New York Hockey Journal

April 2020 www.nyhockeyjournal.com 15 By Roman J. Uschak HE STAGE WAS SET FOR Clarkson University to defend its ECAC Hockey postseason title, to do some damage in the NCAA tournament, and perhaps finally win its first national men's ice hockey championship. Then it all ended swiftly— and not even on the ice. The novel coronavirus made its way to North American shores in March and caused the postpone- ment or even outright cancellation of professional and collegiate athletic seasons alike, including the ECAC Hockey tournament and then the wintertime NCAA championships. Just like that, Clarkson's 23-8-3 overall record and No. 8 national ranking were written into the record books as final marks, with no real closure to what had been another highly successful season for the Golden Knights. "At the time, you're really disappointed," said Clark- son head coach Casey Jones. "It is what it is, and the reality is that we're past that. "The reality is that it's an uneasy time," he added. "We're trying to work through it, and it's about more than a hockey game." He spoke of setting goals, and working hard to have an opportunity that was eventually lost, but reiterated the disappointment was now in the past. "This is serious," said Jones of the COVID-19 pan- demic that has forced many Americans inside their homes, or into hospitals. "We have to take care and make sure that everyone is OK." There was still much for Clarkson to celebrate about its 2019-20 campaign, even if the promise of postsea- son greatness was cut short. "It was a good year," said Jones. "We thought we would be deep, and we had a good senior class. We felt we could be competitive at the top, and the biggest question was the departure of Jake Kielly." Kielly claimed second-team All-ECAC Hockey League accolades in 2018-19 as Clarkson's undisputed starting netminder. He also won 64 games over his three seasons in Green and Gold, before signing a pro contract with the Vancouver Canucks following a 26- win junior year. Enter graduate transfer Frank Marotte, a three-year NCAA veteran from Robert Morris University. "He was a rock for us back there," said Jones. "The culture we have now, we improve guys year to year, and they buy in as to how we want everyone to play. We got confident with our goaltender, and he was a big piece of the puzzle." Clarkson also bid goodbye sooner than expected to its remaining senior class, some of whom had left school early to play in the pros, such as Kielly. "It's a real good class," said Jones. "They had 90 (as a group), in terms of wins, and that's a good college career. It would have been three straight NCAA tournaments for them, and possibly back-to-back ECAC Hockey title games. They're also really good students, and good in the community, with three guys who signed early with the NHL (Kielly, Sheldon Rempal and Nico Sturm). "It was a really talented class, and a big part of who we are and where we're going," added Jones. Now all that's left this season for the staff are house- keeping issues, taking care of administrative tasks while eyeing a hopeful return to action this autumn. "We'll try to go over our season, prepare for next sea- son, and make sure the guys have a plan," said Jones, who will enter his 10th campaign at Clarkson in the fall. "There are restrictions now for going on the road (for recruiting), but we'll reflect on the season and the (ros- ter) turnover, and work on getting better." M AROTTE played this past season with the Golden Knights as a graduate student, after guiding Robert Morris to 50 wins from 2016 to 2019. All he did in his lone campaign in Potsdam was to fashion a 23-8-3 record (.721) with four shutouts, to go along with a 1.78 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage, all personal career highs. He also backstopped Clarkson to a second-place regular-sea- son finish (16-5-1) in ECAC Hockey behind top-ranked Cornell. Marotte didn't get a chance to possibly help Clark- son to a second straight Whitelaw Cup as ECAC Hock- ey tournament champions, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic that broke out. "It happened so quickly," he said. "It was a shock, and it took some time to wrap your head around it. "Everyone's in the same boat," he added. "You look at the bright side, and the big picture, at the same time." By virtue of finishing among ECAC Hockey's top four teams, the Golden Knights earned a first-round T 'WE WERE' HEARTBROKEN' Continued on Page 16 Jim Meagher/Clarkson Athletics (Brosseau); Steve Jacobs n The boys from Potsdam were poised to make another run for Frozen Four glory. From a grad transfer hoping to latch on to a pro future, to a captain who set the tone in the room, the pandemic derailed Clarkson's dreams and tested even the hardiest souls. Captain Devin Brosseau recorded 40 goals and 112 points in 144 games with the Golden Knights.

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