So far we have a 29 year old hearsay account of what happened.  Perhaps we can
find a contemporary newspaper story.  Though I am admittedly a biased Gopher
fan, I have a hard time believing that the only villains in this piece were
wearing maroon and gold.

-- Erik


Jeffrey Partnow wrote:
> Ed (et al)--
>
> Herb Brooks!!!??? Our American hero? Surely there MUST be another side
> to this tale.
>
> Gopher fans????
>
> --Jeff Partnow
> --Fairbanks
>
>
>
> On Feb 15, 2005, at 12:22 PM, Moller Edward N wrote:
>
>> I was still in high school in 1976 and was not there, but heard the
>> game
>> on radio and from several eyewitnesses.  Here is what I heard.  I do
>> know subscribers to this list who were there, and they will corroborate
>> this story.
>>
>> Prior to the opening faceoff of the semifinal game between BU and UMTC,
>> Herb Brooks instructed his top goon, Russ Anderson, to remove BU's top
>> player from the game, captain Terry Meagher (now the head coach at
>> Bowdoin).  Anderson complied, by engaging Meagher in a slashing duel.
>> The two skated to their respective penalty boxes, which were beside the
>> Minnesota bench.  The officials had to escort the players, but that did
>> not stop Brooks from bombarding Meagher with obscenities, while the
>> UMTC
>> trainer called Meagher a frog and spat towards him.  [Meagher is
>> Canadian but he is not French.  Frog is equivalent to the N word in
>> Canada.]  This caused fisticuffs to ensue, and both Meagher and
>> Anderson
>> were ejected.  Nothing happened to Brooks and I can't recall whether
>> any
>> penalties were assessed to the trainer.  Not a bad deal from
>> Minnesota's
>> perspective:  a goon for a key player.  All the while the Minnesota
>> band
>> played the Battle Hymn of the Republic.
>>
>> The 1976 Frozen Four title should not be a source of pride for the
>> Gopher faithful.  There is no honor in that banner.  It demonstrated
>> team and fan behavior at their worst, ranging from poor sportsmanship
>> to
>> out and out bigotry.  29 years later it is largely forgotten, in no
>> small part because it wasn't televised.  Imagine the reation if
>> something like that happened today.  I am confident however that it
>> won't.
>>
>> Gopher fans flame away.
>>
>>
>> Edward N. Moller
>> Controller and Assistant Treasurer
>> Mount Ida College
>> 777 Dedham Street
>> Newton, MA  02459-3323
>> Tel  617-928-4515
>> Fax 617-928-4581
>> [log in to unmask]
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: - Hockey-L - The College Hockey Discussion List
>> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Carl Ford
>> Sent: Tuesday, February 15, 2005 2:30 PM
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: Re: PWR flaws
>>
>>
>> Such as?
>>
>> In the interest of full disclosure, I was born & raised in MN, went to
>> BU, and was 6 in 1976.  I just see an interesting story coming up...
>>
>> Quoting Moller Edward N <[log in to unmask]>:
>>
>>> I think most college hockey fans from the eastern part of the country
>>> would say that the Gophers should not have been there, particularly in
>>
>>
>>> light of the players', coaches', staff's, and band's behavior during
>>> that tournament.
>>>
>>
>> -------------
>> Carl Ford
>> [log in to unmask]
>>
>>
>> ___________________________________________________________
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>>
>
> .
>