With a win needed to clinch first place in the OUA West, the Mustangs men’s hockey team beat the Lakehead Thunderwolves 4-0 at Thompson Arena Saturday night during the annual Jack Frost Cup.

Now with only four games remaining in the regular season and first place firmly secure, the Mustangs can look at heading into the playoffs on a winning note.

“Clinching is great, but we still play some real good teams,” Clarke Singer, Mustangs head coach, said. “We just have to make sure we keep getting better you can’t slide down. You hope [clinching early] doesn’t affect your team mentally, but that won’t be a problem.”

Mustangs goaltender Josh Unice was making things easy for Western on Saturday night. He has three straight shutouts—all against Lakehead— the first time in his career that’s happened at any level he’s played at.

“I feel comfortable out there. The game feels slow, especially when the team’s playing as well as we are,” Unice said. “Tonight we sacrificed and did everything we needed to do to win.”

Although shutouts look great on any goaltender’s stat sheet, Unice said he stepped up when he had to and his team did the little things that any playoff team needs to have to keep on winning.

“I had to make a couple big saves, but I had bounces going my way. Even on the penalty kill guys were blocking shots and sacrificing,” Unice said. “Everybody says shutout, but I continue to say I can’t get a shutout by myself.”

Unice stymied the Thunderwolves throughout the night, but was also helped out by a goalie’s best friend —the post —which Lakehead hit three times.

“We had some really great scoring chances with guys on our team who usually score on those opportunities,” Joel Scherban, Lakehead head coach, said. “Unice played extremely well and Western’s great defensively.”

Western opened the scoring in the second when forward Dominic Desando finished a 3-on-1 beating Thunderwolves goalie Alex Dupuis blocker side.

The Mustangs would add another two goals before the end of the second with goals by Zack Harnden and Tyler Peters within two minutes of one another.

Harnden’s second goal of the game in the third would put the game out of reach for Lakehead.

Western finished the game with 23 shots, while Lakehead only had 19.

The Thunderwolves were without their top scorer, Matt Caria, who was suspended for two games because of a racial slur he said towards Mustangs forward Yashar Farmanara. The incident occurred during last weekend’s game in Thunder Bay.

Now with only four regular season games left, the only worry the Mustangs have is keeping their strong play going as they head into the playoffs.

“We’ve got to set goals. No one wants to go into the playoffs losing games,” Unice said. “You want to go into the playoffs playing well.”

Singer emphasized Unice’s point and that Western’s goal remains the same.

“We’ve just got to keep moving because it’s not about the regular season, it’s about the playoffs,” Singer said. “That’s what we’ve been focused on all year.”

Although some coaches might be worried that clinching early will mean players will take a night off, Singer doesn’t think his veteran line-up will ease up at all.

“We’ve got a lot of older guys and they want to win in the playoffs and they know they can’t take two weeks off before we get there. I know they’ll play hard and as coaches we’ll keep pushing them so they’ll be better.

And for a while it looked like they just might.

“Coming off the Windsor match last week, my guess would have been they’re emotionally attached to this match for lots of different reasons,” Marauders head coach Tim Louks said. “The war was kind of what I thought it was going to be.”

the Marauders took a two set lead, pushing the Mustangs to the brink of defeat. But Western responded and managed to win the next two sets forcing a fifth set. Unfortunately, a comeback wasn’t in the cards for the Mustangs and they dropped the fifth set.

“We had a lot of ups and downs,” left-side hitter Cloe Behrman who had led the team with 13 kills, said. “We’re actually not too upset about the loss just because we played really well—it was the first time we played so well in a long time.”

Making the resilient performance even more noteworthy was the fact that Western was missing two starters—Stephanie Kreuger, who didn’t play, and Danielle Marshall, who left after the first set. The reason—food poisoning, Mustangs head coach Dave Edwards explained.

“I guess it was the tuna.”

However, the entire Mustangs squad looked a little queasy during the first set, and the Marauders took advantage of the sloppy Mustangs’ play, gaining a 16-11 lead. Western made a late surge to tie it at 23-23, but after earning set point, Marauders Kailee Stock’s kill caught the line, putting them up by a set.

