About last night: Redux

Pre game
Big changes are happening in the lives of anyboy who ever put on a Mooseheads jersey (well, not peg-legs who sits behind me).

Yesterday the Mooseheads announced that they traded veteran defenceman Alexandre Brunet to the Rouyn Noranda Huskies for a 5th round pick in 2011. Poor Brunet, he never even got cookies. At best, all I could offer him was the little package of travel oreos I snagged at the vaccination clinic on Tuesday. It's what was in my purse.

Best of luck in Rouyn Mr Brunet.  I am sorry this has to happen and totally disrupt your life. Such is life in the  child slave-labor organization known as the CHL. You will be in good company, though, since both Gabe O'Connor and the 'other' Yeti can now be your new friends.

...then there were 3 Truro Moosecats:
Former Moosehead and twenty year old "sniper" (don't laugh) Yuri Cheremetiev was released by the Bathurst Titan after only 13 games with the team. In those 13 games Yuri had only 1 goal and 1 assist for a total of 4 goals and 5 assists in 27 games between the two teams. This was supposed to be Yuri's best year EVAH, since he spent the summer getting buff and even spent some time in Russia trying out for the KHL (to which he was drafted). Sometimes there is a huge difference between what the newspaper reporters and Cam Russell tell us, and reality.

Yuri will be joining former Mooseheads 20 year olds Ben MacAskill (who makes reading sexy) and Eric Louis-Seize (who makes decapitation sexy) on the MJAHL's Truro Bearcats. Because Yuri could not stick with the Titan until January, the Mooseheads will be ...*mumbles* something,  something lost draft picks. I told him not to screw us like this and then he went and did it. Pffft, that's so Yuri of him.

With the loss of Cheremetiev, and now Brunet, the Mooseheads are now down to ONE twenty year old - Linden BahmSquad, and only one guy named Alex (did you forget MacDonald already? Shame).   I never could have imagined this scenerio.

Moose vs Gatineau:
Last night Gatineau were quick out of the gate with a goal only 8 seconds into the game. I mean, it was so quick that I wasn't even in game mode yet. I was still fidgeting and talking. It was a definite shock to he system, like a bad sugar low, and it was a terrible start to what turned out to be an excellent game.

Despite finishing off the first period down two goals the team rallied back during the second period with three goals. The first was on a long hard shot from the point by Dimitruk that went over shoulder of Tai(n)t, the second off a shot from the faceoff circle (not the middle one) by Lemieux, and last but not least Gelinas ...got a goal...somehow. You may have to swap the Lemieux and Gelinas goals. Admittedly, I don't always pay attention.

Three goals is better than two goals and the third period was a wash, therefor the Mooseheads won. Hoorah!

Clarke was playing his first game back since his  knee injury. He fought; and not only did he get pummeled but had to suffer the embarrassment of an additional 10 minutes for not having his jersey tied down. Well, admittedly it may not actually be an embarrassment for him since it seems like he never ties his jersey down, but it looks bad to the rest of us when he is so liberal about getting naked in public. Really, is it that hard to do up that little button? Just ask for help from one of the guys on the team who is good at keeping secrets about your lack of buttoning dexterity.

Hannay also fought but he kept his cloths on. It would be better if he actually took his cloths off.

...and Mathieu made saves - 23 of them.

What do you want  from me? Details? Pffft  One save involved him being out of position but swinging his hand down in time to cover the puck as an Olympique wildly swatted away at it by the side of the net. It was a soothing end to a moment of chaos and fear. That is all I remember.

It is less than 20 minutes to the start of the next game against PEI, and I have barely had time since yesterday to put this together. No time for baking...or thinking,  so I am giving Dimitruk, the game's first star, $5.00 to run out and buy himself a package of Pirate cookies. I hope he does not have a nut allergy.

Yes, eventually I will change the standings and other details in the side bar. Key word, eventually!

Fun with numbers

Halifax 3 - Gatineau 2 = 2 pts for the Mooseheads.

updates soon

Tit slapped

Arrrrrg the Titan. Don't they make you just want to give up boobs all together and become an ass man? Yeah, I thought as much.

