Four-tunate Night Draws Notice

The following article appeared in the November 15 issue of The Watertown Daily Times.

By Cap Carey
Watertown Daily Times 

POTSDAM - When Brownville native Tim Marks picked up a hat trick against Dartmouth on Nov. 3, Steve Zalewski was impressed, commenting that it's not something you see too often.

But Zalewski, a senior from New Hartford, one-upped his linemate last weekend he scored four consecutive goals in Clarkson's 6-2 victory at Princeton.

Zalewski was named ECAC Hockey's Player of the Week after his performance.

"I did it in high school, but it doesn't really compare to this," Zalewski said of the four goals. "It was a lot of fun really."

With Marks getting three goals on Nov. 3, and Zalewski picking up four last weekend, a joke circulating around campus this week is whether the other member of the line - Matt Beca - is due for a five-goal game this Saturday.

"We've been playing well together and everyone's been clicking," Zalewski said.

One of Clarkson's assistant captains, Zalewski doesn't play a flashy game and isn't the type of player who wants to draw a lot of attention to himself. But he's been a steady performer for the Golden Knights almost since his arrival on campus.

He led a talented freshman class in scoring with 12 goals and seven assists as a freshman and added nine goals and 13 assists as a sophomore. Last year he finished with 16 goals and 18 assists and he's leading the team in scoring this season with seven goals and three assists.

"That was impressive," junior Shea Guthrie said of the four-goal effort. "It's just a matter of time with a guy who has a shot like that. I know he could do it every game. He's a great player and that was pretty cool to watch."

Zalewski, a fifth-round pick of the NHL's San Jose Sharks in 2004, was the New York state Division II Player of the Year in 2003 and spent one year at Lake Placid's Northwood Prep School before coming to Clarkson. He scored the game-winning goal in last year's ECAC Hockey Tournament semifinal against Dartmouth with 41 seconds left in regulation.

GOOD NEWS FOR PAQUET

After missing the first six games of the season with a knee injury, Clarkson junior defenseman Phil Paquet thought he might miss another large chunk of games after he suffered another knee injury last Friday against Quinnipiac.

A native of Quebec City, Paquet was making a play behind Clarkson's net when he banged knees with a Bobcat player. He went on to miss Saturday's game against Princeton.

"I was trying to hit the guy and there was big impact," Paquet said. "It hurt as much as my (first) injury, so I thought it was worse, or just as bad as the first injury. I couldn't walk for a couple days and (then) it got a lot better."

Paquet turned out to suffer just a bone bruise and he was practicing on Tuesday. He expects to play this weekend.

"I'm relieved," Paquet said. "I didn't think about (the first injury) last weekend, but I probably will this weekend. I'll probably be a little more careful, especially with my physical play."

ROLL GETS NO. 200

Saturday's win over the Tigers was the 200th in Clarkson coach George Roll's career, which began in 1996-97 at SUNY Oswego.

Roll, who now has a career mark of 200-144-32, spent seven years coaching the NCAA Division III Lakers, leading the team to the Division III national championship game in 2003.

He's been at Clarkson for four-plus seasons and is now 81-70-16 with the Golden Knights. He was given a game puck by senior assistant captain Grant Clitsome after Saturday's game.

"I've been blessed to have great guys to work with and they are a big part of the reason why," Roll said. "After the game, Grant kept the puck, which was a nice touch on his part."

This is the first year where every player on the Clarkson roster has been recruited by Roll and assistants Greg Drechsel and Jean-Francois Houle.

"It was nice to be part of it," Zalewski said. "He's pretty laid back. He's down to earth and approachable about everything. He's a pretty good player's coach."

Said Guthrie, "It was awesome. I didn't realize until after it happened. He's done great things for Clarkson. Congratulations to him."

LINE CHANGE

Prior to Saturday's game against Princeton, Roll decided to move Guthrie up to a line with seniors David Cayer and Nick Dodge and he had freshman Scott Freeman play on a line with junior Chris D'Alvise and freshman Lauri Tuohimaa.

Guthrie wound up picking up one goal and one assist, and Freeman scored his first career goal Saturday.

"They're good players is what it comes down to," Roll said. "We just wanted to get a little bit more of a physical presence on Nick's line. Scotty has played awfully well. I think with Shea's size and strength down low it helped that line."

Guthrie had worked well with D'Alvise, having played with him so long the two almost know where the other will be on the ice.

"None of those guys play like Chris," Guthrie said. "They are good players, but a lot different. It was a bit of an adjustment, but when you play with good players it's not hard to pick it up and learn how to play with them. They can take passes and give passes."