I was going to make this a long post detailing
much of John Gilbert's article in the April 1 issue
of US COLLEGE HOCKEY MAGAZINE, but I've typed
way to much already today.  Suffice it to say, I'm
not a John Gilbert fan.  Unfortunately, he's probably
the most visible college hockey writer of today, so
the masses likely view him as an expert.
 
To the point, Gilbert "turned on his own" and
attacked Minnesota recently, while trumpeting
the blue-collar work of the 1994-95 Wisconsin
Badgers.  If you're a Badger or Gopher fan,
the article is worth seeking out.  (There, I said
something positive about USCHM. :-)
 
I'll give you a taste of it below:
 
[begin quoted material]
When the regular season ended, the Badgers had
caught Denver for a second-place tie, seven points
behind Colorado College to be sure, but a point ahead
of a Minnesota team which had made a weird
transition that was inversely proportional to Wisconsin's.
The Gophers went from a work-ethic humility to a
cocky arrogance startling in its contrast to past Gopher
teams.  Coach Doug Woog, always affable and a
media darling in every city for nine years, lost respect
in virtually every WCHA city for a sudden attitude
turnabout.  Woog alienated his peers with a policy of
never praising an opponent, constantly blaming losses
on referees, and even challenging and threatening
players on opposing teams from the bench.
 
Secretly, the referees issued only one complaint each
week, and it was always made by whatever pair was
assigned to Minnesota's games.  At Colorado College,
Wood ridiculed CC's educational system at a Blueline
Club luncheon, the intent of which still has club members
mystified.  During that series, Wood sent a player off the
bench to threaten Peter Geronazzo that "a bounty" was
being taken on him for colliding with Gopher goaltender
Jeff Callinan.
 
At Northern Michigan, Woog similarly issued a threat
to Greg Hadden, who skated over to the Minnesota
bench and reacted by telling Woog contact was allowed
in the WCHA and to quit whining.  Woog protested to
coach Rick Comley that he shouldn't allow one of his
players to talk to an opposing coach with such disrespect,
and complained that Northern was intentionally trying
to injure his players.  At Michigan Tech a couple of weeks
later, Woog's co-captain, Scott Bell, went to the Tech
bench and unleashed an expletive-filled tirade at coach
Bob Mancini.  Apparently Wood found it easier to tolerate
such disrespect as long as it went the other way.
[end quoted material]
 
 
John H
U Mich
And, as much as it hurts to read it, I'll compliment Gilbert
on the following line regarding the CCHA postseason:
"Michigan couldn't win the CCHA crown because it's playoff
time, and Lake Superior State was coming."