It may seem a bit futile, as the Aeros aren't exactly overflowing with flashy all-star talent, but voting for the AHL All-Stars ends Sunday night. So, if you want to get your vote in, head here and git 'er done.
I'd say Khudobin probably has a good chance at one of the 3 Planet USA goaltending spots. Would be pretty a pretty nice streak to have Aeros goalies in the ASG three years in a row.
Not sure any of the Aeros forwards really have the numbers to stand out from the pack this season, though I think Noreau would warrant a nod among the defensemen, given that he's been consistently one of the top scoring defensemen in the league (er, consistently if you don't count the first 20 games of this season).
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Friday, December 25, 2009
A Little Christmas Music
It's Christmas, and I've got nothing hockey to write. I just thought I would come over and post a video of one of my all-time Christmas songs. So here's The Pretenders with "2000 Miles."
I hope that everyone has a great holiday.
I hope that everyone has a great holiday.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Missing the big tuna ...
Ever had one of those days when you just need a good laugh ... and you get one?
I just got one.
Pardon the random-ness here, but this is a clip from a feature on Jon Awe you can find here.
Decent read, but this is the best part by far:
"Formerly known as “The Big Cat”, Awe is now known in South Korea as “The Big Tuna” due to a translation error by the Korean media."
*** All I know, if someone ends up with any nickname involving tuna because of me, my ass is pummeled the next time I go in the locker room. And the boys will probably use that chewing-gum concoction thingy that scares the living daylights out of me for reasons I will NOT get in to right now.
--ajf
I just got one.
Pardon the random-ness here, but this is a clip from a feature on Jon Awe you can find here.
Decent read, but this is the best part by far:
"Formerly known as “The Big Cat”, Awe is now known in South Korea as “The Big Tuna” due to a translation error by the Korean media."
*** All I know, if someone ends up with any nickname involving tuna because of me, my ass is pummeled the next time I go in the locker room. And the boys will probably use that chewing-gum concoction thingy that scares the living daylights out of me for reasons I will NOT get in to right now.
--ajf
A Few Minutes With Brandon Rogers
I've been fascinated by the move of Brandon Rogers to the center position this season. Especially since Rogers has never played forward before in his life. So I spoke with Rogers about the move after Sunday's game, then I got some comments from Kevin Constantine.
You can find the story over at the mothership. So give it a read.
And let me just say that I think Rogers is one of the nicest guys on the team. He's not flashy. He just does his job. And maybe we need to find a reason to talk to him more often after games because he'll generally give us a good answer.
And Merry Christmas, everybody.
You can find the story over at the mothership. So give it a read.
And let me just say that I think Rogers is one of the nicest guys on the team. He's not flashy. He just does his job. And maybe we need to find a reason to talk to him more often after games because he'll generally give us a good answer.
And Merry Christmas, everybody.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
12/20 -- Aeros vs. Griffins -- The Magical Mystery Tour Edition
Well how about that? The Houston Aeros looked like a professional hockey team on the ice tonight -- on the offensive end -- and they showed that good things can happen when you score goals as they got the 5-3 win over the Grand Rapids Griffins this afternoon.
Grand Rapids got the scoring started when Patrick Rissmiller scored on Wade Dubielewicz at 4:40 of the first period, and it kind of looked like that this was going to be another one of those games where the Aeros get blown out before going on break. But at 14:46 of the first Max Noreau got a nice pass from Duncan Milroy, proceeded to fake a Grand Rapids defenseman of out of his gear, then snapped the shot by Daniel Larsson to tie the score.
The second period was all the Aeros as Andy Hilbert got a nice cross-ice pass from Jean-Michel Daoust and put the puck in the net to make it 2-1 at 2:56. Duncan Milroy punched in a Brandon Rogers rebound at 6:49 to make it 3-1, then Jon DiSalvatore made it 4-1 on an unassisted goal as he skated around the Grand Rapids defense and made use of a screen to get the puck past Larsson.
Grand Rapids changed goalies to start the third, and the change seemed to suit the Griffins as they got the puck past Dubielewicz twice to make the score 4-3 with nearly 15 minutes remaining in the game. But Grand Rapids would get no closer and Noreau would get the empty-netter at 19:37 to make the final 5-3.
“It’s fun. I’m not going to lie,” Dubielewicz said about playing a game with a big lead. “When we put up four, it’s not that you can relax by any means, but you can get in the game, you can get in the flow of things, and if you make a mistake it’s not going to cost you two points. That’s what it was tonight. It was nice. It was a lot of fun.”
The Aeros now head into the Christmas break with a record of 16-13-2-1 (35 points) and are percentage points ahead of Rockford for fourth place in the jam-packed West Division. The Aeros return to play on Saturday night when they host the San Antonio Rampage at 7:35.
