Peters to The Wild

Guess what, kids. The injury bug appears to be alive and well with the Wild yet again. As a result, Warren Peters is on his way to join the Wild.

Pictures Are Worth A Thousand Words

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

Some Monday Afternoon Thoughts And Quotes

Sign taped to the glass at SLICE.

Headed up to SLICE for the Aeros skate/practice today, and everyone appeared to be in good spirits with no feel of impending doom and/or destruction. So that's a good thing. The guys are ready to play, they're confident in their ability to win the game, they're having fun playing in June, and Mike Yeo is still a little peeved about the officiating on Saturday night.

First things first...it appears that the only people reading/commenting on today's story in the mothership are the people from Binghamton. It's another take on the officiating, and I also state my firm belief that the officiating is not why the Aeros lost games four and five, but that the Aeros and how they played are the reason they lost games four and five, but when you have a coach supporting what you've been writing the whole postseason about the officiating, then of course you're going to lead with that, right? Anyway, click here and go read.

And some other things before getting to the heart of this post. To the commenter claiming there's some kind of conspiracy to keep Matt Kassian from playing and how the use of Pascal Morency is in clear violation of the Clear Day Roster rules, I thought I would try to offer up an explanation.

Each team is allowed a Clear Day Roster with a maximum of 22 players. These are the only players who can play in the playoffs, with a few caveats. Amateurs don't have to be part of the Clear Day Roster, and once their seasons end, they can join the team and play, as happened with Brett Bulmer. The other caveat is if there is an emergency situation, such as a call-up to the NHL, a suspension, or an injury.

With the injury to Cody Almond on Friday night, the Aeros Clear Day Roster consisted of 21 healthy players. Thus, it's an emergency situation and they can add a player to the roster. Thus, Pascal Morency, who was not on the Clear Day Roster can be added to the playing roster and play on Saturday night. With the injury to Jared Spurgeon on Saturday night, I would expect to see the Aeros adding Kris Fredheim to the roster, though I expect Jeff Penner to get Spurgeon's playing time.

So, I hope that satisfies though of you who have been asking about the use of Morency.

Now on with the notes from practice.

There were no real surprises. Cody Almond and Jared Spurgeon didn't skate, and it appeared that Pascal Morency and Jeff Penner were skating in their spots -- Morency with Daoust and McMillan as he did Saturday night, and Penner teamed up with Marco Scandella. Jed Ortmeyer did not skate, but is fine. Matt Kassian, Brandon Buck, and Kris Fredheim were also out skating with the regulars -- Buck took Ortmeyer's spot so the third line could get in some practice.

Mike Yeo spoke to the assembled media after the game, and I'm sure many of you have seen the video clips the Aeros posted, or the snippets that will be on TV tonight. But for those who didn't, well, I was there.

I asked if he was going to ask the guys to skate a bit more cautiously given the uneven officiating and how the penalties are being called. The question elicited this response, which I'll give in full:

"We have to watch our discipline for sure. We’re going to do that. Obviously those statements [on Saturday] are made to hopefully make other people take notice. Even when I went back and watched the game again, I stand by my words. I think that there were some things that should have been called in the third period when we were taking the play to them that weren’t called especially. But we can’t – that’s over and done with. Those statements were made to hopefully draw some attention to it, but for us, we can’t think about it any further. It’s all about tomorrow and making sure that we play disciplined, but at the same time, we can’t change our game. We have to be playing hard, and we have to be playing that aggressive style that we do."

So yes, he's still a bit bothered by the officiating, and no, he's not going to have the guys change their style of play, aside from asking them to be a bit more disciplined, thus no obvious tripping penalties please, Mr. Gillies.

The majority of the questions from me and my brethren to Yeo and the players were about how to approach a game six, and what it's like to play in such a game when you know a loss means the season is over.

"This is a game seven for us obviously, it’s only game six, but we’re approaching it with that mentality," Yeo said. "We’ve been pretty strong in those games. When we’ve been faced with our back against the wall situations, when we’ve come out, we’ve had strong performances. We’re real excited about getting in front of our home crowd and doing everything we can to keep this series going."

Warren Peters faced a similar situation last year with the Texas Stars, but he thinks what he dealt with last year is irrelevant to anything. He instead offered up the following.

