Dave raised points about two very interesting instances.  Since my seats are
directly behind the net, I have a view of the entire ice surface and saw both
instances to which he was referring.
 
In the first case, yes it appeared to all of us that two penalties were being
called.  McBride had his hand up for the first penalty for some time.  The
second cross check (about 20 seconds later) caused Fowkes to raise his hand.
 Maine immediately touched the puck and the whistle blew.  We were very
surprised to see only one player skate to the box.  We were even more shocked
to see a second player enter the box some 7 seconds later since none of us
saw a legitimate infraction given what had been allowed to that point.  Even
from a Friar fan's perspective, we thought it was a makup call.
 
In the second case, it was McBride who was injured and it was by a puck, not
a broken stick.  To be honest, I thought he had broken his wrist.  I was very
surprised to see him skate back out after having it taped.  Steve's a tough
guy, though :-)  I never found out afterwards but I suspect Fowkes and
Scleparis went to a 2 ref/no linesman configuration in McBride's absence.
 Since no calls were made before Steve returned, it's hard to tell.
 
Just to add my two cents to the ref debate, I thought McBride and Fowkes
called a very good game.  I've never been a big fan of Fowkes, but he was
very consistant in what he called that night and I thought they did a great
job of maintaining control without violating fire laws in the penalty box.
 
I have been frequently critical of officiating while in the stands, although
I don't think I've ever posted any criticism to this list.  My personal
feeling is that every ref has a particular style.  This style may play well
with certain teams and hinder others but I refuse to believe that there is
any intended favoritism on the part of any ref.  Fans who attend a fair
number of games know what to expect from each official.  That being the case,
the players must know the same thing.  If they don't conform to that
particular style and end up parading to the box, well, I can't blame the ref
(although that doesn't stop me from screaming at them during the game :-) )
 Players must adapt to a changing ice surface, different boards around the
league, a different environment in each rink, and they must also adapt to the
varying styles of each ref.  The "humanness" of officiating is part of every
sport and it's the very reason I have always opposed the use of instant
replays in every sport.  It removes the unpredictability of the human ref
which can make the sport that much more exciting (and that much more
frustrating :-) )
 
As to the Friar's home uniforms, I would urge every team manager to find out
where we bought those uniforms and AVOID THEM LIKE THE PLAGUE!!!  For those
who have been fortunate enough not to see them, the uniforms are a white
jersey with thin black pinstripes, solid black pants, and a white sock,
complete once again with thin black pinstripes.  If you still have trouble
with this, picture a 1930's baseball uniform, add shoulder pads and a helmet
and you have the 1995 Friars!
 
As far as directions to Schneider go, I'll see what I can do.  That area has
changed sufficiently over the years that the directions are probably very
misleading.  Believe me, with the attendance Sunday just under 900, the last
thing we need are potential paying customers getting lost on the way to the
rink!
 
-- Ron