Thank yous from Ms. C...

They say that nobody gets anywhere alone and I believe that whole-heartedly. Whether it's people purposely greasing the path for you or others unknowingly inspiring you, nothing is accomplished in a vacuum.

So, before I let my hair down and do a little What's Bugging Ms. Conduct post and before I wander down memory lane, I wanted to dish out some admittedly self-indulgent love and thank yous.

First of all, the big 3:

Barry Brust - I know, I know. But the reason I adore Barry so much is that he cemented my love of the game and my passion for goaltending, spoiled me for every other goalie ever, and was always nicer to me than I ever deserved. Let's be honest, I probably deserved a restraining order, but instead, we ran a goalie camp together, he gave me tons of great insight into the game, both as a goalie and just as someone who has a terrific hockey mind, and he was always super handsome and still totally is. Team Brusty 4ever, you guys!!!

Bryan Reynolds - He was the one who said, "Hey, you should cover the Aeros for Pro Hockey News and get a press pass." I was all, "Ehhh, I don't like writing serious hockey stuff. I like swooning and exaggerating and making people laugh." But then my husband was all, "*I'm* not paying for season tickets so... you might want to do this." Compelling argument. So, away I went popping my press row cherry and meeting...

Andrew Ferraro - The example I followed and, eventually, the little voice in my head was always Andrew's. His playful approach to covering the game but serious approach to the journalism helped us work well together, while his ability to see through bullshit, to wade through distractions, and find the kernel of truth or importance taught me a lot of the things that were missing from my education as a reporter. There's a helluva lot of stuff they don't teach you in journalism school. Most of the important stuff, honestly.

Also, his (very rare) absence from Aeros games when he was the (most excellent) beat writer the previous 10 years allowed me to dip a toe in the Real Journalist waters and eventually enabled me to ask for the Chronicle gig and get it. He's been my guiding hand all season as I made my way through my first year on the beat, awash in insecurities at covering one of the most important seasons in Aeros history.

I'm forever grateful to all three of you for either setting me on the path or keeping me on it. Not that I ever knew where it was going or had any particular goals. Sometimes you just get really really lucky.

Beyond that, thanks to some great PR guys, particularly Rich Bocchini and Josh Fisher, who both treated me great and got me what I needed to do my job and made me laugh constantly. And I can't forget Jeremy Rakes, who took great care of us on game nights. My happy place used to be on a hammock, swaying gently in the breeze next to the ocean. Now it's on press row. If there's anything better than watching hockey, it's watching it with the most knowledgeable people in the building (who aren't standing behind the bench).

Thank you to coaches John Torchetti, Mike Yeo, and Kevin Constantine, all of whom where a total pleasure to work with. Every time one left, I thought I couldn't like the next guy more, and yet, every one was great in his own way. I learned so much from each and was always treated with respect.

Thanks to my other colleagues on press row, especially John Royal, and when he was around, Fred Trask, for laughing at my jokes, keeping my secrets, and being my friends and advisors. I enjoyed every single minute of working with you guys. Love you bunches.

Thanks and love to Joy Lindsay, the Binghamton Senators beat writer during our mutual cup run, for being my first female beat writer role model (a true pro) and also a one of the nicest people I've ever met. Girlfriend doesn't. even. eat. butter. out of concern for the animals. God bless her. We had some fun during the finals, we did.

To Aaron Voros, for walking out in nothing but his Under Armor that one time back when our seats were by the locker room tunnel, thank you for introducing me to the wonder that is Hockey Butt.

Thanks to Wild fans, who gave me a niche to fill with their voracious appetite for prospect news while also teaching about the game. Such a knowledgeable fan base, even if you do yell SHOOOOT throughout the power play (stop that).

Extra special thanks to the Aeros fans (you guys!) who read my thoughts on goaltending and DIDN'T leave nastygrams in the comments (you know who you are, Anonymous! *mwah*).

Thank you to Chronicle Deputy Sports Editor Jay Lee for giving me a chance to cover the team and, more importantly for liking the work I did, and similarly, Mike Damante for being one of the nicest, most reassuring guys ever when I was feeling insecure and frazzled about covering the team. Which was a lot. Also, thank you for being a willing and able backup as my priorities shifted late in the season with our move to Dallas. What a life-saver!

And of course, all the friends I've made in the hockey community in Houston, either through the Aeros or through playing the game. All the times Ally's anthem has given me goose bumps. All the great intro videos that reminded me why I love this team. All the opposing players I called "cupcakes" while they were in the penalty box next to my seats as a ticket holder. Chuuuuuuckoooooooo....

