Aeros vs. Rockford 3/27: The Lime Green Stench of Defeat

Friday night was Lyme Disease awareness night at the Toyota Center, and the Aeros staff and the Lady Dynamics were all decked out in bright, lime green shirts. The Aeros did their pregame skate with their sticks taped with lime green tape. But I think the worst case of lime green coloring came from the faces of some of the 6340 in attendance as the Aeros came out, and in the first period, put on one of the worst exhibitions of hockey seen in a long time.

Still, after that one period, the Aeros were just down 1-0 thanks to the play of goalie Anton Khudobin who got the start -- even though the Lyme Disease issue is close to the heart of Nolan Schaefer -- because of a lower body injury to Schaefer. And while the Aeros were only able to get off four shots in the first period, Khudobin was bombarded by the Rockford IceHog skaters with 14 shots, stopping 13 to keep the game competitive.

“Thank God we had only given up one at that point,” head coach Kevin Constantine said afterwards. “Thank God we had got some good goaltending that kept us in there til we got going.”

The Aeros didn’t really get going until about midway through the second, and they didn’t get going where it counted, the scoreboard, until the third period when Paul Albers fired the puck from way up high past Rockford goalie Antti Niemi to make it 1-1 at the 1:01 mark of the third period. Then Robbie Earl got open in the slot with the puck on a Rockford turnover and put the Aeros up 2-1 at the 3:35 mark.

But with the assistance of some dubious officiating, Rockford was able to tie the game on a power play goal at 17:46. And tied at 2-2 the game remained for the rest of regulation and the overtime, necessitating the shootout. But unlike last Sunday’s shootout with Peoria which saw numerous goals scored, this shootout went 13 rounds with Rockford finally getting the 3-2 shootout advantage as Corey Locke fanned on his final attempt.

Khudobin battled admirably most of the night, and he was equally as good as his Rockford counterpart in the shootout, but ultimately, he just couldn’t block every shot. “You’re doing everything for your team. It doesn’t matter how many shots,” he said, sitting dejectedly at his locker after the game. “You just have to stop them.”

So on a night where Khudobin’s goaltending allowed the Aeros to stay in a game in which they should have been blown out, it was ultimately Khudobin proving to be a mere human that doomed them to the shootout defeat.

Still, Robbie Earl was able to find some positive in the outcome. “We got a point. We’re on a pretty good run here. They’re all big points,” he said. “I think we’ve got a good feeling in the room still.”

SOME MISCELLANEOUS NOTES:

The Aeros might have gotten the shootout loss, but they’re still in second place, though Peoria, with a win, did move one point closer. As things are now, the Aeros are in second with a record of 36-25-1-9 (82 points). Peoria is in third at 38-31-2-2 (80 points). Rockford is in fourth at 36-30-0-6 (78 points). Chicago is in fifth at 35-32-3-2 (75 points). Iowa is still hanging in with a record of 31-29-4-8 (74 points), and Quad City is in seventh at 30-30-6-6 (72 points).

The Aeros have the chance to solidify their hold on second place this weekend. They play Peoria, in Peoria, on Saturday night, then they have a rematch with Rockford on Sunday afternoon.

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The Aeros played an awful first period. I don’t think anybody who watched that period can dispute that. The Aeros sure didn’t try and dispute it.

Robbie Earl stressed that the team played very good in the second and third periods, leaving it implicit that they sucked in the first. And Kevin Constantine didn’t even try to go the implicit route, stating “We got absolutely demolished in the first period. So we’re lucky it was one-nothing after one. Really lucky.”

As to what happened at the start of the game, Constantine did have some ideas. “We played so well in Milwaukee,” he said. “If you start winning, and you’ve won four in a row, and you play the number one team in the division, and you play really well, and let everybody pat you on the back, you just start thinking that you can do it without even being prepared or working hard.”

What we couldn’t get Constantine to explicitly talk about was the officiating. “There’s not much I can say about that,” he said. “I can’t say anything.”

Robbie Earl however, had some specific thoughts: “I thought we did a pretty good job,” he said. “But a couple of calls were pretty suspect, but you’ve got to get through those.’

