Ryan Jones only played in four regular season games for the Houston Aeros last season, and he was traded to the Nashville Predators this off-season in the deal that netted the Minnesota Wild defenseman Marek Zidlicky. But I thought that those of you who remembered Jones' brief tenure with the team would like a little update on how things are going.
Jones was the hero for the Nashville Predators last night as he knocked in a rebound with 2:18 left in the game against the Los Angeles Kings, putting the Predators up 4-3. The win jumped the Predators past the Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers for the seventh playoff spot in the West. The win was also the eighth in the last 11 games for the Predators.
And Ryan Jones, on the strength of the goal, was named the game's third star.
P.S.: And Joel Ward, who Ms. Conduct discussed last week, had a goal and an assist for the Predators in that game.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
Mitch Love having nose surgery
If you haven't caught Mitch Love's blog for Seattle's KING5.com, you're missing out. I've been keeping a running list of links to his individual posts (they're part of a larger blog) in the right-hand column of my blog if you want to look back at all of them.
Anyway, in the latest, we learn that Mitch is having surgery tomorrow to fix his broken nose from the fight on Sunday. Ouch. I'm not sure it's possible to appreciate this guy enough for what he does for this team. Hope he gets some good drugs out of the deal.
Anyway, in the latest, we learn that Mitch is having surgery tomorrow to fix his broken nose from the fight on Sunday. Ouch. I'm not sure it's possible to appreciate this guy enough for what he does for this team. Hope he gets some good drugs out of the deal.
Aeros vs Rockford 3/15 - Part 2
Here is the sweet goal by Pete MacArthur, Anton had no chance on this one.
This is the Corey Locke goal
It's kind of sad when the players look to the replay on the scoreboard only to find nothing.
This is the first Krys Kolanos goal, it's difficult to see but he buried it top shelf.
I call this the Kolanos Walk
Here is the Kolanos game winning goal, again he went top shelf but that view was blocked by Benoit Pouliot. This is a second or so later as the puck reappears.
And the start of the group hug ..
Here's Lammers showing Corey Crawford some love in the crease.
Aeros vs Rockford 3/15 -- Some Misc. Roster Oddities
I just wanted to address one of the many trivial things that keep us occuppied in the press box before, during, and after the games. For instance, the mysterious Jimmy Kilpatrick, despite being released from his PTO last week, was listed on the roster for yesterday's game with Rockford, and he was a scratch.
However, if you notice the Aeros transaction wire, he was not resigned by the team. Heather's not sure that he exists. I'm still agnostic on the matter.
Also, John Adams was a scratch yesterday. Andrew figured out, during the game, that he was probably scratched because he was in Corpus Christi, having played a game for the them the night before. But he was on the roster. Which is kind of funny being if, you look at the Aeros transaction notes, he was returned on Corpus on Saturday.
So if you were at the game yesterday, and if you were really wondering why Kilpatrick and Adams were scratched...well, I hope I answered your question.
However, if you notice the Aeros transaction wire, he was not resigned by the team. Heather's not sure that he exists. I'm still agnostic on the matter.
Also, John Adams was a scratch yesterday. Andrew figured out, during the game, that he was probably scratched because he was in Corpus Christi, having played a game for the them the night before. But he was on the roster. Which is kind of funny being if, you look at the Aeros transaction notes, he was returned on Corpus on Saturday.
So if you were at the game yesterday, and if you were really wondering why Kilpatrick and Adams were scratched...well, I hope I answered your question.
Aeros v. Icehogs 3/15 - The Final Countdown
Yesterday's game couldn't have been a more important regular season game if it tried. And boy, did it ever look grim there for a while. I've been harping on Kolanos a lot this weekend, and deservedly so, but he was spectacular last night.
I'm normally running "on time" to games, but with the season winding down, and the prospect of no games to go to looming large and sad before me, I've been getting there earlier just to soak it all in. In doing so, I've caught a couple of warmups, which I think are pretty fun to watch.
