Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:03] Speaker B: The following program is brought to you in living color on Dell gazette.com or wherever you get your podcast.
The Daily Gazette Company presents the parting Shots Podcast. Now here's your host, Daily Gazette sports editor Ken Shot. Thank you, Scott Kesey, and welcome to the Parting Shots podcast, available wherever you get your podcast. Subscribe today. Thanks for joining me from the Parting Shots Podcast studio in Schenectady, New York, for our weekly visit with Union Manito hockey coach Josh. How's you, Josh? How's it going?
[00:00:37] Speaker C: It's going well.
[00:00:38] Speaker B: Yeah. It just feels, it feels like March is right around the corner, doesn't it?
[00:00:41] Speaker C: Yeah, it's a nice day today and yeah, got some playoff hockey around the corner.
[00:00:45] Speaker B: Yeah, we'll talk about that a little bit. But let's start talking what happened last week for the second straight week. It was a mixed bag last weekend for the Garner Chargers. They beat Harvard 2 to 1 on Friday, but then dropped a 2 to 1 decision to Dartmouth on Saturday to close out the road portion of the regular season schedule. You Union is still in the top four in the ECAC hockey standings and we'll break down the standings in a little bit. But what were your general thoughts of the weekend?
[00:01:09] Speaker C: You know, I didn't think it was our best weekend for sure.
You know, glad we got some points, but, you know, overall looking for us to be playing at our best. And I didn't think that was our best when you look back at it. And that's the most important thing for right now is that we're playing our best hockey as we get it ready for playoffs.
[00:01:27] Speaker B: Well, let's begin with that Harvard game. Union got off to a bit of a sluggish start. Harvard had the game's first seven shots on goal. Union didn't get its first shot on goal until about midway, the midway point of the first period. Why do you think it was a sluggish start?
[00:01:40] Speaker C: You know, I don't know. Like, it's one. I thought Harvard came out ready and, you know, really got the jump on us. And, you know, we've been talking about really trying to, you know, set the tempo and, you know, I think we got away with it there on Friday night just like we kind of did the weekend before against Princeton.
[00:01:58] Speaker B: Well, the game was scoreless after one and despite that sluggish start, did you, did you think you dodged the bull in that first period?
[00:02:03] Speaker C: Yeah, a little bit. I think, you know, we were able to kind of regroup after the first and, you know, have a, have a, have a heart to Heart about what the expectations are. And I thought the guys responded well.
[00:02:13] Speaker B: Yeah, well. The start of the second period was the opposite of the first reunion. The Garner Chargers had the first seven shots and goal of the period, but it's still scoreless heading into the late stages of the second. With 5:48 left in the period, Salvatore Guzzo lights the lamp to give Harvard a one nothing lead. You know, the way you playing well in that period, was the team frustrated at that point?
[00:02:34] Speaker C: No, I think there's still a lot of game left. You know, it would have been nice to be, be up but you know, I think just kind of stay in the course and you know, if you, if you keep playing good hockey, eventually you'll get rewarded.
[00:02:45] Speaker B: Right? And you did get rewarded because you got two goals in the final two minutes of that second period. Let's break those down. Union freshman forward Ben Muthesbog was a catalyst in getting the team back on track. Late in the second with two minutes left, Muthersborg took a shot from the right circle. Harvard goalie Ben Charrett got a piece of it, but a trickle behind them in the goal crease and Nate Hanley got there and put it home to tie it. And then with 4.5 seconds left, Muthesbaugh is along the goal line to the left of the net. When he throws the puck to the net, it hits off of Brandon Burr and goes in to give Union a 21 lead heading into the third period. How big was that and Muthesbach's play?
[00:03:22] Speaker C: Yeah, he's, you know, he can be a game changer and you know his, his shot generates a lot for us and you know, when he gets pucks to the net it gives us a chance. And that's what happened on both goals. The first one, you know, he just kind of, you know, had enough that it got through the goaltender. And then the second one, you know, just getting it to the front of the net and you know, maybe we got some, a little bit of a puck luck there but I think you get that when you, when you're working hard and that's what the guys were doing.
[00:03:50] Speaker B: And yeah, he's a freshman, but he doesn't play like a freshman. The heads up play, knowing that time is running out and just try to get it to the net and see what happens and it turned out to be a good thing.
[00:03:59] Speaker C: Yeah, in a lot of ways he's the furthest thing from a first year player. He's got a lot of confidence about him, the way he plays, he's not afraid of any situation.
