St Lawrence Hockey

[critsports]

Re: St Lawrence Hockey

Well.....that puts a wrap on another season. As always when it ends we can reflect on the high's and the low's. On the one hand in many respects I think this team overachieved (consdiering the lack of depth and the talent we had top to bottom.)
Yet on the other I'm disappointed as after following Saints hockey from some years now....I realize opportunity doesn't come along all that often and is cyclical. Back when.....with Flanny, Hughes and a good goaltender....in my mind this was the year I had us penciled in (some years ago) to have an NCAA tournament team. But that didn't come to pass.....other things didn't materialize, injuries, departures, etc.

The other disappointment comes from knowing we won't get to be treated to watching Kyle Flanagan and George Hughes in a Saints Uniform anymore. These were two very special players and both will be missed. Both also now have places of honor in the Saints record book. Go look up how many SLU players had more assists than Kyle did over his career. George Hughes scoring is also near the top of all time SLU greats.

Thanks to the other seniors...Jordan Dewey, Mac Stratford and two guys who gave their all selflessly while largely working outside the limelight in Matt Dyer and David Grilk.

Going forward.....I'm confident our team is in good hands. I think things are (given time) going to materialize as the current coaching staff is breathing new life into a storied program. With the college and NHL experience they posess.....they do have the ability and credibility to attact better players to SLU.

As for next year??? I think we will have added depth....but we lost some big talent. That will be tough to replace. We are going to need to find or have someone step up to get Carey the puck. I think it will be a few years and recruiting classes before we can get back to the top of the league.....but I am confident that we have the coaches, staff and program to get back up there.

[LTsatch]

Re: St Lawrence Hockey

One thing about SLU is that they have heart. They never gave up. I agree that Yales depth and excellent defense were the difference. I have to say, that it seemed when Flanagan got frustrated that it affected the entire team. He is a special player who was getting a good look from some scouts in my section, good luck to him and the other seniors in the future.

[hockeyplayer1015]

Re: St Lawrence Hockey

Well, a disappointing way to end the season. Best of luck to the seniors, especially Flanny and Hughes, who I'm sure have some bright days of hockey ahead of them.

Looking to next year, we have 5 USHL players coming in next year, who have historically been able to contribute pretty early on at the college level. Brian Ward should be able to make an immediate impact as a Sophmore, having been around the D1 game with Dartmouth.

I think overall, this season is probably about what we expected. Caught some bad luck with injuries and Armstrong leaving at the break, which left us very thin on the roster. A couple good recruiting classes on the horizon, hopefully we can get back towards the top of the league again.

As always, its been great talking hockey with all of you, hope you all have a healthy and relaxing off season. October will be here before we know it.

[TimU]

Re: St Lawrence Hockey

I disagree that this was a playoff meltdown. Frankly, the better team won the series. Yale is much deeper up and down the lineup. What this shows is that better recruits and better players win this league. I am very happy with the hard work on the recruitment front by the coaches and expect SLU to improve moving forward.

I agree, but I think both are true to an extent. Ylae was the better, deeper, team. But they are not 9-1 better than SLU. And even though Ylae undoubtedly played good defense and made life difficult for our top line, that group finished the series with zero points and 14 minutes in penalties. There isn't a team in the country that can consistently shut those three down like that. Our guys were outmanned, but they also didn't really show up this weekend.

I still think overall this season was a success. What a great second half. As everyone else has already said, there's no replacing Kyle Flanagan or George Hughes, but with their background, experience, and enthusiasm for the program, our coaches will bring in a lot of good players and good people as they put their stamp on the team.

October will be here before we know it.

You can say that again.

[LTsatch]

Re: St Lawrence Hockey

FYI Yale is using Panasonic AVCCAM cameras with some sort of transmitter on top.

