Road trip starts out with a loss to Chicago

Well, the "road warriors" dropped the first game of this 11 day trip, 2-1 in regulation to the Chicago Wolves yesterday in a lunchtime game.

You can watch highlights here:


From where I sit, the goals allowed were off brain farts. First one, Fontaine is under pressure along the wall and inexplicably passes right into the slot and onto the stick of Mike Davies who gets an easy goal.

The second was a shorty that goes through Genoway's feet, Hackett sends a nice big rebound out from the save where Schroeder is waiting to swoop in and bury it. Where was the rest of the team on that one?

On a positive note, Genoway has 3 goals in his last 4 games, after having only 2 all the rest of the season. Whatever voodoo you're doing there, Geno, keep it up.

The boys are hanging in Chi-town for a couple more days before heading to Grand Rapids (probably a wise idea) for Friday and Saturday games. Here's hoping they're able to stay reasonably focused in the Windy City *cough*MattHacketttweetingat3amlastnight*cough*.

Speaking of Hackett, and I say this with all due respect for what he's accomplished in his young career, but WTH is up with him playing every single game? Look, I know what Torch said about wanting him to be prepared to carry the heavy playoff load, but I don't buy it.

Last time I saw a goalie inexplicably getting ice time he hasn't particularly been earning was before Khudobin was traded. And, like that instance, the NHL trade deadline is ~20 days away.

My husband is a big Judge Judy fan and she often says, "If it's doesn't make sense, it's not true."

So, while I don't know what's really going on, what IS going on and the explanations for it don't make sense and I'm officially calling shenanigans, for what little that's worth.

This is a developmental league and when one of your bright young goaltenders is getting splinters in his ass while the other is obviously struggling to get his game on track, it's not right. Something's gotta give here.

Aaaaaanyway... How about some pictures!!

Our camera-toting correspondent, Chris "Dawg" Jerina, has some nice ones from the game yesterday.

Wait, what are "shenanigans"?

Oh, my underutilized puck moving goalie... #FreeKuemps!

Genoway's awesome celly after his goal

My new favorite, CJ Stretch, trying to jam one home past the pads of Eddie Lack

Sweet Broda hip check

All photos provided by Chris Jerina/AHLinPhotos.com

For more in this set, check them out here.

Western Conference Power Rankings

Rampage stopped just short of franchise record

Last week and going forward, the San Antonio Rampage had a decent chance to move even higher up the Western Conference Power Rankings. They had won seven in a row, and went to OKC looking to set a franchise record for most consecutive victories.

Not so fast.

They got shut out there and then went home to face Lake Erie in front of more than 16,000 fans and a pink ice surface. The Rampage were about five seconds away from another shutout, but Mike Caruso scored San Antonio's only goal of the game before the last tick of the clock.

Rampage went 0-2 last week, fall to
seventh in the power rankings. 

Now the team hits the road for its annual rodeo road trip, where, like the Aeros, they will play 11 straight away from home. The Rampage should be able to work their way back up through the pack as five of their next six opponents are struggling right around or below the .500 mark of the season.

Trust me, we have not seen the last of the Rampage this season.

Other notes

Charlotte and Toronto just keep on trucking, and the Rochester Amerks really had a good week post All-Star break. The Aeros beat Texas and Lake Erie, but could not finish off the trifecta against the struggling Milwaukee Admirals.

Not a ton of movement elsewhere in the standings, but the Texas Stars did not have a good week, and they are going to have to get things going soon if they want a third straight trip to the AHL playoffs to start their franchise.

