Featured Aero Of The Week - Colton Gillies

This weeks Featured Aero is very talented and huge play maker.  Colton Gillies born on February 12th 1989 in White Rock Canada began his professional career in 2004 with the Saskatoon Blades (WHL).  He stayed there for four years and was drafted with the Minnesota Wilds in a first round pick #16 overall in 2007.  He spent some time with the wild and split between the Houston aeros.  Last year he has shown us what a huge play maker he could be and a talented left wing.  Last year he registered 7 goals and 13 assists while playing in 72 AHL games. This year he is starting out strong with a one goal and two assist start.  We look forward to the future games he has to offer through out the season.

AEROS shoot out the Canadiens

     Well folks todays game was that of excitement and fear followed with an overwhelming joy of the third straight win for this Aeros team.  Tonight the Team started Strong with Two goals posted in the First period of play and they soon moved on to the second skating hard and ending the period on top.  The third period Toronto came back with a vengeance placing two more Goals on the board but in the wrong score column.   The Aeros went into the overtime a player short where they then could not keep their hands to themselves.  there was more penalties called in overtime than the whole game combined I believe.  The overtime period ended with no puck finding the back of the net.  The shoot out was quite the spectacle with three of four tries going into the net (palmer, DiSalvatore, Gillies).  Anton on the other end of the ice let only one goal into the net.  Over all the game was packed with Military personnel, and for that i salute you, the aeros fan, for donating money and getting involved in your Houston Aeros Hockey club.

Great Weekend in Hockey world Houston

     Well aeros fans a long time waiting pays off. After a 7 game losing streak they snap back with two winning games against the stars.   The aeros played like a pack of wolves, attacking the puck and scoring goal after goal all the while showing the stars their place.... on the boards.  The aeros played unbelievably well at their home game sunday where we scored 5 goals against the stars even if we were out shot by a few shots a period we found the back of the net time and time again.  On a side note the aeros goalie Anton, played like a superstar on sunday.  He played well in the crease making one save after another and covering the net giving the stars no holes to fire into.  I believe we have not seen the end of this winning streak and like i have said from the beginning the aeros will be at the play offs so save up for your play off purchase.

featured Aero Of The Week - Anton Khudobin

 (picture from the aeros website rooster page) 

 
  This weeks featured player of the week is Anton Khudobin.  Anton was born on May 7, 1986 in a town called Ust-Kamenogorsk in Kazakhstan. He is 5'11" and weights 176 pounds.  He plays the Houston Aeros Goalie and also plays for the Minnesota wild when they are in need of a goalie.  He started His hockey career in 2005 with a team in russia.  He quickly moved up the ranks to become the Houston aeros Goalie in 2007 were he played in 12 games on the year.  He started the 2009 - 2010 season with a bang but ended the season with a losing season playing in 40 games.  This season he is starting a little slow but i have a feeling this is just the beginning of a great year.  He will be sharing the ice with Matt Hackett and will hopefully get some ice time for when they need him the NHL. 

General Meeting With Peter Zingoni

    Todays General Meeting was beyond awesome.  The meeting started with a few dates that you might want to know and participate in.  First  date is the Kids unlimited christmas party on December 11th.  Everyone is invited and feel free to bring gifts for the kids.  They range in age from infant to 18 year olds.  The second date is the feed the team on the 16th of november.  If you can attend this meeting please email me for details on this meeting at Gftomball@yahoo.com.

    Also at todays meeting was peter Zingoni.  I will be the first to tell you that this meeting was one of the best meetings for information and laughs I have ever been to.  Zingoni starts the talk with a little background of  his life and how he became a hockey player.  He grew up in connecticut  where one of his family members was dating a goalie from the local team.  He became enthralled in the sport of hockey and began to skate just for fun.  He also reveled that at the age of six he began his first travel team with someone every aeros fan knows....... Jon DiSalvatore.  He started his hockey career over seas in Germany and Finland.  He then played for the Philadelphia phantoms where he met is wife, Bernadet.  from there he could not make his way to Houston fast enough for us aeros fans.
     Last year Zingoni at the very end of the year got hit in the groin area with a puck after a magnificent block in San antonio.  It healed well...... or so he thought.  Over the summer his leg and groin area began to hurt making it unbearable fast, and causing his leg to swell to twice its size.  He went to the Hospital there in Philly where he was told he had a blood clot in his groin area down to his calf.   He has been taking some blood thinners and getting recouped for this seasons start which he estimates to be around the beginning of december.

