Ortmeyer Returns

The word is that Jed Ortmeyer has cleared waivers and is on his way back to the Aeros.  We haven't yet heard if there's a corresponding move to the Aeros roster, yet, but we'll let you know. 

Happy New Year, Jed

Happy New Year, Jed Ortmeyer. You're the newest contestant on the Minnesota Wild wheel of recall.

Orts has been recalled to the Wild as Jarod Palmer is placed on the IR. Good for Orts, but damn it Wild, stop hurting your players already.

Some Prodigal Sons Return

It's a Christmas Miracle...the Wild have reassigned Jed Ortmeyer and Jeff Taffe to the Aeros.  This means that a) either the Wild are actually getting healthy, or b) they're going to try some different Aeros next week.

Aeros return to action on Monday night when they host San Antonio at 7:05.

Ortmeyer Suspended

The AHL has just announced that Jed Ortmeyer has been suspended for one game because of an illegal check to the head on Friday night in Hamilton. He will miss this afternoon's game against Toronto.

Rest, Relaxation, and Inspiration: The Aeros Prep For Game Three

While Heather was prepping for her journey to Binghamton on Monday, I headed up to SLICE to get in a few last interviews with some players before they got on the bus to the airport. What I saw was a team in good spirits and that was confident of their ability to handle the Senators.

I've got a piece over at the mothership today on the road the Aeros traveled get to this match up against the Sens, and the importance of Jed Ortmeyer in how that all happened along with some player appreciation for the crowds at Toyota Center throughout the season, especially last weekend.

But as always, there's not enough space to go with all of the material that I got. So...

I asked Jon DiSalvatore about how the team had evolved from the one that was in seventh place and dropping in late-December to the one we have today. In the Press, I quote him talking about a meeting the team had where they talked about writing their story for the season, and how they wanted that story to go. But because of space, I didn't put in the rest of the quote, where he talks about the roles that Jed Ortmeyer, Patrick O'Sullivan, and Matt Hackett played in getting the Aeros to where they are right now.

"Along with that [meeting] came some key pieces to our puzzle, too," he said. "And over the next week we added Jed Ortmeyer who has proven to be one of the most valuable guys to our team as far as what he brings in leadership ability, and just the type of player he is. The type of player that he is, guys can just look at and know he brings it every night. And of course Patrick O’Sullivan. And I think once he came, he added so much to our offense, where our offense jumped up a whole point, I believe. Our power play started to get better. And those are all key things. And you take that along with younger guys maturing, and taking on responsibility, and giving our goaltender the opportunity by a trade to take on the number one position."

I then asked Ortmeyer his thoughts about the credit the guys have been giving him for the Aeros turnaround. And it's credit that he didn't really think he deserved.

"I don’t know if I deserve that," he said. "The talent was here. Just having a little bit more accountability and bringing in a little more depth with Sully and myself, that helped push guys a little bit further. Being around the young guys, it’s fun for us, when they ask us questions about guys we played with and stories from some of the guys that are in the hall of fame now. I think it’s exciting, and I think that’s what pro hockey is. We’re able to pass down things that we’ve experienced that hopefully they’ll be able to pass down some stuff when they get to our age."

The guys were in good spirits on Monday, and one of the reasons for that dealt with them finally being able to get some days off. It wasn't so much the time off they needed because of physical issues, but needing the time off for a mental break after playing two tough seven game series with almost no time off between series.

"Going back-to-back seven game series, and kind of jumping from one series to the next, and the mental ground that takes place in going through some of those games, and then getting yourself ready for the biggest series of them all, it was important for us to get some rest," DiSalvatore said. "I think more so – I think guys physically feel that they just needed the rest, but mentally I think it’s going to turn out to be more beneficial than anything else. Just to kind of take a break and get away from it for a couple of days. Guys are always constantly thinking about it, but just to kind get of way from it, get rid of the feeling, the sting of the loss. And just get away from the rink and just kind of decompress a little bit is going to prove to really benefit us as we go refocus for the next couple of days."

Both DiSalvatore and Ortmeyer said pretty much the same thing when asked about Binghamton. A good team with speed and offense weapons and good goalies. But both were equally adamant about one thing. The team has to concentrate on its game. On making sure they do all of the little things, on focusing on their individual shifts and focusing only on those things they can control. And I'll go with this quote from Ortmeyer which I used in the Press story, because it really gets to the heart of the matter.

"We need to take a lesson from the Hamilton series," he said. "We got away from our game that we had success from, and it almost came back to bite us. They took us right down to the end. Game one [against Binghamton] we played the way we wanted to play, and we were able to get the win, and in game two, we started off not playing our style of game. We were fortunate that Hack made some big saves and kept us in the game."

I'll leave it to Heather for now. I'm sure she'll get something up here nice and quick after the game tonight, and as much as she hates transcribing interviews, I'm sure she'll make the effort to get some for the post. I, meanwhile, have an early flight to Philly tomorrow with a three hour-plus drive to Binghamton to look forward to, but I'll be there for games four and five where hopefully there will be a lot of good news.

