Isreal: The Chosen One

Six weeks ago, sophomore goalie Aaron Israel donned the crimso and white for the last time.

It was a memorable game, but a tough way to go out. The new Philadelphia Flyers signee never had a chance on the overtime breakaway by Lake Superior State's Clayton Beddoes in the NCAA semifinal.

The play happened so quickly.

These past six weeks have been all but the same for Israel, who has waged a mental war about whether or not to sign with Philadelphia.

At first he said no. But unlike a breakaway when you have to make a decision on the spot and have no chance to change it, Israel had the opportunity to look back and reverse himself regarding the Flyers.

And thus he finally decided Wednesday that he would in fact sign with Philadelphia and give up the remaining two years of his college eligibility.

The pain of losing Israel stings, although not in the same manner as an overtime goal. But just as his teammates have supported him on and off the ice these past two years, they all support his final decision to turn pro.

"The players all support Aaron Israel 100 percent," sophomore defenseman Peter McLaughlin said. "Many [college] players dream of playing in the NHL, and if [turning pro] is achieving his dreams, we all support him."

There is also silver lining to the dark cloud of Israel's departure, which follows one year after Ted Drury gave up his final year of college eligibility to sign with the Calgary Flames.

"You lose one-half of a good goalie tandem, but you have to feel proud that your peers are going on to play at the highest level," junior Perry Cohagan said.

The higher level of competition was one of the main reasons Israel cited for taking the `once-in-a-life-time' opportunity.

He will play more next year, will face tougher competition and will endure a season that is triple the length of a college hockey season in terms of games played.

The Hershey Bears, the American Hockey League team to which he will probably be assigned, were eliminated in the second round of the AHL playoffs just two nights ago.

The Flyers wanted a good, tough goaltender, since poor netminding has been one of the reasons why they haven't made the playoffs the last few seasons. They think they might have their man, as Israel posted a 12-2-2 record this season, including three shutouts against Yale, Union and RPI.

And should anyone doubt Israel's toughness, just ask RPI's outgoing captain Ron Pasco, whom Israel booted out of the goal crease with his led in this year's ECAC tournament final, a 3-0 victory.

Israel's solid goaltending will be missed, but the other half of the sophomore dynamic duo--Tripp Tracy (who by the way is also a Philadelphia draft pick)--will be back and will most likely assume the majority of the goaltending duties.

In addition, junior Steve Hermsdorf, who was a star on the junior varsity squad in addition to being the third-string varsity netminder, will move up and be Tracy's back-up.

"We're very happy for Aaron, since he has a great opportunity," Hermsdorf said. "Everybody's also happy for me that I'm getting an opportunity. Everybody's happy for everyone."

"It's really a good decision," Cohagan said. "Israel had an excellent year, he has great potential and he had a deal that isn't offered too often."

"We want him to know we support him."

Unless, of course, someone else happens to be donning an opposing jersey sometime in the future.