Just a couple topics regarding my first Beanpot final:
 
*  Does Fitzie try to be The Show?  The first period was marked by a couple
power play goals by BU followed by power play goals by Northeastern.  One
could argue that the manpower situation was the single pivotal factor for most
of the first period.  And it seemed that Fitzgerald was making most of the
calls.  Fitzie does seem to be an active whistleblower; there are nights
when I'd swear that he tosses more players out of faceoffs than all other HE
refs combined.  Most significant of all of these were the two penalties he
gave to Wood and someone else after the NU goal to make it 3-1.  I could see
one penalty in that scenario but two?  McGillis capitalized almost immediately
on the 5-on-3 and then got a real softie by Noble to tie things temporarily.
 
*  Todd Reynolds yanks himself.  Mike (Bud) Veisor started the game for
Northeastern and was replaced with Reynolds at the start of the second.  After
a flurry of BU goals Reynolds made a beeline for the NU bench, yanking himself.
After tearing off his mask he appeared to say something like "I can't stop
anything!"  From my vantage point Veisor did not appear pleased to be going
back in.  I can't recall any other time that a goalie gave himself the hook.
I can imagine many head-strong coaches that would toss him back out there and
say "*I* decide when you come out," even though Reynolds confidence was clearly
shot at that point.
 
*  Why did Parker wait until little more than five minutes left to put in
JP?  With an 11-3 lead going into the third period, the time was ripe at the
start of the third -- a suggestion first made by my eleven year old son.  The
BU fans started "JP" chants a few minutes into the period.  But it wasn't
until Noble got bowled over with less than six minutes left that JP got to
enter the game.
 
*  I was sitting with a couple who was new to college hockey.  I got them
tuned into the BU "Sieve!" cheer, although I think that after BU's eleventh
goal the blonde woman may have had to take a shoe off to keep the count
straight.  :-)  I'm not sure, though, if I really got through to them in my
explanations of the Sasquatch cheers and the delight BU fans take in his
display of his hairy (furry, in fact!) body.  As my son pointed out early in
the game, Sasquatch won't be able to do his run around the promenade in the
Fleet Center like he did in the Garden.
 
DaveH
 
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