Ronald Correia <[log in to unmask]> says
 
>I've been a PC Friar fan for some 20 years.  I've watched the Friars back in
>their old ECAC days, seen the birth of Hockey East with it's WCHA connection
>(remember back in 86, 87 when we played each other?) and have gradually
>watched the "evolution" of eastern hockey to the
>wimpy clutch and grab you describe.  I'm afraid I must agree with you.  The
>style of hockey played by many of the WCHA teams is, for the most part, more
>enjoyable than what I see every weekend in Hockey East.  They've gone to great
>lengths to eliminate good old fashioned hard-hitting "Big Bad Bruins" style
>hockey.  By so doing, they've instituted "clutch and grab".  IMHO, it's
>sloppy, not very enjoyable to watch, and detrimental to the league as a whole.
 
Maybe this is a valid generalization for Hockey East, although I would question
it, but it certainly isn't for the ECAC where on average there is more of a
skating game now than 15 or 20 years ago.  But I find it particularly amusing
in regard to Providence College.  Based on 35 years of watching eastern college
hockey, there has been _no_ team as persistent or adept at holding, clutching,
and grabbing as the PC teams of the late 70s.  This is not to say they weren't
good teams, just that clutching and grabbing suited their style when playing
fast teams like Cornell.  Over the years, Princeton (and occasionally Brown)
might have aspired toward this style but never were able to employ it with
the ability of PC.