At 18:47 of the third period tonight, I saw something that I don’t think I’ve seen while covering the Aeros. Danny Irmen stormed off the bench and hit the ice in full stride, streaking up the middle of the rink toward the Abbotsford Heat goal. Then without breaking stride, he started banging his stick on the ice, demanding the puck. Nathan Smith saw him, fed him the puck, and Irmen banged it into the net to tie the game at 3-3.
The Aeros lost the game in overtime, but they managed to gain a point out of a game that saw them sitting in single digits in shots midway through the third period. More amazing, the Aeros had also given up a two-goal lead, and appeared to be a dispirited team just hoping to make the end of the game so as to get some time off.
But Irmen came out, demanding the puck, and earned the team a point.
Don’t talk to Irmen about earning the puck, however. Or getting the goal. Because this is Danny Irmen, and Irmen’s first thought was to a teammate that he let down.
“The first thought for me: I think Anton deserved better than that….” Irmen said. “Some nights are like that, but we have to play harder in front of him. And we had a two goal lead and we didn’t manage it well at the end of the second. Not me, personally.”
The Aeros got their first two goals off of the power play, the first coming at 13:42 when Robbie Earl knocked in the rebound of a Chad Rau shot to put Houston up 1-0. Then Cody Almond got a nice pass from Jean-Michel Daoust at 17:49, and he buried the puck to put the Aeros up 2-0.
That’s where the score stayed until 15:43 of the second when Jason Jaffray got lose on the Aeros defense and scored the short-handed goal to make it 2-1. And at 17:40, Khudobin blocked Cam Cunning’s shot only to have J.D. Watts stuff the rebound five-hole to make it 2-2. And Abbotsford made it 3-2 at 7:15 of the third when Watts got his second goal of the night on a shot that when under Khudobin’s right arm pit.
“It’s good to get a point,” Irmen said. ‘But we prefer two. We should play better.”
Should’ve. Could’ve. Would’ve. The Heat scored at 2:07 of OT to get the 4-3 win. But for once, the Aeros might have been lucky to get out with just a point.
“I think the point was very, very big,” head coach Kevin Constantine said. “Very big. Based on how deflated you’d be giving up a two-goal lead. And so we get a point, we hang in there, and we’re right in the middle of a really fun season in terms of the playoff race. So I wasn’t that disappointed in the result.”
And now the Aeros get some rest as they don’t play again until Wednesday night when they play the Stars in Austin.
SOME MISCELLANEOUS NOTES:
The Aeros are now 18-15-4-1 (41 points) on the season. They’re still in fifth place by one point, just sitting behind the jumble of Peoria, Milwaukee, and Rockford who are all tied with 42 points. And they’re just five points behind Texas, which earlier this season appeared to be running away with the division.
****************
For most of the game, the most fun we had on press row was wondering whether the Aeros would set a new Houston record for least shots in a game -- the number is 11, set in Detroit in 1999 with the home low being 12 in a 2000 loss to Milwaukee.
The Aeros only had six shots after two periods, and about a third of the way through the third period the Heat had a 32-8 shot advantage. But Houston got off 14 shots in the third and ended up only being out shot 42-21 for the game.
A lot of this can be attributed to the team being tired -- this was their fifth game in seven nights. And the players were clearly gassed when we saw them in the locker room afterwards. Several mentioned not being able to feel their legs. And for some of the new players, like Chad Rau, this is the most games they’ve played in a season since juniors.
“I’m probably the last guy in the world to make up an excuse,” Constantine said.
“To be a good pro, you’ve got to constantly eliminate excuses, all the time. So I’m generally working the other way, but I’ll go the other way, and I’ll say that playing five games in seven nights is really hard, and give our guys a bit of an excuse. Not because, you know, we gave up a two goal lead. We gave it up on a power play.
“There’s some things we can’t do to be a good team. But, the lack of energy, the lack of shots -- and hey, Abbotsford played three-in-three, too, so it’s not like they were really fresh. But five-in-seven is a grind. And so, in many ways I expected the game to look a little bit like this today.”
But Irmen wasn’t necessarily buying the tired excuse, and he was disappointed in his performance. “But there’s no excuse,” he said. “We should have played like that for 60 minutes, and we didn’t.”
And let’s hear it for Anton Khudobin, who has been a bit of a punching bag, lately. Some of the goals he gave up tonight were kind of soft, but the team needed him to keep them in it tonight because they just weren’t capable of doing that on their own, and he did, blocking 38 of 42 shots.
*****************
Constantine told us afterwards that, normally, the number of shots isn’t indicative of how good, or bad, a team’s playing. But he felt that the guys couldn’t help noticing the low of number of shots and thus just did what they could in the third to get back in the game.
“The shot clock’s not always the best indicator of how you’re doing, but it’s the only thing that you can stare out,” he said. “And it’s sitting right there in front of you. So it really affects you psychology when you look up, it’s the only like number you get during the middle of the game. And the scoreboard. I know looking at that thing wasn’t enjoyable for the guys at all. And I also know that, being around the group for four months now, they’re not a group that’s afraid to work hard.”
But no matter how hard they worked, they just didn’t have enough gas left in the tanks.
***************
The Aeros currently have three goalies in Houston as Wade Dubielewicz has returned from Europe, and Barry Brust is still in town. Anton Khudobin got the start tonight, and he was backed up by Dubielewicz. Constantine was asked about this situation after the game, and he told us that this is a situation that needs to be discussed between his staff and the brass in Minnesota. But he indicated that, as of now, all three should remain with the team.
***************
Andy Hilbert was scratched more as a precautionary measure than anything. He suffered a bit of an injury during the last game in Milwaukee, so Constantine thought it was best to rest him. Jaime Sifers was scratched because he is suffering from the flu. And not just a slight case of the flu. The way Constantine was talking, it was more like Sifers was doing his best impersonation of Mr. Creosote while the team was on the road (warning, not for the squeamish or the humor impaired).
But otherwise, except for Peter Zingoni, the team is healthy. Healthy, but just tired and in need of the rest that they’re going to be getting before playing again on Wednesday.
So seeing as how tired they are, I think The Beatles “Let It Be” is appropriate to play us out tonight. The Aeros will return home for two games against Rockford -- Friday and Sunday. So until then, let it be, let it be.
Showing posts with label Danny Irmen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Danny Irmen. Show all posts
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Monday, December 28, 2009
Aeros on Channel 2
The boys don't get on TV too often, so when it does happen, you have to savor it.
You also have to take it with a grain of salt. This interview included a question about why the guys room stinks so bad and a promise (by the interviewer) that Kassian was going to beat the whole of Syracuse up Monday night. Lovely.
Anyway, I apologize for the extreme low-techness of this (recording it off the tv) but that's the best I've got. Maybe the team will provide better footage, but if you're like me, you want it Right.F**king.Now.
And RFN you shall have it.
Here's the intro that showed Brusty's poke check that made me swoon Saturday night:
And here's the interview in all its glory (but here's a much better version of it on CH 2's web site):
You also have to take it with a grain of salt. This interview included a question about why the guys room stinks so bad and a promise (by the interviewer) that Kassian was going to beat the whole of Syracuse up Monday night. Lovely.
Anyway, I apologize for the extreme low-techness of this (recording it off the tv) but that's the best I've got. Maybe the team will provide better footage, but if you're like me, you want it Right.F**king.Now.
And RFN you shall have it.
Here's the intro that showed Brusty's poke check that made me swoon Saturday night:
And here's the interview in all its glory (but here's a much better version of it on CH 2's web site):
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Irmen and Smith Return, For Now
Just a note that Danny Irmen and Nathan Smith are on their way back to Houston and should be here for tomorrow afternoon's game with Milwaukee. Wild beat Michael Russo is not sure if the injured Wild players are ready to return, of if this is a move by the Wild to save room on the salary cap since the Wild have four days off.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
11/7 -- Aeros v. Rampage -- The All You Need Is Love Edition
The Aeros played, without a doubt, their best game of the season tonight. As a result 8443 people got to see not only a 5-2 Aeros win, but also got to see an entertaining game that at times resembled not so much hockey as we have come to know it, but hockey as played in Slap Shot.
The Aeros dominated play in the first period, out-shooting the San Antonio Rampage 13-4, but also out hitting them. But they left the period with only a 1-0 lead because, as has become the norm, they just couldn’t hit the back of the net. The one goal was outstanding however as, at 11:31, Peter Zingoni got his stick on a Max Noreau slap shot from the point and thus deflected the puck just a touch to let it slip past Rampage goalie Josh Tordjman for the 1-0 lead.
But wait, it gets better. Not only did the Aeros take the lead on the shot -- a lead they never surrendered -- but the goal came on a power play. Yes, you read that right. The Aeros, are their 45th power play chance since last getting one, also against San Antonio, found a way to get the power play goal.
Things were just getting good, though.
The Rampage were on the power play early in the second period when Mr. Penalty Kill, Danny Irmen, got the puck and went into Krys Kolanos mode. Dragging Chad Rau with him, Irmen split for the San Antonio net and drew Tordjman toward him. As he did that, he sent a nice backhand pass to the trailing Rau who had buried the puck in the wide open net to put Houston up 2-0. And at 4:25, just seconds after the end of an Aeros power play, Clayton Stoner fed Robbie Earl and Earl, taking advantage of the angle he was at in terms of the goalie, went top shelf to put Houston up 3-2.
All of this scoring action was mixed with some hits that jarred even those of us sitting up high in the press box. Matt Kassian engaged in three fights, defeating Francis Lessard in the first, Troy Bodie in the third, and Ryan Hollweg after the game ended. Nathan Smith went after Kevin Porter after Porter attempted to decapitate Colton Gillies toward the end of the first period. Clayton Stoner took out Bodie in the second, and Petr Kalus and Sean Zimmerman went at it late in the third.
