[00:00:03] Speaker A: The following program is brought to you.
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The Daily Gazette Company presents the parting Shots podcast.
[00:00:18] Speaker C: Now here's your host, Daily Gazette sports editor Ken Shot.
[00:00:23] Speaker B: Thank you, Scott Keesy, 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, we're going to talk men's college lacrosse, men's college basketball and the Stanley cup playoffs in this edition of the podcast, Derek Whittiford, the head coach of the Union men's lacrosse team, will join me. We'll talk about this weekend's second and third rounds of the NCAA division three men's lacrosse tournament. Union is hosting at Frank Bailey Field. Union will take on Stevenson at 03:00 p.m. On Saturday. We'll talk about that game coming up. And if Union wins all vance of the third round on Sunday, Jerry McNamara, the new Sienna men's basketball coach, takes some time out from his busy schedule to join me. We chatted about his hiring and what his philosophy is. So Jerry will be on, on segment two and then we'll talk Stanley cup playoff action with NHL analyst Pierre Maguire. And I'll have my picks later on for round two. I did excellent in my round one picks. I went eight for eight. So that doesn't happen very often. So I was very proud of myself. So coming up, Derek Whittiford, the union men's lacrosse coach, will join me. We'll talk about making the NCAA tournament and union hosting this weekend's second and third rounds. You're listening to the parting shots podcast.
[00:01:43] Speaker D: If you really want to know what's going on in your community, you have to read the Daily Gazette. We don't take a side. We're right down the middle and we're going to get to the truth. Our reporters and photographers are out in the field bringing you updates every minute with trust, accuracy and integrity from the first page to the last page. Independent, probing journalism. We're finding out what's going on in communities where nobody else is covering. It's who we are. It's what we do.
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[00:02:31] Speaker E: Hi, this is Union College men's hockey head coach Josh Hojie. You're listening to the parting shots podcast with Daily Gazette sports editor Ken Schott.
[00:02:40] Speaker B: Welcome back to the podcast. The Union College men's lacrosse team begins its quest for an NCAA division three tournament title as they'll host the second and third rounds of the NCAA division three tournament. It's beginning Saturday. They'll host Stevenson at 03:00 p.m. On Saturday. The twelve noon game on Saturday will feature Tufts against either Illinois Wesleyan or Aurora. That game is being played Wednesday, so they'll find out on Wednesday whose Tufts opponent is. The winners of Saturday's second round games will meet in the third round Sunday at 03:00 at Frank Bailey Field.
Union coming off a tough loss to rit in the Liberty League semifinals last Friday, but they're looking forward to getting going here in the postseason. I had a chance to talk with Union men's head lacrosse coach Derek Whitiford on Tuesday at Frank Bailey Field, and here's my conversation with him.
Well, Derek, how much are you looking.
[00:03:36] Speaker F: Forward to this weekend hosting the NCAA men's division three, second and third round of the tournament here? Lacrosse?
[00:03:42] Speaker G: Yeah, it's a great opportunity for us. You know, this is the third year we've been able to host in a row, which I believe, to my knowledge is a school record.
And we're super excited to get another home game, another week together with this group and, you know, hopefully advance.
[00:03:57] Speaker F: Were you surprised that you got the home game?
[00:04:00] Speaker G: Yeah, a little surprise. But, you know, we had the same situation last year, so, you know, you hope for the best, expect the worst. And now we're here at home and things couldn't have been better.
[00:04:10] Speaker F: Yeah, of course, you're coming off that tough loss to rit last Friday.
It was a ten two game after the first quarter. What did you tell the guys after the game? And how do you get this out of your mind as you get set for Saturday against Stevenson?
[00:04:24] Speaker G: It's in the past, so, you know, that doesn't matter anymore. We didn't win the Liberty League championship like we wanted to, but we got a NCA bid, a pool c bid, and now it's a whole new season. So we just flushed that game and it's focused on the present right now.
[00:04:40] Speaker F: What do you know about Stevenson?
[00:04:42] Speaker G: Not a lot, to be honest with you. This is the first time I think we've ever played Stevenson, to my knowledge. And, you know, I know they have a great coach over there on the opposing sideline and they got some talented, you know, grad students and seniors, but also have a good mix of freshmen that are playing a lot. So, you know, we're going to take a deep dive into their games and their schedule and see what they're about, their personnel, but it's going to be a great challenge for sure.
[00:05:05] Speaker F: What do you think the key is going to be on Saturday? I mean, how important is to take control of that game from the get go?
[00:05:11] Speaker G: Yeah, it's gonna. It's gonna be about playing union lacrosse when things don't go our way. Not spiraling and sticking to the plan and fighting back because they're gonna score some goals and then they're gonna get some stops defensively. And how do we handle that is gonna be important, especially on the two day, you know, if we win and we advance.
[00:05:31] Speaker F: Yeah. How would you have assessed the season so far? I mean, you guys got off to a good start, then you faced Tufts, who's gonna be here this weekend for the tournament. That was a tough loss there. How would you assess the season from the start to now?
[00:05:45] Speaker G: I think we had a really solid season.
We lost five games to the top four teams in the country or to the top five teams in the country. So, you know, we got to tighten some things up. We've tried to use those games as learning experiences, and now we're here right now, and that's as best we can do and we got to keep moving forward. So, as I said, it's a great opportunity here to be in the NTA's, and this is our goal. So we're super excited to be here and, you know, think this team has a lot of potential.
[00:06:14] Speaker F: So who stood out for you this year?
