Well, it has been almost a month into the season and we've had a little bit of everything. Some good and very well played games. Some not well played matches and a real ugly one. The good news is we are still in first place and we just played our worst game. So, what does this mean for a coach? When things are going well, you tend to let things be for the most part. Disrupting a teams momentum is something a coach must walk a fine line with especially with young players. In hind sight, though, having a weekend like we just had could be the best thing for us. The season started with such a bang and we got out of the gate quick, not much adversity. Now, I get to be on the otherside of coin. It is very easy to get critical in my position, but that is exactly what I want to avoid as a coach. I never thought it helped for a coach to come into a meeting and sit there and criticize players or embarrass them. I really enjoy sitting down with a guy and chatting about something that we can improve on in a positive manner. I reacted better with this approach and I want to have that kind of interaction with our guys. These players are pros, but they are still kids and many of them have just started their careers. They are here to learn and hopefully I can help with that. The easy part is when you win. Now, the tough part strats, turning aroud a losing streak... It has been rare in my career that I can finish a game and meet up with my brother and a college buddy and then head home for the night. One of the best things about taking this job is I am home almost every night, and I am in Portland a good majority of those. I love Portland, and in the past the summer has been the only time I have been able to get into town. Now, doing the things I love the most aside from hockey are easier to enjoy...

Ever wonder what a road trip is like in the American Hockey League? I've done it before, 130+ games in the AHL, so it was not a shock. To be honest, it is much easier now. Don't get me wrong. The schedule these players have on most weekends is almost insane. Three games in less than 48 hours. No easy skates on the pond. Tough, grinding games against other young upstarts trying to break into the next level. The only thing that makes it almost sane is the proximity of the teams in our division. None the less, very demanding. For a 7:00 game on the road, we board the bus at the Civic Center. The guys come in track suits and have pillows blankets , IPods, books and anything they can bring to make a bus ride comfortable. Our longest so far has been Hartford. I usually bring a lapatop and watch a game video or a movie. Lately it has been the series" Lost" which the whole family has got into and so I try and catch up on the road. Get to the arena, play the game and then back on the bus for the ride home. With so many back to back games the guys have to eat on the bus. Every opposing team sends a menu to the lockerroom and the players write down their order and leave money in a cup. when they board the bus after the game, the food is waiting for them. The menus have gotten much better since I played, but you can imagine there might be a couple pranksters on every team who like to screw around with the orders. When I played in Utica, the New Jersey Devils former farm team, we had a guy named Kevin Todd, "the Rat". He would love to take the order sheet and make a few subtle changes to the orders like changing hot wings to kamikaze wings and so forth. After a tough game the last thing you want is opening youe meal salivating and feeling the heat of the wings before you pick them up! This never went over big.I haven't seen this yet on our team but its early. Once we get rolling, the guys have got the team hooked on the series, 'Entourage", that airs on HBO. It has definitely been entertaining... So, the good ,the bad and the ugly have occurred. So what is the AND in my entry? The AND happens to be the new addition to our family, Rain, a six month old black Lab. For almost the last 5 years the kids have been begging for a dog. With our lifestyle in hockey, there was too much moving back and forth and too much uncertainty about where we would be from year to year. So we promised the kids we would get a dog when we came back to Maine. Another plus about this new job. There's alot of good in it... Eric

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