  2011-12 AHL Western Conference Power Rankings

                              February 6, 2012 edition

PR	Team	Record	Streak	Last Wk	+/-	For the record …
1	OKC	29-11-2-3	0-1	1-1-0-0	-	First team to 30 wins
2	CLT	26-16-2-2	2-0	2-0-0-0	-	Good start to road trip
3	TOR	23-17-3-2	2-0	2-0-0-0	-	Very tough at home
4	HOU	23-12-3-9	0-1	2-1-0-0	+3	They just won’t die
5	CHI	24-16-1-3	0-1	1-1-0-0	-	Cannauton w/ 10 goals
6	PEO	24-20-2-1	2-0	2-0-0-0	+2	Best forwards in AHL
7	SAT	24-20-2-0	0-2	0-2-0-0	-3	Rodeo trips under way
8	ABB	25-16-3-0	0-1	1-2-0-0	-2	3-7 in last 10 overall
9	RCH	21-17-6-3	3-1	2-0-1-0	+2	Kassian back from BUF
10	MKE	23-19-1-1	1-0	1-1-0-0	-	Big road win at HOU Sun
11	RFD	20-22-1-4	0-1	0-1-0-0	-2	158 goals against!
12	GRR	19-18-4-4	1-0	1-1-0-0	-	Rookie Nyquist is a beast
13	HAM	20-20-1-4	0-1	1-1-0-0	+1	Needs a push NOW
14	LEM	21-22-2-2	0-1	1-0-0-1	+1	Points in three straight
15	TEX	20-22-1-2	0-4	0-2-0-0	-2	Team is better than this

Let us know what you think about these rankings! Discuss, leave a comment, and tell us what you think.

The Bonding Trip

It's no secret that I'm not much of a fan of the AHL league offices, especially when it comes to the treatement of the teams in the Western Conference. You know, those teams that actually have to get on airplanes to journey to their next arenas for games. I'm also of the opinion that the league tends to treat the Aeros and the other Texas teams like crap, mainly when it comes to scheduling. I can't for the life of me figure out why the Aeros had to turn around and play at noon the day after a night game. And it was my opinion that while the Aeros put out a good effort yesterday, they were clearly gassed while playing against a rested team.  (Apparently I'm an idiot who has no idea what he's talking about since it appears the Aeros are the one's who requested the 12:05 start yesterday.)

But at least that was a home game. The Aeros aren't going to have any home games for awhile. Their next 11 games are on the road -- four of the games are in Abbotsford. True, the Aeros have been an excellent road team this year while playing poorly at home, but still, 11 straight road games are going to be taxing for any team, even if the team plays good hockey on the road like the Aeros. (The Aeros are 23-12-3-9, 58 points on the season, but only 9-7-3-6 at home with a 14-5-0-3 road record)

We asked John Torchetti and Jon DiSalvatore about the challenges that await the team, and how the team will adjust to that many on the road. And they didn't sound too worried, not that they would tell us they worried.

"We just want to come out – we want to keep our success going." Torchetti said. "We’ve got some big challenges. We play some good teams, so we’ve got to be ready that. I just think it’s a good challenge for us as a team. It gets us some time to go bond, which is big."

DiSalvatore claims the road games are easier to handle because the player time is more regimented and there are fewer distractions, which could be partly behind their better road play.

"There’s more distractions when you’re at home than when you’re on the road," he said. "Your schedule for the most part is set with you. So guys are tuned pretty well when you’re on the road. You have an itinerary that you follow so it’s easy to kind of reign guys in; keep a little bit more of a cohesive unit when you’re on the road. You go to dinner a lot. You associate a lot. You go to movies on the off days. You’re really together way more than we ever are when we’re at home."

(As an aside, I covered a religious event featuring baseball player Josh Hamilton on Friday night. Hamilton's a drug and alcohol addict who makes a habit off falling off the wagon during the off-season. A time when he's got no schedule to follow, so he turns to his demons then. So maybe DiSalvatore has a point about the set schedules and being able to reign people in.)

As for what the team is expecting to do on the road, DiSalvatore said that they can't look ahead to what they want to accomplish on the trip.

"You’ve got to be careful when you start to look ahead too much," he said. "We’re still a team that’s trying to work on a bunch of things. I know its a little cliché, but you really do have to take it one day at a time. We’re trying to build a foundation here; a lot like any winning team that wants to make a successful playoff run is trying to do. We’ve got to take every opportunity, a chance to go on and get a great road win, character wins. We showed this weekend some more character, and we’ve got to continue to show signs like that. Really, just take it section-by-section, minute-by-minute type deal, and work with some guys who are still maturing to being first year pros, playing a lot of minutes for us."

As it stands now, the Aeros are the fourth seed in the Western Conference for playoffs. I don't believe the road trip is going to destroy any playoff chances, especially not if they keep playing good hockey on the road. But my fear is that the team returns to Houston tired and beat up and still struggling at home.

Hopefully this road trip will position them for a successful playoff run. The team that bonded during a month-long road trip and is now ready to lay waste to all that come before them.

