Sometimes it just takes 20 minutes...

Start winning battles for the puck....... NOW!!

... because based on everything I've heard from multiple sources, that's what it took to beat the Screaming Eagles in Sydney last night, scoring three in the third to beat Cape Breton 4-2. I was out and about and not near a radio and therefore was relying on updates from people at the rink. They said basically the same thing Danny Flynn came out and said in this morning's paper - it was an ugly win for Moncton. I'll assume this is fate turning the tables on Moncton after losing a game they probably could've won more often than not last Friday night, the 5-4 home loss to Val d'Or. Although there were chinks in the armor versus the Foreurs, it's pretty evident the effort was more prevalent in that game as opposed to last night. The Euro + Deruelle line was the most consistent on the night, while the top line took matters into their own hands in the third (after what Allain Saulnier called a poor performance over the first two periods) and brought home the W.

Things started off well enough for Moncton as they built up a sizable lead in shots, got on the board about nine minutes in on Ivan Barbashev's sixth and went bananas on the bench after David Haas (whose father David won a Calder Cup with the 1993 Cape Breton Oilers) won a decisive tilt over Blake Millman (who would not return to the game as a result of being disoriented after the fight). Everything after that until the buzzer sounded to end the second was pretty fugly. What impressed me about this game the most based on everything I heard and read was the fact that after Danny Flynn apparently offered suggestions for improvement during the second intermission in - how shall we say? - less than affectionate terms, the team went out and played full out. I'd rather win a game like this after the team gets a kick in the pants and responds as opposed to just fluking it out in the end on lucky bounces and chintzy goals. Plus, if the team was going to show up for only one period, I suppose the third would be the one I'd choose as well.

Cats are back in action Saturday at 3PM against a Baie-Comeau team that saw their consecutive points streak end with great decisiveness, falling 6-2 to Halifax at the Metro Center. This is the first time in a long time the Drakkar have had to face adversity like this... and the old adage is when you're on a long road trip, getting the win in the first game is pretty key. Let's see how those variables work out at the Coliseum this weekend.

Finally, in Dieppe tomorrow night come on down to the AJL (or listen online to that suave voice of the Commandos... forget the lad's name) and watch what might be the best hockey you see all weekend in this area, as the Summerside Western Capitals - currently on a seven game win streak and first overall in the MHL - face off against a Commandos team searching for their fifth win in as many tries and trying to bring some separation between them and the plethora of teams in and around them in the overall standings. As Reg Dunlop would say, "It's gonna be a dandy!"... which is probably the least interesting thing Reg Dunlop said in that movie, but you get the point.