By Richard Obrand,
MontrealAlouettes.com

St-Jean-sur-Richelieu – It was an impressive pre-season debut for the Alouettes (0-0-1) at home last Thursday against the Toronto Argonauts – a game that provided the excitement fans would expect out of a mid-season matchup.

With that game in the bag, the Als will head west now to Winnipeg where they hope to keep up the intensity against the Blue Bombers (0-1-0) this Thursday at Canada Inns Stadium (8 p.m., CJAD).

Last week, both teams failed to record a win as Montreal came back from two double-digit deficits in a 34-34 tie against the Argos, and the Bombers were 12-10 losers to the Tiger-Cats in Hamilton.

The toughest decision for the Alouettes’ coaching staff now will most likely concern the quarterbacks.

The team has a large contingent of qualified passers, all vying for the final two spots on the depth chart.

Last Thursday, four of those pivots saw action, all pleading their case as to why they should stick around for the team’s season opener June 26, in Hamilton.

The most impressive of the four was Iowa graduate and five-year CFL veteran Brad Banks.

Starting in place of the injured Marcus Brady, who tweaked his back in warmups, Banks threw for 142 yards and a touchdown, and rushed for another.

“It was really fun and exciting to play a lot,” said Banks, who was voted Player of the Game by the Montreal media. “I felt really good – I felt like I was playing catch with my receivers out there. Lots of good stuff happened tonight.”

The Blue Bombers, meawhile, came up short Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton.

Ticat quarterback Timmy Chang engineered a 75-yard scoring drive in the fourth quarter to extend Hamilton’s pre-season winning streak to five games.

This week’s matchup marks the first time in 17 seasons that the Bombers will be without kicker Troy Westwood, as the 41-year old was released by the team earlier this week.

"I'm not retiring, but I'd be surprised to get a call from anyone," Westwood told CFL.ca. "I'd be open to the idea but I'm not expecting that.”

"I have a lot of things set up in Manitoba and I have a deep connection with the province and the people here. It would have to be a fairly special situation for me to uproot everything and leave for some period of time,” he added.

There is a tint of vengeance to this week’s tilt as it was the Bombers who eliminated the Alouettes in last season’s playoff as Westwood chipped in the game-winning 20-yard field goal with no time left on the clock.

Listen live on CJAD