Clarkson Duo Named to USA Olympic Hockey Team
Former ECAC Hockey League All-Americas and current National Hockey League standouts Erik Cole and Craig Conroy from Clarkson University have been named to the 2006 United States Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team which will participate in the XX Olympic Winter Games to be held February 10-26 in Torino, Italy.
Aaron Miller of former league member Vermont also earned a spot on the roster. Miller was an ECACHL First-Team selection and a Second-Team All-American in 1992-93 with the Catamounts.
USA Hockey announced the 23-player roster for the 2006 U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team on Monday, during a National Hockey League broadcast on OLN.
Both Cole and Conroy, who will be making their Olympic debuts,
have seen previous action with USA squads in international
competition. Cole made his second appearance for the U.S. in
international play when he skated for the National Team in the 2005
International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship on April 30
- May 15 in Innsbruck and Vienna, Austria. He also participated
with the 1998 U.S. National Junior Team. Conroy skated with Team
USA in the World Cup of Hockey 2004.
A left wing from Oswego, N.Y., Cole is on track to post career highs in goals, assists and points for the Carolina Hurricanes this season. Through 32 games, Cole, 27, has recorded nine goals and 16 assists for 25 points to help lead a surging Carolina team to the top of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference.
Conroy's impressive play this season for the Los Angeles Kings put
him on the Team USA radar. A native of Potsdam, NY, Conroy, 34,
agreed to terms on a four-year contract with the Kings in the
summer of 2004 after helping to lead the Calgary Flames to Game 7
of the 2004 Stanley Cup finals. Through 34 games this season,
Conroy has recorded 32 points on 12 goals and 20 assists along with
posting a plus/minus rating of +18. Conroy earned NHL.com Three
Stars of the Night honors after scoring one goal and two assists in
LA's 4-1 win over Phoenix on December 17.
A 1999 All-America at Clarkson, Cole played three seasons for the Golden Knights and averaged a point a game with 52 goals and 51 assists through 103 career games from 1997-2000. Cole left Clarkson after his junior season to pursue a professional career. From 2001-04, Cole skated in 214 NHL games with Carolina and recorded 48 goals and 61 assists. He helped to lead the Hurricanes to the 2002 Stanley Cup finals.
During the NHL lockout last season, Cole helped Berlin Eisbären captured their first-ever DEL Championship this past April. He had a two-goal performance in the championship game and was named DEL Playoff MVP as Berlin Eisbären claimed the German title.
Conroy played for the Golden Knights from 1990-94. Among the most honored forwards in Clarkson's storied history, he was runner-up for college hockey's most prestigious honor, the Hobey Baker Award in 1994. An exceptional all-around player with great offensive skills, Conroy finished his collegiate career with 167 points on 63 goals and 104 assists through 140 games.
Conroy has made a big impact for Los Angeles in the first season after the lockout centering the Kings' top line. Los Angeles, which features two prominent Clarkson graduates in the front office - General Manager Dave Taylor '77, the Knights' all-time leading scorer, and Director of Player Personnel Bill O'Flaherty '71, a former Clarkson player, coach and athletic director - has been a surprise team in the NHL enjoying one of the best records in the Western Conference throughout the 2005 portion of the schedule.
Conroy, a two-time finalist for the Selke Trophy (1998 and 2002), which is awarded to the best defensive forward in the league, enjoyed a breakout season with the Flames during the 2001-02 season when he registered a career-high in goals with 27, assists with 48, points with 75 and plus/minus with a plus-24 rating. His 75 points were tied for 12th best in the NHL and his 48 assists were ninth best. He also had the NHL's greatest point improvement from the previous season (plus-43).
Originally selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the sixth-round (123rd overall) of the 1990 NHL Entry Draft, Conroy, prior to the start of the 2005-06 campaign, had appeared in 609 career regular season NHL games with the Flames, St. Louis Blues and Canadiens, recording 340 points (118-222=340) and 337 penalty minutes. In 62 career NHL post-season games, he has 25 points (9-16=17) and 36 penalty minutes.
Team USA's roster features six players born in New York, including Cole and Conroy, five born in Michigan and three each born in Minnesota and Massachusetts ... From a collegiate standpoint, both Boston University and Lake Superior State University have three former players on Team USA, while Clarkson University, Boston College, and the University of Wisconsin all have two.
The U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team will begin its quest for gold on Feb. 15 when it takes on Latvia at 3 p.m. EST. The Americans will be seeking their first gold medal since 1980. They took the silver medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics at Salt Lake City. The United States has won the hockey silver medal six other times and the bronze medal once.
Cole and Conroy will join an illustrious group of other Golden Knights, who have represented their country in the Olympics. Tom Hurley, a native of Massena, NY, played for the USA team at the 1968 Olympics Games in Grenoble, France. Liverpool, NY native Dave Tretowicz skated in the 1992 Games in Meribel, France for the USA and Todd Marchant was with the USA team at the 1994 Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway. Guillaume Besse, from Louviers, France, played for France in the 2002 Olympics held in Salt Lake City, Utah.
2006 USA Men's Olympic Hockey Team
Goalies: Rick DiPietro (Boston University), Robert Esche, John Grahame (Lake Superior State)
Defense: Chris Chelios (Wisconsin), Derian Hatcher, Jordan Leopold (Minnesota), John-Michael Liles (Michigan State), Aaron Miller (Vermont), Brian Rafalski (Wisconsin), Mathieu Schneider
Forwards: Jason Blake (North Dakota), Erik Cole (Clarkson), Craig Conroy (Clarkson), Chris Drury (Boston University), Brian Gionta (Boston College), Scott Gomez, Bill Guerin (Boston College), Mike Knuble (Michigan), Mike Modano, Mark Parrish (St. Cloud State), Brian Rolston (Lake Superior State), Keith Tkachuk (Boston University), Doug Weight (Lake Superior State).
