So, 4 things we know are official:
Warren Peters and Nate Prosser are headed back to the Aeros. In exchange, Casey Wellman and Dave McIntyre are headed up to the Wild. In fact, McIntyre is making his NHL debut tonight in Minnesota, so that's pretty exciting. And it's on Versus if you want to tune in.
It's a little bit of a blow offensively to lose both those guys and only get Peters back (nothing against Peters, of course, but that's 2 forwards who score a lot gone and one who scores a lot (at least lately) back). But it's fantastic to get Prosser back on the blue line.
What's unofficial at the moment, but the clues all seem to be there, is that Dennis Endras, Aeros #2 goalie, may be headed over to play in Finland, while Adorable Darcy Kuemper is headed to the Aeros. Allegedly.
You can click the links above and draw your own conclusions. The Wild/Aeros are expected to release something tomorrow.
That said, Kuemper's been tearing it up in the ECHL with a league-leading 1.74 GAA and 0.941 save percentage in 8 games. And he was just seconds away from his first pro shutout last night, but his team gave up a couple of penalties and the Condors put one past him.
So if this turns out to be true, the Aeros are getting a very good goalie in Kuemper. Even better than when he was here late in the season two years ago. And the organization appears committed to his development, so the legitimate competition between Kuemper and Hackett should drive them both pretty hard.
I'm just glad I never had to do a "Free Kuemps" stick figure drawing to actually get him to Houston.
Showing posts with label Dennis Endras. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dennis Endras. Show all posts
Monday, November 28, 2011
Saturday, October 29, 2011
View From The Press Box: Barons 5 Aeros 4 (SO)
The Houston Aeros played a better hockey game than the Oklahoma City Barons tonight. For two-thirds of the game, the Aeros put on a clinic in puck possession, defense, and keeping the opposition backing up and playing out of position. Unfortunately for the Aeros, they failed to show up for the first period of action tonight, and that failure was enough for the Aeros to get the loss.
The Barons (5-2-0-1, 11 points) scored three times on nine shots in the first period with every point coming off of a turnover, especially the embarrassing second goal which came off a turnover in the Aeros (5-1-0-3, 13 points) offensive zone when they were on the power play. Matt Hackett, who started the night in goal, didn't stand much of a chance on any of the goals, and he was pulled after that first period.
"It just didn't bounce the right way for [Hackett]," head coach John Torchetti said afterwards. "Hack's been our backbone, and we owed it to him. Sometimes you have to win a game for your goalies, too, because they hold us in. Sometimes you don't deserve what you get there. He'll be back."
Dennis Endras came in to start the second, and except a goal he gave up while the Barons were on a 5x3 power play, he kept them off the board, and he kept them off the board while making some spectacular saves. But it wasn't all Endras. An entirely different Aeros team skated onto the ice for that second period, scoring three goals and crawling back into a game they should have been blown out of.
"It's the first period that we have to throw back on film," Torchetti said. "It's disappointing. Our go-to-guys just didn't play as hard in certain areas. Just keeping it simple. We had the puck on all of the first three goals. We've got to communicate a whole lot more. I've got to find a way to definitely get us going in the first period. I don't know what it is. So we'll see. The boys fought back."
The first period is something the Aeros have had a problem with the entire season so far. And watching the team skate the later periods, it's kind of puzzling as to why they're such slow starters. But as we were discussing in the press box, the Aeros, for the last five seasons, have had a problem with playing a complete period. And it bit them tonight as they had to come back from so far down, that they were gassed toward the end of the third period.
And they seem to have developed a mental block in the shootout. It appeared from the press box that they were envisioning a blocked shot before they even took the shot, and they just seemed hesitant to shoot, giving the Barons goalie plenty of time to react.
But in the end, the Aeros were able to pick up a point in a game where it appeared they were going to be blown out after just one period. And while a team always wants to pick up the win and the two points, getting at least a point after the way they played the first period tonight has to be considered some kind of victory. Even if it is like kissing your sister.
SOME MISCELLANEOUS NOTES:
I'm still learning the new guys, but Justin Fontaine and David McIntyre are really impressing me. I like watching Endras in the net -- he made a couple of saves tonight that would have left Ms. Conduct giggling with glee.
***********************************8
I'm still trying to figure out why the refs, in the third period, after blowing the whistle and saying no goal for the Barons, had to confer with the goal judge to see if the puck crossed the blue line, especially if their original ruling was that it wasn't a goal because the puck crossed the line after the whistle blew. What was the goal judge going to say? That yeah, it crossed after you blew the whistle?
