Hello all,
 
It's been a while since I've jumped in on a subject on the list, but this
one is too good to pass up.
 
I was at Northeastern in 1988 and I remember a night when Maine came to NU.
The Huskies, who were actually a good team back then, was up by two goals.
Shawn Walsh called a stick check on Marty Raus (as in house -- that one's
for you Sparky!) and Rob Cowie and got both of them!!! They both went to the
box and gave Maine a 5-3 advantage with about 1:30ish left in the game.
 
After the game, I was talking to Walsh in the bowels of Matthews Arena. The
only thing that separated the locker rooms was a curtain. I was standing
there with another reporter talking to Walsh when NU assistant coach
screamed out at him in disgust and said, "Hey Walsh, what the hell is that
s&*t?" For as long as I live I'll never forget Walsh's answer, "Hey
sunshine, it's in the rulebook." Berglund and he got face to face screaming
at each other and then things calmed down and we continued to talk.
 
The moral to this story is that PLAYERS SHOULDN'T USE ILLEGAL STICKS!!!!!
 
More importantly, maybe coaches should check the kids sticks and punish the
kids with illegal sticks in some possible way. It may seem like a small
little thing right now, or maybe a big thing, but what happens if a kid gets
caught with an illegal stick in the National Championship game?? A team is
up by a goal or two with a minute or so left.....????
 
This is just so stupid.....the bottom line is maybe we should realize that
rules are rules and they need to be enforced by somebody!!!! This isn't a
new issue and usually comes up once a year.
 
It wouldn't have to if the rule was enforced....coaches would lose their
stick check appeals and then have a minor on them and then maybe they'll
stop calling the stick checks.
 
But as long as coaches keep getting the call their way, why should they not
try to do everything in their power to win. For isn't that why most of them
keep their jobs?
 
 
Just my two cents.
 
Hope all's well and that we will meet again in six weeks in Milwaukee.
 
 
Jon Barkan
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