Cal has a huge stick

Is any other sport so full of delicious innuendo as hockey? I nearly hyperventilated reading the second paragraph of this entertaining article on Wild.com about players relationships with their sticks, but that's just me and my filthy mind.

Anyway, Cal apparently has the longest stick on the team, which kinda doesn't surprise me. I remember two seasons ago when we had seats right behind where they put the "best seats in the house" promotion winners now (which are actually really awful seats because the team keeps the extra sticks lined up on the glass at the end of the bench completely blocking the view down the ice). I noticed then that Joel Ward's sticks were as long as John Scott's, but being a big PK guy, as is Cal, that makes a lot of sense.

Go check it out. It's a fun read.

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Another Aeros success story -- Wardo

Nice article in the Nashville paper here about The Landlord. It's so nice to see former Aeros going off and finding success in the league. I still miss Wardo down here, but I'd much rather he be doing what he's doing. Gives me all the more reason to like the Preds, who are a totally lovable organization, IMO.

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Quick Hits: Wardo's all growed up; Dimples action; Kolanos speaks

Nice article on Joel Ward and his new role this season not only in the NHL but on the top line of the Nashville Predators.

And someone posted this little bloggy thing on the Wild board today written by Dimples (dammit, he's so adorable). Wonder if he saw his hero Nabby stankin' it up against the Wings last night. Pee-yew! Poor fella.

Finally, My Hero Kevin Falness has a little chat with Mr. Sparkle and he's got nice things to say about the boys and the weather in Houston (but of course). His portion starts about 1/4 of the way in, after the Gaborik interview.

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Aeros v. Hershey Bears - Game 27

Well. That was a helluva thing.

I've seen some crazy things at the Toyota Center, but the Aeros outdid themselves tonight. With an hour of hindsight, 6-1 doesn't seem like THAT outlandish of a score. How it got that way WAS pretty outlandish.

The first period had the feeling of a typical Aeros grind-it-out game. The Bears came out strong, hitting everything in sight, trying to wear the Aeros down early. The Aeros were definitely on the losing side of the physicality. They weren't getting rattled by it but weren't firing on all cylinders either.

Kolanos got on the board first with a beauty of a goal from a terrific feed by Mike Hamilton. Kolanos just fired a rocket from the bottom of the circle that beat Bears goalie Machesney. Thus ensued the rain of teddy bears onto the ice. Always a fun moment.

The note I wrote during the middle of the first was: "Hard hitting team and they shoot EVERY chance they get." Sure enough, one of those shots went in. Nearly 14 minutes in, Kyle Wilson fired a laser past Brust's glove side that just beat him fair and square. It was so hard, it rattled around the top of the net for a while. Nothing to do with that one.

There was a group of what looked like about 30 Hershey Bears fans sitting together and they celebrated heartily, did a little chant, etc. I was thinking, "Oh boy. I'm gonna hate them by the end of this game."

The first period ended one-all, but the shot count was 4-10 in favor of the Bears. Clearly the score didn't reflect the Bears' dominance in the first.

Second period starts with more of the same, though the hitting let up a bit and it felt pretty even. At 6:20, Olvecky got a breakaway with Schultz trailing. Olvecky shot and Schultz banged the rebound in... except he didn't. The goalie got a pad on it and it wasn't a goal. Now, at this point in the game, it's 1-1 and knowing the Aeros, I'm thinking, "Oh crap. If THAT didn't go in, we're never going to score again."

I'm not sure when I've ever been more wrong about something.

At 10:58, Kolanos scored again from Locke and Madsen on a 3 on 4 power play opportunity and, suddenly, the floodgates were open.

• 12:02 - Goal by Deitch from Schultz and Mojzis on a 4 on 5 power play
• 12:57 - Goal by Locke on a semi-breakaway drive up the ice by Kolanos, who fed the puck across the crease and Locke banged it in from the other side of the net (second assist went to Albers... especially nice to see him get on the scoreboard having played a terrific, fearless defensive game tonight)
• 14:59 - Goal by Olvecky from Schultz and Deitsch
• 16:59 - Goal by Schultz on a terrific feed from the top of the circle from Rosa (!) and Olvecky

What's even more incredible is that this wasn't just 5 goals in quick succession. This was 5 goals on 5 consecutive shots.

Mercifully for the Bears and their beleaguered netminder, the period ended shortly thereafter with the Aeros still trailing in the shot count, 19-21.

There were no goals in third, but it wasn't for Hershey not trying. They put it to Brust with everything they had, but he and the defense cleaning up in front of him were absolutely unstopabble. There was one save by Brust during a 3 on 4 Bears power play that I still can't believe. Fred has pictures at the link below. I can't even explain this save, but it was un-f**king-believeable. Barry is one hell of a goalie.

