Well, all you folks (like me) who expected the Wild to call up Cuma or Bagnall to replace yet another concussed defenseman in Marek Zidlicky would be wrong.
Instead of taking the obvious route, they decided to do what they should have done in the offseason and sign Kris Fredheim to a 2-way NHL contract. And then they immediately called him up, and he is likely to make his NHL debut tomorrow night in Minnesota.
It's an interesting choice by the Wild, but it was nice to see a tweet from his d-partner, Cuma, sincerely congratulating him. No doubt the decision stings a little for Cuma.
It's in the comments as well, but Wellman was returned to Houston, so the Wild still have Prosser, Peters, and now Fredheim.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
View from the PressBox - Aeros 5, Charlotte 2
The score should actually read, AHL Schedule 1, Charlotte 0. As for the scoresheet, go ahead and give the goal to Jon DiSalvatore, who scored twice while playing for AHL Schedule. As for the first assist, well give that to Mother Nature, who surely hates us all for the 81-degree temperature and 150-percent humidity.
As for the second assist, just give it to Tim Tebow, who for some unexplained reason keeps leading the Denver Broncos to wins. All I can say is man, there are a LOT of bad teams in the AFC this year ... but I digress.
Torchetti wasn't exactly thrilled with the game Sunday. He basically said that he hopes that there is a nasty bug going around to make the team play selfishly and not on point. (Jeff Taffe did miss the game due to illness, by the way.) His best quote was, "Points don't get you to the NHL, team defense does."
Here we are 15 games into the season, and most people have to be thrilled with the balanced offensive attack. But what is lacking is any sort of consistent discipline and the kind of defense that will make a team one to be feared in the playoffs.
Look, the Wild are banged up right now, and the Aeros are missing a few guys due to recall and injury and illness. Something tells me the Aeros need to get things right before the weekend, because a home and home series against Texas will start on Friday.
The Stars are winless in three straight and will be working their asses off all week with just about one goal in mind.
And the Aeros, depleted or not, better be ready for that no matter who is in or out of the lineup. Like Torch said, a sound defensive game gets you to the NHL ... not whatever it was the Aeros were trying to do for the second half of Sunday's game.
To be fair, it is nice that the team can play like that, make a the coach a bit uneasy and still find a way to win 5-2. The Aeros are a good team, and just a few tune-ups are needed to make this team an AHL powerhouse.
But, just as easily, things could go the other way if a selfish mentality continues to penetrate a sound, defensively structure.
Now, back to your regularly scheduled Sunday evening.
As for the second assist, just give it to Tim Tebow, who for some unexplained reason keeps leading the Denver Broncos to wins. All I can say is man, there are a LOT of bad teams in the AFC this year ... but I digress.
Torchetti wasn't exactly thrilled with the game Sunday. He basically said that he hopes that there is a nasty bug going around to make the team play selfishly and not on point. (Jeff Taffe did miss the game due to illness, by the way.) His best quote was, "Points don't get you to the NHL, team defense does."
Here we are 15 games into the season, and most people have to be thrilled with the balanced offensive attack. But what is lacking is any sort of consistent discipline and the kind of defense that will make a team one to be feared in the playoffs.
Look, the Wild are banged up right now, and the Aeros are missing a few guys due to recall and injury and illness. Something tells me the Aeros need to get things right before the weekend, because a home and home series against Texas will start on Friday.
The Stars are winless in three straight and will be working their asses off all week with just about one goal in mind.
And the Aeros, depleted or not, better be ready for that no matter who is in or out of the lineup. Like Torch said, a sound defensive game gets you to the NHL ... not whatever it was the Aeros were trying to do for the second half of Sunday's game.
To be fair, it is nice that the team can play like that, make a the coach a bit uneasy and still find a way to win 5-2. The Aeros are a good team, and just a few tune-ups are needed to make this team an AHL powerhouse.
But, just as easily, things could go the other way if a selfish mentality continues to penetrate a sound, defensively structure.
