ANATOMY OF A HOCKEY EAST WEEKEND
This is definitely one of those "you had to be there to appreciate
it" stories, which probably means only five people will enjoy this
post. However, some of it HAD to be posted (read on). :-)
My journey began in Detroit on Friday afternoon. I had a 1:35
flight arriving in Boston at 3:26. I boarded the plane on time,
only to be informed that ground control had delayed our takeoff
until 2:10. After finally getting into the air around 2:20, I
began to worry about missing my connecting flight to Manchester NH
at 4:10. The plan was to meet Mike Machnik in Manchester, then
drive back to his place where we would pick up Heather, drop off my
bag and head for North Andover MA for the Boston University at
Merrimack game.
After checking with a stewardess, it became apparent that I could
probably make my connection, but my bag might not. Back in
Detroit, I had checked my bag straight through to Manchester. It
had basically everything in it, so I wasn't about to leave it
behind. I could probably catch the next flight to Manchester, but
it was arriving too late for Mike to be able to pick me up and make
the game on time. (Mike goes on radio at 6:45.) Decisions,
decisions. The plane began the descent into Boston at 3:45, and I
still didn't have a clue as to what would happen. Suddenly, the
captain announced that we had been placed in a holding pattern and
we couldn't touch down until 4:30. One thing became clear -- kiss
my flight to Manchester goodbye. By the time I reached a phone in
Boston's Logan Airport, I was already supposed to be in Manchester
with Mike. I called Mike there and we discussed the options. The
best plan was for me to meet Mike and Heather at the game.
First, I had to locate my bag, which had already been checked onto
the next flight to Manchester. The good thing was, this only took
about 15 minutes. The bad thing was, my bag must have been
traveling outside of the aircraft from Detroit to Boston. It was
sopping wet. A quick change off coats and I was off. Now, for any
of you trying to get to Volpe Center from Logan, pay attention.
- Take the shuttle bus (#33) from the airport to the subway.
- Take the blue line to State Street. [$.85 token]
- Take the orange line to North Station.
- Go across the street to the Gah-den and buy a one-way ticket
to Andover aboard the Haverill commuter rail. [$3.25]
- Jump that train to Andover.
- Disembark at Andover and head for the nearest phone.
- Catch a cab to Volpe Center in North Andover. [$7.00]
- Tip the driver for saying nice things about Cam Stewart.
[$3.00]
OK, so I swish on up to Volpe around 7:45. The first period had
just ended. BU Head Coach Jack Parker had just been tossed for the
night. The place was going crazy. I slipped into the office of
Jim Seavey, MC SID, dropped my bag, quickly changed into my
Merrimack jersey and headed into the arena. I spotted Heather (who
wouldn't pick out Heather in a crowd :-), then I saw Mike doing the
radio thing. I received a quick update on the game (2-1 BU) and
was told that Hockey-L'ers Tony 'H.G.' Biscardi and Adam Bryant
were also in attendance. I took a seat among the MC students and
began to soak up my first taste of Hockey East. Merrimack scored
a pair of quick goals to go up 3-2, then BU's Jon Coleman answered
for a 3-3 score after 40 minutes. I headed for the press box to be
interviewed by Mike regarding Michigan and the CCHA in general. Of
course, I had no idea what I was doing and no idea what Mike was
going to ask me. Hopefully Mike's substantial audience wasn't too
turned off by some CCHA stiff taking up airtime.
After the interview, I decided that Volpe was nothing more than a
giant freezer and I headed back to Jim's office to get my coat and
gloves. Too late! Jim had already locked up and was back in the
box for the third period. It was then that I recognized Adam
Bryant in the concourse area. (Adam was at the H-L gathering in
Milwaukee.) He introduced me to Tony and they agreed to allow me
into the BU section for the third period, Merrimack jersey and all.
When we reached their seats, I was greeted by a chorus of boos from
the BU contingent. Tony explained that everything was OK, I'm not
really from Merrimack, I'm from Michigan. This prompted another
chorus of boos.
The third period was an exciting one with Merrimack scoring first
before BU answered with a pair for a 5-4 win. Following the GWG,
I was enveloped by a collective BU hug. It was scary. With but a
few seconds remaining in the game, Tony, Adam and company ceased
the premature unveiling of a sign signifying BU's 1000th win by
assaulting the sign holder. What me superstitious?
After more BU whooping and a "T's Pub" cheer, the gang headed over
to the press box to see Mike and Heather. We passed Hockey-L's Sid
Whitaker along the way. It was then decided that I wouldn't be
welcome at BU the following evening if I wore my Lake Superior
jersey, which I had packed just for the occasion. We said goodbye
to Tony, Adam and their friends who headed back to Boston. Most
likely, we (Mike, Heather and I) would see them the next night, but
there was still a chance we might go to the Bruins game instead.