Thanks as well to the players, who bust their Hockey Butts all year long, lose teeth, get concussed, break limbs, noses, collar bones, spend their lives wrapped in ice packs and, oh yeah, score goals and block shots and make sexy glove saves ... for our entertainment and because chicks dig it. Most were as gracious as can be with the media, which is a blessing.

I'm sure I'm leaving someone out. Truthfully, every person I interacted with made my experience covering the team special in some way, from the sweet parking garage guy and Ramona at the security desk and on and on.

My heart aches at the thought of not meeting up with my pals at the top of 108 in October. I loved the Aeros, but the memories I'll really cherish are the connections with my fellow hockey-lovers.

John's Favorite Aeros

I had the pleasure of being around the Aeros and the coaches and staff for six seasons. The times were mostly good, primarily because the players realized I was there doing a job, and most of them realized through experience, or came to learn it from the vets, that their jobs involved more than just excelling at the game of hockey, but they had to learn to excel at the game away from hockey, of speaking to the press, of selling the team and the game.

I enjoyed all of them, but some more than others. Not always because of their abilities on the ice, and not always because of their abilities off of the ice dealing with us. This group of 10 players I'm about to list are those guys who were the easiest to deal with every game, who would always talk no matter what just happened in the game. Some seemed to enjoy themselves more than others, some took great joy in connecting with the fans and dealing with the public. This list isn't scientific, and I'm sure Andrew and Heather will different players if they make such a list.

So without further ado...

10. Danny Irmen: the guy could have a bad night on the ice, yet if I needed a quote, or just wanted to talk while waiting for someone else, the guy would talk. And who knows, maybe at some point Irmen's dreams will be fulfilled and the Vikings will win the Super Bowl.

9. John Scott: he was an enforcer on the ice, yet he was one of the nicest guys off of the ice that I ever met. I was really mean to him one night, and I didn't even realize it. He'd been called up to the Wild, but got trapped in airport hell and couldn't make it to the city the Wild were in and was immediately sent back down. So I saw him in the locker room and just started joking around about how that must of sucked, about how he couldn't even make it to the arena and sit in the press box. I think it was Andrew who told me afterwards that I was the world's worst jerk at that moment. I didn't realize it at the time, but I felt bad because at the time no one knew if he was ever going to make it back up. But Scott kept a smile on his face, joked about the airport, etc. If we would've been on the ice, he would've pummeled me without thinking.

8. Brandon Rogers: Rogers probably wasn't the most skilled player to ever lace up for the Aeros. He wasn't the most flashy. I remember him being a good quarterback of the power play. I also remember one year where he seemingly had a -40 because Kevin Constantine saddled him with the rookie and journeymen d-men. He didn't complain, that I know of. He just went out and did the best that he could on the ice, then talked us to after the games whenever we needed him.

7. Matt Kassian: I liked Matt. I liked his jokes, his twitter feed, and his good nature. He always said hi in the corridor, even when we didn't need him. And I'll always be thankful for his #shinslist and #fiveslist as well as his twitter movie reviews which basically conclude with every movie being a romantic comedy.

6.Jean-Michel Daoust: Daoust had that stereotypical French-Canadian accent, and if he got excited, then his English was really hard to understand. But he had this gleam in his eye, even when he wasn't playing. He was a pest on the ice when he did play. I just enjoyed talking to him.

5. Max Noreau: the guy had a rocket of a shot, and I loved watching him on the power play, knowing that he could snipe a shot into the goal from anywhere on the ice. Thanks for taking the time to talk after games, Max. It's much appreciated.

4. Jed Ortmeyer: what's there to be said about Jed Ortmeyer? How about this: I'm absolutely convinced that everybody on the Aeros would have died for Ortmeyer if he asked. The guy was the soul of the locker room for two seasons. It still amazes me that he's able to play hockey, and that he's willing to risk everything to play the game. I think that's why the players were so willing to give it all for those teams he played on. If he was willing to die for the game, then the least his teammates could do was do everything possible to win the game.

3. Mitch Love: it's hard to believe that Love only played one season with the Aeros. But it was a fun season. Love eagerly embraced the enforcer role, and he was one of Kevin Constantine's top energy guys. The crowds at Toyota Center loved him, and he loved them. I loved talking with Love after games. He loved the game, he loved talking about the game, and he loved his role on the team.

2. Barry Brust:  Heather's list of favorite players probably consists of the name Barry Brust listed 5000 times. Brusty was always a fun interview. He had a sense of humor, and he realized just how ridiculous he could be at times. It often seemed that the worst he played, the better the interview, the funnier he was. If something went wrong, it was his fault, not the team, not his defense, not the coaching staff. Him.