Western responded in the second and took a 16-12 lead at the first technical timeout. However, the Marauders used the break to recoup and after several crucial mistakes from the Mustangs, the Marauders eventually took the set 25-23.

The Mustangs were off to a less than ideal start, but Edwards confessed his team doesn’t dwell on errors instead, they try to dig deeper and find a way to win.

“We know we’re going to make mistakes, but it’s how we respond to those mistakes,” he said.

So just as the McMaster bus started warming up outside Alumni Hall, the Mustangs decided to make a match of it, jumping out to a lead 4-0 lead thanks to strong serving from Behrman. The Mustang easily took the third set 25-13.

Their momentum carried into the fourth set and once again they earned a convincing lead. After the game, Behrman spoke about their late resurgence and attributed the turnaround to improved communication on the court.

“When we talk a lot like that and we’re supporting each other then that’s when we play really well,” she said.

With the Mustangs a point away from forcing a deciding set, McMaster middle Shannon McRobert sailed the attack long to give Western the 25-17 set win.

In the fifth, Western got off to a slow start and the Marauders pounced on the opportunity, going up 7-2 and forcing Western to call a timeout. The Mustangs fought hard, and despite saving two match points the deficit was too steep and they lost the set 15-9.

With only a few games left before playoffs, Louks was pleased his team avoided the collapse.

“I’m really excited about the outcome,” he said. [It’s a] huge win against a tough team in this building.”

Edwards, on the other hand, wasn’t pleased with the outcome, but admits he’s proud of the way his team performed and assures they’ll take away positives from the lose.

“Every game we’ve taken steps forward about who we are,” he said. “I thought we played as well as we have in a long time.”

On Sunday, the Mustangs lost against the first-place York Lions and now sit in seventh place with two games left in the regular season.

Unfortunately, like the 2010 remake of the classic film, that storyline fell flat quickly.The Mustangs trounced the Marauders in three methodical sets, all but clinching their perch at the top of the standings.

There were no real hiccups in Western’s game, as they rarely trailed in any set. Right-side hitter Matt Poulin led the Mustangs’ offence once again with three aces and 12 kills, including an enormous blow in the third set that pushed McMaster to the brink of defeat at 24-20. He decided on a different tactic on the subsequent point, ending the match with a cheeky tip over the helpless Marauder blocking tandem.

Veteran hitter Phil James credited his team with executing the game plan perfectly, but cautioned against getting overly elated with the victory.

“It’s easy to say we beat one of the top teams from Ontario very handily,” James said. “But we’re not going to get complacent. Today, every one of us did our job on the court, and I think that’s the most important thing.”

Western star Garrett May, who was back in the starting lineup after missing last weekend’s win against Windsor, treated the rambunctious home crowd to a pair of eye-popping kills early in the first set, showing no ill effects from the malady that kept him out last weekend.

The Mustangs’ victory puts them one step closer to a perfect regular season record at Alumni Hall, where, incredibly enough, they have yet to lose a single set. Head coach Jim Sage said his players relish the opportunity to play in front of their home fans, and are proud that they’ve turned Alumni Hall into one of the most inhospitable courts in the country.

“Playing so well at home is a really nice thing to see, and not losing a set is just amazing,” Sage said. “I think the guys take a lot of pride in that. It was surprising we were able to beat McMaster 3-0, because they’re a quality team.”

Marauders head coach Dave Preston had difficulty spotting any ‘quality’ in his team’s performance, suggesting that his players’ fundamental skills decided to take the afternoon off.

“I don’t care what level of volleyball you’re playing at, serving and passing is everything,” Preston explained. “I thought we were relatively prepared coming in, but we didn’t pass and serve well. We have to just throw this game away, because there’s nothing we can do about it now.”

Sage had another theory, crediting the loud Western fans, armed with inflatable thundersticks, with throwing the Marauders off their game early.

“We’ve had great crowds all year, and we really appreciate that,” Sage said. “But once those thundersticks got here, you could see they were rattled a bit with their serves, so the fans really do make a difference.”