"We definitely haven’t made it easy on ourselves, not that you plan on doing that. The conference finals was a lot more stressful than maybe it needed to be, but again, that’s in the past. [Binghamton] deserve some credit in making it 3-2 and getting a win on home ice, which was big for them, obviously. They did a good job in getting that done. Now it’s our turn to respond.

[SNIP]

"We’ve had our backs against the wall a couple of times in the playoffs, and we’ve responded well. I expect the same thing from our team and the guys in our room because we’ve been doing it the whole second half of the season for sure."

Everybody seems to be focusing on how they handled the game seven situations in Milwaukee and here against Hamilton, and applying that approach to tomorrow's game six. That makes some sense, and it gives the team a semblance of confidence in that they know that, with their backs against the wall, facing a win or go home situation, they've responded by putting together a good game and getting the win. Yet tomorrow is somewhat different in that this is a game six, they've got to win this game just to get to a game seven.

Now Mike Yeo did face a somewhat similar situation as an assistant with the Pittsburgh Penguins when they won the Stanley Cup, and he sees some similarities to those Penguins and these Aeros.

"I think the biggest thing is, the similarity between that and this is that our group has confidence. I think that if you look at a series as a whole, and the way things have panned out, then we’re down 3-2 but it could easily be a different series with a couple of bounces here or there. I think that for the most part we’ve out-chanced them, we’ve out-shot them, and for the better part of most games we’ve been, I believe, the better team.

"We had that same mentality [with Pittsburgh] in 09 when we were faced with having to win both games and one of those was being game seven on the road where we get to both at home. But I know that that team, this team, both believe in themselves. And we believe in ourselves, and that doesn’t necessarily guarantee us anything, but certainly it makes things a lot more possible for us."

The Aero with the longest tenure with the club is defenseman Max Noreau, who joined the club early during Kevin Constantine's first season at the helm four seasons ago. And yes, this game does mean a bit more to him because of his time here.

"I think it means a lot to me because of that run we had two years ago. We lost in the semi-finals. We were so close, but didn’t quite get it done. Now we’re in the finals, and we’re down 3-2. It’d be nice to get it done this time. I have a lot of belief in this team. Everyone does. We had a great meeting today, great practice. Seemed pretty upbeat. Nobody’s really down. We’re coming home. We have great fans; they’ve been really good to us in the playoffs this year. We’ve just got to stick with it and get the two wins this week."

And then Noreau came out with the really important stuff. It's the stuff we hear from the team a lot, and have heard from the team a lot when they're down, and though it's rather cliched and simplistic, it has worked for the team. They've got to forget about everything and just follow the process.

"We had a big talk about that today," he said. "The main focus was, focus on the process, and focus on the little details you have to do, whether it’s getting a puck deep or getting a shot on net. Don’t focus on whether you’re going to score the goal or block that shot or whether you’re going to win the game for us. Just focus on the details. Do the right thing every time you’re out there. And if you focus on that process, the result at the end, we’re going to get the win. It’ll take care of itself."

Without any doubt this has been a physical series which has seen the Aeros lose Cody Almond and Jared Spurgeon to injury. Noreau thinks this could be part of the Senators plan, but he noted that it's been tried before, and that those other teams that tried it failed.

"I think they’re a pretty skilled team, but I think that at home they definitely upped their intensity," he said. "Whether it was because of their fans or they just completely changed because they thought that that would work, they came at us definitely a lot harder the past three games. But I think we’re by far the most physical team of the two, we’ve just got to get back to doing that.

"It’s been a grind for us, a couple of game sevens, Milwaukee was a pretty physical team. So was Hamilton. And mentally it’s been tough for us, too. We were up three-nothing and [Hamilton] came back, so I think we’ve learned a lot in the past month or two. We’ve got to put all of that together and bring it together tomorrow."

And despite the importance of tomorrow's game, Noreau had a great perspective: it's June and the Aeros are one of the very few hockey teams still playing.

"It’s pretty special," he said. "To know that it’s only us and maybe the two NHL teams left, you might be only the last four teams left playing the in the world. It’s a pretty good feeling. We’re pretty fortunate. We’re pretty lucky. We feel lucky to be here. But at the same time, I think we deserve to be here. We worked really hard this year, and all the guys poured their hearts out. It’s do-or-die. We’ve got two games, but two games away from the Calder Cup. That’s how you’ve got to look at it. It’s a pretty big honor."