The Rampage got two goals late in the second, and came near to tying the game when a shot went off the post at about 19:10 of the second, but Jon DiSalvatore scored at 12:56 of the third to make it 4-2, then at 14:45, Petr Kalus came down on a breakaway attempt. He missed the initial shot but knocked the defenseman into Tordjman. Before Tordjman could recover, Kalus got the puck, went behind the net and got the wraparound into a wide open net to make it 5-2.
“It’s a rivalry game,” Kevin Constantine said afterwards. “It’s the team we’ve played the most since I’ve been down here. I think the rivalry goes way past me coming here as a coach. It’s a good rivalry game, and rivalry games always have a little more emotion and a little more passion in it. It’s pretty entertaining when a game gets that way. It was nice to get a win. It’s a nice heated rivalry, and that’s all good for the game.”
And it’s even better for the game when the Aeros get the win. And get the win they did.
SOME MISCELLANEOUS GAME NOTES:
With the win, the Aeros record improved to 8-7-0-0 (16 points). But even better than that, the win moved the Aeros past San Antonio and Peoria and into a tie for second place with Rockford. The Aeros are behind only Texas, and they are now a point up on the Rampage and Rivermen. And for any of you who care, the Aeros are still in second place of the so-called Lone Star Faceoff.
The Aeros next play on Friday the 13th when they take on the Lake Erie Monsters -- how appropriate, I guess -- in Cleveland. They also play the Monsters on Saturday, then return home to take on the Chicago Wolves next Sunday.
*****************
What can one say about that Aeros penalty kill? They killed off another three San Antonio power plays. The Aeros have now killed 53 of 55 power plays this season. That is the number one penalty kill in the AHL.
"It starts with pride," Kevin Constantine says of his team's penalty kill. "And then it starts with trying to be fairly aggressive and put a lot of pressure when we can. It certainly has to be great goaltending -- that’s a big part of your penalty kill. And then maybe the occasional shot blocking if you get in trouble. We didn’t anticipate having the percentage that we have now. We’ve been in the top five the past two years, so the idea of being in the top five was something we were shooting for. This is a little above what are expectations were. It’s been nice to have that….The guys have done a great job killing."
The most spectacular of tonight's penalty kills had to be in the second period when the Aeros got the short-handed goal to go up 2-0. The play saw Danny Irmen breaking free with the puck and hitting Chad Rau with a fantastic pass and a wide open net. And just like Danny Irmen said his first goal on Thursday night would not have been possible without the play of Clayton Stoner, Rau said that this goal would not have been possible without Irmen's passing.
"It was a gift from Danny," he said. "I just tapped it in. He made a heck of a play. He made a nice backhand pass, and draw the guy to him and it was an empty net. It was a super nice play."
As for getting the short-handed goal, Rau said that a thing like that is a blast.
"It’s pretty nice," he said. "Your main concern out there is playing defense and making sure they don’t get one. So anytime you can kind of get an opportunity where they’re thinking more offense and they break down…it’s great….It doesn’t happen too often."
**************
Speaking of not happening too often...did I happen to mention that the Aeros scored a power play goal? And their third goal came just about two seconds after another power play expired. Could it be possible that with the proverbial monkey off of their backs the Aeros are going to break lose for the rest of the season on the power play?
"It would be nice if that happened," Constantine said. "If one turned into a nice 15-20 percent power play based on maybe getting some confidence from scoring. I don’t know if that’s going to happen. We need to keep working on it. We need to get that power play a little more consistent. You can see tonight it kind of changed the game because we scored on a power play and we haven’t been doing that. I’m just really happy those guys got some goals with it tonight."
*************
And let's not forget the stellar play, once again, of Anton Khudobin. I've got to confess, I didnt' always have confidence in Anton's abilities when he was up with the team last season. But the playoffs seemed to bring out the best of him last year, and it sure looks as if that confidence has stayed with him this year.
Anton didn't face a lot of action for the first half of the game. And as I've been told by numerous goalies, it's hard for a goalie to mentally stay in a game when he's not under the gun.
"It’s actually pretty hard when I don’t have lots of shots…," Khudobin said. "I try to stay focused on every puck. Sometimes, it’s just happening, like they score a couple of goals….Third period I just focused on their puck and I stopped all of them."
Which, he said, is difficult when it comes to San Antonio.
"They love to shoot from everywhere," he said. "So I have to beware of shots from everywhere. And actually they’re a really tough team to play against. They try to hit everybody. They’re running around. It’s just tough…."
It may be tough, but he handled it.
*****************
As Constantine said, this was a rivalry game between two teams that have already faced each other a bunch this season. And they looked like they were really sick of seeing the other guy opposite of them. I haven't seen this many fights in one game in a long time. Chad Rau attributed the fighting to the fact that both teams play pretty aggressive hockey and that this draw clashes.
That might be, but maybe it's just like John Lennon once sang, "All You Need Is Love." Yep, maybe all the Aeros need is Mitch Love to bring the fighting down a notch though I have to say that Kassian was quite impressive. And I don't think I've ever seen Stoner that angry before.
So let's go out tonight with The Beatles and "All You Need Is Love."
The Aeros dominated play in the first period, out-shooting the San Antonio Rampage 13-4, but also out hitting them. But they left the period with only a 1-0 lead because, as has become the norm, they just couldn’t hit the back of the net. The one goal was outstanding however as, at 11:31, Peter Zingoni got his stick on a Max Noreau slap shot from the point and thus deflected the puck just a touch to let it slip past Rampage goalie Josh Tordjman for the 1-0 lead.
But wait, it gets better. Not only did the Aeros take the lead on the shot -- a lead they never surrendered -- but the goal came on a power play. Yes, you read that right. The Aeros, are their 45th power play chance since last getting one, also against San Antonio, found a way to get the power play goal.
Things were just getting good, though.
The Rampage were on the power play early in the second period when Mr. Penalty Kill, Danny Irmen, got the puck and went into Krys Kolanos mode. Dragging Chad Rau with him, Irmen split for the San Antonio net and drew Tordjman toward him. As he did that, he sent a nice backhand pass to the trailing Rau who had buried the puck in the wide open net to put Houston up 2-0. And at 4:25, just seconds after the end of an Aeros power play, Clayton Stoner fed Robbie Earl and Earl, taking advantage of the angle he was at in terms of the goalie, went top shelf to put Houston up 3-2.
All of this scoring action was mixed with some hits that jarred even those of us sitting up high in the press box. Matt Kassian engaged in three fights, defeating Francis Lessard in the first, Troy Bodie in the third, and Ryan Hollweg after the game ended. Nathan Smith went after Kevin Porter after Porter attempted to decapitate Colton Gillies toward the end of the first period. Clayton Stoner took out Bodie in the second, and Petr Kalus and Sean Zimmerman went at it late in the third.
The Rampage got two goals late in the second, and came near to tying the game when a shot went off the post at about 19:10 of the second, but Jon DiSalvatore scored at 12:56 of the third to make it 4-2, then at 14:45, Petr Kalus came down on a breakaway attempt. He missed the initial shot but knocked the defenseman into Tordjman. Before Tordjman could recover, Kalus got the puck, went behind the net and got the wraparound into a wide open net to make it 5-2.
“It’s a rivalry game,” Kevin Constantine said afterwards. “It’s the team we’ve played the most since I’ve been down here. I think the rivalry goes way past me coming here as a coach. It’s a good rivalry game, and rivalry games always have a little more emotion and a little more passion in it. It’s pretty entertaining when a game gets that way. It was nice to get a win. It’s a nice heated rivalry, and that’s all good for the game.”
And it’s even better for the game when the Aeros get the win. And get the win they did.
SOME MISCELLANEOUS GAME NOTES:
With the win, the Aeros record improved to 8-7-0-0 (16 points). But even better than that, the win moved the Aeros past San Antonio and Peoria and into a tie for second place with Rockford. The Aeros are behind only Texas, and they are now a point up on the Rampage and Rivermen. And for any of you who care, the Aeros are still in second place of the so-called Lone Star Faceoff.
The Aeros next play on Friday the 13th when they take on the Lake Erie Monsters -- how appropriate, I guess -- in Cleveland. They also play the Monsters on Saturday, then return home to take on the Chicago Wolves next Sunday.
*****************
What can one say about that Aeros penalty kill? They killed off another three San Antonio power plays. The Aeros have now killed 53 of 55 power plays this season. That is the number one penalty kill in the AHL.
"It starts with pride," Kevin Constantine says of his team's penalty kill. "And then it starts with trying to be fairly aggressive and put a lot of pressure when we can. It certainly has to be great goaltending -- that’s a big part of your penalty kill. And then maybe the occasional shot blocking if you get in trouble. We didn’t anticipate having the percentage that we have now. We’ve been in the top five the past two years, so the idea of being in the top five was something we were shooting for. This is a little above what are expectations were. It’s been nice to have that….The guys have done a great job killing."
The most spectacular of tonight's penalty kills had to be in the second period when the Aeros got the short-handed goal to go up 2-0. The play saw Danny Irmen breaking free with the puck and hitting Chad Rau with a fantastic pass and a wide open net. And just like Danny Irmen said his first goal on Thursday night would not have been possible without the play of Clayton Stoner, Rau said that this goal would not have been possible without Irmen's passing.
"It was a gift from Danny," he said. "I just tapped it in. He made a heck of a play. He made a nice backhand pass, and draw the guy to him and it was an empty net. It was a super nice play."
As for getting the short-handed goal, Rau said that a thing like that is a blast.
"It’s pretty nice," he said. "Your main concern out there is playing defense and making sure they don’t get one. So anytime you can kind of get an opportunity where they’re thinking more offense and they break down…it’s great….It doesn’t happen too often."
