For all the loyal fans in and around Portland and the great state of Maine. Hello everyone and away we go, with another edition of the Maine Timber show! For the benefit of those joining us for the first time, this show provides a weekly blow-by-blow review of the latest happenings in and around Portland's favorite sports franchise! (A.K.A. The Maine Timber)!!

Following a busy off-season where the Timber made plenty of changes and added lots of new faces, the team is now braced to tackle the rigors of a regular season with a renewed sense of optimism and determination! Truly a new day has dawned over the beautiful Cross arena as the Timber have retooled for a whole new positive outlook in S66! And yes it's true you can never guarantee results, but this team promises to guarantee effort, night-in and night-out. The Timber are looking to leave the past in the past and write a whole new chapter based on success!

So here we are, 5 games in and the Timber sit first in their division. A good start by any measure, which should help build confidence for the long grind ahead. (No one said it was going to be easy, just worthwhile and incredibly rewarding)!!



Taking a quick look at the standings, Maine has games in hand over most teams in the league, plus we've only played a single home game. With most of our success coming on the road, (where the other team gets last change), this is a good early indication of our ability to play tough games in hostile buildings!



Turning now to team leaders, as you can see by the graphics below, there are a number of excellent standouts who are off to a great start! Yes it's a team game, and there's definitely no "I" in team, but we still want to take this opportunity to acknowledge outstanding work in the hope it'll inspire others to be the best they can be! (A personal best is always a great accomplishment, and always worthy of recognition)!!



A couple things immediately jump off the page for special recognition. First after three starts, Goaltender Adam Rage has a sparkling 1.67 goals against average! It doesn't get much better than that! And I can't begin to tell you how much it means to the team's confidence knowing we've got a solid ace between the pipes. Just made a mistake? Never fear, Adam is here!



Second, some may think stud defenseman Emil Egli is off to a slow start with only a single point. But some would be wrong! Check out his oh so dominant Defensive Game Rating of 99 against Quebec. A near perfect performance in his own end that's sure to have the Citadelles seeing Egli in their nightmares!



Last but certainly not least, the Tallest Timber award goes to Gravy Train for his team leading six points and 20 shots! With all three of Gravy's goals coming on the powerplay, he's definitely lighting up our special teams! And the unsung hero award goes to rookie Daniel Swift, who leads the team with a shooting percentage of 23.1% (and for posting a perfect 100 Offensive Game Rating against the Citadelles)!!



That's all for now Maine, so until next week, keep the Timber rolling!! 

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