The UNH Game toknight

[Goldie Knight]

Friday, December 6, 2002 10:45 AM

USCHOL has given Jason and Becky a weekend off from their predictions. They are being replaced by Mike Volonnino, another staff writer.

For those few who ever had concerns about the current Clarkson coaches, Fred Parker, Jason Lammers, and Mike McCourt, please don't worry any more. These coaches are very well liked and respected by the Golden Knights.

Fred Parker's comments are upbeat and uplifting. "We're doing just fine. Everyone here just wants to play hockey and that is what we are doing." Fred continues, "We have a great situation in goal. Mike Walsh is a leader on this team as he should be as a senior. We have three good goalies on our roster. I don't care if you are 17 years old or 23 years old, the bottom line is whoever is playing has to be the goalie and stop the pucks. Mike Walsh has been the goalie." Mike has a 1.59 goals against average and a .939 save percentage, which is the fifth best in the nation.

Fred said, "We just need to play good sound hockey for 60 minutes. If we vary from what we are about as a hockey team, then we'll run into trouble. We obviously have to prepare for the big surface, but we should be good." Our confidence is there. We hae been in every game we've played this year. We're fine."

Unfortunately, UNH is ranked #2 in the country, and the prediction for toknight's game is New Hampshire 4, Clarkson 1.

GOOD LUCK TOKNIGHT, GOLDEN KNIGHTS, PROVE THE PREDICTION WRONG!

[JR]

For those few who ever had concerns about the current Clarkson coaches, Fred Parker, Jason Lammers, and Mike McCourt, please don't worry any more. These coaches are very well liked and respected by the Golden Knights.

That worries me. I've never been a fan of "Player's coaches". They tend to run too loose a ship that ends up with the players not playing as a team and not up to their capabilities.

[tbch13]

JR- I tend to agree with you on this. Although as long as Parker draws a straight line between a player's coach and a head coach then we will be fine. There has to be enough power (for lack of better word) in his hands over the team or not much will happen.
Good point!!!:)

[BrownEyedGirl]

That worries me. I've never been a fan of "Player's coaches". They tend to run too loose a ship that ends up with the players not playing as a team and not up to their capabilities.


Relax JR, I don't think we have anything to be worried about! So far the team in my opinion, has handled themselves very well considering everything! With the exception of sat nights game, the team has been playing consistant and playing very well. This is a determined group of young men who have their goals set out infront of them and day by day, little by little they are working hard and accomplising them one by one. Have a little faith JR, it'll all be ok...i promise! :)

[hockey expert]

You are all missing the big picture with your little minds . The TEAM
as you all so often refer to was assembled by Mark Morris and the thousands of dollars in scholorships were given to players to play hockey and go to school . (which some of your do no wrong players don't want to do . )Look back at the slow starts in the past .... everytime it was the players not buying into a system that works , once they by into it the season seems to turn around . This time the players got their way , they got rid of the guy that brought them there and that tried to shape them into not only good hockey players , but good people . Have any of you talked to Mark , fished with , watched a game with him, watched how much work time and effort he put into his job and still have time for a wonderful family ? I didn't think so, i never called for any statues or newspaper tributes. A Good friend has to wake up every day and see all the negativity being dished out by for the most part people that don't know enough about the game and how the system works . Most students were'nt even born when the man started a lifetime committment to winning the NCAA's .
In recent years he has had to duel with players , admin. and parents . Try walking one day in his shoes .. then or now .

[ScottO1992]

Playing consistent and well? Maybe you are seeing games I'm not. The only games I have seen in-person were @ RPI & Union and we looked more like a circus act that a D1 team. Sorry to rain on the parade by the record & numbers speak for themselves.

We lost to SLU & beat Brown, but not Harvard? Then lost to Northeastern, yet beat Providence? we're all over the board. We couldn't even get 4 points against Bemidji. We don't even have a 4pt weekend yet! Maybe we can load up next year's schedule with more games against the U. of Toronto.

We're currently ranked 7th in the ECAC and aren't even on the radar nationally. Union's ranked higher and they don't even award athletic scholarships!