Here are two cool facts about zingoni that i bet you did not know.  1st - he has played all his hockey games with no socks on since the age of 6. and 2nd - he has his own camp in connecticut teaching kids the skills and skating techniques of hockey.

     If you missed the meeting you missed a good one, but don't miss the november meeting or you may just have to catch up on this blog once again.

Military Night At The Toyota Center

Hey there Aeros Fans this event will be held on November 5th and the money donated will be for the Serving Military and their families.  Please feel free to donate the most you can but if you cant just be sure to make it to the game to show your support for the team and the Best Armed Force in the world, The US Armed forces.  If you can donate any money at all $10 and up please call the number below and ask for Heath Dickes and tell him Garret Sent you.

To help provide tickets for military personnel and their families, we are looking for 

sponsors.  Companies or individuals who sponsor tickets for the military will be 

recognized at our game and on our website.  In addition, you will have the opportunity to 

meet with these soldiers and families at the game if you choose. 

Sponsor 10 tickets and receive an Aeros Autographed Puck.  

Sponsor 20 tickets and receive an Aeros Autographed Photo and Puck. 

Sponsor at least 50 seats and you will also receive an equal number of tickets for 

your own use for an upcoming Aeros game.  

Plus:   Market your company directly to military personnel, families and 

supporters with a booth on the Toyota Center Concourse for only $300.  

Sponsors will receive recognition on Aeros.com and during the game.  

To sponsor military personnel for this game, or for more information, please call 

the Aeros Front Office at 713-974-7825. 

(This offer is valid only through the Aeros front office and is not valid at the Toyota Center box 

office or any other ticket outlet.)  

To sponsor military tickets please consider the following options: 

    Upper Goals     

10 tickets $100    

20 tickets $200    

50 tickets* $500    

100 tickets* $1000  

   Center Ice Club Seats 

10 tickets $300 

20 tickets $600 

  50 tickets* $1500 

  100 tickets* $3000 

* for all donations of 50 or more tickets, you or your company will receive a like amount of tickets 

for a game of your choice from a pre-determined list of dates. 

Featured Aero Of The Week - Chad Rau

(Photo From Houston Aeros Website Page)

    This weeks featured aeros is Chad Rau.  He was born on January, 18, 1987, in a town called Eden Prairie Minnesota.  Chad stands 5 foot 11 inches and weights 178 pounds.  He plays the position of center and is  very good in the face-off circle.

  Chad started his career in the 2004-2005 season with the buccaneers (a ushl team) where he added a very impressive 31 goals and 40 assists to his record.  He then went into Colorado College and played for their team for 4 consecutive seasons where is junior year recorded his best college stats with 43 points.  Fresh out of college in 2009 he joined the Houston aeros where he posted 19 goals and 19 assists giving him 38 points in his first AHL season played.  he returned this year to the aeros where he plays as a strong center that the team can look up to and draw support from.  We look forward to seeing him through this season as he can only get better through the years.

Aeros Host Peoria Riverman

Well Aeros fans, Houston hosted the Rivermen tonight and wow what a game they played.  The first and second periods flew by without a hitch with aeros leading by quite a few shots on goal.  However as third period came around the aeros opened up a can of fireworks and really let the puck fly.  The puck never found the back of the net but the team came within inches of their first home game winner.  The aeros showed great skill in skating and shooting tonight but the Rivermen got the better of them fewer than 3 minutes into the overtime period.  The goal was made by number 19 on their team, Cracknell.  The aeros did show great improvement over their last home game however. I hope we do well in Rampage territory tomorrow. We really need the winning boost for the next home game on sunday.

Featured Aero Of The Week - Petr Kalus

I have decided to feature an Aeros Player Each week till each player has been featured.  So to start this weekly posting I have Chosen a strategical player, Petr Kalus.  Petr is a very fast and tactful skater.  Every move on the ice is for a reason and each stick placement has it's purpose.