I've talked to JM Daoust a bit, and I'll throw that up in a post for tomorrow, as he's always a fun guy to talk to. But before I end, the guys offered up their thoughts on what they're expecting from the fans tomorrow night.

"Just what they’ve been doing is fantastic," Yeo said. "We’re hoping for a great turnout. Binghamton was well-represented. When we get back home, we’re playing in front of our home crowd. I know that they’re going to be loud; I know that they’re going to be into the game, and they’re going to crank up the energy level for our guys. We’re hoping that it’s a big crowd and ready to come out and cheer us on, hopefully setting us up for a game seven here."

Warren Peters was a bit more precise: "We hope that they’re loud. We came from a chaotic building, and we’d like ours to be as loud and as noisy as possible"

And then there's Noreau who once again put things in a proper perspective. No matter what the crowd is like, it's still up to the Aeros to do their job out on the ice.

"Just some enthusiasm, some energy, but the bottom line is it’s our livelihood right now," he said. "It’s do-or-die tomorrow and whether the fans are upbeat or not, we’ve got to go out and produce. I know the fans are going to show up. They’ve been there the whole playoff run. They’ve been unbelievable. It’s up to us. It’s going to start in our room and it’s going to finish on the ice."

Aeros Lose: A Bad Night In Photos

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

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


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


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


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

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


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


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

Fearless Prediction: Aeros In Six

So it appears that while Andrew was sending out an email asking for our predictions earlier this week, he's yet to post his. So, with the series between the Aeros and Admirals due to start tomorrow, I guess I'll get things started.

I'm worried about this series. I was also worried about Peoria for what it matters. Here's my big problem. The Aeros have will have gone 10 days between games when the puck drops tomorrow. And they've only played seven games the entire month. So I'm worried about the team being at the top of it's game. I'm worried about rust. I'm worried about the lost momementum that came from sweeping the Rivermen.

I went up to practice on Tuesday, and I saw the hardest practice I've seen this season -- admittedly, I haven't seen many, so that could have been the normal. But Mike Yeo had the squad going full out. And Matt Kassian thinks the way the squad practices, he said they've gone full-out in practice like this all season, will help them out. But who knows?

One other thing that bothers me is possible lineup tinkering. I can understand trying to find a way to get Marco Scandella out on the ice, but I'm not sure on how I feel about breaking up the forward lines to bring in somebody else. I think those four lines have incredible chemistry and all seem to work well. But Yeo said on Tuesday that the lineup we saw against Peoria won't necessarily be who goes out agains the Admirals, and that things might change from game to game. I'm not the coach, and I think Yeo's earned our trust this year, but still, I have to admit, I'm troubled.

That said, prediction time. I see the Aeros winning this thing in six. I think they lose the first game because of the rust, but win games two, three, and four before losing game five to send it back to Milwaukee.

I know the Aeros record against the Ads isn't that great this season. But their record against the Rivermen wasn't that great either. The thing I'm looking at is that Milwaukee, this season, didn't really face the Aeros roster as we know it. That last game, on April 1, was especially not representative of the team as, if I remember, there were only five d-men available with Max Noreau and Justin Falk being called up to the Wild. Matt Kassian also didn't skate, and the team was beat up and tired. And I'm sorry, but with Jared Spurgeon back, the possible addition of Marco Scandella, and with Max Noreau, Drew Bagnall, Nate Prosser, Justin Falk, and Jeff Penner, I just don't think you can say that Milwaukee should have the advantage on the defensive side.

Another thing that works in the Aeros favor is the incredible depth of this team. The Ads just can't concentrate on shutting down the first and second lines because, as this season has shown, the third and fourth lines have shown the ability to score goals. And as Warren Peters said, all of the lines, but especially the third and fourth lines, are more than willing to go in and do those things that get the trash goals.

And as with Peoria, Milwaukee's dealing with an uncertain goalie situation in that their number one goalie has been injured, and the last I heard they're still not sure what his status is for this upcoming series, though I'm sure that like Peoria with Ben Bishop, if it gets down to elimination time, Mark Dekanich will find some way to get out there between the pipes.

So those are my thoughts. The Aeros winning in six, which would work for me since I will be there should that happen.

