Just to deck this ho-hum point out of the way, Bob Deraney is hardly a duplicate of Bill Belichick, and for that reason the New England football press corps should feel free to envy this author.
Public personas aside, the coach of the PC women’s hockey team would be advised to emulate the approach of the Patriots’ skipper as he pilots his pupils into 2011. The circumstances and resources at hand are similar enough.
In the growingly distant wake of three titles in four seasons, the Patriots have not hoisted a Lombardi Trophy since 2005. Likewise, the once-dynastic Friars are going on five years without a Hockey East pennant or an NCAA tournament passport.
As is mandated at the college level and as is practically natural in a 21st century sports world where so few athlete-franchise marriages have any sanctity, PC and New England have undergone a gradual personnel overhaul since they were last on top of their respective leagues. (Although the hockey gods know if Deraney could keep sidekicks Karen Thatcher and Erin Normore in uniform beyond practice the same way Tom Brady, when healthy, has been a mainstay at quarterback, he would.)
And just like the newly confirmed AFC regular season champions, the 2010-11 Friars were indubitably competitive before they went into action, but have since achieved enough to pleasantly surprise even themselves.
For the better part of their slowly dying four-week holiday, they have enjoyed being No. 9 in USA Today/USA Hockey’s national leaderboard and a tie for eighth with North Dakota in the uscho.com poll. They own the sixth best overall record in the country at 13-5-1 for a .711 winning percentage. Only Cornell, Wisconsin, Boston University, Mercyhurst, and Boston College are living larger. The almighty likes of Minnesota and Minnesota-Duluth are a miniscule stride behind PC, but a stride behind nonetheless.
When sized up with the other 33 Division I programs in the country, the Friars are a respectable No. 9 on the penalty kill. Their offense is seventh-best with 3.26 goals per game and defense is No. 8, allowing only 1.89 opposing strikes per night.
The only team stat pining for an upgrade is the power play, which has converted a mere 15 of 96 opportunities in PC’s first 19 games.
Which cracks open the most pivotal Patriots parallel at hand. This generation of Deraney’s pupils has yet to hallmark itself. It will not until it stamps fresh numerals on the NCAA tournament banner that glides over the team’s defensive zone at Schneider Arena.
Furthermore, although their posture and pace in the national standings could arguably warrant an at-large bid, the Friars will need at least one more dollop of punch to hack through what’s left of the regular season.
And the half-New Year’s champagne, half-leftover fruitcake news is this: the most taxing phase of the homestretch comes first. Minute-munching goaltender Genevieve Lacasse will be living a hard-earned dream with Team Canada at the MLP Cup while her college companions pay a two-night visit to the exponentially improving Maine Black Bears this weekend. Likewise, while the Scarborough Save-ior is wrapping up her business trip to Switzerland on Jan. 9, Boston University will still have sizzlers Marie-Philip Poulin and Jenn Wakefield back on campus raring to host Providence.
No matter how much loot the unripe Christina England and/or Nina Riley can safeguard, or how many a strike force complete with healed co-captain Jean O’Neill can whittle away, one would like to think the Friars will gain something intangible out of the next three games. And whatever that is, it can come in gratifying use over the next 11 ventures before the ice chips settle on the playoff picture.
The question is, how gratifying? It all depends on what they pick up to build on both in the Hockey East standings and on their national resume, a priority far more vital than the former.
Yes, they theoretically go hand-in-hand. The higher PC finishes within the league, the more reverence it is bound to garner from the soon-to-be selection committee.
But even if PC made good of home ice advantage and took two of its three unopened meetings from Boston College, odds are the first-place Eagles are not going to concede many more points to the rest of the league. And even with a four-point gap and two games in hand on BU, a win on Jan. 9 still does not assure a permanent pole-vault into first-round bye territory.
So instead of overexerting on the two anointed aristocrats of Hockey East, the Friars should focus a little more on asserting itself against fellow mid-to-heavyweight Northeastern when they meet late next month. It should be sure to remind the Black Bears that they still have a few more rungs to climb. It should not shy away from kicking ice chips over rival New Hampshire while they’re down. And, of course, they ought to consider the concept of sweeping the season series with the downright disappointing Vermont.
They do enough of that, and the Friars can be a thrilling third-place team, one that could make Boss Bertagna justifiably proud of his league’s progression.
