Saints Try to Regain Appleton Magic

The following article appeared in the February 7 issue of the Watertown Daily Times.

By Max DelSignore
Times Sportswriter

The St. Lawrence University men's hockey team can still feel the mystique inside Appleton Arena remains even as it struggles to record wins at home.

Every day, Saints junior captain Shawn Fensel walks down the narrow corridor that leads to the locker room, and he sees the pictures of the program's All-Americans and past NHL players, hoping someday to reach that pinnacle in his career.

St. Lawrence coach Joe Marsh respects Appleton Arena like it's a family heirloom. The arena was built in 1951, which was the year he was born. The helmet he straps on for each practice has the No. 51 on the back to recognize both facts. Appleton also brings him back to his youth. Marsh said it's similar to the "classic, old Canadian-style rinks" he competed on as an aspiring player.

The surrounding aesthetics, infectious atmosphere, and antiqued style have made Appleton Arena historically one of the toughest places for ECAC opponents.

So how has SLU earned just one conference win at home this season?

The Saints bring a 1-5-1 mark at home in conference play into this weekend's crucial series with Colgate and Cornell. They are 3-7-2 overall at Appleton, including two wins against Clarkson.

But the Golden Knights are no longer on the regular-season schedule, and with only four home games remaining, St. Lawrence needs to use every bit of its home-ice advantage to crawl out of ninth place in the conference standings and begin its playoff push.

"It's been tough because we pride ourselves, and the coaching staff especially, on being good at home," said Mike McKenzie, a sophomore wing. "This year, it's been more of a struggle."

Opponents rarely left Canton with a win last season. SLU went 14-4 at home, including a sparkling 10-1 record in conference games. But McKenzie believes the mentality has changed.

"Teams aren't fearing it as much as they did last year," McKenzie said. "They'd come on the ice, and it'd be in their heads a little that it was a hard place to play and a tough environment."

The Saints must recapture their psychological edge by winning at home. Marsh said his team "played like men" following their 4-4 tie at Niagara on Saturday, but they need to start turning close games and ties into wins.

McKenzie knows at least one influential factor will be there to ignite the team's spirit on Friday. He can't wait to see the fans clad in scarlet and brown, sitting in the numbered wooden bleachers at Appleton Arena. It's one of the major reasons why he came to St. Lawrence.

"Without them, I don't think the rink would look or sound as good on game day," McKenzie said. "So, we owe it to them."

SOLID RETURN FOR PESONY

Once he skated onto the ice at Dwyer Arena on Saturday at Niagara, Justin Pesony felt like an integral part of the team again.

Pesony, a native of Edmonton, Alberta, made his first start in goal for SLU since Oct. 26 and helped the Saints forge a tie with the Purple Eagles. The Saints' senior captain had missed the past nine weeks with a high left ankle sprain.

"It's just unbelievable," Pesony said. "Just to be on the road with the guys, get that opportunity again, it's such a rush playing. When you get that feeling back, it makes you realize why you put in all the hours."

"It validates his leadership to this team," Marsh said. "He's a great captain and leader. He's a kid that everybody, and I mean everybody, including the coaches ... we look up to this kid."

Pesony admitted that his performance was average after allowing four goals on 20 shots. He's made three starts this season, and he provided 58 seconds of relief in St. Lawrence's loss at Cornell on Jan. 18. But he believes he'll regain his game with more repetitions in practice.

Pesony's return also fogs up the goalie picture for Marsh, who now has four available goaltenders. Marsh said he's hedging toward starting John Hallas in Friday's matchup with Colgate. Hallas was handed a tough loss in his last start, a 3-1 defeat to Union on Jan. 25, which saw the graduate student make 32 saves.

"I don't really think we have a rotation," Marsh said. "With eight games left, I'm just going to see if we can find a hot hand."

AROUND APPLETON ...

Associate head coachChris Wells said that while St. Lawrence's hockey alumni weekend begins Friday, he'd like to see SLU and Clarkson collaborate on a bigger alumni weekend in the future in order to attract more alumni and increase participation in the community. However, he said no preliminary plans are in the works. ... The Saints kickoff their alumni festivities with an informal gathering following their game with Colgate on Friday night. St. Lawrence will hold a coffee hour at 10 a.m. and a family skate at 1 p.m. on Saturday. It will be followed by an alumni game at 2 p.m. Alumni in attendance will also be introduced to the crowd between the first and second periods of Saturday's game against Cornell.