Once again ...

I saw "The Rape of Lucretia"!
Could it have been done any better I cannot fathom that ?
It was as stunning, if not more so, than earlier.
See blog on it of 2/2/12 below.
But you HAVE to go yourselves!
Music truly sublime and the message touchingly thought provoking.
And somehow so apropos in this time!
A rather elite kinda selection of words in the libretto did NOT detract from it at all. Especially as sung and enunciated so beautifully by the cast!
Yes, it is sung in English!!
But I have been to several sung in English and felt they were sung in some unidentifiable language ;-)!
So this was a real Ohrenschmaus of music and words! 
A snippet from the opera.... for your listening pleasure!

And a few others by Britten:

So another point is gained..

even though they lost to Texas Stars last night. Stars 4 and Aeros 3..SO Loss!
In their 8th shoot out loss. Which is a season (thus far) record in the AHL.
Only one other team, The Connecticut Whale has 5 SOL - a bit smaller!
And yet, the Aeros (53 games played) remain in 2nd place after OKC Barons (59) and ahead of Abbotsford Heat (53). Aeros Numbers thus far: W 21, L 9, OTL 3, SOL 8.
The miracle of last night's game was the huge number of saves made by Sunshine Kid Kuemper. Of the 49 sogs by the Texas Stars he stopped 45 which earned him the Nr. 3 Star.

Kuemper saves-no goal for Brule(artandhockey)

And despite the loss Mike Radja (a sorta Aeros newbie) made it to Nr. 1 * (2 goals).
Now if just all of those newbies the Aeros have hired on lately could be as examples to the 'old gang'?
Joel Joey Martin (goal), C.J. Stretch
and the newest newby Chris Clackson, all had assists lately.
Morin of Texas was the 2.*

We were not at Cedar Park, just listened, off and on, to the voice of the Aeros.
And how about  Kuemper getting 2 penalties for delay of game!
Someone please explain that - someone who actually saw what went down!
On the other hand he also got a 2. assist on the Fontaine goal in the 2. period.
Wayyy to go Kuemper!
And does he,  or does he not, channel a younger Barry Brust?
While Genoway's and Garbutt's penalties in OT did not result in PP goals for either side.
BRAVO, Kuemper for doing a yeoman's job last night!
But do practice a bit more on your shoot outs!
As all players ought to!
8 SOLs is nothing to be prouid of, just saying.

Chaos paid off; Kuemper shuts out Rampage

A rare event, a win on home ice, and not just a win - a shut out win ! Granted by only one goal, but a win is a win. And that sole winning goal a PP goal by Fountaine (Star 2) with Penner (Star 3) and
here's the STAR Nr. 1
Goalie cutie Darcy Kuemper who seemed a bit shy, skated out and back..
but finally was told: Hey you gotta go out there and talk!
Which he did and quite nicely, thank you, to the accompaniment of 6600 or so screaming fans. And the Lady Dynamics seem to enjoy this Cutie, too, to judge by their huge smiles (lol

Now to the title, the whole first two periods the two teams just went at it like Energizer Bunnies, quite a chaotic, storming from side to side. San Antonio seemed to keep the impetus going by the number of SOGS 12, 11, 10.. all 33 stopped one way or another by Darcy Kuemper (almost typed.. Cutie lol).

These are just a few shots of Kuemper saves.

And newcomer Mike Montgomery (formerly of the Ontario reign -ECHL)Nr. 24 was much in evidence as an effective defense man 

and here is the reason, Fountaine sat for hooking, one of the 5 penalties called by 'let'em play tonight' Ian Croft-But he redeemed himself in the 2. by getting that PP goal with Penner.

Now I don't know about you, but this action (photo above) in front of Markstrom looks like Kendo to me...

And so the game was won -Victory on home ice!

Aeros and Wild Wins - corrected issue

Something went awry with my earlier post..
so here is the  NEW version with corrections.

Aeros trounce Rampage 6-1 with Kuemper the goalie, while Wild win 2-1 with Hackett replacing ailing Harding after a few seconds.
And it is all due to the YEOSIE system and strategies. Well it sure looks that way.
Wild is just one of 5 NHL teams to never have been shut out.

Of course, Aeros cannot lay claim to same. But have done rather well under trying circumstances. McMillan and Ortmeyer injured.
Also it seems McIntyre is reassigned to Aeros after an injury incurred while with the Wild.
Almond, Prosser and Wellman back with the Wild.
New Names appear on the roster:
Harrison Reed, Joey Martin who got his first AHL goal last night vs Rampage, and
now Mike Mc Kenzie as did Rob Nolan
as BUG in San Antonio for whom he played very briefly earlier the season :-)!

You guess is as good as mine:
Will Hackett stay up?
Will Kuemper stay Nr. 1?
Will goalies stream through revolving doors as we all remember from a couple years ago with Climie, Beauchemin, etc.... serving as BUG?

Anyway tomorrow's kiddie game will see (most likely?) Kuemper in goal.

And here he is reminding us all:

DO toss your teddy (bear - a course)
at the game on 12/16
if you are planing to be there!

