Leftovers

Our men's season preview ran today.

Here are some additional things said that I didn't have room for in the article:

I talked to Phil Paquet about his improvement in taking less penalties. He had 63 penalties minutes last year after picking up numbers in the 100's his first two years. He missed some time with an injury last year, but did show improvement in getting less 'majors' than in the past. Here was what he said when I asked him if any one person had helped him in that area:
"George (Roll) really helped me with that. He was patient with me, especially my freshman year. I had a lot of penalties that were emotionally tough. Sometimes at practice we'd practice stuff and he'd tell me, "Don't go in there too aggressive". Sometimes he'd be talking about a penalty I had the day before, or maybe on a Monday come back to the rink and go over video."

I also asked Paquet if he thinks some penalties may be given based on a reputation built up from the first two years:
"I think by now it could be reputation, they kind of know you. It's your own risk if you go in the corner with me. But I don't feel in college hockey, in general, you can really intimidate players. I can't drop my gloves. My intention is never to be an intimidating factor. I am, through my play, but it's not my intention."

As for Mason, I asked him what type of leader he would be and if he had any good role models to learn from:
"I just want to try and lead by example. I don't put a lot of faith in people who say one thing and do another. I want to earn the respect from my teammates by working hard each day and trying to better myself on and off the ice. Nick Dodge and Chris Brekelmans were each very different types of captains. Nick was by example and Breks wasn't afraid to put you in your place. I want to try and pull the best out of my teammates and ultimately get the most out of our team. There will be times to step up and say something and other times to go out and get the job done on the ice to try and make a statement that way."

I also asked Mason about what makes Clarkson's defensive unit so successful:
"I think our coaches have done a great job bringing in guys who are willing to learn and have good character. Specifically on defense the traits that have made us so successful are our size and our speed. Our team is filled with D who have great skating ability and I think it has a lot to do with our system play."