What a different game one can observe from different sides of the ice.  In
fact my impression of the two games is just the opposite of Mark's:
Friday night saw some pretty good hockey played between two rivals;
Saturday's was a pastiche of mediocrity.

On Friday I agree, Clarkson did quite a bit of clutching, but Mark
Morris' defense first style demands that.  RPI forwards for the most part
were incapable of penetrating the Clarkson defensive blanket.  But RPI's
defense also played a pretty creditable game, and goalie Nathan Marster
was outstanding, after starting goaltender Kurk got the fastest hook I
have ever seen at the Fieldhouse.   He allowed one goal, a point blank
backhander off a good move from Dave Evans, whose father is also a friend
of mine.  Marc Cavosie was terrific, as he was on Saturday--a good bet for
ECAC player of the week.  Other than Cavosie the Engineers couldn't muster
much offense whatsoever, but managed to hang in there on the strength of
their defense.  In the end I think the Engineers lost due to the psych job
they seem to suffer against Clarkson, much to the bemusement of the Golden
Knights, who view RPI as just another ECAC team to beat.

However I would also agree that  Murphy was absolutely abhorrent--and
not just from an RPI perspective.  He called ticky tacky stuff both
ways--the first period was a parade of bodies to the penalty box, and then
let really rough stuff go unimpeded.  The third period was a collection of
greatest hits as both teams ran each other against the boards, against the
pipes, against the team's bench.  And one other complaint, someone has to
start penalize goaltenders for their insistent banging of the cage.  RPI's
Marster does it once as part of his wake-up routine, Clarkson's goalie
bangs the pipes repeatedly for the entire game.

Saturday's game IMHO was one of the worst games I have seen--for both
teams.  The goaltending was lousy--SLU's Symington lets in three long
shots for scores;  RPI's Marster leaves rebounds in front, leaves his five
hole open all night, and occasionally forgets to cover the angles.  RPI's
forwards get pressure on SLU, but occasionally forget to go up ice on
defense.  SLU's forwards miss one timers, tips, feeds in the slots--a lot
like RPI.  RPI's power-less play averages less than 50% attack time, and
I'm being generous.  SLU has two consecutive 5 on 3's, scoring twice on
the first one thanks to some shaky play by Marster, than goes scoreless on
the second, a full two minute 5 on 3.

Once again RPI's Marc Cavosie was terrific, and this time his efforts
provided the margin of victory.  However as the season progresses it seems
like the Engineers are suffering from a lack of balance--none of the
freshman have shown much so far, other than Marsters,and the team in
general seems to have a couple of money players, and a supporting cast of
extras.  Throughout the season the team seems to suffer complete
breakdowns of concentration, with the result being inconsistent play.

Yet the Engineers remain competitive, if only because the ECAC is so
mediocre itself this year.  In fact college hockey in general seems
mediocre, perhaps the result of the rapid expansion of D-I teams the last
two years.

But two sets of eyes can see completely different games.
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Brian Morris                         RPI Engineers
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