Last night the Mooseheads took on the Acadie-Bathurst Titan at the K-C Irving regional centre in Bathurst and lost by a score of 4-2.

Julien Tremblay had the first goal for the Titan while captain Eric Faille had a hattie. Mooseheads goals were by Knotek (mmmmm comfortingly familiar PP goal) and Alex Lemiex (hoooray someone else got a goal). Stoddard (finally) and Desjardins assisted on the Lemieux goal while Gerrad Grant had an assist on the Knotek goal. This extends Grant's point steak and makes it the longest point-streak in the league with points in 11 games...and he only has one hand. What will he be able to do with TWO hands?

Ok this is crazy - we currently have a boy with the pointiest point-streak in the league and can't win a game. Grant needs some sort of reward for his suffering. Would kisses with lots of tongue suffice?

Spankings to Joel Grondin for getting pulled halfway through the game after allowing 3 goals on 14 shots. I still heart goalies though, which is why I must remind Grondin that not all spankings need be bad. Some are sexy. Between the two goaltenders the Titan had 4 goals on 26 shots, only 5 of which were dangerous. The Moose were only able to get 2 goals on 39 shots thanks to the painfully above-acceptable goaltending of Nic Champion (who was 2nd star of the game and the league's defensive player of the month for September)

The good:

• Keeping the Tits down to only 5 dangerous shots
• Boys other than Randell/Knotek/Grant getting points
• Randell's game high 6 shots on nets and 3rd star of the game honours
• Fights by Bahm and Metcalfe
• Being 1-1 after 1.

The bad:

• Faceoffs. No boy was able to dominate the faceoffs (Randell and Bernard don't count). Andrews' 8 losses in 10 was especially bad
• MacDonald sits out again
• Grondin lets in 3 goals on 2 dangerous shots. That must mean he let in a softie. The only soft thing I will allow my goalies to have is hair. Soft, fluffy, pre-game hair.
• No hits for Hannay. Maybe he is not my studmuffin!

The Cheremetiev factor:
So the Titan now have Yuri listed as being on their roster - but they spelled his name wrong: Cherementiev. Good start.

Yuri was not playing with the Titan last night because of some paperwork stuff. He will be driving up to Bathurst with his dad today (awwwww).

As you may already know he was recently traded - Yuri and a 5th in 2011 for the Titan's 3rd in 2011. According to Palov should Cheremetiev, A KHL draft pick, stay with the Titan past January 10th the Mooseheads will receive their 5th round pick back.

If Yuri leaves the Tits (as apparently everyone does because no one wants to live in Bathurst) this means that he had less value than Renaud, Stinziani, Leduc, Stich (like no duh)* etc. I kinda thought the addition of the 5th was strange because I would have thought that Yuri was worth more. I began to think that maybe his value went down as the market for 20's dried up. That, and his slow start to the season.

Bah, I have a whole Yuri related post inside of me just waiting to be written.

Also, Yuri, please don't fuck us over. xxxooo.


News links:
Wuest
Grant extends streak in Mooseheads' loss

Palov
Faille nets hat trick, sending Mooseheads to 8th straight loss
Moosehead finalize Cheremetiev trade

__________________________________________
*Stich is worth 1000 puppies, a fountain of youth, 1 of Patrick Roy's pubes, Chris Pronger's soul (rights currently held by Satan) and at least a 2nd round draft pick. He only got shafted because he is a Euro.

A song for the boy?

Edit:
Matthew Wuest confirms the Cheremetiev trade rumours. More later.

Sugah

Let's get the painful part out of the way - Moose lost 5-2 to the Gatineau Olympiques last night. This is the Moose's 5th loss in a row. We are currently pointless - the worst team in the whole CHL (well, the Lethbridge Hurricanes are 0-4-0-0 and the Brampton Battalion are 0-3-0-0). Exhale! Inhale!

