Being one of the "lucky" two-dozen people who receive ESPN2 :-),
I thought I would make a few comments on their coverage of tonight's
game.  (I'm sure others on the list who are closer to the teams will
provide "in depth" analysis of the game itself.)
 
Overall, I'd grade the coverage as a "B".  There were a few problems,
but for the most part, it was pretty well done.
 
The announcers were Tom Mees and Darren Pang.  They made a few mistakes
along the way, but overall were pretty accurate.  Both of them seemed
very familiar with the college game.  (They did mention the differences
between NHL and NCAA rules several times, but I found that understandable,
given the demographics of ESPN2 viewers.)
 
They did do a fair amount of coverage of inductees into the U.S. Hockey
Hall of Fame -- which I was happy to see.  (The Hall of Fame can use
all the publicity it can get!)
 
Another topic which they covered extensively was connections between people
involved in college hockey and the NHL... for example, Red Berenson's NHL
playing and coaching career, Steve and Paul Kariya, etc., including mention
of many former NCAA players in the NHL.
 
In between the first and second period, they spent several minutes
broadcasting "live" from the Maine locker room.  This wasn't an interview;
it was Shawn Walsh giving a "coaching session" to his players with a white
board.  I found it VERY interesting to hear his point of view on the first
period, and especially to see what the players were and were not able to
do in relation to his comments.  (ESPN also cut to the Maine locker room
during the second intermission, but not for nearly as long.)
 
Before the second period began, the announcers did talk about the Travis
Roy situation, and sent their best wishes "to Travis and all members of
the BU family".  They also mentioned that a fund is being set up, and
told people to contact the BU athletic department if they were interested
in making a donation.
 
During the third period, Michigan's (injured) Brendan Morrison spent
about 5 minutes in the booth talking with the announcers.  One of the
questions they asked him was along the lines of "if you win the Hobey
Baker this year, are you going to turn pro next year?"  Brendan stated
that he's very much enjoying himself and plans to finish his remaining
two years of eligibility at Michigan.  I thought he did an excellent
job as a spokesman for college hockey.
 
I do wish they would have done a post game wrap-up (they cut away to
something completely different as the teams were leaving the ice).
 
Overall, a good job; I'd like to see more college hockey coverage
on ESPN/ESPN2.  I'll be copying these comments to ESPN (via their
WWW site:  http://ESPNet.SportZone.Com).  I'd suggest anyone else
on the list who saw the game please do the same!
 
- Garrett (Michigan Tech '84, Go Huskies!)
 
--
Garrett Lanzy        Endicott, NY
 
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