      Kalus was born on June 29th 1987 in a town called Ostrava in the Czech republic.  His professional Hockey Career started in a WHL league on a team called the Regina Pats, where he exploded onto the scene registering 36 goals and 22 assists in a total of 60 games. After that season he was Drafted #39 overall as a round two pick for the Boston Bruins in the 2005 season. We as aeros fans got our first glimpse of him on our team in 2007 when he came to The Houston Aeros in 2007 he wanted to stay and has been here ever since, moving between the wild(NHL) and Houston aeros(AHL).  Last season he had registered a total of 12 goals and 11 assists in a total of 66 games.


     This year he has already registered 2 goals and one assist in 3 games played.  Also this year he has changed his Jersey number to 23 from 32 so look for this subtle change on the ice.If this is any sign of future games I have a feeling that we are in for a real treat. His physical stats are:  He stands  6'01" and weighs 201 pounds. He shoots left and plays the position of Right wing.  A little inside personal note, he is impartial to sweets. Check back next week for the featured Aero of the week.


  

Home Opening Weekend

Well Aeros Fans, this weekends home opener was less than thrilling.  However they are still in calibration for this years predicted winning season.  The aeros had a hard weekend this week driving to Oklahoma with little sleep  between games.  They won Friday's game against Oklahoma in overtime with 14 seconds left. Then came home that night to get ready for that nights home opening game. They gave a huge fight back in the third period but still came out under Peoria with a one goal deficit.  They came out on sunday looking for revenge but they ended the game looking for a light in the hole they dug themselves into. Hackett had trouble keeping the puck out of the back of the net letting one goal in for about every three shots on goal.  Where as Allen (barons goalie) left no hole in net uncovered, stopping all shots on goal but two.  The aeros played their heart out tonight.  But This blogger feels that we might have seen the worst game of the year and now we can only go up from here.  Keep looking back throughout the week for your chance to win two aeros ticket to a Friday night game.  Thanks for showing your support at the aeros games fans the guys appreciate it.

Followers suggestions

This blog is in need of the fans questions.  I would like to Give you some information on what you would like to know.  So in the comment section below tell me somethings you would like to know about players, hockey, or the aeros themselves.  Is there anything you would like to know?

Booster club meeting with Mike Yeo

The booster Club meeting that went on yesterday at Texas Land and Cattle was very informative.   Mike Yeo explained his background as a Player and Coach.  He says that it is his goal to be a NHL coach one day and his goals for getting there include winning the Calder cup.  He plans on getting to the NHL coach position as soon as possible however he feels that that may be 5 years down the road with the Aeros.  He was explaining how his coaching abilities have helped the team to win the pre-season game.  He explains that unlike previous coaching staffs, he doesn't only coach one sections such as defence.  All three coaches drill and work all sections of the team.  This way what ever he or another assistant coach doesn't see another one will pick up on.  He seemed very out going and easy to talk to.  He would explain each question asked with great detail and answer each question with care.  He says he has been working on the power play teams and from the game in Austin the other night it seems to be working, as they are 100% for power play goals.  Yeo also explained that he feels the team needs to act like a "wolf pack" giving the impression on other teams of you mess with one player on the ice the other four will follow suit and back up the offended player.  He had a very optimistic approach to this years season saying "By the time we get to home opener we are going to be 2-0 working on 3-0"  Over all the meeting was very educational and a great start to the new hockey season.

AEROS BOOSTER CLUB MEETING TODAY!

Today there will me a booster club meeting at Texas Land and cattle in sugarland.  The guest speakers will be the coaches and will consist of all members and non members($5 fee).  This meeting will take place at 7 pm so get there early and have some fun with fellow booster club members and get to know your new 2010-2011 board members.  The booster club will be taking snacks for the team as well for the bus trips they may have such as, austin, san antonio, and this year Oklahoma.  If you would like to contribute items or money feel free to bring them to the meeting tonight.

Hockey Penalties Every Fan should know

In hockey there are quite a few rules and regulations that will get you a penalty if your not carful.  These are a few every one should know and some the Referees should know because they never call them right.

In hockey there is Five different Kinds of penalties, minor, double minor, major, misconduct, and game misconduct. These are listed in least severe to the most severe of penalties your players can get.  Now let me give you a few examples of each.