Then again, this is the AHL, right?
The Barons (5-2-0-1, 11 points) scored three times on nine shots in the first period with every point coming off of a turnover, especially the embarrassing second goal which came off a turnover in the Aeros (5-1-0-3, 13 points) offensive zone when they were on the power play. Matt Hackett, who started the night in goal, didn't stand much of a chance on any of the goals, and he was pulled after that first period.
"It just didn't bounce the right way for [Hackett]," head coach John Torchetti said afterwards. "Hack's been our backbone, and we owed it to him. Sometimes you have to win a game for your goalies, too, because they hold us in. Sometimes you don't deserve what you get there. He'll be back."
Dennis Endras came in to start the second, and except a goal he gave up while the Barons were on a 5x3 power play, he kept them off the board, and he kept them off the board while making some spectacular saves. But it wasn't all Endras. An entirely different Aeros team skated onto the ice for that second period, scoring three goals and crawling back into a game they should have been blown out of.
"It's the first period that we have to throw back on film," Torchetti said. "It's disappointing. Our go-to-guys just didn't play as hard in certain areas. Just keeping it simple. We had the puck on all of the first three goals. We've got to communicate a whole lot more. I've got to find a way to definitely get us going in the first period. I don't know what it is. So we'll see. The boys fought back."
The first period is something the Aeros have had a problem with the entire season so far. And watching the team skate the later periods, it's kind of puzzling as to why they're such slow starters. But as we were discussing in the press box, the Aeros, for the last five seasons, have had a problem with playing a complete period. And it bit them tonight as they had to come back from so far down, that they were gassed toward the end of the third period.
And they seem to have developed a mental block in the shootout. It appeared from the press box that they were envisioning a blocked shot before they even took the shot, and they just seemed hesitant to shoot, giving the Barons goalie plenty of time to react.
But in the end, the Aeros were able to pick up a point in a game where it appeared they were going to be blown out after just one period. And while a team always wants to pick up the win and the two points, getting at least a point after the way they played the first period tonight has to be considered some kind of victory. Even if it is like kissing your sister.
SOME MISCELLANEOUS NOTES:
I'm still learning the new guys, but Justin Fontaine and David McIntyre are really impressing me. I like watching Endras in the net -- he made a couple of saves tonight that would have left Ms. Conduct giggling with glee.
***********************************8
I'm still trying to figure out why the refs, in the third period, after blowing the whistle and saying no goal for the Barons, had to confer with the goal judge to see if the puck crossed the blue line, especially if their original ruling was that it wasn't a goal because the puck crossed the line after the whistle blew. What was the goal judge going to say? That yeah, it crossed after you blew the whistle?
Then again, this is the AHL, right?
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Aeros Take Over For 3-1 Win
A few thoughts and comments on tonight's 3-1 Aeros win over the Grand Rapids Griffins.
1. This was the first game I've seen this year, so I spent most of it figuring out who the new guys were and trying to figure out which returning vets were wearing which new numbers. Still, on the third night of a three-in-three, I thought the team looked good, especially in the second and third periods.
2. The revelation of the game, for me, was Dennis Endras. He kept the Aeros in the game during a first period where it appeared that the Aeros were still playing in Charlotte. I know that Ms. Conduct was impressed as I heard her little cute goalie nice save giggle an awful lot. Coach John Torchetti gave credit for the win to Endras, saying that he thought he was the reason the Aeros were able to get the win.
3. How about those kids? Justin Fontaine gave the Aeros the lead, putting them up 1-0 about midway in the second period. And Kris Foucalt's first pro goal was a beauty in the third, putting the Aeros back up 2-1. And veteran Jed Ortmeyer helped make the goal possible with a fantastic centering pass. David McIntyre finished up the scoring.
4. Torchetti was not happy with the team's start to the game. And it sounds as if he wasn't too happy with some of the starts he's been seeing. He does like the team's attitude, and he noted the great conditioning the guys get into that allow them to control and dominate third periods.
5. He's still working on getting everybody to pick up the system, especially the kids. What he's trying to make them understand is that, the sooner they learn their roles, the sooner they make the NHL.
6. Talked to Endras a bit after the game. He was happy to get the win, and he admitted that playing three games in three nights is something he never had to do while playing in Germany.