News links:
Lineup: Olympiques at Mooseheads
Winless Moose fall to Olympiques

Early-season home games scarce for Mooseheads
This injury packs a pungent punch
Lots of shots, but Mooseheads need to crash the net

Mooseheads lose again

Right man for the job - A Brunet Story

Showing patience - A Pelletier story

The game in point form:
1) Well that was boring. Was it the lack of crowd or the boys?

2) The first period should have been re-named 'Mooseheads fall down, go BOOM'.

3) Some people say that they do not see Linden Bahm. I always see Linden Bahm. We are neighbors. For you see, Linden has four homes - all of them in corners. I also live in a corner. Linden frequently drops by and is all like "hey neighbour can I borrow some sugar?" and I am like "I only have raw sugar" and he is like "I will take what ever sugar you are willing to give me"...then we make out.

Also, if you didn't see that breakaway, the speed, and that fancy footwork then you are fucking blind.

4) Gabriel Desjardins gets so excited for goals. I like that enthusiasm. I want to get on the ice with him and jump around like a girl. He assisted on Bety's goal, the Mooseheads first goal of the game. He was more excited than Bety. Give him cookies.

5) Nice try Lemieux. Lemieux was one-on-one with Gatineau 'tender Tait, when Tait had to come out to play the puck. Faceoff. Tait got to the puck first and Lemieux could have made it to the puck with the net empty - had he not fallen down and crashed the net. It is not the falling that charms me (I do that all the time - you should see my wrist - it is FUCKED UP) but the effort and the fact that the Moose had that opportunity. We need these opportunities and we need to take advantage of them. Maybe next time.

6) I was about 3 seconds from calling for Cheremetiev's head. Between the stupid cross checking penalty on the power play and his general lack of production I have been, in my brain, requesting a trade for Alexandre Leduc (Sea Dogs). There have got to be better 20 year old players out there - ones that can play that role - the one Yuri is supposed to play. You know the role- goal scorer. Then Yuri got a goal. This buys him 2 more games until I declare him "not boyfriend potential" again.

7) oh Jessyko. I like you.
If only. Why is this game filled with so many "if onlys"? You got knocked down breaking onto the 'piques zone and somehow you ended up with a hooking penalty.

8) Lower on shots but good on hits. So many lovely lovely hits. Come-on babies continue to rock my world.

9) There were more boys in front of the net. This is a good thing. Keep it up.

10) Gerrad Grant- wearing a playing cast, was back in the game. Peeps are all like "wow he hasn't played in months and yet he could play on the top line and on the PP. Yes he can, anybody can of you put them there...then technically they are doing it. The real question is - should he have been playing on the top line and in the PP? Even he has admitted that his hands are not quite back yet.

“I’ll be in top shape, but my shot won’t be there,” Grant said. “I’m hoping (to produce offence), that’s what I’m planning on doing, but it probably won’t happen right away.”

11) Matty- arrrrrrgggggg. Four goals in 17 shots.

12) I forget. Scratches were Clarke, MacDonald (baby come back), Stoddard and Costello. I hear that Clarke was chattin' up the ladies in the concourse - wear a condom.

13) Completely incomprehensible (and hot) Travis Randell intermission interview posted on my facebook page.

A warning to boys

Even Konrad Abeltshauser doesn't need to know English to understand this

The Chronicle Herald has some player interviews from after last night's game.

"Once everyone starts getting more comfortable with each other, the chemistry will be there. We’re seeing it already," said Cheremetiev. "I think with any team, when you’ve got a good bunch of guys together for a long period of time you’ll get better as a team.

"But I think we look better than last year. I remember watching our team last year and not being too sure of what to expect. But this year we’ve brought in a lot of really good rookies and I think we’re going to have a lot better team than last year. I think we’re going to surprise a lot of teams."

Rookie netminder Joel Grondin also played well, putting him in good position to secure the backup job

"I faced a lot of shots and I tried to keep the team in the game as best I could," Grondin said in his native French. "I think I was more comfortable than I was the other night in my first pre-season game. I felt good about the way I kept my focus during the game.

"I think I have a good chance to make the team. That’s what I’m here to do and it’s been two weeks now so I hope I’m getting close."

