Welcome to my new blog.  Hopefully, over the course of the upcoming season, I'll be giving you my take on how the season is unfolding and give some criticisms about it, whether you want it or not!

Since this is all relatively new to me, bear with me if the place doesn't look all that great.  I'll get a hang of it as time goes on.  I may even have others post their extended thoughts if I prefer to do so.

As you might have guessed, this is sort of an extension of NESTCAPE III.  Only the expert opinions go here, mostly mine!

Right now, no one except me can write to the blog.  You can, however, leave comments on it.

I'm planning on making entries to the blog every day during the season, but at times, it might change to sometimes infrequent.

So, here it is!  A new way to stir debate, share opinions and criticize the team without having to feel guilty about it.  Check it out and let me know what you think!

Peace!

Well, the training camp and pre-season games are over. Now comes the regular season, which'll start for us tomorrow night. Already, I can't wait.

I'll tell ya, the rookies we have look really good so far. James Sheppard was what we thought he would be. I have to admit, I didn't think Leonard Puterman would make this team. Who knew?

I'll have to check as to whether or not the Eagles ever had an unbeaten record in preseason. They finished at 5-0-1 with two shutouts along the way. Of course, preseason doesn't mean jack if you can't translate that to regular season success.

Good to see Gregory Hoffe's still in the league. Back with his old club in Bathurst.

Can't say I agree with the Eagles giving Chris Culligan number 7. That, to me and some fans, is pretty much a big slap in the face to Max. If they gave him #16, as he wore in preseason, I could live with that. Too bad Philippe Bertrand beat him to it.

I think it'll also be interesting to see if Greg Lynch will be honoured before Sunday's game. They gotta do something.

And my thoughts on the NHL lockout? Simply put, I DON'T GIVE A DAMN! We've got live hockey here in the Cape, and that's all you basically need. Screw you, NHL.

See ya Saturday for the next blog entry. Out!

OK, I've had one complaint about Chris Culligan wearing #7. It said that Max didn't warrant having his number retired. I hate to break this to ya, but I disagree. But that's just me...

Anyhoo, the Eagles began their eighth season (goddamn, has it really been that long?) last night in Moncton and got off on the wrong foot, losing 5-2. But, it's only one game, and I'm confident the boys will get better.

What amazed me and other Eagle fans was that the Eagles' two goals were scored by rookies. On the power play no less. Chris Culligan and Dean Ouellet got 'em. That's a helluva good way to say "How do you do?" to the QMJHL. Gotta love that!

From what I heard on the radio, Marty played a solid game, and none of the five goals he allowed were weak.

Stephen Dixon went down with an injury after the first period and was lost for the game. I had heard that he suffered a knee injury, but I saw somewhere that it was something else. Whatever it was, if he didn't come back, it has to be serious.

Anyhoo, the home opener is tomorrow against Halifax and I think I can safely say that Guenette and Bernier are on the top of our shit list. As for Picard, well, not so much.

One thing I've noticed is that some home openers (hopefully not all) have not sold out. Incredible. I would've thought that hockey fans would be flocking to the rink to see their hockey teams hit the ice once again, given the added fact the NHL lockout is underway. But I digress...

See ya at the rink! Out!

Sorry I haven't been writing here for so long. Trying to find work in Cape Breton is ridiculous!

Anyway, what else can you say about the Eagles? The team is starting to come together at the right time, the rookies are developing faster than anyone had thought, Marty has the form that made him the Q's top goalie last year, and the fans...well, except for me and the Booster Club brethren, they're the usual fickle bunch, what can I say?

Imagine that, we started with only one win in our first 10 games, and look at us now! We're only two points back of Halifax, three back of P.E.I., and only five points behind division-leading Moncton! Surprised? You bet! Now, I'm not going to say that we're a dead lock to repeat as division champs because we're not. However, I do believe we have a decent shot at doing so.

Last night, what a big win, 5-3 over super-sook Sidney Crosby and the Rimouski Océanic. I swear to God, I have never seen Crosby act like a spoiled little brat than he did last night. The goal he got in the second period was sick, but that was pretty much all he did. The Eagles smacked him around good, as they should do, and Crosby whined, complained, sooked...say what you will. Helluva difference from last year. Guess he started believing his own press,huh?

Now, I can only imagine how tough it must be for him to live up to all that hype, but it's gotten to the point where it's beyond ridiculous. To say Crosby has been overexposed is a HUGE understatement. But, on the other hand, he can't be whining to the refs about every little hit that he takes. Memo to Sidney Crosby: if you thought the hit Frederik Cabana put on you was bad, TIP OF THE ICEBERG, mon ami. Can you say Bobby Orr?

But back to us. Early on, it looked like Kevin Asselin had the better moves than Crosby. His first goal was just plain nuts! He said he didn't care if he got the hat trick last night (he got two goals, including the winner), but you couldn't tell Stephen Dixon that. Did you see his face after he got the empty-net goal to seal the win? He had Asselin right there with him and apparently didn't know it. Hey, gotta go with Kev: the two points were more important.

You know, the more I see of our rookies Sheppard, MacDonald, Ouellet and company, the more I like 'em! The way they're playing out there, you wouldn't know if they were rookies or second- or third-year players. It is unbelievable!

As for yours truly, well, I didn't have that bad of a night, either. Got to play Cash In The Bag again, but I slipped on the ice before I got to the bag. No matter...it was only for $50 anyway. If it was $300, which I got last time, then I'd be pissed. Oh yeah, I also got a puck that flew in off the ice. And no, I didn't get hurt by it.

Almost 20 games in and we're doing pretty damn good. Rebuilding? Hey, that's equivalent to a four-letter word here. Reloading? Now you're talkin'!