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