Tonight, the Aeros will get their first look at the Oklahoma City Barons. Not quite David vs. Goliath as the Aeros are very, very talented, too, but really, on paper the Barons are ridiculous. They have Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, they have Justin Schutlz, and they have ... who cares who else they have, as in most of the studs they had last year ...
They are loaded, and tonight the Aeros will get their first of many cracks at this AHL star-studded lineup. I am not for certain just how many of these guys will end up in Edmonton when the lockout is over, but the Aeros will play them a lot early in the season.
Call it dumb luck, but as an AHL fan, I am glad we'll get a chance to see what the Aeros can do against these guys. I just wish more of these games were at Toyota Center. Three of the Barons' next four home games are against the Aeros, and they won't make their first visit to Houston until late November.
I can only guess at the goaltending matchup based on trends. Olivier Roy looks to get the call for the Barons, as coach Todd Nelson has rotated he and Yann Danis. It's Roy's turn tonight. And the Aeros will probably counter with Matt Hackett. But, with two games this weekend, both goalies should play. Darcy Kuemper won his only start on the road at Texas last week, so maybe Torchetti alternates the two again that way.
We'll know for sure later tonight.
Here are some notes from the Aeros Press Office:
The first three meetings of the season series are at the Cox Convention Center in downtown OKC.
Friday’s game marks the first meeting since April 24, when the Barons finished off a first-round playoff series win over the Aeros.
Oklahoma City is coming off a 4-3 win at home over Lake Erie on Wednesday night.
Aeros Center Mikael Granlund leads Houston in scoring with seven points through the first five games of the season.
Granlund is in the top 20 of the AHL for points and top five for assists.
Defenseman Marco Scandella leads all Aeros with six assists, tying him for second in the league.
Right wing Jason Zucker is third on the team in scoring with two goals and three assists for five points in four games.
Defenseman Brian Connelly sits fourth on the Aeros roster with four points off a goal and three assists.
Right wing Nick Palmieri leads the team with three goals in five games.
The Barons rank 15th in the AHL on the power play converting five out of 24 chances (20.8%).
As far the penalty kill goes, Oklahoma City sits 23 out of 30 teams, stopping 19 of 26 attempts.
The Barons rank 26th out of 30 teams in penalty minutes, averaging just 13 minutes a game.
Oklahoma City is averaging 3.20 goals per game, while allowing 2.80 goals per game.
Last night it was hard to tell just how much of the loss was on the Aeros not showing up to play the game, and how much of the loss was due to the Barons being the superior team. Tonight we know the answer.
The Aeros lost Game Two of this opening round Best of Five series to the Barons by the score of 4-1. Yes, the Aeros actually did find a way to score a goal on Yann Danis. And they actually appeared to make more of an effort, holding the Barons to only 37 shots tonight while totaling a stupendous 20 shots of their own. (Cody Almond scored at 3:48 of the third period.)
But though the Aeros effort factor was noticeably improved, it just didn't matter, so superior was the play of the Barons, proving tonight, perhaps even more than last night, why it is that they're the number one seed in the Western Conference.
Matt Hackett made a valiant effort to play tonight, stopping 19 of 21 shots. But he played injured, and whatever injury he suffered last night he aggravated horribly on the second goal, leaving the ice bent at his waste, not to return.
But even if Hackett wasn't injured, it would be difficult to see the Aeros finding a way to contend on Sunday and take this series to a fourth game. And frankly, if the Aeros were able to win Sunday and take it to game four on Tuesday, does anybody think they're healthy enough, or talented enough, to make it to game five on Wednesday?
It was an ugly day in Houston today. Massive storms that caused power outages throughout the city as the afternoon moved into evening. And the Aeros game tonight was just as ugly as the weather outside.
Both the Aeros and the Barons were playing their third game in three nights, and at times, especially in that third period, it looked like it. And of all of the guys who have played in these three games for the Aeros, none has put in the minutes, been under the pressure, as goalie Joe Fallon. And for the third night in a row, Fallon delivered, backstopping the Aeros to their third straight win (the second in two nights to go to the shootout) by the score of 2-1.
Earlier this month, when the Aeros were dying on the road, and Matt Hackett was called up and Darcy Kuemper was too injured to plays, the panic seemed to set in. Especially at the thought that two ECHL goalies were now tending goal for the Aeros. But after this weekend, after this past week, after this six game homestand, is there really any reason to worry?
