[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 Shots. 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. We have another great show for you. A lot of hockey talk on this one. College hockey and junior hockey. For the college hockey, we'll preview the Union men's and women's weekend. The men are back on the road after sweeping Brown and Yale last weekend. They're going to head up to the north country to take on Clarkson and St. Lawrence, the second meeting with those teams this year.
Union beat St. Lawrence and lost to Clarkson back in November. Meanwhile, the St Lawrence and Clarkson women's teams will come to Mesa to take on Union. Union coming off a pair of losses last weekend to Quinnipiac and Princeton. So we'll hear on the men's side, we'll hear from Josh Nixon, Lucas Buzziol and John Prokop. On the women's side will be head coach Tony Macy, goaltender Sophie Matsukis, who's going to play her 100th career game this weekend, and defenseman Stephanie Bourque. And then I'll talk with Chris Peters of FLO Hockey. He was at the World Junior Championships in Ottawa the last couple weeks. And the USA for the second consecutive year won the gold medal in dramatic fashion, this time, a 43 overtime win over Finland on Sunday. It's the first time that the US has won back to back gold medals. And meanwhile, Canada didn't even make the medal round for the second consecutive year. So Chris and I will discuss that. And so we had a good chat about that and talk about maybe the future of college hockey with the major junior players now eligible to play NCAA hockey. So Chris Peters will be here after our Union interview. So coming up, we'll talk union men's and women's hockey here on the Parting Shots podcast.
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[00:03:44] Speaker B: Hi, this is RPI Men's Hockey Head coach Dave Smith. You're listening to the Parting Shots Podcast with Daily Gazette sports editor Ken Shot.
Welcome back to the podcast and let's begin our Union Hockey preview this weekend. We'll start with the men. The men coming off a solid weekend last weekend winning the Brown Yale road trip for the first time since the 201718 season. Last Friday, Union took a 31 victory over the Bears at Meehan Auditorium in Providence, Rhode Island. And follow it up with a 43 come for behind victory over the Bulldogs at Ingles Rink. A game where Union had a two nothing lead in the first period, saw it evaporate in the second period, but they scored two third period goals, including one by Kaden Villegas with just under two minutes to go to snap the 33 tie and give Union the victory. Those Wins snapped that four game losing streak that Union entered the end of 2024. So a great start to the new year for the Garner Chargers. They're back on the road this weekend going to Clarkson. Clarkson, ranked 19th in both the USCHO.com and and the USA Hockey Hockey Rink the rink Live polls Last time Union and Clarkson faced off was a 41 Clarkson victory at Messerink back in November. Union had a two man power play chance in the third period, down 3:1 with a chance to do something with that, including a major penalty, five minute major, but they were unable to score on that. And then of course against St. Lawrence the night before at Mesa, the Union had one of its more solid efforts of the season, a 4 nothing triumph over the Saints. It's going to be a tough matchup against Clarkson. I mean I think Union knows what they have to do. Of course. You heard from Josh Hauge on Wednesday's podcast So let's hear from the players, Josh Nixon, John Prokoff and Lucas Buzziol. And also you'll hear some sound from Lucas as I ask some questions about his improved play recently. He scored the goal, his first collegiate goal Friday against Brown. He picked up his second at Yale on Saturday. So. And of course, he's the cousin of Josh Nixon. I'll have a feature on in my opening face of column, which will be on dailygazette.com online and in print on Friday's edition. So please look for that and read it. So here are John Prokop, Josh Nixon and Lucas Buzziol.
Guys, great weekend last weekend with the Brown Yale sweep. How important is it to keep that momentum going this weekend in the north country? Start with Josh.
[00:06:29] Speaker D: Well, it's huge. Get two conference wins right after the break there. Obviously, we didn't, we didn't end off that well going into the break, so it was definitely key for us to start off well. But yeah, these are big games for us. Like Clarkson got the best of us last time, so St. Lawrence is no shrug either. So they're big games for sure.
[00:06:48] Speaker B: John.
[00:06:49] Speaker E: Yeah, exactly what Nick said. We were kind of on not a good pace going into the break and then coming out of the break getting a sweep against two conference teams in his conference the rest of the way out. So every point matters, every game matters. And now we're playing an opponent that we've seen before and they got the better hand of us the first time, so it's time to go get them again.
[00:07:09] Speaker B: Lucas.
[00:07:10] Speaker F: Yeah, I mean, to piggyback on what they said, I mean, we know it's a big weekend. We've talked about it since yesterday. I know Clarkson beat us last time in our burns. You know, we kind of want to go beat them in their burn. And then, you know, St. Lawrence last time played us hard. And, you know, we know it's going to be another tough game, but just every incomference game magnifies even more how important our win is. So, you know, we know we got to get another two wins this weekend.
[00:07:31] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. Obviously the comments may have been shaky a little bit going out coming out of the Vermont series, but how important was it to bounce back and start 2025 with a couple wins like that and get your confidence back?
[00:07:44] Speaker F: Yeah, I mean, obviously it was huge. I mean, as a team, you know, we know when we put our full potential, we can beat anyone. And I think you saw it this weekend where we played a good, solid game against Brown and then Yale again. I think we were good in the first and third, second a little shaky, but I think as a team, we came together, found a way to get two wins. I think that's the biggest, biggest thing if, like in conference, you know, they're not going to be high scoring games, they're more than likely going to be low scoring. We found a way to get two wins. I think that's the biggest thing.