The Mustangs won’t have the comforts of home court this weekend, as they look to place the cherry on top of what has been yet another exemplary regular season. Their final two games see them travel to Kingston for a date with the Queen’s Gaels on Saturday, before capping their season Sunday at Royal Military College.

In Sunday’s action, the Mustangs defeated the York Lions in straight sets, finishing their home schedule 9-0 without a single set dropped.

The Mustangs certainly showed their competitive edge as both the men’s and women’s team finished first at the meet.  The men’s team won 19 medals in total while the women brought home 27 medals.

“I think this is the most high quality Don Wright meet results for a Western team,” Vicky Croley, head coach for the Mustangs, said. “It certainly helps in the preparation for later in the season. We’re preparing for Ontario University Athletics and Canadian Interuniversity Sport championships.”

One of the more exciting races of the weekend was the men’s 60m hurdles pitting Sherbrooke University’s, Simon Léveillé— currently ranked second in the country— against Mustang Matt Brisson, who is ranked first in the country. The exhilarating race saw Brisson come out on top with a time of 8.12 seconds, as he barely edged Léveillé by only two hundredths of a second.

“This was an exciting and high calibre start to the Don Wright meet,” Croley said. “It was good for both [athletes][…]Simon ran a season’s best, but this helped Matt’s game as well.”

In the field events, rookie Chris Cauley finished in first place in the high jump, as well, Josh Archer bettered his school record in the weight throw with a toss of 16.39m to finish sixth. Daniel Novia of York University—currently ranked number one in Canada for the weight throw—set a meet and arena record with a throw of 19.69m, finishing first on the day.

“I’m really happy for the personal best,” Novia said. “I was just trying to keep my mind clear because when I start thinking, that’s when things go wrong. This was a good meet for me, I can’t complain.”

On the women’s side, the Mustangs were awarded nine golds, nine silvers and nine bronzes as they put forth some excellent performances.

Caroline Ehrhardt broke her own school record in the triple jump to grab silver and also won the long jump event, while Jen Pitman took home the gold in high jump. Other winners in the track events include Brenna Thomson, Amy Grzywnowicz, Katie Bell and Alicia Knox.

With the women’s team currently ranked second in the CIS, and the men ranked fifth, both hope for big things this year.

“We have a really strong team and many talented young athletes,” Cassandra McCaig, team captain, said. “Both our women’s and men’s teams have a really good chance at being top in the CIS.”

—Michael Teitelbaum

The short answer to your question is yes.

I have been thinking for a while now that with the plethora of talent that the Leafs have on defence, somebody on the Leafs would be on their way out. And now, with his brand new $15.5 million, four-year contract extension, that odd man out clearly won’t be John Michael Liles. Looking at the Leafs’ depth chart, I would say that the odd man out would be Luke Schenn.

With the emergence of rookie sensation Jake Gardiner, the previously deemed “untouchable” Luke Schenn by general manager Brian Burke may see himself on the trading block by the deadline. The young star not only has the highest trade value of all the Leafs’ defencemen, but his play has slumped as of late after not being able to adapt to the weight he packed on during the off-season.

Though Schenn’s play is not as bad as someone like Mike Komisarek, the contract of Komisarek would see potential buyers not getting enough bang for their buck.

Furthermore, even though Brian Burke is a fan of Schenn, he has made it abundantly clear that he will not hesitate to make any trade that will improve the future of the Maple Leafs franchise.

I have no doubt in my mind that Burke is keeping busy and is continuing his ongoing quest to bring a top-line talent to the buds. I know of many teams are in need of a defenceman, and having Schenn would definitely help them out. If an opportunity arises to trade for a top-line talent, Burke will have no problem pulling the trigger, even if it means sending somebody like Schenn away.

What do you think of Patrick Chan joining the 300 club at Canadian nationals? How do you think he’ll fare at Worlds?

—Skater Fan

I think that Patrick Chan being the sole member of the 300 club—a feat that I didn’t think could be accomplished—is an amazing accomplishment and I think that we should be proud to call him a Canadian.

