• Schedule/Results
• Stats
• Standings
• Almanac
• TourneyWatch
• |
• Blog
• Shop
• MemberCenter
• 

• Donate
• Jobs at CHN
• About Us
• Contact Us

Team Page **Atlantic Hockey** Air Force AIC Army Bentley Canisius Connecticut Holy Cross Mercyhurst Niagara RIT Robert Morris Sacred Heart **CCHA** Alaska Bowling Green Ferris State Lake Superior Miami Michigan Michigan State N. Michigan Notre Dame Ohio State W. Michigan **ECAC** Brown Clarkson Colgate Cornell Dartmouth Harvard Princeton Quinnipiac Rensselaer St. Lawrence Union Yale **Hockey East** BC BU Maine Massachusetts Mass.-Lowell Merrimack UNH Northeastern Providence Vermont **WCHA** UAA Bemidji State CC Denver Michigan Tech Minnesota Minnesota State Minn.-Duluth Neb.-Omaha North Dakota St. Cloud Wisconsin **Indep.** UAH

February 11, 2010 E-MAIL PRINT

Saints Rebuilding 'D' on the Run

by Matthew Ruffini/CHN Reporter

Last year, St. Lawrence was more unpredictable, capable of brilliant play, or slumps. Eventually, the Saints came within a hair of making the NCAAs.

This season, not a whole lot was expected from St. Lawrence, but here it is, within striking distance of the top spot in the conference as the regular season nears a close.

In this year’s preseason coaches’ poll the Saints were predicted to finish near the bottom of the standings; they had four senior defensemen which had been the backbone of the team. However, St. Lawrence hasn’t slowed down at all, and with a very talented young group of players coach Joe Marsh and the Saints find themselves in search of an ECAC title.

Zach Miskovic, Shawn Fensel, Matt Generous and Jared Ross were the four defensemen the Saints lost to graduation. The Saints not only lost talented defensemen but also team leaders and players that ate up lots of minutes and rarely missed games due to injury.

“Our young players complement each other very well, they don’t get rattled, they play to their strengths and they understand the game extremely well," Marsh said. "We don’t have big defensemen that are going to knock players around, but they are so good at positioning themselves and they get the job done.”

Two of the young defensemen are sophomore Peter Child and freshman George Hughes. Child is currently hurt and the Saints are not sure if they will have him back before the season is over. In the 24 games that Child was able to play, he put up solid numbers with six goals and nine assists. Hughes has been equally impressive in his freshman season with 16 points in 28 games played.

As far as the upperclassmen, Marsh has been most pleased with the play of Senior’s Jeff Caister and Derek Keller.

“Both Keller and Caister have played so much and carried the load for us and have been great team leaders,” Marsh said.

Senior goalie Kain Tisi also has noticed the impact from the two senior defenders.

“Everyone pretty much wrote off our 'D' core after losing such great players as Generous, Ross, Fensel and Miskovic, but the leadership from Derek Keller and Jeff Caister helped the young guys step in and learn from skillful and experienced veterans,” Tisi said.

Tisi also is able to watch the young defenders grow each day and he has been very impressed with what he has seen.

“The young defense on our team have developed so well, in such a short period of time, no one could have expected it. George Hughes is a Stud back there, getting a chance to step in right away and play in several different situations. Matt Raley and Jordan Dewey have developed into solid dependable D-I defensemen.”

Along with the success of the Saints defense, Tisi’s play has been a major reason why St. Lawrence has caught the conference by surprise again. Expected to split time coming into the season, after Alex Petizian was the man down the stretch last year, Tisi has been emerging as the go-to guy. In Tisi’s 19 games this season he has posted a .924 save percentage and a 2.16 GAA.

“I attribute the success so far this season to sticking with it throughout my career until finally I caught a break and built some confidence after Christmas playing in consecutive games," Tisi said. "There’s no price you can put on getting to play some games, gaining crucial experience and believing you can get the job done. Also the support I get from my teammates is unbelievable, I couldn’t have asked for better guys to play with.”

Marsh admitted that coming into the season goaltending was not a position he was worried about.

“Tisi has been on fire; he is seizing the moment and playing with confidence," Marsh said. "All three of our goalies support each other because of their confidence. It’s the most important position and I rarely have to worry about it.”

Leadership was another area that many people thought the Saints would lack this season but that hasn’t been the case; in fact Marsh feels it has been the exact opposite.

“We have many leaders on this team but Travis Vermeulen is a perfect example of what we’re trying to accomplish," Marsh said. "I have been coaching for a long time and Vermeulen is the best defensive forward I have ever coached. He just battles, he is 5-7 ” and he is an amazing competitor, he never gets too high or too low.”

That's heady praise for the 5-foot-7 Vermeulen considering the kind of talent that has come through Canton in the last 20 years.

With three weekends left in the ECAC regular season and the Saints only three points away from the top spot, the pressure starts to build. Marsh likes to use a bit of motivation to keep his players focused.

“I remind my players we were picked to finish 10th in the conference," he said. "It keeps us humble and it makes sure you respect every opponent.”

For some players, pressure at the end of the season can bring out the best performances, and that’s what Tisi and the Saints are hoping for.

“I would be lying if I said there was no pressure but it is a good thing, guys thrive on that stuff and it’s what the game is all about," Tisi said. "Our team believes we can win our league and I do as well. It’s up for grabs and we’ve proven we can play with the best, we just have to bring it every night from here on out.”