The Aeros took the early 1-0 lead on Oklahoma City as David McIntyre, fresh off his shoot-out heroics from last night, scored 1:55 into the game on what appeared to be a mistake shot that kind of floated past the Barons' Yann Danis -- I would try to offer up a better description of the goal, but Toyota Center only showed replays of nonsense for the night, when they could be bothered to show replays, but refused to replay any of the goals in the game.
The Barons tied it at the 18:47 mark of the second period when they scored on the power play. That came after the Barons dominated the period, outshooting the Aeros 12-4. John Torchetti attributed that differential to the Aeros being sloppy with the puck.
"Every turnover probably brings you a shot-and-a-half," he said. "So if you
have nine, you’re looking at 13 shots. That’s the difference. We’ve got to make
sure to get better puck control. You kind of get away with a little bit at home
because you’ve got your match-ups, and on the road you don’t. That’s the detail
part of the game."
That was also pretty much the story in the third period, yet both teams appeared to have trouble standing on their skates, so tired did they appear to be. But Joe Fallon stood tall, stopping another 12 Baron shots and sending the game into overtime where he made one of those saves that's just so special you can't find the words to describe it, so spectacular was it -- essentially Fallon went one way, the puck went across him to the other side on a pass, the shot was made and looked to be the game-winning goal, but Fallon was able to reach back and grab the puck in the air and save the game (tip of the hat to Drew Bagnall who was able to tip the shot and slow it down).
"Let’s just hope next time that my feet are working more so I
can get over into position better," was Fallon's basic response to the play.
The game went to the shootout where the Barons made their first two shots. But Fallon shut them down from there while the Aeros came to life. Jon DiSalvatore went top shelf in the third round, Jeff Taffe banged it in the fifth round, and Joel Broda sunk the game winner in round seven.
But exciting as that shootout was, it wouldn't have happened without the excellence of Fallon. And here's the thing, Fallon played all three games this weekend, meaning he played 190 minutes of hockey and went a total of 13 rounds in two shootouts.
"I tell you what, he’s come in and given us a lot of
confidence," Torchetti said. "He’s played with a lot of confidence. It just goes to show you,
that’s what it’s all about, I think. Giving people chances, and he’s taking
advantage of it. He’s got experience. He’s come in and done a fantastic job for
us. He likes a challenge. I’ll tell you what, he’s done a great job."
And nobody should argue with that fantastic job bit, especially after this weekend. As to why Fallon went back out today and didn't get any rest, well, as Fallon assured us after the game, that's the way he wanted it.
"Torch asked me if I wanted to go again, and I said, yeah,
let’s do it, let’s keep the train rolling, and it paid off today," he said.
In this past week, the Aeros have gone from sitting in 10th place to sitting in fourth place with a record of 32-20-3-9 (76 points) with 12 games to play. The Rivermen sit in fifth with 73 points, percentage points ahead of the Heat who also have 73 points, but fewer wins. The Checkers have dropped down to sixth place with 72 points, while the Americans and Monster are battling it out for eighth with both have 71 points, but Rochester having the better winning percentage. The Rampage are now the tenth place, and they have 70 points.
So while the Aeros were able to make up ground and get some slight spacing on the teams behind them, this season's not over by a longshot. They've got the week off from games (but not off from practicing) before a three-in-three this weekend with two games in Rockford and a Sunday game in Chicago -- hopefully our Midwest Bureau Chief, Chris Jerina, will be able to get some photos and make a report for us from there.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES:
Tyler Cuma was a late scratch from the game. He skated pregame, but had a slight lower body injury. While he could've played, Torchetti said they decided that it was better that he sit out and get the extra rest time....Kris Foucault was a healthy scratch, allowing Nick Palmieri, freshly arrived from the Wild, to play....Also, it is expected that, sometime soon, Matt Hackett will be returning to the team as it's appearing that both Wild goalies will actually be healthy.
Also, I apologize for taking so long to get this posted, but I wanted to post a video honoring Joe Fallon, who had me thinking of Jimmy Fallon, so I went into Hulu watching old Jimmy Fallon skits from Saturday Night Live. And that led me from one video to another to another, and so on, and so on, and so on. Anyway, for your enjoyment, here's one of my favorites, The Barry Gibb Talk Show.
The Aeros made it to the shootout tonight. Again. They lost in the shootout. Again. Final score 3-2 with the Barons getting the two points. The Aeros are tied for first (points wise) with the Barons, both having 41 points, though the Barons get first place because of a better winning percentage.
Aeros are 0-7 in the shootout this season. The record for consecutive shootout losses, courtesy of the AHL, is 0-8 by the 2008-09 Iowa Chops who finished the season 1-10 in the shootout for the season.
