let me address two posts in one reply here...
 
on the Maine Hockey list:
> Big mess at the end of the game.  Merrimack coach Ron Anderson refused to
> let his team shake hands after claiming Maine had too-many-men on the ice
> in a Merrimack power-play situation.  Anderson also refused to talk to the
> media.
 
on the Warriors list:
>       Wonder what happened with the "traditional" handshakes after
> the games. It looked like Maine didn't want to show some sportsmanship
> after game one. After game two, I thought that there would be a brawl.
> There were some punches thrown as the teams left the bench after time
> expired in the 3rd period. Merrimack, it appeared, did not want to shake
> hands with Maine. Not sure exactly what went on down on the ice. The Maine
> fans booed MC off the ice. Of course I stood up and cheered enthusiastically.
> This was funny considering that all of the fans in our area were glaring at
> us. But remember, Maine pulled a similar "stunt" on Friday. Nonetheless,
> we were all very proud of our team!
 
ok, time to find the middle ground here. :-)  And hopefully I can help
explain some things as best I can.  It comes from a combination of my own
observations and things we learned from various folks -- none of whom
include any of the Merrimack coaching staff since by the time we got done
after Saturday's game and post game show, the team was on its way back home.
 
First, while I didn't even notice it on Friday, there were indeed
apparently no handshakes.  I think Merrimack was taken aback by this and
didn't expect it.  According to Maine, the rules now provide for handshakes
only after the second game of a two game set.  However from the 1998 NCAA
rule book, rule 7-2-g just says there will be handshakes at the end of each
game and it doesn't say anything about two game sets.  So I can see where
there may have been confusion.
 
Either way, in bypassing the handshakes on Friday, I am certain there was
no attempt at bad sportsmanship by Maine.
 
On Saturday, there were some words exchanged and a milling of players as
the buzzer sounded, and as the teams lined up for the handshakes, some more
words seemed to be exchanged.  It appeared that it was Anderson who then
pulled his team away from the handshakes.  Knowing him as I do, I am sure
that was merely avoiding the possibility of a very ugly situation.  I'm
certain that the calls down the stretch in the game, while not to
Merrimack's liking, had nothing to do with the decision to bypass the
handshakes.  Anderson doesn't do things like that.
 
There did seem to be a question about the number of players on the ice
after penalties were called at 19:02.  The goalie was pulled and with the
extra penalty to Maine, Merrimack should have been up 6x4, down two goals.
Neither Todd nor I recalled noticing anything other than this (in terms of
the number of skaters) and we thought that what Anderson was upset with
referee Bill Jones about, was that the faceoff was being held outside the
line after the whistle had been blown when Michaud covered up in his
crease.  (more below on the faceoff -- in short we were wrong. :-))
 
However what we got from one of the Merrimack staff (not a coach)
afterwards was that there was a question as to the number of players on the
ice.  We were told that Jones was signaling "5x5" when clearly it should
have been 5x4 -- 6x4 with the goalie out.  What I am not certain of is
which of the following was being protested:
 
* Maine being allowed more than four skaters on the ice
* Merrimack being forced to have fewer than six skaters
* or, simply Jones saying that it was 5x5 -- whether or not the situation
on the ice reflected that.
 
For those of you who were there...this will also make another aspect of
this situation make more sense.  After some discussion, Anderson tried to
pull one of his skaters back and put goalie Cris Classen back out there.  I
think that Shawn Walsh may have seen this as trying to gain a few extra
seconds of rest and he protested.  But it can also be seen as follows: if
Anderson did believe that the situation was going to be 5x5, then with a
faceoff at center ice, he may have decided it was safer to put the goalie
in for the draw and then take him out again when they gained the zone.
 
Without seeing the tape I cannot be sure whether or not the actual manpower
situation was wrong; I can only say that Todd and & I thought it was right
(6x4) at the time and thought the faceoff location was being protested.
But we did not learn until afterwards what it apparently really was that
Merrimack was upset about and we have no tape to check.  Heck, maybe they
simply counted wrong or misread Jones.  I really don't know.
 
As for Anderson not talking to the media: that's his prerogative and every
coach exercises it at one time or another.  I would not read too much into
this.
 
BTW, on the faceoff location, I found rule 6-12-q, which says that if play
is whistled down in an end zone and then an altercation takes place, "an
attacking player on the ice or other player coming from the bench shall not
enter the end zone farther than the outer edge of the face-off circles
nearest the blue line.  For a violation of this rule, the ensuing face-off
shall take place at the nearest neutral zone face-off spot."  So I assume
that this happened and that outside the line was the right place to have
the draw; I learned something new.
 
So to summarize: I think there were a few misunderstandings and that's all.
The confusion over the manpower situation in the final minute didn't cause
Merrimack to lose, but it does explain why the staff seemed a little upset
with the officiating.  (perhaps also the way some of the calls went --
power plays on the night were 6-0 for Maine until 2:21 remained in the
third.)  And the bypassing of handshakes on Saturday was most certainly
nothing more than a split second reaction to a potentially ugly situation
and an attempt to avoid it -- rather than a display of bad sportsmanship.
 
In the grand scheme of things none of these items probably deserved all the
time I just spent on them. :-)  And they certainly don't deserve to
overshadow the fact that these were two terrific games this weekend between
a pair of teams that looked more evenly matched than I expected going in.
So I would not put too much emphasis on any of this.
 
Yes, it is true that in my old age I tend to downplay things more and not
look for so much controversy. :-)  However I have also learned that quite
often the simplest explanation is the right one.
 
Special thanks to Maine coach Shawn Walsh for joining us in the Coach's
Corner before Saturday's game for the Maine perspective on Friday's game,
and also to Maine color commentator and former Black Bear goalie Blair
Marsh for joining us in between periods on Saturday.  Hopefully the rematch
at Volpe on Jan. 9 will be as exciting a game as these two were!
 
---                                                                   ---
Mike Machnik                [log in to unmask]               *HMM* 11/13/93
*****         Color Voice of Merrimack Hockey  WCAP 980 AM          *****
*****       Unofficial Merrimack Hockey home page located at:       *****
*****   http://www.tiac.net/users/machnik/MChockey/MChockey.html    *****
>>>    U.S. College Hockey Online http://www.uscollegehockey.com/     <<<