1. Jon DiSalvatore: he was the captain of that incredible squad that went to the Calder Cup finals two years ago. Jed Ortmeyer might have been the soul, Patrick O'Sullivan might have been the gunner, but DiSalvator was the anchor, keeping it all together. He was probably the guy we talked to the most for four years. It couldn't have always been easy for him, because when the team lost, he was usually the guy we talked to. But he came out every night, never tried to blow us off, and did his job.

The Aeros Are Dead. Long Live the Aeros!

It's all over. There is no more.

The Aeros lost 7-0 to Grand Rapids tonight ending the team's Calder Cup hopes. And with that loss, the team's time in Houston is no more.

Don't tune us out immediately, folks. We have a few things planned for the next week or so, a few thoughts on our favorite players, our favorite moments, etc. So hopefully you'll come back from time to time, read our final thoughts, and leave a few of your own.

But with that said, I want to kind of end on this note. Everybody who reads should know that I'm a fan of The Beatles. The last album The Beatles ever recorded was "Abbey Road" -- "Let It Be" would come out afterwards, but the songs were recorded and mostly in the can before the guys went back to the studio for "Abbey Road."

"Abbey Road" ends on a flourish, the last side a series of melodies blending into one another in a mad rush of inspired musicianship. The last melody consists of "Golden Slumbers," "Carry That Weight," and "The End," then nothing and a final piece of Paul McCartney whimsy, "Her Majesty."

It's the final lyrics from "The End" that I want to give you, picking up after Ringo Starr's only drum solo on a Beatles record, then a series of guitar solos by John Lennon, George Harrison, and McCartney. As the solos end, McCartney sings:

"And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love
You make."

I've loved my time writing about the Aeros here. I can only hope you shared part of my joy.

And don't forget, please check back for our closing posts.

Aeros Not Dead Yet...

In a do-or-die game, with the existence of the franchise hanging by a thread, the Aeros came through with the 4-1 win over the Grand Rapids Griffins in Grand Rapids tonight, tying the series at 2-2.

Mike Condon came up with the Darcy Kuemper-esque game, stopping 41 of 42 Grand Rapids shots. The Aeros meanwhile had only 20 shots on the night, but scored on four of them. Mikael Granlund, Chad Rau, Steven Kampfer, and David McIntyre got the goals for the Aeros -- McIntyre's being an empty netter to ace the game and Granlund and Kampfer both scoring on the power play. Justin Fontaine assisted on three of the goals and Brian Connelly had two assists.

So the team's not dead yet. There's still the chance they're coming home again, if they can pull off the win in Grand Rapids tomorrow night.

The Aeros need to win tonight ... or it's over. Forever, over.

It's simple really.

Play desperate. Play for your season, play for your fans, especially for those of us
who are not ready to say goodbye.

Just win, baby.

Aeros on the brink of extinction after 4-2 loss in Grand Rapids

Michael Caples photo

They scored first. Rookie goalie Mike Condon was good enough.
They played a great road game, but the Aeros allowed two late third-period goals and lost 4-2 to the Griffins in Game 3 of this best of five series.

The Aeros as they know them will cease to exist after Friday night unless the team can muster enough to force a Game 5 on Saturday at Van Andel Arena. Don't count them out just yet, but it's dicey and the loss of three key players might just be enough to wipe the Aeros off the map.

Erik Haula gave the Aeros a 1-0 lead late in the first, but the Griffins scored the next two to take a 2-1 lead. David McIntyre answered shortly thereafter to make it 2-2, but Grand Rapids scored the go-ahead goal with just about 3:30 left in the game to take the win.

They added an empty-netter, and now all the pressure in the world is on the Aeros to keep this thing going. They have to win Friday, or it's lights out ... for good. If they do force a Game 5, all the pressure then shifts to the Griffins. The cliche is that anything can happen, but it'll be tough for the visitors to win two straight in the same visiting barn.

The last time that happened this year in back-to-back nights you ask? Well ... first the bad news: the Aeros are just 1-for-6 in situations where they play in the same road arena two nights in a row and won both games. The good news, though, is pretty good: the only time they did that was IN Grand Rapids back in late January. That was the weekend they turned their season around with two straight wins at Van Andel.

History will have to repeat itself or the Aeros are gone.

What do you think they need to do better? Well, it has to start with the power play, and Condon is going to have to be just about perfect. Two goals allowed and they have a real good chance, but if Grand Rapids gets to three, it's more than likely over.

Game 3 Preview - It's the Mike Condon Show!

People have given up on the Aeros. It's the playoffs and no one is visiting our humble little blog any more. Hits are down, and only a few people called me out for my over-the-top posting with the Tombstone yesterday. 

