10/9 -- Aeros v. Stars -- The Matt Beaudoin Is Not The Second Coming of Wayne Gretzky Edition

I find it hard to write about the kind of game that was played tonight. The Aeros came out hard, and fast, and physical. They took the 1-0 lead after Clayton Stoner fired in the puck from the blue line at 17:29 of the first. They left their intensity in the locker room for the second and most of the third periods, but trailing 3-1 late in the third, the Aeros still found a way to make it interesting before losing 3-2 in front of 8514 fans inside of Toyota Center.

There’s just not much to say.

Stoner put the fault on the entire team, saying that “we were turning over pucks at the blue line going into their zone and just giving up odd man rushes the other way. Then break downs in our own zones. I think pretty much we just handed them everything they got.”

In many ways, he is correct. But without the play of Texas Stars goalie Brent Krahn, Texas loses this game. The Aeros won the shot battle 35-20. They outshot Texas 12-4 in the first period. They hit Krahn with a six-man rush late in the third. And he made the stops, especially when it counted.

Still, the Aeros could have, should have won this game. But despite the massive off season roster turnover, this Aeros team played like year’s team. Consistently inconsistent. They came out strong, trailed off, then came back at the end.

“We’re a mature group,” Stoner said. “A lot of older guys. If we’re down a goal or two we can always come back.”

But head coach Kevin Constantine doesn’t want to hear comparisons to last year.

“There’s a lot of newness here,” he said. “New management, new players, getting used to things. It’s so much change, our style of play, you would think we would be fairly similar to last year once we all adjust to how we’re going to play. I would summarize the game with saying we had a good start. We had a lot of energy. We had a good first period. We had an average second period with a little too many turnovers. And didn’t manage the puck very good, and let them back into the game because of that.”

The Aeros and Stars go at it again tomorrow night, 7:35, at Toyota Center. And the Aeros will attempt to even up their record at 2-2. Something which Stoner thinks is possible. “I think we need to come out with a bit of an edge,” he said. “We can’t be happy with the way we handed them the game. We’ve just got to come out with an attitude and play like we deserve to win.”

MISCELLANEOUS GAME NOTES:

I’ve got to admit to a little disappointment from tonight’s game. After reading the comments here over the summer, I was convinced that Matt Beaudoin was the second coming of Gretzky and Crosby. Instead, all I saw tonight was the Beaudoin I saw during much of the regular season last year -- nothing. He’s a good guy. He was good in the locker room. He was very good in the playoffs. But you guys have got to get over him already. Mitch Love and Tony Hrkac played as important, or bigger, roles with this team last year than Beaudoin, and I can’t understand the adulation that has been coming his way.

Though, on the plus side, this did give me and Heather a fun way to waste time during the game as we were making “Matt Beaudoin is so great, how great is he?” jokes throughout the game.

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The Aeros have really got to let those of us sitting on press row pick the stars of the game. There’s just no justification for Texas goalie Brent Krahn not being the number one star of the game. Hell, he wasn’t even a star. I often asked myself this same question last year: are they watching the same game that I am?

I also think that they ought to turn over game scoring duties to those of us on press row. Heather, Andrew, GM Jim Mill, and myself all correctly identified Clayton Stoner as being the one to score the first period goal as soon as it happened, and verified it by way of replay -- thanks Jamie Spencer for that as, if I remember right, we didn’t always have replays on Friday games last year. But the stat crew gave it to right wing Jean-Michel Daoust. That mistake was corrected during the first intermission.

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The Aeros do not have a captain this year. They are using a system of rotating Alternate Captains, which is shared by the veterans, and will rotate among those who are not having to sit out during a particular game due to the Veteran Rule. Tonight's Alternates were Clayton Stoner, Brandon Rogers, and Ryan Lannon.

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I was impressed by rookie Chad Rau. He got the team’s second goal, late in third period, and he always seemed to be around the puck for the whole night. And Clayton Stoner was again delivering some quality hits during the game.

And I was impressed by P.A. guy Steve Vidal for correctly pronouncing new goalie Wade Dubielewicz’s name throughout the night. I think I would have nightmares every night if I had to pronounce it on a regular basis.