Of course, when the score gets this far apart, there's gonna be a fight or two. Or three. Or four.

Greg Amadio fought 3 times, though for some reason, this ref penalized the fights in a way I've never seen. The first fight was between Amadio and Stoner. It wasn't a great one but it was a fight, for sure. But he gave both guys four minutes of roughing minors.

Then Scott and Amadio fought, with Scott kinda jumping him, though I didn't see what precipitated it. So the ref gave Scott four minutes of roughing minors and Amadio just two. The fight was about 5 seconds long, but it was a fight. I actually don't mind this way of calling fight penalties. Some fights are worthy of 5 minutes, some really aren't.

The next two were. Love dropped the mitts with Wellar and looked like he was going to get beaten pretty soundly, but he just doesn't ever quit and came back with some nice shots in the end. And of course, he finished with some arm-waving flourishes, encouraging the crowd to embrace their blood lust (a message I heartily approve, of course).

Then Scott and Amadio decided they had unfinished business and those silly roughing penalties weren't gonna cut it. They were both pretty pissed and went at it hard and with a ton of emotion. I love when Scott fights like that. There's just no stopping him; he won that one and then took a page from Love and did a little warrior shouting and fist pumping himself. Ha! What a show for one of, if not the, largest crowd the team has seen at home this season.

At one point, between minor penalties and fighting majors, there were 5 guys in the Aeros penalty box. I'm not sure how they were all sitting down but they were.

I think that's all the excitement I've got. If you're wanting to see the Aeros and have a spare $4, this one is worth watching in the AHLLive.com archives once it's available. Amazing stuff.

Some housekeeping:

Scratches were Falk, R. Hamilton, Lundbohm, and Kassian.

Stars were 3-Locke, 2-Schultz, 1-Kolanos, all of whom deserve the recognition but Brusty was incredible. He even delighted the crowd (okay, me, too) by throwing a huge elbow on a Bear who was coming in on him while he was playing the puck behind the net. He got 2 minutes for it, but it was late in the game and totally worth it.

I would say that makes Brusty the unsung hero of the night, but I was delighted by some slick moves by Paul Albers, who was a shot-blocking beast in the face of a ton of flawless PKs tonight. They'll have to share the honor, I guess. Gold stars for both of you.

Also, apparently Steve Valette's contract ended and was not renewed. Kind of disappointing as he was playing well, but it looks like Mike Hamilton will be filling his role. Seeing as how he's got a point in each of his last three games (and he's only been with the team for four), it's hard to send him back to Vegas.

Andrew's Chronicle article
Fred's photos
Royal's blog

That was the last home game until Dec. 26. Bummer. I've gotten spoiled on this home stand and am not looking forward to a couple of weeks of having to watch on the computer.

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Noticed that Joel Ward had two goals against Dallas tonight and got On The Fly's Performer of the Night. Atta boy, Wardo!

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Aeros pre-game; third jersey rankings

The Aeros are gearing up today for one of their 15 (FIFTEEN! I still can't believe it) 3-in-3s starting tonight. They face the Milwaukee Admirals tonight and Sunday and travel to San Antonio tomorrow.

In town with Milwaukee is former Wild prospect Ryan Jones who was traded to Nashville this summer for Marek Zidlicky. I think a lot of folks, including me, were pretty disappointed with losing Ryan from the system, even though Zids was a solid acquisition. But Ryan is a good hockey player and seems like a quality guy. Would have been nice to keep him around.

Anyway, he made the Nashville squad out of camp (along with our Joel Ward, who is apparently among the best shot blocking forwards in the NHL thus far) but was sent down recently, and is staying down, it sounds like until the big club has a need. Will be fun to see the kid again, at least until he scores on us, and then I'll be wishing for his stick to break everytime he goes to shoot. :)

And yeah, I'm ignoring the 800 lb gorilla in the corner related to how bad the Aeros were last time we saw them. Mr. Conduct is bringing a non-hockey fan to the game tonight. It'd be awfully nice to create a fan out of him tonight.

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Icethetics came out with their Third Jersey rankings and it's an interesting look to see them all together. Though, while I appreciate the drama of clicking to unveil each one, that's a bit tedious. Otherwise, good stuff.

My favorite, for some reason, is the Kings' third, which ranked pretty low. The thing about these thirds is that while some of the jerseys look awesome on their own, in the context of the whole uniform, they get a little bit fug. But the Kings is just badass. I love it. And my ranking here would be VERY different, but that's the fun. Everyone has a different take.

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Miss Elainey

The blog seems lonely after a couple of weeks of hard core posting. I don't have hockey this weekend, but my inline skates arrive today, so I've been kinda taking it easy, getting stuff done around the house (my poor overgrown garden!), etc.

