October 30, 2002

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Red Wash

By wpengine | October 30, 2002

Every year the Sun Sports Editor locks him or herself in a closet, tries to make some sense of eight-month old statistics, and eventually everyone ends up in a five-way tie anyway. Well, here it goes…

1. Cornell Big Red

Last Year’s Record: 25-8-2, 17-3-2 ECAC, 1st

Who are we to argue with Sports Illustrated, USCHO.com, The Hockey News, InsideCollegeHockey.com, the coaches, etc. …

2. Harvard Crimson

Last Year’s Record: 15-15-4, 10-9-3 ECAC, tied 3rd

Last year, the team was young — it took the Crimson until playoff time to bring the team together. But once Harvard coach Mark Mazzolini assembled the squad under his game plan, the Crimson was quite good. With former defenseman Peter Capouch as the only significant loss from last year, Harvard should be a national contender.

Forwards: No doubt about it, the Crimson is stacked. Faceoff specialist Dominic Moore and Brett Nowak lead the group, followed by Tyler Kolarik, power play component Tim Pettit, and legacy Tom Cavanagh.

Defense: Noah Welch was one of the best defenders in last year’s freshman class. However, defense is not the Crimson’s strongest attribute, but it is good enough to keep opponents from scoring fewer goals than the potent Harvard offense.

Goal: Dov Grumet-Morris is back for his sophomore season. Although his 2.84 GAA and .895 save percentage are unimpressive, they should just improve with experience.

3. Clarkson Golden Knights

Last Year’s Record: 17-15-6, 11-6-5 ECAC, 2nd

The Golden Knights had a few key losses but so does every team, and this team can rebuild quickly. Last year, the Knights were plagued by injuries. They also must control themselves on the ice. Knight coach Mark Morris has set a goal to be more disciplined this year. If the team can stay healthy and play cleanly, it should be tough all year long.

Forwards: Leading scorer Kevin O’Flaherty returns for his final year in Canton, N.Y. Also, 2000-2001 ECAC Rookie of the Year Rob McFeeters should be back to form after having to sit out of 15 games — he still had .50 points per game.

Defense: Clarkson was second in the ECAC in defense last year, giving up 2.32 goals per game. Losing Kerry Ellis-Toddington will hurt, but the unit shouldn’t suffer too much.

Goal: Mike Walsh has come a long way from the freshman walk-on he once was. He recorded a .911 save percentage and 2.39 GAA last season.

4. Brown Bears

Last Year’s Record: 14-15-2, 10-10-2 ECAC, tied 6th

Bruno was resurrected last year, after the coaches and media expected the Bears to finish 12th in the ECAC. Little did anyone expect them to break even in conference play, let alone beat the then No. 1 team in the country, St. Cloud. With an extra year of experience, the young team should only improve this season.

Forwards: First the good news: Brown returns its top 14 scorers from last year. Now the bad news: those 14 only had 68 goals amongst them. The team also must get the power play converting more than last year’s 12 percent.

Defense: Practically everyone is returning here including senior Paul Esdale, the second-highest scorer on the team. Junior Vince Macri is also a solid blue liner. The No. 13 defense should be just as tight if not tighter. The challenge, though, will be to let in fewer goals than the offense can score.

Goal: Coming into 2001, Brian Eklund was expected to lead Brown from between the pipes. However, newcomer Yann Danis shocked the ECAC and the nation with the fifth-best GAA and second-best save percentage, earning him second-team All-America honors.

5. Yale Bulldogs

Last Year’s Record: 10-19-2, 9-11-2 ECAC, tied 9th

Eli coach Tim Taylor has been there and seen it all, which makes Yale hard to pinpoint in the standings. There’s no question that this team is talented, but key losses in key positions may hold it back.

Forwards: If you haven’t already heard, Yale has Chris Higgins, the No. 14 overall NHL draft pick who won ECAC Rookie of the Year, was a second team all-conference pick and strikes fear into the heart of many a defenseman. As a freshman, he led the Elis in scoring with 31 points while missing four games. He has a good supporting cast with a bevy of role players to help him out.

Defense: Although the Elis graduated one defenseman, only five remain who have playing experience. With a young goaltender in net, they will be called on frequently. The traditionally disciplined team shouldn’t allow many power plays for the opposition.

Goal: Dan Lombard left, sparking a competition between two Peters. Sophomore Peter Cohen seems to have gotten the nod over junior Peter Dobrowolski.

6. Dartmouth Big Green

Last Year’s Record: 14-13-5, 9-8-5 ECAC, tied 3rd

Of all the teams burdened by graduation, the Green might be the hardest hit. The team advanced to the ECAC tournament for the first time in recent memory, but with the new four-team format, Dartmouth’s chance of getting back this year is just a little slimmer.

