Making it work

You can't tell, but it says "Jaskin" on the back.

Did that not just feel like two road teams going at it? Was there even a single odd man rush? That was a very mistake-free game with Moncton attempting to do what they do best - grind, come off the wall, keep most chances to the outside and a Victo squad going all 1-3-1 on the Cats when they didn't trail.

The first period was very much a feeling out period. Two teams that are fundamentally similar - both teams have some particularly large guys on the back end - looking for a chink in the armor. The chink came in the second - for Victoriaville. It wasn't even so much of a chink, just the fact that Moncton won enough battles to draw a few penalties and they possess more natural skill, enabling them to place puck in net more frequently.

Brandon Whitney is a big boy in the Tigres cage... and it takes a very accurate shot to beat him. Essentialy, that's what all four goals were, particularly the first one, scored on the PP by Dimitri Jaskin (the 21st of the season and first of two on the game for the man the Cats picked second in the import draft). Thus begun a see-saw battle which saw Victoriaville tie things up four minutes later, Moncton score on the PP early in the third, Victo tie it up again four minuteslater and the Cats finally pulling away from the Tigres in the last 10 minutes, frustrating the visitors on more than one occasion (and oh, were they frustrated). Very workmanlike game for Moncton. It seemed to me that until the 3-2 goal, that was anybody's game. Moncton held the edge, but Victoriaville was edging closer and closer to stealing this game. Bottom line, this was a hard fought game between two like-minded teams with the more skilled and more consistent team (particularly in the latter stages of the game) coming out on top.

As for individual play, Jonathan Narbonne just flat out impresses me more and more. For contending teams, there's few components more crucial than a game controlling defenceman.. Not just a strong defenceman... not just a puck moving defenseman... a game. controlling. defenseman. That's exactly what Narbonne brings to this team night in, night out. From how he controls the breakout, how he sizes up the play in the neutral zone, quarterbacks the powerplay and uses both the wall and open ice with high intelligence makes him - for me - one of the most fascinating players to watch. I said last week that despite not being a big fan of going completely bat crap crazy in order to acquire players for a run, Danny Flynn is probably the guy I trust the most to build this team into what it should be in order to contend. Lo and behold, he got himself a difference maker when he picked up #15.

I know the three stars don't matter... but the more I say that, the more I wonder if that's not necessarily untrue. If anything, the star selection does represent the organization. Certain selections could paint a team in a less than positive light. Take tonight, for example. If I'm selecting, Phillipe Danault gets a star. Don't care if he didn't get a point, he was the best player on his team tonight. Simply put, he came to play. Not only that, his team kept pace with Moncton much of the night, holding the Cats at bay as best they could despite the differential in skill. Not giving that team a star after a game like that is kind of a slap in the face... and Danault showed me a few reasons why I'd love him on my team (which kind of contradicts my "don't sell the farm" mentality, but whatever).

Sags come to the cage tomorrow. Remember what I said about the Mooseheads pounding the crap out of the next team they faced after that loss in Moncton on Sunday? Well...

Let's see how the Sags rebound from their loss tonight... and how the Cats deal with the quick turnover. Like any determined person would say, "let's kick 'em while they're down, boys!"

As for Danny Chiasson and the UdeM Aigles Bleus (which is something I didn't think I'd be saying for at least another nine or ten months), they fell 4-3 in OT to St.FX, Danny being held off the scoresheet. They're back at it tomorrow, facing off against St.Mary's at 7PM at the JLL. Lots of great hockey taking place in town tomorrow... do partake, please.