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On the injury front, Nolan Schaefer missed the game with a lower body injury. Constantine says that this was purely a precautionary move. With Barry Brust still unable to play, Constantine didn’t feel the need to risk exposing Schaefer to further injury, though the expectation is that Schaefer will play this weekend.

I talked to Brust after the game, and he says that he’s feeling much better and that he hopes to be cleared to play come Monday. I saw him walking around, and his limp, which had been rather obvious and painful to watch appeared to be much, much better, with the limp being much less pronounced.

And Mitch Love says that his nose is much improved. And for any of you who are curious and read his blog, he says that his girlfriend’s father is in really good shape and that he is doing much, much better.

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Corey Locke’s point streak was stopped at 10 games after he failed to get a goal or an assist tonight. And Morten Madsen played in his 100th professional game. And here’s the real stat of the night: the Aeros are now 13-8-0-6 when trailing after the first period. So no matter how badly the Aeros might play at the start of a game, they’re never really out of it.

And I think that I might have pinpointed the real reason for the Aeros loss. The Aeros first goal was originally credited to Benoit Pouliot, who appeared to tip Albers shot past the goalie. But then later in the game, the credit for the goal was given to Paul Albers. However, a look at the stats shows that the Aeros are 4-2-0-0 when Pouliot gets a goal, and 11-2-0-0 when he has a point. By taking the goal away from Pouliot, the Aeros doomed themselves to defeat.

Well that, or the fact that they played like absolute crap in the first period.

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I just wanted to make a personal comment in that I thought the Lady Dynamics looked spectacular in their lime green t-shirts which they arranged into halter tops. I’m sure that Mr. Fred has some photos that he won’t be sharing with us, but the ladies did look really nice. I think they were about the only ones who could pull of that lime green look.

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And to play us out tonight comes a song that really has no connection to the game itself. But I heard it on the way home from the arena, and it just seemed to fit my post-game melancholy mood. So here’s Peter Gabriel with “Solsbury Hill.”

View from the Press Box - Aeros vs. RFD (3/27)

I like this part of the job. "View from the press box" is where I get to express my opinion about what I saw while watching the Aeros.

I know I am going to get called a major homer for saying this, but since I rarely call out the officials, I am going to allow myself to do just that. Nygel Pelletier had a bad night, and at some point, he is going to hear about it from someone other than the Aeros, who are obviously biased.

The two calls that stand out to me are the phantom goalie interference call against Robbie Earl and the missed tripping call against the IceHogs while the Aeros were trying to kill off the last power play of regulation. Pelletier missed that one, the IceHogs scored and the two team's them put on a display of bad breakaways and missed chances for the next 10:16. You are reading that right ... 10 minutes and 16 seconds is exactly how long the shootout last Friday night.

To be fair, the Aeros did not show up to play until the second period, and they faded after they took a 2-1 lead on a sweet goal by Earl. Hockey works out like that sometimes ... you work harder, and for the most part you are rewarded for two points. That was the case tonight. Pelletier had a bad game, but he did not cost the Aeros that extra point in the standings.

Rockford was the better team, and Kevin Constatine said that only luck and good goaltending by Anton Khudobin were the reasons his team earned a point. He did not comment on Pelletier, even when asked.

Three stars picked tonight by the Aeros were right on.

Niemi was great in the shootout, the No. 1 star must have stolen the team's manual because he read Rosa's forehand to backhand move perfectly and he knew exactly what Locke was going to do in the 13 round.

Jack Skille got the No. 2 star for tying the game with the power play goal and Robbie Earl deserved the third star.

Had Kudobin made one more save, maybe Locke wins the game for the Aeros in the 13th. Had that been the case, he definitely gets the No. 1 star of the game.

--Aeroscribe

In Game Update - 3/27/09 vs. Rockford

Update:

End 2

Rockford 1, Houston 0

Wow, the IceHogs look great and are taking it to the Aeros tonight. Remarkably, they only have one goal for the moment. Not much to report on tonight at this point save for the fact that the IceHogs have almost put two in their own goal. That might be the only way these Aeros get on the board tonight. .

