Niagara Coach Burkholder Suspended By CHA For Blowup

February 6, 2002

On Wednesday, Niagara head coach Dave Burkholder was suspended for one game by the CHA executive committee for inappropriate postgame conduct following the Purple Eagles’ loss Saturday at Bemidji State.

Bemidji State won that contest, 3-2, on a pair of third-period power-play goals, taking a share of first place in the CHA as a result. Late in the second period with the game tied at one, Niagara’s Hannu Karru was assessed multiple penalties for a spearing incident, and Bemidji State capitalized to take the lead.

The Beavers then got a second man-up tally from Marty Goulet, on a separate power play late in the game, to claim the win.

Burkholder had a heated discussion with the referee, tipped over a goal and eventually was restrained by his players as the teams left the ice.

Afterward, Burkholder, was critical of the officiating. He was quoted on Niagara’s website as saying, “To come all this way and play for first place, and have to kill off 13 minutes in penalties in the third period, on the road without even one power play, is a travesty to college hockey.”

“Coach Burkholder’s postgame actions and comments were inappropriate, and Niagara will accept the league’s sanctions without appeal,” Niagara athletic director Mike Hermann said.

The disqualification will be served Friday when Niagara hosts Wayne State. Burkholder is expected to return to the bench Saturday for the second game of the weekend series.

Top 10 Kazmaier Candidates Named

USCHO Staff Report

February 5, 2002

Maria Rooth is a finalist for the third time, as the top 10 candidates for The 2002 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award — women’s college hockey’s most prestigious individual honor — were announced today by the USA Hockey Foundation.

The 10 candidates represent seven different colleges and universities. Minnesota, Northeastern and Ohio State each boast two candidates. Of the 10 candidates, four are seniors, three are juniors, two are sophomores and one is a freshman.

Earlier this year, The USA Hockey Foundation asked women’s Division I coaches to nominate up to two players from their team for the Kazmaier Award. Those players were placed on an official ballot and sent to the coaches, who then voted for the top 10 finalists. The official ballots were tabulated by the nationally respected accounting firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

The finalists, as well as the recipient of The 2002 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, will be chosen by a 12-member selection committee comprised coaches, representatives of the print and broadcast media, and a representative of USA Hockey, the National Governing Body for the sport of hockey in the United States. The three finalists for the award will be announced March 11.

Celebrating its fifth anniversary this year, The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award was first presented to New Hampshire forward Brandy Fisher in 1998. Harvard forward, and 1998 and 2002 U.S. Olympian, A.J. Mleczko received the accolade in 1999, and Brown goaltender Ali Brewer was the 2000 recipient. In 2001, Harvard forward and 2002 Canadian Olympian Jennifer Botterill was honored with the award.

The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award recognizes the accomplishments of the most outstanding player in women’s collee hockey each season. This year’s award dinner will be held the evening of Saturday, March 23 in Portsmouth, N.H., at the Sheraton Harborside Portsmouth. This year, the award will once again be presented in conjunction with the NCAA Women’s tournament, which will take place March 22-24 on the campus of the University of New Hampshire.

Individual dinner tickets are priced at $100.00 for adults and $50.00 for children 12 and under. Tickets, in addition to incremental levels of dinner sponsorship, may be purchased by calling The USA Hockey Foundation at (800) 566-3288, ext. 165; or Steve Burke at (617) 373-8952. Individual tickets and sponsorship packages are tax-deductible.

The award is named in honor of the late Patty Kazmaier, who was a four-year varsity letter-winner and All-Ivy League defenseman for the Princeton University women’s ice hockey team from 1981-82 through 1985-86. An accomplished athlete who helped lead the Tigers to the Ivy League Championship in three consecutive seasons (1981-82 through 1983-84), Patty Kazmaier-Sandt died on Feb. 15, 1990 at the age of 28 following a long struggle with a rare blood disease.

The 2002 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award Top 10 Candidates

Jeni Creary, Fr., F, Ohio State
Ronda Curtin, Jr., F/D, Minnesota
Chanda Gunn, So., G, Northeastern
Carly Haggard, Jr., F, Dartmouth
Emma Laaksonen, So., D, Ohio State
Kira Misikowetz, Sr., F, New Hampshire
Tania Pinelli, Sr., G, Niagara
Maria Rooth, Jr., F, Minnesota-Duluth
Laura Slominski, Sr., F, Minnesota
Brooke Whitney, Sr., F, Northeastern

Jeni Creary

Is tied for fourth in the nation and is Ohio State’s leading scorer with 38 points (22-16) in 26 games. Also ranks third nationally in goals and leads the nation in power-play goals with nine. Leads the WCHA in conference scoring with 24 points (16-8) in 18 games. In conference play, leads the league in goals and is tied for first in power-play goals with six.

Ronda Curtin

Is tied for ninth in the nation and is the leading scorer for Minnesota with 32 points (7-25) in 28 games. Is tied for second in the nation in assists. Is tied for fourth in the WCHA in conference scoring with 14 points (3-11) in 11 games. In conference play, stands second in league scoring with 23 points (5-18) in 18 games. Two-time WCHA All-Academic Team. Academic All-Big Ten. Two-time Patty Berg Academic Award honoree.

Chanda Gunn

Has posted an overall record of 19-2-0 with a 1.45 goals-against average, a .949 save percentage and three shutouts. Leads the nation in save percentage and also ranks fourth nationally in goals-against average and eighth in minutes played (1245:01). Holds a 1.68 goals-against average in conference play, good for third-best in the ECAC Eastern conference. Has posted an 11-2-0 league record and leads the conference with a .938 save percentage.

Carly Haggard

Leads the nation and the Dartmouth squad in scoring with 46 points (21-25) in 20 games overall. Also ranks fourth nationally in goals and is tied for second in assists. Leads the ECAC Northern conference in league scoring with 23 points (13-10) in eight games. Her 13 goals is good for best in the league. Also is tied for second in assists and tied for fifth in power-play goals with two. Serves as a mentor with a local high school mentoring program. Plays softball in the spring.

Emma Laaksonen

Is the leading scorer among Ohio State defensemen, tied for third on the squad overall, with 19 points (6-3) in 20 overall games. Is tied for eighth in the WCHA with nine assists in conference play. Named a 2001 Ohio State Scholar Athlete. A member of Team Finland since 1997. Won an Olympic bronze medal with Team Finland in 1998 and will represent her country again at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games.

Kira Misikowet

Ranks seventh in the nation and leads New Hampshire in overall scoring with 35 points (10-25) in 25 games. Her 25 assists tie her for second best in the nation. Is tied for sixth in the ECAC Eastern conference in league scoring with 19 points (4-15) in 14 games and ranks second in the league in assists. Volunteers as a DARE drug prevention educator in local schools.

Tania Pinelli

Holds a 19-6-0 overall record with a 1.72 goals-against average, a .924 save percentage and five shutouts. Ranks ninth nationally in goals-against average, second in minutes played (1468:47) and second in shutouts. Leads the ECAC Eastern conference with a 1.52 goals-against average in league play and has posted an 13-2-0 record and a .933 save percentage in conference contests. Leads the league in conference shutouts (4) and ranks second in conference minutes played (866:56). A three-time member of the Canadian Under-22 National Team.

Maria Rooth

Is tied for ninth in the nation and leads Minnesota-Duluth in overall scoring with 32 points (20-12) in 22 games. Ranks eighth in the WCHA in league scoring with 20 points (12-8) in 16 games and is tied for second-best in the league with her 12 goals. Named to the Dean’s List three semesters. Earned 2001 WCHA All-Academic Team honors. Two-time member (1998 and 2002) of the Swedish Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team.

Laura Slominski

Ranks third on the Gophers squad in overall scoring with 29 points (15-14) in 28 games. Is tied for fifth in the WCHA in conference scoring with 21 points (12-9) in 18 games. In conference play, is tied for second in the league in goals and is tied for first in the league in power-play goals with six. Two-time WCHA All-Academic Team. Two-time “Highest GPA” team award-winner. Two-time Academic All-Big Ten Team. Serves as team captain.

Brooke Whitney

Ranks second in the nation and is Northeastern’s leading overall scorer with 45 points (27-18) in 25 games, including seven game-winning goals, four power-play goals and three shorthanded goals. Leads the nation goals and in shorthanded goals and is tied for ninth in assists. Leads the ECAC Eastern conference in league scoring with 27 points (17-10) in 15 games. Leads the league in goals scored and is tied for fifth in assists. Volunteers with Operation Peace, an after-school program for kids ages 6-13 years old.

What Next?

By Steve Klein
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January 31, 2002

This is my favorite Ron Mason story:

I am talking with Michigan State assistant coach Tom Newton in the Players’ Lounge of Munn Arena. Ron Mason walks in and stops to talk. Before he leaves, however, he spots a bench-style seat cushion with a zipper facing away from the wall. He frowns, picks up the pillow, and reverses it so that the zipper is facing the wall.

Another story:

“I remember we were watching the Zamboni circling the ice at practice one day,” as Newton tells it, “and Ron says, ‘Will you look at that!’ I didn’t know what he was talking about. Then he says, ‘Look at the white walls. They’re filthy!'”

Ron Mason, soon-to-be Michigan State’s athletic director after 23 consistently successful seasons as the Spartans’ hockey coach (and 36 seasons overall), is nothing if not tidy. He is a detail freak. Yes, most successful coaches are detail freaks. But Mason takes it to a new level.

That level, as of July 1, will be as the person in charge of the entire MSU athletic program, all 25 men’s and women’s programs.

That in itself is a good story, but USCHO is about the hockey part of athletic programs. So, know this about the second coaching transition at Michigan State in the past half century: It will be neat and tidy. There won’t be much dust. If you don’t think Ron Mason has a plan for Spartan hockey, you don’t know the man.

