Obviously, OSU fans I would think would be thrilled with the return of Paul
Pooley as head coach.  There are a lot of forces here though that want the
admin to give this interim coach a shot at the head job and seemingly, Jerry
Welsh is behind that idea as well, although I do not know how much influence he
carries as the "Special Assistant to the Director."
 
Pooley's record of success as an assistant and now as a head coach speak very
well for him and OSU likes to keep things all in the family so to speak.
Pooley understands what it is like to be a player at OSU and what dealing with
the current situation is, and it sounds like he has the skills as a coach to
guide the transition of OSU hockey into a quality program once the new
facilities are ready.  His quality of character and ability to relate to
players and get the most out of them may even greatly help recruiting before
the new building is ready.
 
Certainly, team discipline and understanding of roles has been severely lacking
in Columbus.  More than a few people have complained, and I believe rightly so,
about OSU's goonism...especially on the part of people like Craig Patterson.
Since this has been an ongoing problem with OSU seeming to take the attitude of
"If we can't beat them, at least we can 'beat' them" :-), I can only assume
Welsh either supported it or at least did nothing to discourage it too much.
The number of times OSU was hanging in a cometitive game only to be blown out
after a series of dumb and ill-advised penalties.  Paul Pooley I think has the
character, the understanding of the game, and the leadership necessary to bring
quality players to Columbus and turn this team from a doormat to a contender.
 
Now if we can only get him away from Providence....:-)
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        *        Dave [log in to unmask]         *
        *                  Cornell '91 OSU Med '95                     *
        *       Nothing good ever comes of a conversation that         *
        *        starts with the words, "Remember the patient          *
        *                 you sent home last night?"                   *
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