He's one of those guys that when the chips are down, you want on the ice.
[00:04:13] Speaker B: Well, Union protects the lead in the third period. Charrette is pulled for an extra attacker with about two minutes left, but the Garner Chargers hang on for the win. One statistic that stood out to me, Josh, was the 27 block shots union had. How important was that?
[00:04:27] Speaker C: Yeah, I think that, you know, just goes into, like, what time of the year we're in right now, and everybody knows how important these games are and guys are sacrificing for each other and, you know, to get 27 in a game is impressive and, you know, really showing just how much sacrifice the guys will have.
[00:04:42] Speaker B: I mean, Kyle. I thought Kyle surveyed play well, but how much does that help him?
[00:04:45] Speaker C: Yeah, it's, it's, it's really important. You know, it's. You know, you never know where, you know, puck could bounce somewhere and, you know, if you don't let him get to the net, you're in a better spot. So I know he's appreciative of it and, you know, he bails us out a lot, so it's nice when we can, you know, help him.
[00:05:00] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, then Union heads to Hanover, New Hampshire to take on Dartmouth for a 4pm start. However, the start of the game was delayed for 38 minutes because of a pair of medical emergencies. One inside Thompson arena and the other in the lobby of Thompson. Man. How did you deal with the delay?
[00:05:16] Speaker C: I don't think we handled it great. Like, when you look at it, because how we came out. But, I mean, it was really tough thing. I mean, you're. You're sitting there, you're watching, you know, someone sing that, the anthem, and next thing you know, you just. I mean, there's chaos kind of in the stands and, you know, you can see people giving compressions and people running over there. So it was. I don't know, it's one of those things you don't. You don't want to see that stuff. It's. It's so unfortunate. And, you know, it's. It's tough. You know, the guys are in the locker room, and I'm like, hey, it's going to be 10 minutes. It's going to be another 10 minutes, it's going to be five. Get your stuff on, take your stuff, back off. Another person went down. So you just, you're just trying to manage it the best you can. You want to give the guys information and keep them informed, but you also want them to kind of relax a little bit and, you know, try to, you know, get, you know, stay. Stay to the task that's in front of them.
[00:06:06] Speaker B: Was there any talk about maybe postponing the game as you talked to Reed Cashman about the situation as well as the officials?
[00:06:13] Speaker C: Yeah, there was definite talk of that. And the one hard part about it is, as the visiting team, you're kind of. You're just in limbo based on what information they're going to give you. And sometimes we're getting it from the arena staff, sometimes we're getting it from their sports information director or their athletic director. And so sometimes it was, you know, Coach Cashman there. So you're just trying to get as much information. You don't know what's really going on.
And at the same point trying to keep the guys still focused.
[00:06:41] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, the puck was finally dropped 38 minutes after the original start time. And it was another slugger start for Union, just like the Harvard game. And it was scoreless at the end of the first period. So was there a sense of relief that it was 00?
[00:06:53] Speaker C: I think a little bit of that. I didn't think. I thought it was kind of a, you know, just a. A boring hockey game in a lot of ways. I didn't think a lot of things were happening either way.
And I think a little bit is, you know, is probably to what, you know, both teams had to go through again. You never know what's going to happen. You got to stay focused and, you know, you know, if we, you know, make it somewhere in the playoffs, where a game goes into overtime before us and we get pushed back like it's, you know, you got to be ready for anything.
[00:07:21] Speaker B: Well, the game remains scoreless until there was 706 left in the second when an Eric Charpentier left point shot deflects off Union defenseman Nick Young and goes past Kyle Chevelette to give the big green a1 nothing lead. Just an unfortunate bounce.
[00:07:34] Speaker C: Yeah, I think, you know, if you're blocking shots, you gotta, you know, get your body in front of it. I think that one kind of went off of Nick's stick or hand. Still can't really tell off a video, but, you know, it's. There's a couple things that happened beforehand that allowed them to get the shot off. So that's probably where the breakdown happened.
[00:07:54] Speaker B: Well, Union is looking to come out in the third period and get that tie in goal, but Dartmouth makes a two nothing a minute 26 into the third on a Cam McDonald goal. Cullen Ferguson gets Union on the board 224 later, late in the game, Chauvette's pull for an extra attacker. But Union cannot get that tying goal and loses two to one. That lost, coupled with Cornell's six nothing win over St. Lawrence, pulled both of those teams within four points of union. I mean, if Union beat Dartmouth, it would have wrapped up the first round bye for the ECAC hockey tournament. So how disappointing was that? Knowing you had everything in your hand there could have made things easier this weekend.
