Although it might not be necessary to do so, I'll step in and defend the four
players from UNH who were suspended...
 
Shawn Walsh brought up the fact that UNH wasn't banned from Hockey East play
even though Rob Donovan, Mike Heinke, Tom Nolan and Scott Malone had been
suspended from the team.  I don't want to get into a big Walsh bashing here,
but the differences between Maine and UNH are crucial.  Maine admitted to
having made mistakes and those mistakes were the basis for HE's action.  The
UNH players were suspended by UNH Head Coach Dick Umile for their *alleged*
involvement in an off-campus fight following the series with Lowell.  Now it's
pretty much been established that the players were involved in a fight--they
have been charged an are scheduled for a hearing on April 15--but any guilt on
the part of the players has NOT been established.  Coach Umile suspended the
players for breaking team rules.  Fair enough.  In fact, I was impressed that
Coach Umile would suspend key players knowing he was about to face power-house
BU.  (That's a decision I wouldn't want to make).
 
When it had been established that the events surrounding the fight were going
to be played out in a court of law, Umile put the players back in the lineup.
He said he wasn't a judge and it wouldn't be fair to the players to presume
their guilt before they even had a chance to enter a plea in court or be heard
by the University Conduct Board.  In an attempt to uphold some heretofore
udefined code of player conduct, The University put the players back on suspen-
sion after Umile's reinstatement.  The players threatened legal action and
were allowed back on the ice for the playoffs--where they belonged.
 
So why am I not a hypocrite for applauding the UNH players' decision to pursue
a legal avenue back on to the ice while balking at Maine's action?  Simple--
Maine admitted they were at fault.  The UNH players have not.  And not only
have they not entered a plea or admitted guilt, they haven't even been given
the opportunity to do so.  I believe in Due Process and Presumed Innocence.
There's the difference between the Maine and UNH situations.
 
(Leaving Ivory Tower)
H
 
PS - Watch for UNH to do some head-turning this weekend in Boston.
 
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