I took in both games Laurier played this week: a 7-3 loss to Waterloo and a 4-2 win over Western.
Laurier looked really rusty against Waterloo. It was great to see Chris Festarini get the start in net after missing every game last year due to concussion issues. However, after an almost 2 year layoff, no one was more rusty than him. The team's play was disorganized and did not help, but he was credited with 5 goals on 16 shots through the first 2 periods to give Waterloo a 5-0 lead going into the third despite shots being around 16-11 (although I do not think the shot stats were quite correct). With some game experience, the coaching staff is likely hoping the former Niagara Icedogs starter regains his junior form that saw him invited to the Montreal Canadiens and Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) camps. Vinny Merante came in for the 3rd and was beaten twice. Waterloo seemed in mid-season form. Their defence boasts strong players like Moffat, Silas and Wind, and their forwards outworked Laurier's and really seemed to click. They were well deserving of the win.
Laurier looked better against Western, with likely #1 goaltender Colin Furlong getting the start and playing 30 minutes of shutout hockey before Festarini came in for the second half. The question mark for Laurier will be whether any players come out of that game with sustained injuries. Western seemed frustrated and had a number of hits from behind, to the head and after whistles. Laurier defenceman Alex Adams was head-checked by Sean Callaghan seconds after scoring the opening goal and appeared very concussed (he did not return). Recent recruit Brandon Robinson was later hit from behind in the second and did not return. Without a lineup card, it was hard to determine how much of Western's regular lineup was playing. Greg Dodds started in net.
Overall, Laurier had strong performances from returning players Derek Schoenmakers and Christian Mroczkowski (top 2 scorers from last season). Newcomer Jimmy Soper was a stand-out in both games as was Braydon Blight for his physical play. "Bluechip" recruits Andrew Fritsch and Brandon Robinson were fairly silent so far. The biggest question mark on the team is likely on the blue-line, as each game thus far has featured 4 first year defencemen in the lineup. I think as the season moves along, Laurier's success will be tied in to how well newcomers Annecchiarico (lock), Blight (lock), D'Oliveira, Leclerc and Hetherington fit in with returning defencemen Franczyk, Clutsam and Adams. In goal, Laurier has 3 goaltenders who likely want to establish themselves as a starter. It will likely be a challenge to get each the playing time to keep them sharp and ready to go. However, if the goal is to win that particular night only, then I would expect it would be hard to not start Colin Furlong for a large percentage of games. He looked sharp against Western, picking up where he left off from last season where he posted an impressive 0.921% through 16 games, very respectable for a 7th placed team.
Next weekend brings a challenge with Laurier facing 2 AUS teams (SMU and DAL) in Halifax. A win in either is unexpected, and the game against SMU could be quite lopsided given SMU's record against top teams like McGill/UQTR etc. who typically vastly outplay Laurier. The team has picked a tough exhibition schedule with Waterloo, Western, 2 AUS schools and an NCAA opponent in Ohio State. The team should be well battle tested for the beginning of the regular season.