OK, let's try to end this band noise thing once and for all.  I do not
play college hockey.  I have never played in front of 6,000 fans and
a band of 60.  I played HS hockey in front of (for the State Championships
) at most 1,000 with a small band of 10-15.  But that can still be a lot of noise.
And let me tell y'all something (and I'll try not to scream):
 
No player on the ice can hear anything other than the game noises
(whistles and other players) while play is occuring.
 
Any player in a Division I hockey game is good enough to be focused
on the ice.  That means s/he can NOT hear what is being yelled or
played in the stands.  So although a band playing after the puck is
dropped may be a rules infraction (is it?), it can not be used as an
excuse for anybody not playing well.  I know for damn sure that Mike
Parsons is a good enough goalie to be able to concentrate on the man
on the breakaway or the shot being taken or even the play in the other
zone and NOT on any team's band, whether it's Big Red Freak night
or a Winter Break game at Meehan (which draws about 500 people).  So
enough of it.  Brown fans, stop complaining, we lost.  I was there, the
band was annoying and maybe out of line, but *it only affects the fans*
not the outcome of the game.  And RPI fans, be happy now, because
revenge will be sweet if we meet in post-season.
 
David Blackburn
Brown University '98
 
Go Bruno!
Clarkson and SLU, watch out, the Bear is heading towards the Big Dance