Thoughts From Airport Hell

First, I'm stuck in the hell that is O'Hare Airport as United/Continental has messed up another of my flights, but here's my Houston Press game story. I point you to it because of the quotes from Wellman, Yeo and Gillies. http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2011/05/aeros_celebrate.php And because I'm posting by iPhone -- I'm not paying for internet access -- I had to paste the link. I hope it works.

One final thing. I didn't see what Matt Hackett did to supposedly offend the
Milwaukee fans, but they were giving it to him pretty good in games six and seven, so it was probably just a natural reaction.

P.S.: if anyone in charge at O'Hare is reading this would you please turn on the damn A/C in Terminal One/Concourse B down at Gate 2 where those little fans you put out just aren't cutting it.

Photos from a game 7 victory

It was difficult last night to push this game out of my head. I started my game with the knowledge that they went to the 1st intermission with Gillies having just scored the tying goal.

But it was a tremendous relief to learn (after hoisting a championship trophy on my own... well, my team's own... WOOOO!) that I had two reasons to celebrate. And boy did I. Please to stop spinning, room....

Anyway, enjoy this now but there's a LOT of work that lies ahead. It only gets harder from here. Now begins the task of figuring out Hamilton. And praying to the deity of your choice that Binghamton also beats Charlotte in the Eastern Conference Finals. #BrustyTime!

So, here are my favorite pics but go to the link at the end as there are a TON of great ones. Many thanks to Chris "Suck Minus" Jerina for the shots.

Gillies goal at the end of the first. The puck is right behind Smith's stick.

Hackett needs an extra jersey made up that says "SCOREBOARD" on the back for these folks. ;)

I dunno. Seems pretty unsucky to me. Nice snag.

Oops! Aeros second goal. How many times did this "goalie stuck behind the net" goal almost happen to Houston? Cannot believe it didn't. Yet.

McMillan's face is priceless here.

Here's Wellman's goal. Based on this and the pic Andrew posted, it looks like Smith's weight was a little too far back and he fell backwards a bit when he butterflied. If he'd kept his torso and butt up, I think he would have had that. So thanks to the hockey gods for giving him a little shove in the chest....

Sully and Spurgeon do their best NHL 94 celebration

"You were awesome. Also, I think I may need a body guard next time I come here."

You can see the rest of the 6 pages of photos (phew!) right here. Thanks again to Chris for all his great work this season. Maybe we can convince him to travel a bit and shoot a little more... :)

Game 7 aftermath: From the other side

Do you guys remember the Milwaukee Short Shifts blog?

Well some of the same guys have another blog going, and I highly recommend reading them and adding them to your blog roll.

Here is a link to their post game reaction and fans comments.

Also here is a link to Dave Boehler's article in the Milwakuee Journal-Sentinel. (That is where I got the picture for this post. What a photo! You can clearly see the JS photog got it right when Wellman's shot hit the net. Game. Set. Match. I have a new screensaver)

Both stories have some good quotes from former Aero player and MKE head coach Lane Lambert.

Basically the take that I get from them is that Jeremy Smith kept them in the series, which I agree with. And pretty much everyone in Milwaukee thinks Matt Hackett is a (using their words here) douche bag.

Apparently, he gave a little back to a group of fans that were giving him the business in the games up there. Did anyone notice any of that going on?

Man, they really hate Hackett right now, and I sense that their fans want no part of the "well, I want the Aeros to win because they beat our team" side of things.

They want Hackett's arse handed to him.

Either way, the Chicago Wolves are long in the rearview mirror as the Aeros biggest rivalry. Based on the last three years alone, I would have to say that the Aeros and Admirals are now a pretty good rivalry.

Milwaukee always wins the regular series, and the Aeros (recently) have won when it counts.

Thoughts?

View From The Pressbox: Bring On The Bulldogs

Colton Gillies ties the score at 1-1 with 12.2 seconds left in the first period.

I've got a confession to make, I thought the Aeros were going to lose this game. I sent Andrew and Heather a note before the game, and I said it was going to be a blowout in Milwaukee's favor. Never have I been so glad to be so wrong.

I wasn't thrilled with the Aeros play in the first period, especially the first half of the period. I just thought Milwaukee was dominating the game, and from what Mike Yeo told me after the game, the guys on the team thought the same thing. And as the seconds ticked down to the intermission, I was thinking the Aeros should be thanking the hockey gods that Terry Koharski was so frigging blind so that they would be down only 1-0 instead of 2-0, only to have Colton Gillies strike and tie the game.

