Game Day - Aeros at OKC Barons

Tonight, the Aeros will get their first look at the Oklahoma City Barons. Not quite David vs. Goliath as the Aeros are very, very talented, too, but really, on paper the Barons are ridiculous. They have Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, they have Justin Schutlz, and they have ... who cares who else they have, as in most of the studs they had last year ...

They are loaded, and tonight the Aeros will get their first of many cracks at this AHL star-studded lineup. I am not for certain just how many of these guys will end up in Edmonton when the lockout is over, but the Aeros will play them a lot early in the season.

Call it dumb luck, but as an AHL fan, I am glad we'll get a chance to see what the Aeros can do against these guys. I just wish more of these games were at Toyota Center. Three of the Barons' next four home games are against the Aeros, and they won't make their first visit to Houston until late November.

I can only guess at the goaltending matchup based on trends. Olivier Roy looks to get the call for the Barons, as coach Todd Nelson has rotated he and Yann Danis. It's Roy's turn tonight. And the Aeros will probably counter with Matt Hackett. But, with two games this weekend, both goalies should play. Darcy Kuemper won his only start on the road at Texas last week, so maybe Torchetti alternates the two again that way.

We'll know for sure later tonight.

Here are some notes from the Aeros Press Office:

• The first three meetings of the season series are at the Cox Convention Center in downtown OKC. 
• Friday’s game marks the first meeting since April 24, when the Barons finished off a first-round playoff series win over the Aeros. 
• Oklahoma City is coming off a 4-3 win at home over Lake Erie on Wednesday night.
• Aeros Center Mikael Granlund leads Houston in scoring with seven points through the first five games of the season.
• Granlund is in the top 20 of the AHL for points and top five for assists. 
• Defenseman Marco Scandella leads all Aeros with six assists, tying him for second in the league.
• Right wing Jason Zucker is third on the team in scoring with two goals and three assists for five points in four games.
• Defenseman Brian Connelly sits fourth on the Aeros roster with four points off a goal and three assists. 
• Right wing Nick Palmieri leads the team with three goals in five games. 
• The Barons rank 15th in the AHL on the power play converting five out of 24 chances (20.8%). 
• As far the penalty kill goes, Oklahoma City sits 23 out of 30 teams, stopping 19 of 26 attempts. 
• The Barons rank 26th out of 30 teams in penalty minutes, averaging just 13 minutes a game. 
• Oklahoma City is averaging 3.20 goals per game, while allowing 2.80 goals per game.

The Houston Aeros Weekly Report

Before the season opened Heather, a.k.a. Ms. Conduct, and I essentially traded places in regard to our Aeros coverage duties. She took over for me as the primary beat writer for the Houston Chronicle, and I signed up to take her beat on Wild's Hockey Wilderness (SB Nation) web site.

They have a lot of passionate fans up there as you may well imagine, and because of the NHL lockout, there are more of them interested in just what the Aeros are doing.

My first post went live yesterday and included a few quotes from Torchetti about the first weekend and how they bounced back to take five of six points last weekend. There are a few other notables in there, too.

If you like keeping up with the Wild, register for free and get a Hockey Wilderness account.

And you can click here to see my Aeros report on there site today.

Enjoy!

Aeros Lose 5-4 in OT to Admirals

It was a tough night for the Aeros as they lost to the Milwaukee Admirals 5-4 in overtime. The Aeros, playing the third game of a three-in-three, as were the Admirals, jumped out to the quick lead, going up 2-0 on the Ads early in the first period off goals from Chay Genoway and Kris Foucault.

But the Ads put up a power play goal with 20 seconds left in the first period, then tied the game late in the second period as they pretty much dominated play. The Ads outshot the Aeros 16-5 in the first period and 5-4 in the second, and the Aeros just seemed to be playing tired.

The Aeros took the lead midway through the third period on a Jonas Brodin goal, but less than a minute later the Ads tied it at 3-3. And Kevin Henderson put Milwaukee back on top. The Admirals appeared to have the game locked up, only to have Nick Palmieri tip in a Marco Scandella shot with under a minute left in the game.

The Aeros lost 51 seconds into the overtime as Mattias Ekholm scored on the power play to end the game.

