Sometimes things get so bad that you want to cry, but instead, you just have the urge to laugh. Like, for instance, now. Things are just so damn bad with the Wild that it's no longer sad, it's funny. And things are just so bad with the Wild that the Aeros have started getting sad. But after today/tonight, it's not sad, it's funny.
The Aeros lost to the Rockford IceHogs tonight 4-1. That's the second loss in a row, and the second on this four game road trip. As Andrew and Heather wrote below, Joe Fallon's injured and Matt Hackett's with the Wild because the brittle twins that play in goal for the Wild are, as you guessed, injured.
The result was that the Aeros threw a guy just literally out of college between the pipes tonight -- he's got just two games of ECHL experience -- named Scott Greenham. Now it would be easy to put the loss on Greenham since Rockford did score four goals. But then you look at this stat: Rockford out shot Houston 41-18, including 16-2 in the second period. Yes, you saw that right, 41-18, and it becomes a wonder that Rockford only scored three times on Greenham -- the fourth goal was an empty-netter.
That leads to the question of what happened to that offense we were bragging about just last week. There have been no roster changes. The lines haven't changed. But the Aeros can no longer score any goals. It's ridiculous, really ridiculous. What makes it more ridiculous is that the Wild's Matt Cullen broke a finger in tonight's loss to Buffalo (shocking, right? The Wild losing, and a Wild getting hurt) which will necessitate the Wild calling up one of the Aeros forwards, which in itself is funny seeing as how the Aeros forwards have forgotten how to shoot the damn puck.
However, despite the loss, the Aeros are still in fourth place. Yes, that's right, they're still in fourth because just about everybody below them in the standings also lost tonight. So for one more day, the Aeros hang on to fourth place with 76 points. The Heat, Americans, and Rivermen are tied for fifth with 75 points, and the Checkers are hanging onto the eighth spot with 74 points. The Rampage and Monsters are tied for ninth with 73 points, and the Admirals are in 11th with 70 points.
Yep, that's right, a total of six points separate the fourth spot from the 11th spot in the standings. And we thought it was ridiculously close last season.
The Aeros play in Chicago on Sunday afternoon. Peoria, Abbotsford, and Charlotte also play on Sunday. So it's conceivable that, come tomorrow night, the Aeros could be sitting in seventh place.
Like I said, it's so sad, it's funny. Which leads to this video from a classic Broadway musical/movie of the 1960s called A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum. So here's the opening song, "A Comedy Tonight."
(By the way, my apologies to Joe Fallon. I wrote about him in the Press on Friday, so of course he was injured.)
Showing posts with label Rockford IceHogs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rockford IceHogs. Show all posts
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Friday, January 6, 2012
Game Day Preview - Aeros vs. Rockford
Tonight is the first of six four games against Rockford this season. On paper, the Aeros have the upper hand; Rockford is the league's worst team in terms of points, penalty kill and goaltending. What they do have, though, is a decent power play, and if there is one area in that the Aeros are weak, it's special teams.
The IceHogs have just three wins (two in regulation) since Thanksgiving, and they have allowed at least three goals a whopping 10 times during that span. That. Is. Crazy. Their leading scorer is Brandon Pirri; he has 32 points this season (14 goals, 18 assists), and he just keeps getting better. Andrew Shaw and Jimmy Hayes are both on recall to NHL Chicago, and I don't think will be send down for the game tonight. Another dent? Two of the IceHogs top five scorers (Brett MacLean and Brandon Segal) are both minus-11.
As I mentioned before, the IceHogs' penalty kill is dead last in the NHL at 75.7 percent, and they have allowed at least 35 goals in every regulation period. By contrast, the Aeros have allowed more than 35 goals in just one period (36 in the second).
But ... they don't play games on paper, do they? The IceHogs start a nice long road trip tonight; they'll be in Texas Saturday and Sunday and looking to get things off on the right foot tonight. They have lost five straight overall, and are due for some points. They are 2-3 in shootouts compared to the Aeros AHL-worst mark of 0-7.
Good news for Aeros fans? The Aeros have had four-plus days to think about that embarrassing performance from last Sunday. And they've got five points in the three games following their last three shutouts again. Rockford does seem to give the Aeros their share of problems, as they are just 13-11-2-2 all time against them.
The Aeros are fourth in the AHL in attendance at 6,689 per game, so off-the-ice, the Aeros have done really well at home.
In closing, it's worth noting that the Aeros got Kassian and Prosser back from Minnesota. But three key players still remain on recall in the NHL. Warren Peters, Jarod Pamer and Casey Wellman are up, and don't expect them back any time soon. Palmer will likely get re-assigned when he is healthy, but it will take some time to work back into game shape after than upper-body injury.
My useless prediction says 4-2 Aeros tonight with an empty-netter late. The Aeros have to rebound from last Sunday. They've done it three times before now, and I think they get it done again before hitting the road to San Antonio Sunday.
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| Miss these great photos from Mr. Fred? Yeah, me too. |
As I mentioned before, the IceHogs' penalty kill is dead last in the NHL at 75.7 percent, and they have allowed at least 35 goals in every regulation period. By contrast, the Aeros have allowed more than 35 goals in just one period (36 in the second).
But ... they don't play games on paper, do they? The IceHogs start a nice long road trip tonight; they'll be in Texas Saturday and Sunday and looking to get things off on the right foot tonight. They have lost five straight overall, and are due for some points. They are 2-3 in shootouts compared to the Aeros AHL-worst mark of 0-7.
Good news for Aeros fans? The Aeros have had four-plus days to think about that embarrassing performance from last Sunday. And they've got five points in the three games following their last three shutouts again. Rockford does seem to give the Aeros their share of problems, as they are just 13-11-2-2 all time against them.
The Aeros are fourth in the AHL in attendance at 6,689 per game, so off-the-ice, the Aeros have done really well at home.
In closing, it's worth noting that the Aeros got Kassian and Prosser back from Minnesota. But three key players still remain on recall in the NHL. Warren Peters, Jarod Pamer and Casey Wellman are up, and don't expect them back any time soon. Palmer will likely get re-assigned when he is healthy, but it will take some time to work back into game shape after than upper-body injury.
My useless prediction says 4-2 Aeros tonight with an empty-netter late. The Aeros have to rebound from last Sunday. They've done it three times before now, and I think they get it done again before hitting the road to San Antonio Sunday.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
No Tolerance for Punkasses
As often as we have pork for the press meal, I was surprised to see roast beef (albeit quite tasty) on the menu. But the Aeros cooked up a big mess of IceHog tonight in their 8-1 win. Mmm, bacon tastes good (if you're sensitive to eff bombs, don't click that link).
Per usual in a lopsided game, it got nasty later on with Wade Brookbank basically headhunting and finding a victim in Robbie Earl, who told us that he knew it was coming. He was smiling and seemed fine though. A 7 point margin of victory will do that for a guy. Here's the score sheet if you want the laundry list of penalties Brookbank racked up with that.
Anyway, I asked Coach Yeo if the team owes Hackett a steak dinner after that lousy turnover that led to the Hogs lone (shorthanded unassisted) goal and ruined Hackett's shutout.
Yeo nodded, "and I do to. At that point, it's about sending a message," referring to the goonery and headhunting the IceHogs were up to, and his decision to just keep putting the top PP guys out to make them pay for it. "If you guys want to keep doing this, we're going to try and put another on the board, too."
"I don't appreciate that and I don't think that there's any place in the game for that stuff right there, in pro hockey," Yeo said. "You've got Brookbank going after Robbie and then every time one of them comes on the ice they're trying to fight somebody else."