We just don’t know that plan, of course, and Mason isn’t about to share it –- at least not until April, when the college hockey season is over.

We can speculate of course, and what a season this has become for speculation.

Jeff Sauer, the Dean of the WCHA, has already announced his intention to step down at the end of this, his 20th season at Wisconsin, meaning that two of college hockey’s most desirable programs will begin new eras.

And because it is Michigan State and Wisconsin that share this uncommon situation and opportunity, it is only logical that the first name on everyone’s lips is George Gwozdecky.

It is good to be George Gwozdecky these days.

Good because his Denver Pioneers are ranked No. 1 in the USCHO poll with the most victories, 23, and the fewest losses, 3, reawakening memories of the five national championships during the Murray Armstrong era.

This is a tidy man who hates dust, disorder and never leaves any behind him. My guess is that Ron Mason already knows who he wants to lead the next coaching era at Michigan State. There’s even a chance that his choice already knows, too.

Good because he is a University of Wisconsin almunus, having played for the legendary Bob Johnson from 1973 to 1977.

And good because he is a former Michigan State University assistant coach, having worked for the equally legendary Ron Mason from 1984 to 1989.

It is good to be a hot property, even if Gwozdecky asks, “Why did this have to happen now?”

Now, when the most important game (as his coaching mentor Mason would say) is the next game.

Now, because we cannot always choose the timing of our destiny.

Can anyone in college hockey claim better bloodlines than George Gwozdecky?

“He’s not just another hockey coach. But right now, he’s got a job,” Mason told Neil Koepke of the Lansing State Journal.

Would Gwozdecky make a change, considering that the Pioneers have the potential to be as successful next season as they have been so far this season?

And could Gwozdecky make a move, considering that he is under contract to 2007?

“Like most long-term contracts that have out clauses for situations at other schools,” Gwozdecky told me, “I have the freedom to review and evaluate.”

But like Mason, Gwozdecky doesn’t want to speculate, nor does he want anything he says to be taken for speculation on his behalf. He has a team to coach, championships his Denver team can win this season and beyond. His team, like Mason’s team, is entitled to focus on that.

Then there is Jeff Jackson, who coaches the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League and is supposedly on a pro, rather than college, career track.

Jackson won NCAA championships at Lake Superior State in 1992 and 1994 and compiled a gaudy record in six season, winning 76 percent of his games. If you check the numbers, when a college hockey coach consistently wins 75 percent of his games, his team will be in the Frozen Four.

Also: Michigan State is Jeff Jackson’s alma mater.

“It’s always been my dream to coach at my alma mater, and it’s a special place,” Jackson told Koepke.

Just as the Badgers have legacy alumni choices — current assistant coach Mark Johnson, Badger Bob’s son and a 1980 gold medal Olympian, and Mike Eaves, who succeeded Jackson as the U.S. National Team Development coach — so do the Spartans.

There is no more famous or recurring name in Spartan hockey than the Miller family. Before Hobey Baker winners Ryan Miller and Kip Miller, All-American Kelly Miller contributed to establishing Mason’s Spartan program as a perennial winner with his ability, class and integrity.

And when picking a winner in the Mason/MSU derby, integrity and class will be the determining factor.

Kelly Miller is an assistant coach with the NHL New York Islanders, having been an assistant with Anaheim for part of last season. Miller was a solid pro for 15 years for the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals. Of his 1,057 career games, he played 940 consecutively. That takes guts and character that often transcends ability.

Just as classy, and possessing even deeper coaching experience, former Spartan Newell Brown was an assistant at MSU with Gwozdecky from 1987-90. He then coached for two seasons at Michigan Tech before following a pro track as head coach of AHL Adirondack, and as an assistant coach with Chicago, Anaheim and now Columbus.

Another Michigan State grad (’82) who doesn’t get mentioned (but should), Bob Daniels has worked quietly and efficiently for 10 years at Ferris State, doing what Mason did at Lake Superior State early in his career: creating success despite severely limited resources. He has Mason’s admiration.

Rick Comley, Mason’s protégé as a player at Lake State, now the long-time coach at Northern Michigan, is probably not at a point in his career when he can create the new era Mason likely has in mind at Michigan State. But Mason respects and has great pride in Comley’s accomplishments, which include an NCAA championship in 1991.

How about candidates with Eastern or Minnesota roots? That’s about as likely as the number of players from those regions who have played for Mason in 36 years.

Twelve-year assistant Tom Newton, who played for Mason at Bowling Green, and 10-year assistant David McAuliffe, who played for Mason at MSU, should not be ignored, either, for a couple distinctly Spartan reasons. Basketball coach Tom Izzo was Jud Heathcote’s assistant before taking over that highly-successful program. Michigan State likes to keep it in the family, whether it’s an athletic director or coach.

Mason has said both assistants will be considered. Both are interested, and both totally trust Mason, no matter what he decides.

“If there is a guy who’s more qualified to pick a head coach for a Division I hockey program than Ron Mason, please tell me who,” Newton told Koepke. “He knows the people, their work habits, their character and backgrounds. He’ll make a great choice.”

In fact, that’s one reason Mason said he stepped down as coach.

“Had I retired, the decision probably would have been someone else’s,” Mason said at his press conference on Monday. “On most issues, I’ll have a free hand to do what I want to do.”

Obviously, the next Michigan State hockey coach is at the top of the list of those issues.

So, who will be the next hockey coach at Michigan State? Having been sports editor of the Lansing State Journal for 10 years (1985-1995) and a former Badger myself (’70) during Bob Johnson’s first four years at Wisconsin, I have a great respect and, in some cases, professional affection for all of the candidates mentioned above. Each one has contributed something important to my enjoyment during my 36-year love affair with college hockey.

I’ve also learned this about Ron Mason: He likes to win every discussion. If one candidate becomes the media and/or public favorite, Mason is likely to build a case in his own mind that supports someone else. It’s his competive nature; he can’t help himself.

But remember those seat cushions and Zamboni whitewalls? This is a tidy man who hates dust, disorder and never leaves any behind him. My guess is that Ron Mason already knows who he wants to lead the next coaching era at Michigan State. There’s even a chance that his choice already knows, too.

So when will we know? When Ron Mason wants us to know. Anything else just wouldn’t be tidy.

Steve Klein is a veteran sports editor and columnist in both publishing and the Internet who consults with media, sports teams and online sites on the topics of interactive sports and media integration. He is former online sports editor of USA TODAY; has covered college hockey at Wisconsin, Notre Dame and Michigan State; currently is an online journalism instructor at George Mason University and American University, where he teaches sports journalism; co-founder of SportsEditor.com; and a contributor to Poynter.org’s E-Media Tidbits weblog. He can be reached at [email protected].

This Week in Hockey East: Jan. 31, 2002

By David H. Hendrickson
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January 31, 2002

How ‘Bout Them Rams?

With this column’s jinx having now extended Boston College’s losing streak to six games and UMass-Lowell’s to five, it’s time to talk some football.

Specifically, let’s talk about the unbeatable St. Louis Rams.

Great team speed yada yada yada.

Marshall Faulk yada yada yada.

Kurt Warner yada yada yada.

Isaac Bruce yada yada yada.

Tory Holt yada yada yada.

Aeneas Williams yada yada yada.

Mike Martz yada yada yada.

The Rams are clearly the best team in football. Positively unbeatable.

Black Bears Bouncing Back

Their fortunes took a detour a couple weeks ago when Northeastern took three of four points from Maine, but back-to-back sweeps over Merrimack and UMass-Lowell have vaulted the Black Bears to second place in Hockey East and sixth nationally.

“The University of Maine has a team that has the potential to win a national championship,” says UMass-Lowell coach Blaise MacDonald. “They have all the ingredients it takes: great goaltending, special teams and highly, highly skilled forwards that have great puck sense and awareness. I would be shocked if they are not playing on the last day of the season.”

The Black Bears’ 4-1 win over Lowell on Saturday acted as the season in a microcosm. They got off to a slow start, allowing 16 shots on goaltender Mike Morrison. The senior, who has emerged from a backup role in past years to post a 1.95 GAA and .934 save percentage, stopped all 16 shots to keep Maine in the game until it could upgrade its play in both ends during the second and third periods.

The improvement since the start of the season has been most notable in the defensive end, where the team’s inexperience and lack of depth had rendered it suspect. The Black Bears offense may be second only to New Hampshire’s, but its defense had to rely on Morrison to bail them out during much of the first semester.

“It’s definitely been a learning experience for those guys, especially with the adversity we’ve faced,” says Morrison. “They’ve had a full load and really handled it well.

“That’s something we talked about going into [the Lowell] series. We had 12 Hockey East games by us. We were right at the midpoint of Hockey East. We told them, ‘There are no more freshmen on this team.’

“That’s the great thing about this league. Halfway through [your freshman] season, you’re ready to play.

“They just keep getting better and better. With that, their confidence is growing. From my standpoint, it’s great to see.”

"I don’t think I’ve ever been involved in a tournament where I could truly say that any one of the teams could easily win the tournament. This is as well balanced of a field as we’ve had. [They are] all talented teams."

— BU coach Jack Parker on this week’s Beanpot

Combined with Morrison’s excellent goaltending, a deep offense and strong special teams, the emerging defense could be the final piece to the puzzle.

Arguably, the last major question — Maine’s ability to win on the road — was answered with an exclamation point last weekend with the sweep at Lowell. Going into the series, the Black Bears had posted a 10-1-2 record at Alfond but only a 2-4-2 mark on the road.

“We’ve gotten stronger as the year has gone on,” says Maine interim head coach Tim Whitehead. “We had quite a few road games early.

“More than anything, we’ve tried to play more consistently whether we’re at home or away and play better defensively. That’s helping us on the road.”

Which brings us to Maine’s foe at Alfond Arena this weekend, second-ranked New Hampshire.

