I've been good.  I've been watching the debate without saying anything.
Now, it's my turn.  I have been following Clarkson hockey for almost 10
years now and there is one thing that always seems to prevail...losing
in the playoffs.  Actually, they win a lot of games by the skin of their
teeth.  With the exception of the year Clarkson made it to the NC$$ semis,
I have seen one major problem with the team...they weren't really a team.
They have a **lot** of talent, but when you get that many talented people
on the ice, egos start to get in the way...passing gets sloppy and the
game starts to fall apart.  The really good games I saw were those when
the team had banded together to beat some big powerhouse (i.e. Harvard
when I was there).  Most of the rest of the time it looked like a group
of individuals on the ice wearing the same colors.
 
Now, I know I'm going to get some hate mail from the Clarkson fans.
And, no, I haven't defected to the RIP side of things.  However, I call
'em as I see 'em, and I have spent a few years watching a group of
individuals play some good hockey.  The year they went to NC$$ semis
was probably the best **team** I have seen in the past 10 years.
 
I will also defend a little...I've also watched Clarkson get the short
end of the stick in many games...mostly playoffs.  Things like bad calls
(as in Pierre), other teams taking cheap shots at star players and
knocking them out of the game.
 
 
I'm sure these aren't problems local to Clarkson.  Any team with good
talent will have these problems.  The really good teams are the ones
who overcome the problems.
 
Finally, for the person who asked...Clarkson is in Potsdam, NY...about
as far north as you can get without being in Canada.  Go to Syracuse
and drive north for about three hours.  It is about 10 hours from
Pittsburgh.  It is a nice little town with two seasons...Winter and
June&July....beautiful in the summer, a beast in the winter.
 
Ready for the hate mail....
 
Beth Weise
Clarkson '88
RPI '90 & '93 (if I can by these stupid exams....)