P.S.: Before I go, I've got a message from DiSalvatore and Ortmeyer for the fans who have been coming out to Toyota Center, especially this past weekend.

"It was incredible," DiSalvatore said. "As much as we want to go and win the series in Binghamton – that’s the ultimate goal – we would love to do it in front of our crowd as well. They have been fantastic. The way they turned out all season, I really feel we were one of the top attendance teams in the league."

Then Ortmeyer followed up: "It’s great. It’s a great arena. The acoustics are great. It’s loud. It’s an NHL-style arena when you get that many fans in there. It’s exciting. It definitely gives you a little extra boost of energy. I think the fans have started – they’re coming out at the end of the season. It’s an exciting time of year. Who wouldn’t want to be around for a playoff run, especially in the finals? We’re happy that the fans have come out to support us, and we’re looking for more support down the road."

Notes, Quotes & Observations from Game One, Houston v. Hamilton

Brett Bulmer on the ice after being injured.

Aeros dominated the first half of the game. Hamilton controlled the second half. Matt Hackett was fantastic throughout. And the Aeros got the 2-1 win despite being out-shot and take the 1-0 series lead.

1. According to Mike Yeo, Brett Bulmer wasn't injured as seriously as was first feared. He is, however, day-to-day, and we're not really sure, beyond what Yeo said, as to just how bad Bulmer was injured.

2. If he can't go on Sunday, my best guess is that Matt Kassian will play. But I've been wrong way too much, so who knows who will really play if the situation comes to that.

3. Jed Ortmeyer attributed Hackett's play to Game Seven in Milwaukee.

"I think that Game Seven, he bounced back," Ortmeyer said. "His confidence, you could see it in him. He was on the top of his crease. He was battling through traffic and getting to rebounds and making sure that he could see pucks. It was a big boost for him and for our team last series, and he played great tonight."

4. And Hackett told us he was just having fun out there on the ice.

"It’s just fun," he said. "It’s why I picked to be a goalie. It’s all the pressure at the end there. It’s what makes the position fun. I was glad to make a couple of big saves there for the boys."

5. While the Aeros didn't play their best game, and while they let Hamilton dominate the third period, Mike Yeo said he's not much of a believe in momentum carrying over from game to game. Yeo also believes that this game was something the Aeros needed, and for more than just the win.

"Certainly we gave them momentum in this game," he said. "We gave them confidence going into the next game. At the same time, I think – I don’t believe in the whole we got momentum, they got momentum. I think that the next game is a completely different animal. I think that there’s an understanding on our part, and guys felt it on the bench. And they could see that we weren’t doing the right things, and that was keeping us from getting to our game. And it was helping them to get to theirs.

"I think we needed this. We don’t have a rivalry or hatred with this team, or even necessarily the respect factor that we need to. The quicker that you can get those things into your game, the more urgency you’re going to play with, shift in and shift out. And you can understand that whatever the situation, whatever the score is, you have to go out and play a certain way."

6. I liked the attitude of Ortmeyer and Hackett after the game. Both guys thought it was important to get the Game One win, for obvious reasons. But to both of them, Game One was over and the important thing is Sunday.

"It’s huge," Ortmeyer said of the win. "That first win secures us the home ice. Their goal is to come in here with a split. To get that first one is huge for us. We know that they’re going to come hard. It’s a win for them to get a split here. So game two’s going to be even more important now."

And Hackett added: "The first game’s always huge, obviously. But Sunday’s a big game. We don’t want them to get a split. We want to go into their barn up two-nothing. For sure, it’s a bigger game on Sunday."

7. For the curious, out in the Eastern Conference, Binghamton took the first two games from Charlotte, in Charlotte, and now the teams will be heading to Binghamton for three games as the Senators need to win just two of the possible five remaining games.

8. Now seeing as how the AHL only awarded the Aeros one of three stars after the Game Seven win over Milwaukee -- the Admirals were given the other two stars which is kind of strange seeing as how they like, you know, lost, it's going to be interesting to see if they award any to the Aeros in the Saturday Morning Skate. I'm guessing that Sens goalie Robin Lehner will get a star since he pitched the shutout and stopped 35 Charlotte shots. I think they'll probably give another to the Sens Ryan Potulny since he scored two of the Sens' three goals. One would think that Hackett would be a lock for the other star, seeing as how he stopped 38 of 39 shots while leading his team to a 2-1 victory. But this is the AHL office we're talking about, so I'm guessing the final star will go to Hamilton's Mathieu Carle since, of course, he scored and prevented the Bulldogs from getting shutout.

9. That's it for now. See everybody at the Toy Box on Sunday afternoon.

Note and Observations For Game Seven Prep

Okay, before you do anything else, go read my story on last night's game that is currently in the Press. There's a few quotes I didn't get in last night, and I think the quotes from O'Sullivan and Ortmeyer best represent the mood of the team.

Now the important stuff, game seven.

The Aeros will skate at about 1:30 at Bradley Center today. And part of that skate will involve putting their mind in the right place. They've got to shake off Sunday's game, they've got shake off the disappointment of blowing the lead with 5:00 left. That game is over.