[Muskieman]

Re: St Lawrence Hockey

Well.....that puts a wrap on another season. As always when it ends we can reflect on the high's and the low's. On the one hand in many respects I think this team overachieved (consdiering the lack of depth and the talent we had top to bottom.)
Yet on the other I'm disappointed as after following Saints hockey from some years now....I realize opportunity doesn't come along all that often and is cyclical. Back when.....with Flanny, Hughes and a good goaltender....in my mind this was the year I had us penciled in (some years ago) to have an NCAA tournament team. But that didn't come to pass.....other things didn't materialize, injuries, departures, etc.

The other disappointment comes from knowing we won't get to be treated to watching Kyle Flanagan and George Hughes in a Saints Uniform anymore. These were two very special players and both will be missed. Both also now have places of honor in the Saints record book. Go look up how many SLU players had more assists than Kyle did over his career. George Hughes scoring is also near the top of all time SLU greats.

Thanks to the other seniors...Jordan Dewey, Mac Stratford and two guys who gave their all selflessly while largely working outside the limelight in Matt Dyer and David Grilk.

Going forward.....I'm confident our team is in good hands. I think things are (given time) going to materialize as the current coaching staff is breathing new life into a storied program. With the college and NHL experience they posess.....they do have the ability and credibility to attact better players to SLU.

As for next year??? I think we will have added depth....but we lost some big talent. That will be tough to replace. We are going to need to find or have someone step up to get Carey the puck. I think it will be a few years and recruiting classes before we can get back to the top of the league.....but I am confident that we have the coaches, staff and program to get back up there.

Your comments are spot on. We were just plain beat by a better team this weekend, and I wish Yale the best going forward. All of the rough patches considered (e.g. the 5-game losing streak while trying to get the Program to win #1,000; not being able to beat Clarkson in 3-tries), this was a fun season. And, the incoming recruits look to be very, very good.........the future looks bright.

Thanks, seniors, for representing SLU with class, and for your many accomplishments on and off the ice. Best of luck to all of you in your future endeavors.

[Muskieman]

Re: St Lawrence Hockey

Now that our season is over, I've noticed several new contributors on this Thread the last few years and have enjoyed your comments. While many who post here have seen the true story posted below and can ignore it, I thought that those of you who are new might get a kick out of this story, first posted on the SLU Thread 4 years ago. Enjoy:


“FREEZING THE PUCKS”
By: Brian M. Henry

This is a story about the only Team Manager in college hockey history who, through his total incompetence, most certainly affected the outcome of a game. I’ll preface this by saying that there was no protective netting behind the goals back in the days.

While managing what was supposed to be my Senior Year (’73-’74), I shared that responsibility with Kevin Arquit, SLU ’75. We practiced those days with unfrozen and “beat-up” pucks and either Kevin or I would go through the stands after practice to retrieve the many pucks that ended up there. Kevin and I got to know every inch of Appleton, trust me. A primarily responsibility that we rotated each week was to go to the Coaches Office on Thursday afternoon before a weekend home game and place 30-35 shiny new pucks into a freezer. They would be removed just before the game and placed into a bucket(s) of crushed ice and then handed to the Officials (Percy Shore) during the game as needed.

It was mid-February ’74 and BC was coming to town (note: we had played BU in Jan. and upset the then #1-ranked Terriers 5-4) for a Saturday game. I got to Appleton around 5:00 PM on Saturday and checked the puck freezer and, voila, it was empty. My eyes were as wide as saucers (reminds me now of many scenes of Christopher Lloyd in the “Back to the Future” series) because I had forgotten to go to Appleton on Thursday and freeze them (it was my turn to do so, not Kevin’s). Hastily, I dumped 35 of them into the freezer but knew it was too late and that our Head Coach (the late Bernie McKinnon) would kill me if he found out. Can’t remember why I “screwed up” -- was either at a Physics Lab or I’d gone to the Hoot Thursday PM -- most likely the latter.

Well, what the hell was I going to do then? My ONLY objective was to make sure that Bernie did not know. However, it occurred to me that my total incompetence could perhaps help us Larries upset BC. Bernie comes into the locker-room and gives the most passionate speech I’ve ever heard as he emphatically and repeatedly says that the late John “Snooks” Kelly is NOT going to win his 500th game in our building.

