Kenneth Baker wrote:
>
>Maine looks like a very physical team with some great size.  Playing on
>the standard NHL ice clearly did not favor them but rather Michigan.  In
>Providence, Maine had the advantage with the smaller ice surface.
 
  If Michigan gives up anything to anyone as a big, physical team, I'd be
very surprised.  They came up here and bounced the Gophers all over the St.
Paul Civic Center in last year's College Hockey Showcase.
  That game was very clean, though.  What I find distressingis the change
of play out of that team over the last several years.  I grew up in Ann
Arbor, and had season tickets with my father back in the early and
mid-eighties when they really were not a good team.  So, even thuogh I'm a
huge Gopher fan, I was really excited that they had become a top program.
  Lately though, they seem to be playing a game that I hated when State
came to town a decade ago.  They seem to do their best to physically
intimidate their opponents.  Every time play stops, they seem to be giving
an extra shove after the whistle.  Last night, I didn't see Turco pop
anyone like he has in the past, but his defensemen were more than willing
to do it for him.
  Perhaps I'm wrong.  Up here, my chances to see the Wolverines play are
limited.  Other than the game against Minnesota, which seemed to be clean,
though very physical, it includes two games against Wisconsin (Showcase and
the NCAA Regionals) and two against Maine (Ncaa semis and last night).  Is
just these two teams, or a general trend.
  As I said, it's more disappointment in watching a team I still love.
 
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