Chan skated with poise and each one of his seven jumps—including two quads—was flawlessly executed. Even though his score of 302.14 will only stand as a Canadian record—because the scores at Nationals tend to be a little inflated—it sets a precedent.

I think the 2011 Lou Marsh award winner will have his work cut out for him at Worlds. Chan will have to face off against Russian superstar Evgeni Plushenko, which will surely be a tough match. Plushenko is a talented skater to say the least, but Chan is riding a huge wave of momentum. Chan is near the top of his game at the moment so don’t be surprised if he’s is in the running for gold at the Worlds as he continues to represent the true north strong and free with strong programs.

Unice earned his first shutout of the weekend on Friday night by stopping 27 shots and helping kill eight penalties during the game. He then completed back-to-back shutout victories the next day, stopping 29 shots en route to the win. The pair of wins gave the Mustangs a six-point cushion over Lakehead in the standings, and should provide them with some security in the coming weeks.

Unice’s play this weekend was stellar, but can hardly be classified as out of the ordinary. He has played 15 games for the Mustangs so far this year, and currently has the best save percentage in the league at .934, and second-lowest goals against average in the league at 2.09. He had already posted a shutout before this weekend.

Along with this coveted purple pipe, Unice was rewarded even more hardware for his impressive performance. He was named male Canadian Interuniversity Sport Athlete of the Week, Western GoodLife Fitness Athlete of the Week, and CTV London Sports Extra Athlete of the Week. Realistically, he’s out shopping for a new trophy shelf right now.

Unice undoubtedly looks to continue his streak of wins against Lakehead, as the teams play for the third time this month on Saturday.

The Mustangs took advantage of some ice cold shooting and early turnovers by the first-place Golden Hawks to control the opening minutes of the game, as Ryan Barbeau was lighting it up inside the paint, and beyond the 3-point arc.

This fast start by the ‘Stangs led to frustration echoing in Alumni Hall from the Laurier bench from head coach Peter Campbell.

“Ryan controlled the game in the first quarter.  We had to change our defence to key on Ryan after the way they started the game,” Peter Campbell explained.

The solid start by the Mustangs led to a much happier mood from Mustangs head coach Brad Campbell, and is something to build upon in upcoming games.

“I thought we started well.  Our intensity early was really good, but we couldn’t maintain the intensity and it started to slip as the game progressed,” Brad Campbell said.

Mustangs guard Nathan Diloreto was similarly happy with the quick start.

“We came out strong in the first, but were not able to keep that same energy and focus. Playing a team like Laurier, they know how to capitalize from the opposing teams’ errors,” Diloreto said.

“A major positive that we can take from the game is that we can compete with one of the best teams in Canada.  We have to continue working on our rebounding as a team, and most importantly, continue to get better at the defensive end of the court,” he continued.

The 20-13 lead for the Mustangs at the end of the first quarter was quickly reduced to rubble, as Laurier started the second quarter very up-tempo.  This change of pace by the Golden Hawks created lots of open looks for the Laurier wingmen, and they began to catch fire, hitting everything in sight.  The up-tempo pace also caused the number of Mustangs turnovers to increase substantially.  The turnovers in combination with some cold Mustangs shooting caused them to go into the half trailing.

As the second half began, Laurier’s defence began turning up the intensity while the Mustangs defence started to break down, as the Golden Hawks were getting open looks from the field.  Laurier was ruthlessly efficient on the offensive end—knocking down jumpers at will—and they began to pull away from the Mustangs.  Despite Barbeau refusing to give up by continually driving through the lane, the experience and efficiency of the Golden Hawks was simply too much for the young Mustangs squad to overcome.

The game began to peter out as the outcome looked inevitable, and Laurier began to put the final touches of salt into the Mustangs’ wounds by penetrating the lane at will.  The outcome resulted in vastly contrasting moods of the squads after the game.

“We ran a bit more in the second half and that helped us get going offensively.  Every game is a real battle, and we are trying to match Lakehead and Windsor to stay in first place,” Peter Campbell said.

Frustration was etched into the face of Brad Campbell by the end of the game.

“We need to reinforce what we did well tonight and we need to work hard on our deficiencies.  We have a young team, and we have got to see some of our hard work transition into games,” he lamented.