[00:06:17] Speaker G: Matty Pilato at the X has been fantastic, given us the ball gunners opportunities, getting our defense arrest, but, I mean, our short stick defensive midi play has been very good. John Sewell just got named first team all Liberty League, which is fantastic. And our attack has been deep, you know, and then defensively has been stout at times.
So I think from top to bottom, we've been playing pretty solid. It's just we got to play 60 minutes of lacrosse.
[00:06:44] Speaker F: How important is it to take advantage? Advantage of being on your home field this weekend to win this second or third round games and then head to the next round?
[00:06:53] Speaker G: Yeah, it's familiar. So, you know, we get to stay in our routine, stay in our field, stay in our locker room, stay in our beds, which is an advantage. So, you know, we're taking everything that those advantages give to us, and I forget the rest of the question.
[00:07:09] Speaker F: I mean, just being able to be home and just take advantage of the whole situation and try to. Try to advance to the next round after the Sunday.
[00:07:17] Speaker H: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:07:18] Speaker G: So it's these back to backs are dog fights, are rock fights. So being at home helped a little bit.
[00:07:23] Speaker H: Yeah.
[00:07:23] Speaker F: You don't normally use this week, maybe two games a week at the most. You don't play back to back. So how different is that to preparing for that?
[00:07:32] Speaker G: It's a lot of work on the coaches ends, I'll tell you that. Doing the scouting reports for three different teams, you know, in case one team advances, and I'll tell you, I've messed that one up before in past years, assuming a team is going to win, and they, and they didn't. So, you know, you really got to prepare for three teams in two days and, you know, you always want to assume you're going to win, but really you got, you got to put all your eggs in the first game. Stevenson, who's a real good opponent, because if you don't beat Stevenson, you're not playing the next day. So it's all about Stevenson right now.
[00:08:01] Speaker H: Yeah.
[00:08:01] Speaker F: Tufts as a first round by there waiting, the winner of Aurora and Illinois Wesleyan. Do you play Tufts earlier this year? I know coaches don't like to look ahead, but what are the toughs? Makes them so tough.
[00:08:13] Speaker G: I mean, they faced off well.
Really, they're an offensive juggernaut and, you know, really do some really interesting stuff on offense, playing fast and playing in the gray area. But defensively, the past two times we played them, they've been really stout. So, you know, us kind of getting our feet on the offensive end, putting in some goals, and kind of giving our defense a break because they're all gas all the time.
[00:08:38] Speaker F: So we sit here on Tuesday. The weather's nice. You open for good weather this weekend?
[00:08:41] Speaker G: I hope so, but it looks like rain, but that's fine. That's unilcrossed weather.
[00:08:45] Speaker F: Oh, speaking of rain, you had to deal with that against Clarkson, the opening round, a little league tournament, and there was a long delay dealing with that. What was that like and what did you learn from it?
[00:08:58] Speaker G: Hey, well, we actually had to deal with a similar rain delay last year. Last year or maybe two years ago in the NCAs. So, you know, we relied on our own experiences that we had two years ago in the NCAAs, and being at home helped. So, again, if there's some rain delays, I think that's another advantage we might have.
[00:09:18] Speaker F: Well, Derek, good luck this weekend.
[00:09:20] Speaker G: Hey, thanks a lot.
[00:09:22] Speaker F: Coming up, I'll talk with new Sienna men's basketball coach Jerry McNamara. You're listening to the parting shots podcast.
[00:09:36] Speaker E: Hi, I'm Daily Gazette news columnist Andrew Waite and host of the weighing in podcast, which takes you inside my award winning featured news column by offering the backstory, thought process and interviews that inform my work. Plus, readers have their chance to respond. The weighing in podcast is
[email protected] or wherever you get your podcasts.
[00:10:00] Speaker A: Hi, this is Daily Gazette sportswriter Mike McAdam. You're listening to the party shots podcast with Daily Gazette sports editor Ken Schott.
[00:10:08] Speaker B: Welcome back to the podcast. On March 29, Jerry McNamara was named the head coach of the Sienna men's basketball team, and he has been on the go ever since as he reshapes the roster after the Saints went four and 28, which led to the dismissal of head coach Carmen Masarella. And Jerry is taking a quick break to join me now here on the podcast. Jerry, welcome and congratulations on becoming the Saints coach. How are you? And how have, how have you had any time to breathe since you took over?
[00:10:35] Speaker H: This is, this is one of my first times. I appreciate that.
You know, right after final four week, you know, the schedule opened up where we were allowed to have visits. That Friday we did 13 straight days of a kid being on campus. I think it was nine kids over 13 days. And the last few weeks, just a couple housekeeping things and getting ready for the summertime. We've got, you've seen some of the commits that we've got. There's a few more coming out, and we're pretty close to feeling like we have a competitive roster going into the summer. Now, the next few weeks for us, you know, the guys are gone. They're finished with their finals, a couple guys are staying. And, you know, my staff and myself, we're going to settle in and, you know, there's a lot of things that factor in. You got to go get the gear in place and, you know, get the housing in order and have these guys ready to roll when they get back on campus.
[00:11:26] Speaker B: And maybe for you personally, moving from Syracuse to the Albany area, that's got to also be on your mind.
[00:11:32] Speaker H: Yeah, you know, that the biggest thing on my mind, you know, obviously tough when you make this move and I've got to be here and be present and, you know, run the day to day. And, you know, the biggest thing is my kids are still in school, which is the hard part for me, working, you know, basically Sunday to Friday night and, you know, getting to see them Saturdays and a little bit of Sundays. You know, that's been the adjustment as far as settling in. It's been great. It has. Everywhere I've gone, there's positive energy. We've been in a lot of different places, a lot of different businesses in terms of going to dinner and going to lunch, getting breakfast, taking guys around town. So as we're taking visits and showing these guys town, I'm learning town a little bit, too. And it's just been such a seamless transition because the people have been so warm and receptive to my coming in this area, my staff, and there's a. There's a buzz and excitement and, you know, we feel it and we appreciate it.
