Has anyone realized who the hottest goalie in the ECAC is in the last six
games? The answer is UVM's Tim Thomas. His record over the last six is
4-1-1 and has a 96% save percentage to boot. He's been big every since the 0-4
homestand collaspe to Brown/Harvard/SLU/Clarkson. Thomas is out of that
slump. In his last performance (a 2-1 over RPI), Thomas showed signs of
last season's success. He has said that he's reached a turning point and
he's not looking back.
 
Things are going right for UVM right now. You can laugh all you want
about how they haven't won the 'big game' all year, but wait till playoff time
because this team is ready. UVM has been trying to re-adjust to the
losses of Rob Pattison (ankle or knee injury) and Brian Leddy (academic
inelegible). After the loss of Pattison in the LSSU game, UVM's record
was 5-6-1. Then Coach Mike Gilligan made a change...
 
Gilligan moved sophomore wing J.C. Ruid on the line with Martin St. Louis
and Eric Perrin after their 5-2 loss to Clarkson at home. Since Ruid has
join St. Louis and Perrin, this line has produced more than 70% of the team's
goals in the last six games. Ruid has provided the physical presence upfront
that has freed St. Louis and Perrin to work their magic.
 
Am I too biased toward UVM? However, I believe that Clarkson has the best
team in the league. Dan Murphy is one of the most under-rated goalies in the
ECAC. Clarkson has four players (Tuomainen, Robitaille, Morin and
Mueller) in the top eight of the ECAC in scoring.
 
But UVM is a faster team than the Golden Knights and I believe that
it will be a dog-fight in Cheel on February 24. Speed is what is going to
win this league.
 
So, UVM might not finish in the top 4 in the league, but hope that their
quarterfinal oppenent is ready because the Cats will wear you down. And in the
end, that will be the difference between going home or moving on.
 
 
Howie Mansfield
UVM '98