It must be noted that, back in those days, there were no PC’s/internet and all that we kept up on was what Clarkson was doing and vice versa. That said, the players had no idea what Mr. Kelly’s coaching record was. While nobody admitted it publicly, we (i.e., SLU & CCT) pulled for one-another to ensure that nobody ever swept the NC (it had never happened to that point). Back in those days, CCT usually saved the NC’s bacon!

Bernie leaves the fired-up team and I now ask them to listen up so long as they promise not to tell Bernie and because my incompetence will help us. I then confess to the entire team that the pucks were/are not frozen and (as a result) they would be bouncing like crazy all night, and go on to say that keeping their sticks above the ice and NOT on it might work. To my knowledge, nobody else was made aware of the situation.

The game starts and the pucks are bouncing all over the place. Bernie starts yapping about what is wrong with the ice and the players smile but never say a word (thanks, guys!). Then, Snooks and his players do the same and many remark that bad ice is impossible because Appleton always had the best ice in their view. I could hear the BC guys complain because the benches back then were adjacent to one-another on the east side of the rink, and the Managers/Trainers stood in a runway between both benches.

It’s the third period and we’re up by a goal when BC is awarded an extended 2-man advantage. BC is all over us and misses 3 or 4 glorious chances with a yawning net because (surprise!) the puck hops over their sticks. SLU goes on to win 5-2, I think with an ENG at the end. The game ends and Snooks and his team are infuriated, and Bernie is puzzled, by the “bad ice.”

Bernie and the Manager(s) were always the last to leave and Bernie always offered to drive me back to the dorm. On the way back, I said to Bernie that I had a confession to make and was doing so only because we had won and that I had tipped off our team. He was not a happy camper at first and gave me a well-deserved lecture, but then started cracking up. He then remarked that he also had a confession to make and went on to say to me that, “Snooks was going for win #499 and not 500.” We both laughed like crazy all the way to the dorm.

So, Saint fans, one more victory and one less loss in the all-time won-loss ledger for SLU was due in large part to Muskieman’s total incompetence.


P.S. An individual well-connected with SLU Hockey pointed out to me upon reading this several years that the year/season was wrong - it was actually '71-'72, my sophomore year. Guess that time in the Hoot did wonders for my memory.

[LTsatch]

Re: St Lawrence Hockey

Great story!

[ColSkate65]

Re: St Lawrence Hockey

Sympathies to you guys, but Yale is just a buzz-saw right now. Good luck to Kyle Flanagan and George Hughes in the future. It's not gonna seem the same when SLU comes into Starr without those two I had you folks to win in AC based on your talent and run at the end of the season (and taking us out). I'm sure you will reload next season and be giving everyone headaches. Good luck.

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: St Lawrence Hockey

Wow, that is one of the most interesting stories I've read. Talk about "home ice advantage"...

[Saints#1]

Re: St Lawrence Hockey

Sympathies to you guys, but Yale is just a buzz-saw right now. Good luck to Kyle Flanagan and George Hughes in the future. It's not gonna seem the same when SLU comes into Starr without those two I had you folks to win in AC based on your talent and run at the end of the season (and taking us out). I'm sure you will reload next season and be giving everyone headaches. Good luck.

I hope you are right about next, I really want to make it to Lake Placid. We lose an awful lot with Kyle and George. I hope those two games without Kyle in the Capital District were not a sign of things to come for next year

[Saints#1]

Re: St Lawrence Hockey

Wow, that is one of the most interesting stories I've read. Talk about "home ice advantage"...

And here I though Appleton was a big enough home ice advantage!

[Got 6, Want More]

Re: St Lawrence Hockey

Thanks for the posts here...enjoyed reading the comments.

I'd be happy to chip in on new video equipment. I must admit, I didn't do the video feeds this year because I have been frustrated with the quality and I had no time and was in Australia for the first half of the season.