Wildcats Showing Their Claws

Boston University coach Jack Parker has no mixed feelings about who the best team in the league is after UNH swept his Terriers. The Wildcats embarrassed BU at the Whittemore Center, 6-1, and came from behind to win on the road, 5-3.

“They took five out of a possible six points against us this year,” says Parker. “There’s no question who the best team in the league is as far as we’re concerned. They looked pretty sharp to me.

“That’s the best UNH team against BU that I’ve ever seen simply because they’ve never done that to us. If somebody is going to get five-out-of-six points, it’s usually going to be BU getting it against UNH, not the other way around.

“I’m real impressed with them. I’m real impressed with an unheralded defense. They play hard and they play well together.

“Stopping [Darren] Haydar doesn’t do much because they’ve got a lot of other things going for them. We did a real good job of making sure he didn’t beat us. He didn’t, [but others did].”

One of those “others” is Josh Prudden, whose two goals on Sunday included a game-winning breakaway. Prudden typically centers Colin Hemingway and Lanny Gare on UNH’s second line, an effective unit that helps keep the heat off the Haydar trio.

“Colin and Lanny are the snipers on the line,” says Prudden. “I see myself as trying to set them up more than anything else and doing the dirty work down in the corners in our own end.

“It does help to have a second line that can score like our line. It takes a lot of pressure off Darren. Playing with Colin and Lanny makes it a lot easier.”

UNH coach Dick Umile recognizes Prudden’s worth even though the junior typically gets overshadowed by Haydar, the Hobey candidate, and Hemingway, the All-America hopeful.

“Josh doesn’t give himself a lot of credit,” says Umile. “Right now, he is playing as well as anybody for us. He’s real strong on the puck and he made a great move fighting off the backchecker [on the game-winning breakaway] to make the move to put it in the net. He’s playing tremendous.”

Another undersung contributor this past weekend was Ed Caron. On Sunday, he showed the full range of his talents, scoring a finesse goal early, deking BU goaltender Sean Fields on a breakaway, before adding a classic power-forward tally in which the 6-3, 220-pounder knocked a BU defender off the puck and then scored on a wraparound. Not to mention some jaw-rattling checks.

“That’s what he is: a big power forward, a young kid that can score goals,” says Umile. “It was a great effort on his part. He’s a great kid. He makes a lot of stuff happen. He’s got a lot of game. He’s a big, strong kid that can play hockey.”

Despite UNH’s success — 10-1 in its last 11 games and 15-2 in its last 17 — Umile isn’t paying attention to his team’s flirtation with the number one position in the national rankings.

“We’re just worried about Hockey East right now, to be honest,” he says. “We want to stay in first place in Hockey East and we’ll be happy with that. You start paying attention to [polls] and you’ll be on the bottom real fast.”

Beanpot

In past years, Boston College has flaunted some dominating talent going into the Beanpot while Boston University has claimed the tournament to be its own private domain, winning six straight from 1995-2000. This year, however, there may be no clear favorite and no clear underdog. All four have spent time in the national rankings.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been involved in a tournament where I could truly say that any one of the teams could easily win the tournament,” says BU coach Jack Parker. “This is as well balanced of a field as we’ve had. [They are] all talented teams.”

BU has admittedly lost two straight, but those were to second-ranked New Hampshire, a team that has put a hurtin’ on plenty squads. BC has lost six straight while playing with a short roster, but bodies should start to return soon. Northeastern lost on Saturday to UMass-Amherst, but prior to that had posted a 5-0-1 streak, with five of those six games against nationally ranked teams. And Harvard has won four of its last five, moving up to second place in the ECAC.

“It’s the Beanpot and anything can happen,” says coach Bruce Crowder, whose Huskies take on Harvard in the early game. “The thing that we’re excited about is that we’re probably playing the best hockey of the year right now. We’re coming off some pretty good wins.

“Our thing, as coaches, is we just want to make sure that — whether it’s the goalie, the defensemen or the forwards — they bring their ‘A’ game. We can’t ask for any more than that. If they do that, I like our chances.”

Even so, Crowder is wary of the Crimson.

“Harvard is an excellent team,” he says. “I really respect their forwards, probably as much as I do any in the country. That’s going to be a heckuva challenge for us, especially playing four freshmen defensemen and a freshman goalie. How we handle their forwards is going to be a big key for us. If we do a good job, that’s going to put us in a pretty good position to win the hockey game.”

In the nightcap, it’s a rematch of last year’s championship game, Boston College vs. Boston University. In that contest, the Eagles finally wrestled away the Beanpot crown that BU had worn for six straight years.

“Our club has been progressing during the course of the year,” says BC coach Jerry York. “We’ve lost some games recently, but hats off to [Lowell, BU and Providence], certainly among the nation’s top teams. We are getting better and we’re looking forward to a terrific tournament on Monday.”

Adds senior captain Jeff Giuliano, “This year has had a lot of ups and downs. We’ve had some injuries and over the last six games we’ve lost six games in a row, but we’ve pulled the goalie in every game. So we feel that if we keep working hard, we feel we’ll start getting some bounces.”

Late update: Contrary to initial expectations, Ben Eaves will remain sidelined for the first round with a rib injury.

BU and BC have already played their three Hockey East games, with mixed results.

“We’ve had success against a partial Boston College team this year,” says Parker. “The game we lost, Eaves played and they had a full lineup. The other two games that we [won], Ben Eaves did not play either game and they kept losing players in the course of the game.

“We’re not sure which Boston College team is going to show up. I know that we’re going to prepare for the best Boston College team and when they have everybody, they have quite a lineup.

“They have the best power play we’ve seen in the league. We’re going to have to be real disciplined and stay out of the box and make sure that we do a good job penalty killing when we do get penalties.

“They can come at you forechecking as well as any team in our league and they really do a great job of initial rushes coming through center ice. So they present a lot of problems.

“We just came off a weekend where we played, I think, the best team in our league, UNH. They are a very similar team as far as up front speed and the ability to create plays through center ice and a great power play. It wasn’t the outcome we would have liked this past weekend, but it certainly was great practice getting ready for Boston College.

“Our team has had an up-and-down season, [but] we are pleased with our record thus far and we’re pleased with our progress thus far. The main contributor to our success thus far has been team defense. We’ve gotten great goaltending from Sean Fields for most of the year. He’s given us real solid goaltending and has given us a lot of confidence in that position.

“Our defensive corps is as good as anybody’s in the league when we’re playing up to our capabilities. We’ve got a nice mix of upperclassmen and freshmen playing there and doing a good job for us led by our co-captain Chris Dyment. He’s done a terrific job on defense for us for his four years and he’s having a great senior year.

“Up front, with the exception of our other co-captain Mike Pandolfo, our goal scoring has been pretty spread out. Mike is far and away our best goal scorer right now. Everybody else has chipped in. We don’t have the big first line that everybody worries about stopping, but we do have a pretty good balanced attack when we’re moving the puck and moving our feet. We can put pressure on people and we can play pretty solid defense on all four lines.

“The biggest difference between the three clubs and ourselves is that all of us have done a pretty good job of killing penalties for most of the year and that’s been our biggest asset on special teams. But we’ve really struggled on the power play. We’ve got the worst record in a long time at Boston University. We know that we’ve got enough talented players, but we seem to be jumpy on the power play and that’s really hurt us.”

Emerging From The Shadows

Senior Leon Hayward and sophomores Brian Tudrick and Trevor Reschny have been important contributors of late to Northeastern’s attack. They frequently match up with the opponent’s top line and have at the same time provided a scoring punch. Reschny got the game-winner against UMass-Amherst last Friday. A week before that, Hayward scored two goals, including a game-winner, and Tudrick another in a sweep of UMass-Lowell.

“It’s always nice to get recognized,” says Hayward. “Trevor was a really good player coming in and Brian Tudrick has improved a ton. They both redshirted so they had that time to sit and wait. I was always one of those guys who was a role player, not necessarily sitting and waiting, but just waiting to get an opportunity to play regularly. It’s been a great experience for us.

“I think we’ve played together the last 15 or 16 games. We’re real comfortable with each other on and off the ice. We spend a lot of time [together] and have a really good rapport. I think that really adds to our success on the ice.”

A Heckuva Start

UMass-Amherst forward Josh Hanson got out of blocks amazingly fast last weekend. Playing the first games of his collegiate career after just joining the roster-depleted Minutemen, Hanson scored a goal on Friday night and then on Saturday assisted on both the game-tying and game-winning goals in a comeback win over Northeastern. As a result, he was named Hockey East’s Rookie of the Week.

Not a bad debut.

Hanson, 5-10 and 185 pounds, had been playing for the Texas Tornado in the North American Hockey League. In 31 games, he’d scored 16 goals with 22 assists for 38 points, totals that placed him ninth in NAHL scoring.

“It’s interesting how this unfolded,” says UMass coach Don “Toot” Cahoon. “He was playing in Texas as a 20-year-old from Medford, [Mass.], and he was close to turning 21. He knew that if he was still playing there [when he turned 21], he’d lose a year of eligibility. So on his own, he set out to find a program that was a good fit.

“He saw that Scott Horvath had left the team and that Brad Nizwantowski’s situation had left us shorthanded up front so he contacted us via email.

“He said, ‘I thought I’d be a good fit for your team. I was a pretty good student in high school, but still opted to play juniors. I’ve taken courses at a community college to stay active academically. Would you consider giving me a shot?’

“So we made a few phone calls. We weren’t going to have to go to great lengths to get him admitted. He was an in-state kid and he’d already been through the NCAA Clearinghouse. He had community college credits and [very strong] SATs.

“Once we got him admitted, we got him involved. We were down [in numbers] with injuries and [other attrition], so we threw him in.

“He’s not explosive. He’s not a Darren Haydar or Ben Eaves. He’s not a Peter Fregoe or Devin Rask. But he’s patient with the puck. He’s game savvy. He makes good decisions. He can be a contributor here.