Yesterday, I happened to notice in particular that Kolanos was really picking those corners off nicely when he was putting practice shots on the net, and I thought, "I bet we get to see some of that tonight." And indeed we did. I see he got 2nd star of the night for the AHL, too.
I also noticed Khudobin and the rest of the guys doing the little "crowd the net and throw the puck at Dimples until someone gets the puck past him" game. He actually kept it out for a really long time, which impressed the hell out of me, but I also noticed that the guys were looking pretty loose, laughing and razzing each other, which was nice to see. Though it didn't change my prediction that the Aeros were going to get shut out. Stoner and Beaudoin shut me up in a hurry on that one.
Speaking of Stoner, John gave Irms the super secret star of the game, which I can't argue with at all, but I also felt like Stoner had a terrific game and deserves the defensive super secret star of the game. And I do think Locker should have gotten one of the stars of the game, as he got the party started in the second that triggered the final three goals.
And even though I said yesterday's game couldn't have been more important, the harsh reality is, every single game matters a whole hell of a lot right now. The team cannot afford their usual long-layoff rust on Saturday. Peoria has 5 games in 7 days, with the Aeros right in the middle. They may be a bit tired (and probably a bit beat up, since they'll have San Antonio on Wednesday and Thursday), but they'll NOT be rusty.
I'm normally running "on time" to games, but with the season winding down, and the prospect of no games to go to looming large and sad before me, I've been getting there earlier just to soak it all in. In doing so, I've caught a couple of warmups, which I think are pretty fun to watch.
Yesterday, I happened to notice in particular that Kolanos was really picking those corners off nicely when he was putting practice shots on the net, and I thought, "I bet we get to see some of that tonight." And indeed we did. I see he got 2nd star of the night for the AHL, too.
I also noticed Khudobin and the rest of the guys doing the little "crowd the net and throw the puck at Dimples until someone gets the puck past him" game. He actually kept it out for a really long time, which impressed the hell out of me, but I also noticed that the guys were looking pretty loose, laughing and razzing each other, which was nice to see. Though it didn't change my prediction that the Aeros were going to get shut out. Stoner and Beaudoin shut me up in a hurry on that one.
Speaking of Stoner, John gave Irms the super secret star of the game, which I can't argue with at all, but I also felt like Stoner had a terrific game and deserves the defensive super secret star of the game. And I do think Locker should have gotten one of the stars of the game, as he got the party started in the second that triggered the final three goals.
And even though I said yesterday's game couldn't have been more important, the harsh reality is, every single game matters a whole hell of a lot right now. The team cannot afford their usual long-layoff rust on Saturday. Peoria has 5 games in 7 days, with the Aeros right in the middle. They may be a bit tired (and probably a bit beat up, since they'll have San Antonio on Wednesday and Thursday), but they'll NOT be rusty.
A Brief Chat With Tony Hrkac
We had the chance to briefly meet and speak with the newest Houston Aero, Tony Hrkac, after Sunday’s Rockford game. And while he might be the newest Aero, he’s also, definitely, the oldest. The guy still looks good, and in his suit and tie, he still looks like he can lace up the skates and do a shift at full speed.
“I missed it a lot,” Hrkac said about hockey. “You miss the guys. You just miss going out there and competing. I was watching lots of hockey, and the opportunity came up, and I jumped at it.”
He arrived in Houston on Sunday, and he will still start practicing with the team when they return to practice in Sugar Land on Tuesday. Hrkac has been skating with the Concordia University hockey team, the team college team that he coaches. But it’s been nearly four years since he last skated in competition as a member of the Milwaukee Admirals.
“It’s going to be tough. At least I have a week of practice here that comes up. And I haven’t been hit really in three years, four years, that’s going to be a question. It’ll take a little bit of time, but a week of practice will help a lot.”