Used to be moose:

Alexis Piette had his first goal for the Mainiacs today in a win over Shawinigan

Finally, former Mooseheads invisible defenceman Richard Greer has moved on to Cape Breton Eagles camp after being dismissed early from the Montreal Jr's training camp. He played fro the Eagles in last night's game against Saint John. He had no points and was a -2. He is also playing tonight's game against Saint John and so far has no points but spent a little time in the penalty box.

So much to say

The metro has two stories: one about Gabriel Desjardins and his invite to the under 18 camp, the other on Yuri Cheremetiev and his Russian camp fun.

Both boys have been training hard. At best I do stretches in my living room on some evenings. I consider taking off my clothes a form of exercise*. Apparently little Gabe commits "four and a half hours a day to a wide-ranging routine, working out in Montreal with Mooseheads goalie Mathieu Corbeil. “I got gym, I got ice, I got yoga, I got Thai boxing, I’m doing all that stuff,” Desjardins said. “You know, everything to be focused and ready mentally and physically.”

uggg Yoga! Sorry I can't do it. I like my stretching but I hate the idea of paying someone to tell me to stretch...and it is boring as hell. I need to watch tv while doing that stuff. I have no Qi and I can't relax. Fuck Qi! I am an intensely neurotic mutherfucker. I wish I could do yoga, but it makes me want to punch faces. Furthermore, I don't even own any lululemon therefor I simply am forbidden from partaking in the act of Yoga.

Gabe goes on to say: “When I received the call three months ago, Oh, I think I was going to cry,” he admitted. “But you know, it’s a big thing for me to represent Canada. It would be amazing.”

What he really meant was " then I thought for extra training I should do Yoga but I knew that it would be so painfully boring that I would start to cry" ...that is until he remembered that the classes are filled with hot, limber chicks in overpriced spandex.


AUS:
The Dalhousie Tigers hockey team have nabbed former Screaming Eagle/Sea Dog/Foreur and all around small man Francois Gauthier. Don't get me wrong...I like Frank and I am so happy that Dal is finally adding legitimate players to their roster. I was quite upset when he was traded to the Foreurs and then the Sea Dogs flopped around looking for a more useful 20 year old player. Frank shall be playing on the Tigers with his inevitable replacement, Shea Kewin.

Earlier this summer I was sharing beer on a hot sunny day with a friend who has since moved to Vancouver for medical school. I had mentioned that Dal was actually recruiting legitimate hockey players. She asked "why would they do that, don't they suck?" EXACTLY - Dal sucked so bad that even someone who know nothing about hockey knows that they suck. That is when they should know it is time to pick it up.

* this clearly contradicts with my previous blog post in which I mention 10k runs

Shiiiiiit

According to Matthew Wuest 20 year old Mooseheads forward Yuri Cheremetiev, who was recently drafted by the KHL, will be traveling to Russia for a try out.

The Halifax Mooseheads are suddenly at risk of watching another high-scoring forward bolt overseas.

Sources have told Metro Halifax that Yuri Cheremetiev has been offered a two-year contract by CSKA Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League. He hasn’t signed, but is expected to travel to Russia in July to try out for the club.

Sources said Cheremetiev is interested in returning to Russia, where he hasn’t travelled since he was five.

By offering Cheremetiev a contract, CSKA is believed to retain his KHL signing rights until April 30, 2017. The minimum KHL salary is believed to be more than US $100,000.

Cheremetiev played for Russia in the Canadian Hockey League’s Canada-Russia Challenge last November. The head coach of that team, former NHLer Sergei Nemchinov, was hired as CSKA Moscow’s head coach in May.

Don't worry Yuri. We are all whores for the right amount of money.

No gummi bears for you!

According to Matthew Wuest, the much bullied Yuri Cheremetiev is likely to stay on with the Moose as an overager. Oh and what a pretty picture of Yuri they have given us - he doesn't even have those blond barely-there whiskers which are usually strewn about his face.

Sometimes the message board guys think they know all this noise but most of the time I think they don't know shit. If they did then they wouldn't let so much of it spew from their fingers while doing their crazy message board babble. Girls won't let you touch them if you have poo on your hands. I once read a perplexing rumour on there about a kitten but I never got around to asking if it was true. It was probably poo.

