FROM THE CREASE with BRUCE BERLET

BY: Bruce Berlet

Talk about a worthwhile confab.

The Houston Aeros were floundering in January when coach Mike Yeo, elevated to coach of the parent Minnesota Wild on June 17, called a team meeting.

“It was a decision that we decided to make and kind of a story that we wanted to tell,” South Windsor native and Aeros captain/right wing Jon DiSalvatore said during the sixth annual Pete Asadourian Pro Hockey Camp that ended with a public scrimmage Friday night at Champions Skating Center. “We were kind of struggling, had a little team meeting and were probably the hottest team in the league in the second half.

FROM THE CREASE with BRUCE BERLET

BY: Bruce Berlet

The Binghamton Senators hadn’t even qualified for the Calder Cup playoffs the past five seasons, but Tuesday night they had extra incentive to win their first AHL championship.

With assistant coach and former Bridgeport Sound Tigers and New York Islanders head coach Steve Stirling back in central New York recovering from emergency quadruple bypass heart surgery Sunday night, the Senators rallied with third-period, power-play goals from Bobby Butler and captain Ryan Keller to beat the host Houston Aeros 3-2 and clinch the title before a record crowd of 10,125 at the Toyota Arena.