A late weekly recruit update what with the Tuesday game and all.

Kenny Gillespie – RW – Omaha Lancers (USHL) – 2012
10 GP / 1 G / 3 A / 4 Pts / 23 PIM / +2
Gillespie had an assist in three games for the lancers this past week.

Willy Smith – LW – Springfield Pics (EJHL) – 2014
11 GP / 1 G / 1 A / 2 Pts / 9 PIM
Smith was kept off the board in a couple games for the Pics this week.

Shane Walsh – LW – Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL) – 2012
15 GP / 5 G / 6 A / 11 Pts / 0 PIM / -4
Walsh continues to put up points for the Saints, scoring a goal and adding an assist in three games this week.

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Here is Dick Baker’s recap of last night’s game.  Obviously one of the major storylines is the fact that Mike Pereira and Adam Phillips were healthy scratches for the game.  Phillips has flat out looked gassed in the last few games, so I’m honestly not sure if it was more to make a point or to just give the kid a night off.  With Pereira, the quotes from Toot Cahoon suggests that he benched him because he’s not doing enough in the “other facets” of the game besides offense.  Honestly, he has a point.  For all of Pereira’s offensive prowess, he too often is unseen on the defensive end.  I don’t want to pile on Pereira, because he’s a great player who I watch playing. But it says something that he’s 1st on the team in goals with 8 but tied at 6th with a plus/minus rating of +1.  Meanwhile, T.J. Syner, Conor Sheary, and Steven Guzzo are all +4 or better.  He absolutely has to get better defensively.  But, from my limited exposure to him, Pereira seems like a smart and very level-headed person.  He genuinely seems like the type of player who will absorb the moment, learn from it, and move on from it for the better.  For those who may criticize Cahoon for benching his leading goalscorer for this game, I disagree.  Too often in the past few years when the team was in one of it’s annual swoons the rumors has been of a “inmates running the asylum” mentality surrounding the team.  Too often you’ve heard that the coaching staff has coddled the team.  Obviously that didn’t work.  Well, that’s not happening now, is it?  I’m sure with Pereira in the stands the message has been gotten across.  As for the charges that he benched his star player for these “key” Hockey East points, come on.  The team was playing Vermont.  If they couldn’t win without Pereira against Vermont it just showed there are much bigger problems with this team.  Which exactly seems to be the case.  Listen, I’m not happy with the performance of the team recently and the coaching staff shoulders a lot of that responsibility, but I won’t criticize Cahoon for not waiting for a more convenient time to send a message to the players.  Don’t give it your best offensively and defensively and you’ll be in the stands in a shirt and tie.

Seriously I don’t want to pile on Pereira, because he’s a great player who I watch playing.  But it says something that he’s 1st on the team in goals with 8 but tied at 6th with a plus/minus rating of +1.  Meanwhile, T.J. Syner, Conor Sheary, and Steven Guzzo are all +4 or better.

Here’s how yesterday looked from the Catamount viewpoint.

Lastly on the Catamounts, they’ve unveiled the retro jerseys they’ll be wearing for the game against UMass at Fenway.  It’s still unknown if UMass will be wearing special jerseys for the occasion, though Toot did openly ponder the idea at this summer’s press conference announcing the event.  Hmm, if only there was some kind of old school, unique to UMass, jersey design that they could wear for the game and that would be instantly recognizable to the hardcore fanbase that go to a certain blog, named after just such a jersey design, for their UMass hockey information.  Oh well.  I’m sure they’ll come up with something.

UMass drops to 9th in the College Hockey News Hockey East power rankings.

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With tomorrow’s holiday, let me wish all you FTT readers a Happy Thanksgiving.  I hope you’re able to spend it with the family and friends who make your lives more enjoyable as I will be.