[00:12:25] Speaker B: I mean, obviously, the Sienna fan base is very loyal, very enthusiastic, maybe to a fault, maybe over enthusiastic sometimes, but you've had a chance to talk to the fans. What's. What's been.
[00:12:37] Speaker H: It's been.
[00:12:38] Speaker B: Seems like it's been a lot of positive feedback so far.
[00:12:41] Speaker H: Yeah, there always is when you haven't lost a game yet, you know, it's a little bit simpler when I haven't lost yet. You know, I think anytime there's a transition, there's some excitement in it.
I'd like to think that the excitement now is based on what we've done. You know, it's about the production and how we've recruited and the people and players we're putting in place, I think are suited to win, win right away. And I know, like I said, there's the excitement in the transition, but we're more proud of what we've done since we've got it. It's been a while since I've done any immediate obligation stuff because I know what was most important, and that was the roster. And I put all that stuff kind of on the back burner and got to work.
I'm just really, really grateful for the staff I have in place and the kids that believe in the vision that we're trying to create here. And again, it's that time where all the worry and all the worry that I had in terms of roster retention and build is gone now. And now it's about the excitement of getting these guys here and getting to work.
[00:13:43] Speaker B: How enjoyable has it been for you to put together a team that you're going to be running?
[00:13:49] Speaker H: I'd say what was really enjoyable is how efficient we were.
You know, we didn't waste any time. I think we targeted the right guys, guys that we believed in, guys that we developed relationships with.
That's been the really exciting part is feeling like, you know, everyone obviously creates their vision and, you know, it comes down, can you execute? And we executed. And, you know, that, that, that's the most exciting thing right now. You know, there was, there was a lot of worry in that because there's uncertainty and, you know, we turned that uncertainty into certainty and got the guys we thought we needed and added pieces in the back court, pieces on the wing, and added a couple big guys, too. So, you know, all that, all that worry and fear in terms of having a true team in place by the summertime is gone now. And that's the thing I'm most excited about, is having a team in place.
[00:14:44] Speaker B: What attract you to the job?
[00:14:47] Speaker H: I mean, you name it. You know, I've come from, obviously, a place where the support is incredible.
There's a history, there's a tradition, and leaving and being a part of that, leaving something like that, you have to have a duplicate. And I thought that this place matched everything in terms of what I was looking for, of getting an opportunity to be a head coach. Did I have support of the people around the community in the program? Did they show up to games and support it?
They do. Do I have a great practice facility? I do. Do I have great people in the building? I do.
And can you match the venue in terms of where you play against anybody in the country? We do, you know, so incredible fan support, the right facilities, incredible playing venue, you know, but the most important thing of all that is the support and the tradition. And, you know, coach Bayon said it at Syracuse, you know, regardless of what he did individually as a coach, it was always the fans. It was the people that continued to show up and support the players that make a great program.
Now it's my job as the head coach to create a great product and create new fans and people that support this place.
This place has all the ingredients to win.
[00:16:09] Speaker B: How has recruiting changed over the years, especially with the transfer portal on the name, image and likeness drastically?
Does it make it hard?
[00:16:20] Speaker H: Yeah, well, that varies. I think the, the biggest. The biggest issue I have with all this, and I don't know if it's an issue at this point because I've become accustomed to it. The biggest, you know, problem or, you know, not regret, but just the thing that hurts me the most about it is the days of the development process, of having a guy that grinds it out for two years and then maybe playing as a junior and being a great player as a senior, you know, you're just probably not going to get that anymore. There's. There's very few guys that you're going to coach for four straight seasons.
You know, I value that in coaching because it's about people, it's about relationships. Never going to stop being about that for me.
But nil, there's multiple factors that have taken place over the years. You know, obviously, the first one was the transfer portal, and then they poured gasoline on that fire with nil, then COVID, and now fifth year players, and then they opened it up to, you can transfer to wherever, whenever you want. So it wasn't just a one time, penalty free transfer rule, and now you can transfer everywhere. And there's very few conversations you're going to have in terms of recruiting that don't come down to eventually a question asked about Nil. So there's just a lot of varying factors.
And again, I think this, regardless of all those factors at play, the most important thing to me comes down to the vision, opportunity and the relationships you create, create with these guys. And we're in a position where we do have a collective in place and we do have people that support this program. And CNFan base is strong and proud and, you know, we're in position where we can compete with people at our level and we can compete with high level players. Because of my staff and myself developing, creating relationships over all these years and having the reputation as far as being good people that treat kids the right way, that's going to put you in place more often than not. And then the vision and opportunity is going to play a huge factor. And then, of course, that that last question is going to come. And when it comes to that question, you just got to make sure that you're someplace where you can remain competitive.
[00:18:31] Speaker F: Yeah.
[00:18:32] Speaker B: One player you did recruit from the portal is Amsterdam native Marcus Jackson, the brother of UConn standout and current Milwaukee Bucks player Andre Jackson. And Marcus is coming from Ualbany, which should make the rivalry between the two schools even more interesting. What do you like about Marcus?
[00:18:47] Speaker H: Everything. You know, obviously, I recruited Andre really, really hard at Syracuse and got a chance to know their family. And, you know, I laughed. I told Andre the story. He was in the gym yesterday, came by to see us, and I told him when I called your mother, I said, trish, I'm not trying to go for two. I missed out on Andre. I'm not missing out on Marcus. You know, I just love the way he competes. I've always loved his intensity.