Minor Penalties - These penalties will draw a two minute penalty most of all of the time.  Some examples would be: Cross-checking, high-sticking, holding, holding the stick, elbowing, hooking, interference, roughing, slashing, delay of game, and tripping. These penalties expire when time runs out or a goal is scored by the opposite team.

• Cross- checking - This is when a player holds his stick in both hands crosswize to his body and hits the opposing player with it.
• High sticking - The touching of a player with the a Hockey stick above the shoulder.
• Holding -  Player holds the Jersey, skate, leg, arm of the other player to prevent him from playing in the game.
• holding the stick - Player holding the opposing players stick to keep them from playing in the game.
• elbowing - The intentional use of your elbow to hit a player.
• hooking - Using a stick as a hook to slow an opponent
• Interference - Impeding an opponent who does not have the puck, or impeding any player from the bench.
• Roughing - Pushing and shoving after the whistle has been blown or when a player checks an opponent with his hands in his opponents face
• Slashing - Swinging of a stick at an opponent, no contact is required for this call.
• Delay of game - intentionally sending the puck over the glass to avoid a situation.
• Tripping -  The use of a stick, glove, or skate to trip a player in order to prevent the player from playing in the game.

Double minors - These are called when a player is injured by a minor penalty such as slashing.  These penalties mean that the offender will be placed in the penalty box for two consecutive minors, or for four minutes.  These are not called often however when they are they place the offending team at a huge disadvantage.  These penalties expire when the time runs out or a goal is scored the first of the two minors will go away and the second will start.

Major penalty - These penalties draw a five minute penalty box sitting by the offenders.  These are usually called most every game in the form of a player fight.  These penalties only expire when the time runs out and not when the opposite team scores. Other infractions include: butt-ending, charging, spearing, and boarding. Getting three in one game will be an automatic Game Misconduct.

• Butt-ending - Jabbing an opponent with the end of the shaft of the stick. It carries an automatic major penalty and game misconduct.
• charging - taking more than three strides or jumping before hitting an opponent.
• spearing - A player "spears" the other player with the end of his Hockey Stick.
• Boarding - pushing an opponent violently into the boards while the player is facing the boards

Misconduct penalty - These penalties draw a ten minute off ice penalty.  These include throwing gear off the ice, not surrendering suspicious gear, verbal abuse of the official, throwing the puck where an official cant reach, or disrupting a penalty shot.  The player can be substituted on the ice  and these type of penalties are called "two and ten".

Here are also a few stoppage of play calls:

• Icing - occurs when a player shoots the puck across at least two red lines, the opposing team's goal line being the last, and the puck remains untouched
• offsides -  where the team in possession of the puck crosses the blue line of the opposing team before the puck crosses.
• to many men on the ice - more than the five allowed players are on the ice. This does not apply when a team pulls their goalie for an extra man or for a penalty call.
• puck out of play - the puck goes over the protective glass.

Aeros Extinguish the Stars.

Today's Game was The Houston Aeros Vs. Texas Stars and the game was intense.  The first period Robbie Earl and Warren Peters found the Back of the net for a two goal lead on the road.  The first goal on the road is the most important because it puts the defending team on edge.  These goals were assisted by Robbie Earl and Brandon Buck.  The second period started with a barrage of shots from the stars all blocked by Our Houston Goalie Matt Hackett with a stunning performance ending in 21 saves on the night for a shut out in the net, but the attack coming from Jamie Fraser and Maxim Noreau got the better of Brent Krahn, who had 17 saves and 5 goals past him. Putting the aeros up four to zero by the end of the second period.  The third period was a hard played period however the stars shooters could not find the back of the net and the defensemen Your Houston Aeros kept  the puck clear of the crease. However nearing the middle of the period Jon DiSalvatore sank a puck in the back of the net with a little help from the goalie pads.  Tonight the Aeros Capitalized on Two power Play Goals and are at 100% on kiling power plays. Over all the Team this year looks like it is meshing well and this season looks like a winning season for sure.  Everyone reserve your play off tickets now, for you will need them latter in the season.  Tonight's three stars of the game were:
1. Brandon buck
2. Matt Hackett with 21 saves on the night
3. Greg rallo with the Texas stars

This year should be an exciting year fans so strap yourselves in because this year the team takes the calder cup from the Bears for good.