[00:08:27] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean it would be great to have got that done. We, we didn't get the job done. So it falls on us to find, find a way to get a win this weekend. And you know, again, it would have been been nice, but we haven't really, you know, thought too much other than ways to improve and make our hockey team better. And you know, we got two really tough games ahead of us this weekend.
[00:08:45] Speaker B: Yeah, we'll talk about that minutes. Let's take a break. I'll have another Messerink memory. And we will preview this weekend's ECAC hockey games, the final regular season ones at Messerink as Cornell and Colgate come to town. You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast.
[00:09:03] Speaker D: It's the most historic conference in college hockey. It's a battle night in and night out. ECAC hockey. An iconic conference, home to 12 of the most prestigious universities and programs in the world and showcasing the best student athletes in the sport. Top notch facilities and arenas, incomparable traditions, passionate fans, alumni who go on to become elite professionals, leaders and champions. ECAC hockey. There's no experience like it.
[00:09:33] Speaker A: Hi, I'm Stan.
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[00:10:22] Speaker C: Hi, this is Union College hockey alumni Bill Railton. You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast with Daily Gazette sports editor Ken Shot.
[00:10:32] Speaker B: The Parting Shots podcast presents another Mesarink memory. This one from Cornell head coach Mike Schaefer, who is retiring at the end of this season.
[00:10:42] Speaker F: Yeah, our radio announcement with ice down the ice was about eight seconds ago.
[00:10:47] Speaker B: And our radio announcer said the game.
[00:10:49] Speaker F: Was over and they fired up the guy in the middle of the sport.
[00:10:52] Speaker C: They fired the game.
[00:10:53] Speaker F: You know, that's my favorite moment. That's why coaches like myself have gray.
[00:10:59] Speaker C: Hair and no hair.
[00:11:00] Speaker F: You know, it's, you just never know. And I'll never forget that. I've definitely never let the radio now, so forget about it.
[00:11:09] Speaker B: Welcome back to the podcast. I'm host Ken Sharp, joined by Union Med's head hockey coach Josh Howgy. It's the final two mess of rank regular season games this weekend for Union. They host Cornell at 7pm Friday and Colgate at 4pm Saturday. It's going to be an exciting weekend. We know that Union will at least be home for an EC hockey tournament first round game, but the team wants at least two more games at home and that will be in the best of three quarterfinals. In order to do that, Union needs to win one of two games this weekend. They're going to be alumni games Saturday morning at Mesa and after Saturday's game six seniors defenseman Cullen Ferguson and Josh Phillips, forwards Josh Nixon, Thomas Richter and Kaden Villegas and goalie Joe Sharib will be on her. With all that that's going on, how important will it be for the players to focus on the task at hand and wrap up a first round bye?
[00:11:58] Speaker C: Yeah, it's, it'd be really nice to send those guys out, you know, on the right, the right note as far as in the regular season and it's going to be a lot of fun. Just so many things going on this weekend and it's, you know, bittersweet. As you know, you're going to be saying goodbye to Mesa but, you know, excited to be going to a new place in the future.
[00:12:18] Speaker B: As I mentioned, Cornells will be here on Friday. Union defeated the Big Red 41 earlier this month. Brandon Burr collected his second hat trick of the season in that game. How important will it be for the team to duplicate the success of that previous meeting?
[00:12:31] Speaker C: Yeah, they're a tough task. They compete really hard. They possess a lot of pucks. They, they limit your chances. So it would be, it would be really important for us to, you know, hold on pucks, drive pucks to the net and you know, they're, they're a really good team.
[00:12:46] Speaker B: Yeah. Cornell is the defending EC hockey tournament champions and they were picked to win the regular season title in the preseason coaches poll. They've had an up and down year. I mean, they. Last weekend they lost the Clarkson but beat up on St. Lawrence. I mean, how dangerous are they?
[00:13:01] Speaker C: Yeah, they're really dangerous. I mean, I think at times they've shown that they can be the best team in the league. And, you know, they've, they've done some, you know, pretty special things when, you know, sweeping North Dakota early in the season and you know, what they did on Saturday night to St. Lawrence, they, they, they played some, you know, impressive hockey. And you know, obviously with, you know, coach Schaefer being in his final season, I think they, they were playing really hard for him.