"Game sevens are exciting," Jon DiSalvatore said last night. "Obviously it would be great to close it out right now, but playoffs are an exciting time, and game sevens are an exciting time. We’ve got to shrug it off. Obviously it’s a tough loss to take, but we’ve got to get our heads right, wrapped around what we can do better. And just get excited for a game seven. It’s a good time."

Then he continued with how he wants the youngsters thinking.

"We can’t waste any time feeling sorry for ourselves right now. Let’s enjoy it. Let’s be upbeat and positive. Embrace the day, get better tomorrow, and get ready."

Jed Ortmeyer wants the guys thinking this: the pressure is on Milwaukee, not Houston. Milwaukee's the number one seed. Milwaukee's the home team.

"We came up a little bit short, but we’ve tried to take our game to them the last three games or so," he said. "The hits and the grinding and the shots on their goalie are going to take its toll. Like I said, the pressure’s on them."

And then this from Patrick O'Sullivan: "It’s tough, leading with five or six minutes left. It’s not a fun feeling right now, but take tonight to clear our minds, get back to practice tomorrow and refocus, and like I said, it’s a game seven, and those are fun to play."

Frankly, I think Mike Yeo saved yesterday's game. Sure, the Aeros lost, but they were losing their cool and making stupid play after stupid play, stupid penalty after stupid penalty, and he called a timeout and said something that got them back on track. There were some guys sitting next to me who I think might have been scouts -- they were sitting in spots reserved for the Aeros, but they weren't Aeros guys -- and they were talking about how impressed they were with Yeo and how he got a team quickly spiraling out-of-control back under control.

What are the keys for Game Seven?

Well, Matt Hackett has to play an entire game. Not all of the goals that happened yesterday were his fault. There were the continued defensive breakdowns and pucks deflecting off of players -- like the OT winner. But he's got to play an entire game like he did for the last 15 minutes of the second period and the first half of the third period yesterday. He doesn't need to be Jeremy Smith out there, but he's got to be more consistent.

More importantly, the guys have to play their roles. Ortmeyer and DiSalvatore noted that the problem at the start was that everybody wanted to play the hero and they got out of their roles and they started playing really stupid hockey.

On the plus side, Patrick O'Sullivan finally figured out how to get past Jeremy Smith last night. He and DiSalvatore have been taking their shots all series, good shots, but they broke through last night. And that pass O'Sullivan made to DiSalvatore for the second goal was just a thing of beauty.

And in that fashion, the Aeros can't worry about Smith.

"He’s standing on his head," O'Sullivan said last night. "100 saves in two games in Houston. That’s why they were in those games in our rink for sure. We dominated those games, and he kept them in it. We’ve got to continue to try and get traffic. He’s a good goalie. Goalies get hot in playoffs, and teams do well because of that. And I certainly think that’s the case with them. But we’re not concerned with what they’re doing or guys on that team as much as what we have to do. And what we can control is how hard we play, and we’re going to have a better start next game and we’re going to be okay."

I'll close with this statement from Mike Yeo:

"Playoffs aren’t any fun unless you get a chance to play a game seven. It’s difficult, there’s no question, to sit and say we had a chance to wrap it up. We’ve won a lot of hockey games this year, and we feel a lot of confidence in that room. We have a chance to go out here and play a great game and put all our chips in and give ourselves a chance to win a game seven. I think, if you look at the first series and how things went, and we don’t want to look past Milwaukee here, but if you do want to accomplish moving on and having success further, past this series, then you have to play against these hard games and against these hard teams. Milwaukee’s been a great opponent so far, and I expect [Tuesday] to be the same."

Notes And Observations From A Game Six Loss

Okay, it's been a really long damn day for me -- curse you Continental Airlines -- and I'm really tired, so this won't take long. And it's my understanding that we'll getting some of Chris Jerina's photos up here, so you can look at some good later.

So on with the important stuff. That being that the Aeros lost 5-4 in OT to force a game seven on Tuesday. They were five minutes away from winning the series. Five minutes. Then it all fell apart. Still, seeing the way the Aeros played the first 25 minutes of this game, just getting to OT is a bit of a wonder. But, as Patrick O'Sullivan said after the game: "It sucks for us right now, but we’ll be ready."

1. As much as I would like to believe O'Sullivan, after watching today's game, one can't be blamed for wondering if the team will be ready. If you can't be ready for a game six, then how can you be ready for anything?

2. I think I've figured out the problem with the team's sometimes slow start. I spoiek with Matt Kassian right befor the playoffs, and he said the biggest difference between this team and the Constantine playoff team is that this team expects to win. So, when they come out, they're just really not prepared because they're convinced they can turn it on at anytime.

I think that's what Mike Yeo is getting out here: "Momentum’s a funny thing. We just didn’t have our heads at that point [when he called the timeout]. We weren’t playing our game. If you’re going to lose, that’s one thing. But go down swinging, go down with your game, but we weren’t doing that. That’s just what it was, like we came back last game, we scored in two goals in less than four minutes, so we knew that we still had enough time to crawl back into the game, but the way it was going, the direction it was going, we had no chance. It would have been way uglier, way worse. I give the guys credit because they got their own minds back in the right place."