What's the Difference in leagues?

I know that I personally have seen allot of Abbreviations in hockey that I did not know, so I did a little research to inform the followers on what each one means.  If you have one you would like to add post it in the comments below.

• OHL - The OHL stands for Ontario Hockey League.  One of three Canadian hockey leagues.
• CHL - Canadian Hockey league.  This is the overall name for Canadian hockey.
• NCAA- National Collegiate Athletic Association.  This keeps track of all college and University Teams.
• AHL - American Hockey League.  The American league the feeds into the NHL.
• NHL - National Hockey League.  The Professional American Hockey leagues.  The equivalent of the NFL of football
• WHL - Western Hockey League.  This is a Junior devision that usually feeds into the AHL.

• ISHL - The Interscholastic Hockey League.  This is a league that mainly deals in High school teams.
• USHL - United States Hockey League.  The top junior league hockey teams.

Like I said above I know there is more out there these are a few of the more commonly used Abbreviations in hockey.  See the next post for hockey basics all fans should know.

Aeros Preseason game.

The Houston aeros Play tonight at SLICE against the San antonio rampage.  We show 30 on the roster still for the start of the 2010-2011 season.  There are about 48 tickets left for the game today so hurry tickets sell out FAST!

Here is a link to all tickets.  https://t4.clicknprint.com/tix/SilverStream/Pages/pgIndex.html?siteID=2839 Tickets are $15 and parking is $5. hurry before they are all gone.

Build up of new players.

The Minnesota wild training camp is producing a new set of players for this years team.  These players can only be described as determined and focused on winning this year.

• Tyler Cuma - he has played the last four seasons in the OHL for the Ottawa 67's he created 69 assists and 34 goals over is four year career. he has been to the OHL playoffs all four years. He was selected by Min. in the first round #23 overall.
• Jared Spurgeon - He played in the WHL league for the past 5 seasons and has shown great improvement racking up 100+ assists and improved in getting the puck into the back of the net.  He played for the Spokane Chiefs going to play offs three of his five years.  He is a very solid defense men.
• Nate prosser- Started his hockey career in 2003 with the Sioux falls stampede(USHL) played for his college, Colorado college, and last year moved up the NHL and played in 3 games.  A solid well seasoned defenseman and able to set up assists easily.  Went to the play offs once in his career. Plays Defense.
• Matt Hackett - Played in the OHL the past five seasons, last season he played in 56 games with a GAA of 2.62 with a 33-18 record. and recorded 1710 saves.  Went to play offs twice in his career and was Minnesota's round three pick. in the 2009 draft.
• Warren Peters - last year played with the Texas/dallas stars.  Played 72 games last year in the AHL and NHL combined.  Connected with 21 goals last season and 14 assists.  Then went to the playoffs scoring 4 more and assisting on 4. Plays Center.

Bloggers Suggestions

The Aeros season is still in the works with quite a few prospects still in play and not snatched up by other teams yet.  So as i sit here looking at the lists of available free agents i find a few names that i would personally like to see make the team this year.  Lets start with an old name that we had on the 2008-2009 roster. 


Krystopher Kolanos - The aeros desperately need scorers on the team. From the performance that we all witnessed when he was part of the aeros, I'm almost guaranteeing the aeros a spot in the playoffs if we can pick this guy back up from the free agents list.  The season he played with the aeros he recorded 31 count them off 31 goals and created 20 assists.  He meshed well with the players and took a huge leadership roll and in my opinion is the #1 reason we made the playoffs.


Now I'm going to leave the rest to you on who you would like to see on the team and why? post your comments below.

New developments in the Aeros relm

The Wilds prospects have obliterated the traverse city tournament this past week.  Their record was 4-0 with their last game being VS. the redwing prospects.  They went on to win that game 3-1 with our own cody almond scoring the opening goal in the last period of play.

here is the Four day recap:

Day one -      min 2, hurricanes 1
Day two -      min 5, blues 1
Day three -    min 5, rangers 4
Day four -     min 3, wings 1

Also on October 1st the Houston Aeros will have a preseason game at SLICE (sugar land ice center and entertainment) against the San antonio Rampage.  I personally would suggest that you buy your tickets sooner rather than latter as the rink is small and seats sell out fast.  There is currently less than 60 seats left for this event.  The tickets are $15 with a $1 convenience fee.  You will also need parking for this event which can be purchased for $5.  To purchase your tickets go to:  https://t4.clicknprint.com/tix/SilverStream/Pages/pgIndex.html?siteID=2839
you will find me there in section 104 seat 6 come by and say hi always like to meet a fellow aeros fan.

