One of the underappreciated rules of good writing is, as one professor said, to “avoid clich\u00c3\u00a9s like the plague.” Common phrases — usually similes or metaphors — are such an easy out, and can instantaneously turn a quality piece of work into hackneyed garbage.<\/p>\n
But some clich\u00c3\u00a9s go beyond a simple snippet or a sentence, and can lure an entire column (for example) into an attractive trap laced with laziness disguised as cleverness. The most frequent example is The List, which can come in many forms: the Top Ten list, the Power Rankings list, the Report Card, or the topical Bullet Point list. That last one is especially pertinent today, as I’ll be fighting tooth and nail against the urge to wreck this column with a “Things to be Thankful For” bit. <\/p>\n
Don’t thank me yet; you may not like the alternative any better. After all, the nicotine gum that soothes my smoldering yearning for a good hot clich\u00c3\u00a9 is The Pun … and boy, do I love puns.<\/p>\n
I … have been wrong.<\/p>\n
I try not to make a habit of it, mind you, but I’m never afraid to step up and admit when I’ve made a mistake. So here’s a Ted Kennedy-sized portion of apologies so far this year. Hold the gravy.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 I was wrong about Dartmouth.<\/p>\n
To be fair, who outside the 603 area code would’ve picked the Big Green to be Big Pimpin’ this year? Jody O’Neill is apparently the answer in net with a goals-against smack dab at 2.00 and a save percentage over .940. Adam Estoclet (four goals, eight assists) will be getting buzz for Rookie of the Year, until people realize he played last year too. The team’s top five scorers are underclassmen, and Dartmouth’s reigning scoring champion Evan Stephens is barely warming up (two goals, three assists). <\/p>\n
The Green have already played Harvard and Cornell on the road (albeit in two losses), and play nine of their remaining 15 league games at home. It’s still early, but an awful lot of Dartmouth’s destiny lies in its own hands.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 I was partially wrong about Clarkson.<\/p>\n
The Golden Knights are scrambling madly for the Tarnex, trying to put a shine on a season that has been all kinds of frustrating so far. The team that took the regular-season title in 2007-08 and went 15-3-1 at home (10-0-1 in ECAC play) is now 2-6-2 overall and 1-3-2 at home (1-3-0 at Cheel against the league). <\/p>\n
The biggest headache for George Roll’s team has been in the infirmary. Shea Guthrie, Mark Borowiecki, Phil Paquet, Chris D’Alvise and Julien Cayer have missed 17 games between them due to an assortment of injuries, and the resulting tumult in the line charts has put the on-ice chemistry … well … on ice. Hopefully the experience currently being gained by the likes of sophomores Lauri Tuohimaa, Brandon DeFazio and Scott Freeman will serve the Knights well once the injury bug migrates elsewhere.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 I may have been wrong about Harvard.<\/p>\n
I figured a new goalie and lost scoring would spell a slow start at best for the Crimson. Instead, the Ivy is a perfect 4-0-0 at home and 4-3-2 overall. Frosh ‘keeper Matt Hoyle has played every minute for the Cambridge crew, holding a 1.75 GAA and .938 save percentage, and players like senior Nick Coskren (who? a four goal-scorer, that’s who) are capitalizing for the reloaded Crimson.<\/p>\n
That said, things are dim away from Bright, as Harvard is 0-3-2 on the road so far.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Finally, and on a more sincere note, I either neglected to reach — or otherwise failed to reach — individuals like Cornell coach Mike Schafer, Princeton counterpart Guy Gadowsky, or league Director of Officiating Paul Stewart before running critical or controversial notes that concerned them in the past two weeks. I’m not going to go so far as to say it was lazy or sloppy journalism — much of the material was written close to deadline — but it was definitely incomplete, and I’m sorry for that.<\/p>\n
Roger Grillo likes his team, likes his players, and likes having a single non-conference game against Connecticut to focus on this weekend.<\/p>\n
What he doesn’t like is the perceived discrepancy between scorekeepers around the league.<\/p>\n
Making note of the ostensibly significant workload being borne by goalie Dan Rosen, Grillo heated up a bit.<\/p>\n
“He’s had some good games, but to just look at the shot charts is a farce,” he said. “The biggest farce in our league is how shot charts are produced. It’s one of my biggest pet peeves right now.”<\/p>\n
To be sure, shot tallies are a deal with the statistical devil. They seem to indicate how many chances each team had on net, and by extension could imply dominance or inferiority of each side in the contest. But the shots simply can’t tell the story.<\/p>\n
“We’ve been forcing people to shoot from outside,” stated Grillo, explaining how he has been happy to allow more clear, long-range shots instead of fewer but more dangerous chances from in close. (Watch the Boston Bruins if you get a chance, and you’ll see the strategy in action.)<\/p>\n
Grillo also pointed out how some scorers count 100-foot dump-ins on net as shots, while others have a more subjective ruling on what constitutes a shot and what isn’t worthy of the designation. <\/p>\n
The fact of the matter is that there ought to be a clean and clear definition for counts and what doesn’t. I had always believed that any puck — originating from an opposition stick — that would go in the net were it not for a goalie, counts as a shot. Am I wrong? I haven’t had the chance to find the NCAA designations, but I’ll check it out for you by next week and let you know.<\/p>\n
Also, stay tuned for a possible feature story on rebound percentages, which is a side project I’m working on to improve on the current goals-against\/save percentage statistics that define goaltender performance. I hope it pans out.<\/p>\n
… with Steve Hagwell, ECAC Hockey Commissioner<\/b><\/i><\/p>\n
Puns? Me? Never. <\/p>\n
The Commish and I conversed the other day about the State of Things, vis-a-vis the league administration. Hagwell & Co. are already making preparations for Springtime in Albany (a.k.a. The Bank of America ECAC Hockey Championship), but specific details are still far from finalized. The current phase seeks sponsorship funding, which has been difficult given the general state of the economy, according to Hagwell. <\/p>\n
Elsewhere, ECAC Hockey is planning another year of Pink at the Rink to benefit breast cancer research and the American Cancer Society, and also a charitable event to support “Coaches Care,” a foundation raising money to aid the needy in the Gulf Coast region of the country. I’ll do my best to keep you all up to date on the latest regarding each benefit.<\/p>\n
The Boss mentioned the web site as a big area of interest, as the statistics program has changed (an improvement, in my humble opinion) and new material and features are constantly being evaluated. Officiating is “the primary league focus,” but more on that later.<\/p>\n
And what about this newfangled shootout proposal, already being used in the CCHA and in multiple women’s leagues?<\/p>\n
“There was considerable discussion between the administration and the coaches … we looked at various formats to try to figure out if we wanted to implement it or not,” Hagwell said. “Coaches made their recommendations to [the athletic directors].” The coaches voted against the shootout as a group, and “at the end of the day, the administrators went with the coaches.”<\/p>\n
Don’t count the gimmick out entirely though; the commissioner indicated that the idea could be up for debate again at any time.<\/p>\n
… with Paul Stewart, Director of Officiating<\/b><\/i><\/p>\n