3. I spoke with Yeo, Jon DiSalvatore, Jed Ortmeyer, and Patrick O'Sullivan after the game, and none of them were happy with the way the game started for the Aeros, or with the team's play up until the time of the timeout.

"I think we were a little geeked up to the start game," DiSalvaore said. "Maybe a little over-anxious, a little over-excited. Obviously they got out to that early lead and emotions kind of took over, and we did lose our heads there for a bit. We took a couple of uncharacteristic penalties, penalties that can hurt you in the playoffs."

"We just needed to focus, to regroup," Ortmeyer said. "We were too excited. To ramped up to get out there and make a difference. Each guy wanted to wear the cape tonight. And that’s not the way we play. We’ve had success by doing the little things right, and we got a way from that and came unglued a little bit."

4. How will this loss affect the team? We'll let Patrick O'Sullivan asnwer: "It’s tough, leading with five or six minutes left. It’s not a fun feeling right now, but take tonight to clear our minds, get back to practice tomorrow and refocus, and like I said, it’s a game seven, and those are fun to play."

5. That's it for now. I've got to get some zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Have A Little Faith, Baby

The Peoria game plan was simple tonight. Hit the Aeros. Hit the Aeros again. Keep hitting the Aeros until they gave in because they're a soft team. And Peoria did hit the Aeros tonight. And they kept hitting the Aeros. And the Aeros might not be the world's most physical team. They may rely on skill over brute force. But if the Aeros have shown anything over these last several months, it's that they'll take the pounding and win the game because while you're pounding them, they're playing smart, sticking to the system, and playing the game.

They're doing things the right way. And that led to the Aeros getting the tough 3-2 OT win tonight.

It's also the game the Aeros were expecting.

"It was exactly what we expected it to be, a real tight checking, close game," head coach Mike Yeo said. "Hard fought by both teams. I thought Peoria gave us what we could handle tonight. They played a great game. They were physical, and they were aggressive. They had some good chances, and I thought [Hackett] had to play great for us in order to give us that chance to win the game."

We watch the Aeros a lot, so we know that this team is more than just Patrick O'Sullivan and Robbie Earl and Jon DiSalvatore. We know that Warren Peters and Jed Ortmeyer and Jared Palmer and Carson McMillan will grind away and grind away. And when you're not looking, when you're focused on the glamour guys, pow, they attack.

It's easy to forget about the depth that this team has. The third line consists of Jed Ortmeyer, Warren Peters, and Colton Gillies. Think about that.

"It’s roles," Yeo says. "It’s doing different jobs. Sully does his job on the power play to equalize there and sets up Chad Rau and Rauser buries it. But you need guys – I thought the penalty killers did a great job despite the fact they got the one goal tonight. I thought our penalty killing was great in key times for us.

"And then you’ve got guys like Carson McMillan and Jarod Palmer who are playing on the fourth line, but they were kind of bouncing around tonight. Palms goes out and scores right after they score and really gets the momentum back in our favor. And those hurt for that team. I know it hurts when you’re on the other side. And then both of those guys contribute and do a good job of creating a turnover in the neutral zone and find a way to get her in the net."

We like to talk about the jump the team made with the arrival of Patrick O'Sullivan and Jed Ortmeyer. And there's a lot to that. O'Sullivan's arrival especially, with his ability to score almost at will, opened things for Jon Disalvatore and took some pressure off of some of the other guys to be the go-to guy. But it was also at about that this time that Robbie Earl went to Mike Yeo and asked what he could to do to make the team better. And Casey Wellman got healthy.

And then there is the Ortmeyer factor. A factor which is also shared by Warren Peters and DiSalvatore. They're veteran guys who have been around, and they know what it takes for a team to win. We've been told by several guys just how much it means to see the effort that Ortmeyer goes through to just to be able to play every night. And then the guys see DiSalvatore and Peters willingly planting themselves in front of the goalie game after game, shift after shift, doing the dirty work that makes it that much easier for their teammates to get better chances at scoring.

And there's this. We always hear about the guys who are supposed to the NHL stars and can't make it and get sent back to the minors and who go into sulky malcontent mode. Patrick O'Sullivan did not do this. He's gone out there and played hard and worked every shift.

As such, the Aeros now find themselves up 2-0 in the series. They're not in the clear yet, though. I doubt Peoria's going to give up. And there are now three games in three nights for the Aeros to play next week in Peoria. But while we all complain about the number of three-in-threes the Aeros played this season, you can't help but wonder if that's going to be to the Aeros advantage next week.

But we're just going to have to wait until next week to find out, I guess.

Now on a humorous note...One of our more frequent commenters, I'm talking to you B2Bomber, jokingly jumped on the "negative waves" that Andrew was sending about the team, and he was using a movie reference. I caught it, Andrew didn't.

For those of you who didn't catch B2B's reference, he quoted a character named Oddball bitching about the "negative waves" that Moriarty was spreading. This comes from a vastly underrated Clint Eastwood movie of the late-1960s called "Kelly's Heroes," and the character of Oddball is played by Donald Sutherland. I did a Youtube search, and came up with this clip. So, enough with the negative waves about the Aeros already. Have a little faith, baby. Have a little faith.