With an overall 4-6-1 & 2-2-1 conference record, it's my opinion that we are off to a lousy start. I hope that our tradition of a strong 2nd half comes true... but this year that won't be so easy. We still have to play Cornell twice, Yale twice, Dartmouth twice, as well as Brown & Harvard once more (all of these teams are currently ranked higher in the ECAC). Plus, 2 of our non-conference matchups are against #2 UNH, which will be tough as well, but really only helps us take it up a notch by playing against a caliber team that we probably won't see again this season except for Cornell.

Defensively our numbers are look great, with the lowest Goals Against total in the ECAC (says only 8GA on USCHO) Ranked 11th nationally in overall defense. 4th in the nation in penalty kill. And, kudos to Mr. Walsh who is currently ranked 5th in the nation amongst all goaltenders overall, and ranked 6th in save %. Walsh has shown us that he can consistently post numbers against anyone in net.

Offensively we suck, only RPI & SLU have scored less total goals in ECAC play. And unfortunately, we don't have anyone ranked nationally in scoring, in any category. It appears that a few guys are starting to score now, but we can't be entirely dependent on McFeeters to make it happen. We don't even need a ton of output, we've never lost by more than 2 goals (and I'm sure a couple of those were empty netters)

We should ALWAYS be in the top 3 within the ECAC... ALWAYS! 7th is a travesty (guess we got spoiled over the past decade). Cornell, Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth are either nationally ranked or received poll votes. I can't remember in recent history so many other 'ECAC' teams being ahead of us.

So enough of the nauseating back-slapping. We can gloat when we knock off UNH by 10 goals, get a 2-win weekend, climb back on top of the ECAC, get into, then win the tournament final, and finally make the NCAA tourney. Until then, let's raise the bar & keep the expectations high.

I hope Parker can dial in the machine and get us back & running in peak form, we're sure going to need to play at the top of our game from here on out. Buckle up, it's going to be a hell of a ride. These guys are capable of doing it, they now need to go out and make it happen. The great thing about our program is that we WIN.. let's keep it that way.

[BroomballMaster]

Playing consistent and well? Maybe you are seeing games I'm not. The only games I have seen in-person were @ RPI & Union and we looked more like a circus act that a D1 team. Sorry to rain on the parade by the record & numbers speak for themselves.

We lost to SLU & beat Brown, but not Harvard? Then lost to Northeastern, yet beat Providence? we're all over the board. We couldn't even get 4 points against Bemidji. We don't even have a 4pt weekend yet! Maybe we can load up next year's schedule with more games against the U. of Toronto.


We can do it, just think about this wildcat:

Slu-morris had just beat a player, maybe the kids weren't thinking about the game, aaahhh, ya i think so.

Providence- 3 donkeys could of ref'ed the game better than them, the ref's just plain sucked.

Bemidji- didn't they have the best ranked goalie in the nation when they played us, that helps.

Harvard- There just really smart, i'm not sure if they even skate, i think they found out how to hover.

We just got out to a bad start, and with everything that happened i think we're doing ok. Lets beat Hampshire's ass in, lets go knights.

[ScottO1992]

Hey Broom, maybe we can just print all of those excuses on banners and hang THEM from the rafters of Cheel.

[BroomballMaster]

Oh maybe we can get another coach to beat or players next year and see how they do?

[ScottO1992]

Sounds good, I happen to know the name of somebody that's available.

[BroomballMaster]

What clarkson really needs is be best broomball player in the world.

Ya that's me.

I would lace up my kicks on and show everyone some broom action that would make god sick.

I scored 47 goals in one game.......it was against some children at the local ice rink and there dog, but i ripped it up.

[vicb]

Ugh, 5-2 for the bad guys.

The Good:

Well we were not shut out.

Mike Walsh despite giving up 5 goals.

The first period. Only down 2-1 and we were playing evenly with them.

The bad:

Give away after give away. You'd of thought it was Christmas Eve and we were Santa.

2nd period.

Not being able to take advantage of our chances once again.

[Bill]

Well, prediction of 4-1 wasn't that far off.
Not an ugly game, however -- just too many giveaways and not enough finishes -- the guys did seem keep their composure this time -- not careful enough with the puck -- but some of that comes from pressing to score against #2 team in the country. It will be interesting to see how they come back against'em in Denver.
On to the next -- Go get'em green!
LGT! LGT!! LGT!!!

