Sorry for the delay in this, I've been busy, and the whole school
went nuts over Ross and rachel on Friends tonight. I've never seen people
have parties after a sitcom before. Football sure, but this was new.
Anyways here's this week's around college hockey column from the Mass.
Daily Collegian. This week a particular thanks to the LSSU Sports Info
staff, although I still haven't figured out exactly how you burn a snowman.
 
Pandolfo puts on a shorthanded show
 
        When the Massachusetts power play struck five times against Army,
it was beyond comprehension. Even Roget might have trouble coming up with
an adjective to describe what Boston University did Saturday night
against Northeastern.
        The Terriers tallied a Hockey East record five SHORTHANDED goals,
three of them by Jay Pandolfo.
        On the weekend Pandolfo had four shorthanded goals and a pair of
assists, one of them coming on Friday's game-winner at Northeastern. It
was the second hat-trick of the season for the league's Player of the Week.
        Still more impressive is that the Terriers have scored more goals
while shorthanded this season, than their opponents have while holding
the man advantage (8-7).
        BU should consider playing its entire season man-down.
                                * * *
        Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, located on the state's upper peninsula, is
hardly a tropical paradise. To opponents of the Lake Superior State
Lakers, winners of three national championships since 1988, the frigid
town is something to skip altogether.
        This year has been no exception as Lake State is a perfect 6-0
thus far, including a big 4-1 win at Michigan State. The Lakers have
scored four or more goals in five of their six games as the Ship's Horn,
fired after Lake State goals, has kept area residents up late on game
nights at Abel Arena.
        Senior winger Sean Tallaire has been making the legendary horn
sound more than anyone else this season, leading Lake State with six
goals and five assists. The Winnipeg native was named the CCHA's
Offensive Player of the Week for his six point effort in this past
weekend's sweep of St. Lawrence, and moved into 10th place on the
school's all-time scoring chart.
        The Lakers, who are off to their best start since opening the
1968-69 season at 16-0, will face their toughest challenge of the season
as they face upstarts Western Michigan and Bowling Green this weekend at
Abel.
        Western Michigan checks into Friday's game at 6-2 coming off of a
home-and-home sweep of Notre Dame. Earlier this year the Broncos knocked
off the mighty Wolverines at Michigan's Yost Ice Arena and likely will
not back down from the defending CCHA Champions.
        Coach Bill Wilkinson's team features the CCHA's top three scorers
in the surprising Justin Cardwell (9-6-15), the prolific Jeremy Brown
(5-10-15) and defenseman Steve Duke (1-12-13), an early All-America
candidate. At this juncture, Cardwell has equalled his output from 33
games last season.
        In addition, Marc Magliarditi has excelled between the pipes
during his freshman season, posting a solid 2.57 GAA with a .917 save
percentage. Magliarditi was named CCHA defensive Player of the Week for
stopping 83 of 88 Michigan shots October 20 and 21.
        Even stronger in the Lake Superior net though, has been sophomore
sensation John Grahame who has posted a 5-0 record to accompany a
microscopic 1.07 GAA and astounding .960 save percentage.
        Bowling Green has been no slouch in the early-going either. The
Falcons are 6-1, the sole loss coming Saturday on the road at
non-conference foe Clarkson.
        An interesting match-up should be the Laker penalty killing,
second in the CCHA at .889 percent, going up against the Broncos'
second-ranked power play at 27.6 percent and the Falcon's third
ranked power play at 26.6 percent.
        The winner of this tussle will likely emerge victorious.
                                * * *
        Maine's Barry Clukey has left the team indefinitely  after an arguement
with Black Bear coach Shawn Walsh.
        Clukey, a junior from just down I-95 in Waterville, had
reportedly been upset after being benched for the entire NCAA
Championship run last year and it has been speculated that the anger
carried over to this year.
        Walsh and Clukey had a heated exchange on the bench during the
third period of Maine's 4-4 tie wih New Hampshire Friday night, and did
not play afterwards.
        After taking a penalty shot in the post-game shootout, Clukey
left the team, reportedly for good.
