Do I dare start an MSU-Clarkson thread? (10/9, 10/10)

[owslachief]

Very little I know about Clarkson, except:

• It's not Clarkston

• It's in the ECAC, which has Cornell and Colgate besides

• Lost 2 of its top 3 scorers from last year

• Has a couple capable sophomore goalies

• Was featured in off-ice-related news recently for something or other

Us? Well we looked good against ourselves and against a lower-division Canadian school over the weekend, but we're still trying to figure it out.

Any thoughts?
Who's making the journey from New York?

 

[StayPuftMMcu]

Re: Do I dare start an MSU-Clarkson thread? (10/9, 10/10)

Thought about it, but prior commitments won't let me. I will be watching as much of the games as I can, though!

Clarkson sounded excellent over the radio in their 6-1 win over University of Toronto. The offense seemed to be clicking, and special teams were very good. Hopefully that can carry over to the start of the regular season, although I'm a little worried about Saturday night. I think they'll come out of the gate flying on Friday and possibly take MSU a little by surprise. The surprise wears off on Saturday and MSU comes out for revenge. A split would be the expectation, anything more would be a bonus.

We lost some quality players, but all indications so far this year point to a team that is willing to work as hard as possible to win. I like the chances of a team like that in any game, no matter who they play.

 

[aallenpollreisz]

Re: Do I dare start an MSU-Clarkson thread? (10/9, 10/10)

Perhaps it's because I haven't seen a hockey game against a D-I opponent for the quite some time, but I'm genuinely excited for Friday.

I'll go out on a limb and say we sweep somehow - granted, all I've seen is the intrasquad scrimmage and the exhibition so far, but I really like what I've seen. At the very least, our nightly effort will be more competitive.

 

[Pirateasaurus]

Re: Do I dare start an MSU-Clarkson thread? (10/9, 10/10)

I am really excited for this season after what i've seen so far from MSU. I am gonna ride this kool-aid and predict two wins because i like our speed and it's at home. As long as our goaltending holds solid, I think that our road to redemption begins this weekend.

 

[FireKnight]

Re: Do I dare start an MSU-Clarkson thread? (10/9, 10/10)

Here's a little bit about Clarkson for those who might be interested.

- Clarkson University (formerly Clarkson College of Technology and Clarkson College), located in Potsdam, NY, twenty-five miles from the Canadian border
- Enrollment - approximately 3000
- Closest major city - Ottawa, Ontario
- The townspeople in Potsdam sound more like Canadians than New Yorkers.
- Considered a top engineering school with other majors growing.

Hockey history
- Fastest program to 1000 wins by winning percentage
- Undefeated season in 1955-56 but still without a national championship.
- Last NCAA tournament appearance was 2007, lost to Michigan in Regional Final.
- Overall record v. Michigan State is 7-4-1. Lost to MSU 6-1 in 1966 NCAA Championship game.
- NHL players of note - Dave Taylor, Craig Loughlin, Colin Patterson, Steve Dubinsky. Active - Todd Marchant , Craig Conroy, Chris Clark, Todd White, Erik Cole, Willie Mitchell, Kent Huskins, Randy Jones

Now on to this year's team
- Picked by coaches to finish 11th in ECAC
- Picked by media to finish 8th in ECAC
- Coached by George Roll, former BGSU captain and national champion.
- Five current NHL draft picks, including Julien Cayer and Bryan Rufenach, both drafted by Detroit.

Goaltending
- Sophomores Paul Karpowich and Richie LaVeau split time down the stretch last year with mixed results. Karpowich, a 7th round pick of St. Louis, is slated to be the primary goaltender. He played the second half of last season with a broken wrist.

Forwards
- Junior captain and 2008-09 leading scorer Scott Freeman will lead the offense and is going to be relied upon more as a scorer and less as a setup man.
- Of the 10 returning forwards, 9 played in 30+ games last season. Forwards Matt Beca and Lauri Tuohimaa were among the most consistent performers on the team while the freshmen gained valuable playing experience.
- Although he didn't find the net in the exhibition opener, freshman Adam Pawlick seems to have the skill set of a strong power forward.

Defense
- With only 7 varsity candidates and only 1 senior on defense, there might be more question marks than knowns in the defensive corps.
- Junior Bryan Rufenach is an established offensive threat on the blue line.


