{"id":30994,"date":"2010-02-04T23:23:45","date_gmt":"2010-02-05T05:23:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2010\/02\/04\/this-week-in-the-ecac-eastnescac-feb-4-2010\/"},"modified":"2010-08-17T19:57:52","modified_gmt":"2010-08-18T00:57:52","slug":"this-week-in-the-ecac-eastnescac-feb-4-2010","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2010\/02\/04\/this-week-in-the-ecac-eastnescac-feb-4-2010\/","title":{"rendered":"This Week in the ECAC East-NESCAC: Feb. 4, 2010"},"content":{"rendered":"
With just three weeks remaining in the regular season, the pressure is on to really refine the level of play in order to garner as many points as possible in the final half dozen games of the season. This refinement will not only help define the teams\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 playoff positions but also set the stage for moving into the playoffs with the right focus and game plan to make a run at a conference championship. <\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153A good analogy is looking at being a builder,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Bowdoin head coach Terry Meagher. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We have done all the heavy lifting, pouring the foundation, framing the house and such early in the season. Now we are really working on the trim and finish work and getting the house ready for sale and showing off how solid and good the construction really is. With a \u00e2\u20ac\u2122one and done\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 tournament format you want your team playing at a high level with attention to the little things that will help you be successful — the finished work.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n
Right now everyone is hoping the construction is solid and in some cases looking at the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153master contractor\u00e2\u20ac\u009d on their roster to help expedite the process of building a championship run. <\/p>\n
While Babson head coach Jamie Rice\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s team is no stranger to winning the ECAC East title (two in the past four seasons), this year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s team has had a number of new experiences to challenge the mental toughness and resiliency of the entire roster. And from those challenges a new team leader has emerged that has the Beavers turning their game on at the right time of the year. <\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153In all my years of coaching, I have never had a year like this one,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Rice. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153If you told me at the beginning of the season that we would lose our leading scorer, best defenseman and another key senior forward from roster for virtually the entire season, I would say that would cause big problems for a young team looking for production and leadership from those key guys.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n
Babson has in fact lost Jason Schneider, Gabriel Chenard-Poirier and Corey Griffin to season ending injuries so far has weathered the loss of the seniors, albeit with some other hardships along the way. <\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Everyone has injuries,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d noted Rice. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a part of the game that every team has to deal with and nobody ever uses it as an excuse for performance or how the team is doing overall. This year has been strange in that losing the three kids was a big deal but since our first day of practice we have never had our full 26 players on the roster on the ice. <\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We are lucky when we have 19 or 20 sometimes so we are learning to get by with the players who can go and have been developing the experience and confidence along the way especially with the young players.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n
A clear leader for Babson has been their leading scorer, junior Terry Woods. His 12 goals and 13 assists lead the offense for Babson and his goals have been big ones contributing on the power play, man-down situations as well as two game-winning tallies so far this season.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153In the six years I have been here, I have never had a kid more valuable to his team than Terry [Woods] is this season,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Rice. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153He is really underrated even going back to his days at Andover Academy. I think the four game streak he is on right now is incredible and certainly something I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t remember seeing here at Babson.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n