Nothing Says "Merry Christmas" Like a Thorough Beatdown

PEI Rocket, meet Conor Garland

The Wildcats put in about as complete an effort as you can ask for and as a result come away with a 6-1 over PEI last night, producing their first win over the Rocket since 1973, all the while shaking off alot of the bad habits that had been present over the last three or four games.

I think it was quite evident that the Cats were eager to send a message last night... and really, I can't think of any better way in which they couldn't have done so. They were on the puck first the vast majority of the time, they took the play away from the Rocket's big guns and they forced PEI into any number of mistakes, all the while working their way into the offensive zone with both speed and a number of odd man rushes. In a game that was ripe with emotion and tempers flaring (particularly from the Rocket in the latter stages of the third) Moncton stayed composed and disciplined (well... for the most part). Oh, and they bagged a couple powerplay goals... and went three for three in the fight department.

All four lines brought something to the table. The Saulniers with Veilleux had more jump and were much more sound in terms of decision making while lines two and three just kept doing what they've been doing the last couple weeks... score key goals and do what they can to either capture or maintain momentum. Mark Simpson certainly didn't look out of place in his fourth line role last night... it's nice to see the strides he's taken with the Commandos translate well into spot duty with the Cats... and since it's a safe bet Kyle Haas will be watching from the stands for the rest of the holiday season as a result of getting a little too eager in showing Matt Bursey what brand of stick he's using this year, why not keep him up for a couple more games while the Commandos go on the standard MHL holiday hiatus? Alex Dubeau - who in spite of last week has still been keeping the bad games to more of a minimum as of late - stopped everything he possibly could last night and had the offensive outburst not been quite as plentiful, it's likely he would've earned a nod in the three star selection.

Oh... and Conor Garland remains very fun to watch. Anyone remember a guy on the then-Hull Olympiques named Bruno Lemire? The similarities are eerie.

The two aspects of this game that impressed me the most had to be the way the Cats took control of the game in all aspects - offensively, defensively, goaltending, emotionally and physically - without letting up as well as how they reacted to a first period that they won overwhelmingly in terms of possession and quality chances, but only narrowly on the scoreboard. In the first, the Cats couldn't convert consistently on a plethora of chances, Maxime Lagace did his best Evan Mosher impression and the Rocket converted very late in the period to keep the game close at 2-1, despite a 21-9 advantage in shots for Moncton. I hate periods like that since it usually means the opposition sits in perfect position to turn the heat up on the operation. Moncton's reply? Regaining the two goal lead early in the second and continuing to dictate the flow of the game without missing a beat. Long story short, Moncton played how a top tier team should play... certainly gives hope for the future during this festive time of year, doesn't it?

You'd think they could come up with a better photo of Danny and Fabien for the story on the Q site though? Jeez!

It's off to the Cape to finish off the pre-Christmas schedule against the Screaming Eagles on Friday night. Very fitting if you ask me... Christmas is all about gathering with dysfunctional families... and the Eagles are one of the best examples in the Q right now.