Aeros face Peoria in opening round of Calder Cup

HOUSTON, Texas – The Aeros have only missed the playoffs three times in their 17-season history, including last season, where the team lacked the offensive firepower and chemistry to break into upper echelons of the tough West Division.
This season, the Aeros got a fresh start with a new coaching staff and a lineup with a good balance of young Wild prospects and veterans. After a moderate first half, the team took off like a rocket after the first of the year and look to be a genuine contender in the Calder Cup race, which starts against the Peoria Rivermen.
Historically, the Aeros have been fortunate in playoff meetings with Peoria, having advanced past them in the first round twice before.   Defense The Aeros blue line has been touted all season as one of the best in a long time, boasting promising young players like Jared Spurgeon and Marco Scandella, who both spent extensive time in Minnesota, and gritty veteran Drew Bagnall. While the defensive unit has been somewhat victimized by injuries in Minnesota, everyone but Tyler Cuma, who is out for the season after an injury against Peoria in February, will be back and healthy for the playoffs.

Player to watch: Max Noreau quarterbacks the top power play unit and has racked up multiple awards for his production from the blue line. He’s second among AHL defensemen in assists, 5th in overall scoring among defensemen. Offense The Aeros looked like a team that would have to score by committee if they were going to eek into the post season, and then the Wild waived Patrick O’Sullivan in early January and suddenly the Aeros had an offensive ace. Not only does he create his own opportunities, but he lifts the entire offense up both on the power play and 5-on-5 with slick puck handling and great playmaking vision.
Paired with captain Jon DiSalvatore, who’s having a career year for goals scored and played for Peoria from 05-07, and often sophomore Cody Almond, the top line is one of the best in the league.
For the first time in a long time, the Aeros have depth and a second line that is almost as talented as the top line, and harder on the puck. Underappreciated Robbie Earl and up-and-coming standout Chad Rau have found tremendous chemistry on that line, along with playmaking rookie Casey Wellman.
But even beyond the top two lines, gritty veterans like Warren Peters and Jed Ortmeyer, along with youngsters Colton Gillies, Carson McMillan, and Jarod Palmer can find the back of the net. Among those, only Ortmeyer has fewer than 20 points, as he’s only been with the team since January. Players to watch: Unquestionably, it’s O’Sullivan. He’s the most gifted scorer in the league and he toys with defenses, as evidenced by his 48 points in 36 games. A few teams have been able to limit his effectiveness, but he’s slippery enough to get around pressure most of the time.
Robbie Earl plays a different game, but he’s as pivotal to the Aeros’ success as O’Sullivan, and with 59 points in 69 games and a +13, he is playing at a different level this season.   Goaltending Goaltending has been a question mark all season, with Anton Khudobin losing his hunger a bit after Minnesota made some off-season moves that clearly indicated he is not in the organization’s plans. Rookie Matt Hackett was up and down, as most rookie goalies are in their first season, but showed growth all season, so the Wild felt he was solid enough that they could trade Khudobin to Boston for defenseman Jeff Penner. Player to watch: Hackett’s the man and appears ready to take the team on his shoulders. It remains to be seen how he holds up to playoff pressure. But with a 3 in 3 in Peoria, Josh Tordjman may make an appearance. He’s spent several years playing for San Antonio and most of the season playing for theECHL Bakersfield Condors, and while not nearly as technically sound as Hackett, he’s a competitor and can shut teams down when he’s on his game. Special Teams – Power Play Houston’s power play is ripping hot right now. Of 32 goals scored over the last 7 games, 18 of those have been on the power play. They have the ability to frustrate teams while generally being disciplined, which leads to lots of chances to do what they do best. Player to watch: They’re pretty much all power play machines but Noreau is your point man and O’Sullivan, DiSalvatore, and Rau all seem to have even more fun than usual with the man advantage.   Special Teams – Penalty Kill On the converse, the Aeros PK isn’t among the league’s elite. Not even close. Some of that comes back to goaltending, where Hackett is a great “first save” goalie but is still fine-tuning his rebound control. Some of it also comes back to less experienced defensemen. But generally, guys are willing to block shots and the team has enough defensive-minded forwards to have a fairly reliable corps of penalty killers.   Player to watch: Justin Falk is a tall, rangey d-man who has a knack for clearing out the hairiest situations on the kill thanks to his long reach and intimidating size. Weaknesses Goaltending is a question mark, for sure. It may not turn out to be a weakness but ideally you’d rather have someone with some pro playoff experience as an option in goal. The penalty kill is up and down, but has been hammered by the coaching staff recently to get it up to speed for the playoffs. And finally, re-integration of all the returning players may require a little time to establish chemistry again, particularly on defense.   Strengths Except for Cuma, the team is entering the playoffs healthy. With the Wild missing the playoffs, even Spurgeon, who has been up with Minnesota since November, will be back in the fold. The team is deep offensively, deep defensively. Most importantly, Yeo has their ear and there isn’t a player on the team who isn’t buying into the system and isn’t hearing the messages being delivered both by the coaching staff and the team leadership. They bounce back well, period to period, because of their ability to focus on “doing things the right way,” as Yeo often says, rather than on the result.
The team and those close to it have expressed a sense that there’s something special about this group. The pieces of the puzzle are there, but Peoria has most of the same pieces in place, so wins, whichever way they fall, will be hard earned.
Houston Aeros 46-28-1-5 2nd Place, West Division 2nd Place, Western Conference Home Ice: Toyota Center NHL Affiliate: Minnesota Wild Head Coach: Mike Yeo (1st Year) Predictions The Aeros were completely overwhelmed by Peoria’s attack last time they played and if the Rivermen can continue to keep the puck out of Aeros’ hands, they’ll finally get over the hump and advance. Peoria in 6.
  Contact Heather.Galindo@prohockeynews.com