Casey Wellman was the man at the end. He buried that puck, learning from a mistake he'd made on a similar shot several shifts earlier, but if not for Gillies, I don't think Wellman has the chance to be the hero.

"That [Gillies] goal was huge for us," Yeo said after the game. "A number of reasons. I thought Milwaukee played a great first period. I thought that our first period was good, but the feeling on the bench was that Milwaukee was handing it to us good. I don’t think that was the case. They played a very good period and made us feel that because of it. But getting that goal kind of put things back into focus for us, and say, hey, we’re tied going into the period, and I think we know we’ve got another level."

That goal gave the Aeros some momentum, some much needed momentum. The second period was scoreless, though each team had some good chances, then Carson McMillan caught Jeremy Smith alone, being careless with the puck behind the net, and he rushed in from the blue line, got the puck, and found a way to get in the net before Smith or the Milwaukee defenders could stop it.

(Here's a stat: McMillan had three goals in the series. Two were overtime winners, and the third put the Aeros in the lead.)

Milwaukee was able to tie it on a nice goal, and it really, really looked like this game was going to go to OT. Then with about 2:00 left, the Admirals really went on the attack. They surrounded the net and Hackett and pounded him with shot after shot after shot. I thought for sure they were going to win, but Hackett came up big at the most important time of the series and he kept them out of the net. Drew Bagnall was able to make a great play on the puck and get it to Wellman, and BAM!, the Aeros were up.

"There was a crazy scramble in front," Hackett said. "I was lucky to make two or three big saves. My D, they helped me out great. Bags blocked a shot right at the end there. It went to Casey, and he buried it low glove. It was a crazy feeling when he scored that goal."

Here's how Colton Gillies described the sequence as he saw it from the bench.

"Man, our coach tells us, that’s playoffs," Gillies said. "That’s when a lot of goals do happen. The other team is focusing on trying to get that puck home, and guys are sacrificing in front of the net to block the shot, and taking guys out. It just takes one good bounce and we’re off in the other direction.

"It was obviously an emotional rollercoaster on the bench watching it all develop. But it worked out."

I hate to do this to you, but if you want to read what Casey Wellman and Mike Yeo said about the goal, then you're going to have to check the Press tomorrow because I've got to do something to get you to read over there.

This was an incredibly tough series. I was tough on Matt Hackett a lot, but damn, when it was the most difficult, there at the end, the guy really came through. And who doesn't feel for Jeremy Smith. The guy had an incredible series. He did what you want a goalie to do, until the end when he just couldn't do it anymore.

"Jeremy Smith, he had an unbelievable series," Welmman said. "I think we out shot them almost every game. I think it might have been every game. He was coming up with saves left and right. There was obviously some frustration on our side, but we were trying not to let it get to us. We just wanted to get pucks to the net and get guys there for rebounds and second and third opportunities."

I think I'll close this out with Matt Hackett who just summed up this series, and this game seven, just perfectly.

"It’s just fun," he said. "It’s playoff hockey. It’s what you do playing as a kid. You play on the road hockey. It’s overtime, all the time, game seven. Tonight was a special game. It was close again. I didn’t have that much work this series, and it was tough for me to kind of stay focused. But Smitty he had a lot of shots, and it was different for me. But I got used to it later on.

"I’m proud of the boys right now. They did a great job."

So good night from Milwaukee and an incredible game seven. Please read my post in the Press tomorrow/Wednesday. We'll see you on Friday night at Toyota Center for Game One against Hamilton.

P.S.: My MVP of the series is easy. It's Colton Gillies. But you can feel free to argue that out.

P.P.S.: Dear AHL, please do something about your officials. Terry Koharski missed Roman Jofi's goal in the first period. I really fail to understand how he refused to call that a goal. Then he missed a Chad Rau goal later that period. If you're not going to go to replay, then at least get some guys out there who have some decent eye sight.

Aeros Still Alive

I haven't posted many music videos lately, but this is special. After the game tonight, Chris Jerina asked me to post Pearl Jam's "Alive." And since Chris has kindly let us use so much of his work, and since he was a rather gracious host to me here in Milwaukee, I'm going to honor his request.

