PRINCETON, NJ — The St. Lawrence University men's hockey team overcame some early penalties to run away with a 5-2 win over No. 14 Princeton University in the first ECAC Hockey game of the season for both teams on Friday at Hobey Baker Rink.

Princeton jumped out early, scoring just 2 minutes, 45 seconds into the game. St. Lawrence committed three penalties in the opening frame and attempted 10 less shots than the Tigers.

The Saints even had a chance to tie the score, but failed to convert on a 5-on-3 advantage near the end of the first.

That changed in the second period as St. Lawrence settled. Mike McKenzie started the scoring with a goal at 8:23 of the second. Jeremiah Cunningham and Kyle Flanagan picked up the assists.

The Saints caught a break five minutes later when Max Mobley scored a short-handed goal while Peter Child was in the box. Jacob Drewiske got the assist. It was the first short-handed goal of the season and Mobley's first career goal.

Aaron Bogosian scored his first goal of the year at 17:03 — going blue line to blue line — to give the Saints a 3-1 advantage heading into the third period.

The three goals are the most by the Saints (5-2-1 overall, 1-0 ECAC) in one period so far this season.

The scoring continued only two minutes into the final session for St. Lawrence. Jared Keller scored the Saints' fourth consecutive unanswered goal and the game-winner with assists from Bogosian and Jake Klancher. It was Keller's second of the year.

St. Lawrence gave one back at 16:03 on a power play. Princeton's Tyler Beachell scored from Jody Pederson and Taylor Fedun.

Then, in a questionable move, Princeton pulled its goalie with nearly three minutes to play and down 4-2. The Saints benefited from the move instead.

Alex Curran scored on an empty net at 17:31 of the third to cap St. Lawrence's scoring.

Goalie Alex Petizian finally got his first win after giving away a two-goal cushion last weekend and settling for a tie. He made 32 stops. Zane Kalemba had 25 saves and allowed all four goals for Princeton (1-2-1, 0-1).

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NOTES:

Jacob Drewiske finally returned and had a decent night with an assist.

Aaron Bogosian scored his first goal of the year and picked up an assist as well.

Max Mobley had his first career goal.

Mike McKenzie now has 86 career points.

SLU plays Quinnipiac at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

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Around the ECAC

Quinnipiac defeated Clarkson, 4-2

Cornell beat Dartmouth, 5-1

RPI beat Yale in a shocker, 5-2

Union and Brown tied at 3-3

Colgate came from behind to beat Harvard, 5-4.

It looks like St. Lawrence is the ONLY team to win on the road Friday night. Not even the mighty Yale could do it.

Read the weekly College Hockey Notes

Princeton/Quinnipiac Preview

Well, this isn't so much a preview about the Tigers and Bobcats as a preview about what St. Lawrence needs to do to come out with a split or sweep.

Coach Joe Marsh made it very clear what he wants to see improved.

“We cannot repeat consistently what's going to hurt us, specifically penalties,” he said. “Those things we can really kind of clean up our act a little bit and be a much better, much more efficient team.”

St. Lawrence has had more penalties than its opponent in ever game this season.

“It's just ridiculous,” Marsh said. “We're not the type of team that can survive that.”

The Saints are spending 12.6 minutes in the box per game. They had eight penalties against Sacred Heart last Saturday alone, and five of them were in the third period when they allowed three goals.

“Even if you get all the kills, they're getting zone time; they're handling the puck more, and they're getting confidence,” Marsh said. “We just have got to get better in that.”

Princeton doesn't have this problem. The Tigers spend nine minutes in the box on average, through their first two games. They're disciplined and can take advantage of mistakes.

All three of Princeton's goals have come via the power play.

“We have to learn from these first six games and apply it,” Marsh said. “We have to concentrate on basic fundamentals.”

That's true for the Saints against Quinnipiac as well. The Bobcats take a lot of shots and score a lot of goals. This season alone, Quinnipiac is scoring four goals per game through its first five contests.

“I think we need to do a better job with our front line defense in our own end, particularly blocking shots,” Marsh said. “(Sacred Heart) got three shots right down the pipe. Our forwards have to do a better job getting in front, and if they're not blocking shots, they're certainly discouraging the shot from every being taken.”

The question still lingers about who exactly is the starting goalie. Marsh has maintained it's Alex Petizian still, but Robby Moss at 3-0 with a 93 save percentage has made a good push for time.

“I know I haven't picked up a win yet,” Petizian said. “But the last game, I felt I played pretty well. I needed that last game to kind of get it under my belt. Whoever is in there, I just hope we win.”

Princeton is ranked 14th nationally, and Quinnipiac narrowly missed the list after making it the week before. St. Lawrence didn't receive a vote this week, and were picked to finish 10th in the ECAC by the coaches.

Really?

Really.

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Links round-up

Quinnipiac Game Notes (PDF)

Princeton Game Notes (PDF)

Pete Child recently recorded a hat trick and his first career goal in the same game. I sat down with him for an extended interview to find out how he got to St. Lawrence, the intense workouts he endured to make a push for more playing time and what it's like to still not know if he's going to play in a game.

A story will also appear in the Watertown Daily Times on Friday.

Here's the interview:

Mike McKenzie is the latest subject in the "Get to Know a Saint" feature.

So far, we've gotten to know: Mark Armstrong, Kyle Flanagan and Aaron Bogosian. Check the blog archive for those videos.

Follow Mike McKenzie on Twitter

Conference play begins this weekend for just about everyone. Here is my breakdown of each team in the league.

If you would like to be notified via e-mail when a new entry is posted, send an e-mail with the subject line "Add me to the list" to dcassavaugh@wdt.net. Follow me on twitter: twitter.com/SLUHockey. Follow Saints forward Mike McKenzie on Twitter: twitter.com/MikeMcKenzie11.

Scouting the ECAC

Brown

The Bears waited until this weekend to start play… at all. Most teams have five or six games under their belt before league play starts. Not the Bears. Brown is 0-1, losing 1-0 in overtime on Friday to Princeton in a nonconference game. The near shutout is promising, but there are plenty of offensive issues to address. For starters, the top returning goal-scorer is Aaron Volpatti. He had six goals all last season. That's right, six. That was still 10 percent of the team's total offense. Brown has work to do and will likely finish at or near the bottom just like last year. The Bears ended 2008-09 5-23-5 overall and 3-15-4 in conference. They beat Union, Colgate and Quinnipiac. That's it and that's all. The Saints beat them 6-1 and tied 2-2 in their two meetings.