“Time will tell how he develops, but he’s certainly off to a great start. It was his situation and our situation that became a good fit. It bodes well for him and us. We’re looking for responsible kids who are looking to contribute.”

No Quit

The Minutemen have impressed many an observer with their work ethic this year, coming back from a 3-0 deficit to Boston College to force overtime and repeating that feat against Northeastern last weekend. Although the BC game ended in defeat — as had three others in overtime in a span of five games — Saturday’s contest had a happy ending for a UMass team hungry for a win.

“We’ve been playing hard for so long and getting nothing out of it,” says Cahoon. “It was a great comeback and the win is absolutely huge….

“There are still a lot of areas of concern, but the kids have remained fairly positive. They’re willing to compete. We need to get better and tighten up certain areas and have confidence [all the time]. We need more athleticism. But the one thing that has been a constant has been the effort.”

Quotes of Note

Whitehead on sweeping the season’s series against his former team, UMass Lowell: “I have to admit it feels pretty good.”

Maine’s Niko Dimitrakos on his game-winning goal on Saturday: “That’s probably the first rebound goal of my career.”

Dimitrakos on sweeping Lowell on the eve of a series with UNH: “These points are huge for us to go back to Maine and to kind of get UNH to think a little bit because up in our building we play well against them.”

Northeastern’s Leon Hayward on BU and the Beanpot: “BU still feels [it’s their tournament]. I saw one of their kids get interviewed the other night and he said, ‘We want our Beanpot back,’ like it belongs on Comm. Ave. or something like that.”

UNH coach Dick Umile on goaltender Michael Ayers’ save with 29 seconds remaining to seal a win a BU: “I didn’t see it. I’ve got the worst seat in the house. At that point, I think I was just closing my eyes and waiting to see if the cheers came or what.”

BU coach Jack Parker on the Terriers’ 6-1 loss at UNH: “That was an old-fashioned whooping. Once they got the first two goals on two turnovers by us, we just wilted, and they just kept coming at us… . It could have been 12-1.”

And another one from Parker on the same game: “I told my guys they made about ten fabulous passes tonight. Unfortunately they were all to the white guys. Sunday we’ll have the white shirts on, so maybe we’ll pass it to our guys.”

Parker on getting swept by UNH: “They had five breakaway goals against us this weekend, including the winning goal. That’s pretty stupid hockey.”

BU freshmen Brian McConnell, when asked at what point a Terrier gets tuned into the BU-BC rivalry: “Probably right on your recruiting trip.”

Trivia Contest

Last week’s question asked which player led Hockey East in scoring (league games only) the last time the New England Patriots made it to the Super Bowl?

Having opted for a very difficult question one week earlier, I may have made this one a bit too easy, based on my overflowing email inbox. Pat Collins even quipped that I appeared to be looking for classroom participation.

Jason Morgan prevented runner-up Todd Cioffi from being the first back-to-back winner with a rapid-fire (and correct) answer of Chris Drury in 1996-97. Drury had 41 league points, followed by Jason Krog with 40.

Jason Morgan’s cheer is:

“UNH — You can’t stop them … you can only hope to contain them. Haydar for Hobey!!”

This week’s question swings the pendulum back in the difficult direction and will require you to “think outside the box,” a phrase I loathe, but will use here anyway.

What hockey team other than Boston University, Boston College, Northeastern and Harvard has played in the Beanpot? To win any possible tiebreaker, be the first to also give the year and/or the result. Email Dave Hendrickson with your wild guesses.

This Week In The ECAC: Jan. 31, 2002

By Becky Blaeser and Jayson Moy
-
January 31, 2002

The Game

One man’s regular-season game is another man’s Super Bowl. Or is it? That is the question that surrounds the upcoming showdown on Friday night between the two top-ranked teams in the ECAC — Harvard and Cornell. After a pair of wins last weekend, Cornell now holds a slim one-point lead in the league standings over the Crimson heading into the showdown at Lynah Rink.

Make no mistake about it; these are the two best teams in the league. One exhibits the most suffocating defense in the East, while the other is a potential offensive juggernaut. That should be the main story this week, but instead it is merely a sidebar. Rather than breaking down Cornell’s defensive trap or Harvard’s forecheck, fans — and even players — prefer to focus on this idea of a huge rivalry between the schools. For your Iron Columnists, we say that if you can’t beat ’em …

Lynah Rink is perhaps the most intimidating environment for opposing teams. The enthusiasm from the knowledgeable and loyal fans is astounding, especially compared to the generally subdued rinks in the ECAC. But why is this Harvard game so important? To give you a feel for what this rivalry means to the Cornell folks, here are a few excerpts from recent articles in the Cornell Daily Sun.

‘Make no mistake; this is The Game. Harvard vs. Yale football — doesn’t compare. Duke vs. UNC basketball — that’s old news. Florida State vs. Miami football — eh, were it not for the conspicuous absence of fish might compare. Friday night at Lynah Skating Rink you will witness bar none the most incredible spectacular in all of college sports …’
‘To the beloved members of our men’s hockey team … You probably need no reminder of this, but tomorrow when you don the carnelian and white, realize that you defend the honor of our school and that we trust in you to restore our pride — injured by the ignominious defeat in Cambridge last fall.’
‘It’s good to know that the guys in the Cornell men’s hockey locker room hate Harvard as much as the rest of us do. … I hate them more than anything else right now!’ exclaimed junior assistant captain Doug Murray. ‘It’s nothing you can describe in words. It’s a feeling you get inside you. You get a little extra to you.’
“‘It’s a big thing for them,’ said Harvard head coach Mark Mazzoleni when asked about the rivalry. ‘Harvard has its own backyard rivalries here with Boston College, Boston University and Northeastern. Those are the traditional rivals along with Harvard and Yale, which has been a tremendous rivalry over the years. I don’t know what Cornell’s focus is when they play, but it seems like it’s us which is fine.'”

To say that this game means nothing to Harvard would be false. Who could forget the night when former Harvard goalie Tripp Tracy demonstrated his agility with a hockey stick to the enraged Cornell faithful, or when a Harvard Crimson writer dared to insult the Big Red following.

Hours after that Crimson article hit newsstands, a chain email was forwarded around to all former and present Cornell students, and then the Cornell student paper re-printed the article in its entirety for those who may have missed the email. Things got so intense that the poor Crimson writer was flocked with extra security that night at Lynah and had to endure taunting by the crowd. All of this over a college hockey game?

“They are a well-coached team and they have a very loud, festive environment,” said Mazzoleni. “A rivalry is made when you have good teams and not when two teams are cellar dwellers. Our program is coming along and theirs is right up there so that’s what makes this a good rivalry.”

“They have a great team and that’s what made this rivalry so great, is that we both traditionally have great hockey teams,” said Cornell head coach Mike Schafer.

So while the Cornell students spend their final few hours before the game scrounging for denizen of the deep, the players and coaches will be focusing on the game at hand. The two teams faced off earlier this year at Bright Hockey Center and Harvard walked away with a crushing 4-3 overtime victory.

“We want the same thing to happen as last year as we went down and played for first place and we beat them,” said Schafer. “We owe them a little bit, and we had a little locker room and bulletin board material after the first game this year. We have a press clipping that says ‘Harvard Dominates Cornell,’ so we posted it in our locker room and our guys take a little offense to that and look forward to the weekend.”

Cornell is in a perfect position to take the second game, since Harvard is coming off an exam break. The team defeated the U-18 team last Saturday night, but that contest in no way can prepare them for what is to come at Lynah. With Cornell’s defense playing its best hockey of the season — it held Clarkson and St. Lawrence to one goal last weekend — this will be a mighty test for the Crimson.

The Harvard coaching staff believes they have a balanced attack that can do some damage, but it will come down to the team’s ability to penetrate deep into the offensive zone. You aren’t going to beat the defense with one-on-one moves, so Mazzoleni has preached the need for his team to fire shots on net and see what happens.

“I like our lines right now. We have three balanced lines to the point where you look at the lines and wonder what is the first line,” said Mazzoleni. “I think that we have three first lines … We like the lines that we have and we don’t have to worry as much about a bad matchup. We beat them already this year and we know the type of environment we are going into and the type of team we will be facing. We need to do the things well.”

Mazzoleni said that senior captain Peter Capouch addressed the team on Monday to make sure the younger players knew what they would face (namely flying fish) when they stepped into Lynah Rink. Despite the hostile environment, Harvard has fared quite well in Ithaca during the regular season. The team is undefeated at Lynah in its last three regular-season games and holds an 11-3-4 record there since the 1984-85 season.

“It will be a great game and I hope we can knock a lot of the rust out of them in the first period,” said Schafer. “The first period will be critical in the sense that we get off to a great start. They’re going to be healthy and they’ll have some jump and they’ll be flying around. We have to come out and play very well at home and they’ll try to take the crowd out of it to begin with and play for that 0-0 tie in the first period.”

No matter how you look at this game — whether you wear a Harvard or Cornell jersey — this game means everything. It goes beyond rivalries because when those players take to the ice, they will be battling for first place. And in a league where every point counts, there is truly no bigger game than the one that will be played on Friday night in Ithaca, N.Y.

The Undercard

There certainly are plenty of great matchups this weekend in the ECAC. Aside from Cornell and Harvard, you have to look at the other two teams in this travel partner set — Brown and Colgate.

One has been knocking off ranked teams and surprising many, after all, it was almost unanimous that the Bears would finish last in the standings this season, and Colgate, who did not look like any semblance of a team earlier on in the season. Don’t look now, but the Raiders are in seventh place after a three point weekend in the North Country.

The Bears have gone 4-1-0 in their last five games and hope to turn the success of wins over UConn, St. Cloud and UMass-Lowell into league wins. It’s also no coincidence that the Bears have gone up whilst seeing Yann Danis take over the starting goaltending job.

