By Gary Braham
3-16-01
With the mens hockey season unceremoniously ended before the playoffs could even begin, it marks the worst finish by the team in about 20 years. There weren't even a lot of home games this year, and many of those games I was away with the band, so needless to say, I did not get my fill of hockey this winter. The ice at Starr rink is melted, so the closest thing I could find to Colgate hockey was in nearby Ontario, Canada, where many of our recruits for next year were immersed in playoff struggles in the minor junior leagues Canada is known for. I hadn't been to Canada in over a year, so it seemed like a good place to go to avoid the airfare and the traditionally overcrowded tourist locations. So it was set--we were off to Canada.
The first hockey related stop was the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. It was a bit more commercial than some of the other halls of fame I have seen, but come on, it's the hockey hall of fame, there's cool stuff everywhere. The trip wasn't all pleasure though--there were hockey gods to appease. The existence or non-existence of hockey gods can't be proven, but the early and embarrassing exit of Clarkson from this years playoffs makes me think that they should be appeased anyway, just in case they do exist. In my pocket I had an old Colgate hockey puck, not the type you find in the bookstore, one of the ones that came off a player's stick at Starr Rink. I introduced the puck to the Stanley Cup, then left the puck sitting near one of the exhibits. It could work, either way, I got a Colgate hockey puck into the hall of fame.
Now, the first game on the agenda was one featuring the Owen Sound Greys. 3 Colgate players have joined us from the regular season Mid-Western Ontario Junior (MWJHL) championship team. This was game three of the second round of the playoffs. The Greys had dropped the first two games to the Cambridge WinterHawks, and were hoping that this crucial game on home ice would turn the momentum around. The game was not played in Owen Sound though. Instead, it was played in nearby Port Elgin, home of Adam Mitchell and Darryl McKinnon, two of the players coming to Colgate next year, 2/3rds of the team's top line, and longtime friends and linemates. Head Coach Bill Brown moved a handful of games to Port Elgin in honor of Mitchell and McKinnon.
Before the game started, Mitchell and McKinnon were passing back and forth as the players went through drills. Counting games, practices, and just playing around, the two have already passed to each other thousands of times: that's an advantage few players will have at the dawn of their NCAA careers. Mitchell is the slighty larger of the two: he's about 6 feet tall and about 175 lbs; he looks neither lanky nor stocky. McKinnon is 5'10" 170lbs.
Behind them, Steve Silverthorn is warming up in net. He appears tense. He had the best stats in the league for the regular season, but now his team is facing elimination and they need him to be more than solid in net. At 6'2", 170 lbs, he can appear lanky in, but he seems in control of the crease, and uses every practice shot he can to prepare for the game.
It is the opposition, the Cambridge Winterhawks, who strike first. The Greys had a power play, but had let the opposition into their zone, and they were just firing away. Owen Sound could not clear or gain control of the first few rebounds that Silverthorn blocked. Now sometimes when a goalie has great stats it means they are playing behind a great defense, one that doesn't allow many shots, and especially not many good ones. After seeing the Owen Sound defense, I quickly became convinced that this was not the case. They were not horrible, just not the better defensive group in that game. Over the course of the game, Steve would face countless breakaways, odd man rushes, flurries of offense, and very good shots, 38 in all, and only 3 would get by him. The one I just described, and 2 more on breakaways, the results of a bad passes.
Steve's shape and size is very similar to David Cann, and they have a somewhat similar style, but Steve definitly appears to be a bit quicker than Cann. He doesn't have the confidence that David Cann had gained by the end of the season, but David is also more experienced. When I spoke to Silverthorn after the game, he said he was very eager to come here next year and challenge for the starting role. The ball is really in Lefevres and Cann's court though. They have experienced the level of play here, they know what they need to work on in the off season, and they have experience. However, if either of them let up a little, Silverthorn has more than enough skills to fill the starters role. Having three capable goalies at practice and on the bench will be a great advantage next year. And yes, there was more than one time that Silverthorn stood on his head during the game, drawing a nice reception from the crowd. He seems to like to stay in the net, but when you compare that the the wandering tendancies of Jason Lefevre, that's a good thing. By his senior year, if not sooner, he will be one of the leagues top goalies.
Early on in the first period, the Grey's game plan seemed evident, play our line! Mitchell and McKinnon and their linemate are on the ice every other shift it seems, and always during special teams. They showed great endurance by responding to all this playing time, and whenever they were on the ice, play shifted to the offensive zone for the Grey's. The success of the team, has been based on the success of this line.