"Get on with it. If you want to play hard and you want to try and hit somebody, that's fine. I've got no problem with that. I...." and at this point I just have to draw you a picture because, while I think he could have continued on a mighty rampage, he could see his PR guy starting to sweat. So he just shook his head and kept his mouth shut.
To be clear, he didn't actually say "No tolerance for punkasses"... that's me taking poetic license with what his overall point was.
Anyway, solid win for the boys who have a light day tomorrow before a tough 3 in 3.
Per usual in a lopsided game, it got nasty later on with Wade Brookbank basically headhunting and finding a victim in Robbie Earl, who told us that he knew it was coming. He was smiling and seemed fine though. A 7 point margin of victory will do that for a guy. Here's the score sheet if you want the laundry list of penalties Brookbank racked up with that.
Anyway, I asked Coach Yeo if the team owes Hackett a steak dinner after that lousy turnover that led to the Hogs lone (shorthanded unassisted) goal and ruined Hackett's shutout.
Yeo nodded, "and I do to. At that point, it's about sending a message," referring to the goonery and headhunting the IceHogs were up to, and his decision to just keep putting the top PP guys out to make them pay for it. "If you guys want to keep doing this, we're going to try and put another on the board, too."
"I don't appreciate that and I don't think that there's any place in the game for that stuff right there, in pro hockey," Yeo said. "You've got Brookbank going after Robbie and then every time one of them comes on the ice they're trying to fight somebody else."
"Get on with it. If you want to play hard and you want to try and hit somebody, that's fine. I've got no problem with that. I...." and at this point I just have to draw you a picture because, while I think he could have continued on a mighty rampage, he could see his PR guy starting to sweat. So he just shook his head and kept his mouth shut.
Anyway, solid win for the boys who have a light day tomorrow before a tough 3 in 3.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Scandella reassigned, photos from last night
So, as you might have cleverly guessed from the subject, Marco Scandella has been cleared by the docs to return to game action. He was hit in the ear/side of head with a puck a while back in Minny, and it rung his bell a bit.
Now that Zidlicky is healthy and Spurgeon has, for all intents and purposes, cemented a spot up there, Scandella's the odd man out. But with Cuma out, the timing is fantastic and I'm sure the team is grateful to get a guy with his talent back on the blue line. Um, sorry #4.
Pictures from last night's 5-3 win over Rockford, courtesy of Chris "Baby Got Back" Jerina.
Check out the rest of the photos, particularly on page 4, where you can see a series showing Ortmeyer battling for that empty net goal. Cool stuff. Thanks again, Chris!
Now that Zidlicky is healthy and Spurgeon has, for all intents and purposes, cemented a spot up there, Scandella's the odd man out. But with Cuma out, the timing is fantastic and I'm sure the team is grateful to get a guy with his talent back on the blue line. Um, sorry #4.
Pictures from last night's 5-3 win over Rockford, courtesy of Chris "Baby Got Back" Jerina.
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| The face of hockey right there, folks. The dentist who fixes this when his playing days are over will be able to buy a new boat on the AHL's dime. |
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| Peters screening the goalie but Toivonen's got his eye on it. |
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| Never realized how annoying Peters is to goalies. It's a dangerous proposition from the back and the front, if you notice where that puck is headed.... |
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| Bang. Hackett gets his stick on it. Cool shot. |
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| Kinda love this little cat and mouse game goalies and skaters play around the net. |
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| Rau's reaction to his goal. Neat shot with the ref signaling in there. |
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Ice Pigs bust the Aeros slump in 5-3 win
No thanks to AHL Live, I think you pretty much had to be there in person to see the game tonight. Luckily our Eye on the Midwest, Chris Jerina, was there shooting the game.
He told me the Aeros played "their game" the full 60 minutes and there were some tremendous efforts by various players.
First was DiSalvatore's goal to get the Aeros on the board first. He said it was a Bobby Orr type of diving goal and he wasn't kidding. Assists to Prosser and O'Sullivan. Here's his pic of it:
Falk tallied 5 minutes later with help from McMillan and Gillies. And then with just a few seconds left in the first, the Hogs got one past Hackett.
No problem though, as Noreau scored just one minute into the first, from Earl and Palmer. Unfortunately, the Hogs answered 3:30 later to put it 3-2.
Rockford tied it at 5:50 in the third and from there, I thought Andrew was going to be right in his prediction that this game was going to land in the Blown Lead Tracker to the right.
But Chad Rau called shenanigans on that nonsense (helpers from Earl and Falk---I have to wonder if this is Falk's first 2 point game?) and nabbed the game winner midway through the third. Rockford pulled Toivonen for the extra man, and Ortmeyer, through an apparently Herculean effort, potted an empty net goal to seal it up.
The Icehogs tweeted: "All the fans seem to be heading to the bathrooom?" at this point. Haha. Okay, it's over.
Anyway, good to get the win, and the Aeros remain tied in first place, but now it's with Milwaukee, who shut out Peoria tonight. But it's even better to hear that the boys played like we (and they) know they can.
But it's against the division's basement dwellers, so while it counts for sure, Tuesday's home game against Milwaukee is going to be huge for both teams. HUGE, I tell ya!
(AND I'M GONNA MISS IT!!! Don't be like me. Be there!)
He told me the Aeros played "their game" the full 60 minutes and there were some tremendous efforts by various players.
First was DiSalvatore's goal to get the Aeros on the board first. He said it was a Bobby Orr type of diving goal and he wasn't kidding. Assists to Prosser and O'Sullivan. Here's his pic of it:
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| It's goalie porn, too! Way to multitask, Chris! Shazam! (Photo by Chris Jerina) |
No problem though, as Noreau scored just one minute into the first, from Earl and Palmer. Unfortunately, the Hogs answered 3:30 later to put it 3-2.
Rockford tied it at 5:50 in the third and from there, I thought Andrew was going to be right in his prediction that this game was going to land in the Blown Lead Tracker to the right.
But Chad Rau called shenanigans on that nonsense (helpers from Earl and Falk---I have to wonder if this is Falk's first 2 point game?) and nabbed the game winner midway through the third. Rockford pulled Toivonen for the extra man, and Ortmeyer, through an apparently Herculean effort, potted an empty net goal to seal it up.
The Icehogs tweeted: "All the fans seem to be heading to the bathrooom?" at this point. Haha. Okay, it's over.
Anyway, good to get the win, and the Aeros remain tied in first place, but now it's with Milwaukee, who shut out Peoria tonight. But it's even better to hear that the boys played like we (and they) know they can.
But it's against the division's basement dwellers, so while it counts for sure, Tuesday's home game against Milwaukee is going to be huge for both teams. HUGE, I tell ya!
(AND I'M GONNA MISS IT!!! Don't be like me. Be there!)
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Slaughterhouse 4-1
Can you believe these Aeros? I really can't. Personally, I'm sorta holding my breath until they get past Peoria this weekend, which is a much better test than Rockford or Texas. I'm still not 100% sure where to set my expectations for this team.
Someone asked me the other day if they are overachieving or just finally playing to their level and I didn't know how to answer. I think there's a bit of both going on. A perfect storm of confidence and chemistry and skill and hard work. Sometimes it seems so tricky to make all that happen, that even if each guy is playing up to his potential, it still might not work out this well.
I dunno. Never look a gift horse in the mouth, though, right?
Anyway, here are pics from last night, courtesy of Chris "Dollar Hot Dog" Jerina, who is playing with some new lenses in anticipation of shooting the Aeros at the Xcel on Sunday. Should have some good stuff for you and I'll be tweeting the game live and in person from St. Paul.
Okay, that's enough. You can see the rest by clicking here. Thank you again, Chris!!
Someone asked me the other day if they are overachieving or just finally playing to their level and I didn't know how to answer. I think there's a bit of both going on. A perfect storm of confidence and chemistry and skill and hard work. Sometimes it seems so tricky to make all that happen, that even if each guy is playing up to his potential, it still might not work out this well.