We will be a better team next year. We lose a few players that are in the record books and Flanny has been a stud, but we are adding considerable depth. We have bonafide blue chippers coming in such as Bayreuther, Ward and M. Carey. We have a goalie the size of a grizzly bear. We add depth in every position. We needed more balanced scoring all season. I too am reasonably confident G. Carey will be back, but you never know. I know this, if Bollig can play in the NHL (even though I know his role) so can Carey and Flanny.

I for one was not looking forward to the matchup with Yale. I think the Saints did not give their best effort and Yale is not 9-1 better than us, but I don't think we matched up well against them this year. I don't think it mattered who we played, not getting a bye was the death blow. I don't think we could have won against any of the four teams that had home ice. I am still a bit stunned Brown (largely thanks to good play by Nick Lappin) knocked off RPI, but winning twice at Union, Q-Pac or Yale....not easy. That's why what happened the last weekend of the RS with Flanny being out and the team faltering in the Cap District. On home ice....different story I think. We really did lack depth this year. We had a thin roster. We relied very heavily on 2-3 guys for scoring. I agree this season was a success. I am very happy to see some really good kids have a good season. One kid I will really miss is Matt Dyer - to me this guy is what Saints hockey is all about. We was a straight walk on that won a regular role through hard work and effort. Just a great kid with great parents.

I have no doubt the direction of this program is up. Carvy is one of the smartest, most charismatic kids ever to play at SLU. Between him, Hurley who was proably the best combination of talent and hard work as a Saint and Kris, they are going to real in more good players, add depth and be a tough team to play against.

Finally, I didn't want to go to AC anyway!

[Saints#1]

Re: St Lawrence Hockey

Thanks for the posts here...enjoyed reading the comments.

I'd be happy to chip in on new video equipment. I must admit, I didn't do the video feeds this year because I have been frustrated with the quality and I had no time and was in Australia for the first half of the season.

We will be a better team next year. We lose a few players that are in the record books and Flanny has been a stud, but we are adding considerable depth. We have bonafide blue chippers coming in such as Bayreuther, Ward and M. Carey. We have a goalie the size of a grizzly bear. We add depth in every position. We needed more balanced scoring all season. I too am reasonably confident G. Carey will be back, but you never know. I know this, if Bollig can play in the NHL (even though I know his role) so can Carey and Flanny.

I for one was not looking forward to the matchup with Yale. I think the Saints did not give their best effort and Yale is not 9-1 better than us, but I don't think we matched up well against them this year. I don't think it mattered who we played, not getting a bye was the death blow. I don't think we could have won against any of the four teams that had home ice. I am still a bit stunned Brown (largely thanks to good play by Nick Lappin) knocked off RPI, but winning twice at Union, Q-Pac or Yale....not easy. That's why what happened the last weekend of the RS with Flanny being out and the team faltering in the Cap District. On home ice....different story I think. We really did lack depth this year. We had a thin roster. We relied very heavily on 2-3 guys for scoring. I agree this season was a success. I am very happy to see some really good kids have a good season. One kid I will really miss is Matt Dyer - to me this guy is what Saints hockey is all about. We was a straight walk on that won a regular role through hard work and effort. Just a great kid with great parents.

I have no doubt the direction of this program is up. Carvy is one of the smartest, most charismatic kids ever to play at SLU. Between him, Hurley who was proably the best combination of talent and hard work as a Saint and Kris, they are going to real in more good players, add depth and be a tough team to play against.

Finally, I didn't want to go to AC anyway!

I agree with absolutely everything you stated here! Clearly the way we ended the season at Yale hurt (kind of surprised me a bit), but after taking a step back I see a tremendous upside with this team. Especially when you take a look at what we have coming in. Hopefully they use this year as a learning tool as to how important it is to get that bye. Home ice is important as was proven this year (with the exception of Brown).

[hockeyplayer1015]

Re: St Lawrence Hockey

Kyle Flanagan is off to Glens Falls to join the Adirondack Phantoms on an ATO this year, and a 1 year deal with the Flyers for next season. Congrats!!