Mike Machnik writes:
>John Edwards writes:
>[...]
>Good point.  The idiosyncracies of individual referees tend to cancel
>out with the two-man system, or at least be tempered.  I was trying to
>determine if the same referee who worked the first game also did any
>of the others, but I'm not sure.  I thought he may have done the final,
>too, but they were two completely different games so who knows.
 
Unfortunately, refs in the Ottawa District don't wear nameplates, just numbers
on the left(?) sleeve. I've seen enough that I can tell most of them, but it's
not 100%. I'd like to see a 4-man crew for hockey, two refs and two linesmen.
 
>Legault has seen about 80% of the action in net, with Eric Thibeault
>getting the rest of the minutes along with some guy named Empty Net. :-)
>Legault is 4-5-1 and Thibeault is 2-0-0.
 
Legault could develop into quite a goalie. Seeing he's from the area, do you
want me to try to dig up his stats from last year? If he played in the Jr A
league here, that shouldn't be too hard. I think I saw Empty Net playing for
RPI against St. Lawrence when I was down there. He managed to shut out the
Saints in the 2 minutes he played there. When did he transfer? :)
 
>Agreed...Rivard did not see much pressure at all after the first period.
>I thought Dave Whittom, who apparently led Ottawa in scoring before
>this game, was a good candidate for Ottawa's MVP.  He was always in
>the thick of things, causing havoc and generating some good chances.
>Alain Tardif, who scored the Gee-Gees' goal, also played well.  I
>didn't see Jason Corrigan's natural trick against Colgate, but he
>appeared to have an off night.
 
I thought Whittom was hanging out in the Jagr Zone too much for my liking.
Perhaps I was looking at the wrong time, but when I noticed him, he was
standing near the blue line, waiting for a long pass. Another walking advert-
isement for keeping the red line, IMHO.
 
>I'm curious as to why Rivard played the final instead of Phil Comtois.
>Someone told me that Comtois was supposed to be the better of the two. I
>don't think it would have made a difference, although Rivard looked
>like he should have stopped the first goal, scored by Gibson in the first
>(deflected off his glove, I think).
 
Comtois is the starter normally. He was one of the top goalies in the CIAU
last year, and is the biggest reason that Ottawa is ranked as high as they are.
I assumed that Comtois played the semifinal, but since that didn't happen, I'm
not sure. I suppose they didn't want to risk injury in a game that didn't
matter. Rivard is in first year, so I assume Comtois is supposed to carry the
load.
 
>[checking from behind = minor + ejection, no major]
>
>A couple of years ago, this was a point of emphasis in the US as well.
>But I saw it called three times in one exhibition and then never
>again.  I wonder how the rule reads in Canada.  In the US, I believe
>the referee is allowed more judgment than they seem to have in Canada
>(just from the way I saw it called this weekend).  That may be the way
>to go, but then it may also lead to things reverting to the way they
>were before with it happening but not being called.
 
As I said before, I don't like the rule. I understand the intent, but I think
it will lead to less checking from behind being called, like the effect of the
instigator rule on the NHL. When it was only a minor, it was called frequently,
when it called for a misconduct as well, it wasn't called as much.
 
>Perhaps the disappointment of late has been that while the two
>freshmen have been steady (not impressive but not lousy), the four
>upperclassmen haven't done as well as they did early in the season.
>Particularly in the third period, where Merrimack has been outscored
>20-10.
 
With as many freshmen as you seem to have, the upperclassmen do really have to
step up.
 
>>Good luck to the "NCAA power" Warriors, :)
>
>Thanks, and it was nice to see a post from someone else who was there!
>The same to Ottawa, they seemed to be a much better team than the one
>that lost 9-1 to Merrimack early last season.  I was surprised that
>Ottawa was ranked 8th in the CIAU to Western Ontario's 3rd (Acadia is
>#1, I believe).
 
Wishing good luck to Ottawa is lost on me, I go to Carleton, the other
university in Ottawa. We don't have a varsity hockey team, so I have to cheer
against Ottawa U. So I was the city's biggest Merrimack fan...after I found
out that they'd be playing Ottawa. :) I was hoping that Ottawa would lose the
Friday game, so that I would go to both games and cheer against Ottawa in the
consolation, then watch two good teams, and not OHL rejects.
 
As objectively as I can be, that Ottawa is ranked that low is surprising. I'm
not sure who makes the rankings up, I heard that there are four people who
decide, at least that's the case in football. The problem is that there is no,
or very little, intersectional play because of the travel considerations.
 
See you later,
John
 
--
John C.K. Edwards       ONLY _21_ DAYS UNTIL I GO HOME!!!! :-) :-) (Dec.19)
Poli Sci/Law III      GO CATS GO!!! (8-19)     TOUCHDOWN SEAHAWKS!!!!! (5-6)
CUSA Arts/SS Rep    [log in to unmask]    [log in to unmask]
Ottawa, ON        Unfortunately, my opinions aren't those of CUSA or Carleton