GAME: What I Learned From Tonight’s Game

Moncton, NB – Here are some things I learned from tonight’s 3-1 win over Montreal…

1) With increased ice time, Jon Sim will be the best bargain in the NHL.
2) I don’t care what TSN SportsCentre says, our new jerseys are great and certainly not the ugliest in the NHL… Can anyone say Vancouver?
3) The great people of Moncton haven’t realized that Andrew MacDonald and Chris Gaudet were only away from the city for a few days before camp, not the decade they seem to make it out be. But the boys appreciate the “homecoming” attention nevertheless.
4) The Islanders have never seen as special of a player off the ice as Bill Guerin. With the fans or media, he’s a standup guy.
5) Andy Sutton can hit. H.I.T. Can’t wait to see what he brings in the regular season.
6) There’s plenty of heart, grit and character on this team, which will go a long, long way throughout the entire organization.
7) That Ruslan Fedotenko-Mike Comrie-Bill Guerin line might be something worth keeping together for a while.
8) Rick looked sharp in net.
9) Ted loves to coach. And loves to coach in Moncton.
10) Islanders TV continues to set the bar even higher. What a great night for them. Live telecast with Steve Mears and Billy Jaffe from Moncton. They also answered questions from IslandMania and Islanders Country. Great job by Josh Bernstein and his crew as usual.

GAME: Gaudet & MacDonald Ready for Tonight

Moncton, NB – Chris Gaudet and Andrew MacDonald return to the Moncton Coliseum tonight. Both played on the Moncton Wildcats of the QMJHL for the last two seasons. Tonight’s lineup is veteran heavy, but this will be a very special game for the two rookies. Both were coached by Ted Nolan in 2005-06.

MacDonald played in an exhibition game in Moncton last season, but he knew he was going to be sent back to juniors following camp. So it had a different feel to it for him.

Tonight will be different and I can’t wait to hear the standing-room only crowd go nuts when their names are announced.

And who knows, maybe Teddy will start both of them.