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The Aeros practiced today – just got off the ice in fact, and now it’s on to Grand Rapids for a pair of crucial games (beginning tomorrow night) on this franchise-record, 11-game road trip.

Tuesday morning’s 2-1 loss to the Wolves was heart-breaking to say the least.  You’re tied 1-1 late in regulation…on the road…against a red-hot team…and heading to a power play.  To have a few mental lapses result in a shorthanded goal against and to not even earn a point is pretty deflating.

Getting Jed Ortmeyer back (he’s meeting the team in Grand Rapids) will certainly help and there is another reinforcement on the way from outside the organization (can’t say more than that until it becomes official).

With that said, the Aeros really need to stay afloat during this crucial road trip, as some teams have gained significant ground on them over the last few weeks, mainly San Antonio and Chicago. A .500 trip or better would certainly be a big boost heading into mid-March (the playoff push). In addition, as the health of the big club in Minnesota improves, more bodies should make their way to the Aeros. And that can only help…

The team really hasn’t played that poorly over the last handful of games (outside of the 5-2 loss in Oklahoma City).  The reality of the situation is however, there’s not a lot of margin for error right now.  The team’s offense has dried up a bit (mainly due to injuries and call-ups) and a lot of guys are playing outside of their normal “roles”.  Thus, the Aeros are faced with a mentality that’s pretty simple: limit their mistakes, win the special teams battle and get superb goaltending.  It’s got to be a “grind it out, win 2-1″ mindset for the time being.  And remember, it’s a process over the long grind of the regular season – right now, it’s about developing and learning and prepping for March/ April.

Here are a few numbers / trends to look out for:

• 13-5: The number of home games to road games once the Aeros finally hit the ice at Toyota Center again on March 10.
• 7: Number of points separating the Aeros (4th seed) from the Peoria Rivermen, who currently hold the 8th and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
• 33: The number of goals the Aeros have netted in their last 15 games (avg. 2.2).
• 11.75: The number of penalty minutes averaged per game by the Aeros, the fewest in the AHL. Discipline has been preached all sesaon long by John Torchetti and his staff, and the team has done well in that department.
• 13: The number of times the Aeros have led or been tied after 20 minutes of play on the road this season. This type of solid play early in road games must continue.
• 6: Goaltender Matt Hackett’s starts over the club’s last 7 outings.
• 7,108: Average attendance for the Aeros’ home games this season – 4th in the league.

That’s all for now – we’re off to Grand Rapids for a few days, then Milwaukee, then Abbotsford… -

Aero Joe

• Last Night’s Tilt: Great shootout win for the Aeros last night in Grand Rapids, as the #roadwarriors (Twitter hash tag for those of you living in the dark ages) continued their dominant play away from Toyota Center.  It was the Aeros 13th road win in 17 tries and the team’s 4th win overall when trailing at the 2nd intermission (2nd most in the AHL behind Connecticut and Norfolk)
• The Power Play:Yesterday, head coach John Torchetti talked with me about how the Aeros man advantage can improve – first and foremost, he stressed making smarter decisions and execution.  He added that recovering pucks off the dump-in (offensive zone) is another area that needs improvement.  Finally, “Torch” mentioned that the team must get better versus teams that are pressure-oriented on the penalty kill, and really, that comes back to the point about decision-making.  You gotta make quicker and smarter decisions when the opponent’s PK is forcing you to speed up your set plays.
• The Young Guys: This is right around the point in the season, where we’ll start to find out a lot about the club’s rookies – especially guys like: Justin Fontaine, Kris Foucault, Kyle Medvec and Chay Genoway. After 30 or so games, they’ve got a pretty good idea of what it takes to succeed in the AHL – the big question is, how will they handle it physically and mentally?  Are they in good enough shape to continue progressing, or do they wear down as the season moves along?  Can they handle the mental grind and the pressure of playoff-type games as the calendar continues to flip towards the spring months?  It will be important for the coaches to monitor their “stamina” and there’s also an emphasis on the veteran players to continue helping the young guys along.  Look for Jed Ortmeyer and Drew Bagnall to play big roles in that area.  “Orts” has played a lot with Foucault this season and with the way the veteran winger prepares himself every day, it’s impossible for his teammates not to notice his commitment level.  As for Bagnall, he’ll bring it every night along the blue line and Medvec and Genoway can certainly benefit from watching his willingness to play through pain and stand up for his teammates.
• Starts / 1st Period Play: The Aeros have an ultra-impressive 8 wins when allowing the first goal, however, that’s a trend that the coaching staff and players don’t want to see continue.  This team needs to find a way to dictate the pace and play – set the tone if you will – earlier in games.  There’s no other way around it – they must get off to better starts and find a way to make teams adjust to their style.  I think part of it comes with an increased physical play.  We’ll find out soon enough if that’s part of the team’s identity or not (as of now, it’s an area for improvement).  Look for guys like Carson McMillan, Cody Almond and David McIntyre to lead that charge.  If Warren Peters wasn’t a mainstay in Minnesota over the last month, he’d be a natural fit for that role as well.
• Next 10-20 Games: The Aeros need to be harder to play against on a more consistent basis – and with a lot of road games coming up, I think they can really mold that personality over the next six weeks.  If they are able to do that, I think it will help their home ice play over the long haul.  Once March rolls around, the Aeros will be spending a lot of time in Houston, thus you would hope the team has cemented itself as one of the top teams in the league and be ready to peak heading into the stretch run of the regular season.  I really believe that if they put themselves in a good spot heading into March, the foundation they’ve built will translate into home ice success. I realize it’s a long way from now, but with the way the schedule sets up in the spring months, this team can win the West Division as long as they continue to play their system to a tee and continue to receive contributions from all four lines.  They’ll also need to keep getting great goaltending, something that has been a staple of their success thus far.  It’s been a great start to the season – entering play today, the Aeros are tied for the 3rd most points in the 30-team league and they are tied for the fewest regulation losses (8) with Hershey.  If they continue to work hard, compete for one another and learn from their coaches, they can achieve greatness. But, there’s still a lot of work left to do…

Don’t forget about the upcoming road game watch parties, beginning with Tejas Grill & Sports Bar (1201 Lamar St. – Downtown) on Friday night at 7 pm.

Hope everyone had a safe and Happy New Year…now it’s back to watching Season 5 of “The Wire” (thank goodness for my external laptop battery during this 5-hour bus ride to Peoria).

- Aero Joe