Forwards: The team lost its three highest scorers — second-team ECAC forward Mike Maturo, honorable mention Jamie Herrington, and Christopher Baldwin — leaving the Green with plenty of question marks up front. In total, six forwards graduated, so Dartmouth will need its freshmen to contribute significantly.

Defense: With the inexperience up front, much of the scoring burden will have to come from the blue line. Trevor Byrne will be one of the best defensemen in the ECAC. Period. The second-team ECAC selection will have to contribute on both sides of the ice. Pete Summerfelt, who had 22 points last year, will also be an important cog in the Green squad.

Goal: Last season ended on a controversy. Nick Boucher started in 21 games, but Darren Gastrock spelled him at the end of the season because of Boucher’s, shall we say, penchant for being distracted. Both of them will likely see time between the pipes this year.

7. St. Lawrence Saints

Last Year’s Record: 11-21-2, 9-11-2 ECAC, tied 9th

As one of the few ECAC schools to offer scholarships to its players, St. Lawrence is always a team to watch. However, it seems that the formerly dominant Saints won’t climb out of their recent rut this season.

Forwards: This team has the potential for breaking out offensively, but it can also get shut out easily. The Saints are losing about half of their top scorers, but this team can rebuild itself quickly. Junior Rich Peverley, last year’s leading scorer, should pace the team again. The power play needs to get on track for success — it only scored on 16 of 100 chances last year.

Defense: This area is not really St. Lawrence’s forte. Even though the Saints had the best penalty kill in the ECAC last year, the team was 10th in scoring defense, allowing 2.91 goals per game.

Goal: Sophomore Mike McKenna took over between the pipes as a rookie last year, although his accomplishments were overshadowed by two other netminders from his class, Cornell’s David LeNeveu and Harvard’s Dov Grummet-Morris. He should provide St. Lawrence with much needed solid goaltending.

8. Colgate Raiders

Last Year’s Record: 13-19-2, 10-10-2 ECAC, tied 6th

The Raiders have already had their share of good fortune, having the NCAA change a double-overtime loss to Nebraska-Omaha to a tie. But Colgate’s luck hasn’t run out yet. Last “>Re, the Raiders benefitted from being
Cornell’s travel partner and this year should be no different, as the Red will beat down teams before they face ‘Gate.

Forwards: Scooter Smith not only has the best name in the ECAC, but he should be ready for a successful senior campaign. The young corps ought to benefit from the extra year of experience in order to increase their 2.65 average goals per game.

Defense: Colgate’s blue liners can score. ECAC honorable mention Rob Brown was second on the team in points last year. The bigger problem is with the Raider defense which gave up over three goals a game. The team definitely has to iron out its penalty kill, which was successful only 79.5 percent of the time.

Goal: David Cann took the majority of starts and had the best stats (a not too pretty 3.01 GAA and .892 save percentage) and will probably be in net most of the time this season.

9. Rensselaer Engineers

Last Year’s Record: 20-13-4, 10-9-3, tied 3rd

RPI’s desire to show that it was a better team than Cornell last year went unrequited. The team probably won’t be able to realize that aspiration this year, either.

Forwards: The RPI offense finds itself in some dire straits without the tandem of last year’s ECAC Player of the Year Mark Cavosie and Matt Murley. With Murley’s graduation and Cavosie’s signing with the Wild, the two take away 96 total points and over 30 percent of the scoring. Much of the responsibility up front will fall on the shoulders of Carson Butterwick. But it will take more than a solitary effort to compensate.

Defense: The best friend of the Engineers’ defense was their high-powered offense last season. The team will need to tighten up the 3.15 goals against average in 2001-2002.

Goal: Nathan Marsters had an impressive .920 save percentage last year. However, he may not be the starting goalie after Kevin Kurk posted consecutive shutouts last weekend against Army and Iona. But being Army and Iona, Marsters may still be No. 1.

10. Union Skating Dutchmen

Last Year’s Record: 13-13-6, 8-11-3 ECAC, 11th

The Skating Dutchmen have made a home for themselves at the bottom of the ECAC; this year will be more of the same. On one hand, Union was only four points below third place, but on the other hand it was still denied a playoff berth. At least with the new tournament format, it won’t be left out this year.

Forwards: The team returns five of its top six scorers and a underclassmen-heavy roster. There’s a lot of versatility on the offense with the top six returning forwards notching double-digit point totals.

Defense: Only one person is missing from last year’s defense, so that means more experience. But Union needs more than just that, especially when it comes to special teams. With a new goaltender between the pipes, the blue liners must improve upon their second-worst penalty kill in the ECAC.

Goal: Brandon Snee, whose bread and butter was tormenting the Red, has graduated. Kris Mayotte has gotten the majority of starts thus far this year, but coach Sneddon has rotated in Tim Roth and Matt Wise.