Today Could Be The Most Important Day Of The Series

That title might be a bit melodramatic, but there is some truth to it. The Aeros played a very good game of hockey last night, getting over some early nerves before getting aggressive and dominating puck play.

Jed Ortmeyer told us after Sunday's game that some of the most important time during the playoffs comes between games. It's about the mental and physical recovery. About putting the last game behind you, not getting to high or too low, and getting in the mindset to go back out and play another game that, just happens to be the most important game you've played that season.

The hard thing, he said, is for the youngsters to realize that it's a best-of-seven series. If you win, you've still got three more wins to get. If you lose, well, you're still good, unless it's game seven.

That said, the Aeros are on the plus side because they got that game one win last night. They're in the driver's seat for this series. And now it's important to make sure they stay there. Which means that they cannot allow Peoria to accomplish it's main goal of these first two games, and that's getting a split.

"“We talked about that,” Ortmeyer said. “When you’re a road team, their goal is to come in here and get a split. And that’s a win for them, especially having three in a row at a home. But for us, we can enjoy this game, but we have to come to work tomorrow and be focused. We have to have a better start, and play with the same intensity and same discipline that we played tonight and make sure that that game on [Friday] is a turning point for this series, for sure, going in there for three. We’ve got to be focused and ready.”

Mike Yeo also spoke about the importance of denying Peoria the split, but I'm going to make you go over to the Press to read that. Needless to say, Peoria is gearing up for tomorrow, and their aim is going to be doing anything possible to get a win so as to gain the advantage going back to Peoria.

So that brings us to today. And how the Aeros adjust to last night and prepare for today. There are some veteran guys in the Aeros locker room. Guys who have been through this before. So let's see if they can guide the team through this minefield.

Aeros 4-1 Over Peoria (WIth Some Photos)

The Aeros tonight played one of the best games I've seen the team play this season in their 4-1 game one win over Peoria. They dominated puck possession for most of the game. They were hitting. Attacking. This is the type of game that Mike Yeo wants his team playing on a consistent basis.

Before we go further, here is Heather's game story.

Heather has the quotes in her story -- I'll have some in my story in the Press tomorrow. And Andrew really hit the good points in his post below.

Yeo, Hackett, and Ortmeyer were all in agreement that the team was a bit nervous to start the game, but that once Peoria scored that goal everything just fell into place.

Once again, we witnessed a fantastic performance on the part of Robbie Earl who just continues to raise his level of play. And what a great game from the Gillies/Peters/Ortmeyer line. And Ortmeyer's second period goal was just one of those things where I turned to Heather and Andrew to ask if I just saw what I thought I saw, only they were turning to me to ask that same question.

Here are some photos from the game. First off we have a shot of Jed Ortmeyer, which I really like, and which happened by pure accident.


Here's a photo of Matt Hackett taking a brief moment to relax late in the third period.


This is the end of the game.


Here's Robbie Earl getting a moment of recognition as the second star.


And for the second game in a row, here's Warren Peters as the number one star.

Some Game 80 Photos

I took some photos, of course, but instead of game action, I've got some other items. For instance, here's one of the team fans with her sign, at the glass after the game.


This photo below is one of my favorites. I just wish it wasn't through the glass. But I think the whole arena could see Jed Ortmeyer's smile after this goal. We asked after the game, and he noted that this was part of a joke that he had with Patrick O'Sullivan. Primarily, whenever's he on a line with O'Sullivan, he gets a goal.


And here is Robbie Earl. I think we've written nice things about Robbie this season, but I don't think we've said enough about just how good he's been this year, and how much he's elevated his game. I can't believe some of the defensive plays -- when he stole a puck off another guy's puck -- I saw him make in the third period.


Here's number two star Chad Rau bumping fists with Chilly.


And here's the game's number one star, Warren Peters, getting his moment in the spotlight after the game.

The Ortmeyer Factor

The Aeros don't play again until Thursday, and they only have four games left in this, what has become a most fun and enjoyable regular season. Unlike the teams from 1999 and 2003 that won it all (and were built to win and win big), nothing this team does for the rest of the time they are together will disappoint me.

They have achieved more than I, or anyone else in the AHL media world thought was possible. Some experts had them finishing dead last in the West, while some others saw enough talent to get them into the playoffs. I could be lumped into the latter of those two. I thought the runaway "favorites" in the West this year would be Peoria and San Antonio.

Milwaukee is always good, and I thought Chicago had just enough offensive firepower to make it work. The rest of the division, I thought would be battling it out with Chicago and Milwaukee to get the last two or three spots.

Now just look at the standings.

Milwaukee can't lose on the road, the Aeros can't lose at home and the Texas Stars, despite all the call-ups to Dallas, have somehow remained near the top with no superstars. The race for the last one or two spots will be epic, and I am not even going to begin to predict that outcome.

We'll provide a playoff primer after the regular season, but I did want to take the time to talk about one ... huge ... x-factor in Jed Ortmeyer (pictured above in a shot by Chris Jerina).