So, how do they control the play so well? First of all, Mitchell and McKinnon were both great along the boards, they have good hands, and are able to find and control the puck. Whenever they got in close to an opponent, there was a very good chance they would be able to find the puck, and get off a good pass. Passing was the other key to their success. Fast, accurate passes right into the path of their teammates. McKinnon in particular has perfected the no look pass. And while it might make people nervous, he had very good success with it during this game, it really added a lot to the Grey's transition game, and made their attack a lot faster. Darryl can see the ice and plays developing very well, it's no coincidence he leads the team in assists.
But make no mistake about it, Mitchell is the superstar of the pair. He possesses the hands, speed, and shooting capablities of a very good NCAA player. He's strong on the puck, great on offense, and he has also filled in on defense when injuries shortened the bench. At one point in the game, he shot the puck, it was blocked wide of the net, Mitchell skated into the boards, got the puck back, worked his way through two defensemen, skated back to the front of the net, deked a few times, skating right through just about every Winterhawk on the ice, and still kept the puck and got a good shot off on net, a simply amazing play. He's a big player, but also very smart about how he plays physically. He can hit, but he knows when to lay into a guy, and when to absorb a shot and go after the puck. He's been able to draw and opponent off balance, and then skate right past him with the puck at the end of his stick.
It was frustration that led to a Owen Sound power play. Mitchell had just finished up with some guy behind the net and was about to skate off, when he was grabbed around the neck from behind and taken down. You have to give him two assists on the goal that followed, one for getting a guy to take a stupid penalty, and one for making a nice pass that would lead to the goal.
Mitchell and McKinnon continued to play well throughout the game, and the Grey's would eventually take the lead, with Silverthorn providing several great saves, and a few good series of saves when there wasn't much help around. He had good positioning all the time, despite multiple screens thrown his way. He seemed to gain more confidence as the game wore on. As time went on McKinnon established himself even more. Early on he seemed to be about 50% on his faceoffs, but through the second and third periods he was at about 75% if not higher, many of those wins at key times, and very clean wins. He is also a great player to watch out on the ice. He can be very animated at times, shouting instructions to a teammate, laughing about something or other, arguing his case to an official, or some expressive head movements to either express dissapointment over losing a faceoff, or to try to get himself into the zone for the next one.
McKinnon was not looked at by any other NCAA school besides Colgate, and the countless talent scouts who came in to see his linemate, did not see any need to pursue him. When you see him play, he will not strike you as a team MVP class player like Mitchell will, but recruiting him was a very good move for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, he's a player of charachter. His love of the game is evident, as is his desire to work hard to be his best. He also is a team player, talking to his teammates, keeping spirits high, and most of his best plays have been great passes that make the team as a whole do better. Plus, with us being the only school willing to take the linemates as a pair, it was one of the primary reasons that Adam Mitchell commited to Colgate. The schools looking at Mitchell were numerous, and included Clarkson, as well as Western Michigan, who many people thought has the best offense in the NCAA this year. This personal touch by the Colgate coaching staff may prove to be one of the best decisions they have made in recruiting.
The end of the game had a storybook finish. With about 5 minutes left in the third period, the score was tied at 3. The Grey's were on the powerplay, and McKinnon was taking the face off in the offensive zone. He wins it cleanly, and the puck is passed around the zone. One moment, the puck is to the goalies left, then it is passed back to McKinnon at the point, he quickly dishes out a perfect pass to Mitchell, who is heading for the bottom of the far face off circle. He one times it with speed and accuracy right behind the goalie and into the open net. McKinnon had won a key face off, then made the big pass to his linemate, who was in position to finish the play. There was no hesitation, no margin of error, just the game winning goal.
Of course, there was still time left to play. Mitchell was shifted to the defense, where he could help make sure there would be no easy goals for the Winterhawks. McKinnon continued to direct the plays on the ice, and Silverthorn made several saves as Cambridge pulled their goalie and focused in on an all out assault on net. Just before time expired, Mitchell fell to the ice to block a shot as the game ended, and Owen Sound was back in the series. A scuffle broke out in front of the Owen Sound net, and Steve Silverthorn showed signs of Shep Harder as he was targeted by a few cheap shots, dragged out of the fight by officials, and skated right back into it as soon as he was let go. After the fight was broken up, the team celebrated in front of a packed house at Port Elgin. The 4-3 win might be enough to change the momentum of this series.