But frankly, all things considered, I just wish the AHL would stop screwing around and treating the Aeros the way Ted Turner treated the Atlanta Braves back in the early-80s, slot fillers to fill out a schedule. The team that plays all of the 11:00 a.m. matinees because somebody has to do it -- the Aeros play two 11:00 a.m midweek games on this schedule, including tomorrow's game in Chicago. Never mind.

Oh well, until next month.

View from the Press Box - Aeros lose 2-1 to Milwaukee

Sometimes I get a chance to sit in the stands on Sundays. I don't have a real tight deadline, I bring my kiddo, and today it was nice to see more than 8,400 fans out there cheering on the Aeros before their longest road trip in team history.

Too bad they lost. Too bad they missed out on taking a 2-0 lead in the first period when they controlled play.

Too bad their only two glaring errors in the second turned into goals, and too bad DiSalvatore missed that penalty shot.

But one thing that surprised me by sitting in the stands today was all the hate for Hackett.

To be fair, I questioned whether or not he should have got the start, and ye, he was real slow reacting to that wraparound goal by Wilson that ended up being the game winner.

I am not the only one who thought they should have went with Kuemper today, but hey, we are not coaches, and we are not in charge of developing kids into NHL stars.

So we asked Torchetti about the call to start Hackett, and true to form, the Aeros' first year coach defended his second year goalie.

"He wasn't a little slow on a couple of slot plays, though. You have to (consider) that, too," said Torchetti. "He played a great game today, and he kept us in this game.

Torch went on to say that Sunday's start was more about getting him mentally ready for the grind that is a) this upcoming trip and b) the playoffs when they get there.

"That is what this one was all about, and I just wanted to push him, too," added Torchetti. "He is going to be playing a lot of games in the playoffs.

"He'll be playing three in four and four in six nights, so that is what it is all about. I know he did it last year, and so I just want to get him back in a groove for us.

"I felt comfortable with that move and the decision we made today to play him."

I heard a lot of fans getting on him for wandering and being lazy and just being a little scrambled.

To be clear, I think Hack was great, save for that second goal ... and I agree with the coach; he did make a lot of tough saves Sunday.

The only issue that I have is that for a team so desperate for home wins, it might have been better to go with the fresh legs and mind in a game where you almost need a shutout to win.

But after talking to Torchetti, I completely understand the decision and appreciate the candid answer when it's hard to sound like you are doing anything other than second-guessing.

Now the team heads out for 11 in a row. While the team did not discuss specific goals, I have to think that getting 11-14 points has to be the floor of what this team should expect.

We'll see, beginning Tuesday in Chicago.

View from the Press Box - Morning After Edition

John pretty much summed up what I was going to discuss last night.

The nets. Three times (or is it four now?) this season pucks have gone through the nets. Only once, from what I can recall, did they get it right.

And that was in a game against the Texas Stars. It was their goal, and they needed it to win.

Here is John's summary on this subject in case you missed it from last night:

"How many more times this season will there have to be a controversy regarding the goal judges and the goal netting before something actually gets done?  From what we were hearing after the game the problem apparently is with the nets as pucks keep flying through the nets during the Toyota Center morning skates.  That raises the question: just how hard can it be to get new nets?  Especially nets that do what they're supposed to do and keep the puck in the goal?"

I thought someone was just kidding when they said it happened all the time in the morning skate.

But when I heard a key member of the Aeros staff tell some fans that it happens 2-3 times per week, I knew this was just more than random chance.

Now what I don't know if if the coaching staff has talked to the Wild or the front office about getting some new nets.

If this truly is a problem, this is going to cost someone dearly down the road when ever goal is critical.

I trust that those in charge of the Aeros will make this right.

I have one final point regarding this topic. A key member of the Aeros staff and a player were waiting after the game for a simple explanation from the one person that is in charge of having the best view of the net: the goal judge.

Now I know who was back there, but I have enough respect for him not to use his name in this blog. But what I don't understand is why he did not come down after the game to tell the Aeros what he saw.

Two members of the staff were pretty upset to at least not get an explanation from the goal judge.

Maybe they talked after we all left and this is a moot point. I hope that is the case.

