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-