To paraphrase the United States Postal Service saying, "Neither rain, nor
snow, nor sleet..." shall keep me from attending a Black Bear hockey game
in Massachusetts.  It took us over 1-1/2 hours to get from Peabody to
Newton thanks to a snowstorm which decided to hit the Greater Boston area
right at the start of Friday's rush hour.  Here is a recap of the game.
 
FIRST PERIOD
 
Dan and I got there with about 4:30 left in the first period, with the game
scorless.  Kariya almost scored on a breakaway late in the period, but the
BC goalie made a great save.
 
SECOND PERIOD
 
BC took a 1-0 lead at the 49 second mark of the second period.  Goal was
scored by Gionta, with an assist to Bellefeuille.  Jason Vitorino received
a roughing penalty at 2:52.  BC appeared to take a 2-0 lead at 3:19;
however, it was ruled no goal due to a high stick.  Alfie faced 9 shots on
net during the first four minutes of the period.
 
Both Maine and BC sent players to the penalty box at 9:01; Jaaskelainen for
holding, and Caulfield for interference.  Alfie appeared to get slashed at
13:03, but of course there was no call.
 
Maine tied the score at 13:32 of the second.  Goal was scored by Cory
Larose, with assists to Kariya and Heisten.  Kariya was called for
interference at 15:27.
 
With less than a minute to play in the period, both teams were sent to the
locker room, and it was announced that the final 50 seconds of the second
period would be played before the start of the third period.  Thanks to
Dan's eagle (no pun intended) eyes, I learned that there was a loose piece
of glass in the dasher near the BC bench.
 
When the teams returned, Caulfield of BC was called for a hooking penalty
at 19:59.  Since the face-off was in front of the BC goal, Coach Walsh
pulled Michaud for the extra skater (why can't the Bruins do things like
that!!).
 
THIRD PERIOD
 
Coach Walsh must have paced the equivalent of the distance between the
Heights and the Alfond Arena during the third period.  I'm glad we were
sitting across from the Maine bench.  The jacket came off, and everytime an
official skated by the Maine bench, he had some comment to make (probably
about the lack of calls).
 
Maine took the lead for good at 16:18 of the third period.  As Deron
reported, Barrett Heisten scored his first goal of the season.  The goal
was originally credited to Larose, with an assist to Kariya.  They
announced the change in scoring at the end of the game, so I didn't hear
who got credit for the assist(s).
 
BC called their time out at 18:53 of the third period and pulled their
goalie.  BC, for the most part, kept the puck in the Maine end, and
peppered Alfie with shots on goal.
 
The game was reported as a sellout on the radio, but there were alot of
empty seats (due to the storm).  There was a small, but vocal contingent of
Maine fans.  I heard quite a few shouts of "Let's Go Maine" over the
attempts of the BC fans to cheer on their team.  The BC fans needed
assistance from the person running the scoreboard.  There were messages
that basically said "Cheer Here".  Personally, I tried to out yell everyone
with the M-A-I-N-E GOOOOOOOOO BLUUUUUUE Cheer!  My throat is still sore,
but I plan to be ready to do the same tomorrow night.
 
All in all, it was a great game, and just reinforces my belief that Black
Bear Hockey is the greatest sport on earth!!
 
Lindsay A. Huntoon
Go Black Bears
Anaheim or Bust in 1999!!!!