While frustration was the prevailing sentiment from Western’s point of view, there were positives to take from the game.

“A major positive that we can take from the game is that we can compete with one of the best teams in Canada.  We have to continue working on our rebounding as a team, and most importantly continue to get better at the defensive end of the court.  It’s crucial for a young team like us to get some wins which will build confidence and help us improve as a unit for seasons to come,” Diloreto stated.

The loss is the third straight for the Mustangs, leaving the team’s record at 4-10 on the season.

Yet, a disappointingly flat performance allowed the Lancers, who had only won nine sets all year, to sweep the Mustangs 3-0.

“We couldn’t execute the plan. Give credit to Windsor, they played with urgency and they played like a team with nothing to lose. We have to take ownership for our performance tonight,” Dave Edwards, Mustangs head coach, said.

In what would become a recurring theme throughout the night, the Mustangs started the first set strong and led the majority of the way. However, losing a couple of long rallies seemed to break Western’s back, allowing Windsor to recover and take a lead they would not relinquish.

The Mustangs came out in the second set on fire with left side hitter Cloe Behrman serving them to a 6-2 lead. But again, showing their overall inexperience, a couple of bad breaks seemed to unsettle the team.

“I think having such a young team, some of the players haven’t been able to play through it and play a little scared, which is frustrating considering it is second semester,” Kelly Frittenburg, Mustangs middle hitter, said.

While the Mustangs played nervously, the Lancers’ front line of Kaila Seguin, Ana Vrcelj and Jennifer Ellig played full of confidence and dominated the second set, allowing the Lancers to take an insurmountable 21-14 lead.

“[Both Kaila and Ana] have struggled the past two weeks. But they both came out and played great tonight,” Lucas Hodgson, Lancers head coach, said. “I think we showed we should have a better record than we do.”

Seguin finished the night with a game-high 17 kills, two aces and two blocks. Ellig contributed 10 kills and 13 blocks while Vrcelj terrorized the middle of the floor, altering almost every attack Western threw her way.

“We knew they would give the ball to Kaila Seguin and we wanted to shut her down. But we didn’t execute the plan,” Edwards explained.

“They just passed the ball well and put it in Kaila’s hands.”

“We couldn’t pass the ball and it made it easy for them to defend us. We were too predictable in our attack,” Frittenburg added.

Western was able to make one last push in the second with the two co-captains, Frittenburg and setter Rebecca Oxland, finally combining well offensively, but the hole was far too big to climb out of. Frittenburg finished the game with four kills and two blocks while Oxland led her team with 21 assists.

“They are the only two returning starters from last year’s championship team. When we get the ball into Rebecca and Kelly’s hands, we have success. When we don’t get it to Rebecca, we are limited,” Edwards said. “We had spurts where we played well but we can’t pick and choose when we want to play.”

Western couldn’t steady themselves enough in the third set and it cost them the match. The Mustangs will continue their home stand this upcoming weekend with matches against the 7-6 McMaster Marauders and the first-place York Lions.

“We can’t sugar coat it. It was a disappointing loss. But we will learn from that and hopefully next week, we will come back to the gym and hopefully the players will play with pride and show that we are better than this,” Edwards said.

The Mustangs men’s volleyball team returned to the win column with a gritty straight sets win over the nine and five Windsor Lancers. The win erased the bitter taste left from last weekend’s heartbreaking loss in Waterloo that dashed the Mustangs’ hopes of an undefeated season.

Western, forced to play without star Garrett May who fell ill just hours before game time, received a gutsy performance from Derek Kuiack, who replaced May in the starting lineup. Mathieu Poulin, who led all players with 15 kills, knew everyone had to raise their game in the absence of their fallen teammate.

“Garrett’s obviously a big part of our team,” Poulin said. “It’s a pretty big loss because he’s such a great passer, but I think Derek did a great job stepping up in his absence. He hasn’t got a lot court time this year and he stepped up big time for us tonight.”

Mustangs head coach Jim Sage agreed with his veteran hitter, clearly thrilled one of his bench players was able to fit in seamlessly with the starters.