Now, back to your regularly scheduled Sunday evening.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Matt Kassian, Twitter Super Star
I've got a piece in the mothership today on Matt Kassian in which we discuss his funny and fantastic twitter feed. So go read it.
But I spoke with him last Sunday about a some other things, primarily his return to Houston after starting the season with the Wild, and I thought I would use this post to share those thoughts.
"The message [from Mike Yeo] is to keep working," Kassian said. "It’s kind of a difficult situation for me. It’s obviously disappointing, and you want to be there, but at the same time, I’m coming down here with a group of guys who have already done a fantastic job this season. And the coaching staff has done a fantastic job this season. You know you’re going down. You can look at it two ways. You can either be frustrated and angry and disappointed, or you can try to make the best of it. I’m back down here now, and it’s not where I want to be. But it’s not like I was out in the first two days of training camp. It’s another step forward for me. I was there for a reason, and I stayed around for a reason. It wasn’t like they didn’t like me and weren’t happy with what I was doing. So it’s just about working hard and getting back here. I’m excited to be here. It’s been my home for a few years, and I have a lot of friends and some family down here."
So there you go. Read the post in the Press if you get the chance. And if you're not already, give Kassian a follow on Twitter. It's well worth the time.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
So, About That Game With The Heat
The Aeros got the loss tonight, their second in a row, losing 5-3 to the Abbotsford Heat led by head coach Troy Ward, assistant coach Luke Strand, and forward Krys Kolanos -- notice the Aeros connection.
The Aeros actually played a good first period of hockey, and they had some quality shot attempts, but they just couldn't get the puck in the net. But they also suffered the loss of defenseman Elgin Reid on a boarding call early in the first period. And since it was his head that went off the wall, one would expect to see a five minute penalty. And one would expect wrong as the offending Heat player got only two minutes.
Jeff Taffe and John Torchetti were quick to remind the officials #42 Danny Burchell and #42 Jarrod Ragusin of that in the second period when some calls were missed, but the result was back-to-back unsportsmanlike penalties. Penalties which surprised Torchetti because he's never seen unsportsmanlike penalties given out for asking questions, especially when there is no profanity involved. But this is the AHL, and the AHL isn't exactly known for good officiating.
The penalties led to two goals for the Heat which put the game out of reach, despite a furious comeback in the final minutes which found the Aeros get to 4-3 with :57 remaining the in game. But sometimes deficits are just too hard to make up, and Abbotsford got the empty netter just before the horn to make it 5-3.
Torchetti took the blame for this loss, noting that he was the one who got the second unsportsmanlike penalty.
There was no word, after the game, on the status of Reid, but he did not return to the game after being knocked out of the game early in the first period.
The Aeros are off until Sunday afternoon when they host the Charlotte Checkers at 5:05 (and I the only one getting tired of the constant Sunday home games).
The Aeros actually played a good first period of hockey, and they had some quality shot attempts, but they just couldn't get the puck in the net. But they also suffered the loss of defenseman Elgin Reid on a boarding call early in the first period. And since it was his head that went off the wall, one would expect to see a five minute penalty. And one would expect wrong as the offending Heat player got only two minutes.
Jeff Taffe and John Torchetti were quick to remind the officials #42 Danny Burchell and #42 Jarrod Ragusin of that in the second period when some calls were missed, but the result was back-to-back unsportsmanlike penalties. Penalties which surprised Torchetti because he's never seen unsportsmanlike penalties given out for asking questions, especially when there is no profanity involved. But this is the AHL, and the AHL isn't exactly known for good officiating.
The penalties led to two goals for the Heat which put the game out of reach, despite a furious comeback in the final minutes which found the Aeros get to 4-3 with :57 remaining the in game. But sometimes deficits are just too hard to make up, and Abbotsford got the empty netter just before the horn to make it 5-3.
Torchetti took the blame for this loss, noting that he was the one who got the second unsportsmanlike penalty.
