Nice review of the games.  You are absolutely right about the TV coverage. I have written to Hockey east regarding this and obviously gotten no reply.  What can they say?  It's actually a now annual email.  Maybe, just maybe, I can muster up a cheer for bu if it means Maine will stay east and then I can go.....: )


> From: Deron Treadwell <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: 2003/03/15 Sat PM 02:45:32 EST
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Hockey East Semifinals
>
> I was fortunate enough to be able to watch both Hockey East semifinal games
> on Fox Sports last night.
>
> What a great 7 hours of hockey that was!!  Hockey East has become so deep
> and such a great, competitive conference and that was on display last night.
> I have watched plenty of sports, but few events have been as entertaining as
> BOTH games were last night.  It was a terrific time, despite the fact that
> my team (Maine) was not there!!
>
> #1 UNH vs. #6 UMass
>
> Hard to know what to expect from this game.  UMass had just came off a
> stunning two-game upset of my beloved Black Bears and as an extremely young
> team would they respond to the challenge or would UNH's experience the
> FleetCenter environment overwhelm them?
>
> After a pretty even first part of the period, UNH got on the board 1-0 and
> then not long after on a good individual play by Josh Prudden, who just
> turned and fired the puck on net, UNH was up 2-0 and they were flying.
>
> UMass was able to survive and get to the dressing room, but it did not
> appear that UMass was going to be able to make a game of this.  But
> (remember this) UMass would not die.  By the 12:40 mark of the second period
> Stephen Warner and Greg Mauldin had scored to bring UMass back to tie the
> game at 2-2 setting up as UNH coach Dick Umile called it, "a 20-minute
> hockey game".
>
> UNH appeared ready to bury UMass early in the third as Tyler Scott and Steve
> Saviano scored at 3:17 and 6:43 respectively to establish a 4-2 lead.  At
> that point I felt the game was over.  No way UMass can come back, right?
>
> But once again UMass did not die, and by scoring goals 10 seconds apart the
> Minutemen again tied it at 4-4, before Prestin Calandar got the game winner
> for UNH with just 2:29 to go.
>
> The best team clearly won this game, but UMass deserves a ton of credit for
> showing a lot more maturity and poise than their age and their program's
> experience dictates.  UMass returns practically all of their team, and will
> be a dangerous team next year.  Hockey East just gets deeper and deeper.
>
> #2 BC vs. #5 BU
>
> Well, after a great UNH/UMass game it seemed hard to believe that the night
> cap would be better, but I should have known better.
>
> In a two-overtime thriller BU got the 6-5 win over BC in a see-saw game that
> saw several lead changes and much emotion.
>
> BC goaltender Matti Kaltiainen looked pretty weak early, allowing a Brian
> Collins goal just 43 seconds in, but then looking shaky on a couple early
> saves, but would get better as the game went on.  The teams ended a fairly
> even first with a 1-1 score, BC might have had a slight edge in play.
>
> The second period was absolutely wild as 5 goals were scored in the period.
> BC took a 2-1 lead, then BU would go up 3-2 and finally BU ended the period
> up 4-3.  There were a lot of breakdowns defensively as the game clearly
> opened up.  I almost wrote that there wasn't much defense played, but that
> wasn't really accurate because without some good plays on both ends more
> goals could have been scored.
>
> In the third, Tony Voce took over for BC.  The talented forward scored twice
> by the 11:50 mark to erase BU's lead and give the Eagles a 5-4 advantage.
> But the real talk of the period was BU's tying goal by Justin Maiser at
> 16:38.  On the play Maiser knocked down a puck with his stick before
> sweeping the puck into the goal.  The play was reviewed to see if perhaps it
> had been a high stick.  The replay was very difficult to judge.  (For those
> of you who love Fox Sports New England, the announcers openly admitted they
> had no idea what the tollerance is for "high stick" in college hockey, so
> they weren't able to offer much.  It was emabarassing I thought for them to
> be in this position where they couldn't help the viewer -- me -- figure out
> whether the stick as too high or not.)
>
> The referee ended up saying (through a mike we heard the explaination) that
> the replay was not conclusive so the call on the ice which was a goal was to
> stand.  The play was clearly borderline, but I can't say with certainty that
> a wrong or right call was made.
>
> In the first overtime, BC had all the chances and BU goalie Sean Fields
> really was the difference, he was very good.  Tony Voce may have had the
> best chance as he was left all alone for some reason in the slot and took a
> pass from Stephen Gionta from behind the net, but Fields got the shot with a
> blocker.  I don't think Voce put it exactly where he wanted it.  BC also hit
> at least one post in the first overtime.
>
> But as often happens in these cases when one team dominates overtime and the
> other team hangs around sometimes they are able to convert.  In the second
> overtime, in the 85th minute of the game, Brian McConnell got free behind
> the goal line extended and fed a pass to Maiser who was in point blank
> range.  Maiser just unloaded an absolute bomb to score and win the game for
> BU.  Kaltiainen really had no chance as Maiser was pretty much all alone and
> maybe 10 feet away.. just no reaction time to his bomb.
>
> BU will meet UNH in the championship game tonight.  One question will be how
> are BU's legs?  Certainly UNH has an advantage I think in both talent and
> because of the fatigue question.  But, BU as of late is a team that just
> keeps grinding and if they stay out of the box it could be another classic.
>
> Editorial comment:
>
> After the quality of games last night, Hockey East should by NO MEANS
> TOLLERATE having their championship game taped delayed after this year.  The
> quality of hockey and desire put forth last night deserves to be showcased
> and if Fox Sports New England won't do it, find a station that will.  It is
> incredibly disappointing that Hockey East fans have had to endure this,
> again, this season.
>
> ---
> Deron Treadwell - [log in to unmask]
> http://www.blackbears.net
>

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