You know, let's take talent out of the way because we know, he's talented.
You know, there's certain separating factors when it comes to players, and I just love his competitive nature. He's just, you know, I love guys that they, at the end of the day, the only thing that matters to them is winning, and they judge themselves on that thing alone. Did I win or lose? And that's. That's the standard I'm going to hold myself to. And I've just got a great appreciation for Marcus because he does everything inside those lines that impact the ultimate factor, which is to win the game. And he doesn't care if he scores five points or 25 points as three steals or eight steals. It's all about what can I do to help the team.
Then you add on that fact that he is a good, talented player. You look at his production numbers at U Albany and the minutes he played, how efficient he was, but it's the winning attributes, it's the eyes, you know, from that guard position. You need guys with those killer eyes, and the kid competes to win, and I just love that about him.
[00:20:13] Speaker B: Yeah, you mentioned Jim Boeheim. You played for him, you were a coach for him. What did you learn from him?
[00:20:20] Speaker H: A lot.
You know, I learned, you know, he could take the most complicated issue and simplify it. He never got too high, too low. I think the consistency over the years from playing for him, from working with him, being in the meetings with him every day, and, you know, just how consistent he was. He believed in what his system was and he stuck to it.
You know, he was able to, you know, I've watched offensively over, you know, 19 seasons of, you know, literally every position, being his best player, the one through the five, and how he manipulated his offensive system to cater to that individual. So I've seen that dynamic of it. I've seen adjustments defensively of what he did with the two three zone.
Just so many different things. But the biggest thing I take from Coach Boeheim is what he created in terms of a family atmosphere of the players that he coached. It's what I try to do. I try to be a good person to the kids that I work with.
Spend the time with them. To respect is a two way street, and the way you do that is you earn it. The way I earn it is spending time with these guys, being in the gym with them, talking to them off the court.
And that's. Those are the things that coach probably didn't get enough credit for in his tenure because I think people saw a certain character when he was on the sidelines. That didn't necessarily fit who he was as a person off the court, amongst the people that love him and played and worked for him.
So just creating that environment of family, people feeling proud of what they did there, coming back and supporting it, you know, those are all the things that I admire the most about them and something that, of all the things, as a head coach, I want to basically duplicate what he's done there.
[00:22:05] Speaker B: What kind of team do you want to have at Siena?
[00:22:08] Speaker H: Competitive.
Relentless.
A group of selfless competitors, guys that judge themselves on result.
You know, they never evaluate how they play inside that 40 minutes. They evaluate the performance after the game. If you could be that guy, you have short term memory because there's always going to be a next play to impact the game. Too many guys hang their head. I want a group that's resilient and tough and, you know, they're so competitive that they can get over a mistake. You make a mistake, I'm going to hunt you down and try to get it back. I'm going to do everything defensively in the next possession to make up for the mistake I made on the offensive possession. I'm going to be efficient on the offensive side of the ball, and, you know, just the mature respect characteristics that come with winning are the guys that I want to coach. That's what, you know, that's what product I want to put on the court. You know, the analogy that I use with the guys that I've recruited to come into this situation and the vision that I'm trying to create is when I close my computer after every game, I want to say the same thing. I'm proud of that group. They gave me everything they got. And any coach that's in this and sits at this desk, in this seat, you know, when you close your computer, after you analyze and evaluate the performance of your team, you know, the thing that's important above all else is, did they give me everything they got?
You know, that's. That's the most important thing for me, is I got a group that's going to fight.
[00:23:26] Speaker B: One of the assistant coaches you hired is Ben Lee, who was an assistant at Washington. Lee, no, is no stranger to the Capitol region, having played at Union College from 2015 to 2019 and helping them win consecutive Liberty League titles. What do you like about Ben?
[00:23:41] Speaker H: Everything, except when I have to sit next to him when he's watching a Knicks playoff game. All of a sudden, his death, his decibel level goes up quite a few, starts screaming at the television. So it concerns me what sideline demeanor is going to be behind me this year, you know what I'm saying? So, no, he's.
He's terrific. You know, the thing I love about Ben is he. He's very similar to me in terms of how he thinks as far as player development, recruiting side of things. We've got a very, very similar vision, but he's a grinder. I love his background in terms of player, but then, you know, made hoops and grinds it out on the grassroots level and gets a chance to know a lot of different people. Understands the business, I believe was the youngest power five assistant coach in the country last year. I like the fact that he worked with Mike Hopkins, who was one of my mentors.
Not. Not that that played a huge factor because I have my own relationship with Ben, but the fact that I know a guy that I trust as much as anybody in this business also was like Mac. He's. He's the man, he's the stud. He works his tail off.
Those are all the attributes that I'm looking for in a coach. A guy that understands the recruiting side can step on the court and grind it out with the guys. And within that whole process, he's going to treat them right and be there for them.
You know, he's been. He's been terrific. From the time that I made that first call to him and we had that first initial conversation before everything was in place, he's been. He's been grinding it out with me. We're staying in a two bedroom apartment. Him and Ryan bury my ops guy. Ryan bury sleeping on an air mattress. And those guys have been kind of rock stars for me behind the scenes in this whole stretch.
[00:25:23] Speaker B: Yeah, well, the NBA playoffs are dead to me since my Sixers got eliminated by the Knicks.
[00:25:29] Speaker H: Speaking of, don't talk to Ben about it.
[00:25:31] Speaker F: No, I won't.