SOME MISCELLANEOUS NOTES:
Andrew did the checking on this, and it’s rather amazing when you think of the team this year. But every year since Constantine’s been here, the team has headed into the Christmas break at or just above five hundred. The 2007-08 team was 15-12-1-1 (32 points) at this point. Last year’s team was 15-10-1-6 (37 points), and this year’s squad is 16-13-2-1 (35 points).
“That’ll be all right if the second half goes like the way the second half went both years,” Constantine said. “I mean, a chance to climb up in standings. At least we’ve put ourselves in a position to be competitive in the division. We’ve got to figure out a way now to have an even better second half because it’s a good division and we’ve got to climb our way into making sure we’re in the playoffs.”
As for what’s in store for the second half, Constantine would like to see the team improve it’s play at home, put some more points on the board, and go off on a long winning streak.
“So somewhere we need to put at least one stretch, this year we have to put some type of string together at some point just to kind of insure we make the playoffs.” he said.
He is pleased that the team won four of the last five games of this stretch, but he and the players are upset that they couldn’t go into the break with a five game win streak.
Brandon Rogers thinks the team is what it is, which is a team that’s going to win 90-percent of its games by a 2-1 score.
“Obviously we always want to get better offensively,” he said. “That’s one of the things we work on all of the time in practice is making sure we’re scoring goals and trying to get better offensively because our base is always going to be strong defense, and if we can get better offensively, and keep building on that all year, then we’ll be a better team over all.”
*****************
Some of the young guys like Chad Rau were looking kind of tired coming into these past several games, primarily because they’ve never played this many games before. But Constantine hasn’t had many resources at his disposable because of injuries in Houston and in Minnesota. However, he expects Petr Kalus and Colton Gillies to be able to return to play next Saturday when the team returns to action, and he expects Peter Zingoni to be able to start getting back on the ice and testing his injury when the team returns for practice, those his return to game action is further off.
Also, as Heather mentioned in a post below, Wade Dubielewicz is off to Switzerland to join Team Canada in some international hockey action. He departs on the Tuesday, and he should return to the Aeros on the January 1st. Until then, the goalies will be Anton Khudobin and Barry Brust, which should make Heather happy.
*****************
I’ve just about had it with the cheerleading from the PA, the PA speaking during game action, PA spots extending after for a long time after game action has resumed, the sound effects that pop up from nowhere during game action, and certain various people who don’t know how to turn off their microphones. There’s not much I can do about it as we reporters have a reputation about bitching about everything. But I know that there are many of you out there who are getting a bit pissed about this, as well. So, might I suggest, that, if you’re bugged, too, you go here and start firing off some emails to some of the people who might be in a position to do something about this. It’s making the team look unprofessional. But don't bother the people in Hockey Ops, Corporate Partnerships, Ticket Sales, Joe O'Donnell, or the receptionist.
*****************
And to end things tonight, I’m going to go with The Beatles “Magical Mystery Tour.” Primarily because, on several of the goals, especially Noreau’s first period goal, I had flashbacks to last year’s squad which seemed to be able to score at will. So until next Saturday, may you all have a Merry Christmas and may you all enjoy a Magical Mystery Tour of your own.
Grand Rapids got the scoring started when Patrick Rissmiller scored on Wade Dubielewicz at 4:40 of the first period, and it kind of looked like that this was going to be another one of those games where the Aeros get blown out before going on break. But at 14:46 of the first Max Noreau got a nice pass from Duncan Milroy, proceeded to fake a Grand Rapids defenseman of out of his gear, then snapped the shot by Daniel Larsson to tie the score.
The second period was all the Aeros as Andy Hilbert got a nice cross-ice pass from Jean-Michel Daoust and put the puck in the net to make it 2-1 at 2:56. Duncan Milroy punched in a Brandon Rogers rebound at 6:49 to make it 3-1, then Jon DiSalvatore made it 4-1 on an unassisted goal as he skated around the Grand Rapids defense and made use of a screen to get the puck past Larsson.
Grand Rapids changed goalies to start the third, and the change seemed to suit the Griffins as they got the puck past Dubielewicz twice to make the score 4-3 with nearly 15 minutes remaining in the game. But Grand Rapids would get no closer and Noreau would get the empty-netter at 19:37 to make the final 5-3.
“It’s fun. I’m not going to lie,” Dubielewicz said about playing a game with a big lead. “When we put up four, it’s not that you can relax by any means, but you can get in the game, you can get in the flow of things, and if you make a mistake it’s not going to cost you two points. That’s what it was tonight. It was nice. It was a lot of fun.”