I dunno. Never look a gift horse in the mouth, though, right?
Anyway, here are pics from last night, courtesy of Chris "Dollar Hot Dog" Jerina, who is playing with some new lenses in anticipation of shooting the Aeros at the Xcel on Sunday. Should have some good stuff for you and I'll be tweeting the game live and in person from St. Paul.
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| JM Daoust and the boys have their whoop-ass faces on as they head to the ice. |
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| Bohmbach is a bad goalie. Prosser had a great 2 point night. |
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| A peek inside the Rockford arena. Cozy barn. |
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| Sal's lucky. If I were the goalie, my stick wouldn't be on the ice. |
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| Gillies shows off his pretty chicklets. |
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| The amazing O'Sullivan being amazing |
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| GOAL |
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| Yay! Happy boys! |
Okay, that's enough. You can see the rest by clicking here. Thank you again, Chris!!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Aeros Whip Rockford -- Win Fifth Straight
The Aeros defeated the Rockford IceHogs tonight by the score of 4-1 -- yes, 4-1 again -- to win their fifth straight game and move into sole possession (for the moment) of first place in the AHL's West Division.
The Aeros actually trailed in this game as Rockford had the 1-0 lead after the first period. Then Nate Prosser and Jean-Michel Daoust scored in the second period and Patrick O'Sullivan and Carson McMillan scored in the third period. Matt Hackett got the start in goal and stopped 24 of 25 shots as the Aeros record improved to 31-19-1-3 (66 points).
The Aeros are off tomorrow while they travel to Peoria to play the Rivermen on Friday night. They then "host" Peoria on Sunday afternoon in St. Paul. The Rivermen are currently tied for third place with 64 points and a record of 30-18-2-2, so with any luck, the Aeros can put a little distance between them and Peoria this weekend.
SOME MISCELLANEOUS NOTES:
1. The Aeros are 13-2-0-1 since January 1.
2. The Aeros win, their fifth straight, is their best win streak of the season.
3. The assists on the night came from Justin Falk, Jarod Palmer, Patrick O'Sullivan, Nate Prosser, Chad Rau, and Colton Gillies.
4. Max Noreau was stratched on the basis of his having been a bit banged up in last night's game against Texas.
The Aeros actually trailed in this game as Rockford had the 1-0 lead after the first period. Then Nate Prosser and Jean-Michel Daoust scored in the second period and Patrick O'Sullivan and Carson McMillan scored in the third period. Matt Hackett got the start in goal and stopped 24 of 25 shots as the Aeros record improved to 31-19-1-3 (66 points).
The Aeros are off tomorrow while they travel to Peoria to play the Rivermen on Friday night. They then "host" Peoria on Sunday afternoon in St. Paul. The Rivermen are currently tied for third place with 64 points and a record of 30-18-2-2, so with any luck, the Aeros can put a little distance between them and Peoria this weekend.
SOME MISCELLANEOUS NOTES:
1. The Aeros are 13-2-0-1 since January 1.
2. The Aeros win, their fifth straight, is their best win streak of the season.
3. The assists on the night came from Justin Falk, Jarod Palmer, Patrick O'Sullivan, Nate Prosser, Chad Rau, and Colton Gillies.
4. Max Noreau was stratched on the basis of his having been a bit banged up in last night's game against Texas.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Pics from the Luau in Rockford
Get it? Roasted pig?
Anyway, Chris "Pizza! Pizza!" Jerina was our eyes in the stands for the 4-2 victory and here are some pretty pretty pictures:
Thanks bunches for those photos, Chris! You can see the rest of them here.
Anyway, Chris "Pizza! Pizza!" Jerina was our eyes in the stands for the 4-2 victory and here are some pretty pretty pictures:
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| Josh Tordjman looking very much in need of a new paint job on that old Phoenix/San Antonio lid he's wearing. |
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| JM Daoust attempts to blow the puck to the other end of the ice, rather than using his stick. Show off. |
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| Jed Ortmeyer celebrates after an Aeros goal |
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| Beautiful action shot. You can see the puck in front of Richards' pad. By his head angle, I don't think he knows it's there. |
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| Hackett gets some love from the big man. Just cuz I love a good goalie appreciation shot. :) |
Thanks bunches for those photos, Chris! You can see the rest of them here.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Aeros make bacon in Rockford
After losing and losing and losing to a not very impressive Rockford Icehogs team, the Aeros finally pulled it all together and played a really solid, determined 60 minutes of hockey to win 4-2 tonight.
Falk got the opening goal with a shot from the point that beat Rockford goalie Richards through a ton of traffic. But the see-saw started quickly as Colonel Klinkhammer put one past Hackett just a minute and a half later.
The Aeros went up 2-1 with 3 minutes left in the first on a power play goal by Warren Peters. Earl got the assist and continued a 5 game point streak.
I wish this were football so I could see time of possession because shots on goal don't seem to convey possession very well. The Aeros controlled the puck for long stretches, kept the pressure up, and really didn't give Rockford much time to hammer away at the Aeros end. Not to say Hackett wasn't busy. He came up big several times on difficult saves through traffic and one rather dangerous breakaway in his 27 stops.
The second goal against, in fact, was no fault of his as it was caused by a turnover early in the 3rd by Prosser, who just made a no-look pass up the boards right on to the eager blades of Taffe and Potulny.
Prosser made up for it later though, by setting up the game winning goal on a great feed to Palmer and then Rau, who put the Aeros up 3-2 about 7 minutes into the third. The boys battled through some 5 on 3 time to hold the lead and really kept quality chances low until Ortmeyer was able to set the puck loose from the Aeros zone with an empty net and Peters passed up to Gillies who put it on the target.
That was a 3 point night for Mr. Peters, who I don't think I've ever seen smile, but he sure makes me smile. :)
And with that, the Aeros are in 5th place, in playoff position and.... well, we'll see if the current positive trends continue and they can hold or maybe even improve on that placement. Still a lot of hockey left.
Falk got the opening goal with a shot from the point that beat Rockford goalie Richards through a ton of traffic. But the see-saw started quickly as Colonel Klinkhammer put one past Hackett just a minute and a half later.
The Aeros went up 2-1 with 3 minutes left in the first on a power play goal by Warren Peters. Earl got the assist and continued a 5 game point streak.
I wish this were football so I could see time of possession because shots on goal don't seem to convey possession very well. The Aeros controlled the puck for long stretches, kept the pressure up, and really didn't give Rockford much time to hammer away at the Aeros end. Not to say Hackett wasn't busy. He came up big several times on difficult saves through traffic and one rather dangerous breakaway in his 27 stops.
The second goal against, in fact, was no fault of his as it was caused by a turnover early in the 3rd by Prosser, who just made a no-look pass up the boards right on to the eager blades of Taffe and Potulny.
Prosser made up for it later though, by setting up the game winning goal on a great feed to Palmer and then Rau, who put the Aeros up 3-2 about 7 minutes into the third. The boys battled through some 5 on 3 time to hold the lead and really kept quality chances low until Ortmeyer was able to set the puck loose from the Aeros zone with an empty net and Peters passed up to Gillies who put it on the target.
That was a 3 point night for Mr. Peters, who I don't think I've ever seen smile, but he sure makes me smile. :)
And with that, the Aeros are in 5th place, in playoff position and.... well, we'll see if the current positive trends continue and they can hold or maybe even improve on that placement. Still a lot of hockey left.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Pics from Aeros at Rockford
There are so many good pictures from this game, it almost makes me forget that they lost 3-1 with Robbie Earl getting the only goal for the Aeros.