Clarkson

Well, you can all probably go read Cap Carey's blog all about it: watertowndailytimes.com/section/knightstales. Here's the skinny: Clarkson has some decent offense again this season, but early on has battled with illness and injury. It's a middle-of-the-road kind of team. It will have its share of upsets, but will hover somewhere around .500 for much of conference play I think. Cap may have different ideas, and coach George Roll definitely does.

Colgate

The Red Raiders are from around my old stomping grounds. Based in Hamilton, Colgate is already 2-2-3. It looks like the school's off to the same type of play it had last year. The Red Raiders played an NCAA-record 19 overtime games in 2008-09. Most of its scoring is back, including David McIntyre, who had 21 goals last season. Six players are already claimed by the NHL: Corbin McPherson (NJ Devils, 0 goals, 5 assists in 08-09), Austin Smith (Dallas, 17, 14), Brian Day (NY Islanders, 14, 13), Jeremey Price (Vancouver, Freshman), Thomas Larkin (Columbus, Freshman). McIntyre hasn't scored this season through seven games. He will, and when he starts, he will not stop. Colgate should finish in the upper have of the league.

Cornell

I went to school in Ithaca (Ithaca College, or as the Cornell kids called it “Ivy light”). I wouldn't be sad if they finished last. Unfortunately that's highly unlikely. The Red Raiders finished three points behind Yale for the league title. Guess what? Everyone important is back. Riley Nash (35 points), Colin Greening (31) and Blake Gallagher (28) all return. The league should be scared. Cornell finished 22-10-4 last year. They are ranked fifth nationally and have potential to make a national championship run.

Dartmouth

Dartmouth, without a drafted player, had a decent season last year, finishing tied for fifth in the ECACHL with 24 points. Aside from Rob Pritchard (18 points), it returns the brunt of its scoring. It was a young team that played well, and that experience will put Dartmouth a place or two higher this season. Defense is the question here, though. In one nonconference game and an exhibition, Dartmouth has allowed 12 goals. Officially, it lost only to Harvard, 5-3. This is the wildcard of the bunch who will either have an unparalleled rise in the league or fall to the bottom. I don't see much else.

Harvard

Harvard is coming off a fifth-place finish in the ECAC after a 9-16-6 season. All nine wins came in conference. Doug Rogers returns as the team's most-prolific offensive threat. He had 21 points last season. Following him is Alex Biega who had 20 points as a defenseman. Harvard is a well-rounded team with a lot of experience. Like Dartmouth, its season could go one of two ways. I see them as a potential upset threat, which can beat the likes of Yale and Cornell, but not on a consistent basis.

Princeton

The Tigers are off to a 1-1 start. They beat Brown, 1-0, but were spanked by Yale, 5-2. Princeton is currently ranked 14th nationally and finished last season with 22 wins and a 14-8 conference record – good for third place. There are three 20-plus point scorers returning to an offense that produced 271 points. The Tigers is tough to compete with and even tougher to beat. Yale, though, exposed them a little bit and offense appears a bit of a problem (three goals in two games).

Quinnipiac

The Bobcats are off to a hot start at 4-1, and are averaging better than four goals per game. The problem comes on the defense and in net. Bud Fisher graduated after starting in 18 games last year, leaving sophomore Dan Clarke as the eldest returning goalie. Eric Hartnell and Mathieu Cadieux come in as unknown freshmen. Will the Bobcats continue this torrid pace despite allowing nearly three goals per game? It can if it continues its own scoring rampage. The Bobcats already have 20 goals this season.

Rensselaer

The perennial cellar-dweller Engineers haven't had a .500 finishing mark in conference in three years. One has to go back to the 2003-04 season to find an overall winning record. What happened to RPI? I do not know. This season the issue is holding onto leads. Four times the Engineers gave away their third-period advantage. They managed to win two of them, but the signs are still not good. They won't be much of a threat and a string of bad beats to the likes of Yale, Cornell, Clarkson and St. Lawrence may take them out of contention before the New Year.

St. Lawrence

Regular followers of the blog will know my feelings here. The Saints have shown potential to be an explosive team. The goals generated from the blue line last year will have to be made up elsewhere this season. Fans can't expect four goals from defensemen every game, as it happened against Sacred Heart last week. St. Lawrence has played only one bad game really – a 4-1 loss to Clarkson. Other than that, I think the Saints will challenge any team save Yale and Cornell, but even they aren't safe if St. Lawrence plays above itself for three periods. The Saints are picked to finish seventh in the ECAC by the coaches. From what I've seen and the games they've played, I think they're underrated. A fourth-place finish isn't out of the question, but seventh is way too low. Injuries, though, are the big equalizer.

Union

Offense shouldn't be a problem for Dutchmen. They're 3-3 this season and have 26 goals already. But they've given away 22, including 13 power-play scores. Union is killing penalties at just 63 percent. That won't win many games and is the reason it's lost three. They have a young defense like the Saints, but don't have near the talent back there.

Yale

Ah, yes, the Bulldogs. They're the reigning ECACHL regular season and tournament champion. Yale is still good, and is ranked sixth nationally. I'm sure its growling about its place behind Cornell in the national poll. Yale has played only one game this year – a 5-2 beat down of Princeton. I think it's still the team to beat and it will soon be reflected in the polls.

For the second consecutive week a St. Lawrence player won "Rookie of the Week" by the ECAC.

Peter Child earned it this week after recording his first-career goal en route to a hat trick against Sacred Heart in a St. Lawrence 6-3 win on Friday at Appleton Arena.

Read the release (PDF)

Pete Child on his hat trick:

St. Lawrence gave up three goals in the third period and managed to tie it on Jeremiah Cunningham's goal. The Saints had a couple chances in the overtime session, but wasn't able to sneak one past Steven Legatto.

Read the story.

Here is Cunningham's game-tying goal:

Alex Petizian

Mike McKenzie

OVERTIME

Saints can't squeeze it past Legatto despite several chances here in overtime. 1:49 left

Third period notes

CUNNINGHAM GOAL

Penalty killed - two minutes left

Refs miss a penalty on SHU - whistle Flanagan for interference - 4th power play in period.

Slashing against SHU - SLU power play

penalty killed

SLU penalty - Kyle Flanagan - cross checking.

