Hockey: Christmas Wishbook Day in the AUS!

Remember when you were a kid, and you used to get so excited when the Sears Christmas Wishbook showed up at your door? Remember how you fought with your siblings to get your time to read it and read it until you memorized every page of the toy section? That's what today is like for AUS men's hockey fans, especially in Fredericton.

Today is the publication of the The Daily Gleaner's annual AUS Hockey Season Overview: a four-page (broadsheet), four-colour pull-out section meticulously researched and written by Bruce Hallihan. My work posted yesterday pales in comparison to what Bruce has compiled, especially the sometimes juicy quotes by coaches, including the anonymous bits about their opponents.

So far, only two parts have been posted on the Gleaner website (without all of the nice artwork): the front page titled "V-Reds Seek Redemption" and the sidebar on page two, "AUS hockey coaches share their thoughts on the 2010-11 season".

Yesterday in the Chronicle-Herald, Glenn MacDonald took a more Nova Scotia centric view with his AUHC preview: "Defending champs fight to find intensity". Columnist Chris Cochrane waded into his predictions in the same issue with understatement: "Little certainty in AUHC".

With all of this in front of you, you now have no excuse to not dive into the 2nd annual free AUS hockey pool, hosted by the gang at UNBHockeyFans.com. Deadline is 7:00 p.m. ADT tonight.