities. And I don’t think that we made a tremendous amount of mistakes tonight, but they were just opportunistic. You give them credit, but I think we can feel really good about a lot of things that we did tonight, and we can build a lot of confidence off of what we did tonight heading into game seven for sure."

9. There's the word from DiSalvatore. Details. Focus on the details. When the Aeros execute, they score. When they execute for a complete game, they win. But when they get sloppy, when they make bad passes or lose composure or miss on a hit, they fall apart.

10. Yes this is only the AHL. There's no AHL Network to replay historic losses over and over again. The Aeros losing this series could never, to the populace of Houston, hurt the way the Oilers losing to the Bills did. But damn it, going in the history books for the wrong reason hurts, no matter how large or small the impact. The impact on the city will be small, but the impact on the team should they lose, well that's going to be huge.

Notes, Quotes & Observations from Game Two, Houston v. Hamilton

Do photos of the guys celebrating after a win ever get old?

QUICK: Before reading further, click on the link and check out my game story in the Press. There's some quotes from Colton Gillies on his game-winner, Mike Yeo on the team's play this weekend, and I include a nice quote from Matt Kassian on Derek Boogaard. And remember, I was there in the locker room long before the guys with the TV cameras started hanging around.

Here's the thing, Heather picked the Aeros in six. Andrew and myself picked them to win in seven. I don't remember seeing Heather's winning sequence, but mine had the Aeros winning games one, four, six, and seven while Andrew's, I believe, had the Aeros winning games two, four, six, and seven. So seeing them come out and win these first two games is just not what I was expecting. This wasn't because of the Aeros, it was because of Drew MacIntyre in goal for Hamilton and the fact that the Bulldogs are a very good team. So I just figured they find a way to get a split. But the Aeros, despite not playing their best hockey, figured out a way to get it done. And that's how it's done in the playoffs, right? You find a way to get it done.

1. Now I'm not expecting that the Bulldogs are going to roll over. The Aeros are on their way to Hamilton as this is posted, and I can guarantee that there's not one person associated with this Aeros team that thinks this series is over.

"I think the feeling, and you can ask any of the players, is we haven’t won anything yet," Gillies said yesterday. "Still a lot more games to be played and we’re just going to stick to the game plan that got us here."

2. Speaking of Gillies, who out there isn't enjoying his game in the playoffs? I asked Mike Yeo about Gillies yesterday, and about how it seems he's elevated his game. And as Yeo was quick to point out, this is how Gillies has been playing all season, the only difference is that he's now finding the net.

"He’s elevated his game, obviously, by putting the puck in the net," Yeo said. "But really, what he’s doing is going out and doing what he’s done for us all year long. He brings momentum for us when he’s out on the ice.

"I think the most important part is that line’s going out there against top lines. And they’re shutting them down. Quite often when you do that, then the other lines are going to get frustrated and you’re going to generate some opportunities off of the rush, or in the offensive zone because they’re a little bit more focused on the offense, especially when they’ve had to try to battle through all game. And they’re not getting much.

"Now he’s in a position where he’s doing all the things he’s supposed to do as Colton Gillies, but he’s capitalizing on his chances and he’s elevated his game."

3. But what does Gillies have to say about this? He's just doing what needs to be done. But he's not the hero. The entire team is responsible for where the Aeros are at at this moment.

"For me with playoffs, I’ve been going to the net a lot harder," he said. "I’ve been going to the net and trying to make sure my presence around the net is known. You can ask anyone of the players in the dressing room, including myself. It’s not about the goals, we’re here to win the game. If you score, good job, you get to be the hero for the night. But there’s a lot of guys in that room that do little things that don’t get noticed that deserve to wear the cape."

4. Now we talked to Matt Kassian after the game. I had him brought out because I wanted to ask him about Derek Boogaard. But then Andrew decided to ask some non-Boogaard questions, and the way he answered these questions goes to just what a classy, team-oriented guy Kassian is.

He wants to be playing. And it hurt to know that he was the guy who was going to have sit once the Milwaukee series started. But there were more important things than his feelings because he couldn't let his feelings impact the team.

"It’s not an easy thing," he said. "I don’t think people understand how difficult it can be on you mentally and emotionally, as well. When you’re here the whole season, you want to play and you want to be a part of it, but at the same time, you’re here to be a good teammate. You can’t bring any kind of that negative emotions that you feel about it into the dressing room. You really just have to have a good attitude and work through it.

"That’s difficult. It’s tough. You want to play, you want to be part of it. I’m the type of player who, if you play me four minutes I’m going to want to play five. If you play me five I’m going to want to play six. You play me 19 I’m going to want to play 20.

