I am always amused at how the Beanpot crowd remains largely ignorant of
hockey; as others have mentioned, it is a social affair and a chance to
meet and greet old friends, etc.  Most people can't sit through two games
without dinner, so most in the crowd only come for the game they are
most interested in, and have dinner during the other game (either early
or late.)  And on the first night, the games can run so long ....  We
just made it to the last subway train of the night at around 12:45 a.m.
trying to get home.
 
Numerous members of the BC crowd were ignorant of both teams during the
BC-Harvard game.  They had never heard of Harvard's Steve Martins (last
year's Player of the Year in the ECAC) but thought he was "very good."
And, in fact, Steve had a stellar game for Harvard -- a pity his goalie
and defense didn't play up to his standard.  These BC "fans" didn't know
anything about their own team either, just that the team's record wasn't
that good.  Most didn't know who Jerry York was, or where he came from,
or that Ryan Haggerty was the best scorer, or that Greg Taylor was a
Canadian, ....  The typical Beanpot fan is hoping his team will win, but
it isn't life or death.  Drinking and partying is more important.
 
Other notes:  Governor Weld didn't look too comfortable being interviewed
after the first period, when Harvard was down 4 goals and had been totally
outplayed by BC.  But he kept smiling; politicians need those Beanpot
sound bites...  The crowd was fairly subdued this year; the first game was
not that competitive, and the second game didn't get close until late in
the evening, when many had left.  (While the quality of the play was mixed
in the second game, especially on the defensive/goaltending side, the game
itself turned out to be fairly entertaining.)  Maybe the crowd is just
tired of the Garden; we are all hoping the Shawmut Center (new arena) will
be a lot more comfortable without sacrificing too much of the closeness to
the playing surface.
 
My votes for second game best players -- Harvard's was Steve Martins, with
no doubt.  BC's was Brad Carlson, soph. defenseman, who has been rising
with each game lately.  A real good sign for the BC defense, which has
needed some help.
 
Neither goalie was that distinguished, though BC's Taylor was at least
competent.  I think Tripp Tracy is showing signs of being tired; he plays
almost all the Harvard games and did not have a good showing last night.
 
BU is happy to be playing BC in next week's final, as they expect an easy
win; on paper, they should win by 3 or 4.  BC is just happy to have made
it to another final, and have won 4 in a row; to beat BU would be extra
icing on the cake.
---------------                              ----------------------
Rick McAdoo                                  [log in to unmask]
BC will return!                              GO EAGLES!