But a few tidbits have stacked up that are worth mentioning:

• Puck Daddy had an interesting (well, as interesting as any post involving the KHL can be) regarding how the KHL might actually have a significant impact on the AHL by luring veteran players who would otherwise be stuck in the minors. Though one of the commenters has a valid point that it seems that guys don't really make a career in the AHL. They almost invariably head overseas anyway, at some point, and with more money to offer and possibly a better caliber of player, the KHL would be attractive. But from the AHL perspective, gone is gone.
• The Wild announced the roster for the Traverse City Prospect Tourney today. Lots and lots of tryouts, some they've seen a bit of before, and 5 AHL/ECHL guys (Clutterbuck, Kassian, Madsen, Noreau, and Khudobin). I don't think it's going to happen for this year, but the NHL Network seriously needs to televise this going forward. Hockey fans are utterly parched this time of year... fresh hockey in early September would get some good attention, I'd think.
  
• Great post on Scoring For Houston today checking in with dearly departed Joel Ward, who is a pretty funny guy and will be missed here as he moves on to the Preds organization. Nice to hear from the boys in the summer. And hey, Brandon, you've got your NHL contract now. Buy your own Center Ice!

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Shaver Out

Looks like Aeros broadcaster, Jason Shaver, is moving on to the hated Chicago Wolves broadcaster booth. I'm surprised and sad, but I totally get it. The Wolves appear to be an excellent organization and they broadcast all their games on television, so this is a step up for him from the Aeros (somewhat cheesy but totally lovable) radio broadcast.

But personally, I'm pretty bummed. I listen to EVERY game if I can't be there in person, so his voice is tattooed on my brain. And the fact that he's going to the Wolves is even worse. It's like Gabby going to Colorado or something. Blech.

I'll be happy for him at some point, assuming I like the new voice of the Aeros, so here are some fond memories I have of "Razor" from this past season:

• I loved him with a player in the booth providing some color. His dry wit played off some of the boys really well. Especially the goalies. Both Brusty and Schaefer were terrific foils for Jason's style of delivery. The game or two where all three of them were "in the booth" practically required a 2 drink minimum, they were so funny.
• I liked how he wrapped up his introduction of each game, where he posed a question and then said, "We'll find out tonight... together... on Aeros Audio" or something along those lines. Always felt kind of warm to me.
• He was also very fan-friendly, taking e-mails during the game either for himself or the player with him, and he was always very diplomatic while still getting across sometimes a less than diplomatic point.
• I remember the game, though I don't remember what arena, where the Zamboni came out and chewed a big hole in the ice delaying the hgame for what seemed like 40 minutes or more and he just had SO much air time to fill. It was to the point of, "PLEASE send in questions!" LOL But he handled it with grace and humor.
• His relationship with Joel "The Landlord" Ward was particularly funny, too, as Joel was a moth to a flame when Jason's recorder was rolling. I wondered what he was going to do without Joel there to fill so much airtime on the game-day podcasts. Someone else's problem now, though Kassian seems like the new go-to guy for a funny quote.

That's all for now, but a big shout out to Jason for providing such great interviews throughout the season, keeping this obsessed fan as informed as possible, and calling the games in such a way that I really don't feel like I missed any games this year, even when I couldn't be there in person. What more can you really ask for from your broadcaster? Godspeed, Shave!

If you want to listen to some of Shaver's interviews throughout the season, go here.

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Aeros Schedule

Man, I hate to bump the previous thread down. Nom nom nom...

But the AHL released the schedule for all its teams, so now we can plan our Aeros-watching (all whopping 15 games... hmph) and hopefully put together our trip to Minnesota for some Wild games.

In seasons past, we've tried to see as many different teams as possible, but in most cases, there's just no history with these teams, none of the bad blood and fierce rivalry that makes for really great hockey. This year, I want to spread the love but I'm okay with repeating games against certain teams. Though with only 15 games to attend, I'm gonna have to ration. *'scuze me while I go cry*

Our big rivals are Chicago and San Antonio, though I'm guessing we're going to hate Iowa pretty much off the bat. I know I do already.

Peoria is always good competition, too, and they'll have Matt Foy, if he doesn't make the Blues big club, and that giant goalie who I can't seem to tear my eyes away from, Ben Bishop.

And of course, my dear "you left us too soon" Ryan Jones will be with Milwaukee along with gregarious former Aero, Joel Ward. Plus they have cool uniforms. Definitely want to catch them.

I don't know how it has played out for the rest of the AHL, but we have LOTS of 3 games in 3 nights on the schedule. Rough stuff and hard on the guys.

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