[00:08:07] Speaker E: Yeah, every game's the next biggest game. And especially coming down the road, all we really need to do is put the pass behind us and focus on our next game.
[00:08:16] Speaker B: So, Josh, looking back at that Clarkson game in November, what was the difference in that game that allowed Clarkson to win that game? What do you have to do to correct that on Friday?
[00:08:29] Speaker D: I think they just out competed us, honestly, especially in our zone, our D zone. And that's definitely a point of emphasis this week for practice.
We're definitely going to be a tougher team than what they saw in whatever it was November for sure.
[00:08:42] Speaker B: John, what do you remember about that game?
[00:08:45] Speaker E: Not a whole lot, except that they beat us, honestly. And that's all that really matters. And that'll give you enough motivation of going and, you know, give them your best effort on Friday.
[00:08:56] Speaker B: Lucas, for you, you scored your first two collegiate goals of the weekend. How big was that for your confidence, especially the Friday goal, which came a few seconds after Brown had taken the lead?
[00:09:07] Speaker F: Yeah, I mean, obviously it was nice to get my first one. I mean, on that goal, that's all Brew. I mean, he makes a great pass back toward Tappan, so I mean, that's all I got to do. And then, you know, obviously it's great for myself to have a good weekend. But more importantly, we got two wins to three. I think that's the biggest thing going coming out of that weekend.
[00:09:20] Speaker B: Talk about that. How happy were you? What was the celebration like for you? I mean, we saw a little bit on tv, but what was that like maybe after the game?
[00:09:29] Speaker F: Yeah, it was definitely a weight off my shoulders, but I mean, it was so early in the game, there was still so much time left that I mean, it didn't really change the game that much. Just got us back to basically a tie again. So, I mean, we had a lot more to play. And then getting the win obviously made it feel a lot better scoring in that game. But I mean, we got to win. Won again CEO on Saturday. So that's the biggest thing.
[00:09:46] Speaker B: What does that do for your Cosby? Obviously you've been in and out of the lineup and now looks like you may have earned yourself really a permanent spot in the lineup.
How's your confidence grown since the start of the season?
[00:09:58] Speaker F: I think it's grown a lot. I mean, just every day just getting better and better at practice and playing every game. Just, you know, my confidence goes up even more. Then, obviously, scoring goals helps, but I think just winning is the most important thing in helping the team get two ends.
[00:10:10] Speaker B: What did you envision yourself as when you came here?
[00:10:14] Speaker F: I mean, just kind of the role I'm in right now, like, big face, off guy, really good defensively, you know, can play 200ft, kill penalties, and I think that's what all the coaches see out of me, and that's what I try to do every night.
[00:10:25] Speaker B: I know we talked with you and Josh at the start of the season with the Cousins thing here.
How much have you leaned on Josh to help you with your adjustments from junior hockey to college hockey?
[00:10:39] Speaker F: Yeah, I mean, I lean on him a lot, and I see him a lot outside of the rinks, so I ask them, you know, for advice and stuff, and all the upper class, but they've been great to our whole class. The whole freshman class just, like, come in, like, letting us come in, you know, showing us the way. And I think that's been a huge part of why we had so much success, especially as our class.
[00:10:55] Speaker B: Josh, for you, how happy were you to see him score his first collegiate goal that Friday?
[00:11:00] Speaker D: Well, I was also very pumped, like, be there, live, be in the game with him. I was pumped for him. I wanted to go out there and get the puck for him. But, no, it was huge. It's just first of many, though, for sure, to get two this weekend. His confidence, like you said, it's just growing. So he's going to be a way better player than he was at the start of the year, for sure.
[00:11:17] Speaker B: How has he adjusted?
What improvements have you seen in this game?
[00:11:21] Speaker D: I think just getting in the lineup, that's like the most. The most important thing that's gaining the coach's trust there, gaining all of our trust, and it's shown we all trust him. He's at the end of the game, he's playing the minutes that are the most crucial. So it just shows his game style, and it shows that he wants to be out there and win.
[00:11:40] Speaker B: So, you know how happy and how proud of you are of him.
[00:11:43] Speaker D: No, I'm pumped for him. No, I'm pumped. I'm sure. I think after the game, our whole family group chat, we sent in a couple clips of his goal Celia or whatever it was and we're all liking and responding to it. So no, it's all good and respecting a couple more this weekend too I think. So we're looking forward to it.
[00:12:02] Speaker B: I'll put John here since he's not related to any of you guys. But what did you think of, what do you think of Lucas's play? How much have you seen the improvement?
[00:12:10] Speaker E: I mean you could see it from day one. He doesn't make mistakes ever and I think coaches are realizing that now and that's why he's getting all the minutes at, you know, big time important minutes too at the end of the game. And you know, it's really happy to see someone like grow into those shoes and then put fill the role and then excel in the role too. So it was also, you know, pumped to see him get his first one too.
[00:12:30] Speaker B: So now let's talk about the Union women's hockey team. The Garner Chargers had a rough weekend last weekend. In their return to play about after a month off, they were blitzed by Quinnipiac 81 on Friday, a game in which Quinnipiac scored five first period goals and chased goaltender Sophie Matsukis from that game. Midway through the first period, Union had a better effort against Princeton even though they were down three nothing. They rallied to make it three two but fell short in a five two setback to the Tigers. Tough matchups coming up this weekend as St. Lawrence and Clarkson come to mess the rink for the final time ever and Union needs to try to find a way to bounce back. They played them tough up in the north country earlier this season. Union dropped a 2:1 overtime decision to Clarkson and fell three nothing to St. Lawrence. So it's possible that they can maybe pull off. Enough said. So you never know. I think the team has played well. It was just, you know, it was just a tough weekend last weekend, especially against quite a pack coming off the layoff. I think maybe that had a an effect on the way they played on Friday. So St. Lawrence is here 6:00 Friday and Clarkson 3:00 on Saturday.
