The 0-2 Aeros have a week to think about it.

Matt Hackett makes a save against the Rampage on Sunday.
-- photo courtesy of San Antonio Rampage

When you are lucky enough to work more than 500 games as a sports reporter, you start to notice trends after awhile.

One of those trends for me is how teams react to losses, streaks and other parts of the game that non sports people may view as trivial.

Many times over the years, when a team I have covered loses a bad game, a player has stated his desire to want to get right back out there and "put it behind him."

In other words, players generally like when there is another game right away for the chance to make amends.But when you lose on a Sunday in the AHL, many times you have to wait at least four days for another crack, and that is the case this week for the Aeros.

They are 0-2 with two regulation losses for just the third time in franchise history. Two other times, they've lost both games to start the year, but they at least got a point in one of the games by getting to overtime.

Prior to this year, the Aeros started 2-0 in three of the last four years, so Aeros fans had been spoiled recently with good stars. I guess the good news is that 0-2 starts are very rare for the Aeros. The bad news is that the other two 0-2 Aeros teams failed to make the playoffs.

Those two teams each needed seven games to record their first win, and I think it's very likely the Aeros will win at least one of their games next weekend. Right now it would be silly to hit the panic button. You can wait to do that next Monday, if the results don't pan out this week.

Not surprisingly, the most common two-game start for the Aeros is a win and a loss. That has happened 10 times in 19 years. The perfect 2-0 starts have only happened four times, which is as rare as two losses (two in OT) to start the year.

I know the Aeros wish they could get right back out there and try again, but they'll have a few practices to work out the kinks before they take on the perfect 2-0 Texas Stars.

And on another note, I continue to detect a lot of unfair criticism toward Matt Hackett. In no way can he be blamed for the two "Ls" this weekend. If you lose a 6-5 game, you can blame the D and the goalies, but Hackett only gave up four goals in two games. The second goal he gave up in San Antonio was entirely his fault, but other than that, I thought he played quite well this weekend.

This is a big year for Hackett, who wants to be in the NHL full time next year.

View from the Pressbox: Aeros fall short on opening night.

If you were at Toyota Center on Saturday night, surely you noticed that big, black ugly curtain covering the new scoreboard over center ice.

It's not quite ready yet, and the Rockets are going to debut that baby in a few weeks. After they do, Aeros fans are going to love that. There are even going to be a few of you who will sit at the bar in the club level, drink and watch the game on that baby.

OK, so who am I kidding ... ?

That curtain might as well have been covering up the real Aeros, too. These guys have skill, and they are just going to have to learn to play at this level and with others that have the same kind of talent. The first period was a typical opening night period.

But Charlotte is mostly intact from a year ago, and they fed off a chemistry that the Aeros don't yet have. It is going to take a few weeks for all of that to come together, and when it does, you are going to see things at Toyota Center with a hockey puck that you have not seen since Westrum, Law and O'Sullivan.

Matt Hackett was solid, and really the only truly disappointing thing to me was the power(less) play. It was atrocious.

They were great getting the puck down the ice, and then BOOM disaster between the circles.

Charlotte knew what the Aeros were doing, and they stopped it. And when the Aeros did get something going they turned the puck over.

Congrats to Brodin, who gets the Aeros first goal of the season. It will probably be Game No. 2 tomorrow before they get their first real goal. Brodin's shot went off a Charlotte defenseman and into the net.

Have to give Rau a little stick tap, too, for keeping with that and causing a little trouble over there.

That is all from Toyota Center tonight. I do with the more than 8,000 fans could have gone home a little happier. We'll see how it all works out next week when Texas pays a visit.

What were your thoughts on the game?

Tomorrow ... Opening Night is just a day away.

The Aeros are kickin' it old school this weekend

Tomorrow, the Aeros will open what very possibly could be their last season in Houston. The organization, for the last five months has been very good and consistent with their message - "We are committed to keeping the team in Houston."