Goal SHU - Boivert

Goal SHU - Deflection and it's tied - 6:11 - Jarman gets the goal.

PP goal for SHU - Paul Ferraro - 5:07.

McKenzie another penalty - his second - Two minutes for tripping (I say it's a bad call and so does everyone in the arena)

Penalty killed

Underway...

Second Period impressions

St. Lawrence still looking good, Petizian keeping the Saints in front with some great goalkeeping. He has 22 saves total.

Sacred Heart is clearly getting frustrated. They can only blame themselves. St. Lawrence keeps getting into the box, but SHU comes right back with a matching penalty within 30 seconds almost every time. The Pioneers have done that three times tonight.

Nick Johnson is gone for the game with his 5-minute major. He is their top scorer, so offense is going to be hard to come by, although they will start the third on a two-minute power play. At the horn, SLU's Mark Armstrong got whistled for cross checking.

Box Score

SLU 2, SHU 0

First Period: 1, SLU, Flanagan (McKenzie, Cunningham), 6:15; 2, SLU, Stratford (McKenzie), 12:59 (pp).

Second Period: No scoring.

Second Period notes

little fight broke out.... Teams go to the locker room. Armstrong gets a two-minute penalty for cross-checking.

Petizian great 5-hole stop keeps it 2-0 SLU.

Penalty killed

Petizian a couple nice saves on the SHU power play. He's definitely redeeming himself tonight.

McKenzie 2-minutes for slashing

Penalty killed. the Saints had a couple nice chances, but a few good saves by Legatto prevented a three-goal lead.

Nick Johnson 5-minute major - Game Misconduct. - Another penalty on a power-play. SLU will have an 3-minute power play.

Penalty on SLU - Armstrong cross checking. Petizian a couple great saves and scrum in the crease looking for a rebound. No goal. Caister down on his knees hurt. Hobbles off the ice.

Saints are keeping it in the SHU zone pretty much the whole period.

Underway....

Is this the future Joe Marsh? This kid dressed as the Saints coach for Halloween.

FIRST PERIOD IMPRESSIONS

This is pretty much how it went yesterday. The Saints came out with a lot of energy early and sustained it through the first period. Sacred Heart is hurting itself. They've twice taken a penalty while on a power play - and not very deep into one either. St. Lawrence is 1-for-2 on power-play goals. McKenzie is off to another nice game. He picked up two assists in the frame. He had a chance to tack on another goal, but lost control at the last second after dekeing two defenders. Kyle Flanagan scored on a one-timer with the assists to McKenzie and Cunningham.

Petizian seems to have settled from his early-season shambles. He has both of St. Lawrence's losses this year.

Box Score

SLU 2, SHU 0

First Period: 1, SLU, Flanagan (McKenzie, Cunningham), 6:15; 2, SLU, Stratford (McKenzie), 12:59 (pp).

Goalies: Brown, Legatto (7 shots-5 saves); SLU, Petizian (15-15).

NOTE: The costumes I've seen are: Two guys in bathrobes with "censored" black strips you know where; The Cat in the Hat; Plaxico Burress (see video in the Pregame section); A ref with a blind walking stick and glasses, Minnie Mouse, a Pirate and a woodsman.

END OF PERIOD

First period notes

Petizian is playing well today, making his home debut.

Sacred Heart is hurting itself again. They are taking penalties on power plays.

Mac Stratford POWER PLAY GOAL - McKenzie second assist 12:59 into the first. Came off of loose puck.

SLU power-play for one minute.

SHU penalty - Knowlton hooking - 4-on-4 now. Twice on a power-play SHU commits penalty.

SLU Penalty - Derek Keller - 4-on-3 for 29 seconds.

SHU penalty holding - 4-on-4. SLU will have a 17-second power play at the end of it.

Penalty on SLU Torney - Hooking.

Flanagan score off big assist from McKenzie. Great back-handed pass. Petizian made a great save to set it up.

McKenzie fires straight in the chest of Legatto. Only real good scoring shot for either team thus far.

Penalty killed. Saints didn't get a shot on net.

Penalty on SHU Patrick Knowlton - hooking

We are underway.

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STARTERS

SLU:

Forwards: Kyle Flanagan, Jeremiah Cunningham, Mike McKenzie

Defensemen: Jeff Ciaster, Derek Keller.

Goalie: Alex Petizian.

NOTE: Petizian is still looking for his first win this season. He is 0-2-0.

Sacred Heart:

Forwards: Matt Gordon, David Berube, Evan Mladenoff

Defensemen: Mitchell Stretch, Paul Ferraro.

Goalie: Steven Legatto (the goalie who replaced starter Olivier St. Onge yesterday).

NOTE: SLU's Mark Armstrong said he felt both goalies looked small to him. He added that maybe it was just because St. Lawrence has a few big ones.

Officials: Andy O'Brien, Robert St. Lawrence, Assistants: William Lyons, Scott Prim.

Are these two lonely during warm-ups? They've been here since the end of the women's game... at 5 p.m.

Recapping last night

St. Lawrence downed Sacred Heart yesterday to the tune of 6-3.

• Robby Moss remained undefeated, making 21 saves. St. Lawrence converted 2-of-5 power-play opportunities, while SHU converted on just one (with only about 5 seconds left in the game).

• Pete Child became the first defenseman since Bob Burke in 1954 to record a hat trick.

• SLU records do not indicate if any other player recorded his first college goal and a hat trick in the same game.

• Ricky Carden also had his first career goal.

• The last time an opponent scored six or more goals against SHU was on Mar. 15, 2009.

• The Pioneers were last swept on Feb. 13-14, 2009 at Army

• SLU's Mike McKenzie now has 85 career points.

• SLU's Aaron Bogosian sat out last night, citing a strained groin. He said he "probably could have gone," but opted to wait until league play next weekend to return.

• I bathed in Purell after the game. SLU has upwards of 200 probable cases of the H1N1 virus. Petizian thinks he had it. All the players were given the traditional flu shot, but many fell ill to "flu-like symptoms."

Here are the player and coach interviews from St. Lawrence's 6-3 win over Sacred Heart on Friday night.

Read the game story

Pete Child

Mike McKenzie

Joe Marsh

FINAL: SLU 6, SHU 3

SHU Dave Jarman scored near buzzer.

Heading down for interviews.

Third Period notes

Power play for SHU the rest of the game two minutes left.

Penalty killed.

