October Madness

So, it’s been quite a while since I last updated the blog. School has been pretty busy, but I’ve managed to attend most of the home ‘Canes games. Unfortunately, I did miss the scoring fest against Philly on the 28^th.

The Hurricanes are playing extremely well. They aren’t playing well for 60 minutes, but they have the foundation to go very far this year. This team, providing they stay healthy, has enough skill and chemistry to be a powerhouse this year. Let’s start off by saying that Eric Staal has been absolutely incredible. Time after time, he leaves me stunned with the amount he has improved. The guy is simply amazing. Due to a scoring snafu in the Philly game, nobody in the arena realized that Eric had notched his first hat-trick. He didn’t get the traditional hats on the ice, which is rather unfortunate. However, he was able to do the deed in front of his father, as a part of Coach Laviolette’s team/family building atmosphere. As an aside, Eric put up a 4 point night the following night in Pittsburgh.

Coach had decided to make this past weekend fathers’ weekend. About 15 of the guys fathers came to Raleigh to see the Flyers game, then were going to travel to Pittsburg, on the team plane, for the Penguins game on Saturday. It seemed as though the players loved being able to take their fathers with them and share a little bit of their professional career with the guys that took them to practice as kids. Coach Laviolette’s father even came in for the occasion, and I think its really done wonders for the teams chemistry.

The team chemistry is insane right now. They know where everyone is on the ice, they know their moves, they pass well, and it’s quite a sight to see. But not only is there team chemistry, there’s fan chemistry. Raleigh is abuzz with hockey glee right now, its quite a great thing to see. About 14,000 fans came to see the Bruins play on a Wednesday night; 12,000 for Monday’s game versus the Senators. Friday drew a near sellout crowd, just shy of about 500. People are slowly returning, the seats are getting filled, and Raleigh is re-establishing that hockey town feel that was here in April, May, and June of 2002.

The whole league is starting to take notice too. We don’t lead the Eastern Conference and have the leading scorer for no reason. We truly are good. I hope anyone who reads this gets a chance to see the ‘Canes play.

Opposition Notes:

Washington – When I saw them on the 12^th of October, they were not palying smart hockey at all. Ovechkin is a bright spot, but for the love of God, get this guy some support! This team will end up taking Kessel in ’06.

Ottawa – What a great team to watch. They are strong, they are fast, and they’ve got a little bit of flash. Hasek is playing strong, and Spezza is phenomenal. Heatly ain’t half bad either, but we were able to shut him down when he was in Raleigh. The only way to beat this team is to out skate them, which is no easy feat. I doubt any team can out grind them; Chara will pop the lid off just about any takers.

Boston – I sure how the Bruins that I saw aren’t the Bruins everyone else plays. They were getting lucky when they scored on us. They lack real play making, and Brian Leetch carried them on his shoulders in this match up. The only reason they were shutting us down was because we tried to play physical to match their style. Then we decided to just out skate them, and sure enough we won. Boston’s bright spots are that they can dole out punishment, and they also have some great stick tying ability. Tying up our sticks saved them quite a few times.

I’ll post after the Florida game… I’ll be at the Toronto game, but I’ve got a paper due Friday, so I'll be polishing that after I return.