It was another one of those where they had a 1-0 lead into the third and then coughed up 3 goals (one empty net) in the third. I asked Chris if they seemed gassed but he said they didn't.
It's been a tough week for the boys, so I'm not expecting much tonight.
Anyway, here's some of my favorites, but you can see the whole album here. All photos by Chris "Bang Bang Bangity Bang" Jerina.
It was another one of those where they had a 1-0 lead into the third and then coughed up 3 goals (one empty net) in the third. I asked Chris if they seemed gassed but he said they didn't.
It's been a tough week for the boys, so I'm not expecting much tonight.
Anyway, here's some of my favorites, but you can see the whole album here. All photos by Chris "Bang Bang Bangity Bang" Jerina.
I love Pascal Morency and I haven't even seen him play. Toivonen's having none of his shenanigans.
More Morency. Smirking bastard. Love it.
Hackett watches the puck go just wide of the net.
Lead up to Earl's goal. Great screen by Almond.
Earl's goal. Sick
McMillan trying to get one past Toivonen, but no dice.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
The rest of the story...
I was hoping that if the Aeros lost, it would be because they got lit up, so I could make "Red Light District" jokes on behalf of John, who's in Amsterdam at the moment.
Alas, they did just enough to keep it close after coming out hard and fast, scoring, and then letting off the gas. Kinda getting used to that.
Yeo said after the game that their goal was to put up 40 shots. They put up 39, but it was in fits and starts of bad play and good play. I asked if he felt like guys were second guessing their decisions with the puck, and you can see his quote below, but you could almost see the gears turning: "Don't be cute, take the shot" when there's a linemate open with a clear shot. But then they were getting in the zone without anybody around the net, so shots were just hitting the goalie and corralled safely. I could have stopped a lot of those shots and I suck.
So then they get back to making some passes, even when there's a clear shooting lane. And there you have your turnover after turnover. And it's just a cycle of changing approaches until they get back to putting it on the net and have some really solid chances in the final minutes. Imagine if they'd been doing that all game...
It just felt to me like their instincts were on Pause and they were thinking too much. The game's too fast and fluid for that. You just have to read and react and hope the work done in practice shows in those reactions. Then again, maybe that's just how goalies work. :)
Anyway, here's some quotes from Yeo after the game.
On the good start and then let-up:
On offensive zone time:
As Andrew and I were walking through the concourse down to interview post-game, a guy walked by us and said, "Tonya Harding showed more heart." We had a good laugh at that, but felt like it wasn't a fair assessment at all.
I've seen lack of heart plenty and that's not the feeling I got. As I said, and Yeo confirmed, the team only has the slipperiest grip on the playing style that works best for them: Get in the zone. Get to the net. Put pucks on the net. Get the goalie moving. Get a stick on those rebounds.
This team has the talent in spots to create some pretty goals, but offensive skill doesn't run very deep. What the team is deep in is guys who are willing to sacrifice, go to the net, get dirty, battle.
One thing they didn't do well last night at important times was hold the zone. They'd get there, but sloppy passes to the point by the forwards killed momentum several times.
Anyway, enough grinding on the unfortunate stuff.
A few good things:
I loved Palmer sticking up for the hit on Wellman. Palmer isn't exactly a fighter, but when guys stand up like that, it says great things about the character of a team. You can sign "character guys" all day but until they do stuff like that, I don't even listen to it. That behavior is what you can hang your hat on.
Also, remember how Brent Burns used to be a forward and they turned him into a defenseman? I have to wonder if the organization has considered that for Gillies. I absolutely love that kid, but he's not doing it for me in his current role. He's big, he's mean, he's got a long reach, he's got some wheels, he plays hard every shift, but he's just got no offensive touch at all. Is the team really getting the most out of his gifts as a grinder?
Finally, props to the music folks for playing "Nah Nah Nah Hey Hey Goodbye" when an Aeros player (Kalus) was sent off on a penalty. That was rich.
Alas, they did just enough to keep it close after coming out hard and fast, scoring, and then letting off the gas. Kinda getting used to that.
Yeo said after the game that their goal was to put up 40 shots. They put up 39, but it was in fits and starts of bad play and good play. I asked if he felt like guys were second guessing their decisions with the puck, and you can see his quote below, but you could almost see the gears turning: "Don't be cute, take the shot" when there's a linemate open with a clear shot. But then they were getting in the zone without anybody around the net, so shots were just hitting the goalie and corralled safely. I could have stopped a lot of those shots and I suck.
So then they get back to making some passes, even when there's a clear shooting lane. And there you have your turnover after turnover. And it's just a cycle of changing approaches until they get back to putting it on the net and have some really solid chances in the final minutes. Imagine if they'd been doing that all game...
It just felt to me like their instincts were on Pause and they were thinking too much. The game's too fast and fluid for that. You just have to read and react and hope the work done in practice shows in those reactions. Then again, maybe that's just how goalies work. :)
Anyway, here's some quotes from Yeo after the game.
On the good start and then let-up:
Even the latter part of the first period, I wasn’t real thrilled with, but the second period for sure was just, again, a lack of urgency. You have to expect the other team to come out and you have to be ready to kick it up a notch and I thought, one on one battles were not good. Two goals scored directly coming off a one-on-one, just getting beat one on one. So again it’s just continuing trying to build something here. It’s not quite who we are yet, and when it’s not there, it’s frustrating because you know what you’re capable of when it is there. At the same time, we do have to have a little bit of patience that this is not who we are, but [we know] who we will be. We just want it to happen now, so it’s frustrating.On execution and scoring chances:
You play with fire enough times and that’s what happens. They’re gonna hang on, and they were fighting hard tonight. Give them a lot of credit. There was a lot of desperation in their game, they felt this was a must-win game and they got the 2 points. But at the same time, even in the third period, I thought there some chances, but execution-wise as far as playing our game, I thought there were still some turnovers and some poor decisions made with the puck, trying to force things that aren’t there instead of just sticking to the plan. The execution again wasn’t quite where I want it to be. We gave ourselves some chances and we fought hard but we put ourselves in a deep hole that we couldn’t get out of.
On offensive zone time:
I think the amount of zone time that we’ve had in the offensive zone in the last 2 games hasn’t been enough and that’s because we’re getting away from what we’re trying to do. We start to go east-west, and we start to make cute plays, and we’re turning pucks over and we’re back checking, instead of going in straight lines and putting pucks where we’ve got guys skating into it, being committed to playing in the offensive zone.
And once you get there you gotta be a) strong on the puck, which we haven’t been. If you get the puck back and somebody comes in and just taps your stick and you lose the puck and you’re back checking again. You gotta be strong on the puck. But b) you’ve gotta be committed to getting that cycle game going, to have the movement, to making sure you’re making plays where guys are skating into position, where you can grind a team down, and as they get tired that’s when things are going to open up. That’s where you’re going to catch a guy out of position and attack a seam that maybe wasn’t there earlier.On whether players were second guessing decisions with the puck:
We talked about this before the game and felt that we had to get over 40 shots tonight and we had 39. After the first period, I expected us to keep doing it because we were getting rewarded for it. There were rebounds there and we’ve got guys going to the net and we want to put pucks on the net to create those rebound opportunities. And then after that it was like our last resort was to shoot the puck. We were looking to make plays first, and when we did shoot it, then we didn’t have guys going to the net. And then it was easy for him to control his rebounds.
It’s a much different story like on the first goal if we’ve got a guy in the middle lane driving and the goalies got to try and deal with a puck that’s coming in soft into his pad. It’s a tough save for that goalie, but when there’s nobody around the net, it’s much easier for him.
As Andrew and I were walking through the concourse down to interview post-game, a guy walked by us and said, "Tonya Harding showed more heart." We had a good laugh at that, but felt like it wasn't a fair assessment at all.
