Aeros rally for 1-0 series lead

HOUSTON, Texas – The hot topic around the Toyota Center was, in fact, the heat. With temperatures hitting triple digits in Houston, one of the warmest buildings in the AHL was just that much warmer. The Houston Aeros used that sweltering home ice to their advantage, wearing down the Binghamton Senators to win game one of the Calder Cup finals 3-1. The Senators, who swept their last round and haven’t played a game in 9 days, came out flat and listless. “I have no idea who was playing out there. That wasn’t my team,” said Binghamton coach Kevin Kleinendorst. “We didn’t win a battle. You don’t win games if you don’t win battles.” Despite the flat showing, the first period ended scoreless, with the teams, who have not met this season, feeling each other out. After nearly 25 minutes with no score, and few quality chances for either side, Aeros goalie Matt Hackett misplayed the puck behind the net, turning it over to Colin Greening. He corralled the puck and passed it out to Bobby Butler, who fired his 11th goal of the playoffs into the empty net. “I was a little nervous. It was the first final game of my career, so if I wasn’t nervous, I’m not ready,” said Hackett. The rookie goalie said he was used to seeing 40+ shots in junior last season, but he’s learning to adapt to a defense that keeps him less busy. “They block so many shots,” said Hackett, who saw 24 shots in the effort. “Probably 15-20 a game. It helps a lot.” The Aeros take a lot of shots, too, and doubled Binghamton in shots on goal in the second and third periods. They finally wore down the Senators and goalie Robin Lehner to score three unanswered goals in the third period. Jed Ortmeyer scored twice early in the third. The first was a point blank shot off a pass from Colton Gillies. The second assist went to defenseman Marco Scandella. The same trio scored the second goal as well, with Ortmeyer wristing a shot past Lehner for the ultimate game winner. Warren Peters scored an empty net goal to with 36 seconds on the clock to round out the win. Though the Senators’ effort sagged even further as the third period carried on, Aeros coach Mike Yeo said his team is expecting to see a better effort in Saturday’s game and has a healthy respect for Binghamton’s skill level. “(Winning the first game is) big. It’s a lot better to win the it than to lose it, but we know it doesn’t mean a whole lot when the puck drops tomorrow,” said Yeo. The teams meet Saturday night for game 2 before heading back to Binghamton next week. Contact Heather.Galindo@prohockeynews.com