I believe that, but I don't know if the building they play in seems the same way. I think they are both more committed to what makes better financial sense for each entity. Who wouldn't be? In the end, it's all about money. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

But enough of the doom and gloom; hockey season starts tomorrow when the Charlotte Checkers visit Toyota Center at 7:05.

They'll wear some old school jerseys to honor the first WHA Aeros team from 1972. (Can you believe that was 40 years ago?)

I used to have a lot of fun with predictions, but there are a lot of readers that are really bothered by predictions, so I won't drive those folks away with my own. I think the Aeros have a team capable of making the playoffs, and the Aeros two goalies are going to be a big reason why they will or they won't.

But Craig Custance (@CraigCustance) wrote a piece for ESPN Insiders that picked every team in the AHL and placed them from 1-30. I will link here to that article, but I won't post it here. I just don't think that'd be right, but I will break it down a bit for you.

He basically gives a few sentences about each team and ranks them from top to bottom - all 30 of them. I will make it easy on you and give you his predicted order of finish below. Please take these with a grain of salt, folks. The guy did this based on what each team has on paper on opening night. Every year, somebody does this for some hockey publication, and they are never even close to being right.

This is what he said about the Aeros:
Houston Aeros (Wild) -- John Torchetti's group is also loaded and as good as Ryan Suter and Zach Parise are, the development of the young prospects in Houston will determine just how successful the Wild are under GM Chuck Fletcher. This group features forwards Mikael Granlund, Charlie Coyle and Zack Phillips -- all former first-round picks. In an exhibition game last week against the Barons, Granlund scored four goals in a sign of what's to come for the Wild.

Here is his predicted order of finish for the Western Conference (overall # in parentheses):
Red = South Division / Blue = North Division / Black = Midwest Division

1) OKC Barons (1)
2) Houston Aeros (2)
3) Toronto Marlies (5)
4) Chicago Wolves (7)
5) Rochester Americans (8)
6) Charlotte Checkers (9)
7) Milwaukee Admirals (13)
8) Rockford IceHogs (14)

9) Grand Rapids Griffins (15)
10) Abbotsford Heat (20)
11) Texas Stars (23)
12) Peoria Rivermen (25)
13) Lake Erie Monsters (28)
14) Hamilton Bulldogs (29)
15) San Antonio Rampage (30)

Aeros announce opening day Roster

I will definitely share some more thoughts tomorrow, but the Aeros just released their opening day roster.

There are no surprises here, and I hope a lot of you get to attend as many games as possible this season, especially early because there is some good offensive talent on the team right now.

Other teams have it too, and by no means are the Aeros the favorite to win the division. But they will be up there, if their D and goaltending is anything at average or above.

That is all for now, but here is the roster straight from Aeros.com:



2012-13 Houston Aeros Roster:
Goalies:
G – Matt Hackett
G – Darcy Kuemper

Defensemen:
D – Drew Bagnall
D – Marco Scandella
D – Kris Fredheim
D – Brian Connelly
D – Steven Kampfer
D – Jonas Brodin
D – Chay Genoway
D – Tyler Cuma

Forwards:
F – Charlie Coyle
LW – Kris Foucault
LW – Jason Zucker
LW – Brett Bulmer
RW – Jarod Palmer
C – Chad Rau
RW – Johan Larsson
F – David McIntyre
C – Carson McMillan
RW – Justin Fontaine
RW – Nick Palmieri
C – Zack Phillips
C – Joel Broda
F – Mikael Granlund

You will be able to hear the Aeros on the radio this year

Aeros/KNTH hook up for ninth straight year.

You can read the entire press release below, but the Aeros will be on the radio again throughout the 2012-13 season. They'll again be on 1070 KNTH for the ninth straight year, a great run for any team and radio affiliate. Hats off to those that got this done.

Generally these agreements go year-to-year now, so if the Aeros are still playing in Houston next year, you can expect another agreement sometime before opening day 2013.

The text below has some very nice notes about the Aeros play-by-play man, Joe O'Donnell, who will start his fifth season in Houston this year. It is hard to believe that it has been that long since Jason Shaver did his one year behind the mike. The Aeros have been quite lucky with the talent of all their announcers, and Joe is no exception.