There was no word, after the game, on the status of Reid, but he did not return to the game after being knocked out of the game early in the first period.
The Aeros are off until Sunday afternoon when they host the Charlotte Checkers at 5:05 (and I the only one getting tired of the constant Sunday home games).
Monday, November 7, 2011
Peters to The Wild
Guess what, kids. The injury bug appears to be alive and well with the Wild yet again. As a result, Warren Peters is on his way to join the Wild.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
View from the Press Box; Aeros killed Sunday
View from the Press Box is the same view everyone else had. First 5-6 minutes were good, and the rest of the game was crap.
It was turnover city, and the Marlies capitalized time and time again in a 6-2 drubbing of the home team.
While it's easy to say now, it just looked like the Aeros thought they could just dipsy doodle past a Toronto team that has been struggling lately. After they scored their first power play goal in the first period, the Aeros clicked on the cruise control and paid dearly.
How to fix this?
Well, for starters, it will be nice to have Jed Ortmeyer back on Thursday. Also, I did not see Hackett on the bench tonight, so I can only assume that he was sick and unavailable to backup.
Torchetti said the Aeros went from their best hockey game to their worst in a matter of two days. Don't turn the puck over, don't be lazy, work hard, and things will be fine.
Abbottsford is a good hockey team with a great goaltender.
The Aeros have three days to get ready for their first "biggest division matchup" of the season.
It was turnover city, and the Marlies capitalized time and time again in a 6-2 drubbing of the home team.
While it's easy to say now, it just looked like the Aeros thought they could just dipsy doodle past a Toronto team that has been struggling lately. After they scored their first power play goal in the first period, the Aeros clicked on the cruise control and paid dearly.
How to fix this?
Well, for starters, it will be nice to have Jed Ortmeyer back on Thursday. Also, I did not see Hackett on the bench tonight, so I can only assume that he was sick and unavailable to backup.
Torchetti said the Aeros went from their best hockey game to their worst in a matter of two days. Don't turn the puck over, don't be lazy, work hard, and things will be fine.
Abbottsford is a good hockey team with a great goaltender.
The Aeros have three days to get ready for their first "biggest division matchup" of the season.
Ortmeyer Suspended
The AHL has just announced that Jed Ortmeyer has been suspended for one game because of an illegal check to the head on Friday night in Hamilton. He will miss this afternoon's game against Toronto.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Recapping Lake Erie and Hamilton away WINS
So, y'all... the Aeros are pretty good.
Scary good.
Scary in the sense that it all seems too easy right now and teams that cruise from the start rarely seem to be cruising by the end. Maybe Hershey a couple of seasons ago. I dunno. Just sorta makes me nervous.
Now, if you follow us on Twitter, maybe you caught my live tweeting of the game in Cleveland against the Lake Erie Monsters Thursday night.
It was the last game of a 9 day trip where I went to a hockey game on 8 of those 9 days, and this game was the only bad one. Mainly because Lake Erie is just a really bad team and it hurts to watch them. And I say that with 2 live games at Quicken Loans Arena under my belt on this trip. I won't go into the gritty details because it'll just come across as mean, but take my word for it.
When I saw them play Syracuse the week before, they got lit up 7-0, with goalie Trevor Cann getting run after 6 goals. It was like watching an ECHL team play an AHL team.
It was so bad, I was actually disappointed the Aeros got scored on much at all when they played them last night. But Mr. C summed it up best: The Aeros got up 2 goals early and cruised the rest of the way.
There was urgency and beautiful hockey for stretches, but also occasional periods of lackadaisical play that burned them pretty much every time. Even with some really big saves by Hackett (The Kid just gets better and better), Lake Erie put 3 on the board.
DiSalvatore scored just seconds into the opening frame, then Ortmeyer got a nice one midway through the first. It was strong period, top to bottom, but they came out for the second with their B-game and the Monsters capitalized early to get within 1.