Toronto Strikes again

Marlies Goalie Owuya keeps Aeros OUT.  Marlies 4 Aeros 0.
Kuemper records his first SO loss.
Retired goalie Cowley Wayne sat BUG for the Aeros.
While Hackett was flown to the Wild to sit backup due a Backstrom injury.
Ah, well, too many family and friends up there, maybe, and that has been known to be a distraction before.
And the Aeros cannot claim "travel tiredness" since Marlies traveled as well after last nights game! Boths teams had to play on 'short' rest!
A home crowd of about 3.000 is all that showed up - in Canada..
Aeros often claim larger attendances - in subtropic Texas!
The 'winning on the road' streak was broken. AlaS.
One more road game vs Rampage on 12/6 in San Antonio, then they will face OKC at the TC at the "kiddie" game on Thursday AM!

Pre season game vs Barons -update

With just a few minutes to to end of regulations...Barons 4-0 vs Aeros who sport a team mostly made up of newbies.
Listening it seems the Barons goalie is really good. Endras was pulled after he allowed 3 goals, for Kuemper who stopped everyone except that last one on the first OKC powerplay and that's how it ends.
Aaron Boogaard received large penalties,
David McIntyre several as well.
That's all folks.

# Skaters in Bold still with Wild I think..
2 Wes O'Neill D
3 Jamie Fritsch D
5 Jeff Penner D
7 Kris Fredheim D
8 Kyle Medvec D
10 Greg Stewart LW
11 Matt Marquardt LW
13 Kris Foucault LW
14 Jon DiSalvatore RW
16 JP Martignetti F
19 Jarod Palmer RW
20 Chad Rau C
21 Mike Bartlett RW
22 Jeff Taffe C
23 Tysen Dowzak D
25 Warren Peters C
26 David McIntyre C
27 Carson McMillan C
29 Aaron Boogaard RW
32 Mike Hoffman D
36 Mike Kramer F
37 Justin Fontaine RW
39 Chay Genoway D
41 Jed Ortmeyer RW
52 Sam Lofquist D
56 Joel Broda LW
61 Tyler Cuma D


# Goaltenders
31 Matt Hackett G
34 Dennis Endras G
35 Darcy Kuemper G
Sun., Oct. 2 -  Next Preseason game at Texas (5 p.m.)

UPDATE:
Wild assign defensemen Nate Prosser and Drew Bagnall  as well as forward Casey Wellman to the Houston Aeros.

Matt Kassian, Mike Lundin and Cody Almond are on injured reserve.

The Active roster stands  at 23 players, with 14 forwards and seven defensemen, including the real surprise, rookie Brett Bulmer (Apr 26 1992 -- Prince George, BC
Height 6.01 -- Weight 165 -- Shoots R)!

Whose name we saw on the Kelowna Rockets Roster as LW just the other night!

Nick Johnson who was picked up off waivers from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday morning and barely made it to the game..

The forwards: Mikko Koivu, Dany Heatley, Devin Setoguchi, Guillaume Latendresse, Matt Cullen, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Darroll Powe, Kyle Brodziak, Cal Clutterbuck, Colton Gillies, Brad Staubitz, Eric Nystrom, Johnson and Bulmer.
The defense: Greg Zanon, Marek Zidlicky, Nick Schultz, Clayton Stoner, Jared Spurgeon, Marco Scandella and Falk.
Goalies: Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding.

Taking the day off

and what happens! Just "waking  up" to the stunner of a trade..
(It has to be that injection at the dentist today-because a tooth needed pulling)


Jeff Penner



Anton Khudobin for one man (in America)

Jeff  Penner, 23 (4/13/87), has posted 19 points (5-14=19) and is a plus-10 in 57 games with the AHL’s Providence Bruins this season. The 5-foot-10, 185-pound defenseman from Steinbach, Man., notched a career-high 35 points (7-28=35) in 68 games with Providence in the 2009-10 season. He made his NHL debut with Boston on March 9, 2010, at Toronto. Penner, originally signed by Boston as an undrafted free agent, played one season of collegiate hockey at Alaska-Fairbanks.




Mikko Lehtonen



and one man (still skating in far off Europe): Lehtonen, 23 (4/1/87), ranks second in the Swedish Elite League in scoring this season, racking up 56 points (29-27=56) in 52 games with Skelleftea. The 6-foot-3, 196-pound winger from Espoo, Finland, spent two seasons with AHL Providence (2008-10), posting 103 points (51-52=103) in 150 games. Lehtonen participated in the AHL All-Star Game in 2010. He played two games in Boston, including his NHL debut on April 11, 2009, at Buffalo. Lehtonen represented Finland in both the 2005-06 and 2006-07 IIHF World Junior Championships. He was Boston’s third-round pick (No. 83 overall) in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.
AS  If Endras wasn't enough, who also still skates over there!

To Anton Khudobin-Dosvidanya or something like that...and the best of luck!
So now I better change my photo spread atop this blog to ???
Josh Tordjman... in red hot pads! Or ?? Any suggestions by chers readers?


