One of the things John Torchetti was lamenting after last night's 2-1 OT win over the Rampage was just the lack of continuity with the Aeros. What with the injuries and call-ups, it seems as if the Aeros have new players, new line combinations, and new lineups seemingly every game, which makes it difficult for the guys to settle into patterns and learn the tendencies of their linemates.
It was hoped last night, what with some guys having been recently returned, and four days between games, that the Torchetti would be able to get the actual Aeros out on the ice, get lines back to what they were supposed to be when the season started, and get some continuity to the team.
That's not how things are going to be however.
Jared Spurgeon was knocked out of the Wild lineup last night be a vicious hit into the boards, so the phone call came down to Houston. On their way to St. Paul are Jon DiSalvatore and Nate Prosser. David McIntyre tweeted last night that he hopes to return to the lineup soon, but otherwise, there may be some more guys from the ECHL/CHL joining the team this week.
For you Wild fans, be nice to DiSalvatore. He's the team captain, and he does all of the little things that help your team win. This year, he's been sacrificing points so as to get the dirty, unrewarded stuff handled, and he's a great locker room guy. Here's a piece I wrote on him for AHL.com about a month ago.
And if there's anything we can ask for the New Year, it's that the Wild get healthy and become, once again, the Minnesota Wild, and not the Minnesota Aeros as I've seen them referenced in some places, because that will be for the better of both clubs.
Showing posts with label Jared Spurgeon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jared Spurgeon. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Some Game Five Photos and Additional Notes
For those of you who decided not to give your hard-earned bucks to AHL Live so that it could fail for you again, I thought I would share some photos from the game. But first, a few notes.
1. You'll be pleased to note that some Binghamton fans consider the Aeros to be the dirtiest team they've played this year. Good for them, because if that's what they think, they wouldn't have been able to handle some of the teams the Aeros have handled this year. And I'm sure that if you ask many of the Aeros fans, they're not going to want to say too many nice things about the Senators style of play.
2. There was a comment below on Pascal Morency and the Clear Day Roster. And no, Morency was not on the Clear Day Roster. But AHL rules allow players not on the Clear Day Roster to play in the playoffs in case of an emergency situation, such as the injury to Cody Almond. Morency has been with the team since the playoffs started, and he's been skating with the Black Aces.
3. If Jared Spurgeon can't play on Tuesday, I'd expect his replacement to be Jeff Penner, who played during the Peroia series because of the injury to Marco Scandella. I haven't heard any updates on Almond or Spurgeon. I'll go out to to the skate tomorrow to see if I can get any information, but I doubt I'll get anything definitive.
4. Now for the photos....
This is Jared Spurgeon on the ice as Jody Green works on him. And it was at this point that the arena was screaming out taunts at Matt Hackett.
This is a photo of the Binghamton mascot being lowered from the arena rafters. The picture doesn't do the absurdity of this event justice because the mascot primarily just hangs there as he's lowered -- I got him moving his arms -- and it kind of looks like he's being lynched.
Here is JM Daoust getting the first goal of the game for the Aeros. He just did his standard hang around the net and be a pest thing.
Here's Daoust's second goal. You can't really see it in this photo, but I thought Robbie Earl deserved an assist because just before this it was like Earl and the goalie were wearing the same uniform, so smothered and screened did Earl have him.
And here's Hackett making a heroic effort to stop a shot. He can't quite stop it though, as Binghamton scores its third goal.
1. You'll be pleased to note that some Binghamton fans consider the Aeros to be the dirtiest team they've played this year. Good for them, because if that's what they think, they wouldn't have been able to handle some of the teams the Aeros have handled this year. And I'm sure that if you ask many of the Aeros fans, they're not going to want to say too many nice things about the Senators style of play.
2. There was a comment below on Pascal Morency and the Clear Day Roster. And no, Morency was not on the Clear Day Roster. But AHL rules allow players not on the Clear Day Roster to play in the playoffs in case of an emergency situation, such as the injury to Cody Almond. Morency has been with the team since the playoffs started, and he's been skating with the Black Aces.
3. If Jared Spurgeon can't play on Tuesday, I'd expect his replacement to be Jeff Penner, who played during the Peroia series because of the injury to Marco Scandella. I haven't heard any updates on Almond or Spurgeon. I'll go out to to the skate tomorrow to see if I can get any information, but I doubt I'll get anything definitive.
4. Now for the photos....
This is Jared Spurgeon on the ice as Jody Green works on him. And it was at this point that the arena was screaming out taunts at Matt Hackett.
This is a photo of the Binghamton mascot being lowered from the arena rafters. The picture doesn't do the absurdity of this event justice because the mascot primarily just hangs there as he's lowered -- I got him moving his arms -- and it kind of looks like he's being lynched.
Here is JM Daoust getting the first goal of the game for the Aeros. He just did his standard hang around the net and be a pest thing.
