Hope all is well in the yard again today. All I can say, it that is was one HE** of a weekend. We beat the Bandits 13-11 after being down 6-0 at one point early in the second quarter and the Habs are 1-1 going home for the next two. What a perfect world.....for now that is!

There is business at hand yet. We begin preparing for the Orlando Titans tonight at practice and the Habs are right back to test tonight against the Pens. First things first. The Rock are going on the road for the Eastern Final, that is a pretty good feeling, but not quite satisfying. We need to go there with the mindset that we can beat them and carry on with a chance to win the Champions Cup. We played a great second half this past weekend to beat what appeared to be a tired Bandit team. Behind great goaltending and a great defense the offence came alive after being down 7-4 at the half. Rookie Steff Leblanc came to play, lighting a fire under our offence and getting us going. The score and the emotions went back and forth until Garrett Billings was finally able to tie it at 10 with about 7 minutes to go in the fourth. From there we carried the momentum and the emotions home for the win. It was a very loud and excited ACC to say the least. I haven't heard the place that loud since our 2005 championship. It would have been nice to play one more at home, but with all three teams remaining having better records than us, we will have to finish this thing on the road.

Orlando will present a very tough challenge, as they have beaten us twice already this season. They have great talent and are very well coached and will be extremely prepared to play. We need to stick to our systems and get ready to out work them this coming Saturday night. Not sure yet if the game will be on the tube or not, but if it is be sure to tune into TSN 2 for what is sure to be a great game.

In the Western final, there has been what some may say an upset. Calgary was upended by Edmonton at home and Edmonton will now travel to Washington to take on the Stealth. Two very good, athletic teams facing off in what will be a very entertaining game of NLL lacrosse in Seattle. If you live in the Northwest, do yourself a favor and get to this game. It will be a beauty!

Now on to the NHL. All I have been hearing is that the Habs do not have a chance. No chance against the Caps, now none against the Pens. What do we have to do to get some respect? Yes, we are getting great goaltending, but we are also playing very good team, playoff hockey! Backchecking, winning faceoffs, blocking shots, scoring on the power play etc.. We need to get a split here at home and make it the best 2 out of 3 coming home. The foresight, to see what guys like Gill, Gomez and Gionta were going to bring to the table come playoff time is something that Gainey should be applauded for. Believe it or not folks, this team may be strong enough for a long playoff run!!! Either way, I believe and I will be tuned is as possible to watch them win or lose.

I'll plan on keeping you all posted once we return from Orlando. In the meantime, GO ROCK GO!!

Cheers,


Colin #7