Aeros outshoot the Hogs 11-9 in the second, but Khudobin has faced more quality shots.
Bad news over in Peoria, as the Rivermen are leading the Admirals 4-2 after two.

More after the game.

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Update:

Middle 2

Rockford 1, Houston 0

Aeros did not do much with their power play that extended into the second period. They did survive another RFD power play, as Khudobin flopped his way to four big saves. Hrkac and Ryznar missed two really good scoring chances in the period. The Aeros do look much better in the second stanza.

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Update:

End 1

Rockford 1, Houston 0

Staff photographer = "They can't play any worse, and they're only down 1-0."

Yep, Benoit Pouliot missed a shorthanded breakaway by lazily firing a shot right into the pads of Antti Niemi with 2:45 left.

And that's a good thing. Somehow, the Aeros are much better when they trail after one (13-5-0-5) than when they are tied after one (8-13-1-0). And here's the really good part. In their last 10 games in which they were trailing after the first period, the Aeros are 8-1-0-1. Yes, no, the normal laws of hockey do not apply to this year's Aeros team.

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8:00 left in the first

IceHogs 1, Aeros 0

Basically a 12-minute power play for the IceHogs.

This is a sad sight for Aeros fans.

Team was outshot 10-1 and oustscored 1-0 before they realized there was a hockey game.

Rob Klinkhammer scored the first goal of the game 9:48 in on delayed penalty. Looked like the puck deflectd off Corey Locke, who was unintentionally in the way.

It looked like the pucked changed direction on Khudobin, who has been very good so far

Pre-game update - Schaefer out tonight

Press row is packed, and among those in the crowd are a Wild scout and one half the broadcasting team from the Dallas Stars Radio crew.

First the bad news ... even though they are honoring him and his fight against Lyme disease, goaltender Nolan Schaefer is out with a lower body injury. Real bad time to get injured, but Khudobin was going to have to play once this weekend. So far this year, Anton is 1-2-0 with a 2.65 goals against average and a .918 saves percentage.

Not too shabby. Good luck kiddo.

Now for the good news?

There is lots o' green in the building today, so maybe that is lucky.

Starting for the Aeros at home ... the usual = Rosa will center Locke and Beaudoin (he and his -13 rating). On defense are Rogers and Stoner. In goal, as previously mentioned is Anton Khudobin.

Any way you slice it - Preview HOU/RFD, 03/27/09

... For a literal explanation of this photo, you will have to read all the way to the bottom ... or just skip to there ...

But any way you slice (pun intended) this up, this is a HUGE game for both teams. The Aeros are already five points ahead with 10 games to play, so the pressure is really on the Pigs.

If the Aeros are to win tonight, they will need to have a lead after the first or second period.

When trailing after one or two periods, Rockford's record is 0-38-0-5. By contrast, the Aeros are 20-22-0-9. To put that into perspective, the Aeros have 49 points when they trail at either of the two intermissions. When Rockford is down, they have five points.

Sick.

If the IceHogs want to win tonight, they better figure out how to get a three-goal lead. In the team's last meeting, the Aeros trailed 2-0 and 3-1 before storming back for a 5-4 win. That was maybe the most incredible home game of the year. Special teams aren't doing the Hogs any favors either. Their PP on the road is just a tick over 10 percent and their away-from-home-PK is just 77.8.

The bottom line, if the Aeros come out ready to play tonight, there is no reason they should lose unless Antti Niemi stands on his head. That is who I think Rockford is going to send out there tonight, as he was supposed to start the last time they were here. He was sick, didn't play, and the Aeros hammered Corey Crawford.

[Sandwich story]

When I go to Subway, I order footlongs, with no chips or drink. In my opinion this is a better value. When I order a footlong, often times I am working or driving when I eat, so I kindly ask the sandwich technician to slice it into three. Normally, 99 percent of the time, they get it ("Oh, so he wants to eat it and not worry about getting olives all over his shirt, etc!") and they slice it into three equal little "sammiches".

Today, though, this clearly did not cross the mind of my expert sandwich technician.