Of course, they are free to make their case to crash the presumptive Comm. Ave. party on the first weekend of March. But before they get there, perhaps they’d like to go up secure in the notion of having an at-large bid within tasting distance.
That’s where Belichick could rightly envy Deraney, for the latter might not even need a conference championship trophy, just a return to the exclusive Elite Eight, to replenish his sense of excellence.
Al Daniel can be reached at hockeyscribe@hotmail.com
This article originally appeared in the Friartown Free Press
Monday, December 27, 2010
Saturday, December 18, 2010
PC Women's Hockey Midseason Player Reports
Nicole Anderson- At one point, the towering winger had a team-leading 2-3-5 transcript on the power play, which cooled off over November along with her. A last-minute perk-up before the break, however, could bode well for the second half.
Kate Bacon- In her third full season, and first injury-free, Bacon is using her turbine blades without fail to charge up a rapid career year and a team-best 14 goals, 20 points, and 92 shots on net. One only wishes that “opposing penalties drawn” could be adopted as an official statistic, for she would facilely be a team, if not league or even national leader in that category.
Corinne Buie- Not much more can be asked of Buie in the second half, except of course that she not let her self-enhancing profile get to her head and self-destruct. If she stays on pace, she ought to finish with roughly 24 points for the second-best rookie campaign by a Friar in the Hockey East era, trailing only Veharanta’s 2008-09 output.
Jess Cohen- Her insipid numbers –two goals and no helpers on 23 shots on net- are symptomatic of last year’s Laura Veharanta syndrome. She along with classmates and linemates Anderson and Jessie Vella ought to be the making the most vocal New Year’s pledges in the PC Skating Sorority.
Ashley Cottrell- While not quite on the same productive pace (seven goals, 12 points) as her sizzling sophomore season, Cottrell is still of doubtless value and playing a routine role in the clutch. She has scored three game-winning goals, assisted on another two, and had a hand in two critical equalizers, both of which immediately preceded game-clinchers for the Friars.
Lauren Covell- After flexibly hopping between positions on demand, the junior grinder can expect to assume a full-time forward assignment once Jean O’Neill comes back, giving PC a long-awaited quorum of 12 forwards.
Jen Friedman- Now beyond the halfway mark of her career, the towering defender has established herself as a prototypical point-based puckslinger. With a 4-10-14 transcript, including 2-3-5 on the power play, she is worth emulating to her blue line colleagues.
Abby Gauthier- Has fed off a resolute regimen of summer training and the contagious seasoning of her linemates. Not only has Gauthier joined in on the career year crowd with a 4-8-12 scoring transcript. She has inserted three power play goals in 19 games on the year after going without anything of the sort in a combined 67 contests her first two seasons.
Emily Groth- More than anything, the sophomore center is pining for a full-time pair of linemates, which should be coming on the other side of the break.
Christie Jensen- Had a booming finale to the calendar year by posting a plus-4 rating during the recent three-game homestand, which liberated her from the red in that category.
Genevieve Lacasse- The nation’s leader in cumulative minutes played (1147:57) and a not-too-distant No. 3 in terms of aggregate saves with 555. Only Ohio State’s Lisa Steffes (559) and Sacred Heart’s Alexius Schutt (558) have repelled more rubber, although they have also authorized more goals. The Cyclopean task thus left to Christina England and/or Nina Riley for the first three games of January speaks for itself. But once Lacasse is back from the MLP Cup, she will be one start-to-finish game away from 5,000 career minutes, which would place her second on the Friars’ all-time leaderboard ahead of Sara Decosta.
Rebecca Morse- The rookie blueliner, playing under Friedman’s wing on the second unit, is anything but shy about pinching in the offensive zone and has scraped out a respectable six points as a result.
Jean O’Neill- O’Neill has barely had a full regular season game to set the tone for her finale, but it was a promising pledge as evidenced by her opening night hat trick. Her probable reinsertion the first weekend of January will essentially follow a miniature summer of replenishing her game, which ought to let her lend a ration of genuine depth without delay.
Maggie Pendleton- Compared to the majority of her peers, Pendleton has more progress to make. Then again, this was only her first semester. The aforementioned Jensen should be tasked with continuing to help hone her young defensive partner.
Leigh Riley- Riley has never seen much of her name on either side of the scoresheet in her first three seasons. This year, though, she is sneaking in to the scoring half a little more with four assists, but her game remains Lady Byng-like with only two minor infractions.