“Part of our resurgence has been that Yann Denis has played extremely well for us,” said head coach Roger Grillo.

If the Bears can use their non-conference prowess and apply it within the league, the ECAC may be watching out.

Then there is Colgate, which at one point was down and out. Frustrated, kicked in the can and miserable. Then January came around. A close win over Iona, then a sweep over Vermont and Dartmouth. Then the Raiders were swept by Cornell. Undaunted, the Raiders took three of four points in the North Country this past weekend.

“We’re getting some great leadership,” said Colgate head coach Don Vaughn. “It’s from all sources, it’s not just coming from the guys who wear the letters. We’re getting it out of the younger guys too. The guys knew that even though we didn’t have a great second [on Saturday against Clarkson], they knew that they were capable of getting back into this game.”

And that they did. Colgate could be peaking at the right time.

Then there is the drama in New Haven and Princeton this coming weekend where St. Lawrence and Clarkson travel the longest distance within the ECAC. The Bulldogs and Tigers are coming off of breaks while the Saints and Knights have played three games in the last week, including another North Country classic this past Tuesday night.

The Saints are lifted after their win, the Knights deflated. The Tigers get back on the ice after exam break, and the Bulldogs get back into conference play holding the last home ice spot.

“That’s a huge win for us,” said St. Lawrence head coach Joe Marsh. “Not just because its Clarkson. We’ve had 11 one-goal losses this season. There was more relief than jubilation after this win.”

The Saints couldn’t get a point from Cornell or Colgate this past weekend, but moved into a tie for eighth place in the conference with their win over Clarkson on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Knights had a chance to move back up to third place, but only got one point in three games this past weekend, making this weekend critical for them.

One of the Knights’ challenges has been scoring. As if on cue, they scored five on Tuesday. Unfortunately, they were outscored by one. Now if the Knights can continue that scoring touch …

“We are hoping to be able to produce with more regularity,” said head coach Mark Morris. “We have scored just five goals over the past four games and that is not enough. Five goals is a good output for one contest.”

Meanwhile the Tigers are looking to keep things together after the long exam break and draw a tough foe. Thus far, the Tigers have not strung together many wins, but are starting to gel. After upsetting Harvard, the Tigers couldn’t close out Brown to gain a weekend sweep — something they haven’t done in two years.

In New Haven the Bulldogs are back on the ice after a week off, but come off a good weekend at Ohio State the last time out. A close loss and a win had head coach Tim Taylor happy.

“In my fondest dreams, I didn’t expect to get six goals tonight,” said Yale head coach Tim Taylor, whose Bulldogs have dropped eight one-goal decisions this season. “Sometimes it’s hard with a team when you ask them to play tight defense and they do what you ask them to do and you lose, especially on the road, it’s tempting for them to kind of loosen up a little bit, go for a little more offense, but our guys stayed pretty much to the game plan again, and we got ahead.

“Sometimes the game plan works, and sometimes it doesn’t – not that it didn’t work Friday night. We just didn’t get enough goals to win that game.”

Then there is the deja vu weekend in the Green and White Mountains as Rensselaer and Union go to Dartmouth and Vermont to replay this past weekend. The Big Green came back both nights this past weekend to take three points, while Vermont came home with nothing. The Dutchmen took three points as well and the Engineers were left stunned after a three goal outburst by Dartmouth that took away points from them and left them out of the playoff picture at the moment.

Vermont and head coach Mike Gilligan were pretty much left speechless after a 6-0 loss to Rensselaer and a 5-2 loss to Union, which sent the Catamounts to the bottom of the ECAC.

But the Big Green were the opposite, as a tie against Union and an eruption against Rensselaer in the last five minutes gave the Big Green third place in the ECAC.

“We played with a lot of maturity tonight. It was a really good team effort, we got all four lines and six defensemen involved,” said Gaudet after that game. “It’s a credit to our guys that stuck with the game plan.

“We needed a break and then we had to earn it.”

Meanwhile Union also picked up three points and is currently sitting in sixth place in the ECAC, on the cusp of a home playoff berth, but the Dutchmen know it will be a tough battle.

“This league is very tight,” Union head coach Kevin Sneddon said to the Schenectady Gazette. “Every night is a dogfight.”

The Dutchmen also landed a prize recruit this week, Under-18 goaltender Tim Roth.

And there are the Engineers, who many did not think would be on the outside looking in at this point in the season. They head to the place where their season ended last year on Friday.

“This is a bitter pill to swallow, and hopefully we’re mentally tough enough that we’ll rebound and hopefully get redemption,” said head coach Dan Fridgen after Saturday’s loss to Dartmouth.

Quite the undercard this weekend in the ECAC.

Rethinking

Well, at the beginning of the year, we challenged you to pick the ECAC and see who was better at the predicting end of the ECAC. Well, if you remember, here were the picks:

Challenge Range   Becky and Jayson
1. Clarkson (8) 1-4   1. Cornell
2. Harvard (14) 1-7    2. Dartmouth
3. Cornell (6) 1-6   3. Harvard
4. Dartmouth (4) 1-6    4. Clarkson
5. St. Lawrence 2-7    5. St. Lawrence
6. Rensselaer 2-10    6. Vermont
7. Vermont 5-10    7. Rensselaer
8. Union 8-11    8. Union
9. Colgate 7-12    9. Colgate
10. Yale 6-12    10. Yale
11. Princeton 7-12    11. Princeton
12. Brown   9-12   12. Brown

So how are we doing? If you give one point for every place off that the teams are placed at here, whomever has the least amount of points is currently leading. So who is it?

Let’s take the standings — percentage-wise.

Here are the standings as of today:

1. Cornell
2. Harvard
3. Clarkson
4. Dartmouth
5. Union
— Yale
7. Colgate
8. Brown
— Princeton
— St. Lawrence
11. Rensselaer
12. Vermont

We’ll apply the appropriate tiebreakers as the ECAC does to break ties for the playoffs.

The Union-Yale tiebreaker goes to Yale, since the Bulldogs beat Union in December.

The Brown-Princeton-St. Lawrence tiebreaker goes to Brown, who is 2-0 against the other two, then St. Lawrence, at 1-1, and then Princeton.

So the standings for our purposes:

1. Cornell
2. Harvard
3. Clarkson
4. Dartmouth
5. Yale
6. Union
7. Colgate
8. Brown
9. St. Lawrence
10. Princeton
11. Rensselaer
12. Vermont

Now let’s do our comparisons with the points in parentheses.

1. Cornell – Fans (2)/Becky and Jayson (0)
2. Harvard – Fans (0)/Becky and Jayson (1)
3. Clarkson – Fans (2)/Becky and Jayson (1)
4. Dartmouth – Fans (0)/Becky and Jayson (2)
5. Yale – Fans (5)/Becky and Jayson (5)
6. Union – Fans (2)/Becky and Jayson (2)
7. Colgate – Fans (2)/Becky and Jayson (2)
8. Brown – Fans (4)/Becky and Jayson (4)
9. St. Lawrence – Fans (5)/Becky and Jayson (5)
10. Princeton – Fans (1)/Becky and Jayson (1)
11. Rensselaer – Fans (5)/Becky and Jayson (4)
12. Vermont – Fans (5)/Becky and Jayson (6)

Guess what? We’re even in points fans. 33 points each. Not bad folks, let’s see where we go from here.

If It’s So Easy, You Try It

The Iron Columnists are back! It’s time to take on the best once again. While we appreciate the emails, please do not send us your picks at the beginning of the week, it gives us an unfair advantage (not that we need it or anything)!

The competition thus far:

Vic Brzozowksi t. The Iron Columnists – 7-2-1
The Iron Columnists d. Vic Brzozowksi – 8-3-1 to 7-4-1
Ben Flickinger d. The Iron Columnists – 11-4-2 to 10-5-2
The Iron Columnists d. Ben Flickinger – 5-1-4 to 4-2-4
John Beaber and Lisa McGill t. The Iron Columnists – 6-7-0
The Iron Columnists d. John Beaber and Lisa McGill – 7-5-3 to 6-6-3

This week, we have a brand new challenger. So, Mike Johnson take your best shot at the Iron Columnists! Who’s picks will reign supreme?

The Picks

Friday, Feb. 1

Brown at Colgate
Mike’s Pick – Go Pats! Colgate 5, Brown 1
Becky and Jayson’s Pick – Brown 4, Colgate 2
Harvard at Cornell
Mike’s Pick – Go Pats! Cornell 4, Harvard 2
Becky and Jayson’s Pick – Cornell 2, Harvard 1
Union at Vermont
Mike’s Pick – Go Pats! Union 3, Vermont 1
Becky and Jayson’s Pick – Union 5, Vermont 1
Rensselaer at Dartmouth
Mike’s Pick – Go Pats! Dartmouth 5, Rensselaer 2
Becky and Jayson’s Pick – Dartmouth 5, Rensselaer 2
St. Lawrence at Princeton
Mike’s Pick – Go Pats! Princeton 3, St. Lawrence 2
Becky and Jayson’s Pick – St. Lawrence 5, Princeton 1
Clarkson at Yale
Mike’s Pick – Go Pats! Clarkson 3, Yale 2
Becky and Jayson’s Pick – Yale 4, Clarkson 2

Saturday, Feb. 2

Brown at Cornell
Mike’s Pick – Go Pats! Cornell 4, Brown 2
Becky and Jayson’s Pick – Brown 3, Cornell 2
Harvard at Colgate
Mike’s Pick – Go Pats! Harvard 6, Colgate 3
Becky and Jayson’s Pick – Colgate 5, Harvard 4
Union at Dartmouth
Mike’s Pick – Go Pats! Dartmouth 4, Union 3
Becky and Jayson’s Pick – Union 6, Dartmouth 3
Rensselaer at Vermont
Mike’s Pick – Go Pats! Rensselaer 5, Vermont 3
Becky and Jayson’s Pick – Vermont 3, Rensselaer 2
St. Lawrence at Yale
Mike’s Pick – Go Pats! Yale 4, St. Lawrence 2
Becky and Jayson’s Pick – St. Lawrence 4, Yale 2
Clarkson at Princeton
Mike’s Pick – Go Pats! Clarkson 5, Princeton 1
Becky and Jayson’s Pick – Clarkson 2, Princeton 1
Monday, Feb. 4

Beanpot

Northeastern vs Harvard
Mike’s Pick – Go Pats! Harvard 8, Northeastern 2
Becky and Jayson’s Pick – Harvard 4, Northeastern 3

Tuesday, Feb. 5

Canisius at Colgate
Mike’s Pick – Go Pats! Colgate 4, Canisius 2
Becky and Jayson’s Pick – Colgate 6, Canisius 2

And remember that if you are interested in putting your money where your mouth is, drop us an email to be eligible when Mike bites the dust!