I've seen lack of heart plenty and that's not the feeling I got. As I said, and Yeo confirmed, the team only has the slipperiest grip on the playing style that works best for them: Get in the zone. Get to the net. Put pucks on the net. Get the goalie moving. Get a stick on those rebounds.
This team has the talent in spots to create some pretty goals, but offensive skill doesn't run very deep. What the team is deep in is guys who are willing to sacrifice, go to the net, get dirty, battle.
One thing they didn't do well last night at important times was hold the zone. They'd get there, but sloppy passes to the point by the forwards killed momentum several times.
Anyway, enough grinding on the unfortunate stuff.
A few good things:
I loved Palmer sticking up for the hit on Wellman. Palmer isn't exactly a fighter, but when guys stand up like that, it says great things about the character of a team. You can sign "character guys" all day but until they do stuff like that, I don't even listen to it. That behavior is what you can hang your hat on.
Also, remember how Brent Burns used to be a forward and they turned him into a defenseman? I have to wonder if the organization has considered that for Gillies. I absolutely love that kid, but he's not doing it for me in his current role. He's big, he's mean, he's got a long reach, he's got some wheels, he plays hard every shift, but he's just got no offensive touch at all. Is the team really getting the most out of his gifts as a grinder?
Finally, props to the music folks for playing "Nah Nah Nah Hey Hey Goodbye" when an Aeros player (Kalus) was sent off on a penalty. That was rich.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Aeros Lose Again, The Baby's In Black Edition
The Aeros lost to Rockford tonight by a score of 3-1. That's nothing new. Nothing about this loss was new. The god awful first period. Yep, we've seen that before. The shoddy defense. Yep. The power play that turns into a short-handed goal? Yep.
I went down to the locker room after the game. I've got quotes from Kevin and Jon DiSalvatore. But really, there's no need to transcribe them because there's nothing new. DiSalvatore's upset about the first period. The team's better than this. The guy's care. They haven't given up. But just plug in a quote from him or any other player from one of the losses this season, and it will fit in. Same thing from Kevin.
It all kind of reminds me of a Beatles song -- yeah, shocking. "Baby's In Black" has a lyric that goes "Baby's In Black/And I'm feeling blue/Oh, what should I do?"
That's what it's like in the locker room. Heads are down. The silence is deafening. Guys just sit there, wondering what to do, feeling blue.
The season's over. Sure, there are still three games left. But the season's over. It's almost, looking around, like they can't believe it. Like this shouldn't have happened. That they're better.
That's it. I don't know what else to say.
TWO MISCELLANEOUS NOTES:
The grandparents were in the house tonight, the grandparents being Chuck Fletcher and Jim Mill. And I don't think they were happy by what they saw. They were here looking for someone to take back to Minnesota with them. I don't know if they found anybody. When asked, Constantine said that having the brass around sometimes gets in to the heads of the guys and they think too much and don't just play. This is sometimes known as the Doug Riseborough effect as the guys always played like crap when he was around.
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Kevin said the goal that came when Darcy Kuepmer got knocked over was a goal, to him and to the guys on the bench, and it was a goal without a doubt. In case any of you were wondering.
I went down to the locker room after the game. I've got quotes from Kevin and Jon DiSalvatore. But really, there's no need to transcribe them because there's nothing new. DiSalvatore's upset about the first period. The team's better than this. The guy's care. They haven't given up. But just plug in a quote from him or any other player from one of the losses this season, and it will fit in. Same thing from Kevin.
It all kind of reminds me of a Beatles song -- yeah, shocking. "Baby's In Black" has a lyric that goes "Baby's In Black/And I'm feeling blue/Oh, what should I do?"
That's what it's like in the locker room. Heads are down. The silence is deafening. Guys just sit there, wondering what to do, feeling blue.
The season's over. Sure, there are still three games left. But the season's over. It's almost, looking around, like they can't believe it. Like this shouldn't have happened. That they're better.
That's it. I don't know what else to say.
TWO MISCELLANEOUS NOTES:
The grandparents were in the house tonight, the grandparents being Chuck Fletcher and Jim Mill. And I don't think they were happy by what they saw. They were here looking for someone to take back to Minnesota with them. I don't know if they found anybody. When asked, Constantine said that having the brass around sometimes gets in to the heads of the guys and they think too much and don't just play. This is sometimes known as the Doug Riseborough effect as the guys always played like crap when he was around.
*********
Kevin said the goal that came when Darcy Kuepmer got knocked over was a goal, to him and to the guys on the bench, and it was a goal without a doubt. In case any of you were wondering.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Reports from the weekend w/ photos
It's always interesting to me, after a long season, to get a fresh perspective on the team. I think we're pretty fair, but we do see these guys an awful lot and it's easy to get into a rut.
So, it's cool when a Wild fan goes on a bit of a road trip and checks the guys out and gives a thorough report with fresh eyes (but still some knowledge about the players).
If you're interested in a first hand account of Saturday and Sunday's games, check out Bozak's Random Hockey Thoughts. I think you'll find his takes as an "outsider" worthwhile.
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He's promising pictures later, but I'll give you pictures right the heck now, thanks to Chris "Leavin' on a Jetplane" Jerina.
Our Man in the Midwest is gonna be here this weekend for the Milwaukee games, so if you see him running around with his camera Saturday and Sunday, be sure and yell obscenities at him. Kidding. Kidding. Be nice.
So, it's cool when a Wild fan goes on a bit of a road trip and checks the guys out and gives a thorough report with fresh eyes (but still some knowledge about the players).
If you're interested in a first hand account of Saturday and Sunday's games, check out Bozak's Random Hockey Thoughts. I think you'll find his takes as an "outsider" worthwhile.
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He's promising pictures later, but I'll give you pictures right the heck now, thanks to Chris "Leavin' on a Jetplane" Jerina.
Our Man in the Midwest is gonna be here this weekend for the Milwaukee games, so if you see him running around with his camera Saturday and Sunday, be sure and yell obscenities at him. Kidding. Kidding. Be nice.
Kassian, with a rather nice beard going, gets his fists of fury on.
Falker Scores!
Go-ahead goal for Rockford
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Aeros 2, IceHogs 3 - Best overall game in awhile
Everybody knows by the now the Aeros came up on the wrong end of a 3-2 score Wednesday night in Rockford.They were outplayed early, and then just when it looked like they were ready to turn things around, they allowed a goal with less than 30 seconds left in the second period. That goal killed them.
They were also screwed three times in the third period, and thankfully one of the "screwings" got unscrewed. Sorry about all the screwing there. Won't happen again on THIS blog.
First, referee Shaun Davis (at least 35 feet away from the play) waived off a goal by JM Daoust because he ruled that Daoust interfered with IceHogs goalie Corey Crawford. It was a bang, bang play, but after watching the replay and seeing the picture here (above) by Chris Jerina, it is obvious that Daoust was pushed into Crawford. That goal SHOULD have counted.
Later in the period, and eerily similar to what happened in the playoffs last year, Max Noreau had a shot go right through the net. At first, play continued, but after talking to the goal judge and talking to each other and talking to both captains, Davis and his crew got it right and awarded the goal.
With time winding down and Khudobin on the bench for an extra attacker, the Aeros had a one gasp left when JM Daoust looked to break free setting up a possible shot on goal. He was hauled down by the IceHogs and the game ended. I was thinking penalty shot, and Daoust was thinking penalty shot, as he had a lengthy discussion with Davis well after the game had ended.
Of the three plays, the last one was most questionable. I can see why Davis would not want to award a penalty shot with five seconds left in a game, but he sure could have.
Don't get me wrong, the Aeros did not lose this game because of the third period.