The Aeros now head into the Christmas break with a record of 16-13-2-1 (35 points) and are percentage points ahead of Rockford for fourth place in the jam-packed West Division. The Aeros return to play on Saturday night when they host the San Antonio Rampage at 7:35.
SOME MISCELLANEOUS NOTES:
Andrew did the checking on this, and it’s rather amazing when you think of the team this year. But every year since Constantine’s been here, the team has headed into the Christmas break at or just above five hundred. The 2007-08 team was 15-12-1-1 (32 points) at this point. Last year’s team was 15-10-1-6 (37 points), and this year’s squad is 16-13-2-1 (35 points).
“That’ll be all right if the second half goes like the way the second half went both years,” Constantine said. “I mean, a chance to climb up in standings. At least we’ve put ourselves in a position to be competitive in the division. We’ve got to figure out a way now to have an even better second half because it’s a good division and we’ve got to climb our way into making sure we’re in the playoffs.”
As for what’s in store for the second half, Constantine would like to see the team improve it’s play at home, put some more points on the board, and go off on a long winning streak.
“So somewhere we need to put at least one stretch, this year we have to put some type of string together at some point just to kind of insure we make the playoffs.” he said.
He is pleased that the team won four of the last five games of this stretch, but he and the players are upset that they couldn’t go into the break with a five game win streak.
Brandon Rogers thinks the team is what it is, which is a team that’s going to win 90-percent of its games by a 2-1 score.
“Obviously we always want to get better offensively,” he said. “That’s one of the things we work on all of the time in practice is making sure we’re scoring goals and trying to get better offensively because our base is always going to be strong defense, and if we can get better offensively, and keep building on that all year, then we’ll be a better team over all.”
*****************
Some of the young guys like Chad Rau were looking kind of tired coming into these past several games, primarily because they’ve never played this many games before. But Constantine hasn’t had many resources at his disposable because of injuries in Houston and in Minnesota. However, he expects Petr Kalus and Colton Gillies to be able to return to play next Saturday when the team returns to action, and he expects Peter Zingoni to be able to start getting back on the ice and testing his injury when the team returns for practice, those his return to game action is further off.
Also, as Heather mentioned in a post below, Wade Dubielewicz is off to Switzerland to join Team Canada in some international hockey action. He departs on the Tuesday, and he should return to the Aeros on the January 1st. Until then, the goalies will be Anton Khudobin and Barry Brust, which should make Heather happy.
*****************
I’ve just about had it with the cheerleading from the PA, the PA speaking during game action, PA spots extending after for a long time after game action has resumed, the sound effects that pop up from nowhere during game action, and certain various people who don’t know how to turn off their microphones. There’s not much I can do about it as we reporters have a reputation about bitching about everything. But I know that there are many of you out there who are getting a bit pissed about this, as well. So, might I suggest, that, if you’re bugged, too, you go here and start firing off some emails to some of the people who might be in a position to do something about this. It’s making the team look unprofessional. But don't bother the people in Hockey Ops, Corporate Partnerships, Ticket Sales, Joe O'Donnell, or the receptionist.
*****************
And to end things tonight, I’m going to go with The Beatles “Magical Mystery Tour.” Primarily because, on several of the goals, especially Noreau’s first period goal, I had flashbacks to last year’s squad which seemed to be able to score at will. So until next Saturday, may you all have a Merry Christmas and may you all enjoy a Magical Mystery Tour of your own.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Fire and Goalie Update
I'm not sure how much of this got mentioned last night, but I thought it'd give a little run down of breaking news in the Wild/Aeros organization.
As most of you are aware, the Ottawa Senators visiting team equipment truck with much of the Wild player and coach equipment in it caught fire yesterday on the way to the arena from the practice facility.
Both goalies saw all their gear destroyed, as did many players. Russo has a great article on all of it here today and here's an even more thorough accounting of the losses on his blog. The dramatic photos are here on Puck Daddy. The burned goalie mask makes my stomach turn!
The game goes on tonight in Ottawa, but Anton Khudobin has been summoned in case the goalies can't get comfortable enough in whatever gear they scrape together and they need him to start. I'd agree with Russo that it's unlikely he starts but wouldn't that be something? Wow.
------------------------
And continuing on the goalie news, as you also know, Barry Brust was up earlier in the week due to Josh Harding having the flu and Khudobin recalled to the Wild.
He backed up Dubielewicz on Tuesday in Cedar Park, and was scratched when Khudobin returned at home on Wednesday. He was sent back down to Florida on Thursday to help the Blades out Friday and Saturday night, though he did not play in the 5-3 loss to Wheeling (worst team in the ECHL) Friday night. Great call, Blades! /sarcasm
Aaanyway, Brusty will fly back on Sunday as the Blades go on their Christmas break and the Aeros start theirs after Sunday's game.
