January
19, 2005
AIC's
60 Minute Man
By
James Jahnke
It’s
not Howard. It’s not McKee. It’s not Gibson, Briggs
or Montoya. The goalie who has played the greatest percentage
of his team’s minutes this year is American International’s
Frank Novello.
At 99.9 percent, he’s tough to top.
Novello has played all but 21 seconds of the Yellow Jackets’
960 minutes of game time this year. It wasn’t until AIC’s
most recent contest, a 6-3 loss to Mercyhurst, that backup Matt
Tourville finally was granted almost an entire shot clock’s
worth of time between the pipes.
“We actually meant to get (Tourville) in there a little
earlier,” AIC coach Gary Wright said of his freshman, “but
then there were about two-and-a-half minutes without a whistle
at the end of the game.”
Not that Novello, a senior, minded the extra stint. He was thrust
into the workhorse role this season when classmate Chad Davis
made a late decision not to use his final season of eligibility
in Springfield. Davis’
departure caught the program off guard, but Novello has absorbed
the extra work with little trouble. He boasts a .921 save percentage
that belies his 3.31 goals-against average and 2-13-1 record.
Come to think of it, that might be another stat in which Novello
leads the nation: saves made per win.
AIC generates just 1.88 goals per game – fourth worst in
the nation – which puts a lot of pressure on Novello to
be spectacular. In six of his 13 losses, Novello has allowed three
goals or fewer. That’s not as routine as it sounds, either,
considering he faces 40 or more shots almost every night. Earlier
this month, Brown put 61 shots on goal in a 5-2 win. The fewest
shots Novello has seen in a game this year is 30. Four times,
he’s dealt with more than 50.
But through
it all, Novello has refrained from feeling sorry for himself or
blaming his teammates as the losses mount.
“I knew
what I was coming into,” he said. “The thought (of
playing for a good team) goes through everybody’s mind on
a team that’s not going so well. But I’m going to
enjoy every minute I’m here. There’s always a moral
victory, you just have to look at the positives. I’ve played
a lot in the four years I’ve been here, and there are not
too many players who can say that.”
The highlight
of AIC’s season came last Friday when, behind 34 Novello
saves, it upset first-place Canisius on the road. The Yellow Jackets
also have a win over Army, a tie against Holy Cross, Atlantic
Hockey’s current first-place team, and an overtime loss
to Mercyhurst on their resume. They sit just one point behind
eighth-place Army heading into this weekend’s home-and-home
series against Bentley, so if Novello can steal a couple from
the Falcons, the Jackets might not be relegated to the 8 vs. 9
play-in game of the conference tournament this season.
“Frank’s been durable, been consisent and been strong,”
Wright said. “He’s had, really, no bad games this
year. Before games, he dresses in about three minutes, and he
stands out there at ice level and just looks out there for about
20 minutes. And you can just see the focus on his face.
“When he has a right to be irritated with the rest of us
for not scoring for him, he’s back there lamenting the two
he let in. Basically, he’s what you want in a goalie.”
SEEN
AND HEARD IN THE LEAGUES
More work, please: At the other end of the goalie
spectrum is Bemidji State freshman Matt Climie, who thinks he
should be facing more shots than he is. The Leduc, Alberta, native
was in net Friday night when Robert Morris managed to put a comically
low eight shots on net during a 5-1 loss. RMU had as many power
plays as total shots – and even more penalties (12). They
managed just two shots in both the first and third periods.
Climie, who admitted to being bored, swears he wasn’t playing
solitaire in the crease when the Colonials’ Chris Kaufman
scored on a second-period breakaway. But he might have been thinking
about it.
“I probably could have been (playing cards),” Climie
said. “It’s pretty tough only facing eight shots.
I usually get more than that in a period.
It’s tough mentally. And then when they do get shots, it
seems like they’re Grade A opportunities like odd-man rushes.”
The 6-foot-3 Climie has started three straight games and played
in four straight – all wins – for the Beavers, temporarily
displacing 5-10 sophomore Layne Sedevie from the lineup. He and
the rest of the team will be tested by the explosive Alabama-Huntsville
offense this weekend Down South.
Leaving
on a sour note: Quinnipiac’s final season in Atlantic
Hockey is going nowhere fast. Expected to be a title contender
before the year, the Bobcats sit in fifth place with a .500 conference
record heading into this weekend’s game against Holy Cross.
One problem in Hamden has been scoring, but the main factor has
been a dearth of “good” wins.
By and
large, Quinnipiac is beating the teams it should beat (a 6-1-1
record against Bentley, Army, AIC and UConn) but not the teams
it would like to beat (0-3-1 against Holy Cross, Canisius, Sacred
Heart and Mercyhurst). With two games remaining against each of
those four leading teams, there’s a chance for things to
get better – or worse – before they bid adieu.
“It’s
been a disappointing year to this point,” head coach Rand
Pecknold said. “We’ve certainly underachieved. I think
we have more talent than last year, when we also underachieved,
but we need more production out of our forwards. We need to get
it going here.”
Asked
whether the impending move to the ECACHL – and the eagerness/anxiety
it entails – was a factor, Pecknold said, “I don’t
think that’s the case at all. It might have been more so
at the start of the season, but right now, no one’s thinking
about next year.”
FRIES
AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BAG
|
Great Weekend Getaway |
 |
| Bemidji
State at Alabama-Huntsville (Fri.-Sat.)