McKenzie penalty - elbowing.

Penalty killed. SLU kind of just winding down for the most part. The game has slowed considerably this period.

SHU on power play.

NOTE: Rick Carden's goal was the first of his career.

SECOND PERIOD IMPRESSIONS

Um, what just happened there? Six goals were scored -- 4 from SLU, 2 by SHU -- in the second period. St. Lawrence is crushing the power plays. They are two for five right now, while SHU missed on three chances.

Mike McKenzie is having a great game so far. He has a goal and two assists and is rapidly closing in on 100 career points.

Pete Child's hat trick is the first of his career. The sophomore defensemen scored two in the frame, including one power play.

What else? This has to be the most efficient and deadly offensive output so far this season for the Saints. They're controlling the puck, taking good shots and outplaying the Pioneers tonight.

This may be as good as over. St. Lawrence hasn't given up more than four goals in a game, much less a period this year.

Scoring

SLU 6, SHU 2

First period: 1, SLU, McKenzie (Flanagan, Hughes), 6:24; 2, SLU, Child (Cunningham), 18:17 (4-on-4).

Second period: 3, SHU, Delong (Stretch, Jarman), 2:46; 4, SLU, Child (Hughes, Vermeulen), 5:16 (pp); 5, SLU, Carden (Pitsikoulis, Bollig), 7:59; 6, SHU, Johnson (Miniaci), 9:21; 7, SLU, Child (McKenzie), 9:51; 8, SLU, D. Keller (Caister, McKenzie), 17:53 (pp).

Goalies: SHU, St. Onge (20 shots-16 saves), Legatto, 12:00 (7-5); SLU, Moss (13-11).

END of Period

Second period notes

Derek Keller score McKenzie assist (pp) 17:43.

Penalty SHU too many men

Penalty killed... 4 minutes left in second

Johnson picks up anther penalty - SLU PP

PETE CHILD HAT TRICK... 9:51

Moss lets one trickle by off a rebound... couldn't quite kick it with his right skate. Goal goes to Nick Johnson 9:21.

Sacred Heart switches goalies.

RICK CARDEN SCORE - 7:51

CHILD SECOND GOAL (HUGHES ASSIST) - PP - 5:16 INTO SECOND

Crossbar hit by Hughes.

SHU penalty - Laurysen - 4-on-3 SLU

Flanagan runs into goalie, McKenzie gets into it with Bailer... both in the box now. 4-on-4 for two minutes. They're still jawing in the box.

GOAL SHU - Tipped in front, got by Moss. Delong from Stretch and Jarman, 2:46

Penalty killed - all even now.

SLU starts on Power play.

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Scoring

SLU 2, SHU 0

First period: 1, SLU, McKenzie (Flanagan, Hughes), 6:24; 2, SLU, Child (Cunningham), 18:17 (4-on-4).

FIRST PERIOD IMPRESSIONS

Goalies: SHU, St. Onge (12 shots-10 saves); SLU, Moss (8-8).

Two goals, three penalty kills and some great goal-keeping from Moss (once again) is not a bad way to start. Kyle Flanagan and Mike MicKenzie are both playing brilliantly. Flanagan's pass to McKenzie on the first goal was sensational. He dumped just right of goal, holding it as long as he could to draw the defender and the goalie to the left side of the net. He hit McKenzie on the right for a wide-open goal.

Pete Child's score came from the point on a slap shot to the lower right blocker. It was assisted by Jeremiah Cunningham.

St. Lawrence will start the second period on a 1 minute, 11 second power play carryover.

SLU has come out the sharpest and most energized yet this season. They are playing near top level. The only negative is three penalties in the frame. Max Mobley and Alex Curran each had a hooking penalty and SLU took a too-many-men penalty.

Sacred Heart is playing more on emotion than skill it seems, and they aren't doing a very good job controlling the puck. What shots they've gotten have been good, but not enough of them to make a significant threat at this point, especially with Moss looking like he's on again tonight.

END OF FIRST PERIOD

First Period Notes

A little shoving going on. Sacred Heart not happy. Penalty on Corey Laurysen. 5-on-3 SLU for 27 seconds.

PETE CHILD NAILS SLAP SHOT FROM POINT - 2-0 SAINTS 18:17.

Penalty on SHU - Nick Johnson just 27 seconds into the PP - 4-on-4 for basically the rest of the period.

Penalty on SLU - Too many men - Marsh not happy. Two minutes. Marsh is furious on the bench.

Penalty killed. SHU didn't take but two shots... maybe. Great job by SLU.

Penalty on Curran for hooking. Two minutes pp for SHU.

A couple nice saves by both goalies through the first period. Six minutes left. SHU going with lots of speed. Bogosian is out of the lineup. Probably has the flu, I didn't notice before the game and no one alerted me to it. Will ask afterward.

10 minutes left in the first. St. Lawrence looks much better than SHU so far.

Moss another nice save... this with the glove. Still 1-0 Saints.

Moss with an incredible kick save off a rebound shot from back boards.

FLANAGAN GREAT PASS TO MCKENZIE - EASY GOAL, 6:24

Penalty killed. Nice job by Moss and Flanagan this one.

Moss makes a good save on a rocket at point-blank range.

Saints on penalty kill.

Penalty on Max Mobley - Hooking.

McKenzie missed just wide on a good looking shot. SLU comes out looking very good.

We are underway.

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Pregame

SHU's Nick Johnson was already jawing with SLU players during warm ups. Not sure if the Pioneers have a reputation, but this game already feels intense... at least for the players.

The fans are still trickling in, but it feels a little empty. Perhaps everyone has the flu. Petizian told me SLU has 190 cases. Clarkson's volleyball team didn't have enough to play in a regional tournament and canceled the match.

STARTERS UPDATE

For St. Lawrence: Mike McKenzie, Jeremiah Cunningham and Kyle Flanagan are the starting forwards. Curran, Vermeulen and Bollig will play on the second line.

Sacred Heart STARTERS

Forwards: Matt Gordon, David Berube, Evan Mladenoff

Defense: Chris Bailer, Paul Ferraro

Goalie: Olivier St. Onge (Coming off a 30-save performance)

SLU STARTERS

Forwards: Alex Curran, Travis Vermeulen, Brandon Bollig (Mike McKenzie, Jeremiah Cunningham and Kyle Flanagan are on the second line.)

Defense: Jeff Caister, Derek Keller.