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And finally, before I go, it’s time to play DJ. So I thought I would bust out this little beauty from The Pretenders. First, because it gives me a chance to watch Chrissie Hynde. Second, because it’s a good song. Third, because the first line is the “reason we’re here” which allows me to remind you that, despite everything that’s happened, we here at T3I are here to give you the best game coverage possible. And fourth, as my dedication to Mitch Love who is off in Peoria this year (also, though he probably won't like it, it's also for Mr. Fred).

So here’s The Pretenders with the “Message of Love.”

Beaudoin impresses in Stars Scrimmage

Matt Beaudoin (photo by Fred Trask) scored two goals in Dallas' (white vs. green, I guess) White 5-0 win today. Don't crown the guy king of Stars hockey, but he is off to a good start. There is no doubt that he will hustle and do good things with the puck.

Mike Heika covers Stars hockey for the AM news up there and was very impressed with Beauds.
Matt Climie got a very good mention too for his big saves in the game.

I just realized that Clime and Krahn will likely be in Austin. If their "D" holds up down there, they will be a very good team. I predict they will be one of the four teams to make the playoffs (Chicago, Milwaukee, Houston and Texas are my early picks). No, not in that order.

Here is a little bit from Heika's blog:

"The other player of note on Monday was Mathieu Beaudoin, who scored two goals. Beaudoin is 25 and is coming off a year in which he played for new Texas Stars coach Glen Gulutzan in Las Vegas (ECHL) and also for the Houston Aeros (11-8_19 in 41 games). He powered two shots in and looked good doing it. He just signed with the Texas Stars, so he could become a player that the Stars might see this year. He's a right-handed shot, so that doesn't hurt his chances.

"Matt Climie had probably the most noticeable saves in net, as he stopped Jamie Benn and Ray Sawada on a couple of good chances. All in all, most of the goalies have looked good in the two scrimmages."

It's OK to lament of him not returning here, but the Wild have answered why to that question and he just did not fit in the plans for the organization. Fletcher wants guys that are comfortable to him in his first couple of years, and until the guys scores 20 goals in the NHL, there is no need to call this a mistake.

It's official: Beaudoin is a Texas Star

Here's hoping Aeros goalies know all his tricks. :)

Article here.

Finally, some info on Beaudoin

Appears Mathieu is going to be taking part in the Dallas Stars camp, and if he gets a deal with that club, will likely end up playing for the Texas Stars in Austin.

So, on the plus side, those who love him will see him FREQUENTLY.

On the minus side, he'll be the enemy.

Watch This Space

Just a brief note. Be watching our blog links tomorrow, especially "Hair Balls," because over at the Houston Press mothership they should be posting my story/interview with new GM Jim Mill. I'll have some comments, etc., over here after it goes up. But I'll let you know for those still asking: Matt Beaudoin is definitively not going to be on the team.

Ladies, one last Matt Beaudoin...

Joe O'Donnell posted what is probably his last interview with Beauds as an Aero. I wish I could say that he looks awful and we won't miss him, but you'd see for yourself that I'm lying like rug.

And just to twist the knife, they're discussing the charity work some of the guys did at Memorial Hermann. Nothing like your favorite hockey hunk helping little kids. Dear Lord.

Anyway, go check it out.

UDPATE: I had trouble getting to the video, as well. Try this link. [John]

Photo by Fred Trask

Round 3, Game #5 -- Aeros vs. Moose -- Photos

What a game!!! The Aeros started off with a bang, 2 quick goals and then a second period that was simply amazing, 14 or 15 minutes of dominating hockey without any stoppages. Maybe the single best period I've ever seen the Aeros skate at Toyota Center.

Here is the Noreau goal, it dribbled through 5 hole.

Lammers celebrates

D-men Brandon Rogers and Maxim Noreau celebrate

This is an amazing series of the first Hrkac goal. Cory Schneider almost got it with the blocker but there was enough on the shot to flip the puck up in the air and fall into the net. I've circled the puck where it ts difficult to see. The puck is in every photo in the series.

Here you can see the puck between the blocker and the arm.Some celebration of the goal

Here is the Matt Beaudoin goal.

And here is the 2OT Tony Hrkac goal with some celebration.

All Photos:Fred Trask

Round 3, Game #4 -- Aeros vs. Moose -- Photos -- Part 2

I realized I'd not given you a shot of Carson McMillan yet.

Some Marco Rosa.

A swooping Danny Irmen.

Bryan Lundbohm and ex-Aero Mark Cullen

A calm Cory Schneider is about to catch the puck.