In case you missed it in Andrew's Chron article last night, the team confirmed that Dubielewicz is going to Switzerland in place of injured Texas Star goalie Brent Krahn on Team Canada for the Spengler Cup through the first of the year (which is why he's been getting so many starts lately).
So, we get our dear Brusty back and in a few games hopefully while Dubie is gone.
Tomorrow's game, I would expect to see Dubie starting again as he's the only goalie who won't be traveling half the day, assuming Khudobin is sent down from Minny. But what the hell do I know. Don't answer that.
As most of you are aware, the Ottawa Senators visiting team equipment truck with much of the Wild player and coach equipment in it caught fire yesterday on the way to the arena from the practice facility.
Both goalies saw all their gear destroyed, as did many players. Russo has a great article on all of it here today and here's an even more thorough accounting of the losses on his blog. The dramatic photos are here on Puck Daddy. The burned goalie mask makes my stomach turn!
The game goes on tonight in Ottawa, but Anton Khudobin has been summoned in case the goalies can't get comfortable enough in whatever gear they scrape together and they need him to start. I'd agree with Russo that it's unlikely he starts but wouldn't that be something? Wow.
------------------------
And continuing on the goalie news, as you also know, Barry Brust was up earlier in the week due to Josh Harding having the flu and Khudobin recalled to the Wild.
He backed up Dubielewicz on Tuesday in Cedar Park, and was scratched when Khudobin returned at home on Wednesday. He was sent back down to Florida on Thursday to help the Blades out Friday and Saturday night, though he did not play in the 5-3 loss to Wheeling (worst team in the ECHL) Friday night. Great call, Blades! /sarcasm
Aaanyway, Brusty will fly back on Sunday as the Blades go on their Christmas break and the Aeros start theirs after Sunday's game.
In case you missed it in Andrew's Chron article last night, the team confirmed that Dubielewicz is going to Switzerland in place of injured Texas Star goalie Brent Krahn on Team Canada for the Spengler Cup through the first of the year (which is why he's been getting so many starts lately).
So, we get our dear Brusty back and in a few games hopefully while Dubie is gone.
Tomorrow's game, I would expect to see Dubie starting again as he's the only goalie who won't be traveling half the day, assuming Khudobin is sent down from Minny. But what the hell do I know. Don't answer that.
12/18 -- Aeros vs. Stars -- The I'm A Loser Edition
I’m pretty sure we all know the script by now because we’ve heard it so many damn times this season. So repeat after me in three…two…one…
The Aeros lost 5-2 to the [fill in the blank]. The game was closer than the score indicates. The Aeros out shot [fill in the blank]. The Aeros were full of effort and didn’t quit. A mistake here, a mistake there, the Aeros are defeated.
For instance, on [fill in the blank]’s second goal, Ryan Gunderson got beat badly which resulted in Wade Dubielewicz getting beat and which resulted in [fill in the blank] getting the 2-1 lead at 18:50 of the first period, not long after the Aeros had tied the game.
It’s a disturbing pattern seen throughout this season. The Aeros get back in a game. The Aeros get back out of the game.
“It always so disappointing,” Gunderson said. “Every time we tied it, we made mistakes and they capitalized.”
The key mistake this time around was Gunderson letting Texas’s Warren Peters go wide, wide, wide around and past him for an easy shot he should not have been able to have. Kevin Constantine wouldn’t put the blame on Gunderson. Gunderson was not so kind.
“I got beat wide,” he said. “That’s one of the things obviously I need to work on. It happens quite a bit. It’s discouraging.”
Yes it’s discouraging because it happens way too much. But Constantine took a different view of that play, and the responsibility for the goal.
“Before the puck got to Gunderson…” Constantine said, “before it got to the goalie, there were a lot of other issues related to that. At the end of the day, it’d be nice -- as you move from forwards to D to goaltending you’re escapability from mistakes gets less and less. Lots of mistakes leading to their forwards attacking our D. The D get to make some mistakes and goalies get to make none or the light’s on.”
And the lights were on.
The loss dropped the Aeros to 2-4 against Texas this season, and it dropped their record to 15-13-2-1 (33 points) and into fifth place. Rockford, 16-14-2-1 (35 points), Peoria, 16-10-1-2 (35 points), and Milwaukee, 15-8-1-4 (35 points) are all tied for second. Texas is in first at 20-8-2-2 (44 points). The Aeros next play on Sunday afternoon against the Grand Rapids Griffins.