Goalie: Robby Moss.

OFFICIALS: Refs: Ale Dell, Andy O'Brien; Assistants: William Lyons, Scott Prim.

The long trip up from Watertown seems to be getting longer by the day. It rained the whole way and I'm contemplating buying sled dogs even more. The winter drive will not be fun.

The women's team beat Yale 4-0.

Game time is still about two hours away, but I have some updates:

Robby Moss will start in goal tonight.

Drewiske should be in the lineup and see the ice. He missed a few games with a knee injury.

Sacred Heart named its captains today. They are: Corey Laurysen (C) and Matt Gordon (A). This was so late-notice that the Pioneers trainer needed to use the St. Lawrence sewing machine to stitch on the 'C' and the 'A'. How about that? I suspect this was because of the late coaching change. Sacred Heart just hired CJ Marottolo for the season.

Mark Armstrong said he wants a follow up to his "Get to Know a Saint" feature. Maybe he'll drop some Nelly Furtado on us this time. "Promiscuous Girl" anyone, anyone? Bueller?

You know him as a left-winger, but there's a lot to this Tampa, Fla. native you don't know. I sat down with him for the latest -- and quite hilarious -- episode in the "Get to Know a Saint" series.

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If you have questions for a player, e-mail them to dcassavaugh@wdt.net.

I have update galore now that I've finally talked with coach Joe Marsh this evening.

Injury Updates

Marsh said nine players were out with injuries from Monday's practice. Some have the flu, some are dealing with injuries. Here are the players you need to know:

Jacob Drewiske — He has missed consecutive games with a contusion on his right knee. Marsh said Drewiske is riding the stationary bike in practice daily and should return by the weekend, but is day-to-day.

Matt Raley — He is battling a shoulder and knee injury and will likely miss this weekend's games against Sacred Heart.

Jeremiah Cunningham — He is suffering from bruised ribs and took a slash to the wrist. He is probably for Friday, but did not practice on Monday.

Alex Petizian

The starting goalie was pulled after a period against Clarkson, and Robby Moss was inserted. The obvious question: Is Robby Moss now the starter?

“We're not going to rush into things,” Marsh said. “(Petizian) had been sick. The decision was based on the fact he wasn't quite up to it. Maybe he was thinking, ‘Oh God, I'm a senior...' A lot of other things were going on in his mind. It's just like a pitcher in baseball. If an ace comes in and gets rocked a little bit, you don't let him stay in and bleed to death.”

My guess is Petizian is still the start, and is technically more sound than Moss. But Moss has played brilliantly in the early going. He is saving nearly 95 percent of the shots he's faced. Petizian has allowed six goals in four periods of play, and has an 0-2 record. Moss is 2-0.

“(Moss) is a little unorthodox, but he made some good stops,” Marsh said. “The only goal was on a 5-on-3.”

Practice

It's a little early to tell what exactly the Saints are working on. With nine players out, Marsh said they can't do a whole lot of anything.

“We can't really do much until we get those guys back,” he said. “We want to learn from the game on Saturday.”

Special teams — which was so good last season — has struggled to start the season. Clarkson scored three power-play goals on Saturday, and St. Lawrence endured nine penalties.

“What we're focussing on is some execution,” Marsh said. “We have to find ways to be more resilient and stay out of the box.”

Well the Saints didn't have a good trip up to Potsdam for its first meeting with Clarkson this season. St. Lawrence lost 4-1, and gave up three power-play goals. Alex Petizian was pulled after the first period, where he gave up three goals.

Here is some video shot by Cap Carey from Saturday's game:

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I have not talked to coach Joe Marsh yet, but will be attending practice on Tuesday. I'll be chatting with him then, as well as this week's "Get to Know a Saint" -- Alex Curran.

If you have any questions you'd like to ask Curran, e-mail them to dcassavaugh@wdt.net.

Unfortunately I will be unable to provide updates or really anything about the St. Lawrence-Clarkson game tonight. I am currently sitting in the press box at the Carrier Dome as Syracuse football prepares to play Akron this afternoon.

Our Clarkson beat writer, Cap Carey, is covering the hockey game tonight. He will have notes and extra quotes on his blog (Knights Tales) tonight after the game. He's also taking some video, although I'm not sure if he will be getting those game-winners ;-).

Check his site tonight for coverage. I'll post something more tomorrow after talking to him and trying to track down one of the coaches.

In the meantime, I will be featuring SLU's Alex Curran as the latest "Get to Know a Saint." If you have a question you'd like to ask Curran, send an e-mail to dcassavaugh@wdt.net. I'll ask him on Tuesday when I go to practice.

Here are the ECAC teams in action tonight:

St. Lawrence at Clarkson (nonleague)

McGill at Dartmouth (ex)

American International at RPI

Sacred Heart at Union - Sacred Heart is SLU's next opponent.

Under-18 team at Cornell (ex)

Here are the ECAC teams in action tonight. I'll update as games come in.

UMass-Lowell defeated Colgate, 5-3.

McGill and Harvard tied at 3-3 (ex)

RPI defeated Sacred Heart, 4-3, in overtime.

Union defeated American International, 4-2

Cornell defeated Windsor, 7-0 (ex)

Princeton defeated Morrisville, 7-0 (ex)

Some good things this Wednesday afternoon on the SLU front.

• For starters, coach Joe Marsh was peppy after an off-day yesterday. Players did they're own workouts and the ice was available. Most just lifted or stretched.

• Marsh said Jacob Drewiske, who left Friday night's game with a knee injury and didn't play on Saturday, looked much better on Monday and “seems all right.”

• Freshman Mac Stratford has been cleared by the NCAA to start playing. There was a hang-up with credit transfers at the start of the season, which kept him sidelined. He'll be ready to go come Saturday against Clarkson. Marsh said it will depend on the situation if Stratford actually sees the ice.

• Alex Petizian has recovered from the flu, which kept him out of last weekend's games. Marsh said Petizian will probably start against Clarkson, but won't know until Friday or possible Saturday morning. “I think there a good chance he'll play,” Marsh said. “At this point, we'll go back with him, but I thought Moss did a good job. He had a big night on the first night.”

• Marsh had this to say about former SLU player Rich Peverley, who just signed a 2-year contract extension with the NHL's Atlanta Thrashers: “I think it's great. He came to us as such a young player. You could just see he had all the tools -- quick hands, can shoot and had a real natural ability. As he got older and stronger, you saw him progress and progress. You had a feeling his better days were ahead of him.