--Aeroscribe

AHL/Aeros Man of the Year

The AHL announced this afternoon the Man of the Year team winners for each AHL team.

...selected by their respective clubs for their outstanding contributions to the local community and charitable organizations during the 2008-09 season.

From this list of finalists, representatives from American Specialty and the AHL will choose the winner of the 2008-09 Yanick Dupre Memorial Award. The AHL’s annual Man of the Year award is named after the late Yanick Dupre, who died in 1997 at the age of 24, following a 16-month battle with leukemia.

The Aeros Man of the Year is defenseman Brandon Rogers.

Good on ya, Brandon.

Aeros v Milwaukee - 3/25

Maybe the Aeros should change their slogan this year from "15 Seasons. One Reason." to "Who ARE these guys?"

After three-quarters of a season of inconsistent, up and down, roller coaster play, dare we say... they're on a roll? No, we dare not.

Last night's game against the division leading Milwaukee Admirals, who quite frankly didn't have a ton to play for with their 17 point lead over the rest of the division and a depleted roster, was still one of the best of the season. In fact, I'm not sure I've ever heard Constantine speak as effusively about his squad as he did last night. You can see those quotes in Andrew's Chron article here.

The Aeros said donnez-nous quelques buts to the Admirals early in the first period with markers from Pouliot and Noreau. On receiving a stretch pass from Schultz from deep in the Aeros zone, Pouliot flew down the left wing, beating the Ads defense and fending off a slash to get a shot off over the glove of goalie Drew McIntyre, who gambled and went low on the shot.

The Aeros regrouped in the Ads' zone after the face-off and 31 seconds later, Noreau ripped a shot from the point past McIntyre, who was looking for the puck through a ton of traffic at his doorstep. Calisse!

So, here, you're thinking, "Okay, what do the Aeros do with an early lead?" Yeah, they choke it away. But no, they press on and play well.

Pouliot potted the third unanswered goal, his second on the night, tipping in a Mojzis shot from the point.

But midway through the third, the Ads' finally got enough traffic to get Schaefer moving and down prematurely, and Kelsey Wilson popped one over him into the net. Perhaps there was some concern about a come-back by the Ads, but with only 8 shots on goal in the first two periods, it seemed unlikely.

And indeed, Kolanos sealed the deal with a sneaky little power play goal from the bottom of the circle off a pass from Locke, who extended his scoring points streak to 10 games. The K-Train celebrated by throwing himself 3 feet in the air into the glass and came down kinda hard. Seriously, I love the big cellies but don't get yourself hurt there, Ovechkin.

Stars were 1-Pouliot (2 goals!), 2 - Mojzis (2 assists), 3 - Wilson (one goal). Sorry homers, but in a 4-1 game, and someone with a goal and an assist like Noreau had, all three stars should have gone to the Aeros.

Now the Aeros have a 3 point "cushion"(that's not particularly soft) between them and Peoria. They face another 3-in-3 this weekend, starting at home on Friday against Rockford, and then up-up-and-away to Peoria and Rockford Saturday and Sunday.

The team is one game into a series of 8 games in 11 days. Then they get a few days off before San Antonio will attempt to play spoiler for the final 3 regular season games. No rest for the weary.

Down the stretch update - Huge win in Milwaukee

Benoit Pouiliot was great. Max Noreau was great. Nolan Schaefer was great. Tony Hrkac was good and now gives the Aeros three, good and (as Kevin Constantine told me tonight) solid, responsible lines. The whole team was great in holding the Admirals to their lowest shots total of the year. Before tonight, Milwaukee had not lost back to back games in regulation since before Christmas. (Do you remember when it snowed in Houston? It was the week after that.) And those games were against a then very hot Grand Rapids Griffins team.

Here is the updated "down the stretch" chart (again, click on it to see a clearer/larger image). The Aeros got some help from the two bottom teams on this list ... wow, look out for that Quad City swan song!

--Aeroscribe

The Aeros Go To The Dogs Causing Me To Howl

I got an e-mail from a fellow Aeros fan the other day, howling about the team's newest promotion. And seeing as how the promotion involves dogs, then howling is the appropriate word to describe the outrage.

