Aeros Choke Away First Place

Here's my story in the mothership on last night's ugly, ugly loss to Milwaukee. There's a few quotes from Yeo in this story -- was just too busy and tired to include in last night's post. Even when the team was up 4-2 and seemingly cruising early in the third did Yeo think his team was in control of its destiny for the game.

And as I said last night, I've never waited so long for the Aeros locker room doors to open up -- not even Constantine kept them locked up this long after bad losses. We asked Yeo to give us a bit of an idea regarding what he said to the team, and he politely refused to talk about it beyond saying that they've got to bounce back and get back to the team they were.

So there you are. Comment away, but comment away over there if you wouldn't mind.

2/22/11 -- Aeros Sunk By Admirals, Lose 5-4

Milwaukee celebrates the first score of the game.

I'm not going to waste a lot of space on this game, a 5-4 loss to the Milwaukee Admirals that came about after the Aeros had a 4-2 third period lead. Mike Yeo kept the team locked up in the locker room for a long time after the game -- he kept them locked up way longer than Kevin Constantine ever did after a loss, and Kevin had a bit of a reputation for ripping into players.

So here are a few brief observations...

1. Patrick O'Sullivan pulled off a Krys Kolanos tonight, and that's not meant as a compliment. He had two goals -- one on a beautiful breakaway off of a good defensive play by Justin Falk -- and he assisted on Warren Peter's goal in the third. However, O'Sullivan forget to put forth much, if any, effort on defense, and he drew several really stupid penalties in the third period as the team was melting down.

2. It's easy to look at the score and say that Anton Khudobin had a bad game. It's easy, but that's not totally accurate. Milwaukee's second goal came about after Jamie Fraser got his stick on a puck and deflected a shot past Khudobin. Milwaukee's third goal came from Falk screening Khudobin. The fourth goal came after Khudobin blocked a shot, only to have Kris Fredheim get in the way and have the puck bounce off of his chest and into the net. And Khudobin blocked the fifth goal, only to have it rebound past him and just kind of rest on the line while Aero after Aero flailed away hopelessly at the puck.

3. The Aeros really melted down in the third period and it sure looked like, from the press box, that they just lost their composure. If I had been the coach, I would have called a time out after that fourth goal, the one that bounced off of Fredheim, and tried to calm the team down. I thought of asking Yeo about this after the game, but, well, after the long wait, I just wanted to get some general comments so I could go up and get my story written for the mothership.

4. The lines have changed. Carson McMillan/Jed Ortmeyer/Colton Gillies were the starting line. Patrick O'Sullivan/Jon DiSalvatore/Warren Peters were the second. Robbie Earl/Chad Rau/Jarod Palmer were line three, and Matt Kassian/JM Daoust/Brandon Buck were the fourth.

5. The team was incredibly hot in January. It was inevitable they would cool down and lose a few games. So I wouldn't stress out, yet. This happens to all teams -- after all, the Aeros would have never risen up the standings, no matter how good they played, if the teams in front wouldn't have lost a few. That said, the Aeros can't afford to go into a prolonged slump.

View from the Pressbox - Admirals 5, Aeros 4

Don't worry, folks, the blown two-goal lead tracker was updated late in the third period when the team officially gave up. Tonight's game was a perfect case in point as to why the Milwaukee Admirals are the best team in the West division.

It was a weird game from the get-go, and the Admirals showed poise even after Patrick O'Sullivan scored a pretty breakaway goal in the third period, followed by a scrappy goal by Warren Peters. Milwaukee tied the game less than a minute later, and I don't even think the Aeros had five shots after that.

Several players stood out to me with poor games tonight, but Anton wasn't one of them. He wasn't great or good, just incredibly unlucky as three of Milwaukee's goals went off of Aeros players. I think the only real poor goal was the game-winner as he lost sight of a rebound.

Anton fell to 1-6-1-1 all time against the Admirals, and this was the first time he ever received four goals in his favor. Bad things just happen when he plays against this team in the regular season, and tonight was just another example of that.

The team is a lot more fun to cover when they win, so I sure hope this three losses in four games is just a fluke. Mike Yeo held the players for more than 20 minutes after this game and politely declined to give specifics on what was said.

I guess we'll see if any of it hits home Friday against Texas.

Here is an updated look at the down the stretch standings for the rest of the regular season. Please click on the image for better look.

Aeros vs. Admirals - 2/22/11

Some pre-game thoughts I would like to share with you ...

I sent a note over to Mike Yeo asking if he'd tell me who he planned to start in goal tonight against the Admirals. If I were lucky enough to make such decisions, I go with Hackett. He has been decent of late, and I would like to see how the kid performs in a third straight, high-pressure situation.

But that is not the main reason I want to see him. I don't want Anton on the ice on the other side of the Milwaukee Admirals. His luck against Milwaukee has been atrocious. Sure, he won four of seven in the playoffs in 2009. I give him credit for that. He was very good in the four wins (4 GA), but he was very poor in the three losses (the Aeros were outscored 16-4).