They lost the game because they did not match the IceHogs intensity in the opening minutes and they allowed a last second goal to put them down 3-1 at the end of two.
The Aeros are awful when they trail after two periods, and they sure aren't very good when they allow the first goal of the game. Both of those hurt them Wednesday, but I would like to think that how they finished the match (and what Davis missed in the 3rd period) will inspire the Aeros to a big win Friday night in the rematch.
Another loss, though, and they'll creep closer and closer to last place.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
1/10/10 -- Aeros v. Rockford -- The No Song Edition
Here’s the deal. I’m tired. I’m temporarily working, and it’s a schedule that involves me waking up at five everyday. I’ve got a cold. I’m cranky. So I’m not much up for writing one of my long rambling fill in every single blank that happened during the game post.
So you’ll get this.
The Aeros lost to the Rockford IceHogs 2-1 in overtime. Yes, the Aeros losing in overtime. Shocking. I know. The Aeros one goal came at 4:28 when Jean-Michel Daoust knocked in the rebound of a Chad Rau shot to make it 1-0.
“All I remember was that it was a shot on net,” Daoust said. “And then there was a rebound on my blade and I just put it in.”
The Aeros kept that lead until 3:57 of the second when Rockford’s Kyle Greentree took the cross-ice pass from Akim Aliu and buried the puck past Wade Dubielewicz. And the score stayed tie at one until 2:12 of the overtime when Mike Brennan fired a shot that was going wide of the net, but was deflected in for the goal when it hit Dubielewicz’s stick to give Rockford the win.
“It’s unbelievable,” Dubielewicz said. ‘I thought I was going to be able to break the overtime bug. I don’t think I’ve lost one yet to now, but that’s unbelievable.”
Following the loss, the Aeros record dropped to 19-15-6-1 (45 points). The good news is that they’re now in fourth place in the West Division. The shocking news is that Milwaukee is now in first at 22-12-1-5 (50 points). Texas has dropped into second with a record of 21-13-2-4 (48 points), and Rockford is now in third place at 21-18-2-2 (46 points).
The Aeros return to action on Wednesday night when they play the first of two in Rockford. They’ll play in Rockford on Friday night, then host Toronto on Saturday night.
A MISCELLANEOUS NOTE:
The Aeros are a really banged up squad right now. Kevin Constantine says it the low point for the team this year. They’re not yet sure of how badly injured Jaime Sifers is. Ryan Lannon is also out from an injury in Friday’s game. Brandon Rogers suffered back spasms after Friday’s game. Constantine believes that Rogers might be able to return on Wednesday. It’s slightly possible that Andy Hilbert will be able to return, but Constantine didn’t seem confident regarding that prognosis. There’s no timetable on Peter Zingoni’s return. Carson McMillan has two games remaining on his suspension.
But today’s roster listed Barry Brust with the defensemen and forwards, and not the goalies. So maybe Constantine can use him to help out. Of course, Brust is in Florida with the Everblades at the moment, so that might be kind of hard to pull off.
To help handle the injuries, the Aeros brought up left win Trent Campbell from South Carolina of the ECHL. He earlier played for the AHL Worcester Sharks this season. And they also brought up defenseman Ross Rouleau from Texas of the CHL.
So you’ll get this.
The Aeros lost to the Rockford IceHogs 2-1 in overtime. Yes, the Aeros losing in overtime. Shocking. I know. The Aeros one goal came at 4:28 when Jean-Michel Daoust knocked in the rebound of a Chad Rau shot to make it 1-0.
“All I remember was that it was a shot on net,” Daoust said. “And then there was a rebound on my blade and I just put it in.”
The Aeros kept that lead until 3:57 of the second when Rockford’s Kyle Greentree took the cross-ice pass from Akim Aliu and buried the puck past Wade Dubielewicz. And the score stayed tie at one until 2:12 of the overtime when Mike Brennan fired a shot that was going wide of the net, but was deflected in for the goal when it hit Dubielewicz’s stick to give Rockford the win.
“It’s unbelievable,” Dubielewicz said. ‘I thought I was going to be able to break the overtime bug. I don’t think I’ve lost one yet to now, but that’s unbelievable.”
Following the loss, the Aeros record dropped to 19-15-6-1 (45 points). The good news is that they’re now in fourth place in the West Division. The shocking news is that Milwaukee is now in first at 22-12-1-5 (50 points). Texas has dropped into second with a record of 21-13-2-4 (48 points), and Rockford is now in third place at 21-18-2-2 (46 points).
The Aeros return to action on Wednesday night when they play the first of two in Rockford. They’ll play in Rockford on Friday night, then host Toronto on Saturday night.
A MISCELLANEOUS NOTE:
The Aeros are a really banged up squad right now. Kevin Constantine says it the low point for the team this year. They’re not yet sure of how badly injured Jaime Sifers is. Ryan Lannon is also out from an injury in Friday’s game. Brandon Rogers suffered back spasms after Friday’s game. Constantine believes that Rogers might be able to return on Wednesday. It’s slightly possible that Andy Hilbert will be able to return, but Constantine didn’t seem confident regarding that prognosis. There’s no timetable on Peter Zingoni’s return. Carson McMillan has two games remaining on his suspension.
But today’s roster listed Barry Brust with the defensemen and forwards, and not the goalies. So maybe Constantine can use him to help out. Of course, Brust is in Florida with the Everblades at the moment, so that might be kind of hard to pull off.
To help handle the injuries, the Aeros brought up left win Trent Campbell from South Carolina of the ECHL. He earlier played for the AHL Worcester Sharks this season. And they also brought up defenseman Ross Rouleau from Texas of the CHL.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Aeros v. Rockford: The Ballsy Prediction Edition
I didn't so much feel like Matt was going to score tonight as I felt like Corey Crawford was going to have a shitty night. But I figured, I'll throw the prediction out because we might not see a goalie struggle like this for some time to come and what more likely time for Kassian to finally bend the twine?
Not sure why I knew Crawford was vulnerable, but boy did I nail that precognition. But I just had a feeling, watching him in warm-ups, that he wasn't all there, wasn't sharp. And whaddaya know, it was Toskala-esque the way every bad bounce went in on the guy. You could see it in his body language in the third period. He looked frustrated and I think he would have stopped the Kalus breakaway if the prior unlucky bounces hadn't gotten in his head a little bit.
Meanwhile, the exact opposite was happening to Dubielewicz at the other end. That was one of the luckiest goaltending performances I've ever seen. And I appreciated reading his comments after the game wherein he basically said as much, and acknowledged that the shot count was high like that because he was a rebound machine.
But I understand, that's just how it goes sometimes. Some nights every bounce goes against you and some nights, it's all posts and whiffs and good defense. I thought only the third goal, basically in garbage time, was a bad one for Dubie.
What else could the stick figure be tonight than big Matt Kassian finally getting his goal. I did not cry, however, but I did whack John in the arm. He gets that a lot. Sorry John.
Anyway, another fun game by the boys. Really nice to see these chances going in and it must be really gratifying for the work to be paying off on the scoresheet.
See you Sunday!
1//8/10 -- Aeros v. Rockford -- The Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds Edition
The Houston Aeros defeated the Rockford IceHogs 5-3 tonight before 4504 people inside of Toyota Center. This wasn’t just a normal hockey game. It wasn’t even a normal hockey game for the Houston Aeros. Any game that sees Matt Kassian score a goal can’t be called a normal game. But perhaps the most surreal thing about this game was just how dominating Rockford was through the first two periods.
The Aeros got the early lead at 10:57 of the first when Jamie Fraser scored a goal (his first of the season) on a shot that appeared to bounce off of two Rockford players before getting past IceHog goalie Corey Crawford. Rockford’s Jack Skille tied the game at 9:20 of the second when he got his stick on Brian Connelly’s shot at deflected the puck past Wade Dubielewicz for the score.