On Tuesday's made availability was head coach Tony Macy. Goaltender Sophie Matsukasu, I mentioned earlier, will be playing her 100th game this weekend and Stephanie Bourque. So here's what they had to say.
[00:13:56] Speaker G: I feel like we were just here.
[00:13:57] Speaker B: Yeah, Tony, it's another tough weekend coming up with two more ranked teams in St. Lawrence and Clarkson. What's going to be the key to bounce back from last weekend?
[00:14:08] Speaker G: Well, I think we just Got to take what we didn't do last weekend and change that.
[00:14:12] Speaker A: Right.
[00:14:12] Speaker G: Like, that's been our focus so far. In the one practice we've had, you know, really getting back to the detailed defensive side of things and. And playing with a lot more compete, you know, I think that we kind of lacked a little bit of that right away. So getting back to that and, you know, you're bringing in two teams that are going to compete every night, so we got to do that from shift to shift and set one another up for success.
[00:14:39] Speaker H: I think coach pretty much covered everything. I think just going back to our structure and playing. Being very hard to play against in the D zone, I think that's going to be huge for us and help us offensively as well. So I think just sticking with our structure and competing hard.
[00:14:53] Speaker I: Sophie, for you, I think, yeah, getting back to our game and kind of forgetting about this past weekend and moving forward, and we saw some positive results last time we played these teams. So I think just knowing that we can do it and we can just, once we bring our game, we're there.
[00:15:07] Speaker B: How important is iu? Almost beat Clarkson up there also overtime, and he had a competitive game against St. Lawrence. Although you guys didn't score in that game. But I mean, how important is it made to bring that confidence of what you guys did a few weeks ago against them?
[00:15:21] Speaker I: I think it is important just to again know that we're right there with them or maybe better sometimes. And I think that just. Yeah, bringing that with us and moving forward, I guess.
[00:15:31] Speaker B: Stephanie, how important will it be to get off to good starts in the first period? Because obviously what happened against Quinnipiac, giving up five in the first and give first three to Princeton over a couple periods. So, I mean, how important is it to get to jump on these teams this weekend?
[00:15:46] Speaker H: I think it'll be super important. It'll set the momentum for the game, but I think it's just being able to play a full 60 minutes, that'll be huge as well. So starting off hard, but also keeping that going throughout the game.
[00:15:58] Speaker B: Tony Fee, what about that?
[00:16:01] Speaker G: Yeah, I think it's, you know, when you're. You're playing in any situation, you don't want to be chasing games.
You know, I think in the games that we have had to chase games, you know, it's harder to come back. We have come back in a couple, but typically, you know, you want to get out to. To the lead, but if you're. If you're not, you're. You got to keep Them within one. Right. And you're not having to get too far away from what your structure and everything is going to be. That is your normal. Because you're still trying to chase two, maybe three goals, right? That, that's a tough game. So for us, it's just trying to make sure we, we keep things close and play defensive style and give ourselves a chance.
[00:16:41] Speaker B: Sophie, for you, I mean, obviously that first period against Quinnipiac you got pulled from the game. You weren't getting much help. But how important was it for you to come back and start the Princeton game?
[00:16:50] Speaker I: I think it was important for me to be dialed in and get my team some confidence that we might have missed the day before. And I think that just, it was a refresh for everyone, just bouncing back and again, forgetting about that game and forget about the start and just being better the next day.
[00:17:04] Speaker B: You're a game away from your 100th career game here at Union. What are your thoughts about reaching that milestone?
[00:17:11] Speaker I: I think it's an awesome accomplishment and I think it just.
Yeah, I don't know. It's awesome.
[00:17:17] Speaker B: Stephanie, what do you think about the.
[00:17:19] Speaker H: I think it's huge for her. Obviously. She's been a huge part of this team and we all have so much confidence in her and when she plays well, we play well. She keeps us in a lot of games and we wouldn't be like the team we are without her. So I think it's a huge accomplishment for her.
[00:17:32] Speaker B: Tony?
[00:17:34] Speaker G: Yeah, there's not many people that get to say as a goaltender they get to play 100 games. So you know, it speaks to one, her play, her style. But also, you know, the confidence that the coaches have had over her career, depending have her in the net for those games in order for them to try and win. So, you know, I think one, she's done a great job for us this year and you know, we expect more than 100 here coming up. Right. So I think it's a good accomplishment for her and proud of her.
[00:18:03] Speaker B: We'll turn our attention to junior hockey as Team USA won the gold medal in the World Junior Hockey Championships for the second consecutive. Joining me to talk about that will be Chris Peters of Flow Hockey. So stay tuned. You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast.
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[00:19:12] Speaker A: Hi, this is Schenectady Mayor Gary McCarthy. You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast with Daily Gazette sports editor Ken Shots.