Alyse Ruff- The senior co-captain has eclipsed an otherwise curious dip in goal frequency with a team-best 13 assists and a league-best plus-19 rating, the latter stat a plain testament to her two-way value. And not unlike her fellow top-six center Cottrell, she is regularly on the scoresheet when the decision is made, nailing three game-clinchers and setting up another two.
Laura Veharanta- Has patently regained her confidence, as evidenced by her already exceeding her 2009-10 output under the goal (three last year, six this year) and shot (57 last year, 65 this year) headings.
Jessie Vella- Defensive efficiency has earned her substantial time on the penalty kill, but is not exactly reflected in her plus/minus, owing entirely to a modicum of offensive output.
Amber Yung- The Friars’ leading blueliner, like her partner Riley, has continued to demonstrate commendable discipline with only two minor penalties in the first 19 games. It’s also hard to gripe over her plus-12 rating, a sign that she is filling Colleen Martin’s skates.
Al Daniel can be reached at hockeyscribe@hotmail.com
This article originally appeared in the Friartown Free Press
Kate Bacon- In her third full season, and first injury-free, Bacon is using her turbine blades without fail to charge up a rapid career year and a team-best 14 goals, 20 points, and 92 shots on net. One only wishes that “opposing penalties drawn” could be adopted as an official statistic, for she would facilely be a team, if not league or even national leader in that category.
Corinne Buie- Not much more can be asked of Buie in the second half, except of course that she not let her self-enhancing profile get to her head and self-destruct. If she stays on pace, she ought to finish with roughly 24 points for the second-best rookie campaign by a Friar in the Hockey East era, trailing only Veharanta’s 2008-09 output.
Jess Cohen- Her insipid numbers –two goals and no helpers on 23 shots on net- are symptomatic of last year’s Laura Veharanta syndrome. She along with classmates and linemates Anderson and Jessie Vella ought to be the making the most vocal New Year’s pledges in the PC Skating Sorority.
Ashley Cottrell- While not quite on the same productive pace (seven goals, 12 points) as her sizzling sophomore season, Cottrell is still of doubtless value and playing a routine role in the clutch. She has scored three game-winning goals, assisted on another two, and had a hand in two critical equalizers, both of which immediately preceded game-clinchers for the Friars.
Lauren Covell- After flexibly hopping between positions on demand, the junior grinder can expect to assume a full-time forward assignment once Jean O’Neill comes back, giving PC a long-awaited quorum of 12 forwards.
Jen Friedman- Now beyond the halfway mark of her career, the towering defender has established herself as a prototypical point-based puckslinger. With a 4-10-14 transcript, including 2-3-5 on the power play, she is worth emulating to her blue line colleagues.
Abby Gauthier- Has fed off a resolute regimen of summer training and the contagious seasoning of her linemates. Not only has Gauthier joined in on the career year crowd with a 4-8-12 scoring transcript. She has inserted three power play goals in 19 games on the year after going without anything of the sort in a combined 67 contests her first two seasons.
Emily Groth- More than anything, the sophomore center is pining for a full-time pair of linemates, which should be coming on the other side of the break.
Christie Jensen- Had a booming finale to the calendar year by posting a plus-4 rating during the recent three-game homestand, which liberated her from the red in that category.
Genevieve Lacasse- The nation’s leader in cumulative minutes played (1147:57) and a not-too-distant No. 3 in terms of aggregate saves with 555. Only Ohio State’s Lisa Steffes (559) and Sacred Heart’s Alexius Schutt (558) have repelled more rubber, although they have also authorized more goals. The Cyclopean task thus left to Christina England and/or Nina Riley for the first three games of January speaks for itself. But once Lacasse is back from the MLP Cup, she will be one start-to-finish game away from 5,000 career minutes, which would place her second on the Friars’ all-time leaderboard ahead of Sara Decosta.
Rebecca Morse- The rookie blueliner, playing under Friedman’s wing on the second unit, is anything but shy about pinching in the offensive zone and has scraped out a respectable six points as a result.
Jean O’Neill- O’Neill has barely had a full regular season game to set the tone for her finale, but it was a promising pledge as evidenced by her opening night hat trick. Her probable reinsertion the first weekend of January will essentially follow a miniature summer of replenishing her game, which ought to let her lend a ration of genuine depth without delay.