SOME MISCELLANEOUS NOTES:
Okay, stop it right now. I know that a bunch of you are probably still bitching about Max Noreau’s third period shot at 5:59 not being called a goal. There’s a reason for that. IT WASN’T A GOAL.
Things weren’t helped by the Game Ops people showing the replay time, after time, after time, after time, after time. If you watch closely, you see the puck bounce off of the post. That black thing that you think is the puck crossing the line is actually the end of Texas goalie Matt Climie’s stick. It also didn’t help that certain people with arena microphones seemed to be egging on certain situations throughout the night.
The game ops people are getting out of control. They’re playing music during game action. They’re speaking constantly -- not goal/penalty info -- but utter nonsense. The Aeros might be a minor league team, and they can do all of the minor league crap they want during timeouts and intermissions, but they should really stop doing it during the game.
*******************
I figured out something tonight. This team bores me. I can see that they’re trying. And the defense is generally good, and there probably is more talent on this team than the one from two years ago, but this team bores me. The team two years ago needed Nolan Schaefer and Barry Brust to be perfect every night or the team was going to lose.
It’s a bit like that this season -- hell, it’s a lot like that this season. But the team two years ago wasn’t boring. Not to me. But this year’s team….I’m finding myself bored while I’m at the game. And I don’t like being bored.
*******************
Tonight’s song from The Beatles is “I’m A Loser.” That’s just not because the team lost, but because of a line in the song that goes “and I’m not what I appear to be.” This team isn’t what it appears to be. You see the goals scored and you think that the team’s just not trying. But they’re getting the shots. They’re usually in good position. But they’re always just a step slow, or a second off. They’re not the bad team they appear to be.
So until Sunday, here’s The Beatles.
The Aeros lost 5-2 to the [fill in the blank]. The game was closer than the score indicates. The Aeros out shot [fill in the blank]. The Aeros were full of effort and didn’t quit. A mistake here, a mistake there, the Aeros are defeated.
For instance, on [fill in the blank]’s second goal, Ryan Gunderson got beat badly which resulted in Wade Dubielewicz getting beat and which resulted in [fill in the blank] getting the 2-1 lead at 18:50 of the first period, not long after the Aeros had tied the game.
It’s a disturbing pattern seen throughout this season. The Aeros get back in a game. The Aeros get back out of the game.
“It always so disappointing,” Gunderson said. “Every time we tied it, we made mistakes and they capitalized.”
The key mistake this time around was Gunderson letting Texas’s Warren Peters go wide, wide, wide around and past him for an easy shot he should not have been able to have. Kevin Constantine wouldn’t put the blame on Gunderson. Gunderson was not so kind.
“I got beat wide,” he said. “That’s one of the things obviously I need to work on. It happens quite a bit. It’s discouraging.”
Yes it’s discouraging because it happens way too much. But Constantine took a different view of that play, and the responsibility for the goal.
“Before the puck got to Gunderson…” Constantine said, “before it got to the goalie, there were a lot of other issues related to that. At the end of the day, it’d be nice -- as you move from forwards to D to goaltending you’re escapability from mistakes gets less and less. Lots of mistakes leading to their forwards attacking our D. The D get to make some mistakes and goalies get to make none or the light’s on.”
And the lights were on.
The loss dropped the Aeros to 2-4 against Texas this season, and it dropped their record to 15-13-2-1 (33 points) and into fifth place. Rockford, 16-14-2-1 (35 points), Peoria, 16-10-1-2 (35 points), and Milwaukee, 15-8-1-4 (35 points) are all tied for second. Texas is in first at 20-8-2-2 (44 points). The Aeros next play on Sunday afternoon against the Grand Rapids Griffins.
SOME MISCELLANEOUS NOTES:
Okay, stop it right now. I know that a bunch of you are probably still bitching about Max Noreau’s third period shot at 5:59 not being called a goal. There’s a reason for that. IT WASN’T A GOAL.
Things weren’t helped by the Game Ops people showing the replay time, after time, after time, after time, after time. If you watch closely, you see the puck bounce off of the post. That black thing that you think is the puck crossing the line is actually the end of Texas goalie Matt Climie’s stick. It also didn’t help that certain people with arena microphones seemed to be egging on certain situations throughout the night.
The game ops people are getting out of control. They’re playing music during game action. They’re speaking constantly -- not goal/penalty info -- but utter nonsense. The Aeros might be a minor league team, and they can do all of the minor league crap they want during timeouts and intermissions, but they should really stop doing it during the game.
*******************
I figured out something tonight. This team bores me. I can see that they’re trying. And the defense is generally good, and there probably is more talent on this team than the one from two years ago, but this team bores me. The team two years ago needed Nolan Schaefer and Barry Brust to be perfect every night or the team was going to lose.