The Aeros are Hrkac’s sixth AHL stop, and he’s played 758 NHL games. In the NHL, he played with St. Louis, Quebec, San Jose, Chicago, Dallas, Edmonton, New York Islanders, Anaheim, and Atlanta, and he played on Dallas’s 1999 Stanley Cup team. He will return to Concordia University as the team’s coach next season.
“I missed it a lot,” Hrkac said about hockey. “You miss the guys. You just miss going out there and competing. I was watching lots of hockey, and the opportunity came up, and I jumped at it.”
He arrived in Houston on Sunday, and he will still start practicing with the team when they return to practice in Sugar Land on Tuesday. Hrkac has been skating with the Concordia University hockey team, the team college team that he coaches. But it’s been nearly four years since he last skated in competition as a member of the Milwaukee Admirals.
“It’s going to be tough. At least I have a week of practice here that comes up. And I haven’t been hit really in three years, four years, that’s going to be a question. It’ll take a little bit of time, but a week of practice will help a lot.”
The Aeros are Hrkac’s sixth AHL stop, and he’s played 758 NHL games. In the NHL, he played with St. Louis, Quebec, San Jose, Chicago, Dallas, Edmonton, New York Islanders, Anaheim, and Atlanta, and he played on Dallas’s 1999 Stanley Cup team. He will return to Concordia University as the team’s coach next season.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Aeros vs Rockford 3/15 -- Aeros Grill the Hogs in 5-4 Victory
About midway through the second period of tonight’s game against the Rockford IceHogs, a balloon soared into view of the press box, then quickly fell back to the ground as all of the air blew out. Andrew Ferraro, sitting to my left, also saw this. To which he stated: “That’s like the Aeros playoff chances right now.”
The statement was understandable as, at that point, the Aeros were down 3-1, they were already on their second goalie of the game, and while they hustling more than they had in any game over what turning into a lost weekend, the game just didn’t appear to be headed in the Aeros direction.
But at 10:26 of the second Benoit Pouliot was able to bury the puck in the net to briefly make the score 3-2. Then Rockford’s Pete MacArthur scored his second goal of the game at 12:35 to put Rockford up 4-2, and the game looked to be over.
Then the Aeros went on the power at 14:18 of the second. And for most of that power play, the Aeros were a disaster. Players were falling down with the puck. They were turning it over, whiffing on shots, everything but running a top-notch power play. Then Krys Kolanos fed Corey Locke who was slicing between defenders, and at 16:02, he put the puck in the net to make the score 4-3.
About a minute-and-a-half later, Danny Irmen got control of the puck behind the Rockford net, and with Rockford defenders draping him, he fought and fought until he saw Krys Kolanos all alone in position for the shot. Irmen got the puck to Kolanos, and Kolanos nailed the shot to tie the game at 17:41.
“We had this feeling in the locker room that we were going to get this thing done,” Danny Irmen said after the game. And at that point, it appeared the Aeros had indeed shifted into another gear that Rockford just couldn’t match.
And with seven seconds left in the second, the Aeros sealed the win when Krys Kolanos accepted the pass from Jesse Schultz to net the game winning goal.
“We never really give up. That’s how we play,” Irmen said. “And we know we have a lot of offensive guys, top of the line…players who can score at any time.”
Nobody was able to score in the third, though Anton Khudobin, who replaced Nolan Schaefer at 17:44 of the first period, faced some tough shots. And the Aeros, who faced dropping out of second place after a disaster weekend of play, found a way to salvage two points, making themselves and the crowd of 4648 very happy.
After the weekend, the Aeros still sit in second place with a record of 33-25-1-8 975 points). The Chicago Wolves are in third place at 35-31-2-1 (73 points), and the Peoria Rivermen are in fourth place at 35-30-1-1 (72 points). With the loss, the IceHogs dropped all of the way down to fifth place with a record of 33-28-0-6 (72 points). The Iowa Chops are in sixth at 28-26-4-8 (68 points),and the Quad City Flames are still in the playoff hunt at 27-29-6-6 (66 points).