In closing, I hope the Aeros can hang with a well-rested and angry Milwaukee Admirals team. They are in a huge slump (just three wins in last 15 games) and they will come out firing everything at the Aeros.

Last night was one of the best I've covered in 10 years on the beat.

It had a little bit of everything, and like ICEVET said, the crowd willed the team team to win.

David Burke and his staff have done an A+ job of getting butts in the seats. You can't say enough for what I believe is now three 10,000 plus crowds this season, including the largest since Game 7 of the 1999 Finals at Compaq Center.

Do You Believe In Miracles? The Aeros Win In The Shootout

It finally happened.  The unthinkable.  The unbelievable.  The Aeros won a game in the shootout, coming back from a 4-1 second period deficit to defeat the Lake Erie Monsters 5-4.

That's right.  You read me correctly.  The Aeros won a game, at home, in the shootout.

The Aeros took the early lead when David McIntyre made a great play from down low and put the puck in at 6:56 of the first.  But things quickly fell apart as Lake Erie scored three unanswered first period goals, the first coming at 12:39 and the second goal coming at 13:47 on an own-goal when Chay Genoway proceeded to pass the puck to Matt Hackett and Hackett muffed the play and knocked the puck into his own goal.  Luke Walker got the third goal at 18:31 when he went backhand on Hackett.

"Tonight's theme was weather the storm," Torchetti said.  "I told them I don't mind weathering a storm, but not our own. We created our own storm.  That's the thing.  Once we get this thing going right, we'll be heading in the right direction."

The Monsters scored early in the second to make it 4-1, and for most of the second the Aeros resembled the Keystone Kops out on the ice as nothing, nothing, appeared to be going right.  Missed passes.  Overskating the puck.  Not taking shots when they were there and taking shots when they didn't have them. But Chay Genoway struck on the power play with a rocket from the right circle at 18:54 to make it 4-2 going into the second intermission.

The Aeros made it 4-3 at the 11:03 mark when Jon DiSalvatore faked out Lake Erie's goalie Gerald Coleman, passing the puck to Jeff Taffe at the last moment who put the puck into the wide open net.  And Kris Foucautl tied it at 14:29 on a fluke, when down below the red goal line, he attempted to pass the puck up across ice to one of his teammates, only to have the puck bounce off of Coleman and into the net.

"Good things are happening," Torchetti said.  "They came out -- it was kind of a weird first period.  We were outshooting them eight to two and a couple of instances and the pucks in the net.  They did a good job executing on the power play.  Our penalty kill has to get better if we're going to be a contending team in the playoffs.  Has to get better."

The Aeros had some chances to win in overtime, especially early on when Coleman made a great stop on Chad Rau.  But with the crowd roaring, the Aeros came out first in the overtime and saw the impossible happen.  Justin Fontaine made a fantastic move that faked Coleman out of his skates and the Aeros were suddenly up 1-0 on the shootout.  Matt Hackett made some fantastic stops and the game was won when the final shooter, C.J. Stretch, buried the puck in the net for the 2-0 shootout lead and the 5-4 shootout win.

""I just went out there and tried to do it for the team," Stretch said.  "There were a lot of fans here, too, so that just kind of helps you out and gets you going.  I guess I just really wanted to score and it just happened."

The win was not without controversy as once again the Aeros were upset with the goal judges as Kris Foucault claimed his shootout shot went through the netting.  But the goal judge ruled no goal and after the game we were rewarded with another lecture on the need for better nets in the goals -- Andrew should be following up on this later.

There was a lot of bad hockey in this game by the Aeros, especially in the second period, but for now, it doesn't matter as the Aeros actually hung on to get the win before a crowd of 13,390, the largest ever crowd to see the Aeros play at Toyota Center.

"It was like, god, I hope we don't lose in front of this crowd because they deserved it," Torchetti said.  "They were great, they were loud.  It's what we like playing in front of every night, that's for sure."

The Aeros return to action tomorrow at 12:05 for a game against a well-rested Milwaukee Admiral team that rolled into Toyota Center well before game time tonight.

SOME MISCELLANEOUS NOTES:

This was the first Aeros shootout win at home this season, and only their second shootout win for the season....

David McIntyre got to enjoy scoring a goal on his birthday...

The out-of-left field trivia of the night is that Chris Clackson is an iPhone app developer, having developed while in college an iPhone app called Grocery Time that helps with budgeting, keeping track of food freshness, etc....

