Interesting question.  Actually, while preseason articles in the fall of 
2002 were enthusiastic about a "highly touted" freshman class, both the 
official press release and the preview story by Chad Finn (an excellent 
UMaine student reporter who is now a sportswriter/editor in New Hampshire, I 
believe) spoke of the 2002-03 season as a "rebuilding year."  After all, we 
had lost Hobey Bakerr winner Scott Pellerin, two-year captains Martin 
Robitaille and Mike Barkley, and four other seniors (Tony Link, Randy Olson, 
Steve Tepper, and Steve Widmeyer) to graduation, and Jean Yves Roy had 
signed with the New York Rangers after his junior year.  With all the hoopla 
about our 2003 NCAA championship, it's easy to forget that the 2001-2002 
team was ranked No. 1 for most of the season and was supposed to be our 
first championship team.

The incoming freshman class was notable both for quality and volume.  In 
fact there were so many newcomers--10 freshmen and four red-shirts--that the 
Blue-White game was Newcomers vs. Veterans (the veterans won, 8-6).  The 
newcomers included 10 forwards--the Ferraro twins, Kariya, Santonelli, 
Gwinn, Thompson, Clukey, Purdie, Mahoney, and Latendresse (redshirt)--two 
defensemen, MacIsaac and Rodrigue (both redshirts), and two goalies, Hirsch 
(redshirt) and Marsh.

In Chad Finn's preseason article, the Ferraro twins got top billing. In 
fact, after half a dozen introductory paragraphs, he devotes nine paragraphs 
to Peter and Chris (who, after all, were the first- and fourth-round draft 
picks of the New York Rangers), before mentioning Kariya, who was the 
Canadian Tier II Junior player of the year.

>From: james acheson <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Maine Hockey Discussion List <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: a question to all the "old timers"  heh re: recruiting
>Date: Thu, 25 Aug 2005 13:48:24 -0700
>
>
>I see all sorts of talk about this recruit and that one (all the Yandle 
>stuff)... and I never really paid much attention to that in the past
>
>I wonder ... what sort of hooplah was there over Paul Kariya coming to 
>Maine, and who else was there a bunch of fanfare over?
>
>Nonni, Dave, Bob F.... any of you have a comment?
>
>Now the Pepin-Danis kid is coming and I forsee a bunch of fanfare over this 
>as well.  (he and Duffy will look a lot like the Merrimack Defense of the 
>mid 90's )
>
>
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