EagleAction.com - Muse Adapting to New Schedule

November 1, 2009

Kevin Edelson
EagleAction.com Staff Writer

The term "sophomore slump" was thrown around quite a bit last year in describing John Muse's second season with the Eagles.

Muse just wasn't the same goaltender that, as a freshman, led the Eagles to their third-ever national title. Yet, it wasn't Muse who let the Eagles and their fans down. Blame it on his hip.

Muse played much of the stretch run with a sore hip and had surgery on April 30 to make the pain go away. Since returning to the ice in mid-August, the prognosis has been positive.

"There's been a little bit of soreness, but that's to be expected," Muse said. "It's coming along real well."

"He's progressing very well," head coach Jerry York said. "He feels more flexible."

While Muse is confident he is ready to play whenever asked, the coaching and training staff will be introducing a new term into John's vocabulary: day off. This past Friday marked the first time in 83 games that Muse watched a game from the bench, as freshman Parker Milner made his collegiate debut.

"I think we have to monitor him all year," York said after Friday's game. "I keep on looking at (Red Sox third baseman) Mike Lowell. Every third series he'd take off a game or two and he kind of struggled with (his hip injury) all year. We're hoping that we can monitor (John's) workload."

In Muse's only two starts this season, he's posted a 1-1 record with a 3.00 goals-against average a .857 save percentage. The numbers aren't great but Muse may need to get a bit more work under his belt before returning to the form he showed his freshman year.

"Not playing for a while, you have to adjust to the speed of the game," Muse said. "You can practice all you want, but that's not exactly like a game is speed-wise. It's taking a little bit to get back into that. I felt better against Notre Dame and hopefully I keep feeling better and better."

While Muse's confidence is growing and his numbers improving from game-to-game, Muse will just have to wait and see if he gets a regular spot in the starting lineup. York has settled on his two goaltenders for now, and who knows if a true rotation will be in the works.

"I'm excited to have depth in the goaltending area," York said.

Muse will be prepared to do whatever York asks of him, though it's clear where he really wants to be in on game night.

"I'd much rather be in the net every night than sitting on the bench. I don't think it's too grueling of a schedule playing two games a week. Hopefully I play well and give Coach a reason to keep me in the net," said Muse.

Special Teams Coming Together

Coach York went with two standard units on the power play, but did mix up the looks he was giving Merrimack occasionally. The Eagles consistently used a unit of Tommy Cross and Joe Whitney on the point, with Paul Carey, Cam Atkinson and Steven Whitney as forwards.

York also used an umbrella formation when he had his second unit on the ice. Carl Sneep, Brian Dumoulin and Chris Kreider played at the top of the umbrella, with Brian Gibbons and Ben Smith down low.

On the penalty kill several players got involved, including Atkinson, Sneep, Jimmy Hayes and Dumoulin as one unit. Edwin Shea and Philip Samuelsson played as a defensive pairing on the penalty kill, and Steven and Joe Whitney also played together on a unit. Matt Lombardi and Matt Price also saw time on the penalty kill.

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