Wuest says:

(Cheremetiev) and Tomas Knotek are the only proven offensive talents on the team, and Russell --- despite his occasional irritation with Cheremetiev --- no doubt recognizes that.

It's not that Cheremetiev couldn't be moved, but the deal would have to be sweet. And since 20-year-olds don't usually net an outlandish return, expect him to don a Mooseheads jersey in 2009-10, his fifth season with the organization. And if he reports to camp in good shape, he could post some good numbers as an over-ager.

Good shape? I think I saw Yuri in a candy shop buying gummi bears once. That stuff is made of horse hooves. If it was him may I just recommend a low gummi diet because eating too many gummi bears will give you the physique of a gummi bear.

EDIT: Yuri drafted by the KHL! In the second round at #33. Craziness! Well, he did play for Russia in the QMJHL portion of the Canada/ Russia Challenge.

Two in a Row.

Yep. You read that right - two in a row. The Mooseheads had their first back-to-back wins this season with a 4-3 SO win against Chicoutimi followed by tonight's 6-2 slaughtering of the Bathurst Titan.

Despite reports to the contrary, Jessyko Bernard was still out of the lineup with a groin injury, and Pender still has wonky hips like an old arthritic dog. New defenceman George Dunn was a healthy scratch, and Pelletier is still...somewhere??... MIA.

Yetman got the start, chosen over a mildly injured Corbeil, who we would all like to be fully healed before he steps back between the pipes, because fucking around and letting injured goalies play is stupid. Prolonging an injury is not hot.

Either that or there is a grand conspiracy being plotted against Corbeil, which involves lies being fed to the media, but I highly doubt it. When Yetman gets a start tomorrow against the Moncton Wildcats it will add further fuel to the fire. Why don't we just burn a fucking effigy already people? God, you have no idea how to hate properly!!! If it helps - look - we can pretend Corbeil played.

Ummmmm, no. Yetman was playing. Goals allowed was 2, shots were 35. WTF?

I had so much to say but I lost it. I forget everything and I was not even drinking. I feel so lazy and it is so late. Which is why I am referring you to Matthew Wuest's write up in the Metro.

At some point I remember thinking oh dear God Graham you look so good you can eat your cookies off the small of my back. Bona had a bajillion hits, a sexy fight, and two assists. The boys killed 5 of 5 penalties. Bona was just calmly playing like "No, I don't think so! yoink!" and so for that he gets the cookies. Also, because I am biased towards defencemen.

Desjardins was delightful in his interview: the kicky strong French accent, the wholehearted head-back laugh, the singing (in French) and the tongue thing (it must be some neurotic twitch).

I must also say Louis -XVI is trying really hard to be an upper tier boyfriend, and it is working because he is looking hotter with each successive game. Bahm is also buttering me up more lately. I remember thinking at the game today that I was pregnant with a whole litter of his puppies.

...and of course the Euros - they were highly amusing. Even Yuri was amusing me and he never amuses me (sorry, it's true). Stransky (2 goals) , Knotek (2 assists) and Cheremetiev (2 goals, 1 assist) were dominating the Titan.

Yetman was solid when Piette was not stealing his stick (no cookies for Alexis). He stopped 33 of 35 shots (when he did have his stick), a whole whack of which were dangerous.

So to summarise:
Cheremetiev: 2G, 1A, 2nd star
Stransky: 2G, 1st star
Knotek: 2A, 3rd star
Bona: 2A and a fight
Amyot (listed as Matheson): 2A
Bahm: 1G
Grant: 1G
McDonald:1A
MacDonald: 1A
Randell: 1A
Bety: 1A
MacAskill: 1A

Nothing on the QMJHL site right now seems right. The faceoff stats look whack, so I am not going to believe anything else it says... but you can trust me when I say the Moose did indeed win 6-2.

Happy boys are productive boys.