“I was really proud of him for being able to perform in that situation,” Sage said. “You could see he was a little bit nervous, and you knew they were going to try and put pressure on him, but I told him he didn’t have to be perfect, he just needed to be good.”

All three sets in the match were close, but a compelling back-and-forth second set that ended in the Mustangs’ favour sunk any chances of a Lancer victory. With Windsor leading 24-23, Western’s Matt Waite pounded one of the more emphatic kills of the evening to the Alumni Hall hardwood tying the set at 24. The Mustangs didn’t look back from there, as Phil James drove the proverbial lance through Windsor’s heart with a thunderous kill to end the second frame.

Despite losing in three straight sets, Windsor head coach Shawn Lippert felt the match could’ve gone either way, giving his team confidence looking toward the playoffs.

“Both teams weren’t really at their best tonight, but it was neck and neck all the way through,” Lippert said. “This game was a preview of what could possibly happen in the playoffs, so it’s a good benchmark of where we have to be a month from now.”

Western can now look forward to a busy weekend, playing a big game on Saturday with their rivals from McMaster, followed by a game Sunday against the York Lions. McMaster is nipping at the Mustangs’ heels in the standings, so two wins this weekend at Alumni Hall would go a long way towards securing first place.

“It’s tough with back-to-back games in terms of our preparation,” Sage explained. “It’s important to not get complacent with our record or what we’re doing on the court, and I thought we took a pretty good step forward tonight.”

Sage was also quick to commend another raucous crowd at Alumni Hall—support he says is unprecedented during his tenure at Western.

“It’s such a great thing to see our fans energized and making noise in Alumni Hall,” Sage said. “It’s a huge advantage for our guys to have them on our side, and it makes it tough on the other team. The fans are showing we’re a great thing to watch and hopefully they keep coming back.”

Fans have the opportunity to keep the support coming this weekend at Alumni Hall, with both games getting started at 3 p.m.

The Gryphons took an early lead when right-winger Kaitlyn Mora scored just 6:58 into the first period.

The Mustangs didn’t take long to respond when defender Katelyn Gosling netted one of her own four minutes later.

The second period, however, was a different story as the Gryphons came out firing on all fronts. Both Emily Corbett and Jenna Lanzarotta scored for the Gryphons in the second. Lanzarotta’s goal turned out to be the game-winning-goal in Guelph’s 5-2 win over the Mustangs.

Gryphons coach Carly Haggard knows her team won because of the system they implemented against the Mustangs.

“Our keys were to be physical, to battle, to get lots of shots and to crash the net. We get success when we have at least 30 shots,” Haggard explained. “One thing we really focus on—especially on our Olympic ice—is skating. In practice we usually do a lot of skating drills, receiving the pass with speed and driving wide.”

Coming out of the gate in the third period, defender Allison Galloway scored for the Mustangs to cut the deficit in half. It was at this point that Mustangs goaltender Olivia Ross took over and shut down the Gryphons for most of the period. This was until Mora scored once again for the Gryphons with 2:30 left in the third period. After that, Lanzarotta provided the dagger with an empty net goal to give the Gryphons the 5-2 victory.

Despite the loss, the play of goaltender Olivia Ross was a bright spot for the Mustangs. Ross made 30 saves Saturday night and was the big reason why Western had a chance in the third period after being out-shot 35-18 in the game.

“She definitely kept them in the game. With six minutes left in the third period, the score was 3-2 so she definitely gave them a chance to win and that is what you need from a goaltender in this league,” Haggard said.

Ross, however, was quick to thank her team for helping them stay in the game.

“Ultimately it is a team game and everyone has a job to do. I just do my best to stop the puck and communicate with the other girls,” she said.

If the Mustangs want to have a shot at the playoffs, they will have to create more chances for themselves and have a more consistent scoring attack.

“We just need to get some more shots and traffic to the net. We make it to easy on other teams’ goalies. Effort and talent are definitely there, we just have to play a little more consistently and keep our heads up,” Ross said.