Honestly, I don't know what to expect out of the Clarkson team this year. They had a strong freshman class last year coming in but they experienced the typical growing pains. If they develop into the players they can be, Clarkson could challenge for a top 4 spot in the league. If not, 11th might be a more appropriate choice. The emergence of Paul Karpowich in goal will be a significant development.

I'm making the trip out to East Lansing, leaving NY under cover of night fall early Friday morning and visiting friends in the Detroit-Metro area during the course of the weekend. Unfortunately, the Twins win today ruined my plans for Sunday in Comerica.

 

[vicb]

Re: Do I dare start an MSU-Clarkson thread? (10/9, 10/10)

I was gonna go but work obligations prevent me. Will listen on the internet. MSU will win 2 very close and competetive games IMHO. LGT

 

[vicb]

Re: Do I dare start an MSU-Clarkson thread? (10/9, 10/10)

I was goning to go but work obligations prevent me. My guess in MSU in two low scoring competetive games 3-2 and 2-1. . LGT Prove me wrong.

 

[hockeyguy]

Re: Do I dare start an MSU-Clarkson thread? (10/9, 10/10)

Perhaps it's because I haven't seen a hockey game against a D-I opponent for the quite some time, but I'm genuinely excited for Friday.

I'll go out on a limb and say we sweep somehow - granted, all I've seen is the intrasquad scrimmage and the exhibition so far, but I really like what I've seen. At the very least, our nightly effort will be more competitive.

I wouldn't blow over clarkson. They are a team that could jump up and bite you. They always have size both on D and Fowards. I think this is going to be a very interesting weekend

 

[owslachief]

Re: Do I dare start an MSU-Clarkson thread? (10/9, 10/10)

I think they'll come out of the gate flying on Friday and possibly take MSU a little by surprise. The surprise wears off on Saturday and MSU comes out for revenge.

I don't know why - probably because we've got yet another considerable number of guys who've not played this level of competition yet and we're sort of on a euphoric ride from Monday - but I'd have to agree with you and say MSU gets a wakeup call on Friday and drops one - then figures it out and finds a way to win Saturday.

A split would be the expectation, anything more would be a bonus.

Right there with you

 

[Nevergoodenough]

Re: Do I dare start an MSU-Clarkson thread? (10/9, 10/10)

So Chief, did you hope that everyone would forget this thread so you wouldn't have to address your prediction?

Tonight is the scary game. MSU has to HIT like they did on Friday, and not get over confident. That is probably the biggest point with the freshmen as the upperclass know how a series can turn bad quickly.

Different goalie for MSU, can the D play the same in front of him, and will the PP get as much useage?

 

[owslachief]

Re: Do I dare start an MSU-Clarkson thread? (10/9, 10/10)

So Chief, did you hope that everyone would forget this thread so you wouldn't have to address your prediction?

Tonight is the scary game. MSU has to HIT like they did on Friday, and not get over confident. That is probably the biggest point with the freshmen as the upperclass know how a series can turn bad quickly.

Different goalie for MSU, can the D play the same in front of him, and will the PP get as much useage?

Not nice resurrecting this.

Well I love being wrong. I just hope it doesn't happen twice.
I don't think Comley will let them (as much as it's possible) get overconfident. Sticking to what they've learned, finishing checks and continuing to pepper the goalie will be the order of business I believe.

Clarkson got some momentum in the last 5 minutes of the third period and they did everything but put the puck in the net. That could carry over into this evening.

 

[Nevergoodenough]

Re: Do I dare start an MSU-Clarkson thread? (10/9, 10/10)

Even more than the coach, the captains need to get everyone ready for tonight. I saw a "new" Petry after the game. I think he likes the winning attitude of the new team...

 

[StayPuftMMcu]

Re: Do I dare start an MSU-Clarkson thread? (10/9, 10/10)

Didn't get to watch/listen to last night's game, but I heard the officiating was pretty lopsided in favor of MSU. The box score indicates that is a possibility, with 4 of MSU's 6 penalties coming after they already had 3 PPGs and a 4-1 lead.