Yuri's back

If you haven't already noticed, 19 year old Halifax centreman Yuri Cheremetiev has been released from the Boston Bruins training camp and will most likely be back on the ice with the Moose for the game against the Titan on Wednesday. Anyway, I was wandering about and I found this older (Sept 16th) Yuri story from the Hockey Journal.

In other Mooseheads news Linden Bahm had been nominated for the Telus QMJHL offensive player of the week but the award went to Michael Stinziani (2 goals, 4 assists) of the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. In two games Bahm had 3 goals and 2 assists. In 67 games for Shawinigan last season he had 9 goals and 9 assists. Who gave Linden the crack? Honestly people! He's just a kid, don't do that!!!



PS. The Fighting Newfoundlander is back with a vengeance - read his manifesto on Hockey Socialism. Then let's make out.

It is spelled MacAskill

The new season is rapidly approaching. Soon I shall have practically a whole new team of cuddle partners to keep me warm over the long, cold Canadian winter. I am going to do a little coverage of what is left of my team, then later I will take a quick look at who is eligible to fill all of those gaping holes.

This is not meant to be an in depth analysis, I don’t have the skills for that. It is just a simple way of showing what the Mooseheads have left – which is not much We are a bare skeleton of a team that needs a huge bowl of Pro-stars cereal to keep from looking so damn anorexic. The sugar-high is nice though.

Forwards:

Returning:
Andrew White – RW – 20
Logan MacMillan – LW - 19
Yuri Cheremetiev – C - 19
Eric Louis-XVI – LW - 19
Tomas Knotek – C- 18
Travis Randell – C -17

Acquired:
Linden Bahm – RW - 19

Rookies:
Matt Snow – LW - 19

We need at least 12 forwards, we currently have 8.

Offensively, Tomas Knotek and Logan MacMillan are most likely to put up the points. By the end of last season Tomas was moved to the 3^rd line and was working on his defensive game a bit more. He will probably be back to centering the 1^st line again this season, which means there will be a lot of pressure on his offensive game. Hopefully he can continue to develop his defensive side.

Logan is the most complete player we have. He is expected to be on the PP, and the PK, all the while logging 1^st line ice time. If I am lucky he will continue to fight and lose his jersey. If I am unlucky he will be weakened by overexertion and miss half the year.

Andrew White is also a complete player. You can stick him anywhere and he doesn’t seem to complain. It will be weird if Andrew is moved up to the first line. I think his offensive productivity last season was mostly due to the fact that our team was ‘so deep’ that players from the other teams did not see Andrew, the little, grindey 3^rd line shut-down guy, as a target – they had bigger Czech fish to fry. Andrew does his best work when he is not a target. We will have to see how he adjusts in going from shifty eyed, unassuming, third-line guy with his jersey tucked in, to 1^st line superstar. He had a bit of time on the 2^nd line last season and he was still able to rack-up points, but I personally like Andrew more for his defensive game.

Yuri Cheremetiev is our faceoff specialist but has played little more than third-or forth line ice time for most of his career. Last season his offensive prowess did not increase with increased playing time or a change in line pairings. Will this season be any different?

Neither Eric Louis-Seize (ELXVI - seen here wearing a suit), nor Travis (ol’ man) Randell had much ice time last season. Randell supposedly has a strong offensive upside which he should be able to develop more this season after being used in a shut-down role for the 46 games he played last season. Please remember that our shut down line was not actually used as a shut down line against the other team's top lines before we make any conclusions about the shut down skills of our shut down players. Wha? Exactly!

ELXVI, despite being 19 this season, has done little more than play on the 4th line and hit people. I guess we cross our fingers and pray that he can do more than hit. Well, I mean everyone else has to pray – I don’t pray… and I thoroughly enjoy nice big hits. If we give ELXVI more ice time for the sole purpose of throwing more big hits, I would probably still be very happy.