A brief history of hockey

Today’s hockey is known through big stars such as Sidney Crosby who started his career at 18 years old, and today at the age of 23, has been to Lord Stanley’s cup twice returning with a championship ring on his finger; but what most people don’t know is it all started 4000 years ago in early Rome, Egypt, and Scotland villages with a very different name, Ball and Stick.  Ball and Stick, or Hockey, did not start as a well organized family outing as it is today, and you were never served popcorn and a coke. Hockey of yesterdays used to be a brutal village sport.

In early England, Ball and Stick used to be played against other villages to proclaim their manhood and pride.  The teams would comprise of 100+ players and the games would last for weeks on end. The fields would consist of dirt or grass where today’s “ice” rink was not thought of yet.  Ice Hockey was not in the works till the year 1875 and was the brain child of J G Creighton. In Ball and Stick injures were so prevalent and severe that rules had to be written in order to keep the players and bystanders “safe”, giving birth to today’s field hockey.

In 1875 at Eton College of England a rule book was in the works for the newly founded sport of Hockey; latter adopted by J G Creighton for ice hockey; the rules were that no more than 30 players could consist of the team. Also giving the Authority to enforce all rules to a third party figure (Referee) to make vital calls and make the game run smoothly and safely.  In the year 1875 the Game of Ice Hockey was also invented.  They took to the ice on frozen lakes and ponds, there was no need for the “ice rink” in the frozen countries of Greenland, Scotland, and Russia.  However as the sport moved to North America and Canada, ice would melt as temperatures increased in the summer and thus the search for a indoor ice rink that wouldn’t melt on hot days was on.  They found it in the form of a curling rink. Although they had to make a few adjustments to make the rink playable for hockey, but the basic idea was adopted and the Hockey Rink was born.

During early Hockey games the equipment was primitive and very unreliable. They used a long stick to hit a ball down the field or rink. In the late 1800’s the first hockey stick was invented with a flat blade for a hitting surface on the end of shaft,  making hitting the ball a lot easier taking the game to a all new level of competition.  Also in that time the ball then became a flat round disc known today as the “puck”. The puck was invented to try and keep the ball on the ice, increase the drag on the ice to give the player better control of the puck, and to reduce the amount of “Bounce” the old ball had.  Also in today’s hockey pads and helmets are a huge part of player safety, however they were not used until the 1970’s and not enforced by the National Hockey League until 1980 after a fatal accident where the NHL lost the life of a critical player. 

During the birth of Hockey, the masterminds of the first hockey teams were thinking of a way to enforce and uphold the rules of Hockey and to keep track of all up and coming National teams. The National Hockey Association was the first group to do just that.  It was founded in 1909 but was very quickly replaced by the NHL or National Hockey League in 1917 in the town of Quebec. Their first order of business was to establish a Competition that all hockey teams registered to the NHL database could compete for and become the top team in the “world” (really just the USA and Canada), so they then changed the old tournament called The Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup (established in 1875) to the Stanley cup challenge(1947). They got the Name “Stanley” from the first governor of Canada, Lord Stanley of Preston (1888), who was appointed by the Queen of England, who latter donated money to begin one of Canada’s first Hockey teams.

Hockey like some other sports today have “farm” teams or The American Hockey League (AHL) affiliates. These “farm” teams didn’t begin forming until the late 1930’s when hockey became more well known around the United States as an entertaining and fast paced sport. The first AHL team(Buffalo Bisons) popped up as the primary affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens in 1936, which was one of 8 starter teams.  Today the AHL consists of 31 teams and have produced many a Hockey “great” to their respective NHL teams.