It’s a bit like that this season -- hell, it’s a lot like that this season. But the team two years ago wasn’t boring. Not to me. But this year’s team….I’m finding myself bored while I’m at the game. And I don’t like being bored.
*******************
Tonight’s song from The Beatles is “I’m A Loser.” That’s just not because the team lost, but because of a line in the song that goes “and I’m not what I appear to be.” This team isn’t what it appears to be. You see the goals scored and you think that the team’s just not trying. But they’re getting the shots. They’re usually in good position. But they’re always just a step slow, or a second off. They’re not the bad team they appear to be.
So until Sunday, here’s The Beatles.
Friday, December 18, 2009
12/18: Aeros 2, Texas 5
You could see this one coming a mile away. The Texas Stars are just damn good. They've slumped a little in goal with Brent Krahn's injury, but Climie is still an excellent goalie and his backup, Dallas prospect Bachman is also proving to be quite good.
The win against them on Tuesday in their barn was... maybe not a fluke... but that certainly wasn't the Texas Stars you get on most nights. And they knew it and you can bet they were looking to redeem themselves like a book of S&H Green Stamps. (How much did I just age myself?)
On top of that, the Aeros are playing 4 games in 6 nights and they looked a little tired. I thought the Stars had the edge on speed and sharpness all night, even though the Aeros seemed to be giving it all the gas they had.
One of the guys will probably give you the full quote, but after the game, Constantine said the goals against were Team Goals Against. Indeed they were. Breakdowns started upfront and rolled back to the net. Man, that second goal on Dubie by Peters was just sick. Sure Gunderson got beat badly on it, but it was a sweet goal finding the hole over Dubie's shoulder.
I continue to be impressed by Cody Almond. He just has terrific vision and hockey sense and does the "little things" coaches always talk about that make a big difference.
Brandon Rogers is another guy who really seems to have that ability to dig deep and find energy when others seem to be lagging a bit. He was terrific tonight. And really, you can't say enough about a guy who goes from being a cornerstone of a team's defense to being the STARTING CENTER. This isn't just like John Scott filling in on the wing. That's still a tough transition, but centers have more responsibility, a LOT more skating, and then to be the starting center? Wow.
We always have a laugh about it and shake our heads when he's announced as such each night because of what it says about the team as a whole, but it says nothing but really great things about Brandon.
This isn't going to be popular, but I'm going old school with the stick figure today. Well, technically there's no stick figure at all, but this is the kind of thing where a string of photos from Fred would probably give us some proof one way or the other as to that no-goal call.
Ultimately, it doesn't matter, but we all felt like based on replays that it was not a goal. It looked like it hit the back of the post and out, but I really don't believe if you could look down from above, that the puck was ALL the way over the line.
This drawing conclusively proves that T3I needs Fred taking pictures for us, because that is just craptastic and proves absolutely nothing.
Speaking of Fred, be sure and tell him HAPPY BIRTHDAY because he turns 29 today (Saturday)! Happy Birthday Freddycakes!
The win against them on Tuesday in their barn was... maybe not a fluke... but that certainly wasn't the Texas Stars you get on most nights. And they knew it and you can bet they were looking to redeem themselves like a book of S&H Green Stamps. (How much did I just age myself?)
On top of that, the Aeros are playing 4 games in 6 nights and they looked a little tired. I thought the Stars had the edge on speed and sharpness all night, even though the Aeros seemed to be giving it all the gas they had.
One of the guys will probably give you the full quote, but after the game, Constantine said the goals against were Team Goals Against. Indeed they were. Breakdowns started upfront and rolled back to the net. Man, that second goal on Dubie by Peters was just sick. Sure Gunderson got beat badly on it, but it was a sweet goal finding the hole over Dubie's shoulder.
I continue to be impressed by Cody Almond. He just has terrific vision and hockey sense and does the "little things" coaches always talk about that make a big difference.
Brandon Rogers is another guy who really seems to have that ability to dig deep and find energy when others seem to be lagging a bit. He was terrific tonight. And really, you can't say enough about a guy who goes from being a cornerstone of a team's defense to being the STARTING CENTER. This isn't just like John Scott filling in on the wing. That's still a tough transition, but centers have more responsibility, a LOT more skating, and then to be the starting center? Wow.
We always have a laugh about it and shake our heads when he's announced as such each night because of what it says about the team as a whole, but it says nothing but really great things about Brandon.
This isn't going to be popular, but I'm going old school with the stick figure today. Well, technically there's no stick figure at all, but this is the kind of thing where a string of photos from Fred would probably give us some proof one way or the other as to that no-goal call.