The Aeros return to Toyota Center to take on the Rochester Americans at 5:05.
We'll put some quotes up later, but...The Aeros lost to the Barons this afternoon by the score of 2-1. The Barons scored in the second period, and it looked like another home loss for the Aeros until Jarod Palmer got a wraparound with 2:00 left in the third to tie it.
Neither team scored in OT, which means the shootout. And the Aeros are awful in the shootout. The Aeros actually scored once in the shootout, and it was Warren Peters getting the puck in the net. But nobody else had any luck and the Aeros got the loss.
For a day game, it was kind of quiet. The kids seemed to be at a lower pitch -- I didn't even wear my ear plugs in the third period. And neither team, to me, seemed to have any energy. So can we please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please stop these damn kiddie games, especially after most of them had left the arena before the third period was over.
With the shootout loss, the Aeros move to 14-4-2-5 (35 points) for the season, and as of right now, they're tied with the Barons for first place.
The Aeros return to action tomorrow night when they take on the Rampage at Toyota Center at 7:35.
P.S.: Jeff Taffe was unavailable today because he's been called up to the Wild, and if Cal Clutterbuck can't go for the Wild tonight, then Taffe might end up getting some action. And David McIntyre and Jed Ortmeyer are still aways from returning to action.
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?
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.
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.
That game was exhausting to watch. I don't know why, but my shoulders were up to my ears the whole game. Maybe it's the fact that this game had just a mountain of implications attached to it.
The game set the tone for the entire weekend, and both teams need as many of the 6 available points as possible. From the score to the physicality to the (horrible) officiating, this game not only determined who took the first two points, but it established the foundation on which both teams will game-plan for the rest of the weekend.
One thing Yeo emphasized after the game was that, while he was happy with the first period and most of the second, one of the things he wants the team to learn from this series is a powerful playoff lesson: Once you have the upper hand, no matter how big the upper hand, never give the other team hope. Never let them see daylight.
Well, the Barons definitely saw daylight in the third, so he was grateful for the 4th goal to sink them a little deeper into the shadows. The Aeros were definitely sloppy in the final 4 minutes on the double minor PP. As has often happened this season with a lead, they showed a little too much mercy during the power play chance handed them during the double minor in the final 4 minutes of the game, turned the puck over with regularity, and there was that daylight.
It seems clear this team can be oppressive and suffocating when they're clicking (the return of Warren Peters certainly had a positive impact) and Yeo wants to see 60 minutes of the Aeros pressuring the life out of the opponent.
It helped that Jeff Deslauriers was badly off his game in the first. Bryan Pitton came in for the second period and stood on his head or this game would have been 7-1. He plays well in the building, so you have to think we'll see more of him.
Hackett was good, and also lucky at times. The team did a great job of clearing rebounds into advantageous places that set them up to establish a rush. And there you have the Aeros' game, right? Possess possess possess. It's glorious.
A few items: Daoust was a healthy scratch tonight for Peters, and Tordjman is most likely in net Saturday night. And what do you guys think about Morency's "Mitch Love-esqe" role? I think he adds a spark that's fun to watch. Is it valuable? I don't know, but on a basic level, I like it.
Plus, this game had my head spinning so fast, the fights gave me a few minutes to catch my breath and put the fire on my keyboard out.
Andrew was trying to explain the "magic number" stuff to me tonight but my brain was fried by game's end and it might as well have been trigonometry. So when I heard this song on the way home, I knew I had to use it here:
Now two-thirds of the way to sweeping the weekend, the Aeros absolutely spanked OKC tonight. The best thing, IMO, is while the usual suspects showed up on the score sheet, scoring came from some more unusual suspects.
Matt Kassian opened the scoring, with an assist from Brandon Buck. I didn't see the goal to know how it happened, but I know I feel a little worse about a goal when someone who isn't known for scoring gets it. Maybe that set up a little doubt in goalie Jeff Deslauriers' mind.
If it didn't establish doubt, Casey Wellman's power play goal with just 19 seconds left in the first period did the job of sending both teams to the room with the Aeros holding the momentum.
Thanks to AHL Live sucking, I didn't see much of the first, but shots were 12-4 for the Aeros, so I'm going to guess that they did that whole "come out strong, get them on their heels, wear them out early" thing that has become their calling card.
Jed Ortmeyer scored the first of his two goals midway through the second period, while shots evened up during the period.
