Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Week Two Ready to Begin

This week head coach Bob Gaudet sat down to talk about not only his team's loss to Harvard last weekend but how they are going to rebound against Cornell and Colgate on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 6 and 7.

What are some things you'll be looking for this weekend?
Coach Gaudet: Both of these places are fun places to play. Cornell is in an energized building, a good team to play against and they're always a challenge. Colgate is another really good team. They are having a big Silver Puck event so they should have a nice crowd there on Saturday. It will be a fun trip for the guys, a good challenge. Coming off a game last Friday night to Harvard where we dropped it 5-3, I like the signs coming out of this team. It's early in the season and they're playing hard. We didn't deposit the puck as readily as we would have liked but we generated a lot of offense I thought. On the other hand we need to do a better job of keeping it out of our net through team work. We've got to continue to hone our game and this weekend will help with that as both teams will be a good test for us.

With a new season and a young team, how tough is it to come up with a line chart and pairings and starters this early in the year?
Coach Gaudet: It's really difficult because we have a lot of good solid depth on our team and a number of very good hockey players. So the line combinations and defensive pairings kind of evolves over time. Typically it's not something right out of the gate. Sometimes we look back at pairings from the beginning of the year and are surprised at the lines we started out with, but it's a learning process as a team and as a coach. We need to learn what particular guy's strengths are going to help us and in what area. It's really a puzzle to figure and it does take some time to do that. I do like the way our guys are practicing, they're working really hard. The energy level is great and they're really thinking about concentrating and focusing in practice to get better and better each day. That helps me to make the best call on different combinations.

You've talked a lot about Jody O'Neill and his resilience and his work ethic. As a former goalie yourself how much does Jody need to put Friday night aside and concentrate on moving forward?
Coach Gaudet: Well Jody is a true student of the game. He's one of those guys that wants to talk about the game directly after and see video and he wants to always be at his very best. There are situations where I thought he made some great saves for us against Harvard but he wants to find a way to stop one or two of the ones that went by him. We've worked on that in practice this week. I really like his attitude because he doesn't get down on himself and he's never satisfied. He knows that he's working hard and that he's got good solid ability but he's always trying to get better. I think his leadership showing his work ethic, the team feeds on that. It's also a boost to our other two goalies, James Mello and Charles Corsi.

We were able to play four of our six freshmen against Harvard. What were some things that stuck out with you about the four of them?
Coach Gaudet: Mike Keenan is a guy that plays a lot like a veteran player. He's got a fairly simple game philosophy where he just goes out and does his job. He doesn't get caught up in a lot of other things and I think that's a real mature attitude. We'll continue to work with him and hone him and I think he'll get better throughout the season. He's going to have a very good career here. Dustin Walsh is a big, lanky guy who has real spurts of brillance but it's just that consistency that we need to get out of him. Same with Mark Goggin who understands the game real well. It's a process with young players in learning the defensive side of the game, learning the tenacity that you need to play at this level. But Mark's a very good prospect who is going to be a good player for us. He really can think about the game offensively and as both he and Dustin get stronger physically they're going to be excellent players. Jason Bourgea is one of those guys that plays with a lot of energy, he knows one speed. He's very reminiscent of Danny Shribman and Dan Casella. They were guys that bring that energy to the lineup and what Jason brings is that energy as well as a solid skill-level. As a freshman to have those skills tells me he's going to get better as he gains confidence. He had a couple of good chances the other night. I thought all four of the guys did a good job and we've got others that I think are going to show as the season progresses that they're very good players too.

Our first goal on Friday was scored by Rob Smith. How nice is it to have him back and making contributions early?
Coach Gaudet: Smitty is such a great kid. He's one of those guys that is just no-nonsense. He's always doing his best and trying his best and is a very coachable kid. He's a big guy that will fight for the puck and will track it down. To have him score a goal early like that, right off the bench will help him get his legs back. He was out all last season and hasn't played any hockey in almost a year and so to jump in there and be involved in the battle right off the bat is a real good sign for our team because Smitty is going to get better. His hockey conditioning is going to come back and he's a guy that we really can rely on in all kinds of situations. He'll always give you his best, the kind of guy you love to have on your team. He's a tough guy to play against when he's on his game.

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