Time now on Lynx's side

The Augusta Lynx are ripe to go on a run.

That's what they're saying going into this weekend's games with Gwinnett (Friday at Gwinnett, Saturday at home, 7:35 p.m.), followed by what essentially is a month of home games.

The mood at practice this week was noticeably more positive after Tuesday's 4-2 win over South Carolina at James Brown Arena, where the team plays 11 of its next 15.

Maybe it's because the team is young, deep and talented.

Maybe it's because they just won (probably).

Maybe it's because a handful of regulars are preparing to return to a lineup that has come through an extremely tough early-season schedule with a 12-11 record and sits tied for third place.

Heck, maybe they're just having fun.

Either way, a lot of the guys were sounding pretty optimistic this week.

It may not mean much if they have a bad weekend, though, and I'm sure coach Bob Ferguson will let them know it.
The Lynx have had some issues.

They haven't exactly been stellar at home, where they're 3-6.
And they're giving up way too many goals (93 this season, tops in the league).

But despite that, the team is four points out of first place in the top-heavy South Division. They're tied for fifth in the ECHL with 24 points.

And they're confident.

If you've seen the Lynx play this season, chances are you've seen a team with much more potential, firepower and flare than last year's.

Augusta's stable of impressive scorers - Ryan Lang, Jamie Johnson, J.B. Bittner, Louis Goulet - are holding up their end and have been fun to watch.

Some other observations:

- Goaltending could be more consistent. Lynx have had problems giving up goals on not that many shots;

- Dave McKee is tied for the league lead with 10 wins, but he has played A LOT of minutes for a rookie;

- The team needs former all-star Brett Jaeger to return to form in net, which they hope is sooner than later (I think sooner);

- Attendance at home games isn't great, but the team expects it to get better after the holidays;

- Team has some pretty good defensemen and some pretty good forwards, but overall team defense has broken down at times and has been a concern;

- They need to start picking up points (i.e. wins) during the next month because they've played more games already than any other team in the division.