By CAM DONALDSON
Staff Writer
 

"They never say anything negative about anyone," said Paul Nemetz-Carlson `98. "They're inspirational leaders and a very important part of our [hockey] team. They set good examples and a good tone for the team. With two guys like that on the team, everyone else feels more comfortable out there...They're big. They're really, really big."

Ryan MacDonald, the bigger of the two by an inch and 15 pounds, has been a rock on defense for over three years at Bates. He complements a 90-mile-per-hour slap shot, that would make Al MacInnis mess his Tacklas, with an ability to throw the hardest roadblock bodyblasts this side of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. And he's just as big in the dressing room.

"Ryan is the emotional leader on the team," said Phil Alegranti `98. "The fans see his hits, but what they don't realize is that what goes on in the locker room is at least as important as what happens on the ice. Ryan has the ability to relax the team and make sure we keep it all in perspective. He's the one we look to for an emotional boost."

Ryan MacDonald delivered the requisite boost and then some during the final game of the Pellerin Cup Tournament versus UNH in 1996. In the locker room after the second period, with Bates trailing by a goal, he took the podium and gave a speech rousing enough to make Joseph Underhill roll over in his grave. A wrenching collision with UNH's resident meathead had shattered his shoulder ligaments, but he took to the ice and played with bellicose style unchecked in the third period. Riding on Maca's mean streak, Bates churned out two goals in the third and brought home a championship. That's big.

"I take hockey pretty seriously," said Ryan. "But I like bustin' balls and joking around out there too."

Intense and focused during games, Ryan's shenanigans during practice are well documented. Giving teammates a faceful of water, a stick in the pants or a butt-end to the facemask is all good fun for him. And now he has a little brother to pick on.

"I love playing with him because we have such a good relationship," said Ryan. "We go together like peas and carrots. I would take on the fifth army for Scoo-Ride."

In English, that means Ryan would do anything for his little brother, who he calls "Scoo Ride" during the hockey season and "Scoo-Dog" during football.

"We have a great relationship and we're a lot alike, but I took my fair share of beatings as a kid," said Scott MacDonald. "Each of us wants to get the best of the other, so we just go back and forth."

Both are quick to credit their father and his indelible enthusiasm towards youth sports for their success in football and hockey. They were both named Division II All- Stars by the Boston Globe their senior year in high school. While Ryan came directly to Bates, Scott chose a postgraduate year at Cushing Academy, a well-traveled thruway to the Division I college ranks.

"Cushing was so serious," said Scott. "You couldn't enjoy practice. There would be four coaches out there that were just all over you. Here, it's not that tough, but it's not easy either. We might as well be varsity with the amount of practice time we have, and there are great crowds at the games. I love it."

In the off-season, Scott takes his athletic abilities to Garcelon Field, where he excels as a defensive linebacker. However, a gruesome knee injury relegated him to the sidelines last season and had him sitting in the stands for the first few hockey games. At the start of a promising Bates career, Scott found himself facing surgery to realign his kneecap and repair torn tendons, followed by 8-10 weeks of intensive rehabilitation.

"Injuries happen," said Scott. "The hardest part for me was that I could feel myself drifting away from the guys on the [football] team. My brother took me under his wing first semester, but I wasn't on the field shedding blood, sweat and tears with the guys. I think injuries help you learn to fight through adversity and ultimately make you a better person. Hockey's great because it's sort of like rehab for my knee."

Scott's definition of "rehab" includes stapling opponents in the corners, jacking them in open ice and ramming through defensemen while en route to the net. As a forward, he combines refined skating and puckhandling skills with an omniscient view of the ice and a temperament that demands respect.

"My brother and I have similar playing styles," said Scott. "Neither of us wants to see the other not try as hard out there. We've played together a lot, so he knows where I am on the ice and I have a feel for where he is on defense. I guess you could say we click out there."

Scott and Ryan MacDonald will be looking to teach some Techies a lesson in the dynamics of high-speed collisions on Sunday at 2:00 and Thursday at 7:00 as Bates takes on crosstown rival Central Maine Technical College. The Bobcats carry a 6-2 record into the weekend, good enough for second place in the Northeast Collegiate Hockey Association. Ryan Sahr `98 (10 goals, 3 assists), Matt Muse `01 (6 goals, 6 assists) and Andy Carlson `00 (8 goals, 2 assists) should get plenty of chances to continue racking up points as the top snipers going into this week's back-to back games against CMTC.