Maggie Pendleton- Compared to the majority of her peers, Pendleton has more progress to make. Then again, this was only her first semester. The aforementioned Jensen should be tasked with continuing to help hone her young defensive partner.
Leigh Riley- Riley has never seen much of her name on either side of the scoresheet in her first three seasons. This year, though, she is sneaking in to the scoring half a little more with four assists, but her game remains Lady Byng-like with only two minor infractions.
Alyse Ruff- The senior co-captain has eclipsed an otherwise curious dip in goal frequency with a team-best 13 assists and a league-best plus-19 rating, the latter stat a plain testament to her two-way value. And not unlike her fellow top-six center Cottrell, she is regularly on the scoresheet when the decision is made, nailing three game-clinchers and setting up another two.
Laura Veharanta- Has patently regained her confidence, as evidenced by her already exceeding her 2009-10 output under the goal (three last year, six this year) and shot (57 last year, 65 this year) headings.
Jessie Vella- Defensive efficiency has earned her substantial time on the penalty kill, but is not exactly reflected in her plus/minus, owing entirely to a modicum of offensive output.
Amber Yung- The Friars’ leading blueliner, like her partner Riley, has continued to demonstrate commendable discipline with only two minor penalties in the first 19 games. It’s also hard to gripe over her plus-12 rating, a sign that she is filling Colleen Martin’s skates.
Al Daniel can be reached at hockeyscribe@hotmail.com
This article originally appeared in the Friartown Free Press
Friday, December 17, 2010
Brief backcheck: Remembering the Providence-Charlotte hockey alliance
Not surprisingly, but nonetheless disappointingly, the seasoned and accredited Rhode Island media passed over yet another intriguing Providence Bruins’ story. Tonight, the P-Bruins will host the fifth incarnation of the Charlotte Checkers, who entered the AHL this autumn as the Carolina Hurricanes’ new feeder club.
One may recall that a previous version of the Checkers –who also played in the defunct Eastern League from 1956-73 and the bygone Southern League from 1973-77- were Boston’s Double-A affiliate from their inception in the ECHL in 1993 until 1998, when their auspices shuffled over to the New York Rangers.
During the Checkers’ five-year partnership with the Spokespeople, the following 30 players saw action in both Providence and Charlotte:
Howie Rosenblatt, RW (both teams 1993-95)
Sergei Berdnikov, LW (Providence 1993-94, Charlotte 1993-95)
Roman Gorev, F (Providence 1993-94, Charlotte 1993-95)
Derek Eberle, D (Providence 1993-95, Charlotte 1993-94)
Matt Robbins, F (Providence 1993-94, Charlotte 1993-97)
Scott Lindsay, RW (Providence 1993-94, Charlotte 1993-95)
Scott Bailey, G (Providence 1993-97, Charlotte 1993-94)
Andre Bashrikov, RW (Providence 1993-94, Charlotte 1993-95)
Dominic Amodeo, C (Both teams 1993-94)
Scott Meehan, D (Providence 1993-94, Charlotte 1993-96)
Kurt Seher, D (Providence 1992-95, Charlotte 1993-2003)
Evgeni Ryabchikov, G (Providence 1994-97, Charlotte 1995-97)
Rob Tallas, G (Providence 1994-98, Charlotte 1994-95)
Steve Norton, D (Both teams 1994-95)
Bill McCauley, D (Providence 1995-98, Charlotte 1996-98)
Andre Roy, LW (Providence 1995-98, Charlotte 1997-98)
Milt Mastad, D (Providence 1995-96, Charlotte 1996-98)
Scott Kirton, RW (Providence 1995-96, Charlotte 1995-97)
Charles Paquette, D (Both teams 1995-98)
Joe Crowley, LW (Charlotte 1994-95, Providence 1995-96)
Shawn Wheeler, LW (Charlotte 1994-97, Providence 1995-96)
Brad Konik, C (Both teams 1996-97)
Justin Gould, D (Providence 1996-97, Charlotte 1996-98)
Paxton Schafer, G (Providence 1996-99, Charlotte 1996-98)
P.C. Drouin, LW (Providence 1996-98, Charlotte 1997-98)
Andrei Yakhanov, D (Both teams 1997-98)
Kimbi Daniels, C (Charlotte 1995-97, Providence 1997-98)
Antti Laaksonen, LW (Providence 1997-00, Charlotte 1997-98)
Eric Naud, LW (Both teams 1997-98)
Richard Uniake, C (Both teams 1997-98)
Quick feeds: Goaltender David Brumby also dressed for the P-Bruins and Checkers in the 1998-99 season, though the alliance had officially ended by then. Brumby and Laaksonen both exulted in the Spoked-Ps 1999 Calder Cup championship…Five other players –Kirton, Meehan, Paquette Seher, and Wheeler- partook in Charlotte’s Kelly Cup title in 1996…Of the 30 players listed, Laaksonen saw the most cumulative action with the P-Bruins, appearing in 144 games and charging up 85 points…Robbins is the ECHL Checkers’ second all-time leading scorer with 340 points in 256 career games…Seher played in Charlotte from 1993-2003, overlapping the teams’ affiliations with Boston and the Rangers, and logged a franchise-high 593 games played…Bailey, Drouin, Laaksonen, Roy, Schafer, and Tallas all garnered a few ice chips of regular season action in Boston.
