Since I posted the contents from the USCHO message board yesterday on this
thread, I figured I should at least post an update.  The last message gets
cut off for some reason.
 
This is a pretty sad debate if you ask me and thankfully someone (Mike) has
some sense of reality.
 
If you'd like to get in on the "action" the URL is...
http://www.uscollegehockey.com/messboard/messages/message45.html
 
---
Here are the responses to date..
 
Response 5
John B ([log in to unmask])
Rochester NH USA, Sun Nov 30 14:46:05 CST 1997
 
Mike,
 
Nowhere did I say that Walsh "sent" Guite in to make a dirty hit.
In fact I said such an accusation was ludicrous. What I will say
is that it's Walsh's disregard for rules and sportsmanship time
and time again that teaches his players the same. Perhaps their
the least penalized but that hardly reflects how they respond when
they're getting their butts whipped... It stems from a coach who
constantly refuses responsibility for his actions and displays
his poor sportsmanship with his failure to shake hands like he
did last year with Jack Parker. I was there and witnessed him arguing
the penalty for Guite's cheap shot last night, I also saw him
drawing up plays while Mowers lay unconscious on the ice...
You don't think Umile or Serino were on the bench discussing
strategy for the rest of the game do you? My accusations are not
that Walsh wished an injury nor that Guite did... But what happened
was a reflection of a team being led by an unsportsmanlike coach
and a frustrated player that lacked discipline... Keith's words
are certainly out of line and I made that clear...
 
Response 6
Mike Machnik ([log in to unmask])
USA, Sun Nov 30 15:21:40 CST 1997
 
John, how is it true that "it's Walsh's disregard for rules and sportsmanship
time and time again that teaches his players the same"?
 
That is a thinly veiled way of saying that Guite committed the penalty
because he was led to believe by Shawn Walsh in whatever way you think
that it was ok to do things like that.
 
Again, I would challenge you to explain how Walsh has ever given the
impression to his players that it is ok to break the rules and commit
penalties like this. On the contrary, everything I have learned about
him leads me to believe strongly that this is NOT the case.
 
The bit about him drawing up plays is silly. His job is still to coach.
It was the job of other people to attend to Mowers. It is ridiculous
to criticize him for this or for arguing the call -- especially when
we don't know what he was arguing or why.
 
I'm sure he didn't act the way you wanted him to, but I haven't heard
anything that makes me think that the way he acted was wrong.
 
Response 7
Keith ()
Rochester NH USA, Sun Nov 30 16:49:59 CST 1997
 
Mike,
 
you had to be at the game in order to see what happened. John and I were
both at the game and we saw
what happened to Mowers. Maybe I was a bit out of line earlier, and I
apologize if I was, but what I saw
at the game last night was absolutely uncalled for. I had a perfect view of
the hit on Mowers. Right in
front of section 106. A smart hockey player wouldn't have done that. You
have no idea how angry I was
when I saw Mowers laying on the ice and Shawn Walsh didn't even look phazed
by any of it. Every
UNH fan had something to say to Shawn Walsh. I hope that it doesn't happen
again.
 
Response 8
Tom Lithgow ()
Campton NH USA, Sun Nov 30 19:33:20 CST 1997
 
So now that the dust has settled and Mark Mowers is walking around with an
Advil bottle, I've got a few
thought of my own.
 
A UNH fan, I've spent too many hours biting my tongue for fear it would
come back to haunt me. After
last nights game, only one work defines: DOMINATION. UNH did everything
better than Maine. It was
clear, even to the Maine fan I attended with, that UNH is a better
conditioned team, is more disciplined,
and more talented. They played perfect team defense, especially in the
center-zone, and beat Maine to
loose pucks all night. Another defining point: UNH had goal tending and
Maine didn't, as several of
UNHs goals were savable. Leadership? Mowers scored 2 goals, before being
KOd. Shawn Wansborough
spent more time in the penalty box than on the ice. (How old is this guy,
anyway?)
 
The big picture? When Matile is focused and the priority is team defense,
winning face-offs and loose
pucks, this team can dominate anybody in the country. Granted, there are a
handful of teams this can be
said about, but as UNH is going now, they are one of them.
 