        Happier news out of Alfond though is the steady play of freshman
defenseman Brett Clark, who received this week's Hockey East Rookie of
the Week homor. Clark tallied three assists in his first league games
this weekend and his improved defensive work enabled the Black Bears to
restrain a high-flying UNH attack and hang onto a pair of ties.
                                * * *
        The ECAC will look to improve on a national scale as its season
kicks off this weekend. Last season the ECAC's sole NCAA entrants were an
overated RPI team and a slumping Clarkson team, both of which were
dismissed in the first round. The ECAC has not had a Final Four
representitive since 1991, the only conference not to do so.
        The Vermont Catamounts have an excellent shot of silencing the
anti-ECAC taunts both this year and next.
        Picked first in the conference's pre-season coaches' poll, UVM
has not dissappointed, winning its season opener 7-4 over UNH and sweeping
a series on the road against Maimi of Ohio. The Catamounts currently
ranked sixth nationally, have only fallen to Boston University this
season. That was a narrow 5-4 defeat at the hands of an emotionally
charged-up BU team in its first action since Travis Roy's tragic paralysis.
        Martin St. Louis and Eric Perrin pack the best 1-2 offensive
punch around. The two juniors from Laval, Quebec are each considered
Hobey Baker candidates after exceptional seasons last year in which they
tied for the ECAC scoring lead and were selected first-team All-ECAC.
        Junior All-America goaltender Tim Thomas comes off a fantastic
season in which hed led the ECAC with a 2.68 GAA and was second with a
.915 save percentage, just .003 behind RPI's Mike Tamburro.
        The knock on Vermont last year was a lack of offensive depth and
defense, which kept the Catamounts out of the NCAAs. The offense is
deeper with J.C. Ruid stepping forward to lead the team thus far with
five goals.
        Defensively senior Steve McKell will lead a solid but thin corps,
with only seven skating defensemen. With McKell as the Catamounts' only
major loss, expect a solid, national-caliber club this year, and a Final
Four contender the next.
        Harvard looked sharp in bouncing Brown 7-2 on Saturday night at
Meehan Auditorium, in the first conference game of the year.
        With a pair of goals from ECAC Rookie of the Week Craig Adams and
a goal and two assists from fellow freshman Craig MacDonald, Harvard has
a solid young core to build on.In addition, freshman Mike Bent, out of
Nobles, is expected to contribute this year.
        Tripp Tracy should be his usual stellar self in the Crimson goal
and lead the team in its quest for the ECAC title and an NCAA birth.
Harvard won the conference's last national title in 1989.
        Colgate figured to be amongst the league leaders after being
picked second in the preseason coaches' poll, just behind UVM, but has
sputtered against strong Hockey East competition thus far. Colgate fell
to both Maine and UNH with only their only wins coming over Canadian
schools Waterloo and Ottawa.
        Big guns Mike Harder, Chris DeProfio and Earl Cronan will have to
step up their play for Colgate to go far. Friday's game against Harvard
will be a good indication of just where the Red Raiders stand in the
conference.
                                * * *
        BU, still left with a lump in its heart after the Travis Roy
incident, got an emotional lift with 12 minutes to play in the Terriers
10-2 thumping of Northeastern Saturday night.
        J.P. McKersie entered the BU net for the first time since the
1994 NCAA Final against Lake Superior.
        McKersie was riding his bike home from work one night last summer
and was struck by a car. McKersie was sent into a coma and doctors feared
brain damage. Weeks afte the crash McKersie still could not walk, but
Saturday night he ws able to make five saves against the Huskies.
        The ovation McKersie received as he skated to the net, by many
accounts drowned out the ovation that resounded through Walter Brown
Arena two long weeks prior, as the National Championship banner was raised.
        Through both McKersie and Roy, in addition to Chris O'Sullivan's
neck injury two seasons ago, the Terriers and their fans are receiving a
heavy dose of human-interest stories that overshadow hockey.
        While they do serve as a valuable and constant reminder that
there are bigger things than winning games, stories such as these are
three too many if you ask the Terrier faithful.
 
Leigh
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