HOUSTON, Texas – Throughout the Hamilton-Houston series, the team to score first has also taken the game. But Hamilton bucked the trend in game six Sunday night. The Aeros may have scored first, but Hamilton’s Nigel Dawes scored when it really mattered — at 9:11 in double OT to win the game 5-4 and force game7. Though officiating was inconsistent throughout the game and fans shouted jeers at the men in stripes all evening, the real culprit in the Aeros loss was turnovers. The team too often left goalie Matt Hackett alone to fend off odd man rushes and breakaways, with turnovers factoring heavily in 3 of Hamilton’s 5 goals, including the game winner. “I’m not going to sit here and try to paint a pretty picture,” said Aeros coach Mike Yeo. “I think that the big picture, if we can come and play for the most part like that, then I really like our chances in game 7. But having said that, obviously we’ve got to clean up a few things. We’ve got to make sure we’re not turning pucks over against a team that likes to counterattack like that.” Hackett turned away 33 of 38 shots and had to be sharp at times to keep the Aeros in the game. Hamilton goalie Drew MacIntyre sparkled, stopping 57 of 61 shots, in spite of several Hamilton turnovers and plenty of physical pressure on the crease. Chad Rau put the Aeros on the board early, finding a loose puck and a little open space just below the hash marks during a power play opportunity. He roofed a shot over MacIntyre at 3:34 to give the Aeros the lead for the first time since game three. Hamilton answered a little more than 5 minutes later with a shot from the point by Andrew Engqvist that passed through traffic and deflected past goalie Matt Hackett. Houston tightened up puck control in the first 15 minutes of the second period. Robbie Earl tipped in a shot from Marco Scandella at the point to go ahead 2-1 at 4:29, and the Aeros held the Hamilton zone for long stretches and ultimately racking up 13 shots to Hamilton’s 7 by the end of the frame. The officiating that had Aeros fans seeing red came as Colton Gillies and Warren Peters crashed the Hamilton crease and Gillies was called for slashing MacIntyre after the whistle. During the Hamilton power play, Jed Ortmeyer picked off the puck and headed for a shorthanded breakaway chance. A Hamilton player intercepted him and held him against the boards, but no interference was called and Dustin Boyd tied the game for Hamilton at 16:07. Then, with 1:23 left in the second, Nigel Dawes picked off a turnover in the Aeros end, banged a point-blank shot at Hackett, who stopped it, but then hammered the rebound through the rookie’s pads to go up 3-2. The start of the third period did not bode any better for Houston as Andreas Engqvist broke free during an Aeros power play and scored unassisted just 27 seconds into the period. Up 4-2 early in the third, it looked like game 7 was a certainty, but the Aeros outshot Hamilton 19-3 in the third period. With goals from Nate Prosser midway through the period and Ortmeyer at 18:04, they forced overtime. Gillies and Peters assisted on both third period goals for Houston. In spite of three power play chances for Houston in the first overtime, they were unable to get the winning tally to end the series. And as they had done so often in this game, an errant Aeros stick tipped a cross-ice pass right into a 2 on 1 opportunity for Hamilton and they converted for the win. “Obviously it just goes to show you — and I’m not blaming any one guy — that one play is the difference in situations like this,” said Aeros captain Jon DiSalvatore. The teams meet again Tuesday night to decide who will play the Binghamton Senators for the Calder Cup. Yeo said while it’s easier said than done, the team must clear their minds and let go of the sting of the loss before Tuesday. “This is something we have to get excited for,” said Yeo. “I’m not going to sit here and pretend that we don’t wish we were celebrating and had it wrapped up. But the reality is and the big picture is that we have a chance to do this on home ice in front of our home crowd.” Contact Heather.Galindo@prohockeynews.com
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