Who needs football anyways? The Bruins are THE team in Boston right now.

Well first of all I apologize for the two week plus layoff of updates, but I can lay blame to the Patriots playoff run/post loss depresion and the beginning of school (the beginning of Conversational Spanish and Arabic). Classes have been tough in the early going. That being said, I've seen my fair share of good and great hockey over the past two plus weeks.

Let's start with our Bruins. Thursday night, the best night to see a game, really has proved to be the best time to catch the B's as of late. On Jan. 11th against the Islanders, the B's let one slip away, allowing a late goal and then falling in the shootout. The following week, the B's hung with the Sabres and squeaked one out in the shootout in one of the most exciting games of the season. There was end to end action, including a jaw-dropping save each from all-star keeper Ryan Miller and Tim Thomas. Miller's save on Mara was particularly good - certainly one of his two or three best of the season.

The rematch against the Sabres two days later didn't go as well, but Phil Kessel scored twice, silencing any doubts that cancer or immaturity would slow his development. A nearly full crowd was in attendence for the Pens game the following night. My friends and I were lucky enough to score four $20 tickets and catch the game. It was a game of momentum gained and lost, as both teams failed to hold onto leads and ultimately, it was Phil who provided the thrill down the stretch. He snuck one underneath Fluery in the fourt round of the shootout, sending a lot of B's fans out of North Station in jubilation.

So, the Bruins are only 3-7 so far in the new year, but the Pats are history and the Celtics are boasting a 4-15 record at HOME. That's right. The Sixers, with seven home wins, are the second worst team at home. If that is not reason enough to opt for an overtime thrilling B's game over a Celtics stinker, I don't know what is.

Meanwhile over at Matthews Arena, the Huntington Hounds have continued to gain ground in the Hockey East standings. Every weekend, I try to stress to my friends how great the games always are at Matthews. In January at Matthews, Nu has posted an overtime win against Boston College, a tie and a loss against Vermont and a 2-1 overtime victory against UMass Lowell at Matthews in January. That's three OT games out of four. And these games are free.

Without a home game until Feb. 2 against Merrimack, my roommmate and I are considering a trip up to Orono and Bangor in Maine this weekend to see the Huskies take on the BlackBears on Saturday night.


All-Stars in the Hobby:

Look no further than the top 10 or 20 scoring leaders for the best deals in the hobby right now. Marc Savard's 94-95 SP rookie can still be had at a fraction of Samsonov's RC single from that same year. Savard has come into Boston and replaced Thornton - he has five more goals, three less assists, in two less games than Jumbo Joe. For two million less dollars. Elsewhere, Heatley has led the Senators back to the upper echelon of the league and although his better rookies are already pretty expensive, they have plenty of room for growth.