Rockford dominated the second period. They got off 21 shots, but were only able to get one goal. Yet it appeared that the Aeros were going to be lucky to leave the ice for the second intermission with the score tied 1-1. But at 17:34, Jean-Michel Daoust fired the puck toward the Rockford goal. The puck hit off of somebody -- there was a dispute as to who it hit - and was deflected past Crawford once again to make it 2-1 as the period ended.
And surviving that second period seemed to power the Aeros the rest of the way as they took control in the third.
“I think, as a group, it was a big step for us, that third period,” Dubielewicz said. “We came out and really took it to the next level.”
That next level included out-shooting Rockford and seeing Jon DiSalvatore knock in the rebound of a Cody Almond shot at 9:58 to make it 3-2, then saw Petr Kalus on a breakaway that brought back memories of Krys Kolanos to make it 4-2 at 12:00, then the moment that Aeros fans had been waiting for all year with Matt Kassian getting a goal on one of those strange shots that bounced over the back of Crawford then rolled into the net at 15:16 to make it 5-2.
Rockford got a goal with 37 seconds left to make it 5-3, but by then, there was just nothing they could do as the Aeros were just solidly in command.
The win moved the Aeros into a three-team tie for third place in the West Division. Texas (21-11-2-4) is on top with 48 points. Milwaukee (20-12-1-5) is in second with 46 points. Peoria (20-13-1-3), Houston (19-15-5-1) and Rockford (20-17-2-2) are all tied with 44 points. And when the Aeros next play, on Sunday afternoon, they will be facing the IceHogs again.
SOME MISCELLANEOUS NOTES:
This was a night of firsts. Jamie Fraser got his first goal of the season with his first period goal. But the talk of the night, in the stands, the bench, and the locker room, was Matt Kassian getting his first goal of the season -- and his first since February 8, 2008 when he scored the final goal in a 6-3 win at Chicago.
“Guys were pretty jacked on the bench about that goal,” Kevin Constantine told us after the game. And Kassian was still jacked after the game.
“It was probably the prettiest goal of my life…or not,” Kassian said. “It helps the team out, and anytime you can chip in it’s good, and it’s a great feeling to kind of get that in there. And finally to have one go in when you have so many chances and so many bounces that just haven’t gone your way to kind of get a lucky one to get the first one -- it’s a pretty good feeling. I’m definitely happy about that.”
Constantine told us that this goal has been coming because he thinks that Kassian is on the best stretch of offensive-oriented hockey since he’s been with the team.
“I think over the last 10 games, if you looked at maybe eight games, he’s actually had a quite a few scoring chances over the last eight games,” Constantine said. “If you looked at any segment of eight games since he’s been here, I’d bet the last eight, he’s had the most, been part of the offense more than he ever has since he’s been here.”
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The second period was a tough one for the Aeros, and it was surviving the second that helped power the Aeros through the third. Wade Dubielewicz had his problems through the night -- he wasn’t exactly what one would call steady -- but he was able to hold Rockford to just one goal during that second period barrage.
“I had 20 shots, but I don’t know…at least eight or 10 of them were because I was kicking them straight back out,” he said. “As a goalie, it was just one of those nights where everything that hit me hit me really solid, and nothing stuck to me. But as a group, we were doing a good job of winning those battles 15 feet in front of the net. I made the first save and they were doing a good job of clearing that second puck out.”
One thing that Dubielewicz had to face in the second was a penalty kill shot by Jack Skille after a penalty by Nathan Smith.
“That guy made a good move, and he made a good play. I forced him to put it up high, and he put it up too high…” Dubielewicz said. “I didn’t get a piece of it. I forced him to go high at least, and he missed the spot. I got a little lucky there. I got a few breaks tonight, and you need some breaks to be good sometimes.”
Kassian said it was a matter of the Aeros holding together and not breaking during the barrage.
“They obviously came out in the second period with a lot more fire than we did. They definitely outplayed us in the second period. So really for us it was about a bend and don’t break….“ he said. “But we didn’t break. We did bend a little bit, but that’s okay, and we were able to kind of reset and refocus, and we know our second period wasn’t the best, and we knew that in the second intermission and we just all kind of came together and pulled it out like we needed to in the third.”
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Robbie Earl and Clayton Stoner are in Minnesota. The team brought Brandon Buck back up from Florida. Still, the one thing couldn’t afford was injuries. Which is probably why the team got hit by injuries to Jaime Sifers and Ryan Lannon during the game -- injuries which kept them from returning. Constantine had moved Brandon Rogers up to forward for the game, so he was luckily able to shift him back to the defenseman position.
We talked to Constantine about the injuries afterward, but he said he still didn’t know what their injuries were other than upper body injuries. He thought that Sifers had injured his shoulder -- ala Colt McCoy -- but he was told after that the game that it wasn’t the shoulder.
J.P. Testwuide was a healthy scratch, and Rogers can be moved back to defense, so the team can play with a full compliment of defensemen. But with the injuries to Andy Hilbert and Peter Zingoni and the suspension of Carson McMillan, the Aeros are not only short on forwards -- something they have been all season it seems -- but they’re actually short of a full squad of healthy players. So it should be interesting to see what happens on Saturday.
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I don’t know if it was discussed on the radio, but Barry Brust was not on tonight’s roster, so I can only assume that means that he’s on his way back to Florida. I’m sure that that’s something Heather and/or Andrew can discuss with a little more authority later.
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I thought tonight’s game was kind of surreal, what with a penalty shot and first goals by Fraser and Kassian. So continuing with my Beatles theme, I went looking for a kind of surreal song. Thus I give you “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds.”
I’ll see you on Sunday.
The Aeros got the early lead at 10:57 of the first when Jamie Fraser scored a goal (his first of the season) on a shot that appeared to bounce off of two Rockford players before getting past IceHog goalie Corey Crawford. Rockford’s Jack Skille tied the game at 9:20 of the second when he got his stick on Brian Connelly’s shot at deflected the puck past Wade Dubielewicz for the score.
Rockford dominated the second period. They got off 21 shots, but were only able to get one goal. Yet it appeared that the Aeros were going to be lucky to leave the ice for the second intermission with the score tied 1-1. But at 17:34, Jean-Michel Daoust fired the puck toward the Rockford goal. The puck hit off of somebody -- there was a dispute as to who it hit - and was deflected past Crawford once again to make it 2-1 as the period ended.
And surviving that second period seemed to power the Aeros the rest of the way as they took control in the third.
“I think, as a group, it was a big step for us, that third period,” Dubielewicz said. “We came out and really took it to the next level.”
That next level included out-shooting Rockford and seeing Jon DiSalvatore knock in the rebound of a Cody Almond shot at 9:58 to make it 3-2, then saw Petr Kalus on a breakaway that brought back memories of Krys Kolanos to make it 4-2 at 12:00, then the moment that Aeros fans had been waiting for all year with Matt Kassian getting a goal on one of those strange shots that bounced over the back of Crawford then rolled into the net at 15:16 to make it 5-2.
Rockford got a goal with 37 seconds left to make it 5-3, but by then, there was just nothing they could do as the Aeros were just solidly in command.
The win moved the Aeros into a three-team tie for third place in the West Division. Texas (21-11-2-4) is on top with 48 points. Milwaukee (20-12-1-5) is in second with 46 points. Peoria (20-13-1-3), Houston (19-15-5-1) and Rockford (20-17-2-2) are all tied with 44 points. And when the Aeros next play, on Sunday afternoon, they will be facing the IceHogs again.