After the loss at Rockford on Dec. 30, the Aeros were 18-17-1-2. They blew a 1-0 third period lead, and I remember thinking to myself that the Aeros just didn't have enough firepower to get into the playoffs. Their leadership group was decent, but they didn't have that emotional guy to make them hate losing enough. Then, the Rampage release Jed Ortmeyer from his AHL deal. The Wild saw value in him for a two-way deal.

He has been with the Aeros since (including one call-up to Minny) and since then, the Aeros are 26-9-0-3. Now consider the other side. When San Antonio released Ortmeyer, they were rolling along at 23-10-1-0. Since his departure the team has lost its best players to Phoenix and has spiraled down to seventh place. Their record since Ortmeyer left? 15-20-2-2. That is fifteen wins and 24 losses.

I am not saying Ortmeyer's departure is the reason San Antonio might not make the playoffs, but I am saying that he is one of the reasons the Aeros are now a virtual lock. His fiery personality coupled with the addition of Patrick O'Sullivan and his amazing offensive skill set have been a can't miss if you are handicapping the teams that are likely to do well in the postseason.

Ortmeyer, I believe, has done wonders for players like Carson McMillan and Colton Gillies. I firmly believe that any of those guys could go to the Wild right now and make them better. O'Sullivan, I believe, is living proof that AHL teams need to spend money on at least one bona fide money scorer to take their teams to the next level.

O'Sullivan has made Jon DiSalvatore play way better; he makes Chad Rau look better. That took the pressure off Robbie Earl somewhat, and now even HE has a career-high 21 goals. Speaking of guys that hate losing? Welcome back Warren Peters.

Not all the news is rosy.

There are some players grumbling about playing time. Not complaining-grumbing mind you, but this is the time of year where these things come up because of past injuries. OF COURSE you want to be playing ...When things are going as good as they are, of course you want more time. I think it would be far worse if the opposite were true. Also, the defense took a hit when both Scandella and Cuma went down with long-term injuries. The PK really, really struggled against OKC, but when those three things are all you can really complain about at the moment ... things are pretty OK in Aeroland.

The last four games are about getting home ice locked up for the first round against Texas. This matchup is going to happen, and that's a little bit scary considering the Dallas Stars won't be going to the playoffs this year. Richard Bachman has been a very pleasant surprise for them this year, and even though the Aeros went 9-3 against them this year, they are still very dangerous.

Texas will close the regular season with seven games in 10 days. The Aeros have just three in that span and will be well rested entering the playoffs. They have achieved more than anyone could have guessed to this point. Here's to what we all hope is another three months of hockey.

A Few Quick Items

The Aeros got the 5-4 win over the Oklahoma City Barons to sweep the series. Milwaukee beat San Antonio again, so points wise, the Aeros are still tied with Admirals for first place. And thanks to our pals in Rockford, who beat up on Chicago yet again, the Aeros, by our best calculation, are just two points away from clinching a playoff spot.

A few quick notes.

1. Patrick O'Sullivan did not play in the third period as a precautionary measure. He got the crap beat out of him over the weekend by the Barons -- who put him in their target -- and by some inept officiating that let him get beat up on. He was cramping and dehydrated during the second intermission, so it was decided to have him sit out. Robbie Earl suffered as well, and his third period ice time was also way reduced from what it normally would have been.

2. This weekend made it very clear that this team needs Matt Kassian healthy and back out on the ice. Pascal Morency might like to fight, but the team needs Kassian out there because Kassian's the kind of guy who can do to opposition scorers what the Barons were doing to O'Sullivan.

3. How great was it to see Nate Prosser back out there on the ice today? He saved some bacon numerous times in the game today, and Yeo was very complimentary of his game and very grateful to have his steadying influence back out on the ice.

4. Both Yeo and Jed Ortmeyer were very clear after the game that the team doesn't just want to make the playoffs. They want to keep winning and earn the number one seed.

5. Let's hear it for Ortmeyer. He played his 500th pro game on Friday night. And he was a huge influence in every game this weekend. The guys really seem to respect Ortmeyer, and when he's out there giving it everything he has, then they're going to go all out, too.

6. They next play on Thursday night when they host Chicago. And this game could be the one where they finally clinch a playoff spot in what has to be one of the toughest, most jumbled, most bizarre, most tight, playoff spot hunts ever.

3/26/11 -- Aeros Make Peons of Barons in SO, Win 6-5.

I wasn't going to write anything tonight -- I've been sick, which is why I missed Friday's game and I told Heather and Andrew I was going to skip tonight -- but I got some good quotes after the game, more than I'll be able to use for the mothership, and some photos. So here's a little something real quick so I can get to bed and try to recover from whatever has made me sick.

First, the important news. The Aeros got the 6-5 (SO) win over Oklahoma City tonight. And with those two points, the Aeros moved back into a tie with Milwaukee for first -- we all need to send a thank you to Rockford for the nice work they've been doing knocking around the playoff competition, tonight defeating the Admirals in OT -- and kept four points ahead of a rapidly charging Texas team in third place. Along with the win and moving into the tie with Milwaukee, the two points gave the Aeros some more cushion as they're lead over Peoria, Chicago, and OKC is now nine points while they've moved 11 points ahead of the rapidly fading Rampage.