Justin Falk got the first of his THREE penalties during the second (other two in the third) as well, leaving me with nothing to do but give him a stern look and a "tsk-tsk"....
Patrick O'Sullivan scored the fourth goal in the third, with Ortmeyer getting his second of the night about 6 minutes later, shorthanded during during Falk's third penalty.
After that it was just everybody holding their breath that Hackett's well earned (31 shots) shutout as he faced 16 shots in the third. And he did just that!
I'm waiting for some games to end to write about the standings after tonight, so I'll update with that a bit later.
------- UPDATE:
Okay, so now the Aeros are alone in 2nd place with Milwaukee 1 point ahead of them and the Stars a whopping THREE points behind them. And then the Rivermen, Rampage, Wolves, and Barons are all within 3 points behind the Stars.
With a win tomorrow, the Aeros would jump over Milwaukee and into first, as the Admirals are off tomorrow. But the Ads will still have a pesky 2 games in hand, so there's always that big ol' but sticking out there.
Much like Friday's game against Texas was a "but it's just Texas" trap game, I worry about that same complacency against Rockford who sit out of playoff contention at the bottom of not just the division but also the conference. As bad as they are in the standings, they beat Peoria AND Milwaukee already this weekend, so the Aeros get another step ahead of the game if they can avoid that trap.
The good thing is, both will be travel weary, both playing their third game in 3 days, so it's a level playing field as far as that's concerned.
I only saw parts of the game last night but Andrew did a good job of giving the big picture. He mentioned OKC goalie Jeff Deslauriers getting into it with Jon DiSalvatore.
When I was watching last night, I didn't see what lead up to it. I just happened to look at my screen and Deslauriers was beating the snot out of Sal with his blocker.
But then this morning, the Oilers posted highlights of the game as well as the fight itself, and frankly, what led up to it was not much of anything. It looks to me like DiSalvatore was just trying to squeeze past the goalie, not necessarily take him out.
Deslauriers definitely overreacted, but what's a goalie without the odd scrap or tantrum? No fun is what. JDD is a goalie I've liked since the Oilers tried to kill him last season by overplaying him as a rookie behind a god awful team. Definitely plays with emotion and some flair.
Thank goodness Matt Kassian has his number. Oh yeah, and I guess Robbie Earl does a little bit, too. You suppose those two late regulation goals got Earl in JDD's head a little bit for the shootout? I dunno.
Regardless, I got some rare road inspiration out of the scene, so here you go:
Greetings from frosty Chicago. I come to you tonight with news of another Aeros win. This time they get a rare victory in Oklahoma City against a very offensively talented (and very freaking fast) Barons team. What is that you say? It's not rare? Oh, really? They have won all four games they've played there? Interesting.
All kidding aside, the Aeros picked up a huge win thanks to a stellar offensive night from Robbie Earl. He scored two third period goals and nailed the only one in the shootout for the extra point in the standings.
Here is a link to the Oklahoma City paper's recap of the match. Some good stuff in here about the game. This is not the first or even second time their head coach, Todd Nelson, has called the team "dumb" and "undisciplined" after a loss to the Aeros. One player even said "that team has our number."
I did not watch any of the game, but I kept hitting refresh on my BlackBerry while I was at dinner, and this is how I reacted to the game tonight:
Yeah!
Crap.
Crap!
(BLEEP!)
OK, better.
Nice.
Yes!
What you don't get from my recap above is the fact that Anton Khudobin stoned Liam Reddox like three times on shorthanded breakaways tonight. Mike Yeo is always talking about getting that big save from his goalie in the third period of close games. Well, he got three of them tonight, all while Jon DiSalvatore was getting scuffed up by Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers. (Maybe Heather saw that part and can comment for you....)
Khudobin kept the Aeros in the game long enough for Earl to get going in the third period. And then Khudobin stoned all five shooters he saw in the tiebreaker. Good stuff from the Aeros' netminder tonight.
Now let's take a look at the big picture. Because each of the last four Aeros win have all been in OT/SO, they are not really distancing themselves or gaining ground on the rest of the West. What they DO have is the team's best record after 27 games since 2005-06. Yes, this is their best start since Daum took the Aeros to a 18-7-1-1 mark during the O'Sullivan, Law and Westrum year.
Right now, the Aeros are on pace to finish with about 91 points. That is probably 39-40 wins or so, maybe more if they keep winning all these OT games. Sure they could still collapse and fall back into the basement. But they could continue to get better. (Since Oct. 30, they are 12-5-1-1).
