THE Season Preview

The season is just a couple of days away, and my season preview ran in today's Watertown Daily Times. You can find it by clicking that “Local Sports” link at the top of the page.

Here you can find my position-by-position breakdown and all the extra quotes from Coach Joe Marsh and several players. UMass.-Lowell is Friday afternoon. I'll be listening to it and have some thoughts after the fact here on the blog.

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Position-by-position

Defensemen

The loss of Shawn Fensel, Jared Ross, Zach Miskovic and Matt Generous from last year's squad left a lot of questions for the St. Lawrence defense. Jeff Caister and Derek Keller will anchor this year's team. Caister has 56 career points, including his freshman and sophomore years at Wayne State. He accumulated nine points with two goals and seven assists last season for the Saints. Both Keller and Caister can give leadership to new defensemen George Hughes, Jordan Dewey, Mac Stratford and Sean Coffey. Other returners looking to make an impact include Matt Raley, Pat Kelliher and Pete Child.

Forwards

Although the Saints lost star forwards Brock McBride and Kevin DeVergilio, they have solid returning talent. The difference is that there isn't necessarily a game-changer yet. Mike McKenzie is one of the most dangerous players in opponents' zones. He led the Saints in scoring last season and is 21 points shy of 100 for his career. He is an assistant captain this year, which will help guide underclassmen Kyle Flanagan, Jacob Drewiske, and Max Mobley. Aaron Bogosian is the most versatile and fastest player. He should help with the transition game until some of the younger players separate themselves and stability is achieved offensively.

Goalies

Right now there are five goalies on SLU's roster. All five of them could come in to play. Alex Petizian is the frontrunner and will get the starts through the first few games at least. Behind him is Robby Moss and Kain Tisi, who will be ready to jump in should Petizian falter or get injured. Freshman David Grilk is 6-foot-5, 215 pounds. He's waiting in the wings for now, but might see playing time this season.

Outlook

St. Lawrence nullified nearly 90 percent of its penalty kills last year. The defense will be essential to a successful season. With Caister and Keller at the head of it, St. Lawrence is going to need its underclassmen to play significant minutes and play them well. There are a lot of question marks for the Saints heading in, which could be why the ECAC coaches picked them to finish 10th in the conference. Coach Joe Marsh feels they are a much more talented team than its 10th-place status suggests. The only problem is that a lot of the talent is in the untested underclassmen.

Prediction: Sixth in ECAC Hockey.

QUOTES

Joe Marsh:

On the loss of four great defensemen:

“They were just there every day slugging it out. There was zero maintenance. It was incredible. All played, all focused, did well in school. It was a great, great place to build a team around. We're excited about the young guys here. We're excited about kids like Matt Raley, Bobby Tourney. Pete Child, he didn't play last year. He's going to play. He's an older guy, he's experienced. He looks really good.”

On Mac Stratford being out to start the season waiting to get cleared to play:

“I think it's something to do with secondary credits. I'm really absolutely thrilled with the kids we have. Everything we've thrown at them they've embraced.”

On the defense:

“ I like what we can do with our d-corps. All the parts are there. The guys are willing, they're able and are very coachable guys. Offenses and defenses are not mutually exclusive. We were able to transition so well from defense to offense.”

On the schemes the season:

“We're not the type of team that's going to score as much on the rush. We're going to have to be a more patient team. We're going to have to generate better opportunities to get second and third chances. We're going to have to hang on to the thing when we get it.

I don'tknow if we're a real quick counter attack team as much as we are getting it in and trying to wear an oppponent down and getting second chances and getting better zone time, really be conscious of protecting the puck. We've got some guys that can do that by themselves. We're strong, physcially, we've just got to hang on to the puck. We've got some guys who can put it away, particularly (Mike) McKenzie. He's an unbelievable competitor. He's always risen. He's a very consistent, very steady player. He knows what he has to do and does it.

Jerry Cunningham is a tremendous skater and came in in unbelievable shape. His role, just by the fact McBride and DeVergilio are gone, his role is going to be elevated. He did everything he possibley could to prepare for it and then some. He came in stronger and faster.

We play an agressive style. We check two men. All those things can be done. It requires a lot of hard work. We're going to roll four lines. I think we can have some balance. I think we can have a third and fourth line that are very competitive and give us quality shifts. We're optomistic, cautiously so. I think there are a couple teams out there that are underrated. Clarkson is 11th. Do we really want to pick them 11th? I don't. That's not in their makeup.”