I am sure Yeo knows this, but Anton has just one win in eight regular-season appearances against the Admirals (1-5-1-1). That victory came via shootout earlier this year. But most of these seven losses were not exactly HIS fault. In his last six regular season appearances against Milwaukee, the Aeros have scored just five regulation goals. That is why I say he has just had incredibly bad luck against Milwaukee.

Now for some good news: in four of those losses, Dekanich has been the opposing goalie. That guy will be in Columbus tonight for the Blue Jackets' game against Nashville. The Admirals have to choose between a guy that literally stole two points from the Aeros last Friday (Jeremy Smith) and a guy that has played just four times since the middle of December (Anders Lindback).

My rotation for the Aeros this week would be Hackett tonight and Saturday; Anton Friday and Sunday.

I just got a note from Yeo; Anton is getting the nod tonight against the first-place Admirals. To be fair, he has played well against Milwaukee. He has never allowed more than three goals against them in the regular season and six of the eight have been decided by one goal. History suggests that he'll win if he allows one or fewer. He better be on his game tonight.

It all starts tonight against Milwaukee

I hate the Milwaukee Admirals. I know I am supposed to be impartial, etc., but I hate them because they are always good, they have a great coach, excellent goaltending and Nashville is probably the smartest team in the NHL when it comes to evaluating young talent.

And, the Admirals are going to enter the playoffs as THE team to beat out of the Western conference.

Tonight, the Aeros start a stretch against those Admirals where they will playing outside Texas just once in their next 18 games. For the next month and a half, they'll play three sets of three in threes, but seven of those games are at home and only once (this weekend when they go to OKC) will they have a disadvantage due to travel.

The Aeros passed all the tests they needed to pass to set themselves up for a very nice finish. In their last 14 games at Toyota Center, the Aeros are 10-3-0-1 (21 points). If they can duplicate that between now on the end of this 18 game stretch, they're going in as a No. 1 or 2 seed. If they win eight of them, I think that will be enough to get them into the playoffs.

But it won't be easy.

We have an intelligent, yet rogue commenter by the name of ICEVET who continues to point out how poorly the Aeros are on the power play and how they are near the top of the league in allowing shorthanded goals.

ICEVET is right in that the PP is very weak ... The PP needs to improve, if not thrive during this stretch of games.

Also, the Aeros have had a TON of success against both Texas and Oklahoma City this year. Trends and the law of averages suggests those teams are due for a few wins against the Aeros, and they play those two teams a combined six times during this stretch.

The Aeros will have to keep beating those teams and find a way to score more power play goals. And ... they are going to have to get better goaltending.

The team does seem to have those "intangibles" going for them so far. While not particularly great in any one area, they do enough to keep themselves in games and get two points. They have a great record in OT and shootouts and the Jon DiSalvatore/Patrick O'Sullivan combo has been very good.

DiSalvatore has points in five straight (2+3=5) and 14 of 16 (6+12=18) to lead the way. O'Sullivan has points in 13 of the 15 games he has played since joining the team (9+7=16) and has kept the power play from sliding all the way to the league's underbelly.

Since December, I have said if the team can just hang in there until late Feb. they'd be going to the postseason. Beyond losing a couple of key guys to injury or call-up, I still feel that way. They did what they needed to do to set things up for them. It's all there for the taking.

Now they just need to get it done. And it all starts tonight against Milwaukee.

(Click on the image below to see a schedule breakdown of the seven teams in the West fighting for five playoffs spots)

Scandella reassigned, photos from last night

So, as you might have cleverly guessed from the subject, Marco Scandella has been cleared by the docs to return to game action. He was hit in the ear/side of head with a puck a while back in Minny, and it rung his bell a bit.

Now that Zidlicky is healthy and Spurgeon has, for all intents and purposes, cemented a spot up there, Scandella's the odd man out. But with Cuma out, the timing is fantastic and I'm sure the team is grateful to get a guy with his talent back on the blue line. Um, sorry #4.

Pictures from last night's 5-3 win over Rockford, courtesy of Chris "Baby Got Back" Jerina.

The face of hockey right there, folks. The dentist who fixes this when his playing days are over will be able to buy a new boat on the AHL's dime.

Peters screening the goalie but Toivonen's got his eye on it.

Never realized how annoying Peters is to goalies. It's a dangerous proposition from the back and the front, if you notice where that puck is headed....

Bang. Hackett gets his stick on it. Cool shot.

Kinda love this little cat and mouse game goalies and skaters play around the net.

Rau's reaction to his goal. Neat shot with the ref signaling in there.

Check out the rest of the photos, particularly on page 4, where you can see a series showing Ortmeyer battling for that empty net goal. Cool stuff. Thanks again, Chris!

Ice Pigs bust the Aeros slump in 5-3 win

No thanks to AHL Live, I think you pretty much had to be there in person to see the game tonight. Luckily our Eye on the Midwest, Chris Jerina, was there shooting the game.

He told me the Aeros played "their game" the full 60 minutes and there were some tremendous efforts by various players.

