Well, it is interesting that the Marty Legault-Greg Taylor comparison
comes up since Merrimack plays BC home and home this weekend.  The two
will finally get to go head to head again, and it should be an
exciting series.
 
Legault has certainly had a better defense playing in front of him.
It's a defense that has enabled Merrimack to beat BU, tie Maine and
play them tough two other times, tie UNH and lose twice to them by one
goal, etc.
 
Meanwhile, Taylor has often been hung out to dry by his defense.  I
think that in the 60 save game vs BU, he faced perhaps 15-20 shots from
the slot or closer.  He's had games where he played well and except
for a poor D which allowed shots Taylor had no hope of stopping, BC
might have won.
 
Both goalies are ones who can singlehandedly win a game for you - not
always, but there is that threat.  Legault was the prime reason why
Merrimack was still in the game that was a 3-1 loss to Maine in
December; Maine totally dominated play and had a number of breakaways
and high percentage shots, yet Legault kept it to a 1-1 game until
there were 5 minutes left.
 
The difference I have seen in the two goalies is that Legault is more
consistent, especially at stopping the first shot and in not suddenly
allowing a bad goal that can turn the momentum the other way.  He has
not allowed a bad goal in his last five games - that is my view, but I
consider myself to be tougher on him than non-MC people anyway, so it
is probably valid.
 
Taylor has the size advantage (6-2/180 vs Legault's 5-9/170) and when
he plays well, it is tough to find anyone better.  But perhaps because
he is still young (although he is a sophomore like Legault), or
perhaps because he is a more emotional player, he can have highs and
lows within a single game itself.  He can make several great saves to
keep BC ahead, and then allow a bad goal or two that gets the other
team right back in it.  And if he lets the goals get to him, then the
problems keep getting worse.
 
Legault doesn't have those emotional highs and lows...one of his
strengths last year was that he is remarkably level-headed, which
contributed to the consistency he enjoyed as a freshman.  Technically,
he is quite good...a difference I see between him and Eric Thibeault
is that he is very quick to get back up on his feet, and he stays on
his angles well too.  And he is able to forget the goals he gives up.
 
You can also tell when Legault is on his game.  He is one of the more
vocal goaltenders out there and barks orders and advice nonstop to his
teammates, loud enough that the entire rink can hear - "two, two" if
there's another forechecker coming in, for example.  If he's
particularly vocal, he is on, expect a great game from him.  (I think
the fact that he yells so much helps him keep his concentration.)
 
As a fan of the game, it's exciting to watch a game Taylor is in
because he has the ability to shine and pull off a remarkable
performance.  But also as one who has more of an interest in seeing
one team do well (Merrimack), at this point I'll take Legault and his
consistency.  With Legault, I feel confident of what I'll get: a solid
outing that will give MC a chance to win, and if he gets beat, the
other team will have earned it.  With Taylor, I would also expect a
showing that would give us a chance to win, but I'd be crossing my
fingers that he puts together a solid 60 minutes and doesn't allow a
bad goal at the worst possible time in the game.
 
If Taylor can solve his consistency problems and keep his emotions in
check a little more as he matures, I think Legault will have to keep
improving steadily to stay with him.  But he has done that so far
(example: working with Mike Geragosian, he has really improved the way
he handles the puck and can now make the quick turnaround pass to
center ice when the opponent wants to dump it in and get a change),
and I think that as long as Taylor sticks around, the next couple of
years should see some great netminding in HE when you add in the
others in the league too.
 
I don't know whether Taylor reads his own clippings or how he views
all the press, but it seems to me that Legault feeds off the coverage
that Taylor gets and it pushes him to play even better.  Merrimack
doesn't get nearly the same media coverage BC gets, which may be a
reason why Legault has largely been ignored - and maybe it has helped
Legault, too.
 
It's funny, one of Taylor's strengths - his emotional approach to the
game - can often be his Achilles Heel, too.  I've wondered whether
Jerry York has been concerned about getting Taylor to tone it down a
bit, or if he's happy to take the bad with the good, knowing that the
good can be REALLY good.
 
In comparing Allison/Herlofsky (and Heinke) to Legault/Taylor, a key
is that the latter two play for very unbalanced teams.  Maine, BU, and
UNH are strong both up front and on the blueline.  So is NU.  But BC
has outstanding forwards and weak defense, and Merrimack has superb
defense but cannot put the puck in the ocean.  Heck, if you could
combine the BC offense with the MC D plus Taylor and Legault as
platooning goalies, you'd have a pretty darn good team. :-)
---                                                                   ---
Mike Machnik                                            [log in to unmask]
Cabletron Systems, Inc.                                    *HMM* 11/13/93