[SNIP]

"You never like to see an injury, especially to a young guy. It’s never good. And he’ll [Bulmer] be back, and it’s not too serious….At the same time, it’s an opportunity for myself to get back in there and be consistent and try to do what I in the first series. Just be consistent in the room and be consistent on the bench and the ice, too. Just play hard and make their [defense] hear footsteps and chip pucks out and that kind of thing."

5. Then comes Matt Hackett's play these first two games. Hackett said after game seven in Milwaukee that one of the problems he'd had was that he wasn't seeing enough shots, but that he thought he had adjusted to that problem. Well that hasn't been a problem in this series so far. We were talking to Kassian when Hackett came out and talked to the TV guys, so I don't know what he said. But if he keeps playing like he's been playing, the Aeros aren't going to have to worry about his play.

6. Jon DiSalvatore said an interesting thing about Hackett after the game, and how he'd been challenged after game six in Milwaukee to elevate his game, and how he's begun to understand the importance of goalie play in the playoffs. It's not clear from DiSalvatore's statements if this challenge came from Hackett's teammates, or if Hackett challenged himself. But this follows on what guys like Jed Ortmeyer said on Friday night about Hackett elevating his game after that sixth game in Milwaukee.

Here's what DiSalvatore said: "I think after game six in Milwaukee – in that Milwaukee series, a lot of guys were challenged, and that game six, Matt Hackett was challenged. And the kid has responded tremendously for us. He has really – I think he won us the first game of this series. And just the way that he’s kind of matured and accepted the true responsibility of how significant goaltending is in playoffs has been tremendous. We’re very proud of him, and we hope that he continues to strive to be better. He’s been excellent so far since that game six. Absolutely."

7. And since I've been following around the team a lot the past month or so -- I'm really sorry I can't make it to Hamilton -- I've seen a lot of Colton Gillies dealing with Hackett. After game four in Peoria, I was asking Hackett about some tough stops, and Gillies popped out from nowhere and went on about how Hackett saw everything.

And when asked about Hackett yesterday, Gillies was just as effusive in his statements: "Hackett, he’s a great goalie. That’s pretty much it. He’s definitely had a good series for us. He’s had a good season. With Milwaukee, he didn’t see a lot of shots for long periods of time, which could have been hard on him. But he’s playing well right now, and he’ll keep up. I know he will."

8. The defense had another good game. And after being really down on Justin Falk during the Milwaukee series, I think, like with Hackett, we're seeing a guy who has elevated his game. And the defense as a whole, has been good -- man, you've got to wonder just how good this team would have been with Jared Spurgeon and Marco Scandella around all year, and man, are we going to miss them next year.

"[Falk] in particular, but I thought the entire group was again very good," Yeo said. "[Hamilton] is a team, if your defense is not sharp, then they’re going to make them look bad. They’re committed to getting every puck in behind your defense and making them turn and go back. And they put them under heavy pressure.

"The way that we executed, not only were we able to relieve that pressure, we were able to get to our game a little bit more effectively. We were able to generate some speed off the rush and off the attack because of the way those guys went back and executed."

9. The officiating, as it's been throughout the playoffs, was atrocious. I'm still trying to figure out how Max Noreau was the one who got the four minute minor for roughing in the third period. Whether it's a blind Terry Koharski waiving off pucks that are goals, or Jean Hebert and Francis Charron yesterday who just seemed to have their heads stuck up their asses, there's just no way to explain it. I also don't know why the linesmen thought they were required to hold onto the puck for 20 minutes in the face off circle before dropping the puck to start action.

I'm working on a separate post/rant about the officiating, but the AHL should just really be ashamed by how bad things have been. And not just how bad they calls have been or not been against the Aeros. The officials have been equal opportunity offenders -- see Koharski blowing a goal call against Milwaukee in game seven -- and it's just a pity to see great series being dragged down by their awfulness.

10. And I just want to add that the crowds at Toyota Center have been fantastic and only getting better since the playoffs began. The crowds in Milwaukee were almost non-existent in Milwaukee last week -- there were just under 3000 for game six and, I think, about 3500 for game seven. But the Aeros have been getting some big crowds, and those crowds have been loud. And I'm not the only one who thinks so.

"The crowd’s been awesome, especially the last couple of games," Yeo said. "I think it’s been building as this playoff run has gone along. It seems like with the intensity that increases in the games, it’s increasing the atmosphere and the playoff vibe that we’re feeling right now.

"Right from the start of the game you can tell that the crowds are jacked up, they’re excited, and they’re feeling it. And because of that, it brings a little bit more life, and little bit more emotion to our guys."

So job well done. Now it's white-knuckle time as the guys head off for three games at Hamilton.

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."