First was DiSalvatore's goal to get the Aeros on the board first. He said it was a Bobby Orr type of diving goal and he wasn't kidding. Assists to Prosser and O'Sullivan. Here's his pic of it:

It's goalie porn, too! Way to multitask, Chris! Shazam! (Photo by Chris Jerina)

Falk tallied 5 minutes later with help from McMillan and Gillies. And then with just a few seconds left in the first, the Hogs got one past Hackett.

No problem though, as Noreau scored just one minute into the first, from Earl and Palmer. Unfortunately, the Hogs answered 3:30 later to put it 3-2.

Rockford tied it at 5:50 in the third and from there, I thought Andrew was going to be right in his prediction that this game was going to land in the Blown Lead Tracker to the right.

But Chad Rau called shenanigans on that nonsense (helpers from Earl and Falk---I have to wonder if this is Falk's first 2 point game?) and nabbed the game winner midway through the third. Rockford pulled Toivonen for the extra man, and Ortmeyer, through an apparently Herculean effort, potted an empty net goal to seal it up.

The Icehogs tweeted: "All the fans seem to be heading to the bathrooom?" at this point. Haha. Okay, it's over.

Anyway, good to get the win, and the Aeros remain tied in first place, but now it's with Milwaukee, who shut out Peoria tonight. But it's even better to hear that the boys played like we (and they) know they can.

But it's against the division's basement dwellers, so while it counts for sure, Tuesday's home game against Milwaukee is going to be huge for both teams. HUGE, I tell ya!

(AND I'M GONNA MISS IT!!! Don't be like me. Be there!)

Bye-Bye, Cody

Due to an injury with Mikko Koivu, Cody Almond has been called up to the Aeros. And according to Michael Russo, Almond was told to bring his warbrobe because it's going to be a long stay.

Pics from 1/18 Milwaukee game

Okay, a fresh day and a good 12 hours since I was yelling obscenities at my laptop screen... maybe I can say a few things.

One thing Chris Jerina, who shot the game for us, pointed out to me was that Buck was in for Daoust last night. I haven't checked with the team to see if this was a healthy scratch or not, but I'm going to assume it was, since he played the night before. (Artandhockey says Joe might have said he was injured last night...)

Even though this personnel shift didn't have an effect on the scoreboard, I believe it was overdue. JM was good enough last season to earn a 2-way NHL deal, but for whatever reason, is not the same player this year. I'm always hesitant to unload both barrels when I see this happen because maybe there's an injury or something going on.

But what I see is Robbie Earl setting him up time and again and Daoust just not doing anything with it. I see him throw a few hits a game, usually after plays like this, and I feel like they're just to make it look good. I dunno. JM's such a nice guy, I don't wanna be a dick, but he was thisclose to a "Dear JM" letter from me. I'll put it in my back pocket for now, but I hope we start to see Earl's hard work rewarded by his linemates sooner than later. It would make tremendous difference to convert on some of those opportunities.

/difficult talk

Anyway, here's pics from the game, courtesy of Chris "I Got Your Credential Right Here" Jerina. Thanks as always for the great stuff, Chris!

Wee! Love a good snow shower. 

Noreau throwing a pretty hip check (channeling Cuma?), but unfortunately got a penalty for it. Second time this season I've seen AHL refs call a penalty on a clean hip check. Maybe it's a dying art because guys are tired of going to the box for it.

Love this. Shows how damned hard it is to be a goalie in the AHL, but also I admire Smith's restraint for not just nutting Almond right there. So effective, but so verboten.

Earl's shootout goal. You can see the puck in the upper glove side corner of the net. Also, Smitty... nice and bendy. Rawr.

The shootout shot that made steam come out of my ears. Straight up the middle, knew right where it was coming. Can of corn for Smith. And it wasn't the only shot like this from the Aeros.

Oh look! 

*grumble*

Scouting note on Smith: He's just teasing you with that 5-hole. Get him moving.

Couple of glamour shots because I like those:

McMillan warming up. Cool perspective.

Your mother and I wish you'd wear more neck protection. Just sayin'. 

Anyway, here are the rest of them for your viewing pleasure. Some fun ones in there. Thanks again, Chris!

Knowing when to shut up is a virtue

So, the Aeros lost in a shootout to the Milwaukee Admirals. The tight game was 1-1 until the Aeros lost the shootout 2 goals to MKE's 3. Joe O'Donnell, which is what I'm calling Patrick O'Sullivan now because his name comes to me more readily, had the only goal.

I watched the last few minutes plus OT, plus the shootout. But I was so annoyed by offensive effort in the shootout, I can barely type. Which tells me I'm wayyyy too much in irrational fan mode to recap this game appropriately.

Let's just say, Aeros shooters may want to try shooting in the space around the goalie rather than right into his belly. I don't think Smith even had to move to on two of the last 3 shots.

Anyway, the Aeros walk away with the Thanks for Playing point and maintain a tenuous grasp on first place, tied with (but behind) San Antonio, who beat Syracuse 4-2 tonight (in Ray Emery's first game back).

That is all! Happy Saturday!