I have to admit, I questioned his hiring after his first season; I thought he was a little raw, and his Northeast accent cut in to his delivery a little bit.

But since then, he's been great, and I always enjoy listening to him in the car when that is where I am when the team is playing. Another plus with Joe is his interviews. He mixes things up for pregame shows and asks useful questions without getting too technical. That goes a long way for the non hard-core fans.

The only thing missing now, to me, is a great analyst to work with him on home games. I know former pro hockey players are few and far between in Houston, but if one falls out of the sky this year, I hope he gets on the air.

Maybe we can get new Aeros PR guru Josh Fisher on the air with him for the intra-division road games. For those of you who don't know, Josh was the play by play wizard for the Texas Stars for the last three seasons.

He, too, is very talented. And fans are going to like what he has in store for the Web site and from a PR perspective.

Boy, this sure does sound like some serious ass-kissing, but I wanted to take the time to compliment these guys for the work they do. They do terrific work, and this team is a whole lot better with them on board.


Here is the Aeros press release on the new radio deal:

HOUSTON AEROS AND KNTH 1070AM EXTEND BROADCAST AGREEMENT  

50 Regular Season Games Will be Live on 1070 AM and Web Stream

Houston, TX – The Houston Aeros, in conjunction with KNTH 1070 AM, announced on Tuesday a broadcast agreement for the 2012-13 season.
                                                     
The Aeros return for their ninth season on KNTH 1070 AM. The “Voice of the Aeros”, Joe O’Donnell returns for his fifth season of Aeros hockey. O’Donnell called the Aeros 2011 Run to the Calder Cup Finals. In his eight seasons of hockey broadcasting, the Havertown, PA native has made an ECHL All-Star Game appearance and called the Idaho Steelheads run to a Kelly Cup title in 2007. For his efforts, the University of Delaware graduate was named the ECHL Broadcaster of the Year in 2007.

At least 50 games will run live on KNTH airwaves throughout the 2012-13 campaign. There is potential for more games to be added based on programming. Every Aeros broadcast will be available on the AHLlive.com or on the station’s webstream www.1070knth.com.

“KNTH started on the air in September of 2004 and the Aeros have been there from the beginning”, said KNTH General Manager Chuck Jewell. “We are starting our ninth season with the team and we are extremely proud to be the voice of the Houston Aeros at home and on the road.”

KNTH 1070 AM is a conservative news/talk station featuring Bill Bennett, Mike Gallagher, Dennis Prager, Michael Medved and Hugh Hewitt.

The American Hockey League announced that regular-season AHL action will be heard live on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio, beginning with the opening night of the 2012-13 season on Oct. 12. SiriusXM NHL Network Radio will carry the Houston Aeros home game on Sunday, Oct. 21 at 5:00 p.m.

SiriusXM NHL Network Radio can be found on Sirius 207 and XM 92, providing more than 20 million subscribers in Canada and the United States with groundbreaking 24/7 hockey talk. This marks the eighth consecutive season that AHL action will air on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio, including the annual AHL All-Star Game, the Calder Cup Finals and other regular-season and playoff games. 

The Aeros open the 76-game regular season this coming Saturday. The home portion of the schedule commences on Saturday, Oct. 13th at 7:05 p.m. with the Charlotte Checkers at the Toyota Center. The game will commemorate the 40th anniversary of the first Aeros game played by the World Hockey Association (WHA) team in 1972.

Aeros season tickets start as low as $9 per seat and may be purchased online at Aeros.com by placing a $100 deposit. Once your order is processed, an Aeros ticket representative will contact you to choose your exact seat location, as well as discuss the payment options. Information on season tickets and mini-plans is also available on the team website at www.aeros.com.  Groups of 15 or more receive a discount on all tickets, to book your group outing to an Aeros game please call 713-974-PUCK (7825).

-- Houston Aeros --

Aeros 1 for 3 in pre-season

As you've probably heard by now, the Aeros split the weekend with the Barons, losing 4-0 on Friday night and winning 6-2 last night.

