DiSalvatore and Prosser Called Up To Wild

One of the things John Torchetti was lamenting after last night's 2-1 OT win over the Rampage was just the lack of continuity with the Aeros.  What with the injuries and call-ups, it seems as if the Aeros have new players, new line combinations, and new lineups seemingly every game, which makes it difficult for the guys to settle into patterns and learn the tendencies of their linemates.

It was hoped last night, what with some guys having been recently returned, and four days between games, that the Torchetti would be able to get the actual Aeros out on the ice, get lines back to what they were supposed to be when the season started, and get some continuity to the team. 

That's not how things are going to be however. 

Jared Spurgeon was knocked out of the Wild lineup last night be a vicious hit into the boards, so the phone call came down to Houston.  On their way to St. Paul are Jon DiSalvatore and Nate Prosser.  David McIntyre tweeted last night that he hopes to return to the lineup soon, but otherwise, there may be some more guys from the ECHL/CHL joining the team this week.

For you Wild fans, be nice to DiSalvatore.  He's the team captain, and he does all of the little things that help your team win. This year, he's been sacrificing points so as to get the dirty, unrewarded stuff handled, and he's a great locker room guy.  Here's a piece I wrote on him for AHL.com about a month ago.

And if there's anything we can ask for the New Year, it's that the Wild get healthy and become, once again, the Minnesota Wild, and not the Minnesota Aeros as I've seen them referenced in some places, because that will be for the better of both clubs.

Aeros Defeat Rampage 2-1 (IN OVERTIME!!!!!)

The Aeros did the unthinkable tonight.  They got the overtime win.

That's right.  You read that correctly.  The Aeros got the overtime win tonight, defeating the San Antonio Rampage 2-1 for their first OT win since March 15, 2011.  And boy, did it feel good.

"It's not even the New Year yet, so that's a good sign," head coach John Torchetti said shortly after the victory.   A victory powered by a pretty Jeff Taffe goal at 1:03 of the OT that came from the left of goalie Jacob Markstrom and was set up by a beautiful Jon DiSalvatore cross-ice pass from down low.

The Aeros tied the game in a most improbable fashion, scoring on the power play at 13:40 of the third period, Chad Rau taking a rebound and lifting it over the shoulder of Markstrom.

"It was good to see our power play," Torchetti said.  "It did a good job, got a big goal.  Got us back in the game, changed momentum.  I thought we played more of our style in the third."

The lone goal for the Rampage came at 3:31 of of the second period when San Antonio's Michael Caruso at mid-ice, hit the puck off of a stanchion and the puck flew past Hackett.  It was one of the goals that can kill a team, and in weeks past, it probably would have killed the spirits of the Aeros, but the veterans were back from Minnesota, and they were out in full force, as if willing the team to victory.

"Our leadership was fantastic tonight down at the end.  All of our leaders played huge roles.  Ortmeyer, Almond.  Strong penalty kill.  [Hackett] played big, Hack kept us in the game in the first."

The Aeros (17-6-2-7, 43 points) moved back into second place of the AHL's West Division with the win, bypassing the idle Abbotsford Heat, and they're one point behind the first place Oklahoma City Barons.  The Aeros return to action when they travel to San Antonio to face the Rampage on Friday night.  The Aeros return to Houston next year when they host the Barons on Sunday, January 1, 2012 at 5:05.

Taking A Look Back

The Houston Press loves it in when I do lists.  So for today's post, I take a look back at the year in Aeros hockey in list form.  Hopefully you'll enjoy it, and hopefully, it'll bring back some good memories.  (And yes, I use a photo from the bikini contest to open the post, but that's because I know that, with most readers at the press, a woman in a bikini is going to grab their attention, and I want readers).

So give it a read, let me know over there if I forgot anything, and let's see everybody tonight at Toyota Center.

Some Prodigal Sons Return

It's a Christmas Miracle...the Wild have reassigned Jed Ortmeyer and Jeff Taffe to the Aeros.  This means that a) either the Wild are actually getting healthy, or b) they're going to try some different Aeros next week.

Aeros return to action on Monday night when they host San Antonio at 7:05.

Guns And Hoses

I heard someone ask last night about the Guns And Hoses intermission contest, and they wanted to know when it was scheduled.  Well, the annual tug-a-war on ice between Houston area fire and police departments will be this coming Monday night.

And The Winner Is: The Bikini Contest Part Two

So here are the pictures from the second intermission, in which Miss Aero was crowned. Personally, I'm in lust with the young lady in the first photo, and I could swear that I remember her from last year's contest (yep, that's her on the far left of photo one). The winner is crowned in photo four, and poses with Chilly and the former Miss Aero in the final photo.

And what do you know? Heather was wrong. The winner wasn't a tall, leggy blonde.

View from the Press Box - Texas 3, Aeros 2

I thought the Aeros were going to send this one to overtime. They created, they buzzed, and they even worked a few passes up to the point.

But Tyler Beskorowany played a tremendous period and hockey game, sending the Aeros to back-to-back regulation losses for just the second time this season.

I thought the Aeros were OK in the first, and even though the shots favored the Stars, the Aeros won that period. Different story in the second.

Three huge, egregious mistakes cost the Aeros any chance of winning the middle frame. Cody Almond scored a pretty short-handed goal to give the Aeros their second lead of the game, but the last four minutes of the period were so horrific that ... that ... well, I will let Torchetti tell you how it went.

"We gave up one goal (the first one) behind the net; we had the puck twice right there. On the second goal, we were in the neutral zone, we went for a home run play,which we never do. Then on the third one, it's another neutral zone play, we needed to pull up there, but we didn't, and that made it a 3-on-2 off the shot and we lost our coverage. Just details, and it cost us two points tonight."

That pretty much sums it up right there.

Another point I would like to make is that the Aeros just keep playing worse the longer this injury saga lasts with the mother team.

Torchetti will not use that as an excuse; he just says that the players getting those minutes need to play better mentally. Well, they don't, and it gets to the point where Torchetti says, "OK, no more free ice."

I guess we'll see come Monday, but who can you afford to sit when Taffe, Wellman, Peters, Ortmeyer and Palmer are all more than 1,000 miles away?

Cody Almond's Shortie In Photos

The Aeros may have lost 3-2 tonight, but Cody Almond got them a short 2-1 lead at 16:06 of the second period on a sick short-handed goal. And as luck has it -- trust me, it was luck -- I have the photos of the goal.

I've got to go now, they're trying to pull the Toyota Center wi-fi on us, so look for more Bikini Contest photos later, and Heather should be writing a story on the game which will be posted later, as well.

Part One Of The Bikini Contest

Yes, tonight was the Miss Aeros Bikini Night Contest. And here are the photos from the first round of the contest. As Heather mentioned on Twitter, there was a "wardrobe malfunction" and I did get a photo of it. But I'm a gentlemen and I won't post it, despite the urging of Heather.

FYI: Check out the third photo and see if you can figure out what Chilly's looking at.

I'll post the photos of the winner, and of Cody Almond's sick second period short-handed goal later tonight.

Rampage goalie gets down en route to 4-2 win

I know many of you do not have Twitter, so I am going to share this on our blog. The AHL is full of great characters, and we have several good ones on the Aeros (Matt Kassian, for example) ... But Jacob Markstrom  might be an instant celebrity thanks to this video from San Antonio's 4-2 win over Texas on Sunday.

Watch, enjoy and be sure to give him the business on 12/26 when the Rampage visit next Monday.