[00:25:32] Speaker B: No. Well, finally, we are both Pennsylvania natives. I grew up in Philadelphia. You are from Scranton. What was life like growing up in Scranton?
[00:25:42] Speaker H: It was great. You know, typical middle class family, you know, both parents, postal workers. My father, the plant manager in the Scranton region, you know, had everything that I ever needed. Two hardworking, blue collar parents. The youngest of, you know, four, I was, and, you know, as my mom likes to call me, the baby, you know. So I got spoiled a little bit, but couldn't have grown up in a better neighborhood and had better childhood friends and better siblings and really just very, very lucky to have the parents I have, how supportive they were, and driving my rear end all over the place four years of college at Syracuse. They never missed a game. Home and road.
It just kind of paved the way for me in terms of what it means to be a parent, what it means for me how I want to be a father, who I want to be in terms of how my kids look at me. And, you know, if I can look at my kids can look at me halfway the same way I look at my parents. I hopefully have done a pretty darn good job.
[00:26:42] Speaker B: And you want a state title, I think in 2002, right?
[00:26:44] Speaker H: Yeah, we did. And, you know, I lost the state title in my first two years of high school. My freshman, sophomore year we lost in the state championship. My junior year we lost in the state semifinal. So, you know, I've always said that the losing drove me and made me a better player.
You know, I went into every offseason my freshman, sophomore, and junior year like an animal, you know, frustrated and angry, you know, fighting to win a state championship. I thought it was pretty vital in terms of the development. You know, it drove me. The losing drove me. I didn't want to feel that again. I wanted to get on top.
It's kind of who I've always been.
[00:27:22] Speaker B: Well, Jerry, appreciate you taking some time away from your busy schedule and we'll talk right before the season.
[00:27:28] Speaker H: Sounds good. Appreciate you taking the time with me.
[00:27:30] Speaker B: All right, that's Jerry McNamara. We're going to talk some Stanley cup playoffs next. Round two's on the way. Pierre Maguire, NHL hockey analyst, will join me to talk about that. You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast.
[00:28:00] Speaker E: Hi, I'm Rick Marshall from the Daily Gazette's martial arts podcast. In each episode, I interview artists from around the region, from musicians and comedians to dancers, sculptors, even video game designers. After you finish the latest episode of the Parting Shots podcast, I hope you'll give martial arts a try.
[00:28:15] Speaker A: Hi, this is four time Stanley cup champion and New York State Hockey hall of Famer John Tennelli. You're listening to the parting shots podcast with Daily Gazette sports editor Ken shot.
[00:28:29] Speaker B: Welcome back to the podcast.
[00:28:30] Speaker C: And the second round of the NHL Stanley cup playoffs got underway Sunday with.
[00:28:34] Speaker B: The Rangers beating Carolina. And to talk about the second round.
[00:28:38] Speaker C: And look back at the first round as our good friend, hockey analyst Pierre Maguire.
[00:28:41] Speaker B: Pierre, welcome back to the podcast.
[00:28:42] Speaker C: And I think my picks, I got.
[00:28:47] Speaker B: All my picks right, which is rare.
[00:28:48] Speaker C: For me to that to happen. What was your take on the first round of the Castan cup playoffs?
[00:28:55] Speaker A: It was really good. It was very competitive, Ken, and it's really nice to visit with you and your listeners. I got one of mine wrong. Out of the eight, I was seven out of eight. I got Winnipeg and Colorado wrong. I thought Colorado's goaltending would be an issue with Gorgiav. It was not an issue after game one. In fact, the goaltending in Winnipeg was an issue. So I got seven out of eight right. So I'll cede you the victory. But that was one of the things that was startling to me was that Connor Hellebuch was not better in the Winnipeg goal. So that was one of the things that stood out to me. The second thing was at how easily Edmonton dispatched LA. And I think that is probably cause for concern in Los Angeles. I'm also a little surprised at how long it took Vancouver to knock out Nashville, but I give Andrew Burnett, the new coach in Nashville and the new general manager, Barry Trots, a lot of credit for that. And in the east, I was really surprised that Toronto was able to extend Boston to his 7th game. Honestly, Boston should have won that series in five games. You think about Charlie Coyle in the third period of game five, rifling one off the crossbar and the post at the same time. If that goes in, the series is over. And, you know, the pain and suffering in Toronto could have ended there. They had to prolong it just a little bit longer. So. So those were some of the things that really stood out to me in the first round.
[00:30:20] Speaker H: Yeah.
[00:30:20] Speaker C: The one thing. The one thing we mentioned, Vancouver National Series.
How does Vancouver win the Pacific division? Because they. They look like they had trouble scoring goals. They ended up with just 13 goals. They gave out twelve in that series. To me, I just like, I don't know, maybe it's a throwback to the neutral zone trap era with Vancouver.
[00:30:41] Speaker A: Possibly. But here's what I would say. They were so concerned about one line for national. That line was Philip Forsberg, Gustav Nyquist and Ryan O'Reilly. And they knew that if that line didn't score, there was no way Nashville could beat them. So if you look at the series, most of the goals or points came from that line. If they weren't getting offense from their defense, Kerry in one game that Nashville won both their goals. They won two to one. Both their goals came from defense and Roman Yossi in the power play and Alex Carrier in a five on five situation. So they did their job paying attention to that top line. But here's what I think really affected Vancouver. Elias Patterson had a bad series. He really had a bad series, Ken. And because of that, he's such an important player for them. Offensively, they never got in rhythm. You could just see the whole team was discombobulated. Offensively, they better be better, no pun intended, when they play Edmonton. Because if they're not better, that'll be a very short series with Edmonton.