Both teams really appeared to be fighting through exhaustion in the third, but Milwaukee appeared to handle the situation better. So while the Aeros held the very, very early momentum, the Ads got in when they needed it and held on to it.

"It's just one of those situations, I think, where we deviated from our game plan and we let them back in the game and got away from what was working for us and got us those two quick goals," Drew Bagnall said after the game. "Hopefully it's a learning experience. It's still early in the year, and those things are going to happen against good teams. Every night each team can beat you, so we've got to be ready each night

This game was an important learning situation -- the whole weekend was -- and hopefully, like Bagnall said, the team does learn from it. There are a lot of youngsters on this team who have never played three games in three nights before, and for the team to progress and keep winning, they're going to have to learn to handle this situation.

"I think it's just something they have to come to terms with," Bagnall said. "You can tell them -- the biggest thing is in practice, when we're in drills and really tired, that's when you have to understand that's what playing in a three-in-three is like, especially in the third period, if you're on the penalty kill or you're stuck out on the ice. You have to make the simple play, the right play, and it's not always the play that's going to result in a goal, but it's a play that's not going to hurt your team."

But it does need to be remembered that there is some positive news out of the weekend. The Aeros came away with five out of a possible six points this weekend. Bagnall said that's another big thing for the team to learn. They've got to learn to look at the big picture, and the big picture is that getting points is a good thing.

And Bagnall thinks the team took a big leap this weekend. He likes the play of the young skill players, and this weekend was a key step in their continued development in working together as a team and not just as individual players.

"I just feel that they are exactly that, very skilled," he said. "They see the ice really well. And for young players, they use their teammates a lot. A lot of young guys will try to beat guys one-on-one. And I think this weekend we kind of came another step towards developing as a team, playing within the system, and finding a way to score goals that way."

Let's hope the appropriate lessens are being learned because the Aeros are going to play a lot more three-in-threes before the season is over.

They return to the ice on Friday night when they play in Oklahoma City before returning to Toyota Center to host the Admirals one final time for this season on Saturday night.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES:

Kris Fredheim, Jason Zucker, Brett Bulmer, and Tyler Cuma were the scratches. Zucker and Cuma were definitely injures. Bulmer skated on the ice pre-game, so the assumption is that he was a healthy scratch.

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We asked Bagnall about fighting, and about John Torchetti's desire to have Bagnall on the ice. Bagnall would prefer that as well, but he's not going to ask the rest of the team to do something that he wouldn't do.

"I just think that if I'm going to try and be in that leadership role and preach that we have to be a pack mentality, I can't go out there and expect guys to do something that I wouldn't do," he said. "In the same breath, I'm not going to fight twice in the same game every night. If I feel like someone's going to take advantage of our skill players, I'm going to step up and try to do something about it. Hopefully other guys fill that role, and they did throughout the course of the weekend."

Aeros sweep Texas, host Milwaukee tonight

The Aeros erased their 0-2 start with two fairly dominating wins over the Texas Stars. The power play was pretty good, rebounding nicely from the opening weekend. Coyle was the hero Friday, and Palmieri and Granlund lit the lamp twice each in Saturday's road game.

The Aeros celebrate one of their early goals against Texas Saturday night

Both goalies each got a win, and the struggling Milwaukee Admirals will come to Toyota Center today. The Aeros win, and they'll sweep a three in three for the first time in a long time. Lose, and it's back to being the same old Milwaukee Admirals slump-busters. Last year, the Aeros were probably the better team, but every time the slumping Milwaukee Admirals played the Aeros, the slumping team got a win. 

Last year is last year, but my point this time is to call attention to one thing the squad from a year ago lacked. The killer instinct. Yeah, it's cliche, but when a team can get a third and fourth goal after taking a 2-1 lead, that can go a long way down the stretch (Hey another cliche!)

So far the Aeros have had a very nice weekend, so win or lose things are going in the right direction after just not being able to score very much opening weekend. The 5-3 scores are more of what I think you can expect from this team for the most part. Good offensive numbers, young defense and goalies who will give you a chance to win every night.

In closing, here are a few lines about today's opponent, the Milwaukee Admirals.

