The guess here is that Johnson said it felt good because they got a win in
the second game after losing the first, meaning the best they could do at
that point was split. That said, there was a time, and not that long ago,
when a split against two sub-par/mediocre teams was just unacceptable.
Simple as that.  And it started from the top on down. It starts with the
coaches. The coaches set the tone on what is acceptable and what isn't.
Losing to Duluth and coming from behind to beat Northeastern would've been
a pretty bad series of hockey under a former particular coach, who hated
losing about as much as he loved winning, and whose "ties are not
acceptable at the University of Maine" mantra rubbed off on his players. 

My concern is that Whitehead was satisfied or felt pretty good about the
tournament. That would be a shame. My concern is that Whitehead is setting
a tone here that suggests it's ok to split games against weak(er)
opposition. If that's the case, he needs to be reminded (again) that he's
not in Lowell anymore. 

--- Deron Treadwell <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Well its been a couple weeks since my last rant, so before 2005 ends I 
> figure I'll harp on this subject one last time this year.
> 
> But first.. a recap for those who haven't been paying attention or lost 
> interest: Maine split this week down in Florida losing to
> Minnesota-Duluth 
> and then beating Northeastern.
> 
> Now for the rub... Keith Johnson in the Portland Press Herald Dec. 29:
> 
> "Especially the juniors, we haven't had the best of luck down here,"
> Johnson 
> said. "We haven't really played particularly well either, but it feels
> good 
> to split down here and get ready for the second half."
> 
> ...
> 
> ".. it feels good to split down here"
> 
> Excuse me?  I wasn't there, but it doesn't sound to me like there was
> much 
> that happened on the ice that felt good.
> 
> I could see this quote making sense if you took care of business against
> 
> Minnesota-Duluth (proud owners of only 7 wins in 20 games prior to
> Florida) 
> and then gave Cornell a good game.
> 
> BUT.. you got whitewashed by Duluth 4-1.  Then you spent a good deal of
> the 
> game behind against a Northeastern team that has..... ONE WIN!!!
> 
> But hey, that apparently feels good.
> 
> I don't mean to pick on Keith, it isn't his fault -- he just gave the
> quote, 
> but the quote is indicative of the pervasive attitude on this team and
> with 
> this program right now.  Instead of demanding play at the highest (and
> more 
> importantly hardest working) level possible WE continue to view
> mediocrity 
> as an acceptable outcome.  I have real concerns about the direction of
> this 
> program long-term right now.
> 
> But the new year is upon us and like everywhere else this is a time for
> new 
> beginnings.  All is not lost in Orono.. yet.  Happy New Year!
> 
> -Deron 
> 



		
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