The picture here is what the Houston Chronicle did in the middle of the Astros' 2005 season. That team rebounded late and got within one game of the World Series.

In case you missed it, Nik Backstrom got hurt during warm-ups for the Wild, and Josh Harding got the call and played really well. But with their No. 1 goalie hurt, the Aeros will lose their No. 1 goalie at THE WORST possible time. 

Mike Condon played really well down the stretch during the regular season, but it's assumed that he will get his first pro playoff start tonight against Grand Rapids. It's not literally a must-win game, but it is a must win game for the Aeros, who need to win two of three on the road to get to the next round. 

With Zucker and Scandella and now Darcy Kuemper on recall, just about everyone is putting the Grffins down in ink to advance this weekend. 

My brain agrees with that, but if the Aeros win tonight ... somehow, some way, we'll see what happens in Games 6 or 7. 

Here are some notes from the Aeros press office. What are your thoughts on the series?

After two games in Houston, the series shifts to Grand Rapids, continuing a best of five series with Game Three on Wednesday. Houston claimed Game One with a 3-0 shutout on Friday night. Grand Rapids took Game Two with a 3-2 victory at Toyota Center on Sunday. Houston has outscored Grand Rapids 5-3 through the two games. The Aeros took two out of three games in Grand Rapids this season.

 

The Aeros and Griffins meet for second time in postseason history. In 2003, Houston defeated Grand Rapids in seven games of the Western Conference Finals. The Aeros went on the win the Calder Cup after jumping out to a 3-1 series lead, only to see the Griffins come back and force Game seven with a pair of overtime wins. Grand Rapids forward Jeff Hoggan and Houston forward Stephane Veilleux both played for the Aeros that season.

 

The two teams met six times during the regular season. Grand Rapids claimed four wins, including a shootout victory at Toyota Center. Houston was 2-3-0-1 against Grand Rapids, including an 0-2-0-1 record at Toyota Center. The Griffins were 4-2-0-0, including a 1-2-0-0 record at Van Andel Arena. Grand Rapids won the last three meetings of the regular season. Each team posted a shutout in the series, while Grand Rapids outscored Houston 13-10. The road team won five of six games. Three of the games have been decided by one goal. The teams are a combined 4-for-45 on the power play with Houston going 2-for-23 and Grand Rapids going 2-for-22.

 

The Aeros hit the road for the first time this postseason. The team posted a 19-15-2-2 mark away from home in the regular season. Houston finished 7-3-0-0 over the last ten games of the regular season. Houston was even in scoring on the road, matching the home team with 102 goals per side. The Aeros have won seven of their last nine games.

 

Grand Rapids posted a 21-12-3-2 record at home in the regular season, outscoring the home team 109-100. Grand Rapids finished the year with a 4-4-1-1 record over the last ten games of the regular season.

 

In the regular season, Houston and Grand Rapids have played 74 times in AHL history. Over the course of time, the Aeros are 36-28-10 against the Griffins, who are 32-33-9 all-time against Houston. Over the last five years, the Aeros have a 13-9-0-2 mark versus Grand Rapids and they have posted a 6-4-0-2 mark at home.

 

Justin Fontaine led all Houston skaters in scoring with four points in six games against GR. Griffins forwards Jeff Hoggan, Riley Sheahan, Jan Mursak, Francis Pare and defender Luke Glendening led their team in scoring. Hoggan and Chad Billins led all skaters with three goals apiece in the season series. Hoggan tied with Mursak (4a) for the team lead with four points. Pare, Billins, Sheahan and Glendening each had three points. Houston goalie Darcy Kuemper was 2-2-0 against GR, posting a 1.72 goals against average and a .942 save percentage. Grand Rapids goalie Petr Mrazek went 1-2-0 with a 1.98 goals against average and a .929 save percentage. Tom McCollum was 3-0-0 with a 1.00 g.a.a. and a .964 save %.

It is over...

In spectacular Wild fashion, the team's only hope for getting by Chicago injured himself during warmups. Nik Backstrom pulled something, and Josh Harding will get the call against the 'Hawks. That mean, Darcy Kuemper is on his way to Chicago.

Everyone's worst fear has been realized, so let me be among the first to say:

Aeros Lose Game Two 3-2 to Grand Rapids

Missing: the Houston Aeros hockey team from Friday night. If found, please return to head coach John Torchetti because he needs them desperately in Grand Rapids on Wednesday night.

Make no mistake, the Aeros played a bad hockey game tonight. That they lost only 3-2 is a testament to the play of goalie Darcy Kuemper and to the ability of the team to do whatever it wants when it wants to, like say, in the last seven or so minutes of a game they've already pretty much lost.

