An open letter to those in Greater Moncton who are irritated by the NHL lockout

Actual, real live hockey. Now with 100% less collective bargaining... Coming soon to a rink near you!!!

To Whom it may Concern,

Hi there, I'm Will MacLaren. You might remember me from such shows as Wildcats Hockey on News 91.9, The MHL on Rogers TV, and Gladys, the Groovy Mule. I understand many of you out there are irritated, frustrated and just flat out mad over the seemingly never-ending impasse between the NHL and it's Player's Association. A good number of people have voiced their displeasure to me personally (because we all know I have the power to do something about it). I'm here today to tell you the best way to help close the emotional wounds the game's highest level have laid out within you - suck it up... and go catch a game at the local arena of your choice. If ever you were pondering such an action, this is the weekend to make good on your decision.

You can head down the the Arthur J. Leblanc arena in Dieppe tonight to watch the Commandos play host to the Summerside Western Capitals in a 7:30 start. The Caps are battling on a nightly basis with Truro for first overall in the MHL standings while sporting a seven game winning streak, while the Commandos - taking a four game win streak into this game - find themselves anywhere from third to seventh on any given night due to the incredibly close records of all mid-pack teams in the league this year. These two teams have already met four times this season, with three of those games going into OT or a shootout. The only other game was a one goal affair with an empty netter. Then there was last spring's division semi-final series between these two, which saw the Commandos go up 2 games to none before Summerside came back from four goals down in Game 3 to win 5-4 and essentially never look back, winning the series in six. The Caps have the clear advantage on paper, but Dieppe always finds a way to make things interesting against Billy McGuigan's squad.

Elsewhere, U de M plays their first of two weekend games tonight at 7 against St.Thomas. Les Aigles come in at 7-3-2 and a #7 ranking overall in the CIS, while St.Thomas continues to search for their first win of the season at 0-12. The Tommies made a game of it between these two during their last meeting a couple weeks back... can they do the same on the road?

On Saturday, the Cats are back at the Coliseum, facing a well balanced Baie-Comeau team that sports the fourth best record in the Q, six points out of first and only one point behind division leader Quebec. No doubt the Drakkar are a bit PO'd over the 6-2 beating they took at the hands of the Mooseheads in Halifax Wednesday night, but hopefully they take most of that frustration out on the Rocket tonight in Charlottetown. This game will be played at 3PM in lieu of the Greater Moncton Santa Claus Parade taking place that evening.

Of course, for those of us who prefer Simon Lacroix to Santa Claus, les Aigles are back in their nest Saturday at 7PM for a much higher stakes matchup as they face #2 ranked UNB. The V-Reds are neck and neck with Acadia for first overall in the AUS at 9-3 coming into this weekend's action while U de M sits just two points behind. This game could be a turning point in the season for either squad as the Christmas break approaches, so unless you'd rather watch with baited breath to see which parade floats loose a few decorations at the "subway" overpass, perhaps a trip to the JLL is in order. There's nothing quite like the atmosphere at the Levesque when U de M is involved in an important matchup.

Not to be outdone, Sunday afternoon offers up arguably the Wildcats' biggest test of the season thus far in terms of individual games as they face the #1 ranked team in the CHL, Nathan MacKinnon and the Halifax Mooseheads (Sportsnet told me to say it like that). The Moose are simply looking to stay above the crowd and as healthy as possible for the balance of the season (which, by the way, it a hell of a lot tougher that I just made it sound) while the Cats are looking for both valuable points with which they can climb into the upper echelon of the league standings while at the same time using this game (and this weekend as a whole) as a gauge to see how they stack up against the dominant teams in the league now that they've seemed to arise from the funk they found themselves in for the first six weeks of the season. Start time is 2PM at the Coliseum.

Finally, if you'd rather watch the junior stars of tomorrow, head on over the the 4-ice center (or Red Horton's Tim Ball CN Dundee Sports Complex Internet Center... whatever it is) to watch the Moncton Flyers take on the Miramichi Rivermen at 1:30PM. The Flyers are fresh off their Monctonian win - the first for a local team since the 1984 Coca-Cola Flyers - and are looking to maintain their hold on first place in the league, four points over the Charlottetown Islanders with two games in hand. I'd tell you to watch for scoring star (and Commandos territorial pick) Alex Bradley if you're in attendance but you'll probably pick up onto who he is within a shift or two. Guys who average over two points per game (34 in 14 league games so far this year) tend to have that effect.

So there... four local teams, all having successful seasons (or in the case of the Wildcats, recent success), all facing local rivals in meaningful games. So if you've been following the lockout closely and are tired of whining and crying (Habs fans... and I am one so I'm allowed to say it), watching you're team play in the AHL (Oilers fans) or making threats of physical violence against all concerned parties (Flyers fans... or Chris Chelios), do yourself a favor and support any and all of these great local organizations... because right now they hold something over every team in the NHL. They're actually playing.

Regards,
Will