Ice hockey was only played in select villages in Europe and Africa.  Today the game of hockey is played around the world in most all countries.  The challenge of skating on ice, the fiery competition, and the excitement of the game have made hockey a rapidly growing sport in the United States and over the past few years became a highly watched sport thanks to the Winter Olympics.  The NHL started out with 8 teams and playing for the glory of the win, where now days hockey is viewed as a career and played for the pride and for a salary. In 2009 The NHL has recorded 31 teams in the running for the stanley cup in the 2009-2010 season including the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Chicago Blackhawks.

Whether you like fierce competition, rough hits, or the colorful history of a sport, hockey today is a rapidly improving and fast paced sport that began as a traditional tribal right of passage and today becoming one of Canada's national past times.  At hockey games you will find a round aerodynamic puck, sleek fiberglass hockey sticks, body pads, and face masks,when hockey was not always high tech. History teaches us how a sport got its roots and explains the tradition and customs of the sport. 

Aeros Acquire a new goalie and Center for next years team

Photo by: Jason V. Of the Houston Aeros

The Houston Aeros were in search of a third goalie for the new season and today they finalized their search with the former San Antonio Rampage Goalie Josh Tordjman.

     Tordjman last season ended in a losing season 20-22-2 but we in Houston know just how well he can block a puck from the net.  He has great hand eye coordination and that enables him to follow the puck much more easy.  During the 2008-2009 season according to Aeros.com, "Tordjman set AHL career-highs in wins(25) and shutouts(6) while ranking second in the AHL in shutouts".  So as i can see it Josh will be nothing but a huge asset to this years growing talent.

The Aeros Also picked up a Center for next year as well.   Rylan Kaip was signed from the Chicago Wolves.

     Rylan is a well rounded center.  Not great at one thing but good at all things center.  During the last season he played with the wolves all the way to the calder cup finals where he played in 9 games.  Before he was drafted he was playing in a colligate league for the University of North Dakota where he ended his senior year as the Captain of the team.

Over all I believe that the these two men will contribute to the team, and i feel they will mesh with the growing talent, and ever growing new line up for the new year.  I feel the aeros coaching staff is Building a well planned winning season for the upcoming season.

Booster Club

     Hello again bloggers. If your wondering how you can help out the players, and get more into the "full" Aeros Experience, the Aeros Tailgunners Booster Club might be for you.  The Tailgunners get to do things beyond the game.  Such as feed the team after practice, supply the team with snacks for road games, monthly meetings with a different guest speaker at every meeting, and be around other Aeros Hockey Enthusiasts.

     If this sounds like something you would like to do then feel free to join the Tailgunners on September 29th at 7pm at Vasos' Barbecue, 9920 Hwy. 90 A at the corner of Hwy. 90 and Dairy Ashford, for this months meeting.  This months guest speakers will be all three of the new Aeros coaching team.  After the meeting feel free to sign up and join this years booster for only $15 for single membership or $20 for a family (2 persons).

Where did last years team go?

At the beginning of each year everyone is asking where is so-and-so.  So ive decided to keep a running tab on last years team members and where they are this year.

2009-2010 team:

• Jamie Fraser-  as of july 6th signed with minnesota again
• Ryan Gunderson-
• Nathan Smith-
• Peter Zingoni-
• J.P. Testwuide-  as of august 25th transfered to the Flyers.
• Jon DiSalvatore- as of july 6th signed with minnesota again
• Colton Gillies- as of september 27th assigned to the aeros
• Danny Irmen-
• Chad Rau-
• Marco Scandela-  as of October 1st he is assigned to the aeros.
• Duncan Milroy-
• Jaime Sifers- as of july 7th signed with Atlanta
• Tony Hrkac-
• Maxim Noreau-as of september 27th assigned to the aeros
• Carson McMillian- as of september 27th assigned to the aeros
• Brandon Rogers-
• Anton Khudobin-  on July 15th signed with Minnesota again.
• Wade Dubielewitz-
• Petr Kalus-as of september 27th assigned to the aeros
• Darcy Kuemper-
• Matt Kassian-
• Justin Falk-
• Ryan Lannon- 
• Jean-Michel Daoust- as of 23rd back on the aeros
• Andy Hilbert-  as of july 18th will be moving to the NY Islanders

This list of players will be updated upon signing of contracts of all free agents.  There are still quite a few free agents in limbo with team signing the year.