The Aeros have most of this week off – which is usually bad news for the Aeros – and return to play against the Peoria Rivermen for two games at Toyota Center on Saturday and Sunday.
MISCELLANEOUS GAME NOTES:
Amazingly, despite their awful play over the weekend, the Aeros have won 11 of their last 15 games. They are now 23-11-1-3 against their West Division foes this season.
And with his three points against Rockford today, Krys Kolanos now has 251 points for his professional career. Maxim Noreau’s two assists give him 51 career points. Jesse Schultz has points in 12 of the Aeros last 15 games.
********************
The three stars of the game were 3) Benoit Pouliot (goal and assist), 2) Rockford’s Pete MacArthur (2 goals), and 1) Krys Kolanos (2 goals and an assist). For once, I don’t think those of us up in the press box had much of an argument with this, though an argument could have been made for Corey Locke (goal and an assist).
But the true star of the game was probably Danny Irmen. Irmen got only point in the game, but he did a lot of the dirty, hustle work in the game that made the scoring possibly, especially on the two Krys Kolanos goals.
And the crowd favorite of the night, aside from Krys Kolanos, was Mitch Love who got in a fight toward the end of the first period that helped to bring a little energy to the team.
********************
“It wasn’t inevitable things would have worked out,” Kevin Constantine said after the game, “but we gave ourselves a chance for things to work out because we worked harder tonight than we’ve worked in a long time.”
Constantine was happy with the team’s play, especially with the team’s energy level. But the one thing he was unhappy about was Nolan Schaefer’s play. “Nolan didn’t look sharp. And I didn’t think Nolan looked sharp two games ago,” Constantine said. “And we just left it and at the end of the day lost…we didn’t want to leave it today.”
*********************
I’m not really in a music vibe tonight. But I heard this song the other night as I walked into Toyota Center, so, I thought why not play that song. So here’s The Rolling Stones with the “Harlem Shuffle.”
The statement was understandable as, at that point, the Aeros were down 3-1, they were already on their second goalie of the game, and while they hustling more than they had in any game over what turning into a lost weekend, the game just didn’t appear to be headed in the Aeros direction.
But at 10:26 of the second Benoit Pouliot was able to bury the puck in the net to briefly make the score 3-2. Then Rockford’s Pete MacArthur scored his second goal of the game at 12:35 to put Rockford up 4-2, and the game looked to be over.
Then the Aeros went on the power at 14:18 of the second. And for most of that power play, the Aeros were a disaster. Players were falling down with the puck. They were turning it over, whiffing on shots, everything but running a top-notch power play. Then Krys Kolanos fed Corey Locke who was slicing between defenders, and at 16:02, he put the puck in the net to make the score 4-3.
About a minute-and-a-half later, Danny Irmen got control of the puck behind the Rockford net, and with Rockford defenders draping him, he fought and fought until he saw Krys Kolanos all alone in position for the shot. Irmen got the puck to Kolanos, and Kolanos nailed the shot to tie the game at 17:41.
“We had this feeling in the locker room that we were going to get this thing done,” Danny Irmen said after the game. And at that point, it appeared the Aeros had indeed shifted into another gear that Rockford just couldn’t match.
And with seven seconds left in the second, the Aeros sealed the win when Krys Kolanos accepted the pass from Jesse Schultz to net the game winning goal.
“We never really give up. That’s how we play,” Irmen said. “And we know we have a lot of offensive guys, top of the line…players who can score at any time.”
Nobody was able to score in the third, though Anton Khudobin, who replaced Nolan Schaefer at 17:44 of the first period, faced some tough shots. And the Aeros, who faced dropping out of second place after a disaster weekend of play, found a way to salvage two points, making themselves and the crowd of 4648 very happy.
