Hockey: Rats struggle, IceHawks split

October is here and hockey season begins.

The Albany River Rats were looking to rebound from a disappointing 2000-2001 season that saw them miss the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. It also saw a nearly-historic mark in futility when they lost fifteen straight games between mid-October and mid-November.

This season, the Rats looked to start things off a little differently, but new coach Bobby Carpenter has seen his team lose four games, including two overtime losses.

Many of the Rats are young and relatively inexperienced, including goaltender Ari Ahonen, who is the Devils' latest top prospect. In two games this season, Ahonen has lost both appearances, but has a 2.53 GAA with a save percentage of .925.

The problem doesn't lie in the goaltending, but in the defense. Again, a young and inexperienced team is going to struggle and this unit is no exception, allowing 123 shots in four games.

The team received some bad news last Monday when it was learned captain Sylvain Cloutier suffered a knee injury in the home opener against Hartford when he was checked into a door. He'll be out six weeks due to a torn MCL and a partially torn ACL.

In this past weekend's games, the Rats blew a 3-1 lead in the third period against Springfield to lose in overtime, 4-3, and then were shut out in a 2-0 loss at Bridgeport on Sunday afternoon.

The Rats host Norfolk on Wednesday night, Portland on Friday night, and travel to Worcester on Saturday.

Up north, the Adirondack IceHawks began their 2001-2002 season on the road against rival Broome County this past Friday night. Their season began with a loss to the Icemen by a 4-1 score. Icemen goaltender Bryan Schoen was rock solid for the home side, saving 27 out of 28 shots to defeat the IceHawks. David Insalaco scored the lone goal 6:44 into the third period. But David Voltera scored two empty net goals to seal the victory for the Icemen.

The next night, the IceHawks rebounded from the previous night's loss to defeat New Haven, 4-1. Rookie enforcer Jason Bone surprised the Knights with a goal only 2:32 into the game. Tom Menicci tied the game only five minutes later. But in the second, the IceHawks took over; Insalaco continued his surprising scoring touch with his second goal of the season a little less than four minutes into the second period. With 8:54 remaining in the second, defenseman Marc Busenburg added to the scoring with a goal of his own to make the score 3-1. Sylvain Deschalets concluded all scoring near the midpoint of the third period with his first goal of the season to make the final score 4-1.

The IceHawks begin their home stand on Friday night when they host Knoxville in the home opener. They won't play for another week when they host BC on the 26th and Muskegon on the 27th.

In the college scene, Rensselaer and Union College began their seasons respectively this weekend on the road.

Rensselaer began their 2001-2002 campaign with a trip to Boston to face the Boston University Terriers. The Terriers jumped on the Engineers early and often, building a 6-1 lead by 2:58 of the third period. This frustrated the Engineers so much that one of their defensemen, Scott Basiuk, was kicked out for fighting. After he left, the Engineers woke up, scoring four times in the third period. Cohoes native Marc Cavosie sparked the comeback with a shorthanded goal midway through the third. Ryan Shields then added a goal of his own, and then Matt Murley scored with only 4:05 remaining. Cavosie completed the hat trick with only 57 seconds remaining in the game. The Engineers nearly sent the game into overtime, but Shields' shot from eight feet out hit the post as time expired.

The Union College Flying Dutchmen also started their season on the road, albeit a little more out west, as they faced the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. The Dutchmen swept the two-game set with victories of 2-1 and 7-4. Thursday's 2-1 win was a defensive exhibition, but Randy Dagenais and Jeff Hutchins each scored in the second to win the game for the Dutchmen. Brandon Snee made 28 saves, his only blemish coming with 51 seconds remaining. Things opened up a little bit more the next night as Union won 7-4. Nathan Gillies scored a goal and notched two assists for the Dutchmen, while Randy Dagenais added his second of the season with the game-winning goal on a power play midway through the third period.

Rensselaer will host nationally ranked New Hampshire on Saturday night, while Union will not play again until October 26th at Merrimack.

Skidmore College begins their fourth season in the ECAC East on November 16th against Middlebury College. The Thoroughbreds are looking to improve on an 8-14-2 record from 2000-2001. Their 5-10-2 mark saw them finish fifth in the league as they lost to Babson in the opening round of the ECAC East playoffs. Nevertheless, head coach Paul Dion is looking to lead the team to a better place in the standings this season. One of the key returns is junior Conor McDavitt, who scored nine goals and sixteen assists last season to lead all Skidmore players in scoring.