After the game, the players were all smiles when I got a chance to meet with our three players. A hard fought win always seems to make the interviews go a bit smoother, and tonight was no exception. All three players had the type of charachter that the coaching staff looks for when they recruit. The NCAA's are not the same as Minor Junior hockey however, and McKinnon told me what he thought the difference would be at Colgate "There's definitly a lot more tight checking, it's a lot harder to get free, you have to be a lot bigger and stronger and faster." Mitchell added, "They play a more systematic hockey, here it's more of a scrambly, see what kind of breaks you can get."
All three players were optimistic about going to Colgate and playing for the Red Raider's. Adam Mitchell was cautious about predicting immediate success, but hopes to be able to contribue along with his linemate. Fresh from a hard fought victory, Steve Silverthorn is looking foward to coming down to challenge for the top spot. "That's just really exciting for me.... I don't want to sit in the backseat, I want to start." He did not sound arrogant, more like a competitor who was looking foward to the challenges of the next level. Steve had a lot of schools looking at him. Michigan Tech, Northeastern, Clarkson and SLU were the top recruiters. The day after Steve signed with us, Saint Lawrence signed another goalie who was their second or third choice. Steve has a strong work ethic and will improve to where he needs to be, and keep others around him improving as well. McKinnon continues to have fun, "I love hockey, hockey is my favorite sport....I like to have a lot of fun, joke around." His enthusiasm for the game is contagious, as well as his desire to play hard and win. These are three players who are going to benifit the team a great deal as they improve and adjust to this level, hopefully as soon as next year, when we will be counting on our freshman to provide a lot of the scoring.
Across Ontario in another small local arena, one of the players coming to Colgate next year to keep offensive threats to a minimum is standing against the glass, watching his team battle through a playoff game of his own. His name is Justin Spencer. At 6'0" 180 pounds, he's one of the leading defensemen for the Ottawa Junior Senators. He is currently on the injured list after seperating his shoulder in an earlier game, but expects to be back soon. His team finished the regular season second place in their division, in the Central Junior "A" hockey league. Having seen just one game of both the A and B leagues, I can say that the only major difference is depth. A Mitchell in the A league is the same as a Mitchell in the B league, you just find more of them on teams like Ottawa. The style of play also seems to be a bit more controled and more closely resembles play at the NCAA level as far as the types of offense and defense that are run.
Spencer can best be described as a stay at home defensemen who fills whatever role needs to be filled. He is very fast, as well as a tough, physical player when he needs to be. He's not a goon at all, and is always in control of his actions, but if a teammate is being abused, he will be one of the first to step in. But Justin is a very interesting recruiting case.
He won the award in his league for scholastic achievment, scoring a 1590 on his SAT's. He is currently taking engineering courses part time, and is thinking about majoring in Physics at Colgate. It's rare to find a hockey player who can knock a guys teeth out, then calculate how fast they will be going when they hit the ice. His talents both on the ice and in the classroom were noticed by schools like Harvard and Yale, who were his two top recruiters. He also had contact with the University of Maine, who was interested in him. So, why choose Colgate over one of the top schools in hockey east, or the best schools in the country? Allow me to paraphrase.. "At Colgate, you have a lot more of a tight knit atmosphere. Colgate has a lot smaller roster than most other schools, which can have 35 or 40 guys, at Colgate, you get to play right away. I had talked to Coach Moore a lot, and I liked what he had to say about the program, Colgate just sounds like a good fit for me."
So, give another point to Coach Stan Moore, a former ECAC coach of the year at Union College, he has returned to Colgate, and is widely regarded as one of the best assistant coaches in the ECAC and beyond. Not only is he a good recruiter, but his personal touch continues long afterwards, as he works extensivly with players one on one to bring out the best in them. Justin Spencer is another student athlete looking to make a differnce at Colgate, and is hoping to accomplish a lot, both on and off the ice.
Like Mitchell, he is guarded against predicting immdiate success, he just hopes he can do what is needed of him, and improve from there. One thing for sure, he will be on the ice next year, and he is a member of one of the largest recruiting classes ever under coach Vaughan, the success of this team over the next few years will depend on the success of this class. Coach Vaughan is enthusiastic about this class. In addition to being large in terms of the number of players, they are also a physically large class. Most players are in the 6 foot range, and are in good shape. They also are very skillful, this is one of the best recruiting classes we have had in a while.
These are just 4 of the stories about the class of 2005. It covers less than 50% of our hockey recruits for next year, and even then, it only gives a very small glimpse into their lives before Colgate. There are countless other recruits in many different sports, and there are whole chapters of their stories left to tell. What I have shared with you today is simply the first line in another chapter of the great book of Colgate student athletes. And I hope you've enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed my time writting it. So instead of the traditional "The End" we will leave it simply as...
To be Continued....
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