So, here's Pearl Jam and "Alive."

Chronicle Game story and some other photos from Game 7

Here is the link to the Houston Chronicle game story for the Aeros game tonight.

Some good quotes here, including one from Drew Bagnall, which really sticks out for me:

From Matt Hackett:

“I had 3 or 4 saves at the end,” Hackett said. “(Drew) Bagnall had a huge block right and it went right out to (Wellman.) That's where you win series and that's a special moment right there.”

Also, here are some photos that I got from the Milwaukee PR folks. Thought I would send them along since they are pretty good. All the credit for these shots go to Scott Paulus

Ryan Thang and Nate Prosser battle for the puck.

J. Blum and Marco Scandella in Game 7

Bartlett and Falk tangle in Tuesday's do or die game

Photos Say So Much

I've got to transcribe so I can put up a few quotes with the View From The Pressbox. Plus I've got to pack. And I'm sure Heather will post some of Chris Jerina's photos later, but I wanted to share these photos because, well...

This is the immediate aftermath of Casey Wellman scoring to put Houston up 3-2. Just look at their reactions, and just look at Robbie Earl jumping into the air as he hugs Wellman. Great stuff. Great stuff.

Aeros win Game 7, Advance to play Hamilton

Jeremy Smith may have been the better goalie in this series, but Matt Hackett made two unbelievable saves with time winding down to set up Casey Wellman's game-winner.

There is a picture of that sucker on the left side of this post taken by none other than Chris Bone Daddy Jerina.

I know John is working hard up in Beer City right now, so I wanted to provide my thoughts after listening to Joe O'Donnell's great call on AM 1070 tonight. Of the two play-by-play guys, the Aeros definitely have the edge there. Sims is OK, but screams way, way too much for my taste.

Joe has a certain edge to him and has improved so much during his stint in Houston that it is more than a pleasure to listen to him when the Aeros are on the road.

Back to the game.

Hackett, while being criticized for his low save percentage numbers and soft goals, came through when it mattered most. The Aeros just bombed away on Jeremy Smith again, and it worked to the tune of three third period goals, including the second goal, which was just a gift from Smith to all Aeros fans in Houston.

Now it's Aeros vs. Hamilton for the right to skate for the Calder Cup. First two in Houston this Friday and Sunday; then on to Hamilton for Games 3-5 next Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Then back to Houston for games 6 and 7 on Sunday and Tuesday.

Who is your MVP for the series? Carson McMillan, Robbie Earl, Matt Hackett? I just don't know who gets the edge in my book ... this was a total team effort.

OK, Aeros roundtable, the floor is yours.

Fun with Numbers - Game 7

Here is another real quick post on what I hope is not our final game day of the season.

Another commenter said it best earlier - in no way does another team's performance dictate what this one's will or won't do - but sometimes the numbers are just uncanny.

The Aeros won 11 straight OT playoff games. That probably has more to do with the teams and opponents being different than they do with them being the same. But again, 11 straight OT playoff wins is just a mind-numbing achievement.

In a similar fashion, the Aeros have been just God-awful in Game 6s.

Including Sunday, the Aeros are now 0-9 in their last nine Game 6s in which they have a chance to eliminate another team. They have been outscored 27-11 in those games, but have rebounded to win six of the seven ensuing Game 7s.

What will tonight's result be?
(In case you were wondering, the Aeros have never not scored first in a Game 7. In fact, in five of the six games they have won, they built 2-0 leads.

Just crazy stuff!

Seven former Aeros on IIHF Rosters

Boy, Team USA really had a letdown game against la Suisee aujourd'hui.
They dropped a 5-3 decision, but it wasn't a game that really mattered. USA is the No. 4 seed and will take on the Czech Republic in the next round.

During our daytime hours, there has been some pretty good hockey going on across the pond, and there are currently seven former Aeros on IIHF rosters.

Included are, from Team Canada, Brent Burns and Cal Clutterbuck; from Team Czech, Zbynek Michalek; from Team Denmark, Morten Madsen; from Team Finland, Mikko Koivu; from Team Germany, John Tripp and from Team Norway, Marius Holtet.

There used to be many more involved, but recently, with more and more NHLers taking up roster spots there are fewer and fewer all the time.

And here is another something I bet you didn't know ... If you spell former Aero Mark Rooneem's name backwards and pronounce that, you get something that sounds like shit!