Article from Portland Press Herald, March 8, 1994, by Roberta Scruggs
and Joshua Weinstein.  Comments follow.
 
A judge is expected to decide today whether the University of Maine should
compete in the Hockey East tournament this week.  League directors voted
Friday to bar the Black Bears.  On Monday, University lawyers asked
Penobscot County Superior Court Justice Robert L. Browne for a temporary
restraining order forcing Hockey East to reinstate the team in the tourna-
ment which begins Thursday.  Browne told lawyers to expect a decision today.
Unless they play in the tournament, the Black Bears have little chance of
defending their national title.  An at-large bid to the NCAA tournament
would be a long shot.  After forfeiting 24 games due to two ineligible
players, Maine's record is6-27-1, 3-20-1 in league play.  The Hockey
East Champion earns an automatic spot in the NCAA competition.
 
Team members voted unanimously Sunday to encourage legal action by the
University.
 
University of Maine president Frederick Hutchinson decided to seek the
restraining order after consulting Joyce Wheeler, university counsel,
and Paul Chaiken, a Bangor attourney, this weekend, Wheeler said Monday.
Hutchinson also met for two hours Monday morning with attourneys, university
vice presidents, and hockey coach Shawn Walsh, according to John Diamond,
acting director of public affairs.  "We just came to a very strong
conclusion that what has happened to the students on the team is unfair,
its unsportsmanlike and we needed to set a good example for them by being
willing to stand up for whats right," Diamond said.  "That meant being
willing to respectfully challenge Hockey East throughthe only forum
 
available to us at this point."
 
During an emergenmcy hearing late Monday afternoon, Chaiken and Brett
Baber, both of the law firm Rudman and Winchell, argued that Hockey East
has no authority to bar Maine since the NCAA recognizes Maine's standing
to play.  The decision "was not objective but was rather done in a biased
and arbitrary manner,"  Baber said.  Robert DeGregario, Hockey East
commisioner, could not be reached for comment Monday.  The league, which
was notified of Maine's action Monday afternoon, did not have a represent-
ative at the hearing.  League spokesman Jim Seavey noted that Bangor is
three hours away from Merrimack College in Andover, Mass., where the
commisioner is based.  "Geographically, it would be kind of impossible
to get someone there on behalf on the league," he said.  Seavey, sports
information director at Merrimack, said DeGregario,"is in the process of
reviewing the litigation, and it would be improper for him or any of the
league members to comment at this time."  Seavey did say that Hockey East
"has thesole responsibility for running the tournament."
 
League members have refused to provide details of the 90-minute conference
call, during which they suspended Maine.  Athletic Directors from the eight
member institutions voted 5-2, with one abstention, to remove Maine from
the tournament.  Maine and Providence voted against the ban.  UMass-Lowell
abstained.  This is the first time in the league's 10-year history that a
member has been barred from the playoffs.
 
In another development Monday, state Rep. Ralph Coffman, D-Old Town, asked
the attorney general's office to investigate Maine's athletic department.
Although Hutchinson has appointed former Maine Rep. Stanley Tupper as an
independent investigator, Coffman told House and Senate leadership more
action should be taken.  Tupper began his investigation with a series of
interviews Monday.  University officials expect hos report within a few
weeks.  The Legislative Council tabled Coffman's request.  "Nobody has
accused anybody of criminal wrongdoing at the university," Diamond said.
 
Hockey East's decision so disturbed its assistant commisioner that she
resigned Saturday.  Nonni Daly of Old Town, assistant commisioner since
1991, said Monday she quit in protest over Maine's ouster from the
tournament.  "Doing this seems to be an extremely serious penalty for
some kids who are not guilty of wrongdoing." said Daly, a Maine graduate
and a former president of Friends of Maine hockey.  "This was the way of
expressing my displeasure at what happened to a group of good kids who
deserve better."
 
Maine's athletic troubles began last fall when two hockey players, Cal
Ingraham and Jeff Tory, were found to have competed while ineligible,
in unrelated incidents.  Coach Shawn Walsh was suspended in Decemberfor
mishandling Tory's eligibility.
-----End quoted material------
 
 
The reasons named in the affadavit presented to the court by Walsh:
 
   1) DeGregario has a conflict of interest because he is "actively
seeking to become the permanent commisioner"
   2) Three of the schools that voted to bar Maine (UNH, BC and NU)
stood to gain "considerable advantage" because they have "increased the
likelihood" they will receive an NCAA invite.
3) Boston University received a bye in the first round.  "Thus their
path was rendered much easier by their vote."
4) Hockey East allowed UMass-Lowell to compete even though they were
on NCAA probation in 1992 for recruiting violations, and were barred from
playing in the NCAA Tournament.
5) Players at several league schools have been charged with assault
or "suspended due to major fighting incidents," but no action has been
taken against those schools.
 
Comments:  First off, I am upset that it is going to court, but its the
only step left for Maine, and they think they are right.  I think Maine
should be in the playoffs, but I don't think it is worth going to court
over.  Going back to John Diamond's quote in the article about showing
the kids we have to do whats right, they should have shown the kids what
was right months ago and told them to take 8 credits like the NCAA
required.
 
I am also a little upset that here we are 4 days after the decision was
handed down and Hockey East won't say a word about why it decided to bar
Maine, they won't say now because there is court action pending, but they
could have, and should have, made a statement when they barred Maine saying
why they did it.  I have gotten a lot of mail saying that it was because
Maine broke the rules, case closed.  Well, if thats the case, why not just
say that???  I believe its because they know thats not a valid excuse
because they allowed Lowell to play in '92, and they were in much deeper
trouble with the NC$$, and had committed much worse offenses.
I was interested when I read the fifth point in the affidavit.  Should
leagues take action against a school when players on a team are involved
with off-the-field/ice/court incidents?  I don't think the Big 10 is
taking action against Michigan, which had several basketball players
involved in a convenience store hold up.  I have not heard about any
sanctions against UNH, where players, from what I have heard, may very
well face extreme criminal charges for an off-campus incident, and were
suspended for last weekend's game. Personally, I think robbing a conven-
ience store is just a little more serious that only carrying 6 credits
when you should have had 8...maybe I just have my priorities screwed up.
(note intended sarcasm).
 
I'll be monitoring the radio all day (listening to AM on a walkman in a
computer lab is such fun) and if there is any word out of Bangor I'll
post it ASAP.  I'm not going to make any predictions, but given the
way the court system works, I hope BU hasn't booked a concert or something
in Walter Brown this weekend, they just might be playing some hockey...
 
John Forsyth
"H-O-C  C you in court.  K-E-Y  Y?  Because you screwed us.   E-A-S-T."
 -stolen shamelessly from Disney and a Sat. Night Live parody.