**************
Speaking of not happening too often...did I happen to mention that the Aeros scored a power play goal? And their third goal came just about two seconds after another power play expired. Could it be possible that with the proverbial monkey off of their backs the Aeros are going to break lose for the rest of the season on the power play?
"It would be nice if that happened," Constantine said. "If one turned into a nice 15-20 percent power play based on maybe getting some confidence from scoring. I don’t know if that’s going to happen. We need to keep working on it. We need to get that power play a little more consistent. You can see tonight it kind of changed the game because we scored on a power play and we haven’t been doing that. I’m just really happy those guys got some goals with it tonight."
*************
And let's not forget the stellar play, once again, of Anton Khudobin. I've got to confess, I didnt' always have confidence in Anton's abilities when he was up with the team last season. But the playoffs seemed to bring out the best of him last year, and it sure looks as if that confidence has stayed with him this year.
Anton didn't face a lot of action for the first half of the game. And as I've been told by numerous goalies, it's hard for a goalie to mentally stay in a game when he's not under the gun.
"It’s actually pretty hard when I don’t have lots of shots…," Khudobin said. "I try to stay focused on every puck. Sometimes, it’s just happening, like they score a couple of goals….Third period I just focused on their puck and I stopped all of them."
Which, he said, is difficult when it comes to San Antonio.
"They love to shoot from everywhere," he said. "So I have to beware of shots from everywhere. And actually they’re a really tough team to play against. They try to hit everybody. They’re running around. It’s just tough…."
It may be tough, but he handled it.
*****************
As Constantine said, this was a rivalry game between two teams that have already faced each other a bunch this season. And they looked like they were really sick of seeing the other guy opposite of them. I haven't seen this many fights in one game in a long time. Chad Rau attributed the fighting to the fact that both teams play pretty aggressive hockey and that this draw clashes.
That might be, but maybe it's just like John Lennon once sang, "All You Need Is Love." Yep, maybe all the Aeros need is Mitch Love to bring the fighting down a notch though I have to say that Kassian was quite impressive. And I don't think I've ever seen Stoner that angry before.
So let's go out tonight with The Beatles and "All You Need Is Love."
Friday, November 6, 2009
11/5: Aeros v. Manitoba
Sorry this is late. My internet decided to hate me when I got home last night.
First of all, great job on the Canadian anthem, Ally. You definitely won the pre-game.
Second of all, awesome job on the hockey playing, Aeros. Okay, so the really really wicked power play schnide is still rolling along ever so inhospitably, but that will come. Doesn't really matter HOW you win, does it?
Third, how pretty were those Irmen goals? Mainly, Stoner's dancing through the Manitoba defense like Pavel Datsyuk that set it up, but Irms was in the right place to finish it.
Fourth, I guess I'm most excited for Max Noreau, who was leading the team by a significant margin in shots on goal and had yet to land one in the back of the net. But tonight, he got 'er done.
I apologize for my stick figure monkey looking like a pile of poo but that's what you get when you don't have Fred's photos, which we miss more and more as each game goes by.
I actually had to google "dead monkey" to draw that. I don't recommend doing that yourself. It's kinda sad.
But shedding that theoretical monkey is great, so here's to an opening of the Noreau Scoring Floodgates, bitches.
It was also great to have Khudobin back in net. Let's just say, I have a new appreciation for him, even though that one goal was a bit of a mess, both defensively and a bit overplayed on his part. He looked pretty good, got pretty lucky, and had some excellent help clearing the puck to safety. What more can you ask for as a goalie?
Plus, how about those new pads? Ahhh, new gear.
More of San Antonio on Saturday. You guys tired of them yet? I'm getting there, though perhaps feisty Al Montoya will make it interesting again, eh? See you then.
First of all, great job on the Canadian anthem, Ally. You definitely won the pre-game.
Second of all, awesome job on the hockey playing, Aeros. Okay, so the really really wicked power play schnide is still rolling along ever so inhospitably, but that will come. Doesn't really matter HOW you win, does it?
Third, how pretty were those Irmen goals? Mainly, Stoner's dancing through the Manitoba defense like Pavel Datsyuk that set it up, but Irms was in the right place to finish it.
Fourth, I guess I'm most excited for Max Noreau, who was leading the team by a significant margin in shots on goal and had yet to land one in the back of the net. But tonight, he got 'er done.
I apologize for my stick figure monkey looking like a pile of poo but that's what you get when you don't have Fred's photos, which we miss more and more as each game goes by.
I actually had to google "dead monkey" to draw that. I don't recommend doing that yourself. It's kinda sad.But shedding that theoretical monkey is great, so here's to an opening of the Noreau Scoring Floodgates, bitches.
It was also great to have Khudobin back in net. Let's just say, I have a new appreciation for him, even though that one goal was a bit of a mess, both defensively and a bit overplayed on his part. He looked pretty good, got pretty lucky, and had some excellent help clearing the puck to safety. What more can you ask for as a goalie?
Plus, how about those new pads? Ahhh, new gear.
More of San Antonio on Saturday. You guys tired of them yet? I'm getting there, though perhaps feisty Al Montoya will make it interesting again, eh? See you then.
11/5 -- Aeros v. Moose -- The Me And My Monkey Edition
The Aeros were a little rested. The Manitoba Moose were a bit tired, and were missing some key players due to call-ups and injuries. But that didn’t matter to the Aeros. All that mattered was the team’s 4-1 win before 3163 fans inside Toyota Center.
“They’re a great team,” Danny Irmen said. “Well coached. They’re missing a lot of guys. But we’ll take the win. A win’s a win. We played really well tonight.”
One of those playing well tonight was, of course, Danny Irmen, the subject of a Thursday post in the Houston Press. Irmen got the game’s first two goals for the Aeros, the first coming at 13:43 of the first period off of a fantastic pass from Clayton Stoner.
“I could have scored that goal blind,” Irmen said. “I sat my stick on the ice and he put it on there and it went it. It was a great play by [Stoner].”
And his second goal came off of a nice pass from Jon DiSalvatore who snuck around the back of the net to feed Irmen up top for the goal. That goal at 1:51 of the second broke up a 1-1 tie that the Aeros were disappointed to find themselves stuck in.
“We actually thought, even in the first period,” Kevin Constantine said, “we thought it was kind of bummer to come out of it one-one because we thought we had much better scoring chances in the first. But it was just nice to see some goals go in.”
On top of Irmen’s two goals was a two-goal performance from Max Noreau who had been without a goal this season. The first goal came at 19:03 of the second period off of a Marco Rosa turnover that Noreau turned around and slammed into the net.
“I looked at Clayton Stoner and I just said I’ll take that one,” Noreau said. “It was my first goal. It doesn’t have to be pretty. I just wanted to get that monkey off my back. He looked at me with a big smile and I just said I’ll take whatever I can get right now.”
The Aeros dominated this game in just about all aspects of the game, which was fun to watch since this has been seen so seldom this season. And just as Noreau didn’t care that his first goal was ugly, the Aeros don’t care that the Moose were tired. They just wanted the win. And the win they got.
SOME MISCELLANEOUS GAME NOTES:
With the win, the Aeros record is now 7-7-0-0 (14 points). And amazingly -- especially when you think of their play this season -- the Aeros, with the loss tonight by the San Antonio Rampage, find themselves in a three-way tie for second place. And seeing as how the Aeros face the Rampage this weekend, maybe the Aeros will be able to move past San Antonio in the standings.
**************
This game was the 1100th of Kevin Constantine’s coaching career. With the win, his record in the USHL, IHL, WHL, AHL, and NHL is 569-399-114-18.
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I’m not going to take a lot of time tonight -- I’m tired and I’ve got this temp job thing I have to get to early in the morning. So I’m dedicating the end of this post to Max Noreau. Noreau has been frustrated with his game this season, and this was a nice night for him.
“It was a little bit frustrating,” he said after the game. “But at the same time, when you’re getting your chances you can’t be too frustrated. At some point, even though you might be snake bit a little bit, it will come.”
And come it did with two goals and an assist, which as he said, let him get that monkey off of his back. So speaking of getting the monkey off of his back, here’s The Beatles with “Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except For Me And My Monkey.”
“They’re a great team,” Danny Irmen said. “Well coached. They’re missing a lot of guys. But we’ll take the win. A win’s a win. We played really well tonight.”
One of those playing well tonight was, of course, Danny Irmen, the subject of a Thursday post in the Houston Press. Irmen got the game’s first two goals for the Aeros, the first coming at 13:43 of the first period off of a fantastic pass from Clayton Stoner.
“I could have scored that goal blind,” Irmen said. “I sat my stick on the ice and he put it on there and it went it. It was a great play by [Stoner].”
And his second goal came off of a nice pass from Jon DiSalvatore who snuck around the back of the net to feed Irmen up top for the goal. That goal at 1:51 of the second broke up a 1-1 tie that the Aeros were disappointed to find themselves stuck in.
“We actually thought, even in the first period,” Kevin Constantine said, “we thought it was kind of bummer to come out of it one-one because we thought we had much better scoring chances in the first. But it was just nice to see some goals go in.”
On top of Irmen’s two goals was a two-goal performance from Max Noreau who had been without a goal this season. The first goal came at 19:03 of the second period off of a Marco Rosa turnover that Noreau turned around and slammed into the net.
“I looked at Clayton Stoner and I just said I’ll take that one,” Noreau said. “It was my first goal. It doesn’t have to be pretty. I just wanted to get that monkey off my back. He looked at me with a big smile and I just said I’ll take whatever I can get right now.”
