Earlier in the week with voting going on for the UMass All-Decade team on the Hockey East website I reiterated my personal picks for the slots.  FTT reader George recently asked in a comment what my picks would be if there were a 2nd team.  Here we go:

F  – Chris Capraro
F  – Cory Quirk
F  – Tim Turner
D – Marvin Degon
D – Mike Kostka
G – Gabe Winer

The picks for forward were pretty straightforward.  Chris Capraro gets the nod over P.J. Fenton for his ability to score clutch goals.  Matt Anderson is hurt by the games he lost to injury, otherwise he may be on this list over Quirk.  The second spot at defense was tough because Nick Kuiper could easily be there.  I went with Kostka because of his solid two-way game and the fact that he was 2nd team All-Hockey East.  I readily admit that Mark Matheson gets completely screwed in this evaluation.  He belongs somewhere on this list but because he was such a versatile player who split time at both defense and forward, I have no idea where to put him, especially at the expense of one of these other players.  Obviously Hockey East had the same problem as they didn’t put him on the All-Decade ballot.

Another reader asked what my Hockey East All-Decade team would be.  Look for those picks sometime soon.

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Well UMass wakes up this morning now in fourth place after Maine’s come from behind win over UNH moved them into a tie with BC for second.  The Minutemen are four points ahead of Lowell, BU, UVM for the final home ice spot.  Get those rearview mirrors adjusted, they’ll be well-used for the stretch run ahead.  I’m still amazed that Lowell got swept and now finds itself with a fingernail grip on the last Team Under Consideration slot in the pairwise.  With their uneven make up of class years on their roster this is the second cycle in a row where the River Hawks have had an upperclassmen laden team with high expectations completely underperform.  They now have a losing record in Hockey East after being picked to finish second by the coaches.

Another night of sleep away from the debacle that was Friday night’s game gives a little more perspective.  If the team can learn from what transpired then and realize that you cannot take nights, period, or shifts off at this point in the hockey season and it focuses them on the task at hand, then the loss may almost be worth it.  As I wrote in the recap yesterday I’m worried about this team mentally though and their inability to play well in big games.  I really hope it’s not a self-confidence issue as this collection of guys are surely one of the best to put on the maroon and white and have already accomplished much.  I believe that’s why the fans have, maybe somewhat unreasonably, high expectations.  But it’s only because they’ve shown us that when they want to be, they can be the best team on the ice.  Hopefully we see some more of that during the next few weeks.

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The New Haven Register has a lengthy story on Jon Quick this morning that’s well worth reading.  Quick and the Kings beat “old friend” Jimmy Howard and the Red Wings last night 3-2.

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In December I passed along the link to an story ESPN did on Brendan Burke, the openly gay student manager for Miami and son of Toronto GM Brian Burke.  Unfortunately there is now a tragic final chapter to that tale as Brendan lost his life over the weekend on a snowy road in Indiana.  Taken too early, Brendan still showed a lifetime’s worth of courage in his few short years of life.

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