It's Like Christmas

I went out to SLICE today to watch the Aeros practice and to see how the team's looking after a week off without playing an actual game. They learned last night that they'll be facing Milwaukee starting Friday night, and Mike Yeo and the coaches were putting the guys through the mill.

Yeo said after practice that there's a good chance that there will be some personnel changes once the series starts, and to not expect the same lineup as was out there for the series with Peoria. He didn't want to give out any details -- in case there's anybody from Milwaukee reading -- and he also said that it's possible that the lineup might change from game-to-game.

One of the things I'm interested is in all of the time off the team's had this month, and how they stay sharp and in game condition. It will be 10 days between closing out Peoria and playing game one against Milwaukee. And in the month of April, the team's played only seven games.

"It’s impossible to keep that edge the entire time," Yeo said. "We’ve been off for a long time, and we still have a few days to go. It’s impossible, and I don’t think it would be productive for us, too. So certainly there was a drop in that level, and we had a couple of days off after we won in Peoria. But then we picked things up for a couple of days, gave another day off, and as this week’s gone on, we’ve kind of started slow and we’re building towards the end of the week, so hopefully we’re ready to peak come Friday."

I also asked Matt Kassian about this. And I wanted to speak to Kassian about this because he missed a lot of time in March because of an injury, so he's had less game action than most of the team these past couple of months.

"A lot of it comes down to how you practice," Kassian said. "We’ve been a team this year that’s always practiced hard, probably a lot harder than most teams, if not all of the teams in the league. We go hard. And we do it for a reason. We do it for our conditioning, and we do it for situations like this, where maybe – for me as a player, I’ve been out for awhile – to not only get back in shape but mentally be at a pace to where things are happening at a speed you’re used to out there. So it’s the same for the whole team. When you go in a stretch where you’re not playing for seven or eight days, you might have some rust, but at the same time, you work so hard in practice that you try not to get any rust at all."

I also thought Kassian was a good person to talk to because he was on the team two years ago that advanced to the Conference Finals, and I wanted his opinion on the differences between the two teams. And Kassian delivered some good analysis, specifically about the differing mindsets of the two teams, a difference between expecting and hoping.

"I think we expect to do good things, whereas before we kind of went out and it happened," he said. "And we did them and it was because we worked hard. I think now, it’s having knowledge of what we’re capable of, and knowing that we have a good team and if we play we’re going to have a really good chance of doing well."

The team is going to begin prepping for the Admirals, a team they've seen a lot this season, but the big thing I got from Yeo, Kassian, and Warren Peters, is that it's not so much about what Milwaukee does, it's about what the Aeros do. It's about the Aeros concentrating on their game, playing their system, their process. Peter's thoughts on this were, I thought, important seeing as he was a key cog to a Texas team that went to the Calder Cup finals last year.

"You can’t occupy yourself too much with how they’re going to prepared, what they’re going to do," he said. "We know what to expect, as I’m sure they do as well. We definitely have to take care of ourselves first, before we can start worrying about what other teams are doing.

"If you’re stressing and your wasting energy on trying to decode what they’re going to do, it’s pretty tough. You’ve just got to go out there and play your game. Like I said, have confidence in your players and your teammates, and the system that we play, and the way we’ve shown we can play."

And Mike Yeo added this.

"Today we start with a practice. We’re focused on ourselves, and our systems, and making sure that the details are there, and our execution and the speed at which we do it. Tomorrow, there will be some special teams and some areas where we have to focus up on them, and some adjustments that we might have to make. And then come Friday, again, it’s a matter of getting ready for ourselves. We’ll have our pre-scout tomorrow, and go over exactly what to expect of Milwaukee, but again, we’re a team that’s gotten this far by focusing on ourselves and what it is that makes us successful. And after we cover that meeting tomorrow, the majority of it will be with what we have to do."

And the strength of this team, I think everyone will agree, is the incredible depth of this team. Sure, there are two lines of high-scorers that the other teams focus on and have to stop, but the Aeros also have third and fourth lines that, while their focus isn't scoring, aren't afraid to take a shot if the opportunity comes. And more importantly, all of the lines, especially three and four, have those guys who will go behind the net, bang in the corners, and hang out in front of the net, just hoping to get that trash goal.

Kassian laid out the importance and the quality of the depth when it comes to the playoffs.