Matt Beaudoin rushes up the ice.

Greg Rallo lifts the stick of Matt Kassian.

Cory Schneider with some leather larceny.

Mitch Love is cross-checked by Nolan Baumgartner.

Mitch Love is given a ride along the Aeros bench by Guillaume Desbiens.
Krys Kolanos gets off one of his terrific shots on Cory Schneider. Often times these find their way through, under the arm of the netminder.

Cory Schneider takes some refreshment during a stoppage in play.

All Photos:Fred Trask

Game 4 Media Round-up

For starters, here's a nice little feature on the delicious Matt Beaudoin from theAHL.com.

From Houston:

• Andrew's Chronicle piece
• For continuity's sake, John's Press piece again
• And my PHN write-up

From Winnipeg:

• Bolduc may still be out on Friday according to the Winnipeg Sun
• The game report from the Sun, in which Coach Arniel says his team "flat out stunk"
• The Winnipeg Freep's game report

And finally if you have too much time on your hands, here's the replay of the live chat on the Freep's site last night. There's some pretty funny stuff. Interesting to see what opposing fans are thinking during a game.

My favorite line: Khudobin, his Russian nickname translates to "Tsar of Rebounds"

Round 3, Game #4: Meanwhile, Over At The Mothership

Here's my Houston Press write-up of last night's game. So, as always, go give it a read. I think it captures the spirit of last night's game.

And if any of you are wondering about my focus on Tony Hrkac after last night's game instead of Matt Beaudoin who had a game for the ages, there are three reasons, kind of. First, I talked to Hrkac after yesterday's morning skate, and I thought it made a nice bookend to get to him afterwards and follow-up on what we had talked about earlier in the day. Second, I wasn't around for much of the Matt Beaudoin interview, so I didn't really have the quotes from him. Third, Hrkac is just a few months younger than I am, so an old guy out there keeping up with the kids, especially an old guy who hadn't played in four seasons, just fascinates me.

But make no mistake, the deserved number one star of last night's game was Matt Beaudoin, and I hope the Aeros/Wild are doing something to get this guy locked into a contract for next season.

Round 3, Game #4: Aeros vs. Moose: Nobody Told Me

After Wednesday morning’s skate, Tony Hrkac said that the team had to avoid making mistakes, they had to play smart, and that they had to focus on just winning this one game. Most importantly, he said, they needed to at least be tied at the end of the first period.

Things looked good for the Aeros (and for Hrkac’s prediction) when Corey Locke knocked in a rebound past Manitoba’s Cory Schneider at 1:26 of the first to put the Aeros up 1-0. But then the mistakes and dumb play began and the Moose got two goals – including another short-handed goal on the penalty kill – to grab the 2-1 lead after one period.

But the thing about the Aeros is that they just don’t quit. They came out in the second and tied the game at two-all when Corey Locke fired a cross-ice pass to John Lammers who then found Robbie Earl coming up the middle of the ice, and Earl buried the puck in the net at 13:58 of the second. Then the team got stupid again, and allowed Manitoba to score 25 seconds into the third period to take the 3-2 lead.

Enter Matt Beaudoin and Tony Hrkac.

Beaudoin took a pass from Benoit Pouliot at 13:31 of the third and slapped the puck past Schneider to tie the game at three. And seconds later, at 14:29, Beaudoin made a great play under the net to find a streaking Hrkac who tipped the puck past Scheinder to put the Aeros up 4-3.

“I got a good pass from Pouliot right outside their blue line, and I knew I had a winger going,” Hrkac said, “so I wanted to get the shot on the net for the rebound, and [Beaudoin] got the rebound, and from my angle I thought he put it in. But it went behind the net, and I just went straight for the net and he saw me and threw it out to me and I put it in the net.”

But the Aeros don’t do things the easy way. Anton Khudobin found himself badly out of position at 17:21 and Mario Bliznak got the wraparound to tie the game at four and send the game to overtime.

It was during the intermission leading to overtime that word filtered up to the press box that Khudobin had gotten injured in the third period and that Nolan Schaefer would be coming out to take over at goal.

“I just didn’t want to let the team down,” Schaefer said. “I wanted to get in there and give them the chance to win, and I didn’t even have to do that.”