11. Vermont Catamounts

Last Year’s Record: 3-26-2, 3-18-1 ECAC, 12th

The Catamounts have nowhere to go but up. After a hazing incident three years ago, and a three-win season last year, head coach Mike Gilligan is most likely itching to get to where he was during his ECAC championship season in 1997. Of course, these things take time, but his efforts should bring him out of the cellar.

Forwards: Sophomores and freshmen make up the bulk of the forwards, but it shouldn’t be too hard for them to improve upon a conference-worst 2.09 goals per game.

Defense: This group is equally young and was equally ineffective last year with it’s 12th-place 4.23 team defense. It was a whole 1.28 higher than next worst, Yale.

Goal: After a good sophomore campaign, Shawn Conschafter’s play degenerated last year along with the rest of the team. He has begun to return to his form of two years ago, letting in one of 42 shots in a 1-1 tie against Boston University on Oct. 18.

12. Princeton Tigers

Last Year’s Record: 11-18-2, 10-10-2 ECAC, tied 6th

Hobey Baker was a Tiger, but that’s the only link Princeton will have with the prestigious award this year. The Tigers barely made their way into the postseason with a late season surge, but youth and inexperience may get in their way this year.

Forwards: Scoring wasn’t really one of Princeton’s strengths last year with 2.13 goals per game. It gets worse, though. Over 43 percent of the point total has graduated, leaving head coach Len Quesnelle crossing his fingers that his freshmen will be able to step up.

Defense: The blue liners will match the forwards in their overall youth. However, 2001-02 left the legacy of a not-too-stellar 3.16 scoring defense. Mediocre special teams will also be an Achilles heel for the Tigers.

Goal: Nate Nomeland will get to play now that Dave Stathos graduated to the minor league hockey system. He has a career 3.36 GAA and .902 save percentage in 21 games played and a 3-7-1 career record.

Archived article by Amanda Angel

The Jazz Issue

By wpengine October 31, 2002

There have been numerous books about it. There have been hundreds of clubs dedicated to its propogation and performance. There have been philosophical debates about its meanings and about its creation. There have been countless cultural ramifications from it’s presence. And yet, though the evidence of Jazz as a music and a culture are everywhere, trying to define “Jazz” is like trying to touch the sun — it’s an admirable, if impossible dream. And in 2002, the term Jazz is as loaded as ever, though the connotations connected to the word seem to have changed. Once, according to some sources, the word was closely associated with a slang term for intercourse, “Jass.” Today, the word itself seems to conjure images of stuffy old men who debate the superiority of various Miles Davis albums. And while the cannonization of Jazz has, indeed, isolated artists who were probably deserving of more recognition that they ultimately recieve, there are positive effects as well. Perhaps the most obvoius result is that there has been extensive research into the history, the musicology, and the anthropology behind this great music. Culturally, Jazz has given many African American musicians a door into the entertainment world, a business that for the majority of last century (and into today) had a notorious reputation as a closed industry. And, as Jazz has much in common with several indigenous African musics, African-American artists were able to bring African musical elements into the view of mainstream America. But that was just the beginning. To this day, musicologist and historians argue where the music truly evolved. Perhaps the most popular answer is New Orleans. Known for it’s unique style of Jazz and it’s long history of live performance, New Orleans is probably too simple an answer to the question of Jazz’s origin. Others will argue that Jazz came from the Midwest. And though this question may never be answered concretely, the truth is that some great musicians came out of both areas. As a music, Jazz has moved from the porches of the south and the midwest to the dance floors of New York City’s big band ballrooms and into the basements of Greenwich village apartment buildings. It has had various zeniths in popular opinion and parallel dips when Jazz seemed to die out or fade. Yet, all the while, the music has grown and changed, bringing forth some of the most talented composers and musicians this country (and, indeed, the world) has ever seen. But because the music is so varied and the performers so vastly different from one another, Jazz has generally been broken down into several sub-categories. And though from a historical context, this makes the progression and evolution of the music more manageable, this histographical manipulation of the music is misleading. Indeed, the story of Jazz is long and convoluted. The term transcends any purely musical domain. And it is this fact that creates much of its enigma. How is it that so many vastly disparate musicians can all be lumped under one genre? Is the categorization dead? Well, jazz never really was a ‘genre,’ per se. Saying a band plays Jazz says more about the artists’ approach than anything resembling a definition of their sound. And for this reason, we can call both Herbie Hancock and Medeski, Martin, and Wood Jazz. These artists are mentioned together for a more pointed reason. Both have recently visited Ithaca, namely the beautiful State Theatre, to bestow their respective interpretations of that thing we call Jazz. In case you’re not familiar with either, we provide the lowdown on the “Father of Fusion” and the new innovators of the Jazz community. Herbie Hancock Born: April 12, 1940 Born Herbert Jeffrey Hancock, Herbie became a jazz luminary beginning with his inclusion in Miles Davis’ early ensembles. As a young and virtuosic pianist, Hancock worked with the likes of Tony Williams and Wayne Shorter early in his carreer. He went on to gain acclaim in Jazz forms like Post-bop and Modal Jazz. But what he’s perhaps best known for is his influence in what became known as Fusion. His album Head Hunters was an enormous departure from his earlier work and marked him as one of the music’s most important and creative icons. On October 26, Hancock gave a performance at Ithaca’s own State Theatre. Selected Discography: Maiden Voyage (1965) ; Mwandishi (1970) ; Head Hunters (1973) ; V.S.O.P. Quintet (1977) ; Future Shock (1983) ; Future 2 Future (2001) Medeski Martin and Wood Formed: 1992 John Medeski, Billy Martin, and Chris Wood emerged from the avant-garde downtown NYC scene of the early ’90s to gain recognition as the leaders of latest front of groove-based improvisers, along with Sex Mob and the Lounge Lizards. On It’s A Jungle In Here, the trio made explicit both their respect for their Jazz roots and their desire to stir things up by pairing Thelonius Monk’s “Bemsha Swing” and Bob Marley’s “Lively Up Yourself.” The group’s sound has gradually veered toward some of their more exploratory interests. Collaborations with Vernon Reid and DJ Logic provided a new definition for “Fusion.” They performed at the State Theatre on October 30. Selected Discography: Notes From Underground (1992) ; It’s A Jungle In Here (1993) Shack Man (1996) ; Uninvisible (2002)Archived article by Thea Brown
Gotta Have It

