In an exhibition game last Friday night, the UMass-Lowell RiverHawks came from behind to beat Concordia 4-3 in OT on a shorthanded goal by Jon Mahoney. The RiverHawks scored on the first shift of the game and then proceeded to spend a lot of time in the penalty box, *lead* by Aaron Kriss, one of only three seniors on the team. Since Mike made a point in his Hockey East preview of mentioning Christian Sbrocca's need to stay out of the penalty box, I'll add that Sbrocca didn't take a single penalty the entire game. Personally, I don't see his 80 PIMs last year as being a problem, but then I also don't agree with Mike's prediction of a Mass-Lowell seventh place finish in Hockey East. :-) Since results aren't really that important for an exhibition game, I'll just finish by saying that UML fell behind 3-2 in the third only to tie it and then win in the OT with Mahoney's top shelf wrister. What follows are a few player evaluations: (all of the above is from memory so if I butcher the spelling on any of the new players, my apologies...) In Goal: Craig Lindsey - He replaced Rollie in the third period in a few blowouts last year, but is basically as untested as the rookies. He didn't give up any goals, but there were more clangs off the post than in an Eric Montross free throw shooting exhibition. I wasn't overly impressed. It's probably still his job to lose, though... Fankhauser - He played in the second period and gave up one goal. Too early to tell. Martin Fillion - He played in the third period and OT. He *did* give up two goals in the third, but his performance in the OT left me feeling that he could be the best of the whole lot. The first goal he gave up was a shot from the point through a heavy screen. He clearly never saw the shot. The other goal was only a few seconds into another Concordia power play. What really stood out in my mind, though, was the way he stoned Concordia a couple times in OT. Is he a hot and cold goalie, or is he the real thing and the other two goals weren't his fault? Too early to tell, but based purely on this one game, he'd be my starting goalie against Mass-Amherst next Saturday. On defense: Aaron Kriss - One of only three seniors (and one of the others, Eric Brown, did not play), Kriss was the single biggest disappointment of the entire night. Out of all the many shoes the RiverHawks have to fill this year, Kriss seemed more likely to fill Travis Tucker's shoes as career penalty minutes king than Shane Henry's or Kerry Angus's shoes as quarterbacks on the powerplay. In a game in which he didn't play particularly well in any facet, he was a fish out of water on the point on the powerplay. A new kid, Nikolishin (or something like that) got a lot of time. If he can contribute as a freshman like Ed Campbell did last year, it will really help replace Kerry Angus and solidify the blueline. Forwards: Bullock is clearly the cream of the crop here. He and Sbrocca are the two biggest threats and the fixtures on the powerplay. After that, the picture becomes more muddled. Jeff Daw, who showed so much promise as a freshman only to halfway disappear as a sophomore, will be the captain this year in a move that seems to define the word "bizarre". However, he looked *much* better than he ever looked last year, so it wouldn't be a shock to see him on the powerplay and be number three scorer on the team. If you'd ever asked me to give odds on *that* last year... David Dartsch, a junior transfer from Kent State, played left wing on Bullock's line and will be a key piece of the puzzle. If he stays on Bullock's line, he'll put up the numbers. Jon Mahoney is my candidate for being this year's Norm Bazin. Last year Bazin came from nowhere to be a key scorer; if Mahoney can become consistent he could fill that same role. Ryan Golden, who was 6' 4" last year, hasn't shrunk. He'll never have Bullock's soft hands, but he could be an effective role player. I was disappointed that Neil Donovan didn't have a better game. At the end of last year, I projected Donovan as the third scorer behind Bullock and Sbrocca. He wasn't that effective, however, and could win up off the top two lines. Perhaps it was just one game, and Crowder was getting a look at a lot of players, but it was an unpleasant surprise. None of the rookies leaped right out at you, certainly none the way that Bullock did last year. A guy I coach with liked a kid named Henderson, but I wasn't impressed. Jarrod DiBona, the local kid who played at Matignon (I believe) and then redshirted last year, didn't appear to dress. ***************************************************** ,-******-, * Dave Hendrickson "Robo" [log in to unmask] * *' ## '* * A Hockey Polygamist and Get-A-Lifer * *## ___##___ ##* * GO BROONS!!! Go Red Wings!! Go Leafs! * * ##| ___ \## * * GO UMASS-LOWELL!!! Go Maine!! Go BU! * * | |___) | * * --------------------------------------------------* *######| ___ <######* * Although I can't remember ever having an original * * | |___) | * * thought, and am certainly parroting someone who * * ##|________/## * * actually has a brain, these opinions are mine, * *## ## ##* * not Hewlett-Packard's. * *, ## ,* ***************************************************** '-*******-'