Photo By Fred TraskExcuse the delay, but I had to handle my duties for the folks who pay the bills. So, that said, let’s get down to a review of the game.
The Milwaukee Admirals dominated the first half of the first period of the game today, and shot off to the early 2-1 lead. Nolan Schaefer was bombarded with 12 shots in the first 9:13, and he allowed two of the shots into the net. And while Schaefer was playing some decent hockey, Kevin Constantine, seeking the win at the Toyota Center, sent in Barry Brust – not that you would have known that if you relied on PA announcer Steve Vidal as never, at any point in the game, did he acknowledge that the Aeros switched goalies.
Nolan Schaefer “was great for us” this weekend, Kevin Constantine said after the game, but “it was just one of those things where I just wanted to try something to get the momentum headed a different direction.”
The momentum did begin to shift, but still the Aeros got to the 9:17 mark of the second still trailing 2-1. That was when Morten Madsen, of all of the players, decided to avenge a rough hit on Peter Olvecky. That, according to the players, was the move that switched the momentum fully in favor of the Aeros. About five minutes later, John Lammers tied the game. And from that point on, the Admirals were not going to catch the Aeros.
“We came out flat,” Barry Brust said. “They got most of their scoring chances in the first ten minutes.” But then came the fight. “It rallied the guys,” Brust said. “He got the game puck for that reason. The boys loved that.”
“I just saw Peter getting killed,” Madsen said. And I just felt like I had to do something about it. It was my first fight ever, so I didn’t know really what I was doing….I was just trying not to get killed.”
The Aeros took the lead at 11:08 of the third when Krys Kolanos (who else?) got loose with the puck on a breakaway and buried it in the net to put the Aeros up 3-2. And the game was iced when Kolanos fired the puck the length of the ice toward a streaking Corey Locke who shot the puck past goalie Drew MacIntyre at 18:52 to seal the 4-2 victory. The first victory in Houston for the month of November.
The Aeros play in Houston three more times this week. They play the Manitoba Moose on Tuesday night and Thursday afternoon, then they take on the Syracuse Crunch on Saturday night.
SOME MISCELLANEOUS GAME NOTES:
Sunday was a game of fights – my nephew is really disappointed because he was at Friday’s game and there was only one fight then. The action started when Maxim Noreau and Triston Grant went at it at the 1:45 mark of the first period. Less than two minutes later, Matt Kassian took off on Milwaukee’s Hugh Jessiman – and as the photo from Fred Trask shows, Kassian can take a punch. And then there was Madsen’s second period fight.
Speaking of Kassian, were you as shocked as I was when he took off with the puck in the third period and made a great move for the goal. The puck didn’t go in, but he appeared to put on a burst of speed I didn’t know he possessed. Constantine was complimentary of Kassian after the game, saying that he helped to set the tone of the game with his physical presence early on in the game.
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Okay, Krys Kolanos is amazing. He had four points this weekend (three goals and an assist), including two game winning goals. And he and Corey Locke each got two points on Sunday (Locke had two goals and should have been one of the stars of the game).
While he is pleased with their offensive capabilities, Kevin Constantine is impressed by some other things they are doing. “They both have great offensive gifts, and I think they’re both going to always get their chances,” he said. “They’re just making a lot of contributions to other parts. They’ve added a lot of little dimensions to their game that we’ve asked. I’ve been impressed by their willingness to do what the team needs. They’ve been willing to adapt and change based on what the team needs.”
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Okay, I need to have a word with the Toyota Center A/V kids. Really, come on. This isn’t a Rockets game. I know they sit on their hands at those games, and that the rich folks spend their time at the bar and not in the seats. But for the Aeros, you don’t need to play the Happy Gilmore clips at “11” on the volume knob. The crowd is usually loud and the fake noise isn’t needed.
And further, for Steve Vidal. I know you have to read the ads, but…you’re also supposed to make the crowd aware of lineup changes. When Barry Brust replaced Nolan Schaefer in the first period, you should have made an announcement. And if the crowd is screaming and the music is cranked loud because of a fight, maybe you should hold off giving stat info for goals and assists because we can’t understand you. I would also suggest that you ask John Lammers about the pronunciation of his last name, and I would check with Krys Kolanos, too. Because he wants to be called Krys Kolanos, not Krystofer Kolanos, which is probably why all of the stat sheets and PR information regarding him refers to him as Krys.
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With the win, the Aeros record after 21 games stands at 10-9-1-1. They’re tied for sixth place in the West Division with the Quad City Flames, and they’re one point behind the Admirals and the Peoria Rivermen.
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