Now I'm not saying that Clarkson played well enough to win. They probably didn't. They did, however, play MSU even-up through the first despite a 3-1 disadvantage in penalties, which is at least a decent sign, and I also heard they finished the game strong even though it was out of reach. Karpowich, I'm told, had an excellent game even though the box score doesn't show it. It is pretty worrisome that the penalties called on Clarkson throughout the game were interference, hooking, and holding. Those are speed penalties -- was MSU that much faster than Clarkson, or was that just CCHA officials being bad and calling small things on Clarkson and not on MSU?

 

[Spartanforlife4]

Re: Do I dare start an MSU-Clarkson thread? (10/9, 10/10)

Broom.

 

[owslachief]

Re: Do I dare start an MSU-Clarkson thread? (10/9, 10/10)

Clarkson came at MSU with everything this evening and I think either team could have taken it - of course that's reflected in the score and the see-saw goals.
It was certainly not a pretty win for MSU, but we'll take it.

 

[FireKnight]

Re: Do I dare start an MSU-Clarkson thread? (10/9, 10/10)

Definitely a more entertaining game this afternoon. Lots of things to work on for the Knights in practice. I don't know if you can teach someone to be a "finisher" but they definitely need one.

I thought the disallowed goal was a bad call but it was across the ice from me. It is my understanding that the puck must be intentionally redirected in order for the goal to be disallowed. The number of looks Wilkins took at one angle really makes me believe there was just not indisputable evidence to overturn the call. I thought the MSU goal was the correct call.

MSU has a good bunch of fans. I enjoyed their fans; they were very hospitable. I actually found myself rooting for MSU at a sports bar this afternoon while watching their football game against Illinois (who would root for a school that dropped hockey anyway?).

Good luck to State for the rest of the season.

 

[owslachief]

Re: Do I dare start an MSU-Clarkson thread? (10/9, 10/10)

MSU has a good bunch of fans. I enjoyed their fans; they were very hospitable. I actually found myself rooting for MSU at a sports bar this afternoon while watching their football game against Illinois (who would root for a school that dropped hockey anyway?).

Good luck to State for the rest of the season.

What a great thing to write. And same to your boys.

Illinois-Chicago dropped hockey unless I am mistaken - I think the death-knell was an 11-0 shellacking State put on them a few years ago.

 

[FireKnight]

Re: Do I dare start an MSU-Clarkson thread? (10/9, 10/10)

Illinois-Chicago dropped hockey unless I am mistaken - I think the death-knell was an 11-0 shellacking State put on them a few years ago.

You're right. It was the Flames. I remember seeing them play at the RPI Fieldhouse in the old RPI tourney.

Usually after the heat of the battle, I tend to root for teams that have played us, especially if their fans are good fans. I know the CCHA schedule is tight but I hope to see MSU come to Potsdam sometime soon. Of course, the $508 from the 50/50 raffle in my pocket kind of helps too.

Clarkson had a pretty good showing of fans for a small school over 14 hours away. I just wish they wouldn't do that "Knights" thing during the National Anthem on the road. I'll leave that for a thread on the Clarkson boards.

 

[aallenpollreisz]

Re: Do I dare start an MSU-Clarkson thread? (10/9, 10/10)

I'm bummed we didn't beat them like a drum again, but we needed a hard-fought win like the one we saw tonight. (Especially considering the plentiful hard-fought losses last season when we weren't getting destroyed.)

Clarkson looked like the Clarkson of two year ago tonight - which should be promising to their fanbase. Best of luck to you guys for the rest of the season.

Happy for the sweep. Off to Bangor where hopefully we can do it again.

 

[MCB]

Re: Do I dare start an MSU-Clarkson thread? (10/9, 10/10)

I thought the disallowed goal was a bad call but it was across the ice from me. It is my understanding that the puck must be intentionally redirected in order for the goal to be disallowed. The number of looks Wilkins took at one angle really makes me believe there was just not indisputable evidence to overturn the call. I thought the MSU goal was the correct call.

Since they didn't show the replay (glad we spent the money on those monitors) and didn't give an explanation, I thought there was a man in the crease because they took the face off out of the zone. I thought I could get a replay at the bar after the game but they were showing Friday night's game.

Congrats on the 50-50. Too bad we had such a rough year last year. With a normal crowd you would've gotten around $1400.

Thanks for making the trip.