{"id":30938,"date":"2010-01-21T10:07:47","date_gmt":"2010-01-21T16:07:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2010\/01\/21\/this-week-in-the-ecac-eastnescac-jan-21-2010\/"},"modified":"2010-08-17T19:57:51","modified_gmt":"2010-08-18T00:57:51","slug":"this-week-in-the-ecac-eastnescac-jan-21-2010","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2010\/01\/21\/this-week-in-the-ecac-eastnescac-jan-21-2010\/","title":{"rendered":"This Week in the ECAC East-NESCAC: Jan. 21, 2010"},"content":{"rendered":"
Just five weeks and 10 games remain for most teams in the league and already the races are tightening up. In the NESCAC, first through eighth are separated by just four points and only two points lay between first and sixth place. <\/p>\n
Over in the ECAC East, Norwich is comfortably atop the standings. Further down, however, the teams bunched up between second and seventh are only separated by four points. So a good or bad weekend can have a major impact on your team\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s playoff prospects.<\/p>\n
If there is a key word from the coach\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s handbook on clich\u00c3\u00a9s right now, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s consistency. The teams that have it want to keep it and continue to improve while other teams still looking for it know that now is the time to find their game. The sense of urgency is becoming palpable. Here is a snapshot of a host of teams in the ECAC East — and Trinity from NESCAC — striving to get their respective games fine-tuned for the end of season run that will lead into the conference tournament in February.<\/p>\n
When you start the year with a strong group of returning players mixed in with 15 new freshmen on the roster, the likelihood is you are going to take a little bit of time to figure out all of the moving pieces in getting the team to play cohesively and consistently. <\/p>\n
For Southern Maine the process has helped to add some needed depth and mature some of the younger players quickly in support of proven players who have met expectations and in most cases exceeded them by their coach\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s standards.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We are playing well despite our losses,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d noted Huskies head coach Jeff Beaney. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sometimes I forget how young we really were when we started the season. We probably could have shortened the bench earlier in the season and maybe benefited from a couple of more wins as a result but giving these players a chance to develop has really added to our overall depth as we have searched for the right combinations in the line-up.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Right now the Huskies are skating two freshman lines that have been effective on the ice despite not necessarily showing up on the scoresheet.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153In our game last week against Colby, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a 1-1 tie in overtime and obviously a tight game,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Beaney. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I look out on the ice and I have four freshmen and a sophomore out there against a very strong team and really had no issues about putting them out there in that situation.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
The freshmen have been able to develop this season largely because of the supporting cast of upperclassmen that lead the team in scoring and continue to show the way for Southern Maine. Sophomore Dan Rautenberg (six goals, 10 assists, 16 points), junior Chris Travis (5-10-15) and junior Paul Conter (5-9-14) are part of a core of players leading the offensive part of the game along with goal scoring leader Zach Joy.<\/p>\n
Joy (17-2-19) is a power forward by any definition of the position. He leads his team in goals, hits, finished checks and finds a way to position himself to make the most of his chances. His goal against Colby tied the game and was typical of his drive to the net and commitment to battling for loose pucks and finding a way to score.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s interesting that when I speak to other coaches, they will more often ask about Travis and Rautenberg,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Beaney. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Those guys can absolutely fly and shoot the heck out of the puck. Zach skates very well too and can also score outside the circles but his game is less flashy so he probably gets less attention because of it. What is really special about Zach is that he is a great kid and good student but his conditioning as a hockey player goes way beyond any player I have seen here in my tenure. <\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153He never gets tired and goes 100% every time on the ice in any situation. He is obviously not a playmaker with just two assists this season but is really a throwback player in terms of his physical play and doing the difficult things in tough parts of the ice to get his scoring chances.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n