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This story can be found online at:
http://www.portland.com/sports/college/hockey/020407colsol.shtml

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                     Sunday, April 7, 2002

                     COLUMN: Steve Solloway



                        Shawn's place, and she carries on




                      Copyright  2002 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.









ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Wanna dance?

 Bananas, the larger-than-life University of Maine mascot, spread his arms wide and the sons of Shawn Walsh didn't look around for permission.

 The Maine pep band played and people laughed and smiled as the three young boys boogied with the bear.

 "It was so cool," said Lynne Walsh, who watched even as tears blurred her vision. "The boys were having so much fun. Sean Michael had the biggest smile.

 "That's when I lost it. I so much wanted Shawn to see that."

 It has been difficult to imagine walking in Lynne Walsh's shoes this week.

 So many times she has been the voice of strength. Sometimes, such as Friday night's pep rally when the boys and Bananas gave her a lifetime memory, she's the image of vulnerability.

 Here at the Frozen Four, the NCAA hockey championships, her story has become a national story. She is the wife of the successful coach who lost his very public fight with cancer.

 Television cameras pan to Lynne and the three boys at the Xcel Energy Center. Tyler, 10, and Travis, 8, are Shawn's sons from his first marriage and live in Michigan with their mom. They are big step-brothers to Sean Michael, not yet 3.

 Reporters line up when they see Lynne. The questions are sensitive, the words are soft. Yet they are still constant reminders her husband is gone.

 "I'm glad that I can talk about Shawn. I'm glad that he's remembered. It's good for me; it's good for the team."

 A fourth-grade teacher now working toward her master's degree, she learned of the relationship that a successful coach has with his team. As she grieved his passing, she knew that Tyler, Travis and Sean Michael were not his only sons.

 "I know how much Shawn cared for this team. I can't let that go. I want to let his voice be heard.

 "I wanted the team to know that I wasn't going to abandon them."

 The door to her home and her heart were open. She talked with the players. Occasionally she brought Sean Michael to practice so he could get on the ice with his buddies.

 "I was telling them Shawn wasn't here, but I'm here."

 She and Sean Michael arrived Thursday morning at the Frozen Four, in time for Maine's game with New Hampshire. She walked into this huge, new arena and felt a sadness.

 "Shawn would have loved this. He lived for this, the big crowds and the excitement of the tournament. That's why, as quickly as my heart sank, it rose again."

 Saturday afternoon, hours before Maine played Minnesota for the national championship, she spoke on her cell phone, sitting by a hotel pool while the boys laughed and splashed in the water.

 She spoke freely. She spoke with difficulty. At times she fought to control her emotions.

 "I loved being Shawn's support. We discussed everything together. We had a very communicative relationship."

 She was the coach's wife, standing by his side during countless interviews with the media in arena corridors, standing by the players from her seat in the grandstand.

 She laughs when someone asked if she remembers last year, when Maine beat Minnesota in the Eastern Regional at the Worcester Centrum. The game went into overtime. One team's season was going to end that night.

 Lynne Walsh spent a lot of time not even looking at the ice.

 "I was a wreck. I was doing some visual imaging. I was trying to see the puck into the net."

 She laughed again. "I don't know if anyone would understand."

 Maine won that night, eliminating Minnesota. The next night, Boston College eliminated Maine. It was the last game Shawn Walsh coached.

 Saturday night, thousands of Minnesota fans filled the Xcel Energy Center, far outnumbering their Maine counterparts. The din was unbelievable.

 Lynne Walsh said she was going to be just fine. The boys, too, including Sean Michael.

 "He was inside me in Anaheim when we won. Those were some of the first sounds he heard. He was brought up with the sounds of the arena.

 "I'm not nervous. Win or lose, I know that everything happens for a reason."

 It is not her crusade to keep Shawn's name on people's minds. She knows his record and personality will do that.   Staff Writer Steve Solloway can be contacted at 791-6412 or at: [log in to unmask]