[00:19:22] Speaker B: Welcome back to the podcast. And on Sunday, the United States Journey hockey team won its second straight gold medal, doing it in overtime against Finland, coming from behind from a three on deficit to win four three second straight gold medal, as I said, and the first time ever that USA has accomplished that feat in the world juniors. And Chris Peters from FLO Hockey was there to witness it all and he joins me now for a few minutes here on the Parting Shots podcast. Chris, welcome back. It's been a while since we had you on.
[00:19:51] Speaker A: Yeah, Ken, it's, it's good to be with you. And yeah, obviously it was a lot of fun to follow the world juniors and certainly have plenty to talk about.
[00:19:59] Speaker B: Yeah, let's talk about that. I mean, as I said, this is the first time ever that the USA has won back to back gold medals. It's the seventh overall. What does it say about the USA program that now they're the dominant team in junior hockey in the world?
[00:20:15] Speaker A: Yeah, you know, I think it, I think it's just another milestone, you know, kind of go back and really until 2004, USA wasn't even really competitive at the world junior. So it's really only been 20 years and the tournament dates back to the 70s. But it's only really been the last 20 years that USA has been a serious contender and now they have seven gold medals in that span and then to have two in a row really was kind of unheard of. You know, I think that this is a, this is an opportunity to kind of say, you know, not only are you building great players, but you're building them consistently. And so I think that the, the frequency of gold medals over the last decade and then obviously having back to back, it's just another example of that. I also think that this year kind of, it almost means more because you know, last year I feel like that team on paper was far better than the one that they had this year. And the, this shows that you can win with depth too, that you don't. It's not just about having the top, top players all the time. You know, I think that this team had they weren't quite as deep as others, but they had enough. And, and when you have enough, I think that also says a lot about your player pool. So, you know, in all, it's a very important moment. It's, you know, I will see where it goes next. I mean, sometimes these things happen in cycles, but we're in a very strong cycle for American hockey right now. And, you know, I think that that will, will only continue over time. It might not always mean gold medals at the world juniors, but when you can go back to back for, you know, only a few countries have done that, it really means a lot.
[00:21:59] Speaker B: As you mentioned, it's a depth situation where maybe. And we'll talk a little bit more about Canada in a minute, but it seems like the Canadian teams like to go for their superstars and maybe they don't have that work ethic, might be not having that might be too strong, but maybe they don't have the guts that the US has.
[00:22:20] Speaker A: Well, you know, I think particularly this year, you know, I think Hockey Canada sense that and how they built their team because they did leave some of their most skilled players home and in the end, you know, had a result where they didn't even medal and didn't even have a chance to play for a medal because they got bounced in the quarterfinals. This is the first time, you know, you think about the craziness of USA winning two in a row. The fact that Canada was bounced in the quarterfinals twice in a row for the first time ever is, is also notable. And I think, you know, to me it says less about hockey Canada and more about the rest of the world. It's just, you know, they got knocked out by the Czechs two years in a row and the Czechs have now meddled in three straight world juniors. So, you know, I think that the rest of the world is really starting to produce and develop players that with the frequency that it makes it. So, you know, you can't always guarantee that, that Canada is going to be the favorite. And that's kind of an interesting thing too. And you know, I, I do think that there's something to the fact that there's more pressure on Canadian players. You know, they, they, it is, it is hyper focused and we certainly saw that with how much vitriol was directed their way, which I don't think is right and shouldn't happen. But you know, that, that's the intensity of the tournament. Canada is quite different than it is anywhere else. And sometimes that leads to, you know, tension and I Felt like this Canadian team this year played very tense. They played very apprehensive, and they didn't really force the issue enough, and they lacked swagger. And that, to me, is really the thing that, for years and years, was something none of the other countries could kind of do. They couldn't walk into a game feeling like they're the best team.
And now I think that they are always going into those games feeling like they are the better team. And that's, you know, even whether it's true or not, that's the thing that really kind of strikes me about the whole situation.
[00:24:11] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, let's talk a little more about that. The fact that they were even home, so, you know, games being played in the Ottawa areas, I mean, did that maybe put the pressure on them, too, just because they were on basically at home ice advantage?
[00:24:27] Speaker A: Yeah, I think. I think sometimes it does, and we'll see how that impacts USA next year. You know, the US Has. Has not won the gold medal on home ice either. You know, Canada's won it on home ice plenty of times. But I think in this particular instance, that the pressure did get to those players. They got to the coaching staff, got to the people that were making the decisions. And in the end, it, you know, they made a lot of the wrong decisions. The coaches made a lot of the wrong adjustments. And so all those things kind of play into it, and then you have to answer to it immediately. You know, you think they lost to Latvia for the first time ever, and they did it before a day off, which is really bad because you don't have a chance to quiet everybody down. And so that, you know, you basically get 48 hours of people saying, you're no good. And then, you know, you follow that up with kind of a close victory over Germany, and then you lose to the US On New Year's Eve. And now everybody thinks, well, these guys just stink. And. And they're hearing that, you know, they're getting it. And I was in the same hotel as a lot of the parents of Team Canada players, and I think you could even sense it with the parents that they were just. They were kind of at a loss for words for what happened. So, yeah, I think that the home ice can sometimes be an advantage, but in this case, maybe a disadvantage for that particular Canadian team.
[00:25:39] Speaker B: Of course, the future of Canada could be up in the air if Trump decides to make Canada the 51st state, but that's what won't get into politics there. But, I mean, who stood out to with Team usa.
[00:25:52] Speaker A: Oh boy. You know, I think a lot of guys did.