"It’s huge. A lot of times in playoffs you have teams that will, especially if you have home ice advantage, will try to match-up lines. You look at us, we have the Gillies/Peters/Ortmeyer line out there. It’s a shutdown line, but obviously they’re an effective scoring line as well. As a shutdown line, other teams will do that to us, and it helps when you have so much depth that it doesn’t matter who you’re throw out there that you’re able to get the job done.

"It’s not like, as far as fourth line’s concerned, it’s not like we’re concerned about going out there and scoring goals and making a difference or being a difference. We’re concerned about going out there and doing our jobs, which is don’t get scored on, create energy, be hard on their skill players, be hard on their defensemen, and get offensive zone time and take the puck to the net when you get the opportunity. If the puck goes in, that’s a bonus.

"But when you look at playoffs and teams that are successful, that’s what happens. A lot of times you have your big players being big players, but you have guys who aren’t known for the big goals, and guys who aren’t known for the huge plays, that’s when they step up their game and have an impact.

"Look at McMillan with his overtime winner the other day. Obviously he had a good year and had a decent amount of points, but at the same time, he’s not a guy who would be the first player you’d pick to score an overtime winner. But he goes out there and goes hard to the net and bangs it home.

"For us, as far as we’re concerned, as a team, it’s not about any one guy, it’s about everybody. And any one guy is going to be a hero that night. Whether it’s Hackett in net, or Tordjman if he’s in net, or O’Sullivan – obviously he finished out the series for us with a huge goal – but at the same time, the goal before that, to pull us even, is Drew Bagnall who hasn’t scored all year. He steps it up, and scores a huge goal for us."

Peters weighed in on the subject, with the concentration on the difference his line makes.

"As far as my line goes, I’ve got two great linemates," he said. 'Ortmeyer with all of his experience. But he’s got some ability, and he’s got the ability to put the puck in the net. And Colton plays hard, and he goes in the hard areas, and in playoffs, you get rewarded a lot of times when you do that. And we’ve got three guys that don’t mind going in front of the net, getting banged around in order to get a second chance."

And I asked the guys about how much fun the playoffs are for them. And once again, Matt Kassian came out with some great analysis. And I've got to apologize. We get to speak to Kassian a lot in the tunnels after the game and during practice, but because of time and space limitations with our respective outlets, we don't often get him for quotes, but the guy is just fun to talk to, and he gives really great answers, like this answer to how much the playoffs are.

"The games mean something," he said. "Not that they don’t in the regular season, but they mean that much more. Hockey, and sports in general, it’s just a metaphor for life. The winning, the losing, the ups and downs. Some moments are bigger than others. Playoffs it’s like a honeymoon, or a wedding, or an anniversary. It’s a big thing. A big event. It just means that much more. It’s like a kid’s first Christmas, or as a kid, it’s like Christmas. You’re just so excited, you go to bed at night and you can hardly sleep because you’re just that excited to go out because it means you’re working for something. It’s so much fun, especially when you have the crowd behind you.

"The loudest I’ve heard the crowd all year was that game we won in overtime, when McMillan scored. It was electric. The crowd was great during the game, but in overtime, they kicked it up another couple of notches and it was just unbelievable. So much fun."

So there you go, some notes and quotes from today's practice as the guys prep for Game One in Milwaukee on Friday night.

Aeros 4-1 Over Peoria (WIth Some Photos)

The Aeros tonight played one of the best games I've seen the team play this season in their 4-1 game one win over Peoria. They dominated puck possession for most of the game. They were hitting. Attacking. This is the type of game that Mike Yeo wants his team playing on a consistent basis.

Before we go further, here is Heather's game story.

Heather has the quotes in her story -- I'll have some in my story in the Press tomorrow. And Andrew really hit the good points in his post below.

Yeo, Hackett, and Ortmeyer were all in agreement that the team was a bit nervous to start the game, but that once Peoria scored that goal everything just fell into place.

Once again, we witnessed a fantastic performance on the part of Robbie Earl who just continues to raise his level of play. And what a great game from the Gillies/Peters/Ortmeyer line. And Ortmeyer's second period goal was just one of those things where I turned to Heather and Andrew to ask if I just saw what I thought I saw, only they were turning to me to ask that same question.

