> #5 Clarkson vs. #4 Western Michigan
>
> To me, the bottom line for Clarkson is, getting great goaltending from
> Dan Murphy (which they usually do), and getting great special teams.
> These are Clarkson's strengths, and they must be a little bit stronger
> than usual to have a chance.
 
They also have to generate some offense, whether on special teams
or not. Yes, defense (I guess goaltending can be included in that)
wins championships. But scoring more goals than the other team
helps, too.  :-)
 
I'm not sure how confident Clarkson is on offense, since their
Lake Placid performance was certainly less than desirable (I'm
not taking anything away from Cornell or Vermont, though). They do
have to be careful, though. As Adam said, if they get themselves
into a track meet, they will be in trouble. This is a team that
all year was able to get a lead and play defense for the rest of
the game. They need to find the right balance between putting pressure
on WMU and sticking to their defensive style. That won't be easy.
 
> Clarkson, to me, has often underachived in the ECAC tournament, which
> has led to bad seedings, and poor showings in the NCAA Tournament.
> Take a look at some of the names that have passed through Clarkson,
> they're pretty impressive:  Hugo Belanger, Scott Thomas, Steve Dubinsky,
> Jarmo Kekalainen, Chris Rogles, Jason Currie, Marko Tuomainen, Craig
> Conroy, Ed Heinrich, Patrice Robitaille, Brian Mueller - I know there's
> others.  That's a lot of talent.
 
Those are the names that typified Clarkson in the early 90s. Most of
them actually did well in the ECAC and everyone (except for Thomas,
Kekalainen, & Currie) were prominent players on that team in '91 that
upset LSSU in the NCAAs and went to the Frozen Four. Currie was on the
roster in '91, but I don't remember how much he played.
 
> This year, totally different.  There are no stars, and I give Mark
> Morris a lot of credit.  Todd White has scored a lot this year, and
> Dave Seitz and J.F. Houle are a pair of very good two-way players.  The
> defense is very solid, though not as big as Morris would like.
 
This is what I liked about Clarkson this year. At the beginning of
the year, I couldn't think of one big name (at least that everyone
else could recognize). White has pleasantly surprised me this year.
I knew he was good, but he has stepped up his game about 5 notches
to really impress me. Seitz, Steve Palmer, Chris deRuiter, and
Chris Lipsett have just been solid.
 
The defense will be a question against WMU. It's relatively
inexperienced, especially in post-season, and certainly not as big
as Cornell was! I don't know too much about WMU (jump in, CCHA),
but if Clarkson doesn't stay out of the penalty box enough, that
defense will just get worn down.
 
> At the beginning of the year, Morris said it would be more a team
> concept this year, and he's pulled it off brilliantly.  I just don't
> know if they have enough of each component - speed, size, firepower,
> etc... -- to win this game.
 
> With Magliarditi probably better than Murphy, that neutralizes one of
> Clarkson's strengths.  It will probably be a low-scoring game -- if
> it's not, Clarkson's in trouble.
>    But Clarkson scored just one goal last week.  If Morris tries to
> open it up a bit, they may be in trouble.
>
I have a feeling he might. Even though a wide-open game isn't their
game, he may want to open it up just to get his troops to put the
puck in the net. Murphy's had a great year, but he'll need defensive
help Friday night.
 
> I say, Western Michigan wins, 4-2.
>
Hmmm.......
 
I'm an optimist, so I say Clarkson 3-2. I also have gotten in touch
with my realistic side, so I say Western Michigan 6-4.
 
The biggest factor (from a Clarkson perspective) will be if Clarkson
can just hang in there, physically. Stay away from the boards and
try to get the most out of each line.
 
Andy
 
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