I think that, you know, the thing that was the biggest concern coming into the tournament was the lack of depth on the blue line.
And while I think some of their depth players played better, you also saw Team USA lean more heavily on Z. Boyam and Cole Hudson. And so those, those two guys to me are major difference makers. Obviously two guys in college hockey, you've got Cole Hudson at BU and Z. William at Denver who was a big part of their national championship team last year. And William played average five minutes more ice time than any other player on Team USA at 25 minutes per game average. And in the last couple of games he played over 28 minutes. And so he's just a tremendous asset to that team. And he did assist on the game winning goal. He ended up with six points in the tournament, which, you know, I think we actually thought, which is a little bit low for what we were expecting from him. He was my pre tournament pick for defenseman in the tournament. And I think, you know, all things considered in terms of impact to his team, I thought he was the best defenseman in the tournament. The awards might not say that, but he was on my all star ballot. He was also would have been one of my picks for, for the Directorate award if I had one. But the, that's voted on by the administrators. So. But yeah, but I thought he was impressive. And then Cole Hudson, 11 points in the tournament. He led all players with 11 points. That is the first time a defenseman has outright led the world juniors in scoring. He scored a huge goal in the gold medal game that tied the game in the second period in the dying minutes, the last 30 seconds of the period and just he came up with clutch goal after clutch goal. And that's a defenseman doing that for you. And not only that, a defenseman who's eligible to return next year. So I think there's a lot of great things that happened with them. And then of course, you know, you can't, you can't talk about Team USA and not talk about the captain. And Ryan Leonard was the MVP of the tournament. He was second on the team and scoring with 10 points. He had two points, two assists in the, in the gold medal game. And he was a warrior. You know, he drags his team into the fight and, and, and you know he broke his nose. He, he had.
Teams were targeting him all the time and he wasn't getting the penalty calls and all that other stuff and, and in the end he just found a Way to make an impact on the game. Kept his cool in the moments where he had to and you know, really settled things down. And he very almost had a couple of chances to win the gold medal game with a couple that just went off his stick at the wrong, the wrong time there. But aside from that, I mean I thought that he was, he really battled. But you know, you can't win without a full team effort. And I think, you know, you look up and down Team USA's lineup, especially in the gold medal game. They got contributions from any, everywhere, you know, their fourth line. Brandon Spobota scores a goal to start the rally. Teddy Stiga scores the game winner. He was a healthy stretch at the beginning of the tournament. So those are the things that really impressed me about this US Team is that, you know, they had the stars but they needed the whole team to do something. And in key moments, you know, David Carl pulled the right levers, got the right guys out there and the right things happened. So it was, it was a very impressive win, A narrow win, but a very impressive win overall to go back to back and make history.
[00:29:06] Speaker B: Well, take me through that gold medal game. Finland's up 3:1 in that, in that game, did you sense any panic from the US Team?
[00:29:14] Speaker A: I didn't sense panic but after the first period I thought, oh, they're, they are in trouble because Finland dominated the first period. They were the faster team. They won all the races to pucks. They had a 2:1 lead after one and then they went up 3:1. And you know, anybody that's watched any international hockey for, for any amount of time knows that if there is one team you do not want to fall behind two goals to it is Finland. Because they are a great team, defensive team, they always have good goaltending. They always have a team that's committed to, you know, really taking away the middle of the ice. And so I thought it's going to take, it's going to might take a miracle to get through through here. And really Team USA completely flipped the script. They shortened their bench on the blue line. They started getting Z Bouilliam and Cole Hudson out together. And anytime those two guys were on the ice together, Team USA owned the puck. Absolutely owned the puck. And that changed the tide of the game. I think there were a lot of different little, little moves they made that help Team USA win that, win that game.
And so you get a, you get a lucky bounce off of Brandon voters goal where it went off a defenseman and into the open net that you Know, those are the kinds of things that you kind of need to spark you. They score a late goal with Cole Hudson and then really dominated the third period in overtime. There were very few shots allowed by Team USA in the second half of that game. And so they took over the game with the puck possession and then Finland's goalie just kind of held him in and he, he made save after save after save. Ryan Leonard had a couple of golden opportunities and you're just wondering, is it going to happen? And then you know, at the end in overtime, Z boy with the one of the most perfectly placed stretch passes, it goes just, you know, he sauce it over one stick and then got it right beyond the defenseman stick. And really the only person that was going to get that puck was Teddy Stiga. And he skates into it, corrals it and then makes a beautiful move and goes through the goaltender to, to finally get the win for Team USA and get the, the celebration going. So I mean all in all a tremendous game. Never sense panic, but you could tell after that first period you're like, if they don't get things going, there's going to be trouble here. So they got it going and ended up winning.
[00:31:31] Speaker B: You mentioned Teddy Stiga with the game, when it go on the fact that he was a healthy scratch at the start of this tournament. What does it say about him to be able to score that game winning goal, the golden goal like that after maybe after starting out the tournament, not playing?