Warren Peters scored on the power play late in the 2nd to get some insurance and then the Aeros went up 4-1 early in the third with a goal from McIntyre, his 6th of the season.
From there, Lake Erie scored a couple of goals, but not without Taffe putting his mark on the game (for the second time, really, as he assisted on Peters' goal) with his 4th of the season to make the final 5-3.
The Aeros are just so easy, breezy with this system after playing it all last season and then really putting it through the ringer in the playoffs, I still just find it odd to watch an Aeros team succeed like this and make it look relatively easy. I mean, don't change a thing, boys, but still. It's an odd phenomenon this early in the season.
Tonight, I didn't watch so I can't speak to the effort level it took to beat the Hamilton Bulldogs 4-2, but knowing the Bulldogs, it wasn't the cake walk Lake Erie appeared to be.
Still, it was a strong first period, putting up 11 shots to the Bulldogs' 4. But no goals in the frame.
The Dogs scored first, early in the second, with the Aeros answering just a few minutes later on a power play goal from DiSalvatore.
From there, the Aeros scored 2 more unanswered goals (Fontaine from Bagnall and Reid; Peters from Taffe and Wellman [PP]) and the Bulldogs, in spite of an additional power play goal with a 2-man advantage late in the third, couldn't close the gap.
Palmer got his first of the year with an empty netter from Cody Almond, who made his season debut tonight after recovering from a back injury. The final was 4-2 for Houston.
Day off tomorrow as the boys head back to Houston. Then they're back at it Sunday against the Marlies, who are off to a hot start this season, leading the North Division. Now, I can't say whether that's because they're that good or because they've been playing Lake Erie so much.... but either way, it's a good litmus test for the Aeros.
Meanwhile, the boys in the bomber sweaters have 19 points, which leads the division, the conference and the league in points, and have a league leading 8-1-0-3 record. Darn those shootouts!
(Oh, and to recap a little news that may or may not have been posted here yet, Matt Kassian cleared waivers and is being assigned to Houston. Hide your rooster figurines.)
See you Sunday, gang.
Scary good.
Scary in the sense that it all seems too easy right now and teams that cruise from the start rarely seem to be cruising by the end. Maybe Hershey a couple of seasons ago. I dunno. Just sorta makes me nervous.
Now, if you follow us on Twitter, maybe you caught my live tweeting of the game in Cleveland against the Lake Erie Monsters Thursday night.
It was the last game of a 9 day trip where I went to a hockey game on 8 of those 9 days, and this game was the only bad one. Mainly because Lake Erie is just a really bad team and it hurts to watch them. And I say that with 2 live games at Quicken Loans Arena under my belt on this trip. I won't go into the gritty details because it'll just come across as mean, but take my word for it.
When I saw them play Syracuse the week before, they got lit up 7-0, with goalie Trevor Cann getting run after 6 goals. It was like watching an ECHL team play an AHL team.
It was so bad, I was actually disappointed the Aeros got scored on much at all when they played them last night. But Mr. C summed it up best: The Aeros got up 2 goals early and cruised the rest of the way.
There was urgency and beautiful hockey for stretches, but also occasional periods of lackadaisical play that burned them pretty much every time. Even with some really big saves by Hackett (The Kid just gets better and better), Lake Erie put 3 on the board.
DiSalvatore scored just seconds into the opening frame, then Ortmeyer got a nice one midway through the first. It was strong period, top to bottom, but they came out for the second with their B-game and the Monsters capitalized early to get within 1.
Warren Peters scored on the power play late in the 2nd to get some insurance and then the Aeros went up 4-1 early in the third with a goal from McIntyre, his 6th of the season.
From there, Lake Erie scored a couple of goals, but not without Taffe putting his mark on the game (for the second time, really, as he assisted on Peters' goal) with his 4th of the season to make the final 5-3.
