I do not believe I am doing this, but coming to the aid of the Gophers on this I am. Like him or not, Herb Brooks was a smart man and would have carefully choosen his target for a one-for-one trade. Why Terry Meagher? Was he the leading scorer, best player, a knight in shinninng armour? Or was he a hot-headed captain who would fall for such foolery? Obviously he was stupid enough to get his butt kicked out of a