For those not in the know, the details are simple. On Friday, April 2nd, the Aeros are holding Chilly's Pet Pals night. The Humane Society will set up on the concourses and try to find good homes for dogs. But the howling outrage comes from the fact that the Aeros are also inviting fans to bring their own dogs to the game, and they're going to open a special section of the stands for people who bring their dogs.

Now those of us who have pet allergies aren't given a vote in this thing. And neither are fans who, you know, actually want to come and watch a hockey game. I know this is minor league hockey, and that minor league sports is all about wacky promotions, but I just don't like this idea. And based on some of the e-mails I've received, like from my howling friend, there are a bunch of Aeros fans out there who don't like this idea, either.

I know the Aeros need some promo ideas to sell tickets, though. And I thought that I could help by offering a few ideas of my own, stolen, of course, from other teams.

For instance, on April 7, the Phoenix Coyotes are hosting the St. Louis Blues. And anyone who purchases a 1.75-liter bottle of Smirnoff Vodka gets a free ticket to the game. Now note, the alcohol is not being sold at the game, so hopefully this means that there won't be a bunch of drunks showing up for the game, or leaving the game. But I live by Spec's. I bet if the Aeros were to offer this deal that Toyota Center would be packed every night -- at least based on some of the purchases that I've witnessed.

But my favorite idea, and one that I really want the Aeros to adopt is the Over-18 Night that the Las Vegas Wranglers of the ECHL will soon be offering. Among the many things the Wranglers will be doing that night, besides the $20 dollar open bar and the later starting time is the Stripper 101 contest that they'll be having on the concourses. If I understand it correctly, there will be no actual stripping, just women be taught how to work the pole.

I'd really like to see the Aeros go with this idea. But I'd like to change it up just a bit. With Houston being a huge strip club capital, and being how the team always gets a huge crowd for the Miss Aeros Bikini Contest, I really think that, instead of having a bunch of kids sing "God Bless America" for the 15,000th time, or doing that stupid chin-up thing, or the samurai hockey, is for them to have a stripper contest on the ice. Now I'm not advocating nudity. The women would just strip down to say a bikini while working the pole. But I think this would give the many women who work in the strip clubs in this city a chance to work in the daylight, and it might really get a big crowd if some of their customers come over to watch them. And instead of charging a ticket price, maybe the Aeros could just charge a cover fee.

Oh well. It's just an idea. But really, it's better than going to the dogs, isn't it?

Aeros vs Peoria 3/22 - Final Photos

Here are the final pics from the 3/22 game versus Peoria.
We'll start with another Manny Legace for Ms. Conduct.

Here is the shot that Andrew was referring to when he said: "Marco Rosa missed another wide open goal. But to his credit, he said one of the factors that prevented him from lifting that puck into an open cage was the snowy ice in where he had the puck." You can see he was creating some of his own snow here as he came to a stop.

He had to move back through that snow here and Legace bit on the hard move. Marco's move had him moving the wrong way. You can see that Marco had to kick the puck back up to his stick while moving back to the middle of the ice.

Here Marco has Legace down and out with an open net as he tries to lift the puck on the back hand.

Unfortunately he got no lift on the puck and Legace was able to make the save. The Aeros have to convert these if they plan on advancing.

This is the first Peoria shoot out attempt. Nolan Schaefer made an awesome pad save here . He just got the puck with the top of the toe on his right pad. This could have been the save Ms Conduct was mentioning when she wrote about Chris Holt's comment "One of Schaefer's saves (where he got a toe out JUST in time to deflect the puck away) had him going, "HOW'D HE DO THAT?!""

This was Locke's first shoot out goal. This goal may have set Legacy up for the sick shoot out goal I mentioned here.

I know Chis Holt was amazed at this shoot out save which had Schaefer coming back to his left after reacting to a hard fake then getting the puck with his stick at the last second. The net was wide open and Schaefer made a huge athletic play to get the puck.

Nolan won the game for the Aeros with this glove save on Carl Corazzini. The puck is hard to see but it's in the glove.

Here's another group hug for the group hug fans.

All Photos:Fred Trask