What Aeros fans need to do right now is thank Jim Mill and Mike Yeo for turning this bunch into a fun, exciting group to watch. And even more important to the organization, when these guys are needed in Minnesota, they go up there, and they do a great job of filling in.
Who knows where they go from now? The West division is really good. Really. Freaking. Good. The West is the only division in the AHL that features seven (SEVEN!) teams with at least 13 wins. The crappy North has two. They East is more respectable with four, and the Atlantic has three.
For those of you who still need something to complain about, you can still complain about being in the West division and the fact that the Aeros have one of THE worst schedules I have literally every seen in professional hockey.
Starting Friday against the best team in the AHL, the Aeros are going to play seven games in 11 days. If they can squeak three or four wins out of that, I will give them a very good shot at being their when this thing is all said and done.
I want to apologize. I know you come over here expecting to read lengthy analysis of each game with the hope that we can provide some answers. But I just don't feel like doing it tonight. Much the same, I guess, as the Aeros not feeling like playing hockey tonight.
That third period against the Barons was some of the worst hockey I've ever seen. And having Shaun Davis as the referee didn't make it any more bearable because that ass just refused to let the game end. I can't help thinking that this game wouldn't have turned into a game of chippy hits and fights if he would have made a point at sometime in the game, to assert some control over the game -- and no, calling five interference penalties on each team a period is not asserting control of the game. How this guy is still a referee amazes me, and frankly, expect for Jeff Smith who never calls penalties, I never notice the individual refs.
It's easy to forget, but at one point early in the third period the score was only 3-2 Oklahoma City, though I don't think anybody felt the Aeros were going to find a way to win. And it seems like, thinking back on it, that it was just mere minutes later that the score was 8-2 Barons.
So just a few thoughts in bullet fashion...
1. Where in the hell were the Ice Girls? Not that they have anything to do, but damn, don't tease us like that and have them one night and not the next.
2. Why is it that when Max Noreau fires a shot so hard that if flies through the net that the refs miss it, but when an opposing player does it like with tonight, the goal is counted? Yes, it was a goal -- Mike Yeo said afterwards there was no question it was a goal and Matt Hackett sure acted like it -- but damn it, Noreau's goals were no-doubt about it goals, too.
3. Yeo refused to put the blame for the loss on Matt Hackett, saying he was left out to dry way too much. And seeing how crappy the team played around him, that's probably correct.
4. Yeo did consider going with Anton Khudobin, but he said it seemed as if the Aeros were always shorthanded in the third, always killing a penalty, and that it just wouldn't be fair to Khudobin to throw him out in an unwinnable situation like that.
5. Seriously, is Shaun Davis the worst ref in the AHL or what?
6. Drew Bagnall got into a fight in the third period right after the Barons put up their seventh goal. From up top, it looked as if Linus Omark was taunting the Aeros bench after his goal and that things went from there. But Bagnall said he has no idea what Omark was doing. He just spotted something happening at the bench area and went after the biggest guy he could find. And it had nothing to do with the bench action. He was angry with himself and blaming himself for the seventh goal. What happened shouldn't have happened, he said: "I’m kind of embarrassed about it," he said.
7. We didn't talk to any other players, but I have the feeling they were just as embarrassed as Bagnall by that game.
8. What in the hell was that music thing during the first intermission? I'm as sick as the kid choirs as anybody, but really, if you get a band, make sure the lead singer can sing.
9. Where were the Ice Girls?
10. It was good to see Palmer Hestley at the game. Palmer was one of our media minders last year, and he put up with a lot from us, and from former members of the business office. Thanks again for the good work last year.
11. Of the Aeros six scratches, four were healthy scratches -- Jamie Fraser, Jarod Palmer, Kris Fredheim, and Brandon Buck. Make of that what you will.
12. After a good crowd on Saturday night, the crowd tonight looked like it was a Tuesday night game in December. Where was everybody, celebrating the Texans game, or something?
13. And for my closing music tonight, here's a classic from the original lineup of The Pretenders. And with the song, I'm throwing out a pop quiz. There's no prize for the correct answer except bragging rights. So here we go. What is the connection between The Pretenders and The Kinks, the stars of last night's video? (And no, The Pretenders covering The Kinks doesn't count).
Tonight, the Aeros will get their first look at the Oklahoma City Barons. Not quite David vs. Goliath as the Aeros are very, very talented, too, but really, on paper the Barons are ridiculous. They have Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, they have Justin Schutlz, and they have ... who cares who else they have, as in most of the studs they had last year ...
Posts