• The Saints aren't doing anything different in practice this week as the team prepares for a nonleague game with Clarkson on Saturday. The only concern is stopping second-chance efforts. “We'll work on covering up rebounds so we don't have to rely on the goalie quite as much,” Marsh said. “We've got to be really good in transition and defense and obviously on special teams. The deeper we get into the season, the more that's a big factor. I think (Clarkson) is obviously our toughest test of the year so far.”

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And now some bad news for me :-(.

I will not be covering the Clarkson-St. Lawrence game this weekend. Our Clarkson beat writer, Cap Carey, is covering it. He will have some "ambiance" videos and quotes from both sides up on his blog: Knights Tales. I am covering the Syracuse home football game with Akron on Saturday. I will post what videos Cap took upon my return. This should be the only SLU home-ish game I miss.

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To be added to the mailing list, send an e-mail to dcassavaugh@wdt.net with the subject line "Add to me to the list." You will be updated each time there's a new post.

Here is the latest in the "Get to Know a Saint" series. This week I sat down with Kyle Flanagan, the freshman starting forward for St. Lawrence men's ice hockey.

If you would like to know when new blog posts are up, join the mailing list by e-mailing me with the subject line "Add me to the list" at: dcassavaugh@wdt.net.

Follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/SLUHockey

Follow Saints forward Mike McKenzie on twitter: twitter.com/MikeMcKenzie11

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Kyle Flanagan had four points against Niagara including the thrilling game-winning goal with 14.5 seconds remaining in regulation. He's also the latest in a long line of local Canton players to put on a St. Lawrence uniform.

Former St. Lawrence University player Rich Peverley signed a multi-year, multimillion dollar contract this morning with the NHL's Atlanta Thrashers. This story broke several hours ago, but I have been on the road an unable to post anything new on the blog until just now.

Peverley had 35 points in 39 games last season after arriving in Atlanta.

Here are some links on the story:

ECAC/AP release

ESPN reporting the contract is worth $2.6M.

At least the ECAC is giving some love to St. Lawrence this week.

Two days after Robby Moss completed a 63-save weekend, and Kyle Flanagan notched a game-winner and four points against Niagara, the ECAC named the pair Goalie and Rookie of the Week, respectively.

Moss earned two wins, stopping 94 percent of the shots. He started against RIT only because regular-starter (although he's only actually played in one game) Alex Petizian had the flu.

Flanagan made a push for Player of the Week, but that Matt Beca up north (Clarkson) got that. Instead, Flanagan earned Rookie of the Week with two goals, including a game-winner, and two assists against Niagara.

Clarkson's Beca had five goals in two wins over RIT and Niagara, including a game-winner with 43.5 seconds left in overtime.

Read the release (PDF).

Kyle Flanagan on the Game-Winner

To join the blog mailing list and be notified of new posts, send an e-mail with the subject line "Add me to the list" to dcassavaugh@wdt.net.

SLU Not ILY

The Saints are getting no love in the USCHO.com/CBS poll this week. St. Lawrence didn't make the top-20 after a home sweep. The Saints earned only six points somehow. Am I the only one who thinks this is a bit odd?

Quinnipiac, Princeton and Yale are all in the top-20. View the complete poll.

Saintly Practices

After the ridiculous weekend the Saitns had in beating RIT, 3-1, and Niagara 4-3 -- both come-from-behind win -- St. Lawrence is taking it easy to start the week in practice.

They're watching tapes and practicing briefly today in preparation for Clarkson on Saturday. Tomorrow, Marsh opted to give St. Lawrence the day off. I'm still heading to Appleton because players will be lifting and doing their own workouts. I'm hoping to talk with Marsh then, but if not I'll get him on the phone later this week.

My main purpose heading to Canton is to talk to the hometown boy -- Kyle Flanagan. Not only did he net the game-winner with 14.5 seconds left in the Niagara win, but he leads the Saints with five points in his first four games. That's not a bad start for a freshman.

He is the subject of this week's "Get to Know a Saint" series. I'll ask him 10 questions. Here's where you come in.

If you have any questions you'd like to ask Flanagan, e-mail me at dcassavaugh@wdt.net.

Look for that video tomorrow evening here on "Casstle of the Saints."

I've been tinkering with some of the video editing software we have here at the Times to merge Kyle Flanagan's description of his shot with the game video. Eventually, I'll start turning out TV-like packages on different players or unique stories about Appleton and the team.

I think this enhanced the unedited video of both the goal and Flanagan's interview. Hope you like it.

I'll be hopefully meeting with Flanagan this week at practice for the next segment in "Get to Know a Saint." Look for that video late Tuesday/Wednesday morning.

Read the story

St. Lawrence scored four unanswered goals to overcome a three-goal deficit and defeat Niagara University, 4-3, on Saturday at Appleton Arena. Freshman Kyle Flanagan had the best game of his short career, factoring in all four goals. He had two scores and two assists.

That line (Mike McKenzie, Flanagan, and Jeremiah Cunningham) each scored once and all had an assist tonight.

The only downside is that Appleton was only about half full both nights. If SLU continues to pull out these close games fans will not only get to watch a winning team, but see entertaining games. Two gems to start the season at home and great goal tending by Robby Moss on short notice. Alex Petizian should be back by the Clarkson game next week.

Kyle Flanagan's Game-Winner with 14.5 seconds left

Flanagan talks about game-winner

Mike McKenzie says Flanagan earned a lot of respect tonight

What a great time for the blog to come back up.

McKenzie, Cunningham and Flanagan (gw) all scored in the third period. I'll create a new post here soon with the game-winning video highlight and interview with McKenzie and Flanagan.

Third period notes

Great glove save by Noonan on a three-on-one attack.

END OF SECOND PERIOD

Second period impressions

The Saints still aren't playing really that poorly. They're getting a little reckless/careless with the puck, but that appears to be a result of trying to be aggressive. Kyle Flanagan finally got a shot to go in. He's had a number of close-range efforts thwarted. McKenzie seems to be out of it. He's either getting roughed up physically or mentally. Either way, he's made a few big mistakes. He did assist on the Saints only goal.

Hopefully the blog doesn't die again in the third period. Saints need to attack hard here early on.

Moss isn't playing nearly as well as he did last night, but Niagara is putting more traffic in front of him. Two scores have been off deflections, either by a Niagara or SLU player.

