First Of The Season

Rarely does HBIC get excited about a player's first goal of the season this late into the season. The player to the left? He scored his first goal for the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles on Saturday night. The Ottawa Senators might want to keep an eye on this young man, though, because François Brassard doesn't get many opportunities to score. He doesn't even take a regular shift. No, Brassard will be celebrated tonight because he's a goaltender, and he scored his first career major junior hockey goal against the Quebec Remparts!

To have a goaltender score a goal before Christmas has arrived means that there's a very good chance that Brassard could score two or more goals this season. The opportunity simply doesn't come along ver for a goaltender to stop a puck, set himself up for a shot, and have the strength and accuracy to put it past the six defenders in front of him. Brassard, however, did, and this is his goal.

The fact that he banked it off the boards shows that he wasn't thinking about scoring first. He was relieving pressure, it appears, and he simply found the right angle for the puck to go the distance after clearing the zone. You wonder if Brassard enjoys billiards with that kind of bank shot.

Again, HBIC doesn't usually celebrate first-of-the-season goals, but this one is special. Congratulations to François Brassard on his goal and, more importantly, the win over the Remparts on Saturday night!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!