Ultimately, it doesn't matter, but we all felt like based on replays that it was not a goal. It looked like it hit the back of the post and out, but I really don't believe if you could look down from above, that the puck was ALL the way over the line.
This drawing conclusively proves that T3I needs Fred taking pictures for us, because that is just craptastic and proves absolutely nothing.Speaking of Fred, be sure and tell him HAPPY BIRTHDAY because he turns 29 today (Saturday)! Happy Birthday Freddycakes!
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
12/16 -- Aeros v. Rampage -- The Anytime At All Edition
The Aeros were a tired team on Wednesday night. And it showed, especially in the first period when they allowed the San Antonio Rampage to take 11 shots. But Wade Dubielewicz, making the start instead of the freshly returned from Minnesota Anton Khudobin, kept the Rampage off the board and allowed the Aeros to regroup during the first intermission.
The two teams skated about even until a string of fantastic passes from Jon DiSalvatore to Justin Falk to Nathan Smith found Colton Gillies at 9:34 of the second period. Gillies was in a great spot and Josh Tordjman, who played a fantastic game in goal despite the defeat, was in no position to stop the puck as the Aeros went up 1-0.
The score stayed at 1-0 for 20 more minutes until, at 10:01 of the third, Matt Watkins stole the puck behind the Aeros net and found Mikkel Boedker in front of the net. Boedker then buried the puck to knot the score at 1-1, where it stayed for the rest of the game.
Both goalies were on the top of their games, thus the game went into overtime. It appeared that it would go into OT, but with only 36 seconds left, Chad Rau made a great play on the puck and found Max Noreau. Noreau skated in toward the net -- a bit unusual as he’s usually firing away from the blue line -- and went top shelf to give the Aeros the 2-1 win.
“Rau made a good play and came out of the corner,” Noreau said. “I think I’d just stepped on the ice, so I was just trying to find some open ice and help him out and maybe make it an easy pass for him…the goalie went down pretty early. I’m just glad we got the two points.”
Indeed, two points the Aeros did get. The Aeros also got their third straight win, giving them six points in four days, and the win moved them back into fourth place, percentage points ahead of Rockford.
“I thought we were real fortunate to survive [the first period],” Constantine said after the game. “We looked like a team that had played four games in six nights. We looked tired. But the good part about the team is they regrouped and we had a good second, which has been trouble for us against San Antonio….that set the stage to win.”
And win they did before a “crowd” of 2538. They have two games left before the Christmas break, with the next one on Friday night here at Toyota Center against the Texas Stars.
SOME MISCELLEANOUS NOTES:
The Aeros are a tired team that is on a roll, having just won their third straight game. But they’ve been on three game rolls before, only to fall apart and lose just as many. Thus a record which has them hanging around the breakeven part. This is something the team recognizes, and they want to get into the break on a five game winning streak.
“At this point in the season, especially with Christmas break coming up, that’s a huge motivation for the guys,” Noreau said about keeping the winning streak going. “We’ve only got two games left, so just get it everything we got and make it five in a row, and then once we get back, guys are going to be fresh from coming home for the holidays, and we just take it from there.”
The Aeros will have played 33 games as they hit the break, and will be nearly halfway through the season. They will have also played nearly half of their home games, and by the time New Year’s Day hits, the team will have played half of its home schedule. So let’s hope Noreau is correct and that the team uses this upcoming break as motivation for a winning streak.
****************
Colton Gillies got the game’s first goal, which was notable for being -- besides the first goal of the game -- his first goal since Opening Night on October 2. It’s been frustrating for Gillies, but he says that he’s been working on his game, and trying not to worry because he’s been getting encouragement from Constantine.
“It’s definitely nice to get the monkey off the back a little bit,” Gillies said about his first goal since Opening Night. “The coach said, just stick with it, I’m doing everything right. I’ve been working hard in practice and doing all of those extra things with the hope that I might get one, which I did, so it was good.”
***************
And for those of you who are curious, the Aeros now officially have a captain as Jon DiSalvatore was awarded the “C” before last Friday’s game with Peoria. He’s the first “lone” captain on the Aeros since Erik Reitz was captain back in 2007-08. The Aeros rotated the “C” last season, and it was worn, at various times, by Clayton Stoner, Brandon Rogers, Krys Kolanos, Corey Locke, and somebody who I’m probably forgetting.
***************
Tonight’s song from The Beatles is “Anytime At All.” It’s dedicated to the team for finally naming a captain. And for Gillies finally getting a goal. And for the team’s winning streak. And for the team waiting until overtime was nearly over to get the win. So, until Friday, here’s The Beatles.