Defence:

Returning:
Graham Bona – L - 20
Justin Pender – L - 20
Ben MacAskill – R -19
Gabriel O’Connor – R - 18
Richard Greer – R - 17

Rookies:
R.D. Chisholm – L - 19

We need at least 6 defence, we have 5. You count 6, but we really only have 5. We also have to make the choice which of Pender or Bona we will be keeping as our overager. If we want to scare people and concentrate on our defence we keep Bona (and we don’t let him shave the back of his neck *shudder*). If we want to make people laugh and have more of an offensive upside with someone to play the point on the PP then we keep Pender. If our future is anything like our past we will have 9 Ds, most of which will be poopy and underdeveloped and the majority of our forwards will think themselves too fancy pantsed to bother helping out on the back-end.

Ben MacAskill is OK when he doesn’t stop to think or smell the roses. Perhaps he should be avoiding all of Cam Russell’s game plans and just clear the puck. We had a bad tendency to hold on to the puck in our own end, trying to do some mysteriously fancy thing with it and then get it would nabbed from us – in the slot. The outcome here is predictable. Sometimes, after a long bout of frivolous fancypantsing Ben would be the only boy to say “fuck this noise” and just clear it out along the boards. If I had one thing to say to our smart, sweet, cuddly Ben it is that deep thoughts will get you nowhere – just clear the puck.

The ghost of Ben MacAskill

You have a secret girlfriend in my girl A.N. She is awesome – you did good! She likes you for your big body, your sciencey brain, your pink cheeks and your seemingly gentle demeanor. Hockey skills? What's that? Remember that time you fell down during the Titan game? Benny fall down go boom. She laughed at you but she still proclaims her love. You are the cheese on her macaroni. Don’t stress about the little mistakes and remember that love is unconditional.

Speaking of Ben, I find it delightfully hilarious that some people (my boyfriend included) can’t spell MacAskill. We live in Nova Scotia, half of the population have a surname of McThis or MacThat (such as my MacBoyfriend). Why on earth would anybody then think to call him Ben MaCaskill, or in the case of one of my fellow scientist MaCeachern; it is spelled MacAskill and McEachern. Dearest boyfriend is not surnamed MaCboyfriend. Honestly, does anybody here know of someone whose surname begins with MaSomethingorother. The answer is a resounding NO.

The only reason Gabe O’Connor got as much ice time as he did in the second half of this season was because of Lund’s injury and management’s kicking Nick Goyens to the curb. Once Gabe started to get some regular ice time he became a better defenceman. I know, go figure hey! Who ever would have thought that actually getting to play the game would make you better at it? This would have been his draft year. All those 1^st round draft picks in this years NHL draft – I am sure they got plenty of ice time over the past two years…because some teams play their defencemen. Now if only Gabe could learn how to keep the puck in the opponents’ zone and stop daydreaming (he is probably thinking of me) when he is standing at that blueline.

Richard Greer – who? 13 games!!! Yeah , that’s how we develop our defencemen. But we were in a ‘going for it year’ which is why little 16 year old Richie had to sit in the press box. Richie (drafted in the second round, #25 overall, is too teeny at 6ft and 170 lbs to play defence for a contending team…he is no 1^st overall pick Simon Despres (Sea Dogs). I mean if Richie could play then Gatineau would have to play Hubert Labrie. Labrie (also 16 last season) was drafted in the second round, #29 overall, is 5’10 158 lbs and only played 69 games on the president’s cup winning team…Oh wait.

Goaltenders:

Mark Yetman – 20

Oh Mark, we have such a love hate relationship don’t we? You are a goalie, my goalie, and it is my sworn duty to love my goalies, but you are so damn butterfly. You need an upside! Most conservative butterfly goaltenders (Mior, Bernier, Riopel) are quite keen on playing the puck. Not you though. Would you please play the puck for me? Play it like it’s a lady. We know you can play the ladies. Show me what ya got!

Ya know what else would be nice:
1) not letting a puck in the net on the first shot
2) being on your game all year and not just in September, October and April.
3) no more over-committing on plays
4) be more careful about what you are trying to usurp. Someone’s place in nets - OK, other unmentionables - not so much
5) stay cute

That gives us:
three 20 year olds
six 19 year olds
two 18 year olds
two 17 year olds
and I thought this was a rebuilding season! Bring on the baybees!!!

Oh, and apparently our Logo is poo! Agreed!