After the weekend, the Aeros still sit in second place with a record of 33-25-1-8 975 points). The Chicago Wolves are in third place at 35-31-2-1 (73 points), and the Peoria Rivermen are in fourth place at 35-30-1-1 (72 points). With the loss, the IceHogs dropped all of the way down to fifth place with a record of 33-28-0-6 (72 points). The Iowa Chops are in sixth at 28-26-4-8 (68 points),and the Quad City Flames are still in the playoff hunt at 27-29-6-6 (66 points).
The Aeros have most of this week off – which is usually bad news for the Aeros – and return to play against the Peoria Rivermen for two games at Toyota Center on Saturday and Sunday.
MISCELLANEOUS GAME NOTES:
Amazingly, despite their awful play over the weekend, the Aeros have won 11 of their last 15 games. They are now 23-11-1-3 against their West Division foes this season.
And with his three points against Rockford today, Krys Kolanos now has 251 points for his professional career. Maxim Noreau’s two assists give him 51 career points. Jesse Schultz has points in 12 of the Aeros last 15 games.
********************
The three stars of the game were 3) Benoit Pouliot (goal and assist), 2) Rockford’s Pete MacArthur (2 goals), and 1) Krys Kolanos (2 goals and an assist). For once, I don’t think those of us up in the press box had much of an argument with this, though an argument could have been made for Corey Locke (goal and an assist).
But the true star of the game was probably Danny Irmen. Irmen got only point in the game, but he did a lot of the dirty, hustle work in the game that made the scoring possibly, especially on the two Krys Kolanos goals.
And the crowd favorite of the night, aside from Krys Kolanos, was Mitch Love who got in a fight toward the end of the first period that helped to bring a little energy to the team.
********************
“It wasn’t inevitable things would have worked out,” Kevin Constantine said after the game, “but we gave ourselves a chance for things to work out because we worked harder tonight than we’ve worked in a long time.”
Constantine was happy with the team’s play, especially with the team’s energy level. But the one thing he was unhappy about was Nolan Schaefer’s play. “Nolan didn’t look sharp. And I didn’t think Nolan looked sharp two games ago,” Constantine said. “And we just left it and at the end of the day lost…we didn’t want to leave it today.”
*********************
I’m not really in a music vibe tonight. But I heard this song the other night as I walked into Toyota Center, so, I thought why not play that song. So here’s The Rolling Stones with the “Harlem Shuffle.”
Aeros vs Rockford 3/15 - Part 1
It didn't take long for the Aeros to get on the board in this one. Matt Beaudoin tipped in a Clayton Stoner shot and the Aeros appeared to be off and running.
Anton got a workout last night in San Antonio but he was up for the task again tonight
Mitch got the take down and the extra 2 minutes for roughing.
I'll post more tomorrow.
All Photos: Fred Trask
Unfortunately Nolan Schaefer had another rough night. He got this one lost in his skates and Rockford went up 2-1. At this point Aeros coach Kevin Constantine had seen enough and he send in Anton Khudobin.
Anton got a workout last night in San Antonio but he was up for the task again tonight
Mitch Love decided to liven things up by getting a reluctant Brad Brown to fight.
Mitch got the take down and the extra 2 minutes for roughing.
Benoit Pouliot got another goal and stopped the flurry of unanswered goals from Rockford at a critical point in the game.
Krys Kolanos had a great game and earned the #1 star in a must win game for the Aeros.
I'll post more tomorrow.
All Photos: Fred Trask
Aeros v. Rockford: Setting The Theme
One of my absolute favorite television programs of all time is The Rockford Files. It's a great character show. Great dialogue. Fantastic acting. Who doesn't like James Garner, right? And I've always loved that opening credit sequence -- the answering machine messages from back when almost no one had an answering machine, the theme music, etc. It was just fun.
Well, every time the Aeros play the Rockford IceHogs, I think of The Rockford Files. So to get everyone in the mood for this afternoon's game, and to hopefully wipe away the stink of Friday and last night, I thought I would play the opening sequence to the show. Only...
The complete sequence isn't available on the intertubes. But...
I found a version with just the answering machine message. So here's that.
