Welcome!

Hello and welcome to my little blogging space. I'm Lizi (yes, that is a girl's name, however, the fact that I'm a girl and a hockey fan does not preclude me from actually knowing about the sport), I'm 24 and I'm from Canada's neighbor, Maine. I was pretty much born into black and gold loving blood--my mother was a born and bred Bruins fan and my childhood best friend was the only Bruins fan in a fan full of Canadiens fans. I've been there through the good and bad times, the horrid and amazing times...and finally, after years of disappointment after disappointment (I'm really not jaded, I swear), it looks as though things are finally starting to pay off for us.

So, how exactly do I start off here? Well, I suppose I should begin my saying what my game plan is here. My intention, seeing as how I don't usually miss a game, is to write up post-game recaps and thoughts, things I'd like to see more and less of from the team.

There will likely be a lot of raving about this fellow to the left, mostly because I'm convinced that he's the future of the Boston Bruins, and our captain someday. Coming back from adversity like he has and showing us exactly how capable he is of being a leader of this team and doing it with both dignity and poise, he'll be a staple in our lineup for a long time. So, yes, expect to hear the name 'Patrice Bergeron' associated with positive thoughts quite often.

If you came here looking for love for the Montreal Canadiens, you're likely in the very, very wrong place. As a matter of fact, you probably want to run away, screaming into the night, because...fact of the matter is, there is no love lost between the Canadiens and I. Too many heartbreaks caused, and I'm sure any hockey fan can understand that. I sort of have burgeoning soft spots for the Buffalo Sabres, Toronto Maple Leafs and Washington Capitals, so I'm sure there will be love for them as well, every now and again, too.

And now, down to business. Today, a couple of final preseason cuts were announced. Peter Schaefer is now waived (and I can hardly contain my joy), as well as Jeremy Reich, which is rather unfortunate. Where Jeremy Reich had grit, determination and heart, Schaefer brought a lack of speed, inconsistency and just all around blah to our lineup. I maintain the position on Peter Schaefer that I had when we got him: worst pickup in offseason history. If we hadn't taken him, chances were good that we could have kept Glen Murray. But that's a story for another day. What it all boils down to is, despite losing a heart-and-soul guy like Jeremy Reich, the Bruins have managed to put together a pretty decent starting lineup for the coming season, to the tune of:

Forwards:
PJ Axelsson/Marc Savard/Michael Ryder
Marco Sturm/Patrice Bergeron/Phil Kessel
Blake Wheeler/David Krejci/Chuck Kobasew
Milan Lucic/Stephane Yelle/Shawn Thornton
Defensemen:
Zdeno Chara/Dennis Wideman
Mark Stuart/Aaron Ward
Andrew Ference/Andrew Alberts
Goaltenders:
Tim Thomas
Manny Fernandez

with Petteri Nokelainen, Vladimir Sobotka and Shane Hnidy as healthy scratches. Meaning even if we have a couple early ding-ups, we'll still be pretty well set. For the first time in a long, long time, it's pretty good to be a Bruins fan. I'm looking forward for the season to come. And I'm sure you'll be hearing from me a lot. So, welcome to the blog and hope to see you around.