Here's Daoust's second goal. You can't really see it in this photo, but I thought Robbie Earl deserved an assist because just before this it was like Earl and the goalie were wearing the same uniform, so smothered and screened did Earl have him.
And here's Hackett making a heroic effort to stop a shot. He can't quite stop it though, as Binghamton scores its third goal.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Aeros Lose: A Bad Night In Photos
Mike Yeo and Colton Gillies gave us some decent quotes after the game, which was good of them. So I'll have some of those later. For now, a few pictures which, I think, best define this game.
First we have the celebration after Jared Spurgeon's power play goal to put the Aeros up 1-0. I like this kid. It's a shame we're not going to see him next year, but he was too good for the Wild this past year to let him come back here next season.
This photo shows just how close the Aeros were to going up 2-0 in the first. If that happens, things might turn out different. Instead, Ryan Ellis comes from nowhere to get his stick on a puck that Jeremy Smith was not going to stop.
Here, to me, is the most amazing call of the night. This is Robbie Earl interfering with Smith. Yes, this is when Earl got called for goaltender interference. No, he doesn't do anything else. Trust me, I've been spending a lot of time lately watching the play in front of the goalie, and this is nothing compared with what Jon DiSalvatore and Warren Peters do nightly, or were doing tonight. So as bad as the missed goal was, this to me is more outrageous because at least they eventually got the goal call right.
Speaking of that goal...I don't have a good shot of it because I was down in the opposite corner by Matt Hackett. But the Aeros sure as hell reacted to as if it was a goal.
I'm not sure how many of you follow the Milwaukee Admirals on twitter, but they're damn maddening to follow because the only thing they don't tweet during a game are player bowel movements -- no, I'm not exaggerating. They tweet line shifts, passes, and icing calls. So for me, the best part of this whole thing was reading their tweets as they go ballistic that the refs were reviewing the replay. Only they weren't reviewing replay, as you can tell from Warren Peters begging them to look up at the video board as the goal was replayed. And trust me, I watched, and shot. They never looked up. And they weren't looking at any monitors or else Peters wouldn't have been going so ballistic when they weren't looking up at the video boards.
So here's the goal being allowed. From the best I could figure, this is what happened. There was a stoppage in play and the Aeros got on them about the no goal. So they did the baseball umpire thing and conferred. I think that one of the refs thought it was a goal but hadn't had time to say anything before the other called it a no goal. They talk. Then the one who said it wasn't a goal went over to the corner with a linesman and conferred with the goal judge who said that it was a goal. So he did the right thing and called it a goal. Not that it mattered because the Admirals came right back and scored.
But at least one good thing happened, the Admirals tweeters had to tweet about something other than icing calls.
First we have the celebration after Jared Spurgeon's power play goal to put the Aeros up 1-0. I like this kid. It's a shame we're not going to see him next year, but he was too good for the Wild this past year to let him come back here next season.
This photo shows just how close the Aeros were to going up 2-0 in the first. If that happens, things might turn out different. Instead, Ryan Ellis comes from nowhere to get his stick on a puck that Jeremy Smith was not going to stop.
Here, to me, is the most amazing call of the night. This is Robbie Earl interfering with Smith. Yes, this is when Earl got called for goaltender interference. No, he doesn't do anything else. Trust me, I've been spending a lot of time lately watching the play in front of the goalie, and this is nothing compared with what Jon DiSalvatore and Warren Peters do nightly, or were doing tonight. So as bad as the missed goal was, this to me is more outrageous because at least they eventually got the goal call right.
Speaking of that goal...I don't have a good shot of it because I was down in the opposite corner by Matt Hackett. But the Aeros sure as hell reacted to as if it was a goal.
I'm not sure how many of you follow the Milwaukee Admirals on twitter, but they're damn maddening to follow because the only thing they don't tweet during a game are player bowel movements -- no, I'm not exaggerating. They tweet line shifts, passes, and icing calls. So for me, the best part of this whole thing was reading their tweets as they go ballistic that the refs were reviewing the replay. Only they weren't reviewing replay, as you can tell from Warren Peters begging them to look up at the video board as the goal was replayed. And trust me, I watched, and shot. They never looked up. And they weren't looking at any monitors or else Peters wouldn't have been going so ballistic when they weren't looking up at the video boards.
So here's the goal being allowed. From the best I could figure, this is what happened. There was a stoppage in play and the Aeros got on them about the no goal. So they did the baseball umpire thing and conferred. I think that one of the refs thought it was a goal but hadn't had time to say anything before the other called it a no goal. They talk. Then the one who said it wasn't a goal went over to the corner with a linesman and conferred with the goal judge who said that it was a goal. So he did the right thing and called it a goal. Not that it mattered because the Admirals came right back and scored.