Thanks to Paula C. Weston, Jim Connelly and Dan Fisher.

This Week in the SUNYAC: Jan. 31, 2002

By Russell Jaslow
-
January 31, 2002

I’m Baaaack

Just when you thought it was safe to read the SUNYAC Newsletter again, Ed Trefzger asked me to fill in for him once more.

Cardinals Filled With Buckshot

It is both a blessing and a curse when you are consistent winners and the most followed sports team in your town and from a small community that relies on you. Everything gets magnified. Both the good and the bad.

That is the dilemma that the Plattsburgh Cardinals find themselves in, as lately they must feel like they are being used as skeet shooting targets.

Plattsburgh entered this past weekend with an so-so performance outside the SUNYAC. However, they had a chance to redeem themselves by continuing to march their way through the conference in an attempt to gain the automatic bid in order to defend their national title. Instead, they continued to have troubles on the ice as they dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to Oswego, and now find themselves in a tie for first place.

The game was a wild one as the Cardinals kept setting themselves up to win it. First, Darren Partch scored just 18 seconds into the contest. Plattsburgh couldn’t take advantage of that momentum. After falling behind, 2-1, Jeff Hopkins tied the game on a penalty shot early in the second period. Again, even with that rare exciting play, Plattsburgh could not take advantage of the situation. Plattsburgh even outshot Oswego, 40-27, including 15-7 in the third period, but yet again, the Cardinals were stymied. The only shot in overtime turned out to be the winning Oswego goal.

Plattsburgh did bounce back strong the next day, beating Cortland, 7-1. Seven different players scored. However, later that night, Plattsburgh’s season hit its nadir in an ugly off ice incident. Defenseman Mark Cole was arrested after entering the apartment of teammate Jeff Hopkins and according to District Attorney Richard Cantwell allegedly saw Hopkins in bed with Cole’s girlfriend. Cole attacked Hopkins, sending him to the hospital with injuries that may cause Hopkins to miss the rest of the regular season, though some reports say he could be back “soon.” Cole was suspended indefinitely from the team and faces serious legal issues.

Plattsburgh heads into this weekend facing Buffalo State and Fredonia. These are not gimme games. They do so with possibly only four defensemen and perhaps an unsettled locker room.

Coach Bob Emery has one of his toughest coaching tasks in his career. He may be taking the right approach as he told the Plattsburgh Press Republican, “We have to move ahead and put our attention and our energy toward hockey.”

The Great Lakers Are Just That

Coming into the weekend, Oswego had lost two previous times this season to Plattsburgh and were coming off a weekend losing twice to RIT, only scoring one goal. With that, and having to play at Stafford, they were the definite underdogs.

Well, Oswego isn’t in second place for nothing. They overcame an early goal and a second period penalty shot that tied it, to score on their only shot in overtime for the 3-2 win. Matt Vashaw got that game winner after Rob Smith and Brian St. John scored in the first period. Joe Lofberg played a major role stopping 38 shots.

The next night, Oswego didn’t suffer any kind of letdown, blowing out Potsdam, 8-1. Tyson Gajda got the call in net this time, making 24 saves. Paul Perrier scored twice while Gary Bowman got a shorthander. Vashaw scored the last goal again, but by then the game was long over.

The Great Lakers sit in a tie for first (but currently would lose the tie-breaker) and host Geneseo and Brockport this weekend. At the very least, they have an excellent chance to all but lock up a first round bye.

Who Needs Five on Five?

Sure, hockey is played with five skaters aside, and a couple of goalies thrown in for good measure. Just don’t tell that to Potsdam and Cortland, who seemed quite content to play with guys in the penalty box. Constantly. Potsdam won the game 8-5, and none of the 13 goals were scored when both teams were full strength. All eight Bears’ goals were on the power play (out of 13 total opportunities), the first one a two man advantage. Cortland scored twice on the power-play (once five on four, once four on three) with the other three coming on four on four situations.

All told, there were 21 power-play opportunities in the game with 73 minutes of penalties called. The key penalty was the only major in the game, a slashing call to Cortland’s Trevor Bauer just at the end of the second period with the score tied, 4-4. Potsdam opened the third period scoring twice on that power-play and never looked back.

Anthony Greer and Chris Lee both got hat tricks for the Bears. In addition, Lee’s two assists gave him five points for the night.

Both teams would lose badly the next night.

Nothing Really Settled

Thanks to a trio of ties and a bunch of split weekends, nothing much really got decided last weekend concerning the playoff picture. In fact, it seemed to have tightened up a bit.

However, time is now the enemy of most teams, and the lack of games has already given Plattsburgh and Oswego a guaranteed spot in the playoffs. If any of them wins both games this weekend coupled with at least one loss or tie by both Buffalo State and Cortland, then they clinch a bye for the first round. Who gets first place, of course, will go down to the wire.

As for the other teams, it is a mad scramble. Buffalo State and Cortland can clinch a playoff berth this weekend with two wins and one Fredonia loss or tie, or with one win and one Fredonia loss and a second Fredonia loss or tie.

Brockport can be eliminated from the playoff picture if Potsdam wins both their games and the Golden Knights drop one, or if Potsdam wins one and Brockport losses two.

Finally, two Potsdam wins and a loss by Fredonia to Plattsburgh will eliminate the Blue Devils from the playoffs.

If all those combinations gives you a headache thinking about it, don’t feel bad. I didn’t figure all that. Ed did.

Best Playoff System Left In College Hockey?

The SUNYAC just may have the best, or at least the most fun, playoff system left in college hockey. Division I ECAC used to have a great system where every pair of positions meant something, causing all kinds of excitement right down to the wire. Then they, like every other league, sold out and just let the whole league and the kitchen sink into the playoffs. Sometimes the kitchen sink was better then some of the teams that made it.

The SUNYAC now is the only league where positions are important throughout the standings. The top two teams get a bye in the first round. The next two get to host the first round. The two after that get into the playoffs. The last two teams go home.

It makes the regular season mean something for everybody. Let’s hope the powers that be don’t get assimilated into the mediocre trend and trash it all.

The Return of Walker

Fans in Oswego and Cortland may get to see some excitement as Geneseo’s goaltender, Brett Walker, returns to action after sitting out a two game suspension for a DQ. Will he keep his cool or will the opposition successfully ignite him? Hide the women and children.

Next Time

Who will return next week to write the SUNYAC Newsletter? Will it be a tag team effort the rest of the way, or will Ed choke down the stretch and hand it off to me to finish out the season?

No matter who it is, there will be plenty to cover as the final playoff shuffling takes place.

SUNYAC Trivia

Last Week’s Question

Two teams in SUNYAC history have no wins against Plattsburgh. One of them is Buffalo State. Can you name the other one?

This is kind of a trick question (what else would we expect from Ed), as the answer is a school that no longer has a hockey team. SUNY Binghamton lost all eight games they faced Plattsburgh with a program that didn’t last very long. Cortland came mighty close, having won just once against the Cardinals in 54 tries, with no ties.

This Week’s Question

Who was the only player to win the SUNYAC Tournament MVP award twice?

Game of the Week

Two contests stick out as being slightly more important than the others. Just slightly as every point is so important at this stage. Fredonia at Potsdam on Friday night is a key matchup as the Bears sit just one game ahead of the Blue Devils for the last playoff spot. Then, the Geneseo at Cortland game on Saturday could decide home ice in the first round as just one point separates the two teams heading into this weekend.

This Week in Division III: Jan. 31, 2002

By Chris Lerch
-
January 31, 2002

Yin and Yang

Like the rest of society, college hockey has its positives and negatives, its
heroes and its villains. Incidents of the past two weeks involving SUNYAC
players have brought that out.

On the positive side, there’s Rocky Reeves of Buffalo State. The third-year forward from Anchorage, Alaska has been named as a finalist for the Hockey Humanitarian award for the second straight year, and has to be considered a favorite to win the award as the only returning finalist. If he does, he would be the first Division III male player to do so.

Reeve’s achievements off the ice are too numerous to mention here, but here are some of the highlights: raising funds for the homeless and cancer victims, working with survivors of sexual abuse and getting books into the hands of people who otherwise couldn’t afford them.

Rocky is a Dean’s List student that has made the SUNYAC all-academic team the past two seasons.

Oh, and he plays hockey too. Reeves is one of the reasons who Buffalo State is having its best season to date, currently tied for third place in the SUNYAC. The Bengal captain is fifth on the team in scoring with eight goals and nine assists.

Reeves, as well as the other finalists for the Humanitarian award (Dan Casella from Dartmouth, Tom Conti from Lawrence, and Jeff Wilson from Union) are excellent role models for the thousands of youth hockey players in the U.S. and Canada who aspire to be good college hockey players as well as good people.