They are 1-2 on the year, losing two straight this weekend after winning their season opener. Last night they were blanked in San Antonio, 1-0. Jeremy Smith has played every game so far, so I'd have to think their backup will get the call today. Another great thing about the Admirals, is they have three players with the last names "Bang" and "Moore" and "Valentine."... You gotta think some radio guys will have some fun with that. (Not to mention some sophomoric bloggers)

Aeros Win, Aeros Win, The Aeros Win

I've been hearing about how bad the Aeros have looked this season. But aside from a couple of practices, I haven't seen either of the games. So I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw during tonight's 5-1 win over the Texas Stars.

First, here's Heather's gamer over at the Chronicle. It has quotes and everything.

The Aeros got the early lead, with Charlie Coyle putting the Aeros up early and with Marco Scandella Jason Zucker putting the team up 2-0 later in the first with a shot from the blue line (okay, I was down in the corner, so it looked like the blue line to me, but I didn't have a good view) tip-in of a Marco Scandella shot. The Stars made it 2-1 early in the third, but the Aeros put up three more goals and put this game out of reach.

The offense seemed to have a bit of a slow start early on in the game -- goal notwithstanding. It kind of looked as if the guys are still trying to learn each other and develop on-ice chemistry. But it looked like they began clicking as things moved on.

So here are some random thoughts.

1. I was impressed by Jason Zucker. It seemed to me, from my view down in the corner, that wherever there was action with the puck, you would find Zucker.

Zucker in action.

2. John Torchetti thought the most important thing for the Aeros was that they got a week off after losing their opening two games. It gave the team a chance to see what happens if they don't play the system. It also got him some time to sit the guys down with video so that they could watch their play. He said that this was the first time that some of the guys had ever seen themselves on video, and gives them a feel of what it'll be like on the next level.

Torchetti in action during the second period.

3. The win was good for the team, Torchetti said, because it showed the guys that the system does, indeed, work. And that if they play that system, the team wins. There's still a little too much individual play on the ice, but the improvement was notable.

4. Torchetti thinks some of the other guys have to step up and bring the tough-guy attitude. He likes that he's got Drew Bagnall -- Bagnall was in two fights during the game -- but he thinks it's better for the team if Bagnall's actually out on the ice instead of the penalty box for fighting. But it appears so far that Bagnall's the only guy who really wants to get physical.

5. The Aeros got over one hurdle by getting that first win. Now comes the team's first three-in-three. There are a bunch of guys on the Aeros who have never experienced anything like a three-in-three, and Torchetti says it's important the guys learn how to play on such days.

6. Brian Connelly was the quarterbacking the power play, and Torchetti wants him to start shooting the puck more than he is. Torchetti says that Connelly's used to being a pass-first guy on the power play, and he really wants Connelly to concentrate on taking his shot.

7. This is a big season for Matt Hackett who is hoping to make the leap to full-time action in the NHL (for the uninitiated, the NHL is supposedly the highest level of professional hockey that can be played. But the NHL has shut down the league once again. Frankly, I think the NHL is one of those myths, like Big Foot). Torchetti says the key for Hackett this season is consistency.

The team gives Matt Hackett the first of hopefully many celebratory head pats following the end of tonight's game.

8. And Wild fans, speaking of mythical beings, here's a photo of Mikael Granlund in action on the ice. Maybe someday.

Fight, Fight, Fight

A few words on the Aeros 5-1 win over the Texas Stars will come later. But first...

Drew Bagnall clobbered Antoine Roussel in the first period. And the fight was just in front of me, so...

Game Day; Aeros vs. Texas - 7:05 p.m. at Toyota Center

Tonight the Aeros play Game No. 3 in their 19th campaign, 12th since joining the American Hockey League back in 2001.

The Aeros have had a full week's practice since dropping their first two games of the season, and they'll get their first crack at Texas since losing to that squad back in the preseason. For starters, the Aeros will employ their "A" team against the Stars this time.

Click here for a take on the game from our friends at Hundred Degree Hockey.

I am not sure at which point Torchetti is going to give Darcy Kuemper a start, but my guess is that he goes with Hackett tonight. Just a guess, but I would think Hackett tonight and then again tomorrow if he has a good performance.

We'll see when we get to the rink tonight.