Also here is a brief summary of this years newly signed free agents transferring from other teams to the Minnesota/Aeros ranks.

• John Madden- is transferring from the infamous Black hawks which added a third stanley cup ring to his finger this year.  Before playing with the black hawks last year he played 10 seasons with the New Jersey Devils.  Known for Defense and face off capabilities.
• Warren Peters-  Is going to be Transferring from the Dallas/texas stars.  His leadership as the Alternate Captain brought the team to the Calder Cup Finals last year. He plays as a center and his strong leadership will be a great boost among the Aeros this year.
• Drew Bagnall- Is transferring from the Manchester Monarchs where he was the captain.  He has a strong leadership capability and is a strong defenseman, which is badly needed after the well deserved call up of Clayton Stoner.
• Eric Nystrom- Will be Transferring from the Calgary Flames.  He played at the University of Michigan for four seasons before being drafted to Calgary during the 2005-2006 season.  He plays as a Left Wing.
• Matt Cullen-  Will be transferring from Ottawa this season as a seasoned veteran going into his 13th hockey season.  He also has a Stanley Cup ring with the Hurricanes back in 2005-2006 season.  He is known as a excellent penalty killer and is a huge asset to this years team.

Houston Aeros Press Conference

Photo by: Aeros Photographer

Today the Houston aeros held a Press conference at the Maple leaf Pub to introduce the new coaching staff.

     The new head coach this year is Mike Yeo.  A former Aero himself, also taking the team to the Turner cup in 1998, where they came out on top as the champions.  His career as a coach had made him the assistant coach of the Pittsburgh penguins, which he took to the Stanley cup in 2009, and Today the head coach of the Houston Aeros.

     Today at the conference he explained that he has the best coaching staff in the AHL. Naming the assistant coaches being Darryl Sydor and Brian Wiseman. And adding that he has a lot of confidence in his newly assembled team.

     Darryl Sydor is a multiple Stanley cup winner (with Dallas in 1999 and with Tampa bay in 2004) also he was named the NHL all star two years in a row (1998 and 1999).  He played the 2009-2010 season with the St. Louis Blues and has 18 years of Hockey experience in close to 1300 games.  He will be working with the defence to help them bring the puck under control and move it down to the offensive ice.

     Brian Wiseman also a Former Aero (1997-2000) led the team to a victory in the turner cup leading the team with 13 assists in the Tournament set. In 2000 he had a mishap with a concussion and he had to retire from his hockey career.  He also served as the assistant coach to Princeton Universities Hockey Team.

    During the conference Jim mill was asked what new talent he has brought to the table for the Houston Aeros which he replied with a few names such as:

• Warren Peters who last played for the Dallas stars and Texas stars.  He played in 11 NHL games and 61 AHL games last year and made a career best 34 points.  From watching him over the 2009-2010 season i can see he will be a great Asset to the Aeros as we needed a strong center.  Peters is a very aggressive and hard skater and goes after the puck well.
• Drew Bagnall who captained the Monarchs last season and has a great leadership capability which the Aeros struggled with last season.  the Aeros needed one strong Leader in their midst and now i believe they may have found it.  He is a mid aged AHL player at the age of 26 but he still skates like he is fresh out of St Lawrence College.
• Nate Prosser signed as a free agent defenseman.  The aeros last year lagged in my opinion in the defense department after Clayton Stoner(#7) was called up to Minny. Prosser is fresh out of Colorado University Hockey and made his debue in the last three games with the Minnesota Wilds. I don't know much about his style but will post a blog latter on in the season about his progression and skills.

     Those were just to name a few of the New talent that Yeo and Jim mill brought to the AHL/NHL this season.  We also have a few of the "old" players returning which as put by Yeo "we have brought back three of the top scorers on the team last season" talking about J.M. Daust, John Disalvatore; who tied as the top goal scorers last year with 21 goals each; and Maxim Noreau who scores 19 goals in 76 games played.

     On a note by me i would also like to see the young Goalie that played in the last few games named Darcy Kuemper.  He played well when we visited Cedar park (Dallas stars) And in the end brought the team to a overall win making his ending stats two wins and only one loss for the season.  Also if you have any stats that you would like to add to this blog on the players listed above please post as I would love to know more about these players.