As the weather continues to change, more sunshine and warmer days are upon us, it must mean that we are getting into the stretch drive of the season for the Marlies. This is the heavy grind of the schedule where every point is critical and playoff spots are on the line. The AHL has historically shown that the month of March sees a ton of movement in the standings. This is for a variety of reasons from NHL injuries, to deadline trade deals and in some cases, new faces joining rosters for that final push.

There are a lot of tight races in the standings right now, and the Marlies are involved in one in the North Division. Sure, they'd love to have earned a few more points on the road along the way to make things are little closer, but the AHL schedule down the stretch lines up with many divisional games that leads to the big shuffle in the standings. With the Marlies setting their sights on the Moose, one never can tell how the final six weeks of the season will play out.

One thing is for certain, is despite all the injuries this team has suffered through the season, they still hold their heads high, and have some hard work and determination down the stretch. It won't be an easy task to catch the fourth and final playoff spot in the North, but by no means is it out of reach.

Some of the best of hockey of the season is still to come, so get on board for the ride folks!

Speaking of wild rides, what an incredible couple of weeks it was for Canadians with the Olympics in our own backyard. To set the record for most Gold medals ever won was certainly owning the podium in my mind. And for this country to have the hockey gold make it 14, certainly wrote the fairy tale script. Congratulations to all our athletes and thank you for making us proud.

The NHL trade deadline day certainly left us with one of those crazy hockey stories. It's not every day that a player will get traded, and not even swtich stalls in his dressing room. Sure, there are times when you can be traded and not leave home. See Islanders - Rangers trades. For Joey MacDonald though, that's a new one to be traded and stay on the same team, for now at least. Looks like some new coloured pads might be in order though.

And finally, we've been on a busy run of school visits and community practices the last while. Thanks to all the staff and students that make us feel welcome, and to all the minor hockey organizations that support us out on the road. It makes for a great fun and rewarding day!

See You At The Rink!

You can email John with comments and questions about the blog or  the Marlies anytime to marliesradio@yahoo.ca.