Bemidji State finally has to leave the security
of the Glas Fieldhouse this weekend after a rare eight-game
homestand – during which the Beavers climbed into
first place in the CHA. The squad they overtook is UAH,
which is coming off an impressive nonconference win and
tie at Lake Superior State. The Chargers need to defend
home ice because they’ll be making a trip to Bemidji
in less than a month. Fans at the Von Braun Center this
weekend might be getting a sneak peek of the CHA championship
game.
While
You're There: If you want to spend an extra day
in Alabama (and, seriously, who wouldn’t?), country
stars Alison Krauss + Union Station will play the Von Braun
Center on Sunday.
|
| Stick
Salute |
|
Congratulations
to Canisius senior defenseman Mark Persick,
the only repeat finalist for the Hockey Humanitarian Award
in this year’s class. Among other good deeds, Persick
organized a sponsorship of a 6-year-old girl in Somalia,
monthly trips to Buffalo’s Women and Children’s
Hospital, created a “toy toss” for The Hearts
for the Homeless children’s center, and sits on the
Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Persick truly is a world-class
individual. |
| Bench
Minor |
| Golden
Griffins fans might blame it on the curse of INCH (or did
Cavanaugh put a hex on them?), but Canisius threw
away two points when they lost at home to
American International last Friday. Teams competing for
the league championship can’t do such things. The
biggest goof might have been starting No. 2 goalie Max Buetow
instead of Bryan Worosz. The Yellow Jackets see their share
of backup netminders – opposing teams often try to
sneak away with a win and a day of rest for ol’ No.
1 against Wright’s boys – but AIC had no trouble
figuring out Buetow, taking a 4-0 lead less than five minutes
into the second period. By the time Worosz came off the
bench, it was too late. |
• It’s
pretty much been understood for a while that Alabama-Huntsville
center Jared Ross could play for just about any team
in the country, but further proof was provided last weekend in
Sault Ste. Marie. Ross torched Lake Superior State for four goals
as the Chargers took a convincing 5-0 win and a 3-3 tie from their
trip into CCHA country. Though successful, the nonconference series
dropped the Chargers out of first place. Bemidji State, which
has played two more league games than UAH, now sits atop by three
points.
• We could understand this coming from a wily veteran who’s
been in the league as long as Nate James was at Duke, but the
fact that Billy Irish-Baker of Canisius is just a sophomore
made it all the more puzzling. During a conversation
with INCH last week, Irish-Baker mentioned the team’s desire
to win the MAAC championship. Really, Billy? The MAAC hockey league
changed it’s name to Atlantic Hockey before last season
– and before Irish-Baker ever played in the conference.
He must be a history major or something,
• Ever so quietly, Holy Cross is back in first place
in Atlantic Hockey – a place it held all of last year. The
Crusaders are 7-0-2 in their last nine league games and haven’t
lost to an Atlantic Hockey opponent since the night of the Pistons-Pacers
fight. The Crusaders lead Canisius by one point, and Mercyhurst
and Sacred Heart by four. Holy Cross has just one game this weekend
– Saturday at Quinnipiac – because Friday’s
scheduled contest in Worcester has been moved to next month at
the FleetCenter.
• Fans of Army hockey are well aware of Chad Fifield’s
neat turnaround from being a roster cut as a sophomore
to being a team captain as a senior. Halfway through his final
season of college hockey, Fifield is in a four-way tie for second
place on the team in points. The bad news is that he only has
five. Still, coach Brian Riley loves what Fifield brings to the
offensively challenged Black Knights. “He typifies what
we feel Army hockey is all about,” Riley said. “He’s
been an unbelievable player and leader. You watch how he comes
to compete every day – it’s a great example for our
younger guys. If I had 20 Chad Fifields, I’d be a lucky
coach and a good coach.”.
• Scoreboard glancers would have had different impressions
of two Atlantic Hockey games last weekend than box-score
readers. Connecticut’s 4-1 win over Quinnipiac on Friday
looks a bit one-sided at first, but the tilt was tied 1-1 until
Tim Olsen scored with 2:12 to go. Two empty-netters later, and
the spread looks pretty bad. On the same night, Bentley and Sacred
Heart went into the final two minutes scoreless before the Falcons’
Josh Thompson found the net with 1:58 to play. Add an empty-netter,
and Bentley “cruised” to a 2-0 win.
• Mercyhurst sophomore goalie Mike Ella
earned his first career win Saturday – and it just happened
to be on his 22nd birthday. Ella has played well in recent weeks
(including a 0-0 tie against Robert Morris) and could start challenging
top goalie Andy Franck for more playing time.
• Three teams will be shorthanded this weekend
because of fights on Saturday. Quinnipiac forward Craig Falite,
Army defenseman Nick Cahill and Air Force forward Matt Bader all
must sit out their teams’ first matchups this weekend because
of the NCAA’s mandatory one-game suspension for players
receiving a game disqualification. Connecticut forward Trevor
Stewart, who tussled with Falite, sat out UConn’s game against
Sacred Heart on Tuesday.
• Aside from the big series Down South, other notable
matchups this weekend include intrastate rivals UConn
and Yale on Saturday in New Haven, a mentor vs. student rematch
between Robert Morris’ Derek Schooley and Wayne State’s
Bill Wilkinson on Saturday and Sunday in Plymouth, and two exhibitions
between Canisius and the Under-18 U.S. National Development Team
in Buffalo.
• Bentley senior goalie Simon St. Pierre
set a school record with his fifth career shutout on Friday. The
blanking was his first of the season.
