Boston Banshees GM Zak Davis on his rebuild....

When Zak Davis took over the Boston Banshees, he knew a rebuild was needed.

He began tearing down the hockey club and building from the ground up.  The fanbase has endured two brutal seasons full of losing.  A third season is underway with the losses expected to pile up.  Or so it would seem.

Boston hosted the Portland Owls on opening night.  Davis admits he had a glass-half-empty outlook prior to faceoff.

"Honestly?  I was thinking we lose 3-0 and get booed off the ice.  The fans have been patient and expect results," Davis said.

That is exactly what 17,148 people at the Shriek Center received on September 30.  Linemates Jordan Staal and Curtis Glencross combined for six points and goaltender Jaroslav Halak denied 41 of 42 shots against to backstop the Banshees to a 4-1 over Portland.

Davis' initial reaction to the season opener?

"The exception to the rule," Davis suggested.  "It was a pleasant surprise considering how rough it's been around here the last few years."

Boston outhit the Owls and won in the faceoff circle.  Portland edged out the Banshees in corner battles and puck possession.

"That one was closer than the scoreboard shows.  No way do we win without Jaro in goal," the GM stated.

Two days later, Halak was back in net as Boston traveled to Wisborg.

A more complete team effort from the Banshees lead to a 5-2 victory over the Donuts.  Staal and Glencross needed just 21 seconds to get on the stat sheet.  Linemate Charlie Coyle followed with his first goal less than a minute later.

"Those opening two minutes set the tone.  Even with Danny DeKeyser's penalty, Wisborg was constantly playing catchup after Charlie's goal," commented Davis.

Third liner Colin Greening's night ended early after accumulating 22 penalty minutes in the first period.  Just over a minute after serving a minor penalty, Greening was sent to the shows following a 10-minute misconduct and a game misconduct.

"Colin's performance was disappointing, to say the least.  A complete lack of focus.  Casey (Cizikis) and Drew (Shore) suffered with minimal ice time because of it," Davis said.

With the Banshees now 2-0 and outscoring the opposition 9-3, has Davis' expectations changed for his club?

"These wins are well-deserved.  Ws have been few and far between since I took over.  The rebuild is far from over," answered Davis

Boston now returns home for a Sunday matchup with the Dayton Musicmen.

"Bill Corfield has a talented and exciting club over there," said Davis.  "We need to build on these early wins and continue working.  Dayton is a good team and a great challenge."

BANSHEE NOTES

-Defenseman Luca Sbisa, acquired from the Minnesota Norsemen in exchange for forward Tomas Kopecky and a sixth-round draft pick, made his debut against Wisborg on Boston's third defensive pairing.  He was solid in 14 minutes, emerging a +2 while contributing a shot on goal.  Matt Bartkowski was scratched to make room for Sbisa.

-Winger Martin Erat and ex-Musicman Anton Volchenkov were both signed to one-year, $525,000 contracts yesterday.  Erat will debut against Dayton.

-Davis and frequent trade partner Matt Young completed another deal: defenseman Ryan Ellis went to Fort Erie while Jussi Jokinen and minor leaguer Danny Biega head to New England.  Jokinen is expected to line up alongside Marcus Kruger and Erat on Sunday.  Unconfirmed reports state that Richard Clune, who failed to report to training camp, was part of the trade as well.