As for Maine's style of play (some call it a "system"), this team has
always been an aggressor, and there's
nothing wrong with that. As for Guite's hit on Mowers, Mike, I think you're
being a little neive. Like
everybody else in this post who saw it, I too was a little cranky and sick
over the thing on my ride home.
So I ask, If Guite is such a docile player, he obviously (as most of these
guys do) knows the difference
between right and wrong. So, then, what was his INTENT in a hit like that?
I'll give you this, it probably
wasn't to send Mowers to the hospital, and it probably wasn't condoned by
Walsh. BUT, it wasn't incidental or a "reaction-only" situation either.
Guite knows the consequences, so to me,
the tragedy is that he didn't give a damn. He saw the man looking at the
wall and cranked him into it.
Mowers wasn't even in the play at the time. And it wasn't the first time
cheap crap had come Mowers'
way. Massota tripped him with equal intent AFTER his second goal. So, maybe
they were taking shots at
him. Which begs another question, is the rest of the UNH team going to step
up and protect their
captain? The same thing is happening to Drury. I will also add that this
crap follows Maine for some
reason. I will never forget watching Reg Cardinal's leg check on Tom Nolan
last year. He lined him up,
spread his knees 3 feet apart and drilled Nolan's knee. From where I was
sitting, you could have narrated
the sequence as it happened! I think the jury is out on whether or not its
part of the Walsh "system."
 
Another observation: It was pretty clear that Walsh instructed his players
to cruise the crease, as there
were at least 5 Maine crease violations one disallowing a goal. I don't
think UNH had even one. This is
part of his "system" anyway, but he was clearly looking to incite Matile
into penalties, a la the game the
prior night vs. UML. Matile didn't take the bait, and so least 5 Maine
possessions turned into center-zone
face-offs. Maybe they ought to focus more on center-zone coaching and
breakouts than goalie
harassment.
 
Response 10
Mike Machnik ([log in to unmask])
USA, Sun Nov 30 20:16:44 CST 1997
 
I can't say I have ever seen a team that is apparently so obvious of an
"aggressor" lead the league in lowest penalty minutes.
 
If I'm being naive to say that Walsh does not teach his team to go out
and hurt people, then I will happily plead guilty as charged.
 
I understand people being upset about the hit. However, there is no
need to extrapolate that and accuse Walsh or Maine of things that anyone
knows are not true. Take it for what it was, an ill-advised hit that
should not have happened. Fortunately Mowers is ok.
 
And remember the old adage about glass houses and throwing stones. It
will come back to haunt you. Just a week ago, Merrimack's Ron Mongeau
was the victim of a similarly dangerous hit from behind. The opponent?
UNH. But that wasn't representative of any intent by UNH to go out and
hurt people, and it sure doesn't mean Dick Umile coaches his team to
do those things.
 
Response 11
()
Hampden ME USA, Sun Nov 30 20:38:15 CST 1997
 
Well, I expected to see this topic here when I checked in this evening. But
seven responses within eight
hours? Must be a record.
 
As for John and Keith's comments: I can understand why you vilify Shawn
Walsh so. Lord knows that
people in these parts have vilified Jack Parker for a lot less. And any
coach that commits NCAA
violations is an easy target for opposing fans.
 
However, it's quite apparant that both of you let your school colors bleed
up to your eyes. Granted, there
is no reason for Ben Guite -- or anyone else -- to lay on a cheap hit when
you're getting beaten. We've all
seen it before, and it always raises the ire of the offended team and its
fans. Righfully so, too. I'd be
pretty torqued off if any UMaine player was on the receiving end. But let's
call it what it was: a stupid
foul committed out of frustration and a tinge of embarrassment. The fact
that Shawn Walsh is on the
opposing bench is irrelevant.
 
I challenge John's accusations that Shawn Walsh "constantly refuses
responsibility for his actions and
displays ... poor sportsmanship." Walsh took responsibility from day one
when his suspension was
announced. However, the fact that the UMaine program has a history of NCAA
violations is also
irrelevent to this hit. Not only is Maine the least penalized team in
Hockey East (and I'd like to that Mike
Machnik for pointing this out), but Maine also has a history of keeping the
so-called "goons" off the
team. John also alleged that Maine "can't win without talent and
sportsmanship." As I recall, Maine had a
very good season last year, and also won the Hockey East Sportsmanship
Award. Also, John, if you
think that everyone east of Kittery thinks that Shawn Walsh is a "perfect
god,%