I don't dispute your numbers, but let's not forget Walsh built the program 
from scratch and thus endured the lean years and Whitehead was handed a 
ready-made championship-caliber program.  (Two national titles say hello)

Does your 64% number include forfeits?  Because if it does, Walsh's on ice 
record would likely be better than 68%.

I don't have first hand knowledge of Whitehead and how he coaches.  I just 
know that Walsh would not have accepted what (seemingly) Whitehead and even 
us as fans have come to kind of accept and that is an inconsistent effort by 
teams that don't always play smart and are often (again, seemingly) not 
emtionally/mentally ready to play.

There is a line in the movie "Out of the Woods" (for those newbies.. a 
documentary on the 1993 National Championship season) where Maine is going 
to Providence (ironically) after having previously destroyed them one night 
and tied them the next night.  Players are being kinda loose and carefree on 
the bus and Walsh gets on the mic and says something to the effect of:  "Two 
weeks ago we tied these guys.  The University of Maine does not accept ties 
just as it does not accept losses."

I think we (as fans and as a program) have started to lose that edge and the 
attitude that goes with it and I don't like it.

-Deron



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Melissa Wade" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, December 02, 2005 10:20 PM
Subject: Re: Is Maine too distracted?


> Umm, doesn't Whitehead have a better winning percentage than Walsh?  How 
> is
> that lowering the bar for your team?  (I multiplied games by 2, giving 2
> points per win, 1 point per tie - Whitehead is a bit over 68% while Walsh
> was a bit under 64% - not a huge difference, but 68 > 64).
>
> -Melissa
>
> http://hockeyphotography.com
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: The Maine Hockey Discussion List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] 
> On
> Behalf Of Deron Treadwell
> Sent: Friday, December 02, 2005 10:06 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Is Maine too distracted?
>
> I think the reason the comparison with Shawn Walsh comes up every year is
> because he was a tremendous coach and that will be the standard that Tim
> Whitehead and every other coach (for the forseeable future) will be held 
> to
> (and should be held to) in Orono.
>
> Whether that is fair or not is a different debate, but until Tim wins two
> national titles and garners the kind of respect and admiration from his
> players (past and present) that Walsh did, he will not be in the same 
> class.
>
> Do you think the next coach of Duke will not be constantly compared and
> contrasted with Coach K?  C'mon.. it will become sport in N.C.
>
> We seem to be constantly lowering our expectations for this team and this
> program.  Shawn Walsh set the bar high and we should continue to strive to
> reach those same lofty goals.  When Maine doesn't play with passion and
> can't seem to "get up" to play that deserves to be commented on and must 
> be
> corrected.
>
> -Deron
>