10/31/10 -- Aeros v. Stars -- The Monster Mash Edition

The Aeros got the 4-2 win over the Texas Stars tonight, improving their record to 4-5-1-0 in the process. There was some good defensive play. Anton Khudobin gave up two goals, but seeing as how he faced nearly 40 shots, that's a pretty good average. So on with the hail of bullets.

1. Did someone at Toyota Center forget to pay the A/C bill? It was ridiculous how hot the arena was. It was uncomfortable in the stands, so I would hate to think of how miserable it was for the players.

2. Was that a nice pass by Warren Peters to Carson McMillan for that third goal, or what? McMillan gave all of the credit for the goal to Peters. But think about it, how many times have we seen an Aero whiff on a supposedly easy, can't miss shot like that? But McMillan buried the shot, so he deserves some credit as well.

3. Andrew called the Nate Prosser goal in the third period, the one that made it 4-2. He made a comment about Matt "Gretzky" Kassian with the assist before Prosser even had the puck off of the pass. I just wish he would give me the damn lottery numbers.

4. Kris Fredheim's goal in the first period was a rocket of a shot -- one of those Max Noreau-type things. It was also Fredheim's first professional goal.

5. Marco Scandella -- I don't really know what all to say. He made numerous good plays on the defensive end, and he even got an assist. I don't remember who we gave the stars to -- but I argued that Scandella deserved one for his defensive play.

6. Guess what, the Aeros are on a winning streak. Sure, it's only a two-game streak, but a streak has to start somewhere, right?

7. Mike Yeo said the team had a good weekend -- there will be quotes in the mothership tomorrow. The team might have lost to San Antonio on Friday night, but he liked the team's play in the first period that night, and he was encouraged by how the team worked through the heat, the third game in three days, and letting Texas tie the score to come on strong and win the game.

8. He was happy to get the home win, especially because he thought you, the fans, deserved the win for sticking with the team.

9. The team's not out of the woods. He's going to spend this week working on focus while continuing to work on their understanding of the offense.

10. I don't know about you, but maybe the Aeros should just start declining power play chances. I don't even think the Aeros were this bad on the power play last season, and they were bad last season. My solution is to just stick four guys down by the net and let Noreau fire away from the blue line. But that's probably why I'm not a coach.

11. Here's a stat that won't surprise you. The Aeros are 4-1-0-0 when they score the first goal. Of course, their primary problem this season has been just scoring a goal at any point.

12. The Dynamics "Where's Waldo" Halloween costumes just didn't work for me, though I kind of liked the glasses thing.

13. I want to apologize for the delay in getting this posted -- I'm working a temp job at the moment (hoping that it goes permanent) and I had to do some work for it when I got home, along with writing a story for the mothership.

14. That said, I won't be around for Friday's game with Toronto. I'll be covering the Houston Cougars/UCF Knights game at Roberstson Stadium for the mothership -- college football gets bigger readership numbers.

15. Things go better with a win, don't they?

16. Do something about the air conditioning. Please.

17. In honor of Halloween, here's a Craig Ferguson clip from Friday night -- I think he's one of the funniest guys on television.

Meet your 2010-11 Aeros: Kris Fredheim

Kris Fredheim
Defense

Born: 2/23/1987
Campbell River, BC
6'2" - 192

Shoots: Right

It's pronounced FRED-haym. Rhymes with Dead Aim. Fredheim's a stay at home defenseman who earned an AHL deal out of camp after finishing up his college career at Colorado College (Wild must have a scout who lives in Colorado Springs... ).

He was originally a 6th round draft pick in 2005 for Vancouver but they ultimately passed, so I'm sure he'll have a little something extra when the Aeros face Manitoba.

I've never seen him play so I can't comment at all, but here's what Hockey's Future had to say about him.

Fredheim is a tall, lanky defensive defenseman who is noted for his big, powerful slapshot. He’s a smart player who keeps things pretty simple and is very solid positionally. He makes great use of his large frame and long reach, but still needs to add strength. Despite his need for more physical strength, Fredheim is strong on his skates and has shown that he can be difficult to move off of the puck. He is a fierce competitor who isn’t afraid to play the body is quite good in his play along the boards and in the corners. Fredheim possesses good puck skills and can make nice outlet passes, though he could stand to be a bit more patient with the puck. He is defensively sound, effectively taking away passing/shooting lanes and has shown a willingness to block shots. Some added size and strength would go a long way to help improve many of Fredheim’s weaknesses as his collegiate career goes along.

So, there's that. Judging solely by his stats (it's all I've got) and knowing these profiles tend to be a little outdated, I'm guessing his patience with the puck has probably seen some improvement. In his final season at CC, he doubled his point totals, assists mostly, but that could be an indication of more comfort with the puck.