He didn’t have to do that because the Aeros came out on the attack in the overtime and at 2:01, Matt Beaudoin scored his second goal of the night (and got his fourth point) to give Houston the 5-4 lead and to keep them alive in this best of seven series with the Manitoba Moose.

“Tonight we got our bounces,” Beaudoin said after the game.

But to stand a chance at winning this series, the Aeros are going to have to keep getting the bounces. And the next chance to get the bounces will come on Friday night as the Aeros and Moose go at it in Game Five from Toyota Center.

SOME MISCELLANEOUS GAME NOTES:

It's going to take a bit of a miracle for the Aeros to win this series. In the entire of the AHL, only two teams have ever come back from 0-3 deficits to win a series. Those teams were the 1960 Rochester Americans and the 1989 Adirondack Red Wings.

Tony Hrkac says that in this instance, the cliche has to win out, meaning that the Aeros can't focus on winning three games. They just have to focus on the next game and the next period. "The next game is the biggest game of the year. If we lose we’re done," he says. "But we’ve got to go out there one period at a time and hopefully get the next goal. We need to build off this win. It’s a big win for us. They’re a good team. They’re not going to be rattled."

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Corey Locke's first period goal tied the team record for playoff goals in one season with 11, tying Mark Freer who also scored 11 in 1999. Locke's 20 total points (11-9=20) is second all-time for playoff points in one season. He is behind only Freer who had 23 points in the 1999 season. Locke is also the AHL's points leader for this Calder Cup race.

Matt Beaudoin's four points (2-2=4) tied the Aeros' all-time playoff record. This has happened twice before, the last time being in 2001 when Shawn Carter got a goal and three assists.

"I think it was his best game of the year for us," Kevin Constantine said. "He’s been a real nice addition to our power play, but tonight he was also a really good five-on-five player, he did a little of both. It was his best game. It was good to see."

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The Anton Khudobin injury was rather surprising news to those of us in the press box. It was also, it appears, rather surprising news to Constantine and the rest of the coaching staff.

"At some point in the third, I don’t know when," Constantine answered when asked when the injury occurred. "It was during the third, he did play the end of the third injured. It was something the coaching staff didn’t even really know about. But it was brought to our attention that he was hurt, so we had no choice but to put Schaefer in at the end of the game."

And while we're on the subject of goalies, it should be noted that this was the first time that Cory Schneider's ever allowed more than four goals in a playoff game for his career.

"The stat was that prior to this game he’d given up six goals in the third and we had three of them," Hrkac said. "So we knew were good in the third period. We knew we could get to them in the third, and we did that and we got them in overtime."

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And I've got a note for Booker, or whatever the hell his name is. Hey, moron, when the goalie's in the net and action is about to start back up again, don't go shouting out his frigging name and trying to grab his attention. As hard as it might be for you to believe, Anton Khudobin's got more important things to focus on that your inane activities.

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And to play us out tonight, I thought I would do something a little different and play a song for the Moose. So to help you get over the loss of your 10-game post season winning streak, here's John Lennon with "Nobody Told Me."

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

Nothing but goals tonight ...

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

This is the first Matt Beaudoin goal.

And finally, the Matt Beaudoin game winner in OT.

All Photos:Fred Trask

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

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

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

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

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

Round 2, Game #3 -- Aeros vs. Milwaukee -- Photos -- Part 2

Here you can see how the Aeros really protected Anton and clogged the area in front of the net. This shot was deflected by Khudobin and cleared by the defense.
This one was the 2nd big stop of Cal O'Reilly when he got in alone on Khudobin for the 2nd time on the night. He was so close to getting it through Anton had to look around behind him to be sure it wasn't in the net.

Great reaction from Beaudoin on his goal.

And the group hug.

Corey Locke wraps up the scoring on the night for the Aeros.

This was an ugly scene from the Ads. The game was over, all of the Ads had left the ice except for Cody Franson who had to get in some whining. He stopped and clapped at referee Francois St. Laurent. All I can say is this maneuver will do nothing to help you with the officials, it'll do nothing to change the way they call the game and makes you look like an asshat. There were no plays involving officials in the closing minutes of the game. The game was not that poorly officiated. I'm sensing a little "tick tock" if you know what I mean. You'd be better served to take it to the house and dedicate yourself to showing your displeasure on the scoreboard in game 4. You're lucky St. Laurent didn't take action as you obviously were trying to show up the officiating.
All Photos:Fred Trask