Editor's
note: Technical difficulties prevented us from
bringing you this week's Atlantic Hockey notebook at its
normal time. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Pierre Napert-Frenette lives with three other Holy Cross
hockey players, all of whom will likely test the ranks of
professional hockey. Napert-Frenette has the skills to do
so but he also has the smarts to know he is holding a better
hand in the business world.
Retirement
has been in the cards since last summer when Napert-Frenette
accepted a job as a financial analyst, pending his graduation,
for JP Morgan Chase in New York. He harbors no regrets about
his decision, and looks forward to the remaining dozen or
so games in his hockey career.
"It
was hard to say 'no' to hockey but it's a great opportunity,''
Napert-Frenette said. "Sometimes you're like, 'Ahhhh,
I want to play,' but I made up my mind that this is probably
the end, like 99 percent sure.''
Napert-Frenette
is going out in grand style. He is co-captain of a Holy
Cross team that has taken over the lead in Atlantic Hockey.
Considered one
of the best two-way players in the league, Napert-Frenette
is second on the team in scoring with 11 goals, 17 assists
and 28 points. For his career, the senior from New Brunswick,
Canada, has 49 goals, 72 assists and 121 points.
Said
Holy Cross coach Paul Pearl: "Offensively he is very
gifted, has a canon for a shot, he sets people up and does
a good job. He is a smart hockey player and really knows
the game. He is able to see the ice well. He is one of the
best we've ever had.''
Pearl
said Napert-Frenette is the center he uses in most pressure
situations because of his maturity, his talent on the penalty
kill and ability to win faceoffs in the defensive zone.
Napert-Frenette
has thrived in clutch situations. Playing juniors for the
Victoria Salsa in the British Columbia Hockey League, Napert-Frenette
scored the last three game-winning goals in the championship
series against Merritt that went seven games.
"Those
two months of hockey I played were the most fun I ever had
in my life,'' said Napert-Frenette.
He also
enjoyed Holy Cross' championship run in the first Atlantic
Hockey tournament in 2004, and wants to lead his club back
to the NCAA tournament to serve as the perfect ending for
his career.
"Every
game you think about it, that it's going to be the end,''
Napert-Frenette said. "You have been playing 20 some
odd years and it's going to come to an end soon. You try
to make the best out of it.''
SEEN
AND HEARD IN ATLANTIC HOCKEY
Going
for the sweep: Army is looking for its fourth consecutive
victory over Royal Military College of Canada when the teams
meet in their annual exhibition on Saturday in Kingston,
Ontario. Army senior goalie Brad Roberts has won all three
of his matchups with the Paladins and can become the first
cadet netminder to ever post four wins. Adding his 5-2 record
against Air Force, Roberts owns an 8-2 mark against the
service academies with a 1.60 goals against average and
.947 save percentage.
Crusader
Nation growing: Holy Cross' ascension into first
place in Atlantic Hockey has caused a bit of a stir in Worcester,
but tickets are still available for Crusader home games
at the Hart Center.
"We have
done well crowd-wise,'' said coach Paul Pearl. "We
have done better
because there are no more IceCats here. I think there are
some transplanted AHL fans who have come to our rink.''
Napert-Frenette
notices the upturn in fan support but insists roundball
takes precedence on campus.
"Actually
Holy Cross is not really a big hockey campus; it's always
been basketball,'' Napert-Frenette said. "That's the
one thing we never like as hockey players. We tried to get
people into it but this campus is (Boston) Red Sox and Holy
Cross basketball.''
Having
lived five years outside of Montreal, Napert-Frenette became
a Montreal Expos fan but he lost interest in baseball following
the strike-shortened 1994 season (which doomed a playoff-bound
Expos team) and the constant talk of Les Expos leaving
town.
"Actually
my girlfriend is a Red Sox fan,'' said Napert-Frenette,
"and she said if I wasn't a fan now it wasn't going
to be good, so I sort of started liking the Red Sox after
winning the World Series.''
Good
move, Pierre.
Hail
to the new leader: Holy Cross jumped into first
place ahead of Sacred Heart and Mercyhurst with four weeks
to play. Holding the top spot, though, has no special meaning
for the Crusaders.
"It's
nice to be in first place,'' said Napert-Frenette, "but
there are still eight games left in the season. ... It probably
won't be decided until the last night of the season. We
know we can't stop and coast in. We have to keep on working
every weekend and hopefully we will be on top at the end.''
"We
have been around (the lead) all year,'' said coach Paul
Pearl. "We are not a team that has a standings board
in the locker room. I don't think first place means a heck
of a lot on February 8th. I think it will mean a ton on
March 5th.''
No
looking ahead: Holy Cross has a huge two-game series
at Mercyhurst next
weekend but there is still work to be done this weekend
as Canisius visits
Worcester for a pair of games.
"We
had two battles against them early so they are smart enough
to know this is a really good team coming in,'' Holy Cross
coach Paul Pearl said. "They (Canisius) have won three
in a row and starting to get their stuff going a little
better.''
Great
Weekend Getaway
Mercyhurst
at Bentley (Fri.-Sat.)
Bentley is trying to bounce back from last weekend’s
sweep at the hands of
new league leader Holy Cross. The Falcons picked up
one point on idle Army with Tuesday’s tie against
AIC, and still trails the Black Knights by two.
The Falcons are in need of at least one victory in
order to stay in the hunt for the fourth and final
home playoff spot. Mercyhurst swept Bentley in Erie
in December.
Stick
Salute
Kudos to Holy
Cross for finally grabbing the top spot in
Atlantic Hockey. The Crusaders swept Bentley 2-1 and
4-1 to jump over Mercyhurst and Sacred Heart, the
two teams Holy Cross will be facing the next two weekends.
The Crusaders have won seven in a row, the second-longest
win streak in the nation.
Bench
Minor
You hate
to kick a team when it's down but Connecticut
has dropped 11 games in a row. The Huskies have surrendered
four goals or more in their last nine games. At least
the Huskies gave Yale from the ECAC Hockey League
a battle in a 4-3 decision.
FRIES
AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BAG
•
Sad tidings: There is a bit of sadness associated with Saturday’s
75th meeting between Army and Canada’s Royal Military
College. Longtime RMC coach Danny MacLeod suffered a heart
attack on January 25 and has not recovered to the point
where he can attend the historic game.
•
First to 100: Mercyhurst teammates Scott Champagne and Scott
Reynolds each have 99 career points heading into their weekend
series at Bentley.
•
No, you take it: Connecticut and American International
College, who meet this weekend, played twice in December.
The teams traded road wins.
•
Hot hand: Tyler McGregor of Holy Cross has a point in seven
consecutive games, with four goals and 12 assists during
the stretch.
•
Just not enough: Bentley owns a 4-2 record when it scores
four goals – both of those losses came to Mercyhurst,
7-4 and 10-5, in early December.
•
Relaxing: Sacred Heart has the weekend off for the first
time since Dec. 29-30. The Pioneers are 8-3 since the start
of the new year.
A variety of sources were utilized in
the compilation of this report.