This first photo is just one of Jon DiSalvatore. I'm including it because he's in a position he was so often during the night, screening the Baron goalie. I made the argument in the third period that DiSalvatore deserved a star because goals three and four wouldn't have been possible without the great job he did of blocking the goalie's vision.

"That’s part of the job of being up front," he said after the game. "You might not get the goal or anything. It’s part of the job, and you’ve got to get there and get a good screen so the goalie can’t see those little flutters some times."



And while it was nice to see the Aeros get the win, this game tonight was one that they should have lost, and probably deserved to lose. I'm still not sure of what was going through Chad Rau's mind there in the closing seconds of the third with the empty net. Instead of taking the shot, he tried to pass it off to Patrick O'Sullivan, and OKC recovered the puck, scored the goal, and sent the game to OT.

That was just one of the many things that Mike Yeo was unhappy about after the game, and he made it clear that that would never happen again.

"We’ll address it, and we’ll make sure it never happens again," Yeo said. "I think that just kind of goes to – we seem to, when we have somebody down, want to let them up right now, instead of stepping on their throat. I think that’s just that killer instinct that we have to find, and again, it’s being a little bit naïve. You can’t do that. You have to make sure, whether you’re up 3-1 or if you’re up 5-4, whatever the situation, you can’t let your urgency level drop."

If there's one person that the win can be credited tonight, it's Jed Ortmeyer. Yeo and DiSalvatore made it clear after the game that it was Ortmeyer who took charge during the second intermission and told the team they were going to get it done.

"He was the guy who stood up in the locker room before we went out for the third period, and said, ‘we’re going to go do this. We’re going to win this game,'" Yeo said. "But it’s one thing to say it. It’s another thing to go do it. And you could tell, right from the first shift, he went out and had a huge hit at center ice, and really woke the guys up. And with the way he was blocking shots and paying the price there, you could tell he was all in for his teammates."

And Ortmeyer also tallied the game's first goal, which is what happens in the photo below.



"You have a guy like that, who’s been around, who’s played a lot of NHL games, who’s been around winners, it speaks a lot," DiSalvatore said about Ortmeyer. "It speaks a lot to where guys need to put their minds going out. We were down by a goal going into the third period, and we needed to focus on winning a 20 minute period, and if we won a 20 minute game, so to speak, we were going to be in a good situation, either going into overtime or potentially winning the game outright. So for him to draw our attention to that, just before we go out, is huge for young guys, even for older guys, we all feed off whatever we can bring to the table to put ourselves into the right mindset going out in the period."

This next photo is Patrick O'Sullivan after he got leveled with a shot to the head in the first period. To me, he seemed a bit off for the rest of the game, though Yeo told us after the game that he was fine. Yeo said that's something a guy like O'Sullivan has to live with, however, as he's the kind of guy, with his scoring ability, that teams are going to target.



Speaking of Patrick O'Sullivan's scoring ability, here he is working his magic in the shootout to put the Aeros up. This was a huge shot to Yeo which he told us when we were asking about Josh Tordjman's game.

"He was great in the shootout," Yeo said of Tordjman. "Obviously I think it helps if you can get that early goal, and we got a couple of ones there. I think that puts a little bit more pressure on their shooters, but certainly he stood tall. It was a tough game for the goalie because we gave up way too many chances. We gave up way too much ice and space and way too many shots tonight. We have to make sure we’re a lot better there."



And here's Casey Wellman scoring in the shootout.



Oh, and just two final notes. This was the first game this season that the Aeros won after having surrendered more than four goals. And in returning player news, Nate Prosser has been reassigned to the team.

Jed Ortmeyer: The Houston Aeros' Medical Miracle Man

My latest story in the mothership is up, and it's a little bit on Jed Ortmeyer. I have to admit, I didn't know until recently all of the medical stuff that he has to deal with so that he can keep playing hockey, but knowing it just makes watching him play all of the more enjoyable.

Now not included in my post is this little tidbit which I found to be fascinating, but didn't have room for. When he played for the New York Rangers, he was on two reality shows: Cash Cab and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. The Cash Cab was for charity, and the Extreme Makeover dealt with trying to help out a New York fireman.

So, yeah, he's just one of those good guys. Give it a read.

UPDATE: Oh, I almost forgot, Heather also has a writeup on Ortmeyer at the Pro Hockey News site. So read it, too. Just read mine first. And leave comments.

3/11/11 -- Aeros Lose To Moose

Okay, that was a tough loss. Very tough. Any game lost in a shootout is, in my opinion, a tough loss, but losing 2-1 like that, when you gain the early lead in the shootout...well, ouch. The Aeros had a rough first period, and if not for the play of Matt Hackett in the first, the Aeros would not have been close to getting this game to a shootout. Unfortunately for the Aeros, Manitoba's rookie goal, Eddie Lack was just as on his game as Houston's rookie goalie.