[00:31:46] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean I think that for guys like him, you pick players like Teddy Stiga to fill a role at this stage. I think next year he's going to be a very important player for Team USA this year. He was a role player. He was a, you know, third or fourth line guy, healthy scratch in the first game. The, the goal that he scored was the only shot on goal he had the entire tournament. So you know, ends his world Juniors with a 1000 shooting percentage, which I guess is good. But you know, you know, I think it says a lot about his character because you know, a lot of these guys, they're top players where they're at. They, they don't, they're, they're not role players. You know, Stiga being a freshman, I think he's gotten a little bit of a taste of that, of hey, you have to kind of fit in here. You're not going to be one of the top guys here at Boston College. So you know, with him doing that, you know, he's at least adjusted to it. And I think that for him, you know, he just had to stay ready. And that's what he said after the game. I just have to, you know, stay ready when, if they call my number, I'll go and, and be ready to go. And the thing is, is that he's a versatile player. He's highly skilled and he can score a lot of points, but he's also got a great motor and good work ethic and he's got speed. Not a big guy, but he plays hard. And I think that, you know, basically I'm still impressed with the number of players that they were able to get onto the ice in the third period in overtime and, and it worked, you know, like they didn't shorten the bench. If anything, they extended the bench in the third period and then in overtime you have basically one of your bottom six forwards out there with a chance to win the game. So, you know, that's the thing is that I think, and this is part of what I think makes David Carl a great coach. He puts players in the situations that they can succeed in and then knows when to kind of put them out there, which I think was really impressive.
[00:33:38] Speaker B: Speaking of David Carl, two straight gold medals for Team usa, two national championships he's got at the University of Denver too.
Is he going to be a hot commodity on the NHL market?
[00:33:50] Speaker A: Well, I think there are going to be a lot of teams that are going to be calling them for sure. You know, I think that that's, that's the thing. And what I, what I appreciate about David is he's been very upfront about, you know, what he wants and basically he doesn't have any need to rush out of Denver. He doesn't have to leave. He's, you know, he makes good money there. I, I assure a lot of Denver fans said, hey, makes, you know, one of the highest paid coaches. He'll be fine. It's like there, yeah, but NHL money is, is it we're talking about, he can, you know, really significantly push that number up. It's a life changing amount of money. It's guaranteed contract, all those different things that you, that you can have, you know, with, with getting paid an NHL salary. But I think that for David it's going to not only have to be a money thing, it's going to be the situation. So, you know, if you're a team that's kind of heading in a downward direction, I don't think that's going to really interest him. He's not going to want to go to a place where hey, this team is struggling. They're heading in the wrong way. You know, I think he's going to be very, very picky. And it, you know, I think the team that's going to have to successfully lure him away going to have to pay him a significant amount of money. And you know, I think that there's also been a lot of people that have asked me, like, how do we know that he can coach at the NHL level? And I'd say, you know, he doesn't strike. He's not that typical college coach. And I shouldn't say typical because a lot of them, there's a wide variety of coaching styles, but there are definitely college coaches that could not coach in the pros because of the way that they coach and the way that they are, you know, kind of speak there. They have more influence over younger players. I think David is a more collaborative coach when it comes to playing and I think that that works at the NHL level. The fact is, is that he's close in age to a lot of those players. He can relate to them personally and professionally in a way that I think, you know, a lot of coaches cannot. And so to me, he's actually kind of his, his lack of experience at the NHL level may actually be a benefit because as long as he can prove that, hey, I've got the X's and O's, I can prepare and I win, that's going to, players are going to buy into that. And I don't think that he's going to be talking down to guys. I don't think that he's going to be, you know, you know, trying to push guys in ways that they're not comfortable with. I think that he's going to be a more collaborative coach. And to me that's why I think not only will he coach in the NHL, I think he's going to be a very successful coach in the NHL for many years.
[00:36:16] Speaker B: Well, I know a place where he could possibly go if the, the team I root for, the Philadelphia Flyers, decided to remove John Tortorella from if, you know, it could be mutual part, I don't know, but I think with a young team like that, especially Mitchkov there and there's some decent talent there, Noah Cates, and that could be a possibility, but just speculating.
[00:36:38] Speaker A: Yeah, you know, and I, I think, I think if you are a, a big market team with, with a bright future, you know, and you and a deep pocketed owner, you know, I think that that, that gives you a leg up in the situation.
So, yeah, I'll be really fascinating to see where, where things go.
[00:36:55] Speaker B: Of course, Flyers hired Dave Haxtel when Ron Hextall was the general manager and that didn't work out. But I think there were a lot of circumstances in that situation where Haxel was probably not being allowed to run his own program and he ended up getting fired and Hextall later got fired, but that's a situation. So do you think if David does, does not decide to go to the NHL route after this season, do you think he comes back for a third year as the world junior coach for the world juniors?
[00:37:23] Speaker A: I, I'm gonna guess not. I think it's a, it's a. Especially with the guy with a young family, you know, I think that he was. I think he kind of had to be talked into going back a second time a little bit, at least a little bit. I think he wanted to. I think the challenge was there and, you know, but, but he was, you know, I think he agreed quickly, but still, you know, you kind of have to convince him. And one thing that David said, to his credit, he asked John Van Deesbrook, he said, hey, you've done this multiple times before and it hasn't worked. What's going to make this time different? And what I'm sure John told David and I was that, well, you're different than what you're the reason that it's different.
But anyway, getting back to, to that, you know, I, I don't think that he'll be back for a third year even though that USA is hosting. I think he'd like to spend the holidays with his young family this time also. I think the other thing for this going forward is, you know, you've already done something unprecedented. To win a third would certainly be a special thing, but I think that you've kind of accomplished it. He's been through a cycle with the players, you know, the 2005 born players like Ryan Leonard and Z. Bouilliam and all them that, that were, you know, that were. Were kind of part of the team last year too. So I think go out on top, start focusing on, you know, the other things. It's a huge commitment in terms of time to be part of that staff as well. And so I think he'd probably prefer to spend more time focusing on his own things and doing. Doing what he. Doing what he does best, which is win more championships at Denver and possibly moving on to the NHL.