[00:13:22] Speaker B: Yeah, I was going to mention that. Barring a possible matchup in the quarterfinals, this will be Cornell head coach in Mike Schaefer's final game at Messer Inc. He announced last summer that he was going to retire at the end of the season. And your former boss at Clarkson, Casey Jones, will take over as head coach. What does Schaefer meant to college hockey?
[00:13:38] Speaker C: Yeah, I think he's synonymous with the, you know, the ecac and you know, I think he's, you know, showed how, how you can do a really good job and do it, you know, year in, year out and kind of do it the right way. They don't, you know, there's not a lot of like in college hockey. There's some, you know, programs where you're like, you know, they win, but they, they're not maybe as ethical as, you know, what you see at Cornell. So I think they're kind of, you know, somebody you look up to as far as doing things the right way.
[00:14:09] Speaker B: I mean, it was a program that when he took it over, sort of floundering a little bit and he's got him back to a consistent role. I mean, they won the ECAC hockey tournament last year and we saw how emotional he was after that. I don't think anybody had ever seen a guy like him. He was stoic the whole time and I think is, you know, relaxed a little bit over the years. I mean, I think he was tense early on and his early stages, of course, they won back to back ECAC hockey tour titles his first two years. But to see him react the way he did, how surprising was that?
[00:14:41] Speaker C: I think it's, you know, definitely surprising. You know, if someone puts their life into something and, you know, has so much passion in it, you know, you can see how they get caught up in the moment and, you know, the One thing I always feel really bad for him is I thought that year when we got shut down with COVID that they had, they had a team that could really win a national championship. So, you know, I, he always looked back at that and be like, ah, that might have been their, their chance, but he's done an amazing job.
[00:15:06] Speaker B: As I mentioned in the first segment, Union and Colgate are tied for third. The teams played to a 2, 2 tie earlier this month in Hamilton. The Garner Chargers earned the extra point by winning the shootout on a fourth round goal by Thomas Richter. What's going to be the key to getting the win on Saturday?
[00:15:20] Speaker C: Well, I think it's, you know, forechecking really hard and, you know, trying to turn their D over. They have a, you know, a really good D core and that get up in the play and can make things happen and just trying to get pucks and bodies to their net because they don't give up a whole lot.
[00:15:35] Speaker B: As I mentioned, the six seniors will be honored after Saturday's game. Five of them were on the team when you were hired. In April of 2022, Josh Nixon transferred from Lake Superior State.
Give me a thought or two on each senior, starting with Colin Ferguson.
[00:15:49] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean, he's the leader of our group and you know, somebody, when I got hired, you know, in our, in our first meeting, he told me he wanted to, you know, take the program back to, you know, where it was and, you know, be a captain. And I think he's, you know, obviously we got, we got some work to do to get the program back to where it was, but we're, I think we, we've taken some really big steps and he's doing a great job leading for us.
[00:16:13] Speaker B: Josh Phillips.
[00:16:13] Speaker C: You know, you look at Josh and, you know, he had some hard times early and has, has really just continued to work and put his time in and, you know, he's been a key defender for us and played a lot, a lot of big minutes this year.
[00:16:25] Speaker B: Yeah. Thomas, Rick. Sorry, Josh Nixon.
[00:16:28] Speaker C: Yeah. Well, obviously Josh is, you know, he's the spark plug for us. He's the energy guy. He's the one that always has a smile on his face, extremely fast and creative when we need a big goal. He's a guy we look to. Thomas Richter, you know, really proud of Thomas and just, you know, how he's, you know, continued to work and, you know, he's made the most of his opportunity here. He's been, you know, a key player for us down the stretch and we're gonna need some big minutes from him, you know, down the, you know, down.
[00:16:52] Speaker B: The, down the stretch run Kaden Villegas.
[00:16:56] Speaker C: Caden's just a, you know, just such a great person.
You know, again, somebody that is always, always happy to be at the rink. He makes whatever line he's on better. So we've, we've moved him around a lot, and maybe when someone's struggling, we put him with Kaden because we always know that we're going to get an honest effort from him and he's going to raise their level.
[00:17:15] Speaker B: And finally, Joe Sharb.
[00:17:16] Speaker C: Joe is just, just such a good teammate. He's been there for, for anyone and everyone. He's selfless. He's, you know, when we talk about roles on the team, he'll, he'll say, hey, I'm here to mentor and help and do whatever you need, and I want to be that kind of person and teammate. And he is exactly that.