The Aeros dominated this game in just about all aspects of the game, which was fun to watch since this has been seen so seldom this season. And just as Noreau didn’t care that his first goal was ugly, the Aeros don’t care that the Moose were tired. They just wanted the win. And the win they got.
SOME MISCELLANEOUS GAME NOTES:
With the win, the Aeros record is now 7-7-0-0 (14 points). And amazingly -- especially when you think of their play this season -- the Aeros, with the loss tonight by the San Antonio Rampage, find themselves in a three-way tie for second place. And seeing as how the Aeros face the Rampage this weekend, maybe the Aeros will be able to move past San Antonio in the standings.
**************
This game was the 1100th of Kevin Constantine’s coaching career. With the win, his record in the USHL, IHL, WHL, AHL, and NHL is 569-399-114-18.
**************
I’m not going to take a lot of time tonight -- I’m tired and I’ve got this temp job thing I have to get to early in the morning. So I’m dedicating the end of this post to Max Noreau. Noreau has been frustrated with his game this season, and this was a nice night for him.
“It was a little bit frustrating,” he said after the game. “But at the same time, when you’re getting your chances you can’t be too frustrated. At some point, even though you might be snake bit a little bit, it will come.”
And come it did with two goals and an assist, which as he said, let him get that monkey off of his back. So speaking of getting the monkey off of his back, here’s The Beatles with “Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except For Me And My Monkey.”
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
The Sky's The Limit?
I thought I would use another post to discuss something that Andrew raised in his View From the Press Box below. And that involves Jon DiSalvatore talking about some of the veterans preparing to call a team meeting to discuss the team.
“Right now is a great time for us to learn,” he said of the team’s winning streak. “We are winning. It’s a great time to educate yourself. There’s a lot of things we feel we can do a lot better. There’s a group of us that’s going to address the team and get this thing going. We think we can play better. That [Hamilton] was a great team tonight. It was a great win, but we think we can do better.”
Peter Zingoni said much the same thing last week when he said that he and his fellow veterans had to start playing up to their potential.
Colton Gillies, one of the youngsters, noted this also when he talked about how great the team’s penalty kill was last night. In praising the penalty kill, he noted that there were a lot of guys who were well rested after the second period because they didn’t play much, so it was up to those guys to step up in the third period and help out those who had gotten the job done in the second period.
I know many of you are really fond of last year’s team. I am, too. There were some really great guys on that team that I hate not seeing in the locker room every night. But I like what I’m hearing in this locker room after the games. The character and the attitude reminds me of the team two years ago. Erik Reitz was the veteran on that team, and he had the respect of his teammates, and he wasn’t afraid to take the lead.
It wasn’t that he was overly vocal. It was just that he knew there was a job that needed doing, and he was the guy to do it. He said several times that season that Kevin Constantine's system was a proven one that worked, and that if the players just trusted in that system, then they would win. I don’t really recall anyone assuming that role last year. It wasn’t that last year’s team was a team of factions, it was just that, for the most part, I don’t really remember them being an unified force until around the playoffs and the arrival of Tony Hrkac.
But what I’m hearing from Zingoni and DiSalvatore reminds me of what Reitz was like in the locker room. The individuals on this team might not be as gifted as several of last year’s players, but as a group, they can win. That’s the feeling that I’m getting from Zingoni and DiSalvatore and Gillies and Irmen.
DiSalvatore’s been in the middle of the action most of the season, but until last night, he’s had trouble getting the puck into the net. But he understands the team, the talent, and Constantine’s system. And he understands that he keeps doing what he’s got to do, then things are going to work out.
“The type of team that we have -- we’re a four line team right now -- and it’s no time to get frustrated,” he said. “Yeah, I want to participate, I want to produce, but I’ve got to stick with it and just believe in the system of the team and do my thing and just plug away and they’re going to come. And it came tonight. Which is great. If it doesn’t come tomorrow night, or whatever it is, I just stick with the plan.”
And if I can go off on a tangent, I’d like to point out that this reminds me a lot of what I’m hearing from Houston Cougars head coach Kevin Sumlin and his players. I cover the Cougars for the Press, so I’m at the games, and I talk to the coach and the players. And what Sumlin and the players stress every week is that it’s nice to win the game. And they win the games by staying in the system and trusting each other. Cougar QB Case Keenum has had his name mentioned when discussing the Heisman Trophy, but last week, against SMU, Keenum cut back on the number of passes he throws in a game because SMU had set its defense to stop the pass, so Keenum started handing the ball off to his running backs because he trusted them to do what was needed for the win. And Sumlin stresses time and time again that the guys have yet to play their best game.
That’s what I’m hearing from this locker room. The players are learning to trust each other, and they’re learning to work within the system. They’ve won games, but they’re not happy about the wins because they haven’t played their best game.
I talked to Danny Irmen for a bit after the game for a piece I’m doing for the mothership next week. And Irmen likes this team.
“I think the sky’s the limit,” he said. “There’s a lot of character on this team. A lot of talent. A lot of hard work. And that’s what you need. And great goaltending. We’re just going to take it one game at a time here, and hopefully we make a little run here throughout the year and into the playoffs.”
I’m not sure about the sky’s the limit thing. And I would feel a whole lot better with a healthy Barry Brust and Nolan Schaefer back in the net. But I think this is a good team that is on it’s way to becoming better. Now Andrew might disagree with me, and he might think I’ve totally misunderstood what DiSalvatore was getting out -- and Zingoni -- and he’s probably right. But I think the right attitude is there. I can tell that they care, and care deeply. I think the talent, while not great, is good. They’re probably going to be a frustrating team to watch throughout the year, just like last season’s team, and the team before that.
But give this team a chance. I think that, if you do, you’ll find that you actually like them.
“Right now is a great time for us to learn,” he said of the team’s winning streak. “We are winning. It’s a great time to educate yourself. There’s a lot of things we feel we can do a lot better. There’s a group of us that’s going to address the team and get this thing going. We think we can play better. That [Hamilton] was a great team tonight. It was a great win, but we think we can do better.”
Peter Zingoni said much the same thing last week when he said that he and his fellow veterans had to start playing up to their potential.
Colton Gillies, one of the youngsters, noted this also when he talked about how great the team’s penalty kill was last night. In praising the penalty kill, he noted that there were a lot of guys who were well rested after the second period because they didn’t play much, so it was up to those guys to step up in the third period and help out those who had gotten the job done in the second period.
I know many of you are really fond of last year’s team. I am, too. There were some really great guys on that team that I hate not seeing in the locker room every night. But I like what I’m hearing in this locker room after the games. The character and the attitude reminds me of the team two years ago. Erik Reitz was the veteran on that team, and he had the respect of his teammates, and he wasn’t afraid to take the lead.
It wasn’t that he was overly vocal. It was just that he knew there was a job that needed doing, and he was the guy to do it. He said several times that season that Kevin Constantine's system was a proven one that worked, and that if the players just trusted in that system, then they would win. I don’t really recall anyone assuming that role last year. It wasn’t that last year’s team was a team of factions, it was just that, for the most part, I don’t really remember them being an unified force until around the playoffs and the arrival of Tony Hrkac.
But what I’m hearing from Zingoni and DiSalvatore reminds me of what Reitz was like in the locker room. The individuals on this team might not be as gifted as several of last year’s players, but as a group, they can win. That’s the feeling that I’m getting from Zingoni and DiSalvatore and Gillies and Irmen.
DiSalvatore’s been in the middle of the action most of the season, but until last night, he’s had trouble getting the puck into the net. But he understands the team, the talent, and Constantine’s system. And he understands that he keeps doing what he’s got to do, then things are going to work out.
“The type of team that we have -- we’re a four line team right now -- and it’s no time to get frustrated,” he said. “Yeah, I want to participate, I want to produce, but I’ve got to stick with it and just believe in the system of the team and do my thing and just plug away and they’re going to come. And it came tonight. Which is great. If it doesn’t come tomorrow night, or whatever it is, I just stick with the plan.”
And if I can go off on a tangent, I’d like to point out that this reminds me a lot of what I’m hearing from Houston Cougars head coach Kevin Sumlin and his players. I cover the Cougars for the Press, so I’m at the games, and I talk to the coach and the players. And what Sumlin and the players stress every week is that it’s nice to win the game. And they win the games by staying in the system and trusting each other. Cougar QB Case Keenum has had his name mentioned when discussing the Heisman Trophy, but last week, against SMU, Keenum cut back on the number of passes he throws in a game because SMU had set its defense to stop the pass, so Keenum started handing the ball off to his running backs because he trusted them to do what was needed for the win. And Sumlin stresses time and time again that the guys have yet to play their best game.
That’s what I’m hearing from this locker room. The players are learning to trust each other, and they’re learning to work within the system. They’ve won games, but they’re not happy about the wins because they haven’t played their best game.
I talked to Danny Irmen for a bit after the game for a piece I’m doing for the mothership next week. And Irmen likes this team.
“I think the sky’s the limit,” he said. “There’s a lot of character on this team. A lot of talent. A lot of hard work. And that’s what you need. And great goaltending. We’re just going to take it one game at a time here, and hopefully we make a little run here throughout the year and into the playoffs.”
I’m not sure about the sky’s the limit thing. And I would feel a whole lot better with a healthy Barry Brust and Nolan Schaefer back in the net. But I think this is a good team that is on it’s way to becoming better. Now Andrew might disagree with me, and he might think I’ve totally misunderstood what DiSalvatore was getting out -- and Zingoni -- and he’s probably right. But I think the right attitude is there. I can tell that they care, and care deeply. I think the talent, while not great, is good. They’re probably going to be a frustrating team to watch throughout the year, just like last season’s team, and the team before that.
