Aeros adapt and improvise

HOUSTON, Texas – With only 4 games under their belts, it’s too early in the season to say the Houston Aeros have established their identity as a team, but what they have displayed is a chameleon-like adaptability to compete in a variety of game situations.
 
From a low scoring, defense-oriented game against the Calder Cup champion Chicago Wolves, to a raucous 14-goal shootout against

intrastate rival San Antonio Rampage, the Aeros haven’t consistently played the well-rounded game they want to play, but they’ve worked their way into the win column anyway.
 
Coach Kevin Constantine attributes this new-found adaptability to a returning core familiar with the system and the addition of several proven scorers like forwards Corey Locke, Krys Kolanos, and Jesse Schultz.
 
“I think this gives you a few more weapons in terms of the different ways you can win. Some nights it’s got to be your goaltending, some nights it’s got to be your team defense, some nights it’s got to be your penalty killing, and some nights it’s got to be your scoring,” said Constantine after Saturday’s win over San Antonio. “I hope all that’s a sign we can win in a bigger variety of ways.”
 
Kolanos made the initial offensive splash, notching 3 goals in 2 games before receiving an emergency call-up to the Minnesota Wild. Then Locke found his goal stick earning 2 goals and 2 assists in the final period of Saturday’s win over San Antonio. In Sunday’s road win over the Rampage, Locke, Schultz, and Aeros’ returning forward Ryan Hamilton each had a goal and an assist.
 
But it’s clear in the locker room that, while the improved offense and 4-0 start is most welcome, the team has some work ahead to elevate the defense, special teams, and goaltending to last season’s standards.
 
Part of the challenge on defense is bringing the two rookie defensemen,Dane Crowley and Justin Falk, up to speed. Though Aeros Assistant GM/Assistant Coach Troy Ward says the coaching staff is happy with their progress thus far: “[Crowley’s] obviously a young kid and this is a huge step for him. He’s played exceptionally well with the puck. He’s been great offensively. [But rookies] put themselves in positions where the first play doesn’t work, they’re surprised by the next maneuver.”
 
As for Falk, the Wild’s 4^th round draft pick in 2007, is facing the additional hurdle of playing his off side to give the team’s veterans a chance to find their rhythm on their natural sides.
 
“I give him high marks,” Ward said of the challenge the coaches have thrown at the 6’5” rookie. “I think Justin Falk had a good training camp with the Minnesota Wild and that kind of carried through, he’s been pretty good down here considering the fact that he’s playing his off side. The big thing with Justin is he’s so big and so rangy he covers a lot of space, so he can get away with a few things over there.”
 
AHL veteran Mitch Love is also new to the Aeros blue line but not new to Constantine’s style, having played for him in the WHL with the Everett Silvertips. Along with Crowley, who also spent a year with Constantine in Everett, they bring a physicality to the blue line that Ward said he hopes spreads the toughness a little more evenly around the ice.
 
Defensive veteran Brandon Rogers told Aeros.com prior to the season that he is pleased with the way the blue line has shaped up, including Love. “He’s a tough, hard-nosed guy that isn’t going to take anything from anyone. If somebody hits his D partner wrong, or he doesn’t like what he sees, he’s gonna step in and let the guy know that he doesn’t appreciate it. He’s willing to drop his gloves if he has to.”
 
In addition, the Aeros have had some injury problems keeping a couple of veteran defensemen out of the line-up. Rogers saw his first actionSaturday after rehabbing from shoulder surgery most of the summer. John Scott went down with an ankle sprain during a pre-season game with the Wild and has yet to return to the team. And Tomas Mojzis, an off-season addition intended for Houston, has remained in Minnesota to help the Wild through a rash of injuries.
 
Power play numbers are undoubtedly up with 5 goals in 21 opportunities versus 1 goal in 28 opportunities this time last season. The penalty kill is slightly improved over this time last season, but after failing to kill 3 of 7 penalties in Saturday’s shootout against the Rampage, the consensus is there’s room for improvement.
 
“This is not our game. We’re not happy with a shootout like this. We’ve got to work on our fundamentals,” center Marco Rosa told the Houston Press after the game.
 
Between the pipes, Nolan Schaefer, who was sent back to Houston while his partner Barry Brust remained with the Wild during pre-season, has been in mid-season form, recording the first shut out of the AHL season. Brust started his first game of season Saturday but was pulled after 8:27 having let in 2 of 5 shots on goal.
 
Constantine said he felt like Brust’s extended time in Minnesota, where goalies Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding got all the pre-season starts, was a contributor, saying after Saturday’s game, “As a goaltender, if you go up there and you just don’t play and you get no games, you’re rusty.” However, Brust started Sunday’s road game against the Rampage and,after a shaky first period, found his rhythm in the second and third frames.
 
Last season, the unofficial mantra of the Aeros was “One game at a time” and Ward says that while that day-by-day approach hasn’t changed much, the new goal is to “Simplify.” After laying the foundation of a tough, new system last season, Ward says, “Now we’re trying to take what we did last year and try to really simplify it down. If anything we’ve tried to make this an easier transition in year two than we’ve tried to make it more difficult. We’re trying to do less, while doing things simpler and quicker.”
 
Ultimately, the variety of situations in which the Aeros can be competitive may be anything but simple for opponents to solve as the season progresses.
 
Contact the author at heather.galindo@prohockeynews.com.