7. The Aeros are now 4-1-0-2 (10 points) on the season. And they were able to get five out of a possible six points this weekend. The play wasn't perfect, but sometimes, especially this early in the season, it's not about perfection, but is more about getting the points.
8. This is my fifth season covering the team, and I've learned from coaches Constantine, Yeo, and now Torchetti, is that it takes 25 game to get a real read on a team. That lets the roster gel while hopefully, during that time, the guys come to understand the system. It was at about that time last year that Ortmeyer and Patrick O'Sullivan joined the team and the Aeros took off. Also at that time, remember, it looked like the San Antonio Rampage were easily the class of the AHL West, and we all remember what happened to them. Still, it is nice to see the team getting the wins.
1. This was the first game I've seen this year, so I spent most of it figuring out who the new guys were and trying to figure out which returning vets were wearing which new numbers. Still, on the third night of a three-in-three, I thought the team looked good, especially in the second and third periods.
2. The revelation of the game, for me, was Dennis Endras. He kept the Aeros in the game during a first period where it appeared that the Aeros were still playing in Charlotte. I know that Ms. Conduct was impressed as I heard her little cute goalie nice save giggle an awful lot. Coach John Torchetti gave credit for the win to Endras, saying that he thought he was the reason the Aeros were able to get the win.
3. How about those kids? Justin Fontaine gave the Aeros the lead, putting them up 1-0 about midway in the second period. And Kris Foucalt's first pro goal was a beauty in the third, putting the Aeros back up 2-1. And veteran Jed Ortmeyer helped make the goal possible with a fantastic centering pass. David McIntyre finished up the scoring.
4. Torchetti was not happy with the team's start to the game. And it sounds as if he wasn't too happy with some of the starts he's been seeing. He does like the team's attitude, and he noted the great conditioning the guys get into that allow them to control and dominate third periods.
5. He's still working on getting everybody to pick up the system, especially the kids. What he's trying to make them understand is that, the sooner they learn their roles, the sooner they make the NHL.
6. Talked to Endras a bit after the game. He was happy to get the win, and he admitted that playing three games in three nights is something he never had to do while playing in Germany.
7. The Aeros are now 4-1-0-2 (10 points) on the season. And they were able to get five out of a possible six points this weekend. The play wasn't perfect, but sometimes, especially this early in the season, it's not about perfection, but is more about getting the points.
8. This is my fifth season covering the team, and I've learned from coaches Constantine, Yeo, and now Torchetti, is that it takes 25 game to get a real read on a team. That lets the roster gel while hopefully, during that time, the guys come to understand the system. It was at about that time last year that Ortmeyer and Patrick O'Sullivan joined the team and the Aeros took off. Also at that time, remember, it looked like the San Antonio Rampage were easily the class of the AHL West, and we all remember what happened to them. Still, it is nice to see the team getting the wins.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
HI HOCKEY!!!
I went to bed last night with that feeling in my chest that I got as a little kid on Christmas Eve. That "slightly too excited to sleep, but also know if I go to sleep, tomorrow will happen sooner" feeling.
Luckily I'm old and fall asleep easier than I did when I was 7 years old. But I did wake up at 6:30 this morning and wished I hadn't so I wouldn't have to wait for all the fun parts of the day. Why couldn't they play at 11 this morning?
Anyway, I went and checked out practice yesterday morning. It was fun watching guys take pictures with fans as they exited the ice, and the guys seemed to enjoy it, too.
Also, Mike Hoffman is enormous. (And crush-worthy, ladies.) Also, hide your pizza from him. Dude is a Hoover.
Per the team, there are 26 players on the opening night roster. With 14 forwards and 9 defensemen, I'd expect to see two or three of those guys move to the ECHL soon. The ice seemed pretty crowded at practice yesterday.
Also, the team is carrying 3 goalies still. Hackett had his own net while Endras and Kuemper shared a net, so the team has a tough decision to make.
Endras has fairly high level pro experience in the German league and in international competition, so he's a good safety net in case something happens to one of the Minnesota goalies (as it often seems to do).
But Keumper is everything you want in a young goalie and I think he's shown he can hold his own in this league. While he'd learn a lot in a lower league, frankly, I'd just straight up be a sad panda if I didn't get to see him play this season. Y'all know me. Big heart for my goalies. It's hard to be objective.
Maybe I can find out more about what's going on there today.