But give this team a chance. I think that, if you do, you’ll find that you actually like them.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
10/24: Aeros v. Rampage
So far this season, the consensus among those of us tasked with coming up with a consensus is that this year's Aeros are a lot more like the Aeros of two seasons ago... Lots of heart, lots of defense, but not much offensive talent and not much ability to come back from a deficit.
Well, apparently this team does still have a little bit of that comeback mentality from last year. And without Corey Locke or Krys Kolanos or Matt Beaudoin doing the work.
Tonight The Man was Danny Irmen, as he tipped in the goal that got Aeros on the scoreboard when it looked like the team might be facing its second shutout in a row. And then he got credit for the overtime goal, though it was actually an own goal by a San Antonio player. Ooooops!
Why... thank you! You're too kind! It's PERFECT! You know, I... uh.... left your gift at home. I'm so sorry!
The jubilation (and seriously, if you didn't hear Joe O'Donnell's call of the goals, here's the first Irmen goal and the OT game winner) of the Aeros scoring 2 goals within seconds of each other in the closing minutes, and then getting the win are something to behold.
However... this was a hard game to watch for the first 55 minutes. Lots of the same problems as Wednesday (though I guess you could say that at least they ARE the same problems and not new ones). Bad passing, lots of shots but not really capitalizing on the best chances.
Credit to Dubielewicz, this was easily his best game as an Aero and it's good to see he can get through a game without a fluky goal (I kid... sort of). And from what I could see (though watching goalies is especially hard without the benefit of HD as they're often out of frame) he looked steady and calm the whole game, in spite of some pretty heinous turnovers.
However, San Antonio was not without fault, as they allowed both a 3 on 1 and a 4 on 1 rush at points in the game. But of course, the Aeros flubbed it and couldn't take advantage of those earlier gifts.
So the Aeros give a point to their rival, but take two into tomorrow's rematch at 3 p.m.
Other notes:
Andrew and maybe John(?) are heading to San Antonio to catch tomorrow's game in person. I will be at the opera for most of the game, and I think I heard Joe say the radio broadcast would be joined in progress, so I will make sure the boys have what they need to tweet the game for you. (UPDATE: No they're not, but Andrew says he'll try to get something written for the blog.)
Well, apparently this team does still have a little bit of that comeback mentality from last year. And without Corey Locke or Krys Kolanos or Matt Beaudoin doing the work.
Tonight The Man was Danny Irmen, as he tipped in the goal that got Aeros on the scoreboard when it looked like the team might be facing its second shutout in a row. And then he got credit for the overtime goal, though it was actually an own goal by a San Antonio player. Ooooops!
Why... thank you! You're too kind! It's PERFECT! You know, I... uh.... left your gift at home. I'm so sorry!The jubilation (and seriously, if you didn't hear Joe O'Donnell's call of the goals, here's the first Irmen goal and the OT game winner) of the Aeros scoring 2 goals within seconds of each other in the closing minutes, and then getting the win are something to behold.
However... this was a hard game to watch for the first 55 minutes. Lots of the same problems as Wednesday (though I guess you could say that at least they ARE the same problems and not new ones). Bad passing, lots of shots but not really capitalizing on the best chances.
Credit to Dubielewicz, this was easily his best game as an Aero and it's good to see he can get through a game without a fluky goal (I kid... sort of). And from what I could see (though watching goalies is especially hard without the benefit of HD as they're often out of frame) he looked steady and calm the whole game, in spite of some pretty heinous turnovers.
However, San Antonio was not without fault, as they allowed both a 3 on 1 and a 4 on 1 rush at points in the game. But of course, the Aeros flubbed it and couldn't take advantage of those earlier gifts.
So the Aeros give a point to their rival, but take two into tomorrow's rematch at 3 p.m.
Other notes:
- Russo is reporting via Twitter that Nathan Smith and Andy Hilbert have been reassigned back to Houston tonight. Might not be in time for tomorrow's game but certainly Tuesday's back here in Houston.
- Lots of fights in this game but nobody really dominating any of them. Nice to see rookie Cody Almond offer up a good walloping, but I wish Gillies would give punches to the face a rest. Love the spirit but let's not break that nose again.
Andrew and maybe John(?) are heading to San Antonio to catch tomorrow's game in person. I will be at the opera for most of the game, and I think I heard Joe say the radio broadcast would be joined in progress, so I will make sure the boys have what they need to tweet the game for you. (UPDATE: No they're not, but Andrew says he'll try to get something written for the blog.)
Saturday, October 17, 2009
10/16 -- Aeros v. Rampage -- And The Oscar Goes To Edition
It was midway through the second period, and 6557 fans inside of Toyota Center were watching the San Antonio Rampage take the 2-1 lead on the Houston Aeros. Then Rampage goalie Al Montoya got whistled at 9:46 for a tripping penalty, followed less than a minute later by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
That’s when the hockey game turned into a soccer game as just seconds later Craig Weller was pushed from behind by one of the Rampage. Weller appeared to brush Montoya, and Montoya, doing his best soccer player impersonation, dove face down to the ice, not moving for nearly a minute or so. But unlike in soccer, Montoya wasn’t carried out on a stretcher so as he could come running out minutes later. Montoya had to stand and retake his position in the ice.
That turned out to be a good thing as a rattled Montoya gave up a goal at 11:19 of the second while the Aeros were on the 5-on-3 power play. Max Noreau fired a shot from up around the blue line. Montoya appeared to stop the shot, but Jon DiSalvatore picked up the rebound, fired the puck to Peter Zingoni on the other side of the net, and Zingoni buried the puck to tie the score.
The Aeros coasted from there.
Newcomer Ryan Gunderson scored his first AHL goal at 53 seconds of the third to put the Aeros up 3-2. And after that, it was garbage time as the Aeros dominated the play.
“We started to discover as the game went that if we keep moving our feet, if we keep moving hard, they’re going to draw penalties,” DiSalvatore said afterwards. “And they’re going to put us at an advantage for the game, and that’s something we tried to continue to do throughout the game.”
Duncan Milroy scored a second power play goal at 9:17 of the third as he stuffed in the rebound of a DiSalvatore shot to make it 4-2, then Milroy ended the scoring at 18:56 when, with Montoya pulled and the net empty, Milroy was tripped at center ice but was able to aim the puck toward the San Antonio net where it settled to make the final score 5-2.
“The game definitely had momentum swings,” head coach Kevin Constantine said. “We were okay in the first and got a goal. Then they scored two quick, and that was a huge momentum swing for them. Then we got a little of it back on the power play at the end of the second. That was a key goal. It looked like one of those games where the first goal in the third might be pretty important, and Gunderson’s shot was really important.”
As for Gunderson, he was more happy about the win than he was on actually scoring the goal, saying that “I don’t really focus on it too much.”
So while Gunderson might have put the game-winning point up on the board, it was Al Montoya who probably played the biggest role in tonight’s victory. The win makes the Aeros 3-2-0-0 (6 points) on the season. They return to play on Saturday night when they take on the Texas Stars for the third time in this young season. This also means the probable return in goal of Matt Climie who was stellar in a losing effort for the Stars last week as the Aeros got the 2-1 shootout win.
SOME MISCELLANEOUS GAME NOTES:
The unheralded star of the night was Aeros goalie Anton Khudobin. Khudobin got beat for what appeared to be an easy goal in the second to tie the game, then gave up another tough goal just 11 seconds later to put San Antonio up 2-1. In the past, this kind of thing appeared to rattle Khudobin, but tonight, he was solid and San Antonio didn’t appear to come close to getting the puck past him.
And while this was the team’s third win this season, it was also Khudobin’s. And this fact doesn’t appear to have escaped the attention of Kevin Constantine.
“We started out the year and gave the benefit of the doubt to [Wade] Dubieliewicz just as an older goalie,” Constantine said. “They both got two games each of the first weekends. Once you kind of get through that, there’s got to be a performance factor in your decision making, and Anton had just won the first two games. We just decided that we’ve been real fair up to now, and gave everybody a chance, and now we have to factor in that Anton won and he deserved the right to play this game.”
And while saying that the goalie decision will still be a game-to-game thing, I wouldn’t be surprised if Khudobin got the start against Texas. Constantine is the type who likes to play his hot goalie, and Khudobin at the moment, is that hot goalie. But as Nolan Schaefer and Barry Brust can probably attest, once Khudobin starts to cool off, don’t be surprised to see Dubieliewicz back in the net.
*****************
The line of Cody Almond/Carson McMillan/Peter Zingoni just continues to really impress me. The line didn’t get any points tonight, but once again, they contributed some of the hardest hits and always appeared to be causing some kind of action at the San Antonio goal.
I spoke with Zingoni before the season, and he spoke of the energy and passion that he brings to the game, and watching him on the ice with the two kids, it appears that he’s delivering on that promise. He also appears to be delivering on his promise to deliver in the goal scoring department as tonight’s goal was his third goal in five games. Zingoni missed most of last season with an injury, and he appears to very much want to put that behind him. Zingoni was also one of the players that GM Jim Mill was most excited about bringing to the team, and at this point, it looks like Mill knew what he was doing.
*****************
Danny Irmen’s goal at 14:10 of the first period was a beauty. Petr Kalus fired a shot toward the goal from on high which Montoya was able to block. But Irmen was in great position and appeared to fly over Montoya’s back to get to the puck and stick it in the net before Montoya could recover.
Irmen’s one of the really good guys in the locker room, and it’s always nice to see him have a good game.
*****************
Was it just me, or was the nonstop Michael Jackson music during the game just kind of creepy? None of it they played really seemed to fit a hockey setting. You would expect to hear "Beat It" or "Bad" or something like that to try to fire up the crowd, but no. That didn't happen. Maybe it's just me and my feeling that Jackson isn't really a guy who should be saluted. Anyway, it just seemed kind of strange.