On all the entangibles heading into the season:

“I think all the guys generally saw themselves in the same light we did, saying ‘Hey this is an opportunity for them to step up.' That's sort of the general theme. Seven guys left or signed professionaly. It's a good class, to sayt he least, that we lost.”

On the exhibition game with Toronto:

“We got a chance to see the younger kids. We got to see them play in a major role. We got a chance to see them play in an extended role that they might not get to have throughout the season and at the same time see what they can do.

I thought (George) Hughes had a really good game. I thought for newer players, Kyle Flanagan had a really good game. We got a chacne to mix it around and move guys into different slots. I was pleased with the consistency with Matt Raley.

Obviously we think we can be a lot stronger team as we move on. We had six pretty good players that didn't even put a uniform on.

It's a good eye opener because maybe we have more to work on than we thought. I don't mean that in a bad way, there just is. I think we've got to get our power play and special teams nailed down a little bit. We have to be a puck possession team. We need to get second and third chances. We have to sustain it and not cough the puck up a lot.”

On picking a goalie:

“I would say right now Petizian is the No. 1 guy. We wanted to give all of them a chance to get in there. At this point we're at the same spot we were at last year. I would say we'll see how things play out.”

On choosing pairings/lines:

“We break our season down into fazes. There's going to be some moving in and out. We've got to do that a little bit to get guys a chance to play. At the same time, it's competition now and the games all count. We don't pre-determine how much movement there will be.

I think we're pretty good up front. I think we're ok there. I think the big thing is where we are defensively. That responsibility isn't just with the defensemen, it's on everybody, so our defense is going to be our big thing. We're finding the right lines and where we are as a defensive corps. Consistency is what we strive for, certainly. We know we've got a lot to work on.”

Mike McKenzie

On having only one full week of practice before gametime:

“I'm used to it now. It's a little different than what most guys are used to coming from juniors, prep school and stuff, where the season starts and then it starts for real, whereas here it starts but you're kind of in limbo for a little bit of games. It's here now, so we're ready to go. It's exciting. We've been practicing for month now. It will be nice to get some actualy game action.”

On where the team stands:

“We're a different team than last year, and there's nothing wrong with that. The main thing will be hard work and all 20 guys as a unit playing as one. Just making sure everyone is on the same page. We still have a lot of experience. We still have a pretty good group of seniors. Last year we had a couple of gamebreakers. We can't wait for guys to do that this year. We have to come ready to play right from when the puck drops and play the full 60 if we want to be successful.”

Aaron Bogosian:

On how he spent the offseason:

“I went home and traned with my brother (Zach Bogosian). I did the same thing as the summer before and just tried to get in better shape than the year before.”

Any sibling rivalry with his brother:

“We had some battles growing up, but we're best friends. I talk to him everyday. He's lovin' it. He loves it (in Atlanta). He's living the dream pretty much and enjoying the moment.”

Jeff Caister:

On the talent of the underclassmen:

“At the end of the day it's still just hockey. They've played long enough to know how to play the position and how to be successful. All these guys that come in and guys that have been here for a little while, they all can play the game and they are all pretty skilled. It might be a little bit of a process and it might take a while, but I think we will be fine.”

On the time between getting to campus and starting the season:

“College hockey has one of the longest time before you get to play that first game. It's like a month and a half. It's a long process and can be really draining at times. Everybody seems to be really upbeat and team chemistry is strong, which is huge. I think we're looking forward to finally getting on the ice and showing everyone we shouldn't be taken lightly. People might think that right now and that's fine with us, but we'll make sure we show them we're for real.”

Derek Keller:

On more responsibility:

“I think obviously it's a little more than last year. I don't think we look at it as any extra pressure. It's more of an opportunity. There's a lot of good young defensemen that are coming in this year and guys coming back from last year that are coming back and can play really well for us.

For the young guys, early on, there will probably be a little bit of nerves. Maybe battling a lot of things mentaly that me and Jeff need to step in and calm their nerves and tell them to have fun and play their game and they'll be alright. ”

Attitude during preseason practices:

“I think it's been a real postive attitude. Guys look at this as an opportunity and are looking to make the best of it. They're eager to get on the ice and maybe show the coaches what they can do.”