Geoff Howell wrote:
 
> Referees: Frank Cole and Scotte Leavitt
 
An interesting bit of trivia which Joe Carr was nice enough to give us
on the radio prior to yesterday's game: Does anyone remember another
memorable game between Maine and BU that these two officiated?  I don't
think these refs will ever forget it, nor will the Alfond Faithful who
were there that night.  Answer coming up at the end of this post...
 
When I picked up my Maine Sunday Telegram this morning and saw Mike
Prendergast with his hands raised over his head my stomach turned.
Had it been a picture of Jacques Joubert or Mike Grier I wouldn't have
minded, but there's something about Prendergast I just don't like.
Possibly the fact that he played at Catholic Memorial when they utterly
wrecked NYA my junior year...or maybe the fact that he was the one who
got by Dan Murphy, skated down the ice and passed the puck to Pomicter
who shot the puck by Mike Dunham and ended our streak...
 
BU played a great game and deserved to win, but I still think that if
that game were played today instead of yesterday the outcome would have
been different.  Playing on one day's rest after playing the equivalent
of two games just doesn't seem like a way to determine a champion.
But it is better than the old system where one team had to play Friday
night and then play a rested team on Saturday.  Just imagine if Maine
and Michigan had played that 3OT game on a Friday night, and then had
to come out the next day and play again...it'd be a double digit defeat
for sure.  I was really hoping Maine would come back from 2-0 again
because there would have been a great stat if they had:  They would be
4-0 in their last Final Four games in which they trailed by 2 goals.
Twice against Michigan, the Lake State championship game in 93 and
yesterday, that would have been an accomplishment in itself.
 
I think the Maine fans ought to take a minute and think about the season
this team just had.  Think back to October and ask yourself, did you ever
think Maine would even be playing for a National Title?  After Mike
Latendresse had to leave the team I thought they'd have trouble just
making it to Boston Garden, much less the NC$$ playoffs.  I think if
people are honest they know they felt the same way.  And of course,
let us not forget the media, who had jumped ship when they thought
 
this team was the Titanic, and the NC$$ Investigation was going to be
the iceberg. But they realized the ship wasn't sinking and hopped
back on board.  That iceberg still looms out there, and may eventually
cause problems, but these players ignored the naysayers and had one
of the most remarkable seasons ever.  The 1993 team was supposed to win,
we had everything: flashy scorers, hard-nosed and battle-tested defensemen
an Olympic goalie tandem and a hunger from losing the year before.This
team was inexperienced, had ONE scorer and only one player left to lead
them.  By the end they had 2 first-team All-Americans, the best goalie,
the best defense, a slew of goal scorers and, most remarkably, an
appearance in the Championship Game.  Forgive me if thats a little
overbearing, but that team deserves a heap of credit.
 
Now the answer to the question: Mr. Cole and Mr. Leavitt were the officials
onhand the night Jack Parker went nuts on the BU bench at Alfond.
People will recall the various assortment of items which were so kindly
distributed on the ice surface by Mr. Parker that evening.I'm just glad
I wasn't the manager who had to pick all that up that night  :->
 
John Forsyth
Maine Black Bears 1991-93
 
"Thats very nice, a wonderful stat, I'm sure some staffer spent a lot
of time looking that up. But you know what Bob?  That stat means very
little right now."   - Tom Mees to partner Bob Norton during Thursday's game.
 
PS: I typed up a summary of the Parker-Walsh feud for Richard Crepeau
who had asked to be filled in, if anyone would like a copy, email me
at [log in to unmask]