Unfortunately, there has to be an opposite end of the spectrum, and the latest to assume that role is Mark Cole of Plattsburgh State. Cole was arrested early Sunday morning for attacking teammate Jeff Hopkins after finding Hopkins with Cole’s girlfriend.

Hokpins required treatment at the local hospital; Cole went to jail and is suspended indefinitely from the team.

This story has all the makings for a good, gossipy scandal; its main ingredients are sex and violence, after all. But it’s really just another in a long line of examples of poor decisions and dumb behavior that we see so much of these days.

Cole isn’t the first and won’t be the last hockey player to bust a teammate in the mouth over a girl, but he plays for Plattsburgh State, which is as close to a pro team as you get in that part of the state. The Cardinals get about as much coverage in Plattsburgh as the Yankees do in New York.

Unfortunately, it’s more coverage than Reeves is getting in Buffalo.

Crunch Time

Here’s a miscellaneous factiod: There are 173 Division III games remaining on the regular season schedule, and only seven are non-conference affairs.

That means that the leagues are getting down to serious business. For some
conferences, there are as little as three weekends left.

ECAC East

With six conference games to play, Norwich, despite its recent mini-slump, leads second-place Salem State by a whopping eight points. The Cadets can clinch the regular season title with a sweep this weekend, but that may be a tall order since they must travel to Bowdoin and Colby. Salem State is at New England and St. Anselm, and any combination of two Norwich wins or two Salem loses will clinch for the Cadets.

At the bottom of the standings, UMass.-Boston must rally to avoid finishing last and having to face Norwich in the first round. Right now, the Beacons are the eighth Division III seed even though they are in tenth place. St. Michael’s (currently fourth) and St. Anselm (eighth) play in a separate ECAC Division II playoff which also includes the D-II teams from the ECAC Northeast.

ECAC West

Elmira took a major step in dislodging three-time defending regular season champ RIT from atop the standings. The Soaring Eagles 4-2 win on home ice means that if both teams win all their other league games, Elmira can clinch the regular season title with a win or tie at RIT on February 16th.

That’s easier said than done, however. Elmira must face Manhattanville twice, and the Valiants took two of three from the Soaring Eagles last season.

If RIT and Elmira wind up tied for first, the tiebreaking system is: 1. Head-to-Head results 2. League Wins 3. Record against common opponents

Elmira can take care of things with a win and a tie or a sweep, but RIT holds the third tiebreaker. The Tigers are currently 10-0 against common opponents, while Elmira is 5-2.

ECAC Northeast

With most teams having five or six games left, this is a four horse race between Lebanon Valley, Johnson & Wales, UMass.-Dartmouth, and Wentworth. All are tied for first with 18 points, but LVC has the edge. The Flying Dutchmen have a game in hand, and have already beaten Johnson & Wales and UMass.-Dartmouth.

That makes this Sunday’s game between LVC and Wentworth the biggest one of the year for both teams. The Leopards will try to put a dent in the Lebanon Valley defense, which has allowed just 11 goals in nine conference games.

MIAC

At the beginning of this season, the MIAC announced that it had adopted a new playoff format, and a couple of weeks ago it was modified again. The new format was to be a four-team single elimination tournament held at a neutral site, replacing the old four team best of two with a possible minigame semifinals and finals series that had been in place for the last several years.

A few weeks ago, it was decided to add a fifth team. There will be a play-in game between the fourth and fifth place teams before the semifinals begin, a “Final Five” like that used by the WCHA and ECAC.

St. Thomas currently holds a seven point lead in the standings and has already clinched one of the five playoff spots.

MCHA

Marian hold a 10 point lead with six games to play. The Sabres have won 19 straight conference games, its streak extending back to January of 2001. Marian can clinch its first regular season MCHA title with a sweep of MSOE this weekend.

At the other end of the standings are defending regular season champ Minn.-Crookston and Northland. The teams square off this weekend in a two game series that will probably decide the fourth and final playoff spot.

NCHA

St. Norbert maintained its five point lead in the standings with a 4-4 tie at Wis.-Superior last Saturday. With four games to play, the Green Knights need just three points to lock up the regular season title. They host Wis.-Eau Claire and Wis.-Stevens Point this weekend.

The Pointers have won five of their last six games and are looking to lock up a home ice quarterfinal series. Dropping out of the top four was Wis.-River Falls, losers of three of its last four games to drop out of the USCHO.com poll and from third to fifth in the NCHA standings.

NESCAC

The main question in the NESCAC is: Who will blink first — Middlebury or Bowdoin? The teams are tied for first place, with the Panthers having a key game in hand on the Polar Bears.

Only the top seven teams make the playoffs, and right now that leaves Wesleyan, Tufts and either Conn. College or Amherst (currently tied for seventh) out of the picture. The Camels and the Lord Jeffs each have 12 points, which would be good enough for fourth place in the ECAC East. The NESCAC is 51-13-9 so far this season against its sister conference.

SUNYAC

Oswego moved into a first-place tie with Plattsburgh, but the Cardinals hold the tiebreaker. Oswego defeated Plattsburgh 3-2 in overtime last Friday, but the Cards beat the Lakers 6-4 way back on November 2. If the teams tie for first with identical records, the next tiebreaker is goal differential in head-to-head play.

With five league games left, Plattsburgh and Oswego have clinched two of the six playoff spots, both with healthy six point leads over third place Buffalo State and Cortland. Just four points separate the next four teams in the standings, with Fredonia and Brockport currently out of the running.

Rocky Reeves will have a say in who wins the SUNYAC championship, while Mark Cole most likely will not. Rocky may find himself at a podium in Minneapolis on April 5th, while hopefully Mark will find himself finishing his freshman year of college.

Good luck to both.

NCAA Forced to Correct Ticketing Snafu

USCHO Staff Report
-
January 30, 2002

Fans holding tickets to the NCAA Division I men’s East Regional in March may want to double check the game times.

Because of a printing error, an unspecified number of fans received tickets printed with the wrong start times. The incorrect tickets say the games start at 5 and 8:30 p.m.

The correct start times for the East Regional are 12 noon and 3:30 p.m. on Saturday-Sunday, March 23-24. The games this year are at the Centrum Centre in Worcester, Mass.

The NCAA says it will send a letter correcting the error to ticket holders.

Sur la Route des Jeux Olympiques

By David H. Hendrickson
-
January 28, 2002

They have left one of college hockey’s most surprising teams and joined what they hope will be one of the Olympic Games’ big surprises. UMass-Lowell’s Yorick Treille, Laurent Meunier and Baptiste Amar have joined the French National Team and are, as the title says in their native tongue, on the way to the Olympics.

On Monday, Jan. 28, Team France will face Minnesota in an exhibition game and then take on Wisconsin one day later. It will then continue on to Salt Lake City where it will play exhibition games against several of the other eight teams competing in the play-in round.

treille

From Feb. 9-13, Belarus, Ukraine, Slovakia, Germany, Austria, Latvia, Switzerland and France will play three games to see which two teams move on to the next round. The two survivors will then face long odds when they take on ice hockey’s Olympic superpowers: Canada, Sweden, Russia, Finland, the Czech Republic and the United States.

“Our goal is to go get that qualifying spot and go from there, to come out of our pool and play against the top six nations,” says Treille.

While not the only collegians heading to Salt Lake City — UMass-Amherst’s Thomas Pock, for example, has joined the Austrian team — the three Frenchmen have taken the biggest bite out of any roster in the country. Coming into the weekend of Jan. 24, Treille and Meunier were the second and third scorers for the River Hawks while Amar was tied for second in scoring among the team’s defensemen. Their combined 44 points amounted to 22 percent of the team’s scoring, a figure that would be even higher if Meunier had not been recently sidelined with a fractured scapula.

With Lowell having been in first place in Hockey East, second in the Pairwise Rankings and third in the polls as recently as a week and a half ago, it’s been difficult for the three to leave their teammates behind in ways that might have been easier if the team were instead in last place, mired in a 10-game losing streak and with players getting on each other’s nerves.

“Definitely, especially right now,” says Treille. “We had a good start and we know that we needed that, but we know that we haven’t done anything yet. The most important part of the season is coming down the stretch. The eight games that we’re going to miss are just going to be huge for us.

“I really wish we could be a part of it here and help my team as much as I can and contribute, but it’s a once-in-a-lifetime [opportunity], too, so I’m going to have to go.”

Amar echoes these sentiments.

amar

“It’s not easy to leave the team, especially now,” he says. “We have a great time together. We have a good atmosphere on the team, so it’s never easy to leave the team. But we knew it at the beginning of the year, so we were prepared for it. Now it’s time to leave.”

Although the official announcement from Team France didn’t come until Jan. 3, all three players had been regulars for the past couple years and were no-brainers to go to Salt Lake City.

Despite the difficulty of leaving the River Hawks, all three feel a sense of pride in playing for France on the Olympic stage.

“It’s special because it’s your country,” says Meunier. “You’re proud of your country and you want to play for your country all the time. It’s like if you’re going to war and you’re defending your country. It’s different because we’re not in wartime, but it’s still like that.”

For Amar, it’s the realization of a dream.

“Every [athlete] talks about the Olympics,” he says. “It’s maybe the biggest tournament. Everybody dreams about that, so it’s a big achievement to play in that tournament. I started on the national team maybe two or three years ago and my biggest goal was to participate in the Olympics. Now it’s part of reality, so I really [look forward] to playing.”

Like Meunier, Treille also compares the honor to going to war.

“I take a lot of pride in playing for UMass-Lowell,” he says. “I’ve been here four years. It’s my school, you know? You just know all the people here. You play for your school. Maybe you don’t realize in your freshman year what it means, but by the time you’re a senior it really means a lot.

“[But] then when you play for your country, it’s a little level above because it’s your roots. It’s your country. It’s like you’re going to war, kind of. That’s how you look at it in a way.

