Excuse the lateness of this post but with a BU - PC match tonight I
thought there still might be some interest.
- completely unofficial -
Providence College 6 - Air Force 4
January 7, 1994
at Schneider Arena, Providence RI
FIRST PERIOD
----------------------
PC 1 Breen (6) (Dillabough, Hanson) 1:37
PC2 Kramer (12) (Burke, LaVarre) 7:10
PC3 Gambino (1) (Sundquist) 8:53
PC - Balboni - Interference 12:10
AF1 Degironimo (11) (Javorski, Decker) 16:18
PC - Breen - Elbow 18:48
SECOND PERIOD
---------------------------
PC - Gill - Roughing 1:39
AF2 LaFortune (8) (Maturo, Bilek) 3:11 ppg
PC4 Kramer (13) (Balboni, LaVarre) 3:48
AF3 Nathon (2) (Ryan) 5:51
AF - Brown - Hit after whistle 6:07
PC5 Breen (7) (Sundquist, Quennville) 6:42 ppg
AF - Northon - Slash 9:08
PC - Mader - Hold 18:02
THIRD PERIOD
----------------------
AF - DaCosta - Slash 2:52
PC - Green - Interference 2:52
AF4 McAlister (8) (Scott) 4:17
PC6 Quennville (12) - unassisted 7:07
PC - Kenney - Hold 7:24
AF - Scott - High Stick 13:11
AF - Bilek - Hold 19:04
Goaltenders
AF - Kielb, PC Dennis
Shots on Goal
AF 10 - 12 - 6 = 28
PC 13 - 9 - 9 = 32
Power Play
Air Force 1 for 5
Providence 1 of 4
Officials: Ref. Villandry, Gravallesse, Linesman J. Jones
Attendance : 647 (With the students still on break and the game being
scheduled at the same time as a home Big East BB match it was not
surprising. Thank God for the hundred or so Air Force rooters.)
Friend of Friar Hockey Stars of the Game
1. Brady Kramer (PC)
2. George Breen (PC)
3. Jon LaVarre (PC)
Personal Observations -
Air Force got run over on Friday (6-1) and quickly were down 3 - 0 again
Saturday. To their credit they twice chipped that lead down to one but
were unable to overtake the Friars. Notable performers for the Falcons
were Bilek who is an outstanding defenseman with great stamina. It
seemed rare that he wasn't on the ice. Kielb was solid in net but was
better Fri. when he stoned several Friars and the 6 - 1 score could have
been considerably worse.
This was PC's first weekend sweep since late October and IMO their
best back to back effort yet this season. On Friday I believe five Friars
had multipoint games. While the scoring was not as well distributed Sat.,
it was a solid team effort. Each time Air Force scored PC soon followed
with another one. PC doesn't have the talent to over power anyone.
There were still defensive lapses that must be addressed but they have
also shown some signs of better balance and increased scoring power.
Pooley now has Chad Quennville and Brady Kramer on separate lines,
making it harder to shut down both of PCs biggest scorers. Joe Hulbig is
now on Quennville's wing where I thought he belonged all along. Joe's
size makes him tough to handle when he's working around the net. To
his credit, he's not taking some of the dumb penalties he has in the past,
and can still deliver a big hit. I think he sometimes got called for what
were clean checks simply because he leveled the man so completely.
Those can be important momentum builders but he has been able to
play a more complete game by not alwaysgoing looking for them. Last
year it seemed McShane gave up on him and Joe may have lost his
confidence. But Coach Pooley is giving him considerable ice time and he
is taking advantage of it. Stefan Brannare has been another Friar who
had also found new life under Pooley.
The more I see of Pooley the more I like of his quiet demeanor. Friar
faithful had become accustomed to Mike McShane screaming at the
team throughout the game, frequently about things that one would think
best addressed in practice. Pooley rarely says a word until a player
returns to the bench and then offers (presumably since I'm not sitting
there) encouragement and instruction. Similarly, when the team has
performed poorly, Pooley has attributed it to the way he prepared them.
With a team that is not expected to do well it is very important to help
them keep their confidence and I think that method helps.
I caught a pre-game interview with Pooley on the radio on the way to
the rink. In it he said he would prefer to go with a hot goaltender rather
than sticking with a strict rotation. Pooley did not have that option
for most of the first semester with Bob Bell going out with an injury early
on and not returning until mid-Dec. After a solid game Fri. in which he
made just one mistake, Bell did not dress for the Sat. due to the flu.
Assuming he's feeling better I think he'd have to get the nod over Dan
Dennis on Tues. vs. BU.
In the interview Pooley also confirmed that PC has gone to a more
aggressive penalty killing scheme. It seemed to again work well, and
while not resulting in the 2 more short-handed tallies like Friday, Air
Force was kept off balance and did not put together any sustained
pressure while a man up. At the same time PC's power play has
dropped way off in its effectiveness.
For any BU students coming down to the game Tuesday, I'm in section
T, Row EE, directly behind the visitors penalty box. Stop by.
- Bill Schneller
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