[00:17:34] Speaker B: Well, hey. Dan is on a down though our interview here. But the college hockey world lost the damn good writer. Last Wednesday. Cap Carey, who covered Clarkson and St. Lawrence hockey for nearly 30 years for the Watertown Daily Times, died from a stroke. Cap and I covered many games together as I was up there at Clarkson for the 2022 quarterfinals of the ECAC Hockey Tournament. You were there at Clarkson when he was there? What was Cap like?
[00:17:59] Speaker C: He was, you know, just always around the rink and just had such a passion for the game. And whether it was a men's game or a women's game, he was there and he really cared about the players. And I always, you know, go watch warm ups in the stands and I would always, I always go with my wife and boys and we watch and Cap would always come over and talk with us. And, you know, he was just so good to me and my family, so, you know, just a kind soul and someone that, you know, put other people first. And yeah, it's tough because he, you know, wasn't somebody that I would talk to on like a weekly basis. But whenever, you know, you kind of needed, you know, or feeling down, you'd get a, you know, get a text from him and, you know, just asking a question or just, you know, kind of a funny comment of something he saw in the hockey world. So he'll be missed.
[00:18:46] Speaker B: Well, I have posted a picture of him myself and Bob Walfeld, the Clarkson radio tv, play by play announcer. And Cap had his LA Rams super bowl championship hat on that, that day up there up in, up in the press box. And he loved his Rams. He loved his LA Angels and I tried to avoid point of talking politics. We didn't see anything on this, but we weren't on the same side. But, yeah, Cap was. He was a unique individual. Could be a little quirky.
[00:19:15] Speaker C: Yeah, for sure.
[00:19:16] Speaker B: Yeah. But, yeah, we miss. I mean, I hate to say this, but I think I'm the last of the beat writers on this in the ECC Hockey.
[00:19:25] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:19:25] Speaker B: That are not college kids.
[00:19:27] Speaker C: I mean, it's. It's tough. I mean, you have someone that, like, you see so much and they're around so much, and then, yeah, they're just not going to be around. So I don't know. It's a tough one.
[00:19:35] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. Cap also, I mean, Cap and I think were the really two reporters who have done video. I mean, he would shoot some game video because, you know what, the press box were situated at Cheel Arenas. It was perfect spot to shoot video. And he'd be posting highlights on Twitter, which was always good to see. So, yeah, Cap will be missed. We encourage listeners to send us questions, and we have one from Jim Calon, and it's a question I asked, but I'll let him ask at this time. Is there any chance that Carter Corpi will make it back to play this weekend? He says we could use a shorthanded Gord Fuller to this weekend.
[00:20:08] Speaker C: Yeah, we definitely take him. If we get him. I think he'll still be out for this weekend and, you know, hopefully we can earn a buy to give him, you know, some extra time here to try to be ready for the playoffs because obviously he's a. He's a valuable piece for our team.
[00:20:21] Speaker B: Let me ask you about the union women and your former Clarkson teammate up there, Tony Macy. The job they did Saturday, winning the first ever ECA hockey tournament game, beating Brown to nothing. They're on to the quarterfinals at Cornell this weekend. How about the job Tony has done?
[00:20:38] Speaker C: Yeah, no surprise there. Just watching the amount of work that the women put in and the job that their staff is doing, and they're definitely a program on the rise and, you know, looking forward to hopefully watching them do some, you know, damage this weekend against Cornell.
[00:20:52] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, Josh, as always, appreciate the visit. Good luck this weekend. We'll talk after the games.
[00:20:57] Speaker C: Thank you very much.
[00:20:58] Speaker B: All right, that's Josh Algae. Coming up on Thursday's podcast, I'll preview the union men's and women's hockey weekend. On the men's side, we'll have interviews with Union 6 seniors. The women's team, of course, as Josh mentioned, travels Cornell to face top the top seed of Big Red in the hockey tournament quarterfinals after it's 2:0 first round win over Brown on Saturday, I'll have interviews with head coach Tony Macy and players Sophie Matsukas, Carrie Anne Engelberg and Byron. Friday, I'll speak with New York Phoenix head coach Travis Weiss as the basketball league team makes its second connecting 88 debut on Friday against Connecticut. So please tune in.
The views expressed on the Parting Shots podcast are not necessarily those of the Daily Gazette Company. The Parting Shots podcast is a production of the Daily Gazette Company. I'm Daily Gazette Sports Editor Ken Schatz. Thanks for listening and I'll catch you next time from the Parting Shots Podcast studio in Schenectady, New York. Good day, good hockey.