One may recall that a previous version of the Checkers –who also played in the defunct Eastern League from 1956-73 and the bygone Southern League from 1973-77- were Boston’s Double-A affiliate from their inception in the ECHL in 1993 until 1998, when their auspices shuffled over to the New York Rangers.
During the Checkers’ five-year partnership with the Spokespeople, the following 30 players saw action in both Providence and Charlotte:
Howie Rosenblatt, RW (both teams 1993-95)
Sergei Berdnikov, LW (Providence 1993-94, Charlotte 1993-95)
Roman Gorev, F (Providence 1993-94, Charlotte 1993-95)
Derek Eberle, D (Providence 1993-95, Charlotte 1993-94)
Matt Robbins, F (Providence 1993-94, Charlotte 1993-97)
Scott Lindsay, RW (Providence 1993-94, Charlotte 1993-95)
Scott Bailey, G (Providence 1993-97, Charlotte 1993-94)
Andre Bashrikov, RW (Providence 1993-94, Charlotte 1993-95)
Dominic Amodeo, C (Both teams 1993-94)
Scott Meehan, D (Providence 1993-94, Charlotte 1993-96)
Kurt Seher, D (Providence 1992-95, Charlotte 1993-2003)
Evgeni Ryabchikov, G (Providence 1994-97, Charlotte 1995-97)
Rob Tallas, G (Providence 1994-98, Charlotte 1994-95)
Steve Norton, D (Both teams 1994-95)
Bill McCauley, D (Providence 1995-98, Charlotte 1996-98)
Andre Roy, LW (Providence 1995-98, Charlotte 1997-98)
Milt Mastad, D (Providence 1995-96, Charlotte 1996-98)
Scott Kirton, RW (Providence 1995-96, Charlotte 1995-97)
Charles Paquette, D (Both teams 1995-98)
Joe Crowley, LW (Charlotte 1994-95, Providence 1995-96)
Shawn Wheeler, LW (Charlotte 1994-97, Providence 1995-96)
Brad Konik, C (Both teams 1996-97)
Justin Gould, D (Providence 1996-97, Charlotte 1996-98)
Paxton Schafer, G (Providence 1996-99, Charlotte 1996-98)
P.C. Drouin, LW (Providence 1996-98, Charlotte 1997-98)
Andrei Yakhanov, D (Both teams 1997-98)
Kimbi Daniels, C (Charlotte 1995-97, Providence 1997-98)
Antti Laaksonen, LW (Providence 1997-00, Charlotte 1997-98)
Eric Naud, LW (Both teams 1997-98)
Richard Uniake, C (Both teams 1997-98)
Quick feeds: Goaltender David Brumby also dressed for the P-Bruins and Checkers in the 1998-99 season, though the alliance had officially ended by then. Brumby and Laaksonen both exulted in the Spoked-Ps 1999 Calder Cup championship…Five other players –Kirton, Meehan, Paquette Seher, and Wheeler- partook in Charlotte’s Kelly Cup title in 1996…Of the 30 players listed, Laaksonen saw the most cumulative action with the P-Bruins, appearing in 144 games and charging up 85 points…Robbins is the ECHL Checkers’ second all-time leading scorer with 340 points in 256 career games…Seher played in Charlotte from 1993-2003, overlapping the teams’ affiliations with Boston and the Rangers, and logged a franchise-high 593 games played…Bailey, Drouin, Laaksonen, Roy, Schafer, and Tallas all garnered a few ice chips of regular season action in Boston.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)