[00:31:44] Speaker H: Yeah.
[00:31:44] Speaker C: You mentioned the Maple lease. It means to extend bosses seven without Austin Matthews in the lab. That to me was impressive. You know, Matthews did play in game seven. He was hurt, he was ill.
But where did the Maples go from here? I mean, I know as we talk here on Monday, are there changes you think in store for them?
[00:32:04] Speaker A: It pains me to say that because I've been fired before in the National Hockey League, and it's never a pleasant call to receive.
So you don't wish it on anybody if you've been in the league. As you know, I've been fortunate to be in league over three decades. It's my 34th year around the NHL, so you never like to see that happen to anybody. But I do think there'll be some changes made in Toronto. I don't think I'm the only person that feels that way. I think part of it will be player personnel. I think part of it may be at the management level, not sure how deep that'll go, and I do think there'll be some coaching changes. How deep that goes, I don't know.
[00:32:38] Speaker C: Of course there is going to be a coaching change in Winnipeg. Apparently Rick bonus is announcing his retirement. He's been around a long time. I remember him back when I was covering the AHL, him coaching in the American Hockey League. What about Rick's career in hockey?
[00:32:52] Speaker A: I worked with Rick in Ottawa back in the infancy days. I also coached against him in the 1992 Eastern Conference final, Boston versus Pittsburgh and Hartford versus Ottawa. So I coached against Rick a lot back in the day, and I've always respected him as a person. I've always respected him as a professional. He's extremely thorough in his preparation, had an amazing career. The only obviously downside to him was not in the Stanley cup over all those years and how close he came as an assistant in Vancouver in 2011, how close he came in Tampa Bay in 2015, you know, losing to Chicago. There were so many instances where they were so close when he was part of a group and he just. They couldn't get over the top. Same thing with Dallas. So, you know, great career, unbelievable career. Just the only blemish, I would say, is just not having won the Stanley cup, but an amazing career.
[00:33:48] Speaker C: Well, let's look ahead to the second round series in the east with Rangers in Carolina. As I mentioned, they got underway Sunday afternoon, Rangers winning four to three. Peter lobby going against the man who was his captain for the Stanley cup champion in 22,006 of the Carolina Hurricanes. Rick Rob Brendemore. How do you see that series?
Special teams were played a key role in that game on Sunday.
[00:34:14] Speaker A: Ken, I was surprised. I've seen Carolina play a lot, and I've known rod a long time.
I was surprised at how disciplined the Carolina Hurricanes were. Game one thought the Rangers were full values. The band Ajad was fantastic. Obviously, Paneran and Trochak played tremendous roles offensively in that game as well. So Sterkin came up with some timely saves and goals. So it was all positive for the Rangers. I was really surprised at how undisciplined both on the penalty kill when it came to taking penalties and on the power play and face off play Carolina was. I think there'll be huge adjustments going into game two. I know that on Monday, Carolina had a full practice at the New Jersey Devils practice facility so that probably no Ranger spies could be there. But I would say. I would say that it's going to be very interesting to watch game two. The one, the one caveat all I said just now, you're never in trouble in a playoff series, Ken, till you lose on home by. So even if Carolina were to go down zero two until they lose in Carolina, I don't think they're out of the series at all.
[00:35:22] Speaker H: Yeah.
[00:35:22] Speaker C: Because we saw the kind of comeback they had in game two against the Islanders, you know, down three, nothing on home ice, coming back to win that game, five to three. So, I mean, this Carolina team does have. Has a lot of, you know, great strength, and they don't. They don't get down on themselves.
[00:35:40] Speaker A: No, that's really fair. That starts around Jordan Stahl, who's a Selkie trophy nominee as the best defensive forward in the National Hockey League. It goes to Jordan Martin, who's a tremendous leader in a heart and sleeve type of player. Jacob Slavin on defense is just a phenomenal human being and a lady binge award candidate, you know, which is a hard award to win as a defenseman who plays in matchup situations. That's for the most gentlemanly player in the league. So you can. That's a tough award to win when you're that guy, and he's already won it once. So there's a lot to like there in terms of leadership in Carolina. To me, the biggest thing that's. I was shocked by what happened in game one. I have not seen that from Carolina where they just really melted down and I do think they'll be better. But the Rangers are for real, Ken. They really are for real and they're tough to beat.
[00:36:31] Speaker C: Yeah. And then other east series is a rematch of last year's first round series between Florida and Boston. This time Florida has home ice advantage and may be considered the favorite in this one. You know, they've had some time off after taking out Tampa Bay in five games. Of course, Boston coming off the emotional overtime win on Saturday. How do you see this series? Do we see another Florida victory against Boston?
[00:36:55] Speaker A: I don't like to predict winners or losers, but here's what I would say. Boston really showed me a lot by not panicking in game seven against Toronto, especially after they fell behind one nothing. Boston's a tough out that there's still guys in that team that can play better and they've got some real good goaltending. Obviously, Suman was phenomenal throughout that entire series.
My concern for them is Florida has had almost a full week to rest and rehabilitate after what was a very difficult, even though it was only five games, very difficult series with Tampa. It was physical, it was emotional, it was hard. But Florida said this time to re energize. I think that's going to be a problem for the Bruins, who won a very hard game seven Saturday night and had to fly to Florida on Sunday to play Monday night.
Game one, I think will be difficult for the Bruins, but if the Bruins ever stole game one, this series is a toss up. But if the Bruins don't steal game one, they will be chasing the series and it becomes really hard for them.
[00:37:56] Speaker C: How much is Florida going to miss Sam Bennett? Because I guess he's going to be, at least for the foreseeable future at this point.