The Aeros are just so easy, breezy with this system after playing it all last season and then really putting it through the ringer in the playoffs, I still just find it odd to watch an Aeros team succeed like this and make it look relatively easy. I mean, don't change a thing, boys, but still. It's an odd phenomenon this early in the season.
Tonight, I didn't watch so I can't speak to the effort level it took to beat the Hamilton Bulldogs 4-2, but knowing the Bulldogs, it wasn't the cake walk Lake Erie appeared to be.
Still, it was a strong first period, putting up 11 shots to the Bulldogs' 4. But no goals in the frame.
The Dogs scored first, early in the second, with the Aeros answering just a few minutes later on a power play goal from DiSalvatore.
From there, the Aeros scored 2 more unanswered goals (Fontaine from Bagnall and Reid; Peters from Taffe and Wellman [PP]) and the Bulldogs, in spite of an additional power play goal with a 2-man advantage late in the third, couldn't close the gap.
Palmer got his first of the year with an empty netter from Cody Almond, who made his season debut tonight after recovering from a back injury. The final was 4-2 for Houston.
Day off tomorrow as the boys head back to Houston. Then they're back at it Sunday against the Marlies, who are off to a hot start this season, leading the North Division. Now, I can't say whether that's because they're that good or because they've been playing Lake Erie so much.... but either way, it's a good litmus test for the Aeros.
Meanwhile, the boys in the bomber sweaters have 19 points, which leads the division, the conference and the league in points, and have a league leading 8-1-0-3 record. Darn those shootouts!
(Oh, and to recap a little news that may or may not have been posted here yet, Matt Kassian cleared waivers and is being assigned to Houston. Hide your rooster figurines.)
See you Sunday, gang.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Quick Roster Notes
Per Wild beat writer Michael Russo, the Wild have placed Matt Kassian on waivers with the intent of returning him to the Aeros. Also per Russo, Marco Scandella and Justin Falk were told they could move out of the team hotel and find some more permanent housing in the Twin Cities area, so it looks doubtful that we'll be seeing them with the Aeros this season.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Jordan Hendry blows town for la Suisse
As Chris Jerina first reported on a comment to this blog, Aeros defenseman Jordan Hendry is now a former Aeros defenseman. Hendry, who signed a one-way deal with the Aeros before the regular season, will play in the Swiss A league for HC Lugano. I don't recognize too many names on his new team, with the exception of former Aero and Calder Cup champion Hnat Domenichelli and Rob Niedermayer.
Swiss A is a place where all good AAA hockey player's dreams can come true. Candy grows on trees, most of the pretty women there shave, and the teams ride mounted unicorns to their games.
Ten games into his Aeros career, Hendry had but two helpers, but his +/- was an impressive plus 8.
That kind of experience will be hard to replace, so we'll have to see what Torchetti does with the lineup. The natural fit might be F/D Mike Hoffman. And it might be some other dman in the ECHL, and it might be no one.
In other news, expect Cody Almond to join the Aeros soon. He is healthy enough to play and will be, what Aeros fans hope, is a good addition to the roster. Also, Brett Bulmer was sent back to his junior team, and as far as I know, no Aeros player has been recalled to take his place just yet.
Not sure they need to at this point, but we'll try to keep you posted.
Swiss A is a place where all good AAA hockey player's dreams can come true. Candy grows on trees, most of the pretty women there shave, and the teams ride mounted unicorns to their games.
Ten games into his Aeros career, Hendry had but two helpers, but his +/- was an impressive plus 8.
That kind of experience will be hard to replace, so we'll have to see what Torchetti does with the lineup. The natural fit might be F/D Mike Hoffman. And it might be some other dman in the ECHL, and it might be no one.
In other news, expect Cody Almond to join the Aeros soon. He is healthy enough to play and will be, what Aeros fans hope, is a good addition to the roster. Also, Brett Bulmer was sent back to his junior team, and as far as I know, no Aeros player has been recalled to take his place just yet.
Not sure they need to at this point, but we'll try to keep you posted.
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