The Portland Pirates open the season in about 100 minutes,
and Jason Mansoff...will not be there.  Jason was loaned to
the Syracuse Crunch for the weekend.  With the Vancouver Canucks
taking extra defensemen for the weekend series in Japan, Syracuse
was left short-handed on the blue line.  The Portland Pirates
agreed to loan Jason to the Crunch.
This is according to an article in this morning's Portland Press
Herald.
 
On the subject of the Pirates, tonight will be a special night
at the CCCC, with a couple of tributes and a Hall-of-Fame welcome.
Tom Ebright will be honored before tonight's game against the
Fredericton Canadiens.  The former owner died this summer after
heart complications.  After the first period, former coaches
Barry Trotz and Paul Gardner will be honored for their four years'
of service to the Pirates, including a Calder Cup win in the first
season.  It will also mark the first game for new Hockey-Hall member
Bryan Trottier, who will make his coaching debut for the Pirates.
As of this morning, there were still 1400 tickets available, so if
you're in the area come catch the action.  It should be a night to
remember.
 
Also, Thursday's USA Today featured an article on Paul Kariya preparing
for the Olympics, and included a story from Maine's championship.
The best line in the story goes to Walsh who said, 'Our bench
sounded like a maternity ward.'
You'll have to read the article to understand the joke.
It can be found on page 7 (I think) of the special insert.
 
 
John Forsyth
UM Hockey 1991-93
NYA Hockey 1996-