And I found the theme music with stills. It's not the same. But beggars can't be choosers.
And who knows. Maybe the Aeros from the past two nights have been like Jim Rockford. He's had the crap beaten out of him. Everybody's given up on him. And suddenly he comes from nowhere to solve the case. So let's hope the Aeros have been pulling a Jim Rockford on us.
Well, every time the Aeros play the Rockford IceHogs, I think of The Rockford Files. So to get everyone in the mood for this afternoon's game, and to hopefully wipe away the stink of Friday and last night, I thought I would play the opening sequence to the show. Only...
The complete sequence isn't available on the intertubes. But...
I found a version with just the answering machine message. So here's that.
And I found the theme music with stills. It's not the same. But beggars can't be choosers.
And who knows. Maybe the Aeros from the past two nights have been like Jim Rockford. He's had the crap beaten out of him. Everybody's given up on him. And suddenly he comes from nowhere to solve the case. So let's hope the Aeros have been pulling a Jim Rockford on us.
Aeros vs. Rockford, The Prelude
I am not sure how much energy the Aeros spent losing to both Quad City and San Antonio earlier this weekend, but winning today against Rockford, who did not play anywhere yesterday, is going to to very difficult.
Stranger things have happened, but this has a completely lost weekend look to it.
Here is my recap from the Chronicle. I was at the game in San Antonio last night, and it was just more of the same from an Aeros team that just does not generate enough offense when they other team wants to play dirty, physical or a combination of the two. And if you get a chance to read the story, you'll notice a rare insult. Normally I don't do that, especially publicly, but I thought it was warranted considering how big the game was, and how poorly the team fared against a last-place team.
Steve Goertzen got things started on his cheap boarding play that led to his dismissal and eventually the Aeros only goal of the game. But there were many other plays throughout the game that were obvious cheap shots. It was like the Rampage were just waiting until referee Jeff Smith was out of position before throwing the wayward elbow, etc.
Although I don't condone that kind of play, it does work with certain teams. The Aeros don't want to be one of those certain teams, especially now that the division bottom-feeders are now getting closer, closer and closer.
If they aren't too careful, and don't start showing a little more passion pretty soon, they are going to be in a word of you-know-what.
The keys to Sunday's game are surviving the first period when Rockford is going to blitz, getting good goaltending from Nolan and scoring the first two goals of the game. Get the IceHogs out of it from the get-go will help snap this weekend's funk.
I would like to see Kolanos step up his game tonight. He, especially when Tony Hrkac starts playing, is going to be the key to the how well the Aeros do down the proverbial stretch.
Stranger things have happened, but this has a completely lost weekend look to it.
Here is my recap from the Chronicle. I was at the game in San Antonio last night, and it was just more of the same from an Aeros team that just does not generate enough offense when they other team wants to play dirty, physical or a combination of the two. And if you get a chance to read the story, you'll notice a rare insult. Normally I don't do that, especially publicly, but I thought it was warranted considering how big the game was, and how poorly the team fared against a last-place team.
Steve Goertzen got things started on his cheap boarding play that led to his dismissal and eventually the Aeros only goal of the game. But there were many other plays throughout the game that were obvious cheap shots. It was like the Rampage were just waiting until referee Jeff Smith was out of position before throwing the wayward elbow, etc.
Although I don't condone that kind of play, it does work with certain teams. The Aeros don't want to be one of those certain teams, especially now that the division bottom-feeders are now getting closer, closer and closer.
If they aren't too careful, and don't start showing a little more passion pretty soon, they are going to be in a word of you-know-what.
The keys to Sunday's game are surviving the first period when Rockford is going to blitz, getting good goaltending from Nolan and scoring the first two goals of the game. Get the IceHogs out of it from the get-go will help snap this weekend's funk.
I would like to see Kolanos step up his game tonight. He, especially when Tony Hrkac starts playing, is going to be the key to the how well the Aeros do down the proverbial stretch.
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