Trying to keep things as Blue Jackets centered as possible, most of my AHL musings deal either directly with the Falcons, or to a lesser extent, within their division and conference.
Today’s post though is to celebrate one of the greatest seasons that I can remember in the “A”. Not only did both conferences see playoff races decided on Day 192, but in the case of the Western Conference, it literally came down to the last period of the last game of the season.
The Houston Aeros (Minnesota Wild) found themselves on the outside by one point as their game progressed against the Texas Stars (Dallas Stars). A 1-1 tie after 40 minutes, the Aeros Joel Broda notched his 14th marker of the season just 31 seconds into the final frame. Then the defense and the goaltending of Matt Hackett made the goal stand up, as the Aeros, in the last game of the season, made it into the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot.
One other item: the Norfolk Admirals. Yes they did. They finished off their regular season with a 4-2 win over Adirondack at the Glens Falls Civic Center. If you lost count, that ran their consecutive win streak to 28 games. So, in a roundabout way, props to the Falcons, the last team to defeat the Ad’s…February 5th at The Nest!
Congratulations to Dave Andrews and the entire AHL on what was an amazing regular season!