This is the first of 12 games against the Stars, a team that missed the playoffs a year ago and fired its coach after one season. The "experts" don't think Texas will be very good this year, but they've won every competitive game they've played so far, and it looks like they A) have great goaltending and can B) score.

Here are some more notes from the Aeros Press Office:

• The Stars and Aeros have played each other 36 times (12 per year)
• Houston took the 2011-12 season series by going 7-2-2-1 (taking points in ten of 12 meetings)
• The Aeros are 20-12-3-1 all-time against the Stars
• Texas took the season series in 2009-10 by going 8-3-0-1, but the team is 8-11-2-1 over the last two years
• The Aeros' PP is 15th in the AHL, converting two out of 15 chances (13.3%)
• Houston's PK sits 27th out of 30 teams, stopping four of six attempts
• The Aeros rank 29th out of 30 teams in penalty minutes, averaging just ten minutes a game
• Houston is averaging 1.50 goals per game, while allowing 3.00 goals per game
• The team is 26th offensively and 19th defensively

And some more information about tonight's opponent:

Texas returns 18 players from a team that posted a 31-40-3-2 record and failed to qualify for the playoffs. The Stars made some changes over the summer, replacing the coaching staff of Jeff Pyle and Jeff Truitt, in exchange for Willie Desjardins and Doug Lidster. The Stars roster currently carries seven rookies, including a group of five that were able to turn pro and play the final ten games of the 2010-11 season.  In all, there are six stars heading into their fourth season with the team. Forwards Colton Sceviour, Travis Morin, Francis Wathier, Luke Gazdic and Mathieu Tousignant, as well as defenseman Maxime Fortunus, are all back to play the Aeros for the fourth straight year. Fortunus is a former member of the Houston Aeros (2003-05).

There are numerous other skaters returning to play the Stars this season. Defenseman Brenden Dillon and forward Mat Fraser return for their second season with the club. Dillon enjoyed a solid first season pro, setting up 23 goals and totaling 29 points in 76 games played. Fraser finished second in the AHL in goals scored, leading Texas with a team-record 37 goals in 73 games played. Left wing Mike Hedden is back for his second full AHL season after scoring 19 goals in 2011-12.

Dallas has assigned numerous high-end prospects to Texas including Reilly Smith, Jamie Oleksiak, Alex Chiasson, Austin Smith, Jack Campbell and Patrick Nemeth. Smith played the final three games in Dallas last year after playing three years at Miami (OH) University. Olekiak was Dallas’ first pick (#14th overall) in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. At 6-foot-7 and 250-pounds, Oleksiak is the biggest player on the Texas roster. Jack Campbell is another Dallas first-round pick (#11 overall in 2010), who will split time in net with Cristopher Nilstorp. Chiasson and Austin Smith turned pro after completing college seasons last March. Patrick Nemeth comes to North America after playing in Sweden last season. The 20-year old defenseman was drafted by Dallas in the second round (#41 overall) in 2010.

Enough Said ....

According to Wild scribe, Mike Russo, the NHL and the players union made significant progress today toward getting their labor mess resolved.

It's significant in that they want to get something done so they can start a normal, 82-game season on Nov. 2.

There is still quite a bit to get worked out, but finally, there is light at the end of the proverbial tunnel.

If you are interested, be sure to click here, and you can get a lot of the high-level details. As for what this means for the Aeros ... well, it means that you better get out to all of the early games if you want to see the likes of Granlund and Scandella.

There is no way the season gets wiped out, now. I'd really be surprised if they don't start on 11/2 at this point.

No Ortmeyer, No DiSalvatore ... No problem?

One of the most frequently asked questions I get every summer is "Which veterans are the Aeros going to sign to lead the team?"

Most savvy AHL fans know that you really need a perfect balance of young skill, great goaltending and savvy veterans to lead you team to a championship.

The Aeros had that formula two years ago and made it to the AHL finals. That was a fun year, and I thought they were going to win the whole thing until Kleinendorst and the Senators figured out how to stop Mike Yeo's system. I'd be a fool to say he was out-coached; fatigue played a huge factor in that, too, but I digress ...

Over the summer, the Wild knew they'd need time and space to play all their young guns down in the AHL, so the only "veteran" they went after was Brian Connelly. Not a bad pickup for someone to quarterback your power play. This could be Jim Mill's move of the summer if the young forward's pan out.

