A Familiar Name Resurfaces On A Different Surface

Check out the last name on the 2007 Dartmouth men's lacrosse roster. The one in black, without the hyperlink leading to his bio. Recognize it? It's Chad Gaudet, and no, he's not one of hockey coach Bob Gaudet's sons.

Gaudet is the 5-foot-11, 195-pound tailback from Burlington, Mass., who showed so much promise when he ran for 389 yards in just over five games at the end of his freshman year before suffering a horrible knee injury in the first carry of his sophomore year against Colgate. He's back running after missing the rest of the 2005 season and all of 2006.

While there's no guarantee, if the junior's knee holds up for lacrosse there's a chance he might be back on the gridiron this fall. That would be a tremendous bonus for the Big Green, even if he's not the player he once was. The courage and determination he's shown battling back from an injury that some believed meant an end to his athletic career should be nothing less than an inspiration to everyone in the program.

Gaudet, by the way, is no newcomer to the stick sport. He captained the lacrosse team (as well as football and basketball) at Middlesex School. And, judging by what he showed on Occom Pond after his freshman year, he's a pretty fair hockey player as well.

For a feature about incoming offensive lineman Alex Wodka, click here. From the piece:

Wodka carries a 5.26 weighted grade point average on a 5.0 scale and a 32 ACT. And the three-year varsity starter at BG who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 285 pounds found the perfect student-athlete combination at Dartmouth College.

We tuned in to the East-West Shrine Game last evening and both Dartmouth opponents in the game showed well. Brown linebacker Zak DeOssie was said to have led the game in special teams tackles (defensive stats are nowhere to be found this morning) and was all over the field when he was in from scrimmage. New Hampshire wide receiver David Ball led all receivers with 80 yards (one three catches) and made game's the highlight-reel reception when he adjusted in mid-air on a long ball down the right sideline, leaned back and made a "hands catch" that he held while bouncing and rolling on the ground. Both DeOssie and Ball were lauded by the announcers.

Shrine Game offensive stats can be found here. UMass tailback Steve Baylark led the overmatched East team with 32 rushing yards.

That's it for this morning. Now we're off to the University of New Hampshire to cheer on a certain Hanover High School freshman running the 3000 meters.