Here are some photos from the game. First off we have a shot of Jed Ortmeyer, which I really like, and which happened by pure accident.


Here's a photo of Matt Hackett taking a brief moment to relax late in the third period.


This is the end of the game.


Here's Robbie Earl getting a moment of recognition as the second star.


And for the second game in a row, here's Warren Peters as the number one star.

Some Game 80 Photos

I took some photos, of course, but instead of game action, I've got some other items. For instance, here's one of the team fans with her sign, at the glass after the game.


This photo below is one of my favorites. I just wish it wasn't through the glass. But I think the whole arena could see Jed Ortmeyer's smile after this goal. We asked after the game, and he noted that this was part of a joke that he had with Patrick O'Sullivan. Primarily, whenever's he on a line with O'Sullivan, he gets a goal.


And here is Robbie Earl. I think we've written nice things about Robbie this season, but I don't think we've said enough about just how good he's been this year, and how much he's elevated his game. I can't believe some of the defensive plays -- when he stole a puck off another guy's puck -- I saw him make in the third period.


Here's number two star Chad Rau bumping fists with Chilly.


And here's the game's number one star, Warren Peters, getting his moment in the spotlight after the game.

1/7/11 -- Aeros v. Lake Erie -- Rookie Shutout Edition

Well, was this a fun night of hockey, or what? The Aeros got the 3-0 win over the Lake Erie Monsters in what, to me, was their best game of this season. The Aeros dominated in every phase of this game, whether it was on offense -- they outshot Lake Erie 41-25, defense, goaltending, hitting, penalty kill, you name it.

So let's just take this in list form.

1. The game's number one star was rookie goalie Matt Hackett, who got the first shutout of his AHL career. He had really good vision tonight, and he seemed to see the puck no matter where it was at.

2. "It’s unbelievable," Hackett said of the game. "I didn’t know it was going to come, and the boys played great and kept the shots to the outside, and I saw everything. It’s exciting, and I had a couple of buddies in the stands, so it’s special."

Here's Hackett making a save in the first period.

3. Hackett attributed his play to the guys making great plays in front of him, but also for working with him in practice. He also noted that Bob Mason, the Wild goalie has been in town this week, and he's been giving Hackett some attention.

4. Mike Yeo thought this was the best game played by Hackett this season, and he agreed that Mason played an important role in that.

"It’s probably not a coincidence," Yeo said. "We’ve had a week off. He’s a young guy. The details of his game probably weren’t as big, and he’s been able to work on some things this week. We’ve had [Bob Mason] our goalie coach from Minnesota, has been here this week and been able to work with him. So I don’t think it’s a coincidence that he’s able to play like that."

5. The third star of the game was Jean-Michel Daoust who scored on a penalty shot in the first period. I've missed some games this year, but this was one of the few times this season that I've seen Daoust was that pest he specialized in playing last season.

For instance, Daoust was able to get his penalty shot because he was on a breakaway. He was on a breakaway because he was in the penalty box for boarding. He leaped out of the box as the penalty time expired and was in great position for the breakaway.

(If you'll click on this picture, you'll see that Daoust has this little, playful smile on his face, as he prepares to head to the box, almost as if this is all part of a grand plan.)

And here is Mr. Daoust on his approach for the penalty shot.

6. A big key to the game for Yeo, and as I discovered when checking my camera, for myself down low, was the play of Warren Peters and his line, featuring Peters, Jed Ortmeyer, and Colton Gillies. If there was hit being made, or if the goalie's view was being blocked, then it seemed to always be the doing of these guys.

Peters on a first period face-off.

And here is Mr. Peters getting in the way of Lake Erie's Jason Bacashihua.

7. I'm sorry that I don't have a photo of Chad Rau's goal in the second period. It was a thing of beauty. He got a great pass from Robbie Earl -- who seemed to be everywhere tonight (he was the number two star for his goal and assist) -- and then Rau just made a few moves with his stick and the puck and the goalie didn't stand a chance.

8. As Andrew mentioned below, and I noted on twitter, Anton Khudobin was not available for tonight's game as he was called up to Minnesota late in the day. Because of the timing, there was no way to get Josh Tordjman to Houston in time to back up Hackett. That's when the panic and the phone calls started. And by panic and phone calls, I mean panic and phone calls.

