> > I just had to respond to the claim that Vermont was crying because of the
> > tactics used by Princeton vs. the French Connection (St. Louis and
> Perrin)
> > and lack of calls by. the Officials.
>
> So far, all posts which I have read have referred to the local *press*
> complaining, not the team.
>
> I'm sure Gilligan realizes that every team's top line faces a tough, if
> inelegant, defense.  The test of great players and great leaders is to play
> through this and win.  If S&P were *not* capable of doing so, the rest of
> the legaue wouldn't be so happy to see them go.
 
Maybe the Vermont press should have used the quotes from Mark Morris -
Clarkson's coach who was in attendance Sunday....
 
*****
 
"(Princeton has) won all the battles around the net (against Vermont). They won
every one-on-one battle along the boards. They're just not the same team we
played a couple weeks ago. They are so sharp. I've never seen them this sharp
before. I haven't seen a team playing as well as they're playing right now."
 
"You're not going to win hockey games if you don't have solid goaltending and
play well in your won end. And I think the key to our success this year has
been being patient. It's the same kind of hockey Princeton is playing right
now. In their own zone, they're playing like men."
 
"Their staff does a great job recruiting a lot of players and developing them.
Some of them were borderline scholarship kids that were a litle bit tempting,
but not enough to jump right out and offer them a full scholarship.
 
"But they're playing like full scholarhip players (now). They're moving the
puck smartly, they're banging people, they're playing with a purpose. And
that's what playoff hockey is all about. They're pretty dangerous."
 
********
 
It sounds like Morris thinks Vermont lost because they weren't tough enough,
not because of a conspiracy against them by the referees.
 
Every team thinks their team is being hooked and held too much.  Watch ANY game
-- the best players on either team are hooked and held.  Every team in the
league tries to interfere with St. Louis and Perrin because they are stupid if
they don't.  But do me a favor, watch a videotape and see how many times St.
Louis goes into the corner and pulls someone down, or how many times the
Vermont defense runs interference on the opposing forwards.  Everyone does it,
and fans need to realize that. Vermont is a fun team for me to watch, and I've
seen them play live 6 times this year, and they hook and hold as much as anyone
else. I love the Gutterson crowd, but booing every time the opponent applies a
check gets to be a little ridiculous.
 
To me, Vermont's problem is that they don't have the senior forwards from last
year grinding it out along the boards -- last year's team doesn't lose a 7-5
game to New Hampshire, or almost allow a 6-1 lead to disappear against Cornell.
That being said, I still think they're dangerous.
 
I love St. Louis and Perrin as players and people, but quit worrying about the
refs and just play -- do they think the NHL would be any different? Mario
Lemieux's been crying for years, and it's annoying.
 
AW
 
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