Well, Maine fans, from the following it sure sounds as if Harry Sinden is
replacing one former Black Bear on the I-95 shuttle (release of Jean-Yves)
with another former Black Bear (Peter Ferraro).  Check out the final
paragraph.
 
Here's the article:
 
Bruins enlist Ferraro: Will plant forward on the farm
   Wednesday, July 22, 1998
   By MICHAEL FELGER
 
   The Bruins front office may have done nothing so far this offseason to
   improve the big league team, but fans in Providence can take heart.
 
   The Baby B's are getting better by the day.
 
   The Bruins continued to retool the bottom half of their organizational
   depth chart yesterday when they announced the signing of unrestricted
   free agent Peter Ferraro to a one-year contract.
 
   Ferraro, a former University of Maine star, comes to the B's as a proven
   minor league commodity. The 25-year-old forward has averaged more than a
   point a game the last three AHL seasons. He was also named a first-team
   All-Star in 1995-96, and he set league records for power-play goals (27)
   in '95-96 and shots (392) in '96-97.
 
   But while the Baby B's, who won only 19 games last year in finishing dead
   last, will be looking to get their hands on Ferraro, Bruins management is
   hopeful the Rangers' 1992 first-round draft pick will fulfill his
   potential on the NHL level.
 
   "We're hoping he can come in and help us," said Bruins assistant general
   manager Mike O'Connell. "He's had a very successful minor league career,
   but we know he's chomping at the bit to prove it in the NHL. Every year a
   half-dozen to a dozen players emerge and come from nowhere to make a
   difference -- we think he's one of them."
 
   By looking at his numbers, such as the 101 points he notched for
   Binghamton in 1995-96, it's easy to see why O'Connell would think so.
   However, at 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds, Ferraro is undersized by today's
   standards and has repeatedly failed to land regular NHL work.
 
   After five years in the Rangers organization, Ferraro was claimed off
   waivers by Pittsburgh last October. After recording 3-4-7 totals in 29
   games for the Penguins, he was reclaimed off waivers in January by the
   Rangers, who dressed him only once and then allowed him to walk as an
   unrestricted free agent after not tendering him a qualifying offer by the
   July 1 deadline.
 
   Ferraro will get another chance to make the big time this fall at Bruins
   camp. If he comes up short, he'll be welcomed by the Baby B's.
 
   In that regard, the signing is the latest in a string of recent moves
   made by the B's to address the situation in Providence. In addition to
   the firing of coach Tom McVie and the hiring of Peter Laviolette, the B's
   have also signed a handful of players they hope will provide
   organizational depth.
 
   Last month, they signed 23-year-old center Andre Savage from Michigan
   Tech and 20-year-old defenseman Shane Belter from the Canadian juniors.
   On July 7, they came to terms with 23-year-old Swedish winger Peter
   Nordstrom.
 
   O'Connell said one of the Baby B's biggest problems last year was
   chemistry. Now, he said: "We're looking for players in the middle -- guys
   who are experienced at the AHL level but aren't too old, and who can
   compete for a job in Boston, too."
 
 
 
Dan Doucette
UMaine 78 MPA 80
 
*** Isn't it fitting someone named Garth Snow is playing for ***
***                  a team in Canada   ???                  ***
 
     And when will Rutgers become a "real" school and start
            a Div. 1 college hockey program ?