----------------------------------------------------
Meanwhile, the Wild played their first game last night and won handily in a 4-2 decision over the Columbus BJs. Funny thing is that they looked just like our Aeros did last year, but with NHLers executing on Yeo's strategy. Works out pretty well, apparently. Congrats to Mike and the whole team for kicking off the season the right way.
I know it's a dream come true for Yeo, but also for a bunch of former Aeros like Marco Scandella, who scored a nice goal, and Brett Bulmer, who made his NHL debut at a mere 19 years of age.
----------------------------------------------------
Finally, I've taken a new gig this season contributing to the new Backhand Shelf blog on theScore.ca. My friend, Justin Bourne, is editing the site and doing most of the writing, so you know it's good. He's very knowledgeable and very funny and told me, "Just do your thing. Write about goalies, hot boys, whatever you want. Oh, and here's some money for it."
LemmethinkaboutitYES.
So, my regular feature, Tea with Ms. Conduct, runs every other Sunday with a few other things thrown in irregularly. (If you don't get the tea reference, you need to rent the cheesy hockey classic Youngblood ASAP.)
If you're a hockey fan in general, I think you'll enjoy the blog. Lots of writing from Justin and from several other writers with a variety of backgrounds and interests. Tons of humor and great knowledge.
Anyway, here's my first piece, hot off the press: http://blogs.thescore.com/nhl/2011/10/09/tea-with-ms-conduct-the-bunny-conundrum/
-----------------------------------
And with that... see you tonight! Welcome back to Houston, hockey! (Or is it Welcome back to hockey, Houston!?)
Luckily I'm old and fall asleep easier than I did when I was 7 years old. But I did wake up at 6:30 this morning and wished I hadn't so I wouldn't have to wait for all the fun parts of the day. Why couldn't they play at 11 this morning?
Anyway, I went and checked out practice yesterday morning. It was fun watching guys take pictures with fans as they exited the ice, and the guys seemed to enjoy it, too.
Also, Mike Hoffman is enormous. (And crush-worthy, ladies.) Also, hide your pizza from him. Dude is a Hoover.
Per the team, there are 26 players on the opening night roster. With 14 forwards and 9 defensemen, I'd expect to see two or three of those guys move to the ECHL soon. The ice seemed pretty crowded at practice yesterday.
Also, the team is carrying 3 goalies still. Hackett had his own net while Endras and Kuemper shared a net, so the team has a tough decision to make.
Endras has fairly high level pro experience in the German league and in international competition, so he's a good safety net in case something happens to one of the Minnesota goalies (as it often seems to do).
But Keumper is everything you want in a young goalie and I think he's shown he can hold his own in this league. While he'd learn a lot in a lower league, frankly, I'd just straight up be a sad panda if I didn't get to see him play this season. Y'all know me. Big heart for my goalies. It's hard to be objective.
Maybe I can find out more about what's going on there today.
----------------------------------------------------
Meanwhile, the Wild played their first game last night and won handily in a 4-2 decision over the Columbus BJs. Funny thing is that they looked just like our Aeros did last year, but with NHLers executing on Yeo's strategy. Works out pretty well, apparently. Congrats to Mike and the whole team for kicking off the season the right way.
I know it's a dream come true for Yeo, but also for a bunch of former Aeros like Marco Scandella, who scored a nice goal, and Brett Bulmer, who made his NHL debut at a mere 19 years of age.
----------------------------------------------------
Finally, I've taken a new gig this season contributing to the new Backhand Shelf blog on theScore.ca. My friend, Justin Bourne, is editing the site and doing most of the writing, so you know it's good. He's very knowledgeable and very funny and told me, "Just do your thing. Write about goalies, hot boys, whatever you want. Oh, and here's some money for it."
LemmethinkaboutitYES.
So, my regular feature, Tea with Ms. Conduct, runs every other Sunday with a few other things thrown in irregularly. (If you don't get the tea reference, you need to rent the cheesy hockey classic Youngblood ASAP.)
If you're a hockey fan in general, I think you'll enjoy the blog. Lots of writing from Justin and from several other writers with a variety of backgrounds and interests. Tons of humor and great knowledge.
Anyway, here's my first piece, hot off the press: http://blogs.thescore.com/nhl/2011/10/09/tea-with-ms-conduct-the-bunny-conundrum/
-----------------------------------
And with that... see you tonight! Welcome back to Houston, hockey! (Or is it Welcome back to hockey, Houston!?)
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