9. The Aeros eventually found a former college and pro goalie in town, David Weninger. Of course, Weninger hadn't played pro hockey since 2000.

10. Here's the story as told by Mike Yeo:

"Believe it or not, the call-up happened so quickly that we didn’t have a chance, and exhausted all other opportunities. I actually called my son’s coach, who, he played Division One hockey, and I knew that he played pretty decent men’s league hockey here in town, and I asked him, listen if all else fails I may need a goalie.

"He said, I know a guy who played college, and I believe he was drafted. He calls back and says it turns out you actually coached this guy. So I actually played with him briefly, and coached him [at Wilkes-Barre Scranton]. Needless to say, probably neither of us look the same as we did back then. He was great. He was cheering the guys on."

11. Tordjman will be available in San Antonio for Saturday's game, as well as the game in Houston on Sunday. After the game, Yeo was leaning toward starting Hackett on Saturday, and he noted that the thought had briefly crossed his mind of letting Hackett start on Sunday as well. But I have a feeling that that is all based on how things go tomorrow night.

12. With the win, the Aeros are 20-17-1-2 on the season (43 points). They're in sixth place in the West, two points behind fifth place Chicago and three points behind fourth place Texas.

13. And then there's this from the Aeros' crackerjack media staff. Daoust's penalty shot was 26th penalty shot in the AHL this season. But it was only the eighth one that was successful. It was also the second successful penalty shot of the night, as Michael Swift of Albany was successful on his penalty shot against Charlotte's Justin Pogge.

Peters recalled by Wild

Russo reported tonight that Warren Peters was the lucky call-up to the Wild this weekend in case a couple of the guys can't go tomorrow.

Until we found out Peters was the guy who'd been sent up, I really thought Wellman was just auditioning for his call-up in front of the GMs, but no. So much for cynicism. That just happened.

Good for Peters though, as he really stepped up his game after a somewhat ineffective first few games of the season. He's been a mover and shaker for the Aeros the last few weeks.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

16. Do something about the air conditioning. Please.

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

10/24/10 -- Aeros vs. Lake Erie -- I Think I'm On A Losing Streak Edition

In case you were elsewhere today, you might have missed the big news. The Aeros actually held a lead going into the third period. That's no lie, the Aeros skated out for the third period with a 2-1 lead. They promptly lost that lead :47 into the period, and they eventually lost the game 3-2. But with the Aeros, you take the small victories where you can find them, and for this game, it should be noted, the Aeros actually had a lead after two periods.

Now the hail of bullets.

1. The Aeros second goal was a thing of beauty. Jarod Palmer rushed the net with the puck. He drew a defenseman with him, and as he went past the goal, Lake Erie goalie John Grahame followed. Palmer passed back up the ice, and across the net, where he hit perfectly hit Casey Wellman with the puck, and Wellman buried the puck before Grahame could even think of getting back into position. And for once, the Aeros got the puck in the net.

2. I should know this. Those of us on press row should know this. But none of us do, so...is Max Noreau hurt? He's not shooting the puck as often as he did last year, especially on the power play, and when he does, the shot seems to lack the zip it's had in seasons past.

3. If Noreau's not hurt, then why the hell isn't he shooting it more on the power play?

4. I thought Marco Scandella had another good game. He bailed out Khudobin in the second period when Khudobin made a block and the puck bounced around the crease, seemingly forever. As a Lake Erie player came rushing for the puck, Scandella appeared from out of nowhere and swatted the puck away, preventing the goal.

5. Yeah, I'm liking what I see from Scandella.

6. It would have been nice to see Warren Peters swat the puck out of harm's way in the third period on the goal that tied the game. Peters thought he should have got to the puck, but didn't, saying: "Looking back on what happened – I was on the ice for one of them – we ended up going back into our zone, the puck went over my head, I guess close enough for me to grab it with my hand and try to take a swipe at it. The guy’s waiting on the other side, he bangs it into the empty net."

7. Where in the hell were the Ice Girls? Damn it, don't toss them out for just one game to start the season then get rid of them. You don't expect me to have to watch this team, do you?

8. I was the only one of us three there for the entire game. Heather went to something called an opera and didn't show up until the second period. Andrew's son was playing a little league baseball game, and he didn't arrive until the third -- note, the Aeros were winning when Andrew arrived, then promptly gave up the lead. Make of that what you will.