1. Mike Yeo wasn't happy with the play of his team in the first period, but he that on himself and his assistant coaches for failing to get the team ready for the drop of the puck. And while the bad luck of Robbie Earl and Patrick O'Sullivan in the second period -- hitting the posts on several occasions -- could have sapped the team of any momentum, Yeo had no problems with the second and didn't see it as proof that this was not going to be the Aeros' night.

"I wasn’t thinking it that time [second period]," Yeo said after the game. "I was thinking it wasn’t our time in the first period because I thought we were just not good. And I’ll take the blame for that. It was our week as coaches to make sure we were ready to go at the drop of the puck, but I liked the way we responded in the second period. I thought we were – as you said – starting to get the momentum and starting to tilt the ice. But having said that, obviously you would like to put in the net. But I felt like if we kept going like that we would give ourselves enough chances to get back in the game."

2. This was a tough game for Hackett to lose because Hackett played his ass off. I was down in that corner during the first period, and he was barraged with shot after shot (Manitoba got off 18 shots) and if he hadn't of been on his game then the score would have been way worse than 1-0 Manitoba after one period.

"It’s a tough way for Hack not to get the win because I thought he deserved it," Yeo said. "I thought he was great. Their guy was very good, too. I thought Hack was great. We had no business even being in that game after the first period. We were awful the first period, and Hack really gave us a chance."

3. Andrew asked about Hackett's perceived problems in the shoot out. Yeo said that wasn't the problem tonight. The problem rested with the Aeros not being able to get the puck back into the net after Patrick O'Sullivan started off the shoot out with a beauty of a shot.

4. Still, despite it all, the Aeros, as Yeo noted, did battle back to get a point tonight. And while it wasn't two points, the Aeros still came out better than Milwaukee, who lost to Rockford, Texas, who lost to Syracuse, and Chicago, who lost to Peoria.

5. And while the Aeros getting a point is a comfort, damn, it's getting hot in here. Milwaukee leads the division with 81 points. The Aeros are in second with 80. But Peoria's now in third with 79 points, Texas is in fourth with 78, Chicago's in fifth with 77, San Antonio in sixth with 75. Oklahoma City seems to be falling off, finally, and they sit in seventh with 73 points.

6. The Aeros and Wolves only have 12 games left while Peoria has just 13 and Texas just 14. While I'm more optimistic about the playoff scenarios than Andrew, who Heather has nicknamed Fun Killington, this is whole thing is just too damn close and I would really like to see some other teams start to fall by the wayside.

7. The Aeros welcomed back Casey Wellman, Cody Almond, and Drew Bagnall to the lineup tonight. As for the rest of the walking wounded, Yeo says not to expect to see any of them on Sunday. The bad news is that it appears that the MASH unit that is the Minnesota Wild suffered another shot on Friday night, so it's quite possible that somebody could be on plane Saturday morning.

8. Speaking of Drew Bagnall, for all of the great play by Hackett tonight, it might have been Bagnall who guaranteed that one point for the shootout. At one point in the third Hackett made a block but was out of the net. The puck bounced around and around in front of the net, just begging for one of the Moose to tap it in, but Bagnall flew into the scene and shot the puck out of the way of danger.

9. We spoke with Jed Ortmeyer for a bit after the game. Being the old man vet of the team -- and what a pick-up he has turned out to be, huh (thank you San Antonio for screwing the pooch there) -- who has handled these type of tight scenarios before, I asked him about what he's trying to tell the youngsters for handling the pressure, and I think he gave a great answer.

"There’s a bigger picture," he said. "The goal is to make the playoffs and to have a big run, and I think that at this point in the season you get banged up, start to mentally get a little bit fatigued, and you have to have the idea of having fun, making sure that coming to the rink everyday is fun."

He also said the team just has to stay with the process and not deviate from that. And when Ortmeyer speaks to the team, guys listen.

"But more than that, he’s a guy that has a very good pulse for what the team needs to hear at that time, whether it’s between periods, whether it’s on the bench," Yeo said. "He’s a guy when things get a little bit hectic and he needs to calm them down, he’s quick to do that, or if things are a little big sleepy, he’s quick to pick them up. I think a big part of that is experience, but it’s also making sure that first and foremost you go out and do the right thing to give yourself that credibility. So when you speak, guys listen."

10. A final thing. I really like these uniforms the team's won the past several games. I've always hated that stupid, cartoonish bomber logo -- yeah, I know, most of you love it -- because it just doesn't scream hockey to me. The unis they had on tonight, those screamed hockey. But since the team has yet to wear a game wearing them, I'm not counting on seeing them again.

Ortmeyer, Prosser On Way to Wild

This just in...Jed Ortmeyer and Nate Prosser have been called up to the Minnesota Wild. Not sure if this is a short term thing, or if it's long term, and haven't heard about recalls from ECHL. But that could hurt the Aeros this weekend.

Oh, and to fend off the conspiracy talk, remember, Houston is a minor league team that serves to fill the needs of the Wild during the season, not vice versa.

Ortmeyer Officially Assigned to Houston

For those of you wondering, Jed Ortmeyer officially cleared waivers and was signed to a contract by the Minnesota Wild. The Wild, in turn, assigned him to the Aeros.