HERE WE GO AGAIN!  You will not find a bigger defender of Coach Walsh
than I am!  However, please give me a break that during Shawn's years
at Maine the team NEVER had a let down!!!!!!!!

What happened in 1999??????  Did they not lose to UNH not once, but
twice, in convincing fashion!  Obviously they went on to win the
national championship, so are you telling me they were operating on all
cylinders when they lost something like 6-3 and 6-2 in Durham, when
they could have won the regular season.

One thing everyone should have learned by now, the regular season is a
stepping stone to the tournament.  Any team, regardless the coach is
going to have let downs from time-to-time.  The key is that they don't
happen at the wrong time.  Did they come out flat Friday night, they
sure did, but the way they responded on Saturday night was as good as I
have seen this team play this year!

Folks, I'd advise you to pick-up the Maine year book and look at any
season, save 92-93, and you'll find that even under Coach Walsh Maine
lost games to inferior opponents, it happens.  The most important thing
is they learn from it.  Better they lose to Lowell, than have a let
down in the Quarterfinals.

I don't know what lies ahead for this years Black Bears, but they have
exceeded almost all of our expectations.  I have a feeling they have
not exceeded their own however, and I look forward to seeing how far
they can take us along for the ride!!!

Bob Fitta '83

On Feb 29, 2004, at 2:59 PM, Doug Libbey wrote:

> That kinda thing just never happened under Coach
> Walsh.  Not to cut into old wounds here, but it's
> true.  And if a Walsh team ever did seem to be getting
> that "L" word, you know he lit a fire under them come
> intermission, if not right then and there on the ice
> in the middle of the game.  He didn't just let it
> happen.
>
> Whitehead seems to be a coach that will allow his men
> to play the game how they want to so they can suffer
> the consequences later.  That's not really a bad thing
> to me either, really.  Cuz you saw how they came out
> and played in Game #2.  Maybe he saw this as a chance
> to let his team lose a game they needed to win so we
> don't have a repeat of what happened last season vs.
> UMA in the opening round of the HE Tourney.  Not quite
> the way I would want to see him go about it really,
> but it's possible that was his mindset.
>
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Bob Fitta
Director of Advertising
Harvard Magazine
617-496-6631