[00:38:03] Speaker A: I've been told that he'll miss the game tonight. They do miss him. It's a great point by you can he brings a certain element of physicality and nastiness that you have to have in the playoffs. The good news for Florida, though, is Sasha Barkoff has been outstanding all playoff long. They've got more than enough firepower. They've got real good depth and defense, and they have an identity. And that identity is ground and pound, get the puck in deep, get after your defense and cycle and really wear you out. If the Bruins can take that four check cycle game away from Florida, that'll be positive, especially without Bennett being in the lineup. But if they can't. And then it's not the lineup that's a huge problem for Boston.
[00:38:46] Speaker C: Of course, Florida has strong goaltending in Brbosky, too.
[00:38:50] Speaker B: So, I mean, that's going to be.
[00:38:50] Speaker C: A good goal tending series.
[00:38:52] Speaker A: Great. Well, point. Well said by you. Bobrovsky has been an amazing reclamation project. When you really think about it, you know, two years ago, everybody's like, what's he doing here? We're paying him 10 million a year. He can't stop anything. And what people forget, Ken, and I know you don't, but this is for the fans. Last year, when the playoffs started and they were playing the Boston bruise in the first round, they were an eight seed and Boston was a one seed. Alex Lyon started the playoffs for Florida in goal. He's now the goalie for the Detroit Red Wings. Bobroski came in the last half of that series, stole the series, and eventually got the Florida Panthers into the Stanley cup final. You know, where they eventually lost to Vegas. But if you look at the way Bobroski's played this entire year, it's been phenomenal. So a little tip of the hat to Robbie Tallis, who's the goalie coach down there, Roberto Luongo and his brother. Because the Luongo brothers and Robbie Tallis have gotten Sergey Bobroski back on track, which is really important for Florida.
[00:39:52] Speaker C: Let's head over to the Western Conference. And Dallas coming off the emotional series of victory over the defending Stanley cup champion Vegas Golden Knights. We'll take on.
[00:40:04] Speaker B: So sorry, I'm losing my train.
[00:40:06] Speaker A: Colorado.
[00:40:06] Speaker B: Thank you. Color.
[00:40:07] Speaker H: Thank you.
[00:40:07] Speaker C: Yeah, I lost my train. I thought that for a second.
To me, I think we watched Colorado just basically destroyed Winnipeg. They had so much offense that the avalanche. Yeah, I think the stars are in some trouble here.
[00:40:22] Speaker A: They could be in big trouble. And they have a real good team. You know, I look at their team and you see Jake Ottinger and goal. You see mural Hasken in on defense. You see the addition of Chris Tanv and what he's done for Dallas. You see Wyatt Johnston in the offensive capability.
You see Jason Robertson in the offensive capability. You see the depth players they've accumulated. They've got all these great components there. But they just came out of a hellacious series with. With Vegas. And you gotta think a lot of guys got nicked up. Meanwhile, Colorado basically had their way with Winnipeg. After losing game one, they swept them in one four straight. And they got out of that series real early without a lot of physical damage. So this could be a big issue for Dallas, just the wear and tear and battles of attrition matter in the playoffs, and that's why it's so important to get out of series early, if you can. Dallas has just been through an unbelievable battle of attrition, and Colorado basically has not.
[00:41:23] Speaker C: Yeah, I just. How do you stop McKitten? How do you stop McCarr? I mean, that, that's, that's a great offense. I mean, I'm going to have Colorado winning a series. I like the way they're playing right now.
[00:41:35] Speaker A: They're playing great. And, you know, everybody was wondering. They're kind of scratching their head, what's Joe Sackic and his management team doing in Colorado when they're adding Yakov Trennan, who came over from Nashville, big physical body, who needs a contract, and Brandon Duhame from Minnesota, big physical body, who needs a contract at the end of the year? You watch both those guys in the first round. They made a difference. And then you see Casey Middlestad and Nathan McKinnon actually said the other day, you know, I know people are talking about me and they're talking about Kale. The best player we had in the first round was Casey Middlestad. So, you know, everybody was wondering, what's Middlestad going to do in Colorado in the playoffs? He's never been in a playoff game over the course of his career. In Buffalo, it looks like he's doing just fine. So I think management in Colorado at the trade deadline, and I talked about this on my podcast called the eye test with my partner, Jimmy Murphy. We talked about this at the trade deadline. I thought Colorado did the best job at the deadline, accumulating assets, and you see them in the first round. It almost looks like they did. It really does. Yeah.
[00:42:44] Speaker C: And then, of course, the all canadian series between Vancouver and Edmonton and another team in Edmonton, just so much offensive firepower. I mean, Vancouver, I think in order to stop Edmonton, got to play the way they did against Nashville.
[00:42:58] Speaker A: That's a great point, I would agree. The other thing, too, is there's still the goaltending situation. I know everybody's looking at Artur Sealoff, who is a third string goalie going into this series, or the past years, I should say, for Vancouver.
And then they got Casey de Smither, obviously, Thatcher Demko got her. So they go to the number three guy and he plays out of his mind and does a phenomenal job and gets him the winner in a six game series. So I don't know what direction they're going to go. I've heard Thatcher Demko starting to make some progress. We'll see whether that translates that series doesn't start till Wednesday, so that's good news for Vancouver.
They needed a little rest because that was tough travel. They had really, really tough travel with Nashville and some injuries because of how hard that series was physically.
But I'd say goal thing is going to be a big issue. Stuart Skinner impressed me, especially in game four in LA. They won one, nothing at did and they only had 13 shots on net. And I thought that Stuart Skinner played phenomenal and goal for the Oilers in that game for.