By wpengine October 31, 2002

Today may already be Halloween, but there’s still time left to put together a spook-tacular costume. Whether you scare the ish out of your friends or just make small children pity your incompetence, don’t forget that the only thing worse than a bad costume is no costume at all. Since we’re working with a deadline here, most of these costumes are do-it-yourself and require more imagination than money. Don’t be afraid to expand and improvise upon the themes set forth below. Just remember that pretending to be a shaky Michael J. Fox doesn’t mean you’re funny, it means you’re going to hell where you belong. The Leaky Pen People may hate you when you ruin their pants, but at least they’ll have to tip their hat to your original concept. Here’s what you do: wrap plastic wrap or trash bags around your body, find a funnel or similar pointy device to make your ballpoint hat, and cover yourself with some type of ink. You can use real ink or you could make your own out of a variety of liquids, including but not limited to: motor oil, maple syrup, honey, and corn syrup. You may have to add some food coloring to get the tint you are after, but after some trial and error you will be able to piss people off by the dozens. The Blind Barber Patron This one requires a little bit of dedication mixed with a whole lot of desperation. All you need is a pair of scissors. That’s it — no mirror, nothing. Turn out the lights and go to town. This works best if your hair is over an inch long and if you are a girl. I recommend waiting to make your “costume” until it is absolutely necessary. This will increase the surprise factor considerably and prevent people from thinking you have emotional problems. A variation on this costume would be the “Out of Date Hairstyle.” Some ideas for your consideration: lines shaved in the sides, numbers, letters, or symbols shaved into the back of your head, and any type of rat tail you can muster. Poor Hygiene Some of you will be able to pull this off without much work at all. For those of us who shower at least weekly, only a few minor steps need to be taken. First, spill food (preferably items that gets crusty) on some old clothes. Then, put some petroleum jelly in your hair and on your face so it looks like you’ve been up for three days straight. Next, put some peanut butter in your ears to simulate months of wax buildup. Then, put a little baby powder in your hair and on your shoulders to serve as dandruff. Finally, for instant halitosis, eat some cottage cheese and wash it down with orange juice. Gross, but tremendously effective. For Folks in a Hurry: Impacted Wisdom Teeth Get two ping-pong balls and put them in your cheeks. Then, get some kind of ice pack (even frozen vegetables will work). Done. And if you want to make it “spooky,” just put some ketchup around your mouth. Rabies Buy a few packs of Alka-Seltzer, cut a hole in your pants or shirt, and wipe on some blood (ketchup) to simulate an animal bite. Periodically, chomp on some of the tablets and run around like a three-legged dog in heat. Sleazy Photographer Buy a disposable camera or two and just walk around shouting to people that they have “it” and/or “the look.” Then, tell them that all you need to do is go back to your studio and take a few test shots. A star is born. My Costume As for me, it’s between Nick Nolte and Gary Busey. As soon as I can decide which one is more insane, I’ll let you know. Archived article by Adam Matthews