I did like, however, Joe O'Donnell quizzing the players on Michael Jackson. And I really liked the dance the Lady Dynamics did to the Michael Jackson medley during the second intermission. And maybe it's just me, but please, could the team please make more use of the Dynamics.
Please?
*****************
Maybe Al Montoya was swept up in the Michael Jackson fervor which had nothing but Michael Jackson music being played during the game. So perhaps he just wanted to turn the game into a Thriller of some kind, or maybe he was just trying to Beat It himself. Whatever it was, Montoya just had an awful couple of minutes there in the second period.
The penalties were bad enough, but then there was the dive that would make a soccer play proud. On press row, it reminded us of Jon Lovitz’s Master Thespian character that he used to do on Saturday Night Live back in the 80s. For you youngsters, Lovitz would play an awful actor who was really hamming it up for the audience, then at the end of the skit, he would shout out “ACTING!”
That was going to be my video for tonight, Lovitz doing his Master Thespian, but unfortunately, NBC and Saturday Night Live, who can seem to make every god awful Kristen Wiig skit available on the net have chosen not to offer up any of those Lovitz skits. So you’re going to have to be content with Lovitz doing a version of the character -- without the “ACTING!” tag -- on this Subway commercial.
That’s when the hockey game turned into a soccer game as just seconds later Craig Weller was pushed from behind by one of the Rampage. Weller appeared to brush Montoya, and Montoya, doing his best soccer player impersonation, dove face down to the ice, not moving for nearly a minute or so. But unlike in soccer, Montoya wasn’t carried out on a stretcher so as he could come running out minutes later. Montoya had to stand and retake his position in the ice.
That turned out to be a good thing as a rattled Montoya gave up a goal at 11:19 of the second while the Aeros were on the 5-on-3 power play. Max Noreau fired a shot from up around the blue line. Montoya appeared to stop the shot, but Jon DiSalvatore picked up the rebound, fired the puck to Peter Zingoni on the other side of the net, and Zingoni buried the puck to tie the score.
The Aeros coasted from there.
Newcomer Ryan Gunderson scored his first AHL goal at 53 seconds of the third to put the Aeros up 3-2. And after that, it was garbage time as the Aeros dominated the play.
“We started to discover as the game went that if we keep moving our feet, if we keep moving hard, they’re going to draw penalties,” DiSalvatore said afterwards. “And they’re going to put us at an advantage for the game, and that’s something we tried to continue to do throughout the game.”
Duncan Milroy scored a second power play goal at 9:17 of the third as he stuffed in the rebound of a DiSalvatore shot to make it 4-2, then Milroy ended the scoring at 18:56 when, with Montoya pulled and the net empty, Milroy was tripped at center ice but was able to aim the puck toward the San Antonio net where it settled to make the final score 5-2.
“The game definitely had momentum swings,” head coach Kevin Constantine said. “We were okay in the first and got a goal. Then they scored two quick, and that was a huge momentum swing for them. Then we got a little of it back on the power play at the end of the second. That was a key goal. It looked like one of those games where the first goal in the third might be pretty important, and Gunderson’s shot was really important.”
As for Gunderson, he was more happy about the win than he was on actually scoring the goal, saying that “I don’t really focus on it too much.”
So while Gunderson might have put the game-winning point up on the board, it was Al Montoya who probably played the biggest role in tonight’s victory. The win makes the Aeros 3-2-0-0 (6 points) on the season. They return to play on Saturday night when they take on the Texas Stars for the third time in this young season. This also means the probable return in goal of Matt Climie who was stellar in a losing effort for the Stars last week as the Aeros got the 2-1 shootout win.
SOME MISCELLANEOUS GAME NOTES:
The unheralded star of the night was Aeros goalie Anton Khudobin. Khudobin got beat for what appeared to be an easy goal in the second to tie the game, then gave up another tough goal just 11 seconds later to put San Antonio up 2-1. In the past, this kind of thing appeared to rattle Khudobin, but tonight, he was solid and San Antonio didn’t appear to come close to getting the puck past him.
And while this was the team’s third win this season, it was also Khudobin’s. And this fact doesn’t appear to have escaped the attention of Kevin Constantine.
“We started out the year and gave the benefit of the doubt to [Wade] Dubieliewicz just as an older goalie,” Constantine said. “They both got two games each of the first weekends. Once you kind of get through that, there’s got to be a performance factor in your decision making, and Anton had just won the first two games. We just decided that we’ve been real fair up to now, and gave everybody a chance, and now we have to factor in that Anton won and he deserved the right to play this game.”
And while saying that the goalie decision will still be a game-to-game thing, I wouldn’t be surprised if Khudobin got the start against Texas. Constantine is the type who likes to play his hot goalie, and Khudobin at the moment, is that hot goalie. But as Nolan Schaefer and Barry Brust can probably attest, once Khudobin starts to cool off, don’t be surprised to see Dubieliewicz back in the net.
*****************
The line of Cody Almond/Carson McMillan/Peter Zingoni just continues to really impress me. The line didn’t get any points tonight, but once again, they contributed some of the hardest hits and always appeared to be causing some kind of action at the San Antonio goal.
I spoke with Zingoni before the season, and he spoke of the energy and passion that he brings to the game, and watching him on the ice with the two kids, it appears that he’s delivering on that promise. He also appears to be delivering on his promise to deliver in the goal scoring department as tonight’s goal was his third goal in five games. Zingoni missed most of last season with an injury, and he appears to very much want to put that behind him. Zingoni was also one of the players that GM Jim Mill was most excited about bringing to the team, and at this point, it looks like Mill knew what he was doing.
*****************
Danny Irmen’s goal at 14:10 of the first period was a beauty. Petr Kalus fired a shot toward the goal from on high which Montoya was able to block. But Irmen was in great position and appeared to fly over Montoya’s back to get to the puck and stick it in the net before Montoya could recover.
Irmen’s one of the really good guys in the locker room, and it’s always nice to see him have a good game.
*****************
Was it just me, or was the nonstop Michael Jackson music during the game just kind of creepy? None of it they played really seemed to fit a hockey setting. You would expect to hear "Beat It" or "Bad" or something like that to try to fire up the crowd, but no. That didn't happen. Maybe it's just me and my feeling that Jackson isn't really a guy who should be saluted. Anyway, it just seemed kind of strange.
I did like, however, Joe O'Donnell quizzing the players on Michael Jackson. And I really liked the dance the Lady Dynamics did to the Michael Jackson medley during the second intermission. And maybe it's just me, but please, could the team please make more use of the Dynamics.
Please?
*****************
Maybe Al Montoya was swept up in the Michael Jackson fervor which had nothing but Michael Jackson music being played during the game. So perhaps he just wanted to turn the game into a Thriller of some kind, or maybe he was just trying to Beat It himself. Whatever it was, Montoya just had an awful couple of minutes there in the second period.
The penalties were bad enough, but then there was the dive that would make a soccer play proud. On press row, it reminded us of Jon Lovitz’s Master Thespian character that he used to do on Saturday Night Live back in the 80s. For you youngsters, Lovitz would play an awful actor who was really hamming it up for the audience, then at the end of the skit, he would shout out “ACTING!”
That was going to be my video for tonight, Lovitz doing his Master Thespian, but unfortunately, NBC and Saturday Night Live, who can seem to make every god awful Kristen Wiig skit available on the net have chosen not to offer up any of those Lovitz skits. So you’re going to have to be content with Lovitz doing a version of the character -- without the “ACTING!” tag -- on this Subway commercial.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Minnesota Wild Injury Update
Just a follow-up to my post below. Michael Russo has tweeted that Clutterbuck's injury is to his ankle, and that it appears to be serious. Sykora suffered an injury to his groin. Andrew and I were kind of tossing this around after the game, and my first inclination was that Craig Weller and Andy Hilbert would be the two guys called up to the Wild. My thinking with Hilbert is based on my opinion that he would not have agreed to the two-way contract if he did not get some kind of assurance that he was going to be one of the first guys recalled to the Wild.
Andrew was thinking Weller and Colton Gillies, though my thinking is that Gillies is still unable to play because of the broken nose. And Heather read somewhere while we were talking that Danny Irmen could be in the mix.
Who knows? I haven't really gotten a handle on all of the new players yet, nor have I gotten a handle on the team. I've only seen three of the four games, and one of those games I watched on the internet. Also, I'm not really sure of what Todd Richards is looking for with the Wild.
Andrew was thinking Weller and Colton Gillies, though my thinking is that Gillies is still unable to play because of the broken nose. And Heather read somewhere while we were talking that Danny Irmen could be in the mix.
Who knows? I haven't really gotten a handle on all of the new players yet, nor have I gotten a handle on the team. I've only seen three of the four games, and one of those games I watched on the internet. Also, I'm not really sure of what Todd Richards is looking for with the Wild.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
All 4 RFAs accept qualifying offers
Well, on the heels of some disappointing exits for many fans, the (good?) news is that Robbie Earl, Clayton Stoner, Benoit Pouliot, and Danny Irmen have all accepted their qualifying offers from the Minnesota Wild.
So that's one more year from all of them to play either for the Aeros or Wild.
So that's one more year from all of them to play either for the Aeros or Wild.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Wild qualify 6 of 10 restricted free agents (updated)
As we've mentioned before, restricted free agents become unrestricted free agents and the team loses their rights to a player if they are not given a qualifying offer by the deadline, which was today.
Here's the list of players who were qualified, with Aeros bolded:
C Kyle Brodziak
LW Robbie Earl
G Josh Harding
RW Danny Irmen
LW Benoit Pouliot
D Clayton Stoner
The Wild did not make qualifying offers to:
D Paul Albers
LW Riley Emmerson
LW Dan Fritsche
LW Peter Olvecky
Not entirely surprising on any front, though I always liked Paul and will miss his fantastic shot blocking. I thought they might keep Olvecky around, but I guess the new regime doesn't see a fit. Will add more later if clarity around the decisions is made public.
