I'd like to comment on Adam Shupak's posting and others regarding
various ECAC goaltenders. I'd like to comment on a few of the netminders...
 
JASON CURRIE, CLARKSON: I'll mention him first since he was the main
focus of Adam and Greg Berge (?)'s comments. Currie is a butterfly goalie
with a very aggressive style. He does come out of the net very frequently
; too much so, IMO, because he's not the greatest stickhandler. Despite
his seemingly awkward style (I have a personal bias against the butterfly
style), I'll be darned if he stops the puck 90+% of the time. Clarkson's
2nd half surge is coinciding with Currie's best play since I've been here.
 
GEOFF FINCH, BROWN: ECAC goalie of the year, hands down, IMO. Would be
league MVP is they had such an award. Has played VERY well behind a
weak defensive club. His numbers may not compete with Aaron Israel's,
but his play has been tops in the ECAC.
 
AARON ISRAEL, HARVARD: Israel has put up outstanding numbers... but
he hasn't had to play all that well. Harvard has been so dominant that
it's really hard to tell just how good Israel is.
 
NEIL LITTLE, RPI: The pre-season Hobey candidate has not lived up to
expectations this year. I'm not sure exactly why but I suspect it's
a combonation of two things. RPI's defensive corps seems very thin
this year. This probably leads to Little getting more work and tougher
shots to face than normal. Also, I just don't think Little has been
as consistently sharp as he was, perhaps last year.
 
PAUL SPAGNOLETTI, SLU: Adam asked about what happened to Spags. In his
sophomore year, Spagnoletti had an outstanding year leading SLU to the
ECAC tournament title. Since then, he's floundered. His slide really
started in the early part of last year. When his slump started, SLU coach
Joe Marsh went to playing senior Brady Giroux who put up excellent numbers
for the Saints. Without the playing time, Spags was not able to play through
his slump, like Currie was able to early this year. Spagnoletti has yet
to recover, it seems.
 
This is not to disparage other goalies who deserve mention, just that
these are the ones I wanted to comment on most. Andy Bandurski has played
very well at times for Cornell. Todd Sullivan, of Yale, has put forth
superhuman efforts at times, for a weak Bulldog team. Union's goalies have
helped put them into excelletn position (Luigi Villa and Mike Gallant).
 
************
Bri Farenell
[log in to unmask]                Clarkson Univ. '95
Glens Falls High Class of '91                   Go Erin Whitten (GFH '89)!
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