But at least one good thing happened, the Admirals tweeters had to tweet about something other than icing calls.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Spurgeon Returns
Per NHL.com comes a note that the Wild have reassigned Jared Spurgeon to the Aeros as of today.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
11/27/10 -- Aeros v. Milwaukee -- The Shoot-Out Torpedo
Sorry this is late -- I've been having to transcribe Rice football postgame quotes and write that story. And I'm tired, so don't expect a lot, but...
The Aeros 2-1 shootout win tonight against the Milwaukee Admirals was much, much better than last night's 5-3 loss to San Antonio. The effort and urgency was clearly there from early on, it's just that the Aeros ran into a tough goalie on a hot streak in Milwaukee's Mark Dekanich -- the guy was only allowing about 1.68 goals per game, so the Aeros getting a goal in regulation play was something of which to be proud. And to top it off, the regulation goal was from Jared Spurgeon who went five-hole on a really pretty shot. Then after Casey Wellman made a Corey Locke-esque type shot in the first round of the shootout, it was Spurgeon who again came up big to score in the last round.
And Yeo was much, much happier about his team's effort tonight.
The Aeros are off until Thursday's kiddie matinee against Rockford. Their record is 11-9-1-2 for 25 points after 23 games, and they're tied, points-wise, with Milwaukee for fourth place, though Milwaukee has the better win percentage.
1. I'm liking the defense combo of Max Noreau and Jared Spurgeon. They don't make for the tallest or biggest duo on the ice, but the effort's there every night, and they're going to hit. Plus those two are turning into quite the offensive tandem.
2. Spurgeon got off a pretty shot in the third period to put the Aeros up 1-0. Milwaukee disputed the goal, but it was clear to us in the press box that it went five hole then hit off the cross bar and behind the blue line before bouncing out. As for the goal, Spurgeon said it was just a by-product of the team attacking the net and he was just trying to get a rebound for either Casey Wellman or Brandon Buck to handle.
3. "In all honesty it was just putting pucks on net," Spurgeon said afterwards. "We’d been throwing them to the net all night, and we were getting opportunities. We had a three-on-two there coming on the rush, and I was just trying to get a rebound for the other guys. It just happened to go in. Good things happen when you put it on the net."
4. As I said, Yeo was much happier with his team tonight. He realizes that there are going to be losses and mistakes made. What he cares about is the team's actions when the losses and mistakes are being made.
5. "If we a lose game, it’s going to be fine," Yeo told us. "Tonight for example, if we lost that game, it’s okay because the intentions of what we were trying to do was pretty clear that everybody was all in. The work ethic was there, and guys were committed to playing the system in the way that we want to play it. In each and every game we’re going to make mistakes. I make mistakes, and everybody’s going to. At the same time, it’s evident when a guy’s going out there and doing what he can for the team. And that was clearly the case tonight. The guys were all in for each other, and the result was positive."
6. Things are looking up for the Aeros health wise. Chad Rau is waiting only medical clearance to return to action. Tyler Cuma and Peter Zingoni have received medical clearance and are getting back into game shape. Marco Scandella is suffering a lower body injury, but Yeo doesn't think he'll be out for long.
7. I normally don't say nice things about the National Anthem singers, but I thought tonight's anthem was exceptional. Of course, the singer was one of our regular readers, but that has nothing to do with it. She was very good. I wish they were all that good.
8. Some strange goings-on before the game. Apparently, the Toyota Center computer system crashed, especially their system that allowed them process the ticketing. Toyota Center requested the Aeros delay the start of the game for 15 minutes as a result. While the Aeros were willing to work with Toyota Center re this -- though not to the tune of 15 minutes -- the Admirals said no and demanded the game start on time.
9. That's why scratches weren't announced since it wasn't known until it was time for the lineups to be announced as to when the game would start. That's also why the Aeros hit the ice before Milwaukee -- everybody was messed up on the timing.
10. The Aeros do not play again until Thursday. Yeo plans to use this time for practice. He feels some of the recent problems the team has been having is due to a lack of practice time due to the scheduling.
11. Tonight's video has absolutely nothing to do with the game, or with any theme arising from the game. It's just I'm an Elvis Costello fan and he's got a new album out called National Ransom and the video is of him performing the title song on Letterman. And if you know someone who's a music fan, then I think this album would be a great Christmas gift.
The Aeros 2-1 shootout win tonight against the Milwaukee Admirals was much, much better than last night's 5-3 loss to San Antonio. The effort and urgency was clearly there from early on, it's just that the Aeros ran into a tough goalie on a hot streak in Milwaukee's Mark Dekanich -- the guy was only allowing about 1.68 goals per game, so the Aeros getting a goal in regulation play was something of which to be proud. And to top it off, the regulation goal was from Jared Spurgeon who went five-hole on a really pretty shot. Then after Casey Wellman made a Corey Locke-esque type shot in the first round of the shootout, it was Spurgeon who again came up big to score in the last round.