“When you’re a little kid like me growing up in France, that’s what you look up to, your national team. It’s everything for you. I’ve had a chance to represent it [before], but now it’s the Olympics and that’s the biggest competition ever.

“Especially for me playing [at Lowell] with all the Canadians and Americans on the team and we even have a Swede, you just realize that it’s pretty much impossible for them to make their national team. But we have the chance to go represent ours and we don’t take that for granted. We realize that we’re lucky in a way. We’re just going to go and represent [our country] the best that we can.”

Those teammates who had no shot at Salt Lake City have needled the three Frenchmen about their chances during the usual locker room banter.

“They just rip on it,” says Treille. “They pretty much make fun of us, saying that we’re going to lose anyway so just stay here [at Lowell]. Don’t even bother going, that’s what I get.”

Treille has the perfect rejoinder.

“At least I’m going,” he says.

“They are maybe a bit jealous,” says Amar. “Sometimes they make fun of us, like, [the preliminary round is] not the real Olympics. You’re going to lose really quickly, so you’ll be back really soon.

“But that’s a bit normal. It’s a big chance that we have and everybody can’t do it and I understand their reaction. They are not really mean, just joking.

“They realize we are very lucky because they know they normally can’t go to the Olympics because they are part of a big country. That’s the difference for us; it’s easier to be on the national team than for them. They realize we are lucky to go to the Olympics because they can’t do that.”

In the meantime, the River Hawks will have to survive without three key components of their success.

“There are no perfect situations in anything,” says UML coach Blaise MacDonald. “You need to look at the glass as half filled instead of half empty. To have them represent Hockey East, UMass-Lowell, and their families with a great sense of pride and play for their country, that’s such a win-win, positive thing for us and for them. We’re very proud of them.

“It gives some other guys on our team a wonderful opportunity and a great challenge to increase their productivity by 5-to-10 percent in their absence.”

meunier

Although it could be whistling past the graveyard, Meunier remains as optimistic as MacDonald that the River Hawks will succeed despite the holes in the lineup.

“I’m confident in the team,” says Meunier. “They can step up and play well with others [in the lineup]. They don’t need us. It’s going to be a great chance for them to play with other [contributors]. When we come back, just before the playoffs, it’s going to be a good thing for the team, I think.”

Since the six national teams that do not advance to the next round still play a placement game, the three Frenchmen will still return after Lowell’s key series against Boston University on Feb. 15-16. Theoretically, they could also miss another two games the following weekend if Team France somehow advances to the gold medal game, but even Treille admits with a laugh that “it won’t happen.” As a result, the River Hawks left behind won’t be inwardly cheering “Go Switzerland!” on Feb. 9 just to get the Frenchmen back as quickly as possible.

“We want them to have a good experience there,” says MacDonald. “A good experience is: whatever you put into it is what you’re going to get out of it. If they play well and play hard, but perhaps lose every game, then they’ll feel pretty good about their efforts. We want them to have whatever success they deserve. Whenever they come back, we’ll be a better team and they’ll be better individually.”

Perhaps the River Hawks will survive nicely without the Frenchmen. Perhaps not. Either way, the three will be back for the Hockey East playoffs and, if Lowell’s pace holds up, a potential run at the NCAA title.

And if somehow the heavens open and God grants that the Frenchmen can choose between winning a national championship for UMass-Lowell and winning an Olympic medal for France, which would they pick?

While Amar begs off the question, Treille answers pragmatically.

“I’d probably go for a national championship here because I know it’s a lot more realistic goal,” he says.

Meunier, however, responds from the heart.

“[I’d go for] the medal with the French team,” he says. “It’s your country. It only happens once every four years. It’s huge, the biggest tournament ever.”

Still, he recognizes the near-impossibility of the task.

“I don’t know if God can do that,” he says with a laugh. “We could be the new Miracle On Ice.”

Presumably, there would then be a French equivalent of “America’s Guest” Mike Eruzione, who scored the goal to beat the Russians in 1980 and, according to rink legends, has never had to pick up a check or work at anything other than his golf game ever since.

Meunier considers the possibility.

“That would be nice,” he says.

Thanks to my nephew Greg Hendrickson, who assisted me in the title’s translation. Although he’s not a French major, he’s forgotten more of that language than I ever learned. Je ne parle Francais bookoo.

Mason Elaborates on Decision to Step Down

By Adam Wodon
-
January 28, 2002

Michigan State head coach Ron Mason addressed the media on Monday, two days after it came out that college hockey’s winningest coach will resign after the season to accept the job as the school’s athletic director.

The 62-year old Mason stands at 916 career wins in 36 seasons as a head coach. He has 23 years and over 600 wins at Michigan State alone, where he won a national championship in 1986.

Ron Mason formally announces his decision to step down as head coach, and take the job as MSU’s athletic director. (photo courtesy MSU sports information)

The move awaits final approval by the school’s Board of Trustees, which is all but certain. Mason will take over on July 1.

“We were looking for an AD, we got a legend,” said MSU president Peter McPherson, in introducing Mason at the news conference.

Mason said he had breakfast with men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo and the search committee approximately three months ago, where they discussed ideas about a possible replacement for outgoing AD Clarence Underwood.

On his way to the office from that meeting, he said he had a revelation.

“We were discussing what the job entailed and who the right kind of person would be for this position,” Mason said. “I walked away from that meeting saying, ‘I think I’m the right person for that position.’ It’s crazy how these things work.”

"It was a difficult decision to give up coaching and it will always be a major part of my life. But I hope to bring to this new position the lessons learned from building programs."

— Ron Mason

Mason said he didn’t apply for the job right away, but when he was approached by school officials, he gave it serious thought for the first time.

“It’s not like in the past when I gave it a superficial look,” he said. “I had meetings, I contacted close friends. It happened over a period of time. It was maybe a week ago that I came to a position of pulling the trigger.”

Mason has devoted his life to college hockey, beginning as a player at St. Lawrence. He went on to coach at Lake Superior State, and then replaced the legendary Amo Bessone as head coach of the Spartans in 1979.

He said the hardest part will be stepping away from hockey.

“It was a difficult decision to give up coaching and it will always be a major part of my life,” said Mason, who won the Spencer Penrose Award as national coach of the year in 1992. “But I hope to bring to this new position the lessons learned from building programs.

“Being in the locker room, on the ice in pracice, playing games … it’s something that will be with you forever. After the game Saturday [when he informed his players] was pretty tough. I gave them a short version of what I’ll give them today.

“Hockey has been my love forever, and always will be. No question about it.”

Mason said there was never any thought to being both coach and athletic director.

“You can’t do both jobs and do it right,” he said. “I never once gave that even a thought.”

The news came as a shock to most everyone, especially considering when it was discovered, in the middle of another successful Michigan State season.

“The timing is never good,” said Mason. “In the summer, there’s always recruiting … You can’t pick a good time to do something like this. Whether it’s now or in the middle of summer. Maybe now is as good a time as any.”

Being an athletic director is a completely new set of a challenges for a lifelong coach, someone used to judging his performance by wins and losses.

“There’ll be a record. It’s just a matter of how long it takes,” Mason said. “There’s some instant rewards when you coach, but it’s a different type of reward. I’m looking forward to it as a challenge. I want the department to be well repsected, and represent our school positively.

“In coaching, half your day is working in an administrative role. … That hasn’t changed since day one. So I’ve been fairly well in-tuned with it. Still, I’m gonna miss practices, I’m still gonna miss games. But I’ll be a part of it in some way.”

One of Mason’s first tasks will be to find his replacement, something he’ll be heavily involved in even before officially becoming the athletic director.

One of the potential replacements includes former assistant George Gwozdecky, now the head coach at No. 1-ranked Denver. Gwozdecky is also being mentioned as a possible replacement for Wisconsin’s Jeff Sauer, another coaching legend who will step after this season. Current Spartans assistant Newell Brown, New York Islanders assistant and former MSU great Kelly Miller, and former Lake Superior coach Jeff Jackson are other names that have been speculated on.

“I will announce my replacement once the season is completed,” Mason said.

Ultimately, Mason said, the opportunity that presented itself was just too good for him to refuse.

“If you asked me this in September, when I was driving back from my cottage in the car — when fishing season is over, that’s where I assess things — I would’ve said I’m gonna coach as long as I can. But things change, and opportunities only come by every so often. And this is a great opportunity.”

Plattsburgh Player Arrested on Charge of Assaulting Teammate

USCHO Staff Report
-
January 28, 2002

Plattsburgh State defenseman Mark Cole faces felony assault and breaking and entering charges after allegedly attacking teammate Jeff Hopkins in his apartment bedroom early Sunday morning.

Cole

Cole, a sophomore from East Islip, N.Y., is currently in the Clinton County jail, apparently unable to make bail set at $10,000 cash or $20,000 bond.

Hopkins, a junior forward from Phelpston, Ont., was treated for facial injuries at CVPH Medical Center and later released. He is not expected to play this weekend.

Cole has been suspended indefinitely from the team.

“We have a type of program that’s in the limelight here at Plattsburgh, and anything negative hurts the program,” head coach Bob Emery told the Plattsburgh Press Republican. “But it’s not something we can’t get through.

“We have to move ahead and put our attention and our energy toward hockey.”

Police say that the altercation was apparently over a woman, and that additional charges may be filed pending the results of their investigation.

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Ronda Curtin

Chanda Gunn

Carly Haggard

Emma Laaksonen

Kira Misikowet

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Maria Rooth

Laura Slominski

Brooke Whitney

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First And Not Forgotten

Fourth And Not Forgotten

The Name On The Front of The Jersey

Observations From the Road

Wentworth vs. Plymouth

UMD vs. Fitchburg

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Up and Down the Ice

“This Loss is Mine.”

January Streaks

Game of the Week

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Trivia Contest

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