Anton Khudobin



Josh Tordjman



Darcy Kuemper

Matt Hackett



Dennis Endras





Auctioning off the Rookies....

.... always THE highlight at the Annual Booster Club Players Appreciation Banquet..

We do so appreciate the rookies.
All 10 of them.
That's coaches and staff, too!
Yep.

The live auctions of
"Lunch with the Rookies" and
"The Jersey of Nr. 62"
went fast, real fast. All thanks to 'rookie' Denver Wilson,

who has his auction patter down pat.

FYI: As a (former?) rodeo roper and aspiring livestock
(do rookies count?) auctioneer(he'll head to Wisconsin ? this summer to hone this patter, he told us), he rattled off increments of 25s and 50s, so before we all knew it the price shot up and up and, bingo, 'Kids Unlimited' were richer by some $ 1000's.

Well, even Better Half got in on the auction action, but stopped when the 'jersey of Daoust' hit a certain high (somewhat beyond our budget limit).

After all we had already bid, and won (I kept an eagle eye on them),
3 silent auction items.

• Such as Braden Holtby's signed Photo to keep the puck, he signed last year at play offs in Austin, company.In a recent interview Holtby (21 yrs)when asked about The Water Squirt as Holtby squirts water out of his bottle during stoppages in play, picks out one  specific drop from the spray, and follows it to the ground with his eyes. BTW I did not see that last year "Actually, that looks a little weird," he admitted. "If you can focus in on something, it sharpens up your vision." "I think everyone else is scared of looking weird," he said. "I don't really care, as long as it helps me stop the puck."

• Better Half - being a goalie fan - got Harding's 04-05 Aeros season stick, signed by what looked about a third to a half of the then team(now proudly displayed on the study door...open it too fast and the stick sets off an alarm).
• And last but not least a Symphony/Restaurant package..after all artandhockey must have some art (musical and culinary) somewhere? The question now is do we choose Shostakovitch or Mahler?

All in all, the atmosphere inside the Country club was

warm (so nice) and friendly. Lots of joshing among players and coaches, and pleasantries from players to fans made for a good event. And thankfully, NO long winded speeches by any one.

The two kids from KU did well, kept it short and sweet. 

But a bit emotional..tears were observed flowing.

Aeros News

From the WHL world : 

Do ya all remember the Darcy Vader alias Kuemper?

Who stunned us all with his prowess as goalie for the Aeros.

He has been nominated as WHL Goalie of the Week 152 times already! 

He now has been selected Canadian Hockey League Goalie of the Week,

as well.  Isn't the kid racking up honor upon honor!

Photos from April 6 game Aeros vs Hogs

Greentree Covers Darcy Vader ;-)

Kalus on ice

Darcy "Vader" Kuemper

Falk watches out for Darcy!

An Aeros Defender

Crawford watchful-

a bit beleaguered?

The End...

A little photo by CatTrick

from happier times (Wolves Game) ;-)

Happy Hogs..

Rockford 3 vs Aeros 1.

The day started as it ended, with a leaky mess.At home it was a leaky faucet which woke us at 3:30 AM!

So I am tired and will download and post the few photos tomorrow.

At the TC a leaky Aeros defense, most of the time. For now a very brief..what CAN one really say, that has not been said ad nauseam....

Rockford's line of Cullen =1.Star (ExAeros), Keith and MacArthur put Hogs up early in the first and made it a 'clone' 3 in the third period. The second goal also in 1. was a shorthanded one by Skille, Kearn and Petio. Both teams were 0/3 in power play. Aeros out shot Hogs 23 to 17.

Crawford 3.Star

In Darcy "Vaders" defense it must be admitted that there was less defense tonight in front of him, then during the last two (WON) games. One time he'd to actually skate way out in order to slap the puck away since not a single white jersey was near by.

Daoust 2. Star ("The Scrapper") got the lonely only (again-we've been there before, haven't we) goal (his 21st) with "King" Duncan Milroy, who BTW had a couple good opportunities to score, but..was dumped to the ice (no penalty called) or robbed of the puck by the vigilant Hogs defense.

In other incidents referee Rehman, usually a fair referee, missed at least 2 calls, the first a whistle when Hilbert ("Handy Andy") was literally at the point of shooting and perhaps making it 2 for the Aeros, so he stopped, and skated off, obviously very angry.

The second when a rushing Irmen ("Irms") was tripped (yes, he was) and hurled into the Hogs' net toward the end. That could have been the "even out" goal for the Aeros ( OT?).

Darcy"Vader" made some excellent saves with glove and pads. He seemed a bit off in his timing to 'fall' onto the puck to secure it! But considering all, he showed good control most of the time!For a youngster, up from the Juniors, quite remarkable.

Kalus got into a fight, it looked like he got hit on the head during the fisticuffs. Scandella was not on ice much, neither was Gunderson. Kassian, at times, seemed slow on the uptake and lost pucks that way.

Although the Aeros did put on a reasonably good 2.period..no goals allowed. Rockford in the 3. was surely in hog heaven..playing cat and mouse with the 'old, new' Aeros ;-)!