Love-Hate

St. Lawrence-Clarkson Battle Was Everything You Could Ask For

by Joshua Seguin/Staff Writer

For the ECAC, as a league, it had already won when its quarterfinal matchups lined up and were announced. One of the two North Country teams would be playing in the league final four in Lake Placid, just over an hour and a half from both schools.

Just when the conference tournaments didn't need to be any more exciting, one of the forgotten 'big' rivalries in the country got underway between Clarkson and St. Lawrence in the North Country on Friday.

"It was a good environment," Clarkson coach Casey Jones said. "Our players had been looking forward to it all week."

"This rivalry is arguably on of the best in college hockey, if not in all of college sports," Clarkson captain Paul Geiger said. "It is very easy to get up for a game like this and we are very fortunate to be able to play in a series like this."

The two schools are separated by just 11 miles and have played each other regularly, but none recently as meaningful as last weekend's quarterfinal series. It was a blast from the past into a rivalry that is up there with the best of them. It also marked the first time since 2010 the two schools met in the ECAC tournament.

"I thought our team handled the emotion of the series well," SLU coach Greg Carvel said. "We talked about when we play a series, it isn't just one night. We just have to continue our gameplan and win battles all series."

Both schools have dipped in recent years, but both teams are again on the ups. St. Lawrence made the ECAC final four last season and will make its second appearance in a row next weekend. It last won the ECAC tournament in 2001, one year after going to the Frozen Four. Clarkson, has not made it to the championship weekend, since it won its last title in 2007. Its last Frozen Four appearance was 1991.

The crowds arrived early both nights, as the mob outside the building waiting to get inside grew. It grew so large, that it wrapped around the building. Sweaters of both teams, mostly SLU, could be seen outside in a rather warm weekend for this part of the Northeast.

"It was good, every time we play Clarkson it is huge," St. Lawrence captain Brian Ward, who scored Friday's OT winner, said. "Then we added the playoffs and the whiteout, it was amazing. They bring their band too, which ups the noise. It is just so much fun to play in front of pretty much the whole student body."



As soon as the teams entered the ice for warmups, it was loud. When the teams entered for introductions it was louder and the anthems was sung by all fans, making for a festive hockey environment. Then the chants started, as the puck dropped and both teams were well represented. the environment just got bigger, and better. Festive is a good word because any good hockey crowd is as such.

"The atmosphere is pretty cool because this is a pretty big rivalry," SLU freshman Jacob Pritchard said. "It was pretty nerve-wracking at first, I was shaking in warmups but it ended up to be pretty fun."

At the end of the day, though, both teams were vying for a spot in the league semifinals.

"I think the rivalry gets trumped by the playoffs," Carvel said. "Now you are playing to keep playing. When you are in a rivalry game, it is great because you want to win, but this is the playoffs you want to win because you want to win.

"It is great to have a full building and great to have the rivalry. People around town will get emotional about it, but I think for me and Casey (Jones) we just want to keep winning hockey games. It made for a great atmosphere."

The action, passion and environment is why players play college hockey. St. Lawrence's Appelton Arena is a special place and once again it proved its might on this weekend. It might be small, but it also makes for a cozy, loud building.

Ultimately St Lawrence won the series and will play an hour and a half down the road in Lake Placid, where it will be the de-facto home team much like it was last season falling in the semifinals to Colgate in overtime. Last year we should remember, Harvard used its quarterfinal series win against its rival Yale as momentum as it went on to the title as a six seed.

"I agree that it was big because it wasn't just playoff games for us, it was rivalry games," Carvel said. "They really played tough and it really brought the best out of us and we saw success. I really liked the fact that we had to play a series like that, which was very demanding. We are as healthy as we have been all year long."

This series, despite a SLU sweep, couldn't have been closer. Both games went to overtime. Both teams had its moments where one team was better and in Saturday night's thrilling closing game, SLU needed a goal from Gavin Bayreuther to win it. Both games, could have easily gone the other way and it could be Golden Knights fans getting excited for the final weekend of the ECAC season.

"Words can't describe what this meant, it is a dream come true being able to knock off Clarkson," SLU junior Gavin Bayreuther told the Watertown Daily Times. "You dream when you come to play here, that you will play Clarkson and especially here at Appelton. It was just a fun experience."

The Saints and Golden Knights are similar hockey teams in style and split the regular season series. Just like the league, fans won when these teams played. It probably was two of the better games the fans of either of these teams have seen in many years. Something says it could be on a bigger stage in the league soon enough and that SLU might just use the experience to its advantage this weekend.