[00:39:06] Speaker B: If you had a pinpoint, a possible candidate to replace David, who would it be?
[00:39:10] Speaker A: Oh, boy. It's a good question. I think we're in a. We're in a stage now where we've got a lot of really good coaches. You know, I think that you could potentially look at Brett Larson, who was an assistant on the staff that coach at St. Cloud State, you know, was an integral part of their. Their power play. And certainly, you know, was. Was. Was very big with the full forwards this year, you know, so I think that he would be a guy that could potentially be in the mix. You know, you look at some of the other guys. Chris Mayotte at Colorado College, obviously having a lot of success. He's been on a staff of a winning team at the World Juniors. So, you know, I think that those are kind of some of the guys. You kind of look at previous assistant coaches that had success. Another one that I would throw out there is probably Pat Birchweiler at Western Michigan. He's been an assistant on a staff at this. At this level and has coached some national teams before. So I think those are guys that you could potentially look at. The question is, is when it is being hosted in Minnesota.
And I think that oftentimes when you're the host, you may be interested in bringing back a coach that has some ties to that area. So it's certainly possible that that is part of the calculus. But I think that, you know, USA Hockey has never had more or better options to coach their team than they do right now, which I think is a great testament to where USA Hockey is and where it's going.
[00:40:31] Speaker B: Of course, you mentioned Chris Matt. He was the goaltender at Union from 2002 to 2006 and has run an assistant coach. He was with Nate Lehman, who. He was his coach there for three years. So Mayo would be a good choice. I mean, Mayo has really worked himself into a good head coaching job. I talked to him a couple years ago when Colorado College was here. So that'd be fun to watch.
[00:40:52] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, no shortage. And certainly you gotta. You gotta really appreciate what he's done with cc.
[00:40:58] Speaker B: Let me wrap this up. Obviously, changes are coming in college hockey with the major junior players now eligible to play college hockey. What is your take about that and how do you see this really playing out over the next few years?
[00:41:14] Speaker A: Yeah, you know, Ken, I think if you asked me that question a few years ago, I would have seen it a lot differently.
And I did. I used to see it a lot differently. I thought this would be a bad thing for college hockey. But I think that things have changed significantly enough. Where this is actually going to end up being a very good thing for USA Hockey for one or for NCAA Hockey for one. You get, you've now expanded your player pool so you more teams have more, more and better players to choose from to come to their program. Yes, the rich will still get richer. Yes, they're still going to get the top players. There's going to be all that. But I think that you're going to be able to fill out more competitive rosters at the mid majors at the different places where you know where maybe you're, you've been pulling from the same places over and over again and you're not that those places aren't necessarily getting better. Now you have a new kind of pool to pull from. So I think that's a good thing. Where I think it's going to be really interesting is at the very top of these, these recruiting classes we've got a kid, Gavin McKenna, who is the number one prospect for 2026.
He played for Canada this year as an underager. He's eligible for you know, two more world juniors or three more world Juniors.
He's a guy that, you know, I think he's, he's a late birth date so he would have to return to major junior next year. While he's also probably ready for a new step in college might be that step for him. And if that's the case and you get players like that, you're going to have more high end guys coming in for one and two years at college hockey, which I think is a good thing for the product and it's certainly a good thing for you know, getting, getting more people interested in college hockey. So that is a big part of it as well. There's going to be some pain points though. You know, I think that that's the thing is that with this kind of new era of college athletics there's going to be kind of some back and forth like this. I think that this could potentially negatively impact USHL and other junior leagues that, that players are currently using to use to keep their college eligibility and so that, that could potentially hurt them. And so I think that your pipelines change up a little bit and it could hurt some junior teams. And we've heard about, you know, potential expansion of major junior and all these other things that could potentially be at play. So I think that that's where some of the pain points are going to exist. But I think in this current setup college teams stand to benefit more than anyone else because they will have the largest group of players to choose from.
And I think that that is ultimately going to be, you know, a good thing for fans, a good thing for teams, a good thing for players.
And yeah, I mean, we'll see where it all goes. It's an ever changing landscape, but this is currently, you know, this is a seismic shift in the hockey developmental ladder.
[00:44:05] Speaker B: Can you see some colleges that don't have Division 1 hockey right now or maybe have club teams, maybe start programs maybe out west like ucla, usc, Oregon, or some of the southern states like Alabama, Georgia? I know some of those have club teams or even the Midwest like Illinois.
[00:44:24] Speaker A: Well, you know, I think while I certainly would love to see that, I'm, I'm pretty skeptical it's going to happen. The main reason being is that there's so much now, so many more challenges to running football and basketball teams with NLI and everything else that, that, that, that everything or nil and everything else that is kind of coming into, into play and that you have to be more competitive at those in order to, you know, to fix your bottom line. So I think that while this actually does increase the likelihood of teams considering adding because there is a chance to become more competitive more quickly at some of these bigger schools, I think they'll be tempted by it. But I really do think that for the same reasons that, you know, when we talked about Illinois adding hockey, Covid kind of happens lots of changes in college athletics. All of a sudden they have to put more money towards football and basketball in order to stay competitive in the Big Ten. And then all that money that was earmarked for hockey is now gone. So, you know, that's, that's the thing that I think will continue to, to change things now. If football and basketball break off and form their own thing and all of a sudden the NCAA is, you know, its own thing, well, then hockey might end up benefiting from that. I don't really know. It's kind of. It's tough to say exactly what will all happen here, but I think that while the player pool is going to widen, I think that it'll probably be a few years off before we even think about adding more teams.