On Wednesday, NHL free agency begins. It's also Canada Day and really the most exciting day of the off-season, typically. Though teams are so burdened with salary cap issues, it will be interesting to see what GMs can pull off with such constraints. I, for one, take the day off and just follow the flow of signings and trades like a kid at Christmas, but I'm kind of a dork for hockey. :)
UPDATE: From Russo's blog, it appears the goal is to keep Olvecky but avoid having to sign him to a one-way (NHL-only) contract.
And of no particular consequence to the Aeros but might be of interest if you were a fan of his, John Lammers has not been qualified by the Dallas Stars organization, so he, too, will become a UFA on Wednesday.
Here's the list of players who were qualified, with Aeros bolded:
C Kyle Brodziak
LW Robbie Earl
G Josh Harding
RW Danny Irmen
LW Benoit Pouliot
D Clayton Stoner
The Wild did not make qualifying offers to:
D Paul Albers
LW Riley Emmerson
LW Dan Fritsche
LW Peter Olvecky
Not entirely surprising on any front, though I always liked Paul and will miss his fantastic shot blocking. I thought they might keep Olvecky around, but I guess the new regime doesn't see a fit. Will add more later if clarity around the decisions is made public.
On Wednesday, NHL free agency begins. It's also Canada Day and really the most exciting day of the off-season, typically. Though teams are so burdened with salary cap issues, it will be interesting to see what GMs can pull off with such constraints. I, for one, take the day off and just follow the flow of signings and trades like a kid at Christmas, but I'm kind of a dork for hockey. :)
UPDATE: From Russo's blog, it appears the goal is to keep Olvecky but avoid having to sign him to a one-way (NHL-only) contract.
About Pouliot, Fletcher said: “We’re excited to see where he is come training camp. He’s had his ups and downs along the road, but (new coach) Todd Richards is excited about seeing him in camp. We want to see if he can push his career forward, take the next step. It’s up to him, but we want to give him that opportunity.”
He said not qualifying Fritsche and Olecky was a roster “flexibility” issue. About Olvecky, Fletcher said making him a qualifying offer might possibly have “made him eligible for a one-way contract. We wanted to keep the option open of a two-way contract.” So, by not qualifying him, Fletcher said he still held out hope that he could reach agreement on a two-way deal and keep Olecky in the fold. Fletcher said it was important for the franchise to have as much financial flexibility as possible heading into free agency.
And of no particular consequence to the Aeros but might be of interest if you were a fan of his, John Lammers has not been qualified by the Dallas Stars organization, so he, too, will become a UFA on Wednesday.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Irmen and Lundy interview
Here's a nice little article with some post-season wrap-up by Danny Irmen and Bryan Lundbohm. Some great quotes about the playoffs, Game 7s, how the season ended, and what's next.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Round 3, Game #4 -- Aeros vs. Moose -- Photos -- Part 2
I realized I'd not given you a shot of Carson McMillan yet.
Some Marco Rosa.
A swooping Danny Irmen.
Bryan Lundbohm and ex-Aero Mark Cullen
A calm Cory Schneider is about to catch the puck.
Matt Beaudoin rushes up the ice.
Greg Rallo lifts the stick of Matt Kassian.
Cory Schneider with some leather larceny.
Mitch Love is cross-checked by Nolan Baumgartner.
Mitch Love is given a ride along the Aeros bench by Guillaume Desbiens.
Krys Kolanos gets off one of his terrific shots on Cory Schneider. Often times these find their way through, under the arm of the netminder.
Cory Schneider takes some refreshment during a stoppage in play.
All Photos:Fred Trask
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Observations From The Morning Skate -- The Cliche Edition (with numbers)
Excuse the lateness of this posting, but I was busy with some breaking news for the mothership. That said, I’ll just combine the observations from the morning skate with inside the numbers for just one post.
So…
You’ve already seen the big news from the Morning Skate about Anton Khudobin getting the start tonight at goal for Houston. Kevin Constantine said it was nothing that Nolan Schaefer did wrong, but more that Khudobin is the guy who has gotten the wins for the team in the playoffs.
“We’re going back to Anton. He’ll start tonight,” Constantine said. “We really, with Anton in the playoffs, didn’t have a lot of choices because the other goalies were hurt. Then you get back to where Nolan and Barry are healthy and you start to have choices and the decisions get harder. We’d gone into our last game having won only one of our last five, so we thought we would try something so we tried Nolan. He didn’t play a bad game. He didn’t make some big saves in some situations where we needed big saves, but at the same time we gave up really, really high quality chances that you wouldn’t look at those as goalie mistakes but as we gave up too big a chances. We don’t think he played bad. At the same time, Anton seems to be the guy who’s gotten wins in the playoffs for us, so we’re going back to him.”
As for this being the ultimate do-or-die game for the Aeros, Tony Hrkac, while apologizing, went with the clichés. “You take it period by period,” he said. “I know it’s all of the old clichés, shift by shift, but our backs are against the wall so we have to take it like that. That’s got to be our mentality. We’ve got to play our game. Play hard. Play smart. We really have to do things right because they’re a good team. Any mistakes and we’re done.”
Constantine isn’t even looking at it as one game at a time or just winning a period. To him, none of that matters. “When you start worrying about wins and losses you’re way ahead of yourself,” he said. “You’ve got to get into the process that turns you into a winner and focus on that.”
And the process is one of learning from game to game and applying the good things from the last game to the next game while cutting back on the bad things. “All we’ve talked about is how have the first three games gone,” he said. “What did we learn from the first three games, how did Game Three go as opposed to Game Two, and what did we learn from Game Three. All of those things trying to prepare us to do our best job in Game Four. That’s all we’ve talked about.”
As for the guys during the skate, they looked loose. They didn’t appear uptight, and they didn’t appear worried about tonight’s game. They worked on their shots. Khudobin and Schaefer worked on blocks and rebounds.
Danny Irmen says he’s trying not to focus on Manitoba: “They’re an experienced team, and a lot of them have been here before. We’ve just got to worry about ourselves and not worry about them. We’ve got to focus on what we’ve got to do right.”
As to the actual game, Hrkac says it all comes down to the first period: ‘We have to have a good first period. Tie it at least.”
I think Mr. Hrkac has been looking at the numbers, because, while kind of bleak, the numbers speak truth. Manitoba is 9-0 when it scores first, and it is 7-0 when it has the lead after the first period. The Aeros are 1-7 when they let the other team score first, and they are a miserable 0-8 when trailing after the first. But if the Aeros can get the lead or a tie at the end of the first, they’re 8-1.
So forget all of the other numbers. The numbers at the end of the first period are all that matters. If Houston can get on the board first and at least hold it to a tie, then they just might be able to pull out at least one game of the series. Otherwise, it’s all over.
So…
You’ve already seen the big news from the Morning Skate about Anton Khudobin getting the start tonight at goal for Houston. Kevin Constantine said it was nothing that Nolan Schaefer did wrong, but more that Khudobin is the guy who has gotten the wins for the team in the playoffs.
“We’re going back to Anton. He’ll start tonight,” Constantine said. “We really, with Anton in the playoffs, didn’t have a lot of choices because the other goalies were hurt. Then you get back to where Nolan and Barry are healthy and you start to have choices and the decisions get harder. We’d gone into our last game having won only one of our last five, so we thought we would try something so we tried Nolan. He didn’t play a bad game. He didn’t make some big saves in some situations where we needed big saves, but at the same time we gave up really, really high quality chances that you wouldn’t look at those as goalie mistakes but as we gave up too big a chances. We don’t think he played bad. At the same time, Anton seems to be the guy who’s gotten wins in the playoffs for us, so we’re going back to him.”
As for this being the ultimate do-or-die game for the Aeros, Tony Hrkac, while apologizing, went with the clichés. “You take it period by period,” he said. “I know it’s all of the old clichés, shift by shift, but our backs are against the wall so we have to take it like that. That’s got to be our mentality. We’ve got to play our game. Play hard. Play smart. We really have to do things right because they’re a good team. Any mistakes and we’re done.”
Constantine isn’t even looking at it as one game at a time or just winning a period. To him, none of that matters. “When you start worrying about wins and losses you’re way ahead of yourself,” he said. “You’ve got to get into the process that turns you into a winner and focus on that.”
And the process is one of learning from game to game and applying the good things from the last game to the next game while cutting back on the bad things. “All we’ve talked about is how have the first three games gone,” he said. “What did we learn from the first three games, how did Game Three go as opposed to Game Two, and what did we learn from Game Three. All of those things trying to prepare us to do our best job in Game Four. That’s all we’ve talked about.”
As for the guys during the skate, they looked loose. They didn’t appear uptight, and they didn’t appear worried about tonight’s game. They worked on their shots. Khudobin and Schaefer worked on blocks and rebounds.
Danny Irmen says he’s trying not to focus on Manitoba: “They’re an experienced team, and a lot of them have been here before. We’ve just got to worry about ourselves and not worry about them. We’ve got to focus on what we’ve got to do right.”
As to the actual game, Hrkac says it all comes down to the first period: ‘We have to have a good first period. Tie it at least.”
I think Mr. Hrkac has been looking at the numbers, because, while kind of bleak, the numbers speak truth. Manitoba is 9-0 when it scores first, and it is 7-0 when it has the lead after the first period. The Aeros are 1-7 when they let the other team score first, and they are a miserable 0-8 when trailing after the first. But if the Aeros can get the lead or a tie at the end of the first, they’re 8-1.