And Yeo was much, much happier about his team's effort tonight.
The Aeros are off until Thursday's kiddie matinee against Rockford. Their record is 11-9-1-2 for 25 points after 23 games, and they're tied, points-wise, with Milwaukee for fourth place, though Milwaukee has the better win percentage.
1. I'm liking the defense combo of Max Noreau and Jared Spurgeon. They don't make for the tallest or biggest duo on the ice, but the effort's there every night, and they're going to hit. Plus those two are turning into quite the offensive tandem.
2. Spurgeon got off a pretty shot in the third period to put the Aeros up 1-0. Milwaukee disputed the goal, but it was clear to us in the press box that it went five hole then hit off the cross bar and behind the blue line before bouncing out. As for the goal, Spurgeon said it was just a by-product of the team attacking the net and he was just trying to get a rebound for either Casey Wellman or Brandon Buck to handle.
3. "In all honesty it was just putting pucks on net," Spurgeon said afterwards. "We’d been throwing them to the net all night, and we were getting opportunities. We had a three-on-two there coming on the rush, and I was just trying to get a rebound for the other guys. It just happened to go in. Good things happen when you put it on the net."
4. As I said, Yeo was much happier with his team tonight. He realizes that there are going to be losses and mistakes made. What he cares about is the team's actions when the losses and mistakes are being made.
5. "If we a lose game, it’s going to be fine," Yeo told us. "Tonight for example, if we lost that game, it’s okay because the intentions of what we were trying to do was pretty clear that everybody was all in. The work ethic was there, and guys were committed to playing the system in the way that we want to play it. In each and every game we’re going to make mistakes. I make mistakes, and everybody’s going to. At the same time, it’s evident when a guy’s going out there and doing what he can for the team. And that was clearly the case tonight. The guys were all in for each other, and the result was positive."
6. Things are looking up for the Aeros health wise. Chad Rau is waiting only medical clearance to return to action. Tyler Cuma and Peter Zingoni have received medical clearance and are getting back into game shape. Marco Scandella is suffering a lower body injury, but Yeo doesn't think he'll be out for long.
7. I normally don't say nice things about the National Anthem singers, but I thought tonight's anthem was exceptional. Of course, the singer was one of our regular readers, but that has nothing to do with it. She was very good. I wish they were all that good.
8. Some strange goings-on before the game. Apparently, the Toyota Center computer system crashed, especially their system that allowed them process the ticketing. Toyota Center requested the Aeros delay the start of the game for 15 minutes as a result. While the Aeros were willing to work with Toyota Center re this -- though not to the tune of 15 minutes -- the Admirals said no and demanded the game start on time.
9. That's why scratches weren't announced since it wasn't known until it was time for the lineups to be announced as to when the game would start. That's also why the Aeros hit the ice before Milwaukee -- everybody was messed up on the timing.
10. The Aeros do not play again until Thursday. Yeo plans to use this time for practice. He feels some of the recent problems the team has been having is due to a lack of practice time due to the scheduling.
11. Tonight's video has absolutely nothing to do with the game, or with any theme arising from the game. It's just I'm an Elvis Costello fan and he's got a new album out called National Ransom and the video is of him performing the title song on Letterman. And if you know someone who's a music fan, then I think this album would be a great Christmas gift.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Meet Your 2010-11 Aeros: Jared Spurgeon
Defense
Born: 11/29/1989 (20)
Edmonton, Alberta
5'8" - 175
Shoots: Right
(WHL Championship Trophy Photo by Regan Bartel - http://reganbartel.blogspot.com/)
When I went to training camp during the first week of camp here, there was this small defenseman on the ice, #28, who caught my eye during one of the drills. It was some kind of backchecking drill and this 28 just looked like he was working his can off. He didn't always catch his guy but, my god, did he appear to be busting a gut trying to and that impressed me.
Now, sometimes a guy can look like he's working hard, but really he's just working inefficiently. So, I'm not sure what I was seeing exactly, but apparently the team saw enough in Spurgeon to sign him off of a tryout. He'd originally been a 6th round pick of the Islanders in the 2008 draft, but they didn't sign him.
I'm told he was quite the PP quarterback for the Spokane Chiefs and he definitely racked up some points (almost a point per game his final WHL season) to back that up. I think at the AHL level, sometimes smaller guys can pull off some slippery moves. They can hide in the weeds a little bit. We'll see what he can do. If his energy at camp is any indication, he'll be a fun guy to watch.
I asked a Spokane Chiefs fan I know on Twitter to gimme Spurgeon in 140 char: "Incredibly effective defenseman for his size, great leadership, exceptional hair." My Twitter friends know what's important.
Here's some good scouting video of him put together by his agent:
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