[BrownEyedGirl]

ToKNIGHT wasn't our knight....I agree vic, give away after give away! I watched the game on the computer through UNH! Hopefully we'll get one back tomorrow. I keep telling myself its still early and everything will come together! I know it will, but just so everyone knows me and not think i'm nuts...i'm always pessimistic. :D

Forget about it fella's...relax and regroup for tomorrow...We'll get it back tomorrow....and as Goldie KNIGHT says revenge is sweet.. We'll get UNH in 2 weeks in the first round of the Denver Cup!

Have a good Knight everyone!

[fan from 69]

Every year we hear about all of the great new recruits that are coming to Clarkson and so far I don't see much improvement over the last 4-5 years. Yes we have made it to the first round of the play-offs where we get our butts kicked but I just think we should be able to recruit the same caliber of talent that UNH and Maine are getting. If you can't beat the teams with no scholarships than what does that say for the recruiting effort. Either you make the commitment to compete in D1 or you go to where you can compete. I have read some comments on this board refering to a lack of commitment to the program from the top which is a very sad situation if this is true. I have said this before but without a football program and the long cold winters of Potsdam, the students deserve to have a hockey team that they can be proud of (i.e. a great winning record against D1 teams or at least to be on an equal level with the best Hockey East teams). Are Clarkson Hockey Fans destined to be like the eternal Cubs Fan? Optimism is great but winning is better!

[JustMyOpinion]

In recent years, Clarkson has not even been able to attract the best from the North Country. SLU seems to attract some of the better North Country kids, why couldn't Clarkson?

[Goldie Knight]

Saturday, December 7, 2002 8:15 AM

The Golden Knights sadly did not play well enough to win the game against UNH last knight. Listening to the game, it seemed that we had some serious defensive breakdowns. We won't forget that UNH is rated #2 in the country, but I definitely feel that if Randy Jones had been playing, we would have had a little better showing in the goal-scoring column. Momentum means a lot in the game of hockey, and UNH had most of it last knight.

I feel badly for Mike Walsh, who despite the occasional lack of Clarkson commitment to defense, played as well as he could. I did not hear any criticism about Mike's play from the announcers.

It will be interesting to see who is in the Clarkson goal tonight.

A forum writer mentioned about Clarkson recruits. I believe there was an excellent goaltender from Ogdensburg who last season chose to attend a Hockey East school, perhaps it was the University of Maine. The reason--better national exposure.

LET'S GO TECHERS--

BLAST THOSE BLACK BULLETS INTO THE LOWELL NET TOKNIGHT!

[BrownEyedGirl]

A forum writer mentioned about Clarkson recruits. I believe there was an excellent goaltender from Ogdensburg who last season chose to attend a Hockey East school, perhaps it was the University of Maine

The Ogdensburg recruit would be Jimmy Howard....starting goaltender for the Maine Blackbears!

[JustMyOpinion]

Originally posted by Goldie Knight
Saturday, December 7, 2002 8:15 AM
A forum writer mentioned about Clarkson recruits. I believe there was an excellent goaltender from Ogdensburg who last season chose to attend a Hockey East school, perhaps it was the University of Maine. The reason--better national exposure.


There were other reasons he declined to attend Clarkson.

[Stemmer]

Originally posted by BrownEyedGirl
The Ogdensburg recruit would be Jimmy Howard....starting goaltender for the Maine Blackbears!

Thats okay with me. Traylen committed a long time ago, and he was higher rated from what I was told.:D

[JustMyOpinion]

I heard the same thing as well. Dustin Traylen is an excellent goalie who has only scratched the surface of his potential. Mike Walsh has played excellent in net for us, without doubt one of our most consistant players this year. He has to be, because we don't have a potent offense.

I am happy that Jimmy made the choice he did. Sure, I would have loved to see him here, but in hindsight, he made a good choice.

[Hamolka]

Trust me in 1 year when Walsh has graduated, you'll all be thankfull that we picked up Traylen. I've seen the kid since his start in Nepean...hes definitly going to be the best goalie in the league, he has that much potential.

[JustMyOpinion]

I am already thankful. He is quite a talent.