So forget all of the other numbers. The numbers at the end of the first period are all that matters. If Houston can get on the board first and at least hold it to a tie, then they just might be able to pull out at least one game of the series. Otherwise, it’s all over.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Round 3, Game #3 -- Aeros vs. Moose -- Photos
Real short descriptions tonight. I might change them and add more detail tomorrow. The Aeros played hard tonight but just couldn't get it done in the end. Hopefully Wednesday will bring a better result. I'll probably have a few more photos tomorrow.
I'll start with some Krys Kolanos for Ms. C.
Then throw in some Bryan Lundbohm. Bryan has really turned it on in playoffs in my opinion.
Then throw in some Bryan Lundbohm. Bryan has really turned it on in playoffs in my opinion.
Here is the Beaudoin goal, a very nice tip in.
Some more KK.
Here he took a nasty spill into the boards after going over the leg of ex-Aero Maxime Fortunus.
Corey Locke was able to get this one past Cory Schneider.
Danny Irmen was able to tie it up at 3 goals each with this one between the feet of Cory Schneider.
And he had a nice celebration dance.
All Photos:Fred Trask
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Aeros vs Rockford 3/15 -- Aeros Grill the Hogs in 5-4 Victory
About midway through the second period of tonight’s game against the Rockford IceHogs, a balloon soared into view of the press box, then quickly fell back to the ground as all of the air blew out. Andrew Ferraro, sitting to my left, also saw this. To which he stated: “That’s like the Aeros playoff chances right now.”
The statement was understandable as, at that point, the Aeros were down 3-1, they were already on their second goalie of the game, and while they hustling more than they had in any game over what turning into a lost weekend, the game just didn’t appear to be headed in the Aeros direction.
But at 10:26 of the second Benoit Pouliot was able to bury the puck in the net to briefly make the score 3-2. Then Rockford’s Pete MacArthur scored his second goal of the game at 12:35 to put Rockford up 4-2, and the game looked to be over.
Then the Aeros went on the power at 14:18 of the second. And for most of that power play, the Aeros were a disaster. Players were falling down with the puck. They were turning it over, whiffing on shots, everything but running a top-notch power play. Then Krys Kolanos fed Corey Locke who was slicing between defenders, and at 16:02, he put the puck in the net to make the score 4-3.
About a minute-and-a-half later, Danny Irmen got control of the puck behind the Rockford net, and with Rockford defenders draping him, he fought and fought until he saw Krys Kolanos all alone in position for the shot. Irmen got the puck to Kolanos, and Kolanos nailed the shot to tie the game at 17:41.
“We had this feeling in the locker room that we were going to get this thing done,” Danny Irmen said after the game. And at that point, it appeared the Aeros had indeed shifted into another gear that Rockford just couldn’t match.
And with seven seconds left in the second, the Aeros sealed the win when Krys Kolanos accepted the pass from Jesse Schultz to net the game winning goal.
“We never really give up. That’s how we play,” Irmen said. “And we know we have a lot of offensive guys, top of the line…players who can score at any time.”
Nobody was able to score in the third, though Anton Khudobin, who replaced Nolan Schaefer at 17:44 of the first period, faced some tough shots. And the Aeros, who faced dropping out of second place after a disaster weekend of play, found a way to salvage two points, making themselves and the crowd of 4648 very happy.
After the weekend, the Aeros still sit in second place with a record of 33-25-1-8 975 points). The Chicago Wolves are in third place at 35-31-2-1 (73 points), and the Peoria Rivermen are in fourth place at 35-30-1-1 (72 points). With the loss, the IceHogs dropped all of the way down to fifth place with a record of 33-28-0-6 (72 points). The Iowa Chops are in sixth at 28-26-4-8 (68 points),and the Quad City Flames are still in the playoff hunt at 27-29-6-6 (66 points).
The Aeros have most of this week off – which is usually bad news for the Aeros – and return to play against the Peoria Rivermen for two games at Toyota Center on Saturday and Sunday.
MISCELLANEOUS GAME NOTES:
Amazingly, despite their awful play over the weekend, the Aeros have won 11 of their last 15 games. They are now 23-11-1-3 against their West Division foes this season.
And with his three points against Rockford today, Krys Kolanos now has 251 points for his professional career. Maxim Noreau’s two assists give him 51 career points. Jesse Schultz has points in 12 of the Aeros last 15 games.
********************
The three stars of the game were 3) Benoit Pouliot (goal and assist), 2) Rockford’s Pete MacArthur (2 goals), and 1) Krys Kolanos (2 goals and an assist). For once, I don’t think those of us up in the press box had much of an argument with this, though an argument could have been made for Corey Locke (goal and an assist).
But the true star of the game was probably Danny Irmen. Irmen got only point in the game, but he did a lot of the dirty, hustle work in the game that made the scoring possibly, especially on the two Krys Kolanos goals.
And the crowd favorite of the night, aside from Krys Kolanos, was Mitch Love who got in a fight toward the end of the first period that helped to bring a little energy to the team.
********************
“It wasn’t inevitable things would have worked out,” Kevin Constantine said after the game, “but we gave ourselves a chance for things to work out because we worked harder tonight than we’ve worked in a long time.”
Constantine was happy with the team’s play, especially with the team’s energy level. But the one thing he was unhappy about was Nolan Schaefer’s play. “Nolan didn’t look sharp. And I didn’t think Nolan looked sharp two games ago,” Constantine said. “And we just left it and at the end of the day lost…we didn’t want to leave it today.”
*********************
I’m not really in a music vibe tonight. But I heard this song the other night as I walked into Toyota Center, so, I thought why not play that song. So here’s The Rolling Stones with the “Harlem Shuffle.”
The statement was understandable as, at that point, the Aeros were down 3-1, they were already on their second goalie of the game, and while they hustling more than they had in any game over what turning into a lost weekend, the game just didn’t appear to be headed in the Aeros direction.
But at 10:26 of the second Benoit Pouliot was able to bury the puck in the net to briefly make the score 3-2. Then Rockford’s Pete MacArthur scored his second goal of the game at 12:35 to put Rockford up 4-2, and the game looked to be over.
Then the Aeros went on the power at 14:18 of the second. And for most of that power play, the Aeros were a disaster. Players were falling down with the puck. They were turning it over, whiffing on shots, everything but running a top-notch power play. Then Krys Kolanos fed Corey Locke who was slicing between defenders, and at 16:02, he put the puck in the net to make the score 4-3.
About a minute-and-a-half later, Danny Irmen got control of the puck behind the Rockford net, and with Rockford defenders draping him, he fought and fought until he saw Krys Kolanos all alone in position for the shot. Irmen got the puck to Kolanos, and Kolanos nailed the shot to tie the game at 17:41.
“We had this feeling in the locker room that we were going to get this thing done,” Danny Irmen said after the game. And at that point, it appeared the Aeros had indeed shifted into another gear that Rockford just couldn’t match.
And with seven seconds left in the second, the Aeros sealed the win when Krys Kolanos accepted the pass from Jesse Schultz to net the game winning goal.
“We never really give up. That’s how we play,” Irmen said. “And we know we have a lot of offensive guys, top of the line…players who can score at any time.”
Nobody was able to score in the third, though Anton Khudobin, who replaced Nolan Schaefer at 17:44 of the first period, faced some tough shots. And the Aeros, who faced dropping out of second place after a disaster weekend of play, found a way to salvage two points, making themselves and the crowd of 4648 very happy.
After the weekend, the Aeros still sit in second place with a record of 33-25-1-8 975 points). The Chicago Wolves are in third place at 35-31-2-1 (73 points), and the Peoria Rivermen are in fourth place at 35-30-1-1 (72 points). With the loss, the IceHogs dropped all of the way down to fifth place with a record of 33-28-0-6 (72 points). The Iowa Chops are in sixth at 28-26-4-8 (68 points),and the Quad City Flames are still in the playoff hunt at 27-29-6-6 (66 points).
The Aeros have most of this week off – which is usually bad news for the Aeros – and return to play against the Peoria Rivermen for two games at Toyota Center on Saturday and Sunday.
MISCELLANEOUS GAME NOTES:
Amazingly, despite their awful play over the weekend, the Aeros have won 11 of their last 15 games. They are now 23-11-1-3 against their West Division foes this season.
And with his three points against Rockford today, Krys Kolanos now has 251 points for his professional career. Maxim Noreau’s two assists give him 51 career points. Jesse Schultz has points in 12 of the Aeros last 15 games.
********************
The three stars of the game were 3) Benoit Pouliot (goal and assist), 2) Rockford’s Pete MacArthur (2 goals), and 1) Krys Kolanos (2 goals and an assist). For once, I don’t think those of us up in the press box had much of an argument with this, though an argument could have been made for Corey Locke (goal and an assist).
But the true star of the game was probably Danny Irmen. Irmen got only point in the game, but he did a lot of the dirty, hustle work in the game that made the scoring possibly, especially on the two Krys Kolanos goals.
And the crowd favorite of the night, aside from Krys Kolanos, was Mitch Love who got in a fight toward the end of the first period that helped to bring a little energy to the team.
********************
“It wasn’t inevitable things would have worked out,” Kevin Constantine said after the game, “but we gave ourselves a chance for things to work out because we worked harder tonight than we’ve worked in a long time.”
Constantine was happy with the team’s play, especially with the team’s energy level. But the one thing he was unhappy about was Nolan Schaefer’s play. “Nolan didn’t look sharp. And I didn’t think Nolan looked sharp two games ago,” Constantine said. “And we just left it and at the end of the day lost…we didn’t want to leave it today.”
*********************
I’m not really in a music vibe tonight. But I heard this song the other night as I walked into Toyota Center, so, I thought why not play that song. So here’s The Rolling Stones with the “Harlem Shuffle.”
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