[00:45:57] Speaker B: So where can people find you on social media these days, Chris?
[00:46:01] Speaker A: Yeah, well, I'm still, still kicking around on X at Chris M. Peters. You know, I'm on Blue sky and, and all that stuff too. And, but I, you know, the best, the best ways to, to see what I'm doing is, is to go to flow hockey TV and certainly on at FLO hockey for all of our social platforms and we had a lot of great coverage of the world juniors this year. And there's, there's a little bit more to come. I have a few more things to kind of put a bow on all of our coverage in the coming week here. But, but, yeah, but I mean, it's been a blast and certainly a lot of great hockey happening across the country and at the college level and below. And I've been really happy to be able to cover it for as long as I have. So hopefully we'll, we'll keep it up over there at Flow Hawk.
[00:46:42] Speaker B: Well, Chris, I'll make sure not to go three years between having you on the podcast. I appreciate your talk talking about this. You're a great expert on hockey and enjoy your work and appreciate you coming on and then have a happy and healthy 2025.
[00:46:57] Speaker A: Yeah, same to you, Ken. Thanks so much for having me. It's always a pleasure to talk to you.
[00:47:01] Speaker B: All right, that's Chris Peters. We're back to wrap up the podcast and have the latest winner in the delegates because that's you. Pick a football contest in just a moment.
Where do my friends and other students find their voice?
We find our voice through the performing arts along with millions of other high school students by expressing yourself in a role on stage, through an instrument or at the debate podium. The performing arts give us freedom to find ourselves, to find our place. The stage is where I can play, perform and compete with my friends.
[00:48:10] Speaker F: Performing arts at your school is where creativity meets courage.
Encourage the students in your life to find their voice through the performing arts.
This message presented by the NFHS where.
[00:48:26] Speaker A: We encourage all students to play, perform and compete together.
[00:48:34] Speaker B: Hey pro football fans, it's time again to match witch with other pro football fans and win a prize by playing the Daily Gazette's U Pick'em football contest. To play, go to dailygazetteprofootball.upickem.net and make your picks before the first game kicks off each week. If you have the most weekly points, you win a $100 Hannaford gift card. Play the Daily Gazette's U Pick a football contest today.
[00:49:00] Speaker A: Hi, this is Army West Point hockey head coach Brian Riley. You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast with Daily Gazette sports editor Ken Schott.
[00:49:10] Speaker B: Back to wrap up the podcast, the Week 18 winner in the Daily Gazette's U Pick Em football contest was Edward Printy of co host with a 133 record. Edward wins $100 Hannaford gift card. Congratulations, Edward. The VIP winner was my Gazette colleague Adam Schinder, who went 12 4. He is 193 and 79 on the season. I went 106 to improve to 197 and 75. I shared the regular season title with Scott Hudson of Emirates. I'll announce the U Pick a football contest winner's name and that winner's name will appear in Thursday's Daily Gazette. To play, go to dailygazette.com and click on the youe Pick and Football Banner. We're making picks in the NFL playoffs.
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. Don't forget to download the Daily Gazette app and sign up for our E Edition so you never miss a headline. Subscribe today at www.dailygazette.com. we have a lot of great specials going on. When credibility matters, trust the Daily Gazette. That wraps up another edition of the Parting Shots podcast. I want to thank members of the union, men's and women's hockey teams and Chris Peters for being a part of the show. If you have questions or comments about the podcast, email them to me at shot. That's s c h o t
[email protected] follow me on X Threads and bluesky at Slap Shots 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 Schottz. Thanks for listening and I'll catch you next time from the Parting Shots Podcast studio in Schenectady, New York. Good day, good hockey and we remember Peter Yarrow of the 1960s folk group Peter, Paul and Mary, who passed away Tuesday at the age of 86. They had hits with if I Had a Hammer, bob Dylan's Blowing in the Wind, I dig rock and roll music and the John Denver pen leaving on a jet plane, but the group's biggest and most controversial hit was Puff the Magic Dragon. Many thought it was a song about drugs. Yarrow, who wrote the song, always denied that. Here is a snippet of Puff the Magic Dragon. Rest in Peace, Peter.
[00:51:32] Speaker J: Puff the Magic Dragon lived by the sea and frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honoli.
Little Jackie Paper loved that rascal Pup and brought him strings and ceiling wax and other fancy stuff. O Pup, the magic Dragon lived by the sea and frolicked in the autumn mist In a land called Hanalee?
Pup, the magic dragon Live by the sea and frolicked in the the Ottoman in a land called Hanalee?
Together they would travel On a boat with billowed sail?
Jackie kept a lookout Perched on Puff's gigantic tail?
Noble kings and princes would bow whene'er they came?
Pirate ships would lower their flags When Puff roared out his name? O Puff the magic dragon Lived by the sea and frolicked in the autumn mist In a land called Hanalee?
Up the magic dragon lived by the sea and frolicked in the autumn mist In a land called Hanalei A dragon lives forever but not so little boys.
Painted wings and giant springs make way for other toys.
One gray night it happened. Checking paper.
[00:54:02] Speaker B: Sa.