9. I thought the team looked awful in the first period. Whether it was just sluggishness from playing the third game in three days, or whether it was just bad play, I don't know. I thought the team looked better in the second. Heather thought I was nuts for saying this, but after all, she didn't see them in the first period. I thought their third period was the worst of the three.

10. There was no excuse for the way the team started that third period.

11. Mike Yeo agrees about that third period: "That’s a very disappointing way to lose a hockey game. Right there. For three games in three nights I thought, for two periods we’d done a lot of good things. But to come out – there were three mental lapses on the first goal, and there were two on the second. You’ve got to know – to be a winner you’ve got to know what the situation calls for. And we didn’t there in the third period."

12. For the commenter to an earlier post saying the Aeros should sign Krys Kolanos. Know this: Kolanos is unsigned at this point. There's a reason he's unsigned. So get over the mythology of Kolanos already.

13. The defenseman, for the most part, and in my opinion, have been very good. Especially Scandella and Drew Bagnall. And I think I understand why Brandon Rogers is being scratched every night. But it's obvious to all that the power play's not working, and in the past, before the current folks took over in St. Paul, Rogers was a good power play quarterback -- he was especially good at it getting it to Noreau in just the right spot for one of Noreau's shots. So maybe they should sit one of the ineffective forwards -- I think they can find a few to choose from -- and find away to get Rogers some ice time. If even for just the power play.

14. You know that Troy Ward's up in Abbotsford, looking at the power play stats, and laughing at all those who thought he and Kevin Constantine were at fault for the power play woes. Constantine's in Switzerland, and if I were in Switzerland, or anywhere in Europe, I wouldn't be wasting my time checking out AHL stats.

15. I did the math during the first intermission. It was 158:30 between goals for the Aeros. Yeah, that's bad.

16. When asked after the game if he saw anything good in the Aeros, Yeo responded that he liked seeing the team have a lead, and score some goals as opposed to losing with no goals. But that was said with an air of resignation.

17. Jarod Palmer: no more fights please. That was a pretty weak one in the first period. Leave the fighting to Bagnall or Matt Kassian. That's what they're there for.

18. The Aeros lost to the Lake Erie Monsters. How bad do you have to be lose to the Monsters, especially when this is the last game of a seven-game road trip.

19. After seven games: the Aeros are 2-4-1 (five points) and in last place in the West Division.

20. The Aeros have their third three-in-three in three consecutive weekends this week. They play in San Antonio on Friday, Austin on Saturday, and here for Sunday. Sunday is Halloween. If the Aeros play anything next Sunday like they did today, then that's going to be one scary Halloween.

21. On the plus side, next Sunday is Halloween which means the Dynamics will be in costume.

22. That's it for this edition. And I think the Rolling Stones and "Satisfaction" might be in order because this team is on a five game losing streak and nobody who is watching them is getting any satisfaction.

Meet your 2010-11 Aeros: Warren Peters

Warren Peters 
Center/Senator

Born: 7/10/1982 (28)
Saskatoon, SK
6'0" - 201

Shoots: Left

During the skills competition, I misheard Joe O'Donnell over the speakers when he introduced Peters. I heard "Senator Warren Peters." Andrew corrected me. "Center." Oh. Right. Of course.

Alas, I still call him "The Senator" in my head. Senator Peters mopped up the floor with that guy. Senator Peters vetoed that scoring attempt. Great, isn't it?

Anyway, Senator Peters comes to the Aeros from the Texas Stars, and may I just take a moment to commend Mr. Mill for signing him for 2 years? I still feel like one of the harbingers of doom last season was the number of guys who were set to be UFAs on July 1. Two years says, You've proven yourself and we believe in you and we want you to help us build something. Or, given the small salary budget, maybe it says, We'll give you 2 years if you'll take less money. Whatever. I still like it.

Peters is what I call a "glue guy." Gritty, plays with an edge, and has decent skill with the puck. He was the captain of the Quad Cities team a few years back, so he's got some leadership cred and a veteran who's been around this league, been up in a show a few times, and knows how to be a professional.

He's coming off a career year with Texas, but I don't know that I would expect 20 goals from him every season. If he can bring those other intangibles and create some chances and play a good defensive game, he'll be golden.

(And yes, I know the picture is from a video game.)