SOME MISCELLANEOUS NOTES:
This was a night of firsts. Jamie Fraser got his first goal of the season with his first period goal. But the talk of the night, in the stands, the bench, and the locker room, was Matt Kassian getting his first goal of the season -- and his first since February 8, 2008 when he scored the final goal in a 6-3 win at Chicago.
“Guys were pretty jacked on the bench about that goal,” Kevin Constantine told us after the game. And Kassian was still jacked after the game.
“It was probably the prettiest goal of my life…or not,” Kassian said. “It helps the team out, and anytime you can chip in it’s good, and it’s a great feeling to kind of get that in there. And finally to have one go in when you have so many chances and so many bounces that just haven’t gone your way to kind of get a lucky one to get the first one -- it’s a pretty good feeling. I’m definitely happy about that.”
Constantine told us that this goal has been coming because he thinks that Kassian is on the best stretch of offensive-oriented hockey since he’s been with the team.
“I think over the last 10 games, if you looked at maybe eight games, he’s actually had a quite a few scoring chances over the last eight games,” Constantine said. “If you looked at any segment of eight games since he’s been here, I’d bet the last eight, he’s had the most, been part of the offense more than he ever has since he’s been here.”
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The second period was a tough one for the Aeros, and it was surviving the second that helped power the Aeros through the third. Wade Dubielewicz had his problems through the night -- he wasn’t exactly what one would call steady -- but he was able to hold Rockford to just one goal during that second period barrage.
“I had 20 shots, but I don’t know…at least eight or 10 of them were because I was kicking them straight back out,” he said. “As a goalie, it was just one of those nights where everything that hit me hit me really solid, and nothing stuck to me. But as a group, we were doing a good job of winning those battles 15 feet in front of the net. I made the first save and they were doing a good job of clearing that second puck out.”
One thing that Dubielewicz had to face in the second was a penalty kill shot by Jack Skille after a penalty by Nathan Smith.
“That guy made a good move, and he made a good play. I forced him to put it up high, and he put it up too high…” Dubielewicz said. “I didn’t get a piece of it. I forced him to go high at least, and he missed the spot. I got a little lucky there. I got a few breaks tonight, and you need some breaks to be good sometimes.”
Kassian said it was a matter of the Aeros holding together and not breaking during the barrage.
“They obviously came out in the second period with a lot more fire than we did. They definitely outplayed us in the second period. So really for us it was about a bend and don’t break….“ he said. “But we didn’t break. We did bend a little bit, but that’s okay, and we were able to kind of reset and refocus, and we know our second period wasn’t the best, and we knew that in the second intermission and we just all kind of came together and pulled it out like we needed to in the third.”
****************
Robbie Earl and Clayton Stoner are in Minnesota. The team brought Brandon Buck back up from Florida. Still, the one thing couldn’t afford was injuries. Which is probably why the team got hit by injuries to Jaime Sifers and Ryan Lannon during the game -- injuries which kept them from returning. Constantine had moved Brandon Rogers up to forward for the game, so he was luckily able to shift him back to the defenseman position.
We talked to Constantine about the injuries afterward, but he said he still didn’t know what their injuries were other than upper body injuries. He thought that Sifers had injured his shoulder -- ala Colt McCoy -- but he was told after that the game that it wasn’t the shoulder.
J.P. Testwuide was a healthy scratch, and Rogers can be moved back to defense, so the team can play with a full compliment of defensemen. But with the injuries to Andy Hilbert and Peter Zingoni and the suspension of Carson McMillan, the Aeros are not only short on forwards -- something they have been all season it seems -- but they’re actually short of a full squad of healthy players. So it should be interesting to see what happens on Saturday.
****************
I don’t know if it was discussed on the radio, but Barry Brust was not on tonight’s roster, so I can only assume that means that he’s on his way back to Florida. I’m sure that that’s something Heather and/or Andrew can discuss with a little more authority later.
****************
I thought tonight’s game was kind of surreal, what with a penalty shot and first goals by Fraser and Kassian. So continuing with my Beatles theme, I went looking for a kind of surreal song. Thus I give you “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds.”
I’ll see you on Sunday.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Photographic evidence from Rockford
To add to Andrew's analysis, AUUUUUGHHHH STOP SUCKING!!!!!
That said, thanks to Chris Jerina for more shots of the boys from last night. He got some interesting shots outside of game action, so I'll break this up.
First, the oddball shots. Now, I understand the gloves, the boas, and the tiaras. I even understand the shorts that are so short I can see the reinforced crotch square of the panty hose sticking out past the shorts.
But I do not understand the wife beater tank tops. Other than what must be a rather small uniform budget.
I know you guys never got that far in the thought process, though, so just ignore me and say thank you to Chris for the ice girl shots. Happy New Year.
This one cracks me up. Get it? Cracks... me up? Geez, take a picture, boys.
AK: "Dude. F**k our defense."
BB: *meh... not an ice girl* [ignore]
Now on to a few game action shots. I'm tempted to be cheeky and just post the ones that really show how inept the whole affair was. I'll give you a mix instead.
This is Lannon putting the puck on Anton. Now, Anton isn't My Goalie, so rationalizing a bad performance from him isn't really something I feel compelled toward but really, when your D stinks like this, it's exceedingly tough as a goalie to not get rattled.
All Photos by Chris Jerina
That said, thanks to Chris Jerina for more shots of the boys from last night. He got some interesting shots outside of game action, so I'll break this up.
First, the oddball shots. Now, I understand the gloves, the boas, and the tiaras. I even understand the shorts that are so short I can see the reinforced crotch square of the panty hose sticking out past the shorts.
But I do not understand the wife beater tank tops. Other than what must be a rather small uniform budget.
I know you guys never got that far in the thought process, though, so just ignore me and say thank you to Chris for the ice girl shots. Happy New Year.
This one cracks me up. Get it? Cracks... me up? Geez, take a picture, boys.
AK: "Dude. F**k our defense."BB: *meh... not an ice girl* [ignore]
Now on to a few game action shots. I'm tempted to be cheeky and just post the ones that really show how inept the whole affair was. I'll give you a mix instead.
This is Lannon putting the puck on Anton. Now, Anton isn't My Goalie, so rationalizing a bad performance from him isn't really something I feel compelled toward but really, when your D stinks like this, it's exceedingly tough as a goalie to not get rattled.All Photos by Chris Jerina
Monday, July 13, 2009
Mark Cullen signs with Chicago
Mark Cullen inked a one-year deal with the Blackhawks this week. He'll be in Rockford most of the season, so the Aeros will get eight good looks at him this year.
I had some hopes that he might end up with the Wild/Aeros again, especially to give the team some much needed depth at center. But I fully expect the organization to ink a more versatile right wing/centerman type of guy to fill the Aeros' now obvious holes at forward.
The potential Aeros defensive lineup is now very strong with the additions last week of Sifers and Fraser. Now the team needs two strong AHL forwards and a No. 1 goalie.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Aeros vs. Rockford 3/29 -- Game Time Change
Here's a brief programming note for all of you Aeros fans who were planning to listen to today's game on the radio or through AHL Live. The game time has been changed from 5:05 to 5:30 to accommodate the Rockford IceHogs who have been a bit delayed in getting back from San Antonio.
This would normally be good news for the Aeros since they might actually be more rested. But this is the Aeros we're talking about.
This just in -- Anton Khudobin and Krys Kolanos were called up to the Wild and are unavailable for the Aeros tonight. Don't even get me started on the emergency netminder the Aeros were forced to sign.
-- Fred Trask
This would normally be good news for the Aeros since they might actually be more rested. But this is the Aeros we're talking about.
This just in -- Anton Khudobin and Krys Kolanos were called up to the Wild and are unavailable for the Aeros tonight. Don't even get me started on the emergency netminder the Aeros were forced to sign.
-- Fred Trask
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