Not sure what clicked for them last night, but I would speculate that the Aeros were doing a full dress rehearsal last night. As Coach Torchetti told Andrew via text after Friday's game, they were purposely putting young guys in tough situations on Wednesday and Friday to give them a taste of where they need to be.

Perhaps last night, they played the special teams they plan to run with in regular season. Both the PK and the PP were clicking, with Mikael Granlund earning a whopping 4 of the 6 goals and linemate Charlie Coyle potting the other 2.

But as one Twitter follower said (paraphrased): Big deal. It's pre-season. And it's the AHL.

Well, yeah, the one thing to keep in mind with OKC is that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle were scratched, so that's OKC's version of Granlund and Coyle. This might be closer to the OKC we'd see if the lockout would ever end, but not the one the Aeros can expect to face in regular season.

Still, if it were a piece of cake to score 4 goals a game in the AHL, pre-season or otherwise, errbody'd be doing it. Granlund is special, no doubt about it. I'm so jazzed for Saturday, I can hardly stand it, and I gather you guys are, too.

The only other piece of news is that goalies John Curry and Mike Brodeur are off the camp roster, as Curry was released from his tryout and Brodeur is off to Orlando. So it sounds like that's the last of the cuts and who's left is your team.

See you in 7 days.

Aeros Camp Roster Moves

The Aeros roster is loaded. Loaded with guys who are just here for camp. Loaded with guys who'd normally be on the roster once the season started. Loaded with guys waiting for the lockout to end. That means there are too many guys in camp, and when there are too many guys in camp, people get cut, so...

So...assigned to Orlando (ECHL)...

D Kyle Medvec
F. Josh Caron
F Nick Petersen
D Sean Lorenz
D Corbin Baldwin
C Ryan Ginand
F Rob Mignardi

Reassigned to Regina (WHL)...

D Colton Jobke

Released from tryout/Reporting To...

F Eric Lampe/Las Vegas (ECHL)
D Mike Montgomery/Allen (CHL)
F Ryley Grantham/Allen (CHL)
F Brennan Vargas/Allen (CHL)

Aeros blasted in preseason opener, lose 7-2 at Texas

Before we get to the bad news, please check out this link to Heather's Houston Chronicle story. I'm pretty sure this is her first official story as the Aeros beat writer. The article is about Mikael Granlund and how the Aeros should benefit from his presence during any extended NHL lockout.

Nice job Heather; we look forward to many more great stories from you at Chron.com and in print.

Texas 7, Aeros 2 (from the Cedar Park Center)
The only take I have from the first preseason game last night is that the Aeros allowed an AHL team-record seven goals in their loss to the Texas Stars. And that's bad.

For many years, Aeros fans got a steady diet of San Antonio only in the preseason, and I have to say it is nice to see the team able to mix it up a bit with the close proximity of now Texas and Oklahoma City.

But last night, even for a preseason game, it was a forgettable performance. Many coaches will tell you its a chance to see where you're at in terms of special teams and line combinations (and fitness levels, too). Based on all the twitter chatter I saw, the penalty kill was absolute atrocious.

But again, it is only the preseason; these games don't count and don't read too much into the final score. Right now there are just too many bodies in camp, so the coaches have to play somebody. Even the folks over in Cedar Park know not to read too much into last night's blasting.

• For more details, here is the Aeros side of the story. 
• Also, read here to get the Texas Stars take. 
• Here is more information from the 100 Degree hockey blog. 
• And here is a link to the Chronicle's recap of the game. 

Torch and Bagnall From Day One at SLICE

After a weekend spent at the Xcel Energy Center, the Aeros held their first workouts at SLICE today. It's going to be a bit of a different looking team for Aeros fans. Several fan favorites are gone -- Jon DiSalvator, Jed Ortmeyer, Warren Peters -- and there are a bunch of exciting looking youngsters just waiting to play their first games in Aeros colors.