BOX SCORE

NU 3, SLU 1

First period: Mironov (Chartrain), 7:35

Second period: 2, Niagara, Gotto, 4:22; 3, NU, Hannan, 17:15; 3, SLU, Flanagan (McKenzie), 18:53 (pp)

Second period notes

McKenzie Penalty... Niagara 2-minute power play.

GOAL SLU Kyle Flanagan scores only 10 seconds into power play.

Penalty Niagara. SLU power play 1:17 left.

I'm back. Blog having issues still.

Niagara gets its third goal... this one by Jeff Hannan

Grotto scored to make it 2-0 on a George Hughes tip in

END OF FIRST PERIOD

First period Impressions

The Saints don't have much to be unhappy about other than giving up a goal. That score was deflected on a one-timer from the point. Still, St. Lawrence is taking more high-quality shots. One will fall soon. I have faith.

Moss doesn't look as good in net tonight as last night, but then again 42 saves is tough to match. He's 1-for-7 on saves. Eh, could be better. He seems to be losing sight of the puck, especially when it's behind the net.

Niagara is playing with speed, speed, speed. On top of it, the Purple Eagles are jawing with SLU players. Mike McKenzie seems most affected mentally. He's starting to go at it with players after every play.

I expect more of the same from the Saints and probably at least one puck to get by Chris Noonan. A disappointing crowd tonight.

BOX SCORE

NU 1, SLU 0

First period: 1, NU, Mironov (Chartrain), 7:35.

First period notes:

Couple good shots taken by the Saints. They're just not finding a hole right now.

Intensity is strong here for both teams nearing the end of the first period... Good game.

Ref blows play dead on a SLU rebound. Goalie did not have control. Blown potential opportunity.

Moss a little sloppy, almost got trapped behind the net for an easy Niagara goal.

Saints getting a lot of shots near the crease, can't quite put one through though. They will soon.

Penalty killed. Flanagan missed a centering pass for a SH goal.

Moss a good save on Niagara power play.

SLU penalty to Bollig. 4-on-4 for 30 seconds.

Kyle Flanagan misses at point blank range. 1:23 left on the pp.

Niagara penalty. SLU power play for next 2:00.

Goal Niagara Mironov (Chartrand). Mironov deflected Chartrand's shot. 7:35.

SLU looks good early, getting decent looks and controlling the tempo.

The blog is still kind of shaky, so if I disappear, that would be why.

Official start time: 7:01 p.m.

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Alex Petizian is feeling better after dealing with the flu and should be available next weekend. He was tossing a football around prior to the game.

Officials: (or as the press box notes say "Zeebs du Jour")

Referees: Eric Ernst, Derek Wahl.

Assistants: Scott Prim, Craig Funaro.

13 minutes and counting.

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The blog is having some issues, but hopefully they're resolved now. I was unable to post anything new for about 15 minutes.

The SLU run-through. This is what the Saints do just before heading to the locker room to change.

Extra game notes

St. Lawrence is coming off a thrilling 3-1 win over RIT last night, while Niagara lost a heartbreaker, 4-3, in overtime against Clarkson.

Jacob Drewiske will not play tonight. He has a severe contusion on his right knee. Sources say he is day-to-day but not today.

Robby Moss will start again tonight. An encore performance would make a sensational and probably record-setting weekend.

Starters

SLU (2-1)

Offense: Kyle Flanagan, Jeremiah Cunningham, Mike McKenzie.

Defense: Jeff Caister, Derek Keller.

Goalie: Robby Moss

Niagara (0-1-1)

Offense: Sam Goodwin, Ryan Olidis, Egor Mironov

Defense: Tyler Gotto, Tyler Matthews.

Goalie: Chris Noonan.

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Hello everyone. Here's a little something to get you started. It's how the Saints relax before games and Jeremiah Cunningham isn't very good at it.

Mark Armstrong explains the game.

Read the game story

Drewiske injury update

He did come back into the game later after leaving with a what looked like a pretty serious knee injury. I spoke with Aaron Bogosian after the game to see if he knew anything about it. He said that Drewiske's kneepad moved as he hit the board. The result was essentially a very painful funny bone hit, except on Drewiske's knee.

Here are a couple videos from last night's St. Lawrence 3-1 win over RIT. Something was wrong with the blog late last night, so I couldn't post anything until now. Enjoy!

Robby Moss

Travis Vermeulen's game-winner - Excuse the shaky video, I was trying to catch the game-winner from the press box.

Extra photos

Extra quotes

Joe Marsh

The type of win, and type of game is indicative of what we're going to face all year. It's good to get one of those types of games under your belt.

Petizian came down with a pretty good case of the flu. (Moss) played very well. I thought it was a good win for him. I thought he got better as time went on. He was a little more confident. He can stop the puck.

I think on of the things we've got to do is be a little quicker on the breakouts. Our wingers have to do a better job protecting the puck, drawing the guys in. There is a lot of work yet to be done.

I saw some good things too. The energy was there. I think it's important to win these types of games. We're not the type of team that's going to blow people out, but to know you're going to feel confident in games like this is important.

FINAL SCORE

SLU 3, RIT 1

Vermeulen Scores at buzzer on empty net

Heading down for interview. Robby Moss in '10.

Third period notes

Timeout RIT. Perhaps discussing what that vortex is in the SLU goal.

42 SAVES FOR MOSS See what I mean?

Two and half to play SLU still up 2-1.

Robby Moss might want to run for president if SLU hangs on.

Penalty killed even strength

Moss two more big saves. Is there a wall there?

Moss a glove save.

RIT pulling goalies. Saints penalty 4-on-3.

Moss appears a little hurt after the play. He'll stay in the game.

Double penalties for a minor altercation. 4-on-4 for 2 minutes.

A near goal waived off by officials for RIT.

SLU GOAL VERMEULEN assisted by Pete Child. 10:05.

RIT interference. SLU power play

RIT still in control, Moss looking exhausted.

SLU misses another chance on a 2-on-1 breakaway.

Moss makes his best save as power play expires.

SLU Matt Raley penalty: 2:00.

RIT takes a shot just 10 seconds in. Moss makes the stop.

Second Period impressions

The Saints came out much more aggressive, although it appears RIT is the real-deal this year. The Tigers do not look like a team which has lost six of its last seven against SLU, albeit some of those years RIT was not Division I.