So here were are in the second week of the regular season, and the Aeros' two best veterans are on the other side of the puck. Gone are Warren Peters, and John DiSalvatore and Jed Ortmeyer. There is no Robbie Earl and others like that.

Heather asked Mill about the veteran situation during training camp, and here is what he said about going into the season with a bunch of rookies up front.

“You’re not always going to have a situation where you can go out and get Warren Peters and Jed Ortmeyer and Jon DiSalvatore," said Mill. We were, fortunately. We were fortunate enough that they wanted to come play in the Wild/Aeros organization and be a part of something great. You get those players to lead your team, but you also get those players, they’re not always there to carry your team. They’re there to nurture and develop other players around them, so that it rubs off on those players."

Aeros GM Jim Mill

The plan all along was to have those guys here last year for what probably would have been another good shot at the cup. As well all know, the Wild couldn't ... ever ... get ... healthy, and the team down here suffered because of it. Mill talked about that, too.

"When we weren’t able to get Petey and Orts down for the playoff run, it’s too bad in one way, they wanted to be a part of it," added Mill. "But in another way you don’t have those players around just to carry you all the time; you have them there to nurture and develop and help create new leaders and help cultivate new leaders in  your room, because the young guys learn. Everybody learns from somebody how to be a better leader, how to be a better player and person."

In the end, the Aeros just could not afford to have those guys around anymore. It's not just a money thing. It's a playing time thing and a development thing and a roster thing. In the end, having those guys around the last 2-3 years should help Chad Rau and Carson McMillan and other become great AHL leaders. And those guys will still be competing for spots with the big team.

Mill talks more about that here:

"So I looked at (the veterans) as more of, there are years where they led and carried, and there are other times where they mentored and helped develop leaders in our group. And that’s what having their presence was able to do, and now we have guys who have been around those types of players and it’s time for them to become leaders and step up and take on that added role and responsibility, so we have some homegrown leadership. That’s the goal."

So much remains to be seen, but if John Torchetti can get the Aeros rolling, it should/could/would be a fun ride, even when the lockout is lifted.

Now, check out this video of Mill from his ECHL days. This never gets old:

A word from your captain: Drew Bagnall

Now that the Aeros are closer to their next game than to their last game, it's time to take a look at the weekend ahead. The first three-in-three is staring them in the face, and unless they are perfect, they are still going to be below .500 when the dust settles on Monday.

Drew Bagnall (left) is the Aeros' captain this year. 

Many of you know that Drew Bagnall was named captain. Perfect logical choice, since he is the most seasoned AHL veteran at this point. While there is tons of young skill, the Aeros don't have that 5- or 6-year player than can take over a game and will the team to win. Bagnall, like John Torchetti for that matter, is under the microscope with this team.

Last weekend's 0-for-2 performance, to me, was most disturbing because they only scored three goals 'with all that talent.' I don't know why, but I was expecting much higher scoring games. Maybe we'll see that this weekend. Defense is great, though. If Matt Hackett continues to allow two goals a game or less, the Aeros should be just fine.

But how long DOES it take for a new team like the Aeros to come together. For the answer, we asked Bagnall.

"I think that it really is a function of your leadership," said Bagnall. "A lot of times leaders are only as good as the followers, too, and the more that we can get those young guys to buy into the systems that we play, the talent is there without question with these young players."

Nice to see Bagnall put the onus on himself and the other more seasoned players. Many of you commented on the disorganization - especially on the power play - at the home opener, and I think Bagnall touched on that a bit when he said this:

"The question is just what they do without the puck, and the more accountable we hold them in practice and that comes from the coaching staff and us older guys, the better off we’ll be moving forward," added Bagnall. "We still have to toe the line, too, and contribute what we can."

Bagnall is not here to score goals; he's here to help Hackett and Darcy Kuemper keep the puck out of the net and to provide leadership. I think he'll make a great captain, but he'll only be as good as the team's record in the eyes of many fans. He knows that and wants to make sure the boys right the ship and get off to a better start.

"The biggest thing is coming together as a group," said Bagnall. "And the more you do things together, the quicker you’ll all come together.”