The Mustangs now have a record of 7-11 and will travel to both Laurier and Waterloo next weekend to take on the undefeated Golden Hawks and the Warriors. With playoffs approaching fast, the Mustangs will have to recover from this loss and be ready for the remaining games that lie ahead.

We won’t have any trouble bouncing back. We can learn from our mistakes and acknowledge the positive aspects, but that’s as far as we will take the last few games,” Ross said. “There is no sense dwelling on the past. This weekend is really big for us with playoffs coming up, so I know the girls will be ready to go.”

Ross’s thoughts are echoed by Gosling.

“Next weekend we just have to come out strong. We came close with Laurier last game and have previously beat Waterloo over the Christmas break,” Gosling said. “We know we’ve got what it takes to play a close game against both these teams and possibly come out with four points on the weekend.”

—Nathan Robbins-Kanter (MIT)

Though Rick Nash’s value may be low due to a poor first half of the season, I believe he is the ideal trade bait for a fantasy team in need. His ability to be slotted into both wing positions makes fantasy owners drool, but truthfully, Rick Nash is a vastly overrated player.

As the first overall pick in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, Rick Nash was expected to be a stud in the league—and don’t get me wrong, he is—but he never blossomed into a top tier fantasy player. He hasn’t had a plus season since 2008-09 and he is hardly dependable to be a point-a-game player, as one would expect out of him.

I am obviously underrating what he does on the ice, but as a fantasy player, Rick Nash is overrated. You also better hope nobody in your league sees this….

Who do you think was the best player not chosen for the NHL All Star Game?

—Nathan Robbins-Kanter (MIT)

It is tough to be puzzled by many exclusions from the NHL All Star game due to the fact that the NHL insists on including a representative from each team, but I question the exclusion of James Neal.

With injuries plaguing the Penguins’ big three throughout the season, James Neal—with a little help from his friend Geno—has kept the Penguins ticking by lighting the lamp. With 24 goals, good for second in the league, James Neal has been an absolute force.

It is very tough to slot him into the lineup due to the NHL’s aforementioned policy, but I think he deserves to be in Ottawa being recognized as one of the NHL’s best.

Who do you think will be “Mr. Irrelevant” in this year’s NHL All Star Draft?

—Eli Greenspan (Psychology)

This question is certainly one of the more playful questions as the draft order has little to do with skill and more to do with friendships and teammates. With this in mind I will take a stab at the affectionately known “Mr. Irrelevant.” The title—and accompanying car giveaway—could potentially go to Jamie Benn.

As a younger player in the league and the lone member of the Dallas Stars represented in the All Star game, he potentially does not have relationships with any of the other selections. Once again this is a shot in the dark and if I were a gambling man well I would keep my money.

Has Brendan Shanahan done enough with his suspensions to send the right message?

—Nathan Robbins-Kanter (MIT)

Nothing against Shanahan’s predecessor Colin Campbell, but Shanahan has become the face of justice that the NHL needs. His on-screen appearances has been a public relations dream for the NHL and has given the fans clarity on the NHL’s policy towards suspensions—specifically on headshots.

As for the suspensions that he has doled out, I believe he has done an admirable job. He has made an emphasis on intention and has also targeted repeat offenders for larger suspensions in order to send a message.

The game of hockey is inherently dangerous, and injuries do occur, but Shanahan is doing his best to clean up the sport.

Do you see the Leafs making the playoffs this year?

—Evan Gropper (Social Science)
Well Evan, it is going to be a tight race, but I do see the Leafs squeaking into the post season for the first time in the post-lockout era.

As of now, they are on the outside looking in, but ahead of the Leafs, I see a few unsustainable records that should allow the Leafs to muscle themselves into the eighth and final playoff spot.

I see three teams Florida, New Jersey and Ottawa—that have been playing over their heads for quite some time. As the second half of the season nears, I believe that at least one, if not two, of these teams will fall by the wayside making room for the Leafs.

Now you may think that I am just another Leafs fan that is naïve about the team’s current makeup, but I am not. I am in fact a Leafs fan, but I am very much a realist about this team. The question was centred around the 2011-12 season, in which I do believe that the Leafs will make the playoffs, but as for the future, that is a whole column in itself.