Before we left, I had the pleasure of meeting BU SID Ed Carpenter,
a damn nice guy. Mike and I also cast our ballots for the Hockey
East All-Decade Team, bringing the ballot box total to nine. We
gathered our stuff and headed for the Machnik's, stopping along the
way for some fantastic roast beef sandwiches.
We settled in, watched the end of the UAF-DU game, gabbed for
awhile and called it a night sometime after 2:00 AM. Mike said not
to look for them until 11:00 or so.
Mike was right. I rolled out of bed after 9:00, called Sandra at
home and got the scoop on Michigan's 5-1 win over Ohio State and
Eastern Michigan's 19-4 romp over Purdue. I made an attempt to
reach the Bruin's Cam Stewart, but missed him. I did catch Bryan
Smolinski. Always a pleasure to chat with the 1992-93 CCHA scoring
champion. (Insert large tongue in cheek.)
Next up was a thorough reading of THE HOCKEY NEWS. Living on the
east coast, Mike is an issue ahead of us lowly midwesterners. Mr
and Mrs Machnik awoke just in time to catch a brief glimpse of the
AM. :-) Breakfast, sports on TV, more gabbing and Mike's
impressive collection of media guides passed the time all too
quickly. And a new issue of THN came in the day's mail. We did
have time to view "Out of the Woods", the video of Maine's 1992-93
season. Very cool. It re-enforced my opinion of Shawn Walsh (a
legend in his own mind) and my belief that the Hobey Baker Award
rightfully belonged to Jim Montgomery.
Onto the game. Since I didn't reach Cam, we were off to Walter
Brown Arena for the next round in the MC-BU series. My "Michigan
Hockey" jacket turned many a head in BU-land. I spent the first
two periods in the press box with Mike, Heather and a member of
Merrimack's staff who must be one of the funniest guys in college
hockey and who's name always escapes me. (If this is an important
detail, message Mike, he'll know who I mean.) I also brushed by
David Silk, marking the closest I've ever been to a member of the
1980 Team USA "Miracle On Ice." I would have snagged an autograph,
but I always oggle first and think later. Please don't take that
last line out of context. :-)
The game wasn't as close as Friday, with BU leading 6-2 after two.
I decided to experience a period among the BU students so I joined
Tony (who was wearing a shirt that read, "Is B.C. REALLY
necessary?") in the crowd. More boos, of course. "What is you, I
Spy or somethin'?"
As with the night before, zany comedy and a good time had by all in
the BU section. The Terriers go on to win the game 8-4. I told
Tony that Mike, Heather and I would join the gang over at T.
Anthony's after we gathered up our stuff.
After the game, I spoke with Warriors Matt Adams and Dan Hodge.
Two fine young men and solid hockey players. I also met Mr and Mrs
Adams, and Matt's brother. Mrs Adams is one of Mike's loyal
listeners.
Later, the three of us joined Tony, Adam and the BU gang at T.
Anthony's. The five Hockey-L'ers were still there approaching 3:00
AM. Needless to say, I can't relate all of our discussion over a
public network :-), but, with some risk of sounding like a male
chauvinist pig, I will say the following:
- Tony and Adam also cast All-HE ballots at MC on Friday, hence
we collectively accounted for four of the nine votes.
- I related to the crowd that after visiting two arenas and one
pizzeria, I was convinced that the number of attractive, young
females was much greater in Hockey East than in the CCHA.
This delighted the crowd and prompted a pledge that I post the
observation to Hockey-L. :-)
- It was also evident that Hockey East fans, at least the 20-
something set, were better at whooping it up both during and
following the game. Or else I'm hanging out in the wrong
places in Ann Arbor. Maybe it was just being with Tony, who
knows about 1/4 of the people in Boston.
- I've been inside Ewigleben Ice Arena at Ferris State and I
don't *remember* it being as cold as Volpe.
- We were joined by an attractive, young, slightly inebriated
co-ed named Alex who was taken aback by my Michigan attire.
Convinced that BU will defeat the Wolverines in the NC$$
Championships, Alex requested (and requested and requested) a
bet on the outcome. I took the no-brainer win-win choice of
dinner in St Paul. (Yes, my wife is OK with this. :-) Alex
agreed. She then vacated the establishment, with some
prompting from BU defenseman Jon Coleman. I thought to
myself, "Ah, I'll never run into her in St Paul." But, Tony
neglected to mention at the time that Alex happens to be BU's
student trainer. I guess I'll know where to find her! Maybe
she won't remember. :-)
I'll wrap up by saying that we finally turned in at 4:00 AM with a
9:00 AM wake-up call for my return flight to Michigan. It was
difficult to leave the Boston area, but I succumbed.
Mike, Heather, Tony (H.G.), Adam -- let's do it again, eh!
John H
U Mich
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