College Hockey:

This Week in the ECAC East and NESCAC: Jan. 28, 2010

At USCHO, we strive to cover the sport of college hockey from soup-to-nuts, end-to-end and top-to-bottom. This week we take a closer look at the teams in both conferences currently residing at the top and bottom and what their focus is coming down to the last remaining weekends in the regular season.

While one might think that there cant be a lot in common for teams at opposite ends of the standings, there seem to be more common points among the teams than differing attitudes and areas of focus as each game has more significance and the teams fight for valuable points, looking to maintain or improve their position in the conference.

Lords of their Domain

A quick look at the NESCAC standings shows a familiar team sitting atop the conference. Last years regular season and tournament champions, the Amherst Lord Jeffs, have leveraged a 9-0-2 run since Dec. 5 to move into first place.

The formula this year is similar to last year, said head coach Jack Arena. A lot of it is about the special teams, good defense and balanced scoring but our success still centers on Cole [Anderson] in goal. He has had no problems into shifting from last years goalie rotation to playing both games on the weekend and probably has been asked to do a little more this year based on the changes in our defensive unit this season.

We graduated a strong group of seniors and knew we would be finding our way as the blue line group came together. They have played well but Cole has been asked to stop more difficult chances from the opponents and cover for mistakes. Obviously he has been very, very good.

Anderson, who has switched uniform numbers from 28 to his more familiar 29, is still putting up great statistics. He has a 1.83 goals against average (good for seventh nationally) and .927 save percentage. During their 11 game unbeaten streak, Amherst has surrendered just 15 goals, largely due to Andersons prowess between the pipes.

Cole is such a competitor, said Arena. In our matchup with Tufts and their terrific goalie [Scott] Barchard, I am sure that the head-to-head battle with another goalie at the top of his game and really gaudy stats was definitely in his mind or a motivation for him. He would never say anything about it but you know he is aware of situations and uses things to be at his best. That was his first and only shutout of the season so far with our 2-0 win.

A lot of Amhersts success can be found in their extraordinary special teams play. Currently they lead the nation in both power-play efficiency (31.8%) and penalty killing effectiveness (92.8%) which makes things very difficult for their opponents.

There are really two guys who kind of exemplify our special teams play, said Arena. On the power play we have watched Matthew Rhone just get better and better each year here. This year its been great to see him get his chances and really start to bury them. On the penalty kill as well as on his regular shift, sophomore Mike Baran has been dominant on the ice as a physical player who can take over games.

He is a very talented kid who is showing parts of his game that werent on display with last years team and senior dominated defensive corps. He has been a big part of the group on defense coming together and playing well.
Last years run into the NCAA tournament has not been forgotten by this team that continues to leverage their experience from a year ago in the present. There is a mindset about winning — evidenced by their current streak — that clearly has carried over from last year.

Winning can be contagious, stated Arena. It becomes a habit and in a positive way, this team feels that if they get up by a goal, they expect to win. Its not over-confident or feeling that they just need to show up and it will happen. Their experience and success continues to foster the desire for more winning and success and it just grows as the season has progressed.

This week the Lord Jeffs host Southern Maine and University of New England as they look to extend their unbeaten streak and improve on their 5-1-1 home record. If they keep the formula intact, Amherst will be looking down on the rest of the teams in the league.

Cardinals Looking to Fly North

At the other end of the NESCAC standings, the Wesleyan Cardinals are still hoping to find their game and make a late season push to get into a playoff position. The sense of urgency is real for head coach Chris Potters team coming off a difficult loss against Trinity on Tuesday night by a 6-4 score.

I really was proud of the team, said Potter. We were down 2-0 early and cut it in half and then got down 4-1. The kids didnt quit and fought back to tie the game at four apiece. Trinity scored to go up 5-4 and added an empty net goal but I thought we had some chances and really competed hard.

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Sophomore Tom Salah hopes the offense can jump start a run by the Cardinals late in the season.

One of the keys to success for Wesleyan is the play of the line that brings together sophomore Tom Salah (10 goals, seven assists, 17 points), freshman John Guay (9-9-18) and freshman Adam Kaiser (2-9-11). Salah has been a key player for Wesleyan from his arrival on campus last season and has continued to have a positive impact on the ice and off the ice with the Cardinals young team.

Tommy is a great example for the rest of the team, said Potter. He leads by example and has really inspired others including his linemates to improve and become better hockey players. He has developed and matured quickly and certainly has exceeded expectations as a player.

While the overall effort has been there and the drive to compete continues to be important for all of the Wesleyan players, the results have been tough in the month of January with the team winning only one of its seven league games played so far. A common theme for the outcomes can be found in the difficult time Wesleyan has playing with the power play and killing penalties.

Wow! said coach Potter. It really is a bad situation for us on the special team units. The numbers if they were reversed would be great and we probably would have some more points as a result of getting better in those areas. I would be really happy if we could be successful on the kill or a man up if we had those things happen at key parts of the game when we really need a stop or to get one on the board.

That is probably the most frustrating part of it all is that we dont seem to get the timely kill or big goal when the team needs it most. Its not for a lack of trying different things or effort. We have a young squad and we are still learning to compete and have success at the big moments that arise in games.

While the Cardinals are at the bottom of the standings, they dont have to move too much to catch a couple of teams in front of them. Connecticut College and Tufts are just ahead of Wesleyan in the standings and the teams get together for pivotal matchups in two weeks that could go a long way in determining who gets in and who is out of the NESCAC tournament.

The next two weeks are key for us, said Potter. We have Saint Anselm and New England College here this weekend and then go on the road for Tufts and Conn. College. We have not been successful on the road at all this season (0-6-0) outside of the Nichols tournament so we are going to need to really play solidly in our remaining games if we are going to play hockey after the regular season.

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