The two teams skated about even until a string of fantastic passes from Jon DiSalvatore to Justin Falk to Nathan Smith found Colton Gillies at 9:34 of the second period. Gillies was in a great spot and Josh Tordjman, who played a fantastic game in goal despite the defeat, was in no position to stop the puck as the Aeros went up 1-0.
The score stayed at 1-0 for 20 more minutes until, at 10:01 of the third, Matt Watkins stole the puck behind the Aeros net and found Mikkel Boedker in front of the net. Boedker then buried the puck to knot the score at 1-1, where it stayed for the rest of the game.
Both goalies were on the top of their games, thus the game went into overtime. It appeared that it would go into OT, but with only 36 seconds left, Chad Rau made a great play on the puck and found Max Noreau. Noreau skated in toward the net -- a bit unusual as he’s usually firing away from the blue line -- and went top shelf to give the Aeros the 2-1 win.
“Rau made a good play and came out of the corner,” Noreau said. “I think I’d just stepped on the ice, so I was just trying to find some open ice and help him out and maybe make it an easy pass for him…the goalie went down pretty early. I’m just glad we got the two points.”
Indeed, two points the Aeros did get. The Aeros also got their third straight win, giving them six points in four days, and the win moved them back into fourth place, percentage points ahead of Rockford.
“I thought we were real fortunate to survive [the first period],” Constantine said after the game. “We looked like a team that had played four games in six nights. We looked tired. But the good part about the team is they regrouped and we had a good second, which has been trouble for us against San Antonio….that set the stage to win.”
And win they did before a “crowd” of 2538. They have two games left before the Christmas break, with the next one on Friday night here at Toyota Center against the Texas Stars.
SOME MISCELLEANOUS NOTES:
The Aeros are a tired team that is on a roll, having just won their third straight game. But they’ve been on three game rolls before, only to fall apart and lose just as many. Thus a record which has them hanging around the breakeven part. This is something the team recognizes, and they want to get into the break on a five game winning streak.
“At this point in the season, especially with Christmas break coming up, that’s a huge motivation for the guys,” Noreau said about keeping the winning streak going. “We’ve only got two games left, so just get it everything we got and make it five in a row, and then once we get back, guys are going to be fresh from coming home for the holidays, and we just take it from there.”
The Aeros will have played 33 games as they hit the break, and will be nearly halfway through the season. They will have also played nearly half of their home games, and by the time New Year’s Day hits, the team will have played half of its home schedule. So let’s hope Noreau is correct and that the team uses this upcoming break as motivation for a winning streak.
****************
Colton Gillies got the game’s first goal, which was notable for being -- besides the first goal of the game -- his first goal since Opening Night on October 2. It’s been frustrating for Gillies, but he says that he’s been working on his game, and trying not to worry because he’s been getting encouragement from Constantine.
“It’s definitely nice to get the monkey off the back a little bit,” Gillies said about his first goal since Opening Night. “The coach said, just stick with it, I’m doing everything right. I’ve been working hard in practice and doing all of those extra things with the hope that I might get one, which I did, so it was good.”
***************
And for those of you who are curious, the Aeros now officially have a captain as Jon DiSalvatore was awarded the “C” before last Friday’s game with Peoria. He’s the first “lone” captain on the Aeros since Erik Reitz was captain back in 2007-08. The Aeros rotated the “C” last season, and it was worn, at various times, by Clayton Stoner, Brandon Rogers, Krys Kolanos, Corey Locke, and somebody who I’m probably forgetting.
***************
Tonight’s song from The Beatles is “Anytime At All.” It’s dedicated to the team for finally naming a captain. And for Gillies finally getting a goal. And for the team’s winning streak. And for the team waiting until overtime was nearly over to get the win. So, until Friday, here’s The Beatles.
My one overriding thought in this game....
(Okay, not you readers. And not Brusty. And not John and Andrew. But everyone else.)
Alright, fine, I thought other stuff.
Interesting to see Noreau get a goal in close like that. Seriously, when's the last time you saw him score from anywhere but the high slot or point? Not that there's anything wrong with that. He's the 9th highest scoring defenseman in the league (and tied with about 7 other guys for 2nd in goals scored). Just neat to see him show a flash of sniper. Thought he had a pretty good game all the way around actually.
Dubielewicz had a fantastic game. If the circumstances were different, I might warm to him. But alas, circumstances are what they are. *brrrrrr* Still, props for making some really tremendous saves tonight. One that probably SHOULD be the drawing buuuut you get what you pay for.
BTW, I missed the first half of the first period because I was having dinner before the game and friggin' George and Barbara Bush roll in to the restaurant. You can't just leave when you start seeing secret service agents, dark suits and pigtail earpieces and all, rolling into a joint like El Rey on Washington Ave.
I'm gonna go wallow in emo misery now. See you Friday.
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