I can tell you the last time a scoreless tie happened, because I was
there.  February 1994....Maine 0, at Boston University 0.
 
Simply outstanding goaltending on both ends. Blair Allison was in the
net for Maine; I forget who played goal for BU.  BU fans were getting
increasingly irate that their team had not scored on the hated Black
Bears, and it all erupted at the end.
 
Overtime, 4 seconds left.  Maine gets nailed with a too-many-men-on-
the-ice penalty.  5-on-4 for BU, faceoff in the Maine zone.  Maine
changes a few players before the puck drop, which causes BU to change
a few players.  Maine changes again, BU changes again.  I think the
linesman got sick of this, and dropeed the puck.  Maine knocks it out
of the zone, and the BU are screaming bloody murder as time expires.
The ice is littered with 200 little red megaphones.  We Maine fans,
tucked conveniently in small bleachers behind a goal, look at each
other in confusion.
 
An irate BU student sees me and yells, "Why does your team cheat?!"
I approach him, "What are you guys so pissed about?  What happened?"
He replied, "Maine had FIVE MEN on the ice when the puck dropped."
I paused, and looked at the ice.  Then I looked back at him.  "Wait
a minute!  We just played 64 minutes and 56 seconds of scoreless
hockey. Do you really think BU was gonna score with four seconds left!?"
He conceded that a late goal was unlikely in this one.
 
I also went on to find out that the BU bench, including Coach Jack
Parker, didn't notice the five men on the ice.  Even the NESN TV
announcers didn't notice it.  Parker was asked by a member of the
student media if he was going to protest the game.  Parker laughed
it off.
 
I also remember that game well because it was the ONLY game in which
I've ever caught a puck.  I was even booed by the entire arena (sans
my fellow Maine fans) for NOT throwing it back.  Let's see...nine
years I have waited for a puck, and I'm expected to throw it back?
I don't think so!
 
BU went on to beat Maine 5-1 the following night.  I'll tell you this,
when the first goal of the series was FINALLY scored, I've never
heard a louder arena.
 
Waxing nostalgic...
+====================================================================+
      |\      Jim Baines    [log in to unmask]         M    M
      |/      Orono, Maine, U.S.A.                         MM  MM
    \ |\      University of Maine Class of 1989            M MM M
     \|/      GO BLACK BEARS!                              M    M
 
HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey;  send information to
[log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.