And while the talent on the team looks incredible, it might not pay to get attached to some of these guys since they'll be playing in St. Paul as soon as the NHL owners fire Gary Bettman and bring in a non-idiot commissioner and players come together on a new labor deal and the lockout is lifted.

As for now, John Torchetti likes his team: "I like our mix. I think it’s going to be a good mix here."

Torchetti should have some fun with this roster, and he's promising that the fans are going to like what they see once the young guys have become adjusted to the speed of the game at this level and have gotten used to the team's system. And he's also promising that he's going to let players like Mikael Grunland have a little fun out on the ice.

"He sees the ice incredibly well. He’s very poised," Torchetti said about Granlund. "One thing I think you’ll notice about our team, we’ll be more of a puck possession team. He’s going to hold onto it. And once everybody understands the system, and it slows down, we’re going to be more puck possession. We’ll be more poised with the puck. We’re not going to force plays."

Drew Bagnall says the team is incredibly deep, talent-wise. But that means there are a bunch of guys who would normally be seeing lots of playing time who aren't going to be seeing playing time, at least at this level, but if everybody buys in, then watch out because this team is going to be something special.

"We’re going to have just an abundance of skill here," he said today. "We have guys that without a doubt should be on the majority of NHL clubs in the league playing for us here in Houston. Obviously it’s great for us as a team, but it also creates a situation where you have guys that are American league players, have been in the past, or should be right now, if there was an NHL, that won’t be able to be in the lineup each and every night. So the problem then starts to lie in coming together as a team, and not putting yourself ahead of it. You have to understand you might not get to play in every situation. You might not be on the power play, but you’re still part of the team, and you do whatever you can to play as a team."

It looks as if Bagnall will be taking on the old-man daddy role on the team this season, that role held on this team in years past by DiSalvatore and Ortmeyer. It's a role he's held before, he said, and he also believes that some of the others having moved on is good for some of the younger guys because their progression into leadership roles has been blocked.

"That’s kind of the situation we’re in this year," he said. "I’ve been in leadership roles in this organization and in the past when I was with Manchester. There’s no secret that we’re young, but we also have guys who have kind of not had to step into those roles because of the age that we had. We had Warren Peters and [Jed] Ortmeyer and Jon DiSalvatore, Jeff Taffe. Those guys are in place to try to build those leadership qualities in the younger guys. And they’ve had that time to kind of soak it up from those guys, and now it’s time to use it. They’ll step and come to the forefront. We’ve had guys who have played four seasons in this league, and I think they’re ready for this opportunity."

And Torchetti agrees, saying that he expects guys like Chad Rau, Carson McMillan, and Jarod Palmer to move into the team leadership roles.

But the Aeros aren't the only team that is going to benefit from the lockout. There are lots of teams in the AHL with an influx of NHL talent on their rosters, like the Oklahoma City Barons.

"It’s probably going to the best hockey in a lot of years ever in the American league," Torchetti said. "I’m on my 29th year coaching, and this is the strongest I’ve seen this league. It’s going to be a lot of fun hockey, especially for the fans to come out and see what a group that we have."

So there you have it, from the first day at SLICE.

A Quick Chat With Mikael Granlund

Thanks to the NHL lockout, there are a bunch of guys who just showed up in Sugar Land today who would normally not have come anywhere near the place. One of those guys is Mikael Granlund from Finland. So we took the chance to chat with Granlund for a bit earlier this afternoon at SLICE.

He's close to fulfilling a dream, the dream of playing in the NHL, which has been his dream since he was a kid. And he's really looking forward to playing some actual hockey in a competitive situation tomorrow night, even if the competitive situation is merely an exhibition game.

"It’s always been a dream since I was a kid to play here in North American, and maybe someday in the NHL. I am so excited," he said. "Now I’m here and just waiting for games.

He thinks his biggest challenge will basically be dealing with the smaller ice surface here in North America: "That’s maybe the biggest thing. You don’t have that much time and space on the ice. But still, it’s the same game and everything’s the same."

But basically, all that he's got to do, he believes, is just his play his game.

And in a short amount of time, we'll see just how easily he makes the adjustments.