[00:44:03] Speaker C: Well, I know the last time we talked we discussed about the playoffs going, hopefully going back to a one eight format and recede after a while. Here's if they receded after the first round, here's what the matchups would have been like. The Rangers against the Bruins Range at 114 points. Bruins had 109, and then the Hurricanes would take on the Panthers and then the west would have been Colorado or facing Vancouver and then Edmonton taking on Dallas. To me, that, to me, I rather have to read you talk about having a. They want the robbery, but you talk about you have a great rivalry in that Eastern Conference there, the two southern teams in Carolina and Florida and then the Rangers and Bruins. That's a long time robbery. That would have been a lot of fun in the second round.
[00:44:52] Speaker A: See, I don't even have to add to that. I so agree with what you just said. That's been phenomenal and I agree. I think at some point the competition committee and the board of governors are going to have to look at this.
You know, the truth is that we have some Vegas and defending champs are out in the first round.
You know, I don't, I don't know how much of an appetite people have for that. Tampa Bay went to three straight Stanley cup final and they're out in the first round. Toronto's won one playoff series in the last seven years. You know, I don't think that the league really wants to see that. I don't think the fans in some of those cities want to see that. So I think they've got to identify a better way of doing the playoff, especially the first round matchups. Yeah.
[00:45:41] Speaker C: Because they want this quote unquote bracket format. They want to, I think, emulate the NCAA basketball tournament. But no, they had, they had the best system from 1994 to about the early two thousand ten s. And why they changed it, I'll never know. And I wish they would listen to the fans and. But they don't seem to listen to the fans?
[00:46:01] Speaker A: Well, I think they're gonna. I think there's gonna be an appetite because I do think there are a lot of managers, general managers, and I think there are a lot of coaches lobbying for a change of the playoff mechanism. You talked about it correctly, by the way, with the bracket system, because of the success that has with the NC basketball tournament. And, you know, they do it in the NCAA hockey tournament and seemingly doing very well. But hockey, the NHL is a different animal. It really is. And I. I do think at some point there will be some subtle changes to it.
[00:46:32] Speaker F: Yeah.
[00:46:32] Speaker B: Well, Piero, I appreciate a few minutes of your insight.
[00:46:34] Speaker C: We'll do it again as we get.
[00:46:35] Speaker B: To the conference finals.
[00:46:37] Speaker A: It is my pleasure to join you. Thank you so much, Ken. Take care of yourself. Enjoy the playoffs, everybody.
[00:46:42] Speaker C: All right, thanks, Pierre. Appreciate it. That's Pierre McGuire, and we'll wrap up the podcast with the latest winner in the Daily Gazettes auto racing contest and my picks for the conference semifinals. You're listening to the parting Shots podcast.
[00:47:10] Speaker I: I love playing sports, especially for my school, and that's because school sports are special. It's where it's safe to fail. It's where we're taught resilience, where our fear becomes confidence. It's where we learn to get back up after every fall. School sports are where 7.8 million students go from I can't to I can.
[00:47:31] Speaker B: This message presented by NISFA and the.
[00:47:34] Speaker E: New York State Athletic Administration Administrators Association.
[00:47:40] Speaker A: Hi, this is Kenny Albert, the voice of the NHL on TNT radio, voice of the New York Rangers and the NFL and Major League Baseball on Fox Sports as well. You're listening to the parting shots podcast with Daily Gazette sports editor Ken shot back.
[00:47:55] Speaker B: To wrap up the podcast, let's go over my picks from the first round of the Stanley cup playoffs. I went eight for eight. I can't believe. I don't think I ever have gone eight for eight in the plows. And I actually got three of the picks accurately at Carolina winning in five over the Islanders. Dallas I had going winning in seven over Vegas and Edmonton in five over Los Angeles. So not too bad. Shabby for me because I'm usually bad at these picks. That's why I don't gamble. So here are my picks. I know the second round started Sunday and I had these picks made before the second round started. I have Florida, even though they lost five one to Boston on Monday night. I have Florida winning that series in six games.
I have the Rangers taking out Carolina in seven. I think that's going to be a hard fought series.
And O'Rangers won game one on Sunday, four to three. Colorado and Dallas in the Western Conference. I like Colorado. I mean they have, they were scoring machine. I think they're going to be tough to stop and I think Dallas had a really hard, emotional series, a win against, against Vegas and I don't know how much they have left in the tank. So I'm going with Colorado in six and Vancouver. Edmonton, I like Edmonton. I think they're another high flying offensive team. Vancouver struggled to score goals against Nashville and that bus series won six games. So I'm going Edmonton in six. So we'll see how my picks turn out in the second round the week. Twelve winner in the Daily Gazettes auto racing contest was Dennis Fuhrman of who's a falls with 50 points. Dennis wins a $50 gift card. Congratulations, Dennis. The vip winner was Jerry Peele of Frankensons with 40 points. I'll announce the auto racing contest winner's name and that winner's name will appear in Saturday's Daily Gazette. To play, go to dailygazette.com and click on the auto racing contest banner.
Just because COVID-19 mandates are easing, that does not mean you should relax. Be vigilant. If you have not gotten vaccinated or received a booster shot, please do so. Do it for yourself, do it for your family, and do it for your friends. That wraps up another edition of the party Shots podcast. I'd like to thank Derek Witherford, Jerry McNamara and Pierre Maguire for being on the show. If you have questions or comments about the podcast, email them to me at shot. That's schot tailygazette.com. Follow me on x and threads at slapshot.
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 party Shots podcast studio in Schenectady, New York. Good day. Good sports.