"“We didn’t come out at all,” head coach John Torchetti said bluntly. “We finally played the last seven minutes of the [third] period. Kuemper did a great job of keeping us in it. I’ve got to do a better job of keeping us focused, I guess, because we certainly didn’t show up.”

That Torchetti has to work on keeping his team focused during the playoffs is somewhat worrisome. What's more worrisome is what appeared to be the team's general approach to the game: playing not to lose instead of playing to win. The approach seemed to be counting on Kuemper to play like Superman -- without providing any help for Kuemper -- and hoping for a shot or two to get into the net.

Kuemper was superb again. The three goals weren't his fault, and included deflections and defensive lapses. There was no intensity to the Aeros game while the Griffins came out hitting and attacking and swatting away at will the Aeros piddly attempts at offense. The Aeros trailed 3-0 late in the third before showing some signs of life and scoring late. They even had a chance to tie the game with under 10 seconds on the clock, but it was too little to late.

"I thought we were still in the game,” Torchetti said. “We didn’t deserve any part of this game, but we were still in the game.”

But sometimes being in the game just isn't good enough.

This was a disappointing game for the fans hoping to see the Aeros win game two and move a step closer to the second round of the playoffs. Instead, the Aeros now find themselves having to win two of three games in Grand Rapids if they're going to advance, and if they're going to prolong the stay of the Aeros in Houston for at least another week or two.

Welcome To The Darcy Kuemper Show

Welcome to the Darcy Kuemper Show/photo John Royal

There were many superb things about tonight's 3-0 game one playoff win over the visiting Grand Rapids Griffins. The Aeros played the best game as a team that I've seen in a long time. Marco Scandella was superb. Justin Fontaine did what Justin Fontaine does.

But nothing compares to the playoff debut of one Darcy Kuemper. Kuemper stopped all 36 shots he faced. Some of the stops were easy, but some of those stops were those that just drop your jaw, shake your head, and wonder did you just see what you just saw. He faced one barrage late in the second period when the Aeros were up only 1-0 and the Griffins were on a 4x3 power play. Kuemper just dealt with the barrage like he was sitting on his porch swatting away some lazy flies just hovering over his head, never breaking a sweat.

Head coach John Torchetti referred to Kuemper's calmness out on the ice and how that just made things easier for the team. And there was a calmness to Kuemper, a stillness. Like a concrete bunker anchored during a hurricane with the action swirling around him. 

"He keeps things calm for us," Torchetti said. "He didn’t give a lot of rebounds, which is a big plus for us and makes our job a little bit easier."
 
Kuemper just kind of shrugged off all of the attention after the game, acting as if it was just another game in the juniors instead of a professional playoff game.

"I played quite a few playoffs games in juniors, a lot of games in juniors," Kuemper said. "I just always try to touch back on those experiences, recall those memories, what went well, what didn’t, and use those to just play my game out there."

Darcy Kuemper, just one of the guys /photo John Royal

Kuemper had some help from the team playing it's best all-around game in months. Marco Scandella put the Aeros up 1-0 with a power play goal at 11:55 of the second from up over the circle. Justin Fontaine got a breakaway at 16:52 which pretty much put the game away. Then Fontaine finished the scoring with a nearly impossible angled empty netter at 18:14 of the third.

Fontaine said he got lucky on his breakaway. But despite his statements, he looked to be in control on the entire play.

"Just kind of flying up the middle, a good look," Fontaine said. "The puck wouldn’t settle down for me, kind of made a move and missed the puck, but it ended up going in. I’ll take that for sure."

Justin Fontaine gets lucky/photo John Royal

But with the way Kuemper was playing, nothing else really seemed to matter. There was this calmness to his play, a quietness to his actions, no wasted motion. He was there at all times, just where his team needed him to be, when they needed him to be there. He said he was lucky at times, but like Fontaine on his breakaway, if there was any luck involved in any of his stops, it just wasn't evident to onlookers.

"I just want to do my part, especially when I saw the guys going early there, the way they were playing, I just wanted to do my part and not let them down," Kuemper said. "Everyone had each other’s backs, and we came away with game one."

It was fun game to watch. Tense. Lots of hitting. It was playoff hockey at its finest. Here's to a few more of these before the team's run in Houston comes to its unfortunate end. And meanwhile, welcome to a new edition of the Darcy Kuemper Show, it's a wonderful, fantastic thing to witness.

The Aeros are up 1-0 in the series, and host game two on Sunday afternoon at 5:05 before heading back to Grand Rapids for the rest of the series. 

Paul Mara with a first period hit/photo John Royal