Several key players from last year's IceCats team are returning again this year, including: defensemen Terry Virtue, Roy Mitchell, and Jason Widmer, and forwards Lindsay Vallis, Shaun Kane, and Jarrett Deuling. The rest of the roster, which now numbers twenty-one, includes many promising young players sent down from the St. Louis and New York clubs, highlighted by centers Patrice Tardif and Craig Darby, both of whom have enjoyed success in the NHL as well as the AHL.
It was Tardif, in fact, who scored the first goal for the IceCats Thursday night on a shorthanded breakaway from the neutral zone. It didn't take long for the first fight to start, either, as Terry Virtue and Albany's Adam Young decided to swap recipes halfway through the first period. That was just the beginning, and after several major fights and potential brawls throughout the game, it's safe to assume that these two teams have established quite a rivalry already.
In the second period, it looked as if the Rats were going to try and stay in the game when they bounced a lucky shot off of Worcester goalie Mike Buzak and into the net. But towards the end of the period, after both teams had changed their goalies, the IceCats came back with the most beautiful goal I've seen scored yet. Worcester center Andreas Johannson (from the Farjestad club in Sweeden) broke up the puck in the IceCats zone, dashed the full length of the rink stickhandling through traffic, split the defensemen and scored while being upended by a River Rat! (Gotta love those Europeans!)
Later, in the third period, the IceCats solidified their victory when right wing Dan Plante scored on yet another shorthanded breakaway (from Worcester's blueline), finalizing the score at 3-1. The Worcester team clearly dominated the River Rats throughout the entire the game. Even better news is that every aspect of the IceCat's play that needed work last season seems significantly improved. They pass skillfully, they play extremely well in the corners and along the boards, they're aggressive defensively, they're creative, and they hit - a lot! Mark my words, this team is exciting, and if you didn't get to see any of the games last year, make every effort this season. They're regular season begins this Saturday (the 7th) at 7:35 PM against division rival Providence Bruins and should be a wild start to a tremendous season.
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