How many more times this season will there have to be a controversy regarding the goal judges and the goal netting before something actually gets done?  From what we were hearing after the game the problem apparently is with the nets as pucks keep flying through the nets during the Toyota Center morning skates.  That raises the question: just how hard can it be to get new nets?  Especially nets that do what they're supposed to do and keep the puck in the goal?

Casey Wellman Traded To Whale

We're hearing word from Hartford that Casey Wellman has been traded to the Connecticut Whale, who are part of the New York Rangers organization.  Wild beat writer Michael Russo is also reporting the trade, and he's saying that the Wild are receiving New York Rangers center Erik Christensen and a seventh round draft choice.  We're still trying to work out all of the details here, and figure out fact from rumor, but I'd go with Russo being correct.

UPDATE:  It's official.  Wellman to the Whale.  Christensen to the Wild.  Chad Rau is being returned to the Aeros.

Aeros win 3-1 over the Stars (at home!!!)

Are we dreaming? Did the Aeros actually just win a home game and, for all intents and purposes, play a good 60 minutes?

Why, I do believe that happened for real! The Aeros beat the Stars 3-1, as Torchetti said, just playing a simple, steady game.

They didn't get rattled by that first goal (which was deflected in, BTW... I thought Hackett played his first strong, focused game in some time) and just kept playing Aeros hockey.

We felt like the goal by CJ Stretch that was waved off was probably a good goal. I think if the AHL had replay (she says through gritted teeth), you'd have seen that ultimately ruled a deflection off Stretch's skate and not a "kick in."

I thought we had a pretty good angle on it, too. Maybe you guys saw something else? The ref obviously did.

That said, boy, was I impressed with Stretch's game tonight. Guy has really nice hands and is a player. Don't see any reason he shouldn't be an AHLer for good after what I've seen. Of course, now I've jinxed him. Sorry, CJ.

Wellman continues to make it look easy, cornering Raycroft in the "no play zone" unable to make a move and basically just gives it up to Wellman who scores on the empty net. Just a brain fart by Raycroft there.

Genoway, with the game winner... I have to tell you this: I had a dream last night that I had a talk with Chay and told him he needed to get scoring. Haha. Gave me chills when he ripped that shot from the high slot and just about put it through the roof of the net. Really nice, Noreau-ish goal. Miss having that kind of scoring from the blue line.

What I liked especially was no back-down when they got the lead. Stuck to the system and got good goaltending and bada-bing bada-boom, you get the win.

We tried to talk to Almond after the game but the poor guy was iced all over and in the doc's room getting stitched up after the game. Weirdest thing I've ever seen, he and Connolly lying on the ice punching each other for way longer than I would have thought the refs should allow. I think maybe they were caught off guard as much as anybody else following the play.

But prying them apart and chucking them in the box for 2 minutes didn't cool them down. They finish it up when they get out of the box and I'm reminded of what a freak (in a good way) Almond is as a fighter. Not a huge guy but few guys have so much POWER behind their punches.

His balance and strength and aggression are just unbelievable when he decides to drop the mitts. It's terrifying in a way that I... don't mind at all. *ahem*

However, seeing how banged up he was, I just hope it was worth it. Whatever the case, dude is a wicked tough son-of-a-gun. Glad he's on our side.

Anyway, all in all, nice to finally get one at home and hear some happy music out of the locker room and talk to a happy coach: "If they play like that all season, we'd be a happy coaching staff."

Back at it Saturday night (though I'll be in Dallas watching the Wild game, so you'll be in John and Andrew's capable hands), and don't forget Sunday's game is a quick-turnaround nooner due to the Big Game in Indianapolis later in the day.

Enjoy them now because they're not back until March 10 (*sadface*).

View from the Press Box - Aeros win ... at home!

You can bet all the talk on the Stars side of things will be centered on what would have happened Thursday minus Raycroft's second-period brain freeze.

But that was a break the Aeros, winless in six before the 3-1 win over Texas, desperately needed.

Wellman and Fontaine looked really good out there, as did, I thought DiSalvatore and Hackett.

Dave McIntyre just had one of those nights, but you can bet he'll respond with a good pair of games this weekend.