The Saints are getting plays to develop, but the centering passes aren't finding anyone. That changed with Armstrong's goal -- his first of the season. Aaron Bogosian and Jared Keller assisted on the score. Armstrong was all alone in front and put the shot over DeMichiel's right shoulder.

My prediction: St. Lawrence will sneak one more by DeMichiel. They've had their chances, but couldn't connect until late in the second period. As long as Moss continues to play well (all 19 of his saves seem to be marvelous) the Saints will win this.

The RIT sports information director said this is exactly what happened to RIT against Colgate last week. The Tigers dominated possession and shots until the third period, when they presumably ran out of gas. Expect shorter shifts and more players for the Saints to keep RIT moving.

Box Score

SLU 1, RIT 1

First Period: 1, RIT, Hartley (Murphy, Haltigin), 11:37.

Second Period: 2, SLU, Armstrong (J. Keller, Bogosian), 15:49.

Saves: SLU, Moss 19 saves; RIT, DeMichiel 14.

END OF SECOND PERIOD

Second period notes

Moss saves a one-timer. 25 seconds left. He's definitely the SLU MVP this game.

SLU fails to score on a 3-on-1 breakaway. Bollig stumbled with puck. Penalty killed. A minute left.

SLU power play 3:19.

GOAL SLU finally a centering pass found someone. Mark Armstrong from Jared Keller, 15:49 into period

Players starting to get testy, both sides. Child misses a good look.

RIT is in full control. I can't recall the last Saints chance, aside from the play Drewiske was hurt.

RIT desperately needs a second goal, but Moss is playing beautifully in net.

Moss another great save. 8:35 left in second.

Bollig can't connect on centering pass. Another nice save by DeMichiel for RIT.

Drewiske up, favoring right leg. Can't put any weight on it. He's helped to the locker room.

Drewiske hurt. Slid head first into the board on a breakaway behind RIT net.

Cunningham misses a 1-on-1 chance for SLU: 16:37 left in second.

Saints much more physical, looking better already.

Penalty killed.

Great stick save by Moss on power play. He sprawled across the net for it.

RIT starts the session with a 90-second power play after the Saints had too many men on the ice. So far SLU is 1-for-1 on penalty kills. RIT is playing tough, but not dirty... not yet anyway. The intensity needs to pick up for St. Lawrence.

First period impressions

The Saints aren't hanging on to the puck, which is exactly what coach Joe Marsh said they spent the whole week working on. St. Lawrence is trying to push too much when they don't have the numbers and are either shooting a weak shot in or having it stolen away.

SLU had only one legitimate chance to score in the first period, but Jeff Caister fired a power-play shot straight into the pads of RIT goalie Jared DeMichiel. He hasn't had to work too hard thus far.

I imagine Marsh is none too pleased with the Saints performance in the first period. The physicality of the Tigers is proving to wear on some of the Saints, especially the younger ones like Kyle Flanagan, who has been a complete non-factor. He also lost his glove twice.

Moss is looking decent in net, allowing only one goal despite several point-blank opportunities for RIT.

The Saints defense is obviously thin. Unless Caister and Derek Keller are on the ice, RIT has almost uninterrupted possession in the SLU zone.

Second half should be interesting. The energy Marsh wanted wasn't there. I blame RIT's aggression. The Tigers are throwing shoulders, cross checks and anything else they can, including open-ice hits on Saints players.

Box score

RIT 1, SLU 0

First Period: 1, RIT, Hartley (Murphy, Haltigin), 11:37.

Saves: RIT, DeMichiel 9 save; SLU, Moss 4

END OF FIRST PERIOD

First Period Notes:

Saints too many men on ice RIT power play.

Saints aren't even getting shots. They have to get a look first. Great defense from RIT.

RIT in full control of puck possession. Saints appear to be looking for the rush before they get full control of the puck. It's bouncing all over the place, including into the stands.

Saints 3-on-2 McKenzie loses puck, 4:45

RIT GOAL: Hartley (Murphy, Haltigin), 11:37

St. Lawrence doesn't seem to have a lot of energy here in the early going. Perhaps a bit put off my RIT's physicality.

RIT blocking a lot of shots. No hesitation sacrificing the body.

Caister best chance, good save by DeMichiel for RIT. Penalty killed.

Holding penalty on Sean Murphy (RIT) SLU power play. 14:04 left in first 0-0

Two great saves by Moss. Scoreless tie still.

RIT really physical, hoping to take Saints out of game on brute.

RIT sloppy early on. Saints a little slow coming out. Moss makes one save

Official start time: 7:00 p.m.

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Saints take the ice. The Siren sounds loud and healthy. Six minutes to game time.

Game Officials: Chip Mcdonald, Scott Whittemore, Brett Reed, Christopher Piti.

About 10 minutes from game time and my time-lapse video is not looking good. Only a few hundred people here right now.

Both teams just took warm-ups and headed back into the locker room. The Zamboni is out on the ice. We're about 20 minutes away.

Starters

SLU

Offense: Kyle Flanagan, Jeremiah Cunningham, Mike McKenzie

Defense: Jeff Caister, Derek Keller

Goalie: Robby Moss

RIT

Offense: Sean Murphy, Stevan Matic, Adam Hartley.

Defense: Chris Saracino, Chris Haltigin

Goalie: Jared DeMichiel.

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I'm testing out some time lapse with the Flip Video here at Appleton, so if you're reading this and you live near SLU, come on down. It's the home opener, and you could be on TV... er... I mean on my blog!

Extra Game Notes

• SLU coach Joe Marsh said he'll start Robby Moss in net tonight. Alex Petizian has the flu and will not play today. He is questionable for tomorrow.

• Talked with Aaron Bogosian as he was preparing his stick, and he said he liked his video. I told him he needs to point up to the press box if he thinks he might get into a fight so I could tape that, too. We'll see.

• St. Lawrence students are on fall break, so attendance might be a little low, I'll keep you posted. Doors open at 6 p.m.

• Should RIT win it would be just its second over St. Lawrence in the series history. The Saints hold a 6-1 edge.

• RIT coach Wayne Wilson is seeking the school wins record. He sits at 188-91-24. A win today would make him RITs all-time coaching wins leader.

• The Tigers are riding a nine-game unbeaten streak on the road. They are 8-0-1.

Puck drops at 7 p.m. Refresh this page throughout the game for live updates. The sweater girls look lovely as always.

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