This Is A Test

Hello, hello. Anybody out there?

Blogger, which is what we post on, has been down since early yesterday afternoon. It appears to be back now, so we'll be trying to get stuff up throughout the day before the game.

But if Blogger goes down, we'll try to find a way to post stuff somewhere.

Beat Drew MacIntyre ... and advance

See the title to this post?
In case you don't want to shift your eyes for a second, it says "Beat Drew MacIntyre ... and advance."

Even though Jeremy Smith was lights out during the West Division finals, the Aeros were probably pretty lucky that Mark Dekanich was out for the postseason. I can't imagine him playing any better than Smith did, but Dekanich is a better goalie overall. If the Admirals had just one or two more saves in Games 5 and 7, the Admirals would likely be playing the Hamilton Bulldogs tonight at Bradley Center.

But they didn't; the Aeros prevailed, and now they have a shot to play for the Calder Cup. And to do that, they are going to have to beat only the No. 1 goalie during the postseason - Drew MacIntyre (pictured here when he played for Chicago last year).

If the name sounds familiar, it should. The Aeros have faced him 22 times over the years and were the team that played MacIntyre in his first AHL game WAAAAAY back in 2004. He got called up to the Griffins that year, and the Aeros quickly introduced him with 49 shots en route to a 4-1 Aeros win at Van Andel Arena.

Over the years, the 27-year old goalie from Prince Edward Island has stayed in the Western Conference. After his stint with the Griffins/Red Wings, he jumped over to the Vancouver Canucks/Manitoba Moose. Then he went to the Milwaukee Admirals for a year before signing with the Atlanta Thrashers/Chicago Wolves. Then earlier this year, he was traded to Hamilton/Montreal and he and Nigel Dawes (another name Aeros fans should fear right now) to the West Division finals against the Aeros.

For those of you who participate in the "He shoots, he scores ...." chant, know this. In 22 games (21 starts) against the Aeros, MacIntyre has been amazingly consistent. He's saved more than 91 percent of the shots the Aeros have thrown his way, and his goals against average against the Aeros is a stout 2.24.

The Aeros have fared well, though, against MacIntyre, even though they don't seem to be able to blow him out. They have beaten him 13 times (against eight losses), but have never scored more than four goals against. Seven times, he's faced the Aeros in the postseason, all with Milwaukee two years ago in the second of three Kevin Constantine seasons. The Aeros won that series in seven games; MacIntyre let in four goals in Game 7, but anyone who saw/remembers that game will tell you that Milwaukee played a very poor *team* game that night. It was the complete opposite of Tuesday's Game 7 in the same building.

If the Aeros can keep the Nigel Dawes Aaaron Palushaj line from going absolutely nuts, they can probably beat the Bulldogs with three goals a game. History says getting three goals past MacIntyre will be more than enough to get to the win.

Prepare for another series where the opposing goaltender definitely has the edge over Aeros rookie Matt Hackett. MacIntyre was acquired when Curtis Sanford needed shoulder surgery and was lost for the season. MacIntyre's experience was needed to get the Bulldogs to where they are now. He, I feel, is the key to this series and the Aeros chances of playing for the Calder Cup trophy against the (team of destiny) Binghamton Senators.

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.