The Aeros really turned on the jets after the CJ Stretch goal was waived off. Personally, I did not see the kicking motion, even after seeing the replays, but I was not anywhere near as close as Banfield, and he waived it off immediately.

Even Torchetti said he's not the least bit worried about that call.

Other positives? The power play was better and produced the game-winner.

Hackett looked pretty confident, and his body language was better after allowing the first goal on a re-direction.

He just shook it off, and the Aeros really turned it up after that.

Jeff Taffe had one good scoring chance, was a plus-1 and recorded three shots on goal. Please read the post from earlier for more on his recent struggles.

Drew Bagnall was a quiet plus-two and was very good defensively.

DiSalvatore was a minus-1 Thursday, but he did get a team-high six shots on goal and created when possible.

The Aeros did a real good job against the Benn/Hedden/Morin line. Those three just looked a bit off, so it was nice to see the Aeros take advantage of that.

That is pretty much all I have for now. What did you think of the game tonight?

What do you think the Aeros need to do to keep the streak alive against Lake Erie and Milwaukee?

Game Day, Aeros vs. Texas; It's time to step up

Normally I don't get a chance to go to Toyota Center for the morning skate, but something made me detour on the way to work. I watched the skate and then talked to Torch after the 60-minute workout. A few things stick out in advance of tonight's game against the Texas Stars.

First, we addressed last weekend, when the Aeros were bombed 10-2 by OKC and San Antonio. The scores weren't as bad as the games, but in the first game, a bad first goal led to another and before you knew it ... boom.

"We were fine in OKC, came out shooting, up 8-2 in shots; we were detailed, and then we don’t stay on the point with our execution on a forecheck," said Torchetti. "Boom, they get a goal on wrist shot from just inside the blueline, and then they score on the power play. Whatever they are shooting is going in right now, and whatever we’re doing is just letting it in. That is tough."

As for San Antonio?

"I think we played well enough to win in San Antonio, but again," said Torch. "We had three bad breakdowns."

And they aaaallllll ended up in the net.

"What do you mean Matt can't hack it? He is the (f**king)
bomb up in this place ... He will score three goals tonight."

We also talked about Hackett's numbers and his recent propensity for allowing at least one bad goal every game since, well, since he was sent back down from Minnesota. Torchetti defended his sophomore goalie, and said the wins will come again.

"At the beginning of the year, Hack pretty much won us a bunch of games," said Torch. "And I don’t even think he even got No. 1 player for our team. Everyone just said, 'Oh, it’s just Hack, he doesn’t deserve a helmet (the prize the Aeros give to their player of the game) for just being himself.'

"But then, when we’re not winning, it’s, 'Oh, Hack let in a soft one.' It’s a two-way street. We have to button down, too, for him."

Torch, as he does so often, then went on a bit of a tangent ... He went from talking about Hackett being able to win games for the team to challenging the veterans on the team to step up and score a big (and timely) power play goal tonight.

And that set up the next topic rather nicely. Jeff Taffe.

In 14 games since New Year's, he has not scored a goal and he's minus-11. He's down to minus-17 (17!) and if my notes are right, there are only two guys in the entire league worse off. Taffe is not minus-17 player. But it will only get worse if some shots don't start going in for him, and if he continues to let up (defensively) during critical times of the game.

Taffe, who hits more posts than anyone since Steve Kelly, needs to shoot the puck more. And that is exactly what Torchetti said.

"It’s a situation for him that, one, you want to get out of the scoring slump," said Torchetti. "To do that, you have to put the puck on the net more, which we’ve talked about.

"He is a big part of our success, and I am putting some pressure on him; I have to. I know he can do it, though. He will come through. It just seems that everyone is slumping at the same time."

Re-read that last line. Not only is everyone slumping at the same time, there is almost no-one left in the lineup. The depth is gone, and team confidence is at all all-time low ... for this season.

Make no mistake, tonight is a huge game. The Aeros desperately need a win, and they need to do it at home. They've just one win at Toyota Center since Dec. 16. They've won just three of their last 14 games at home (even though they do have points in seven of their 11 losses).

My gut says no tonight and yes to Saturday and Sunday. I just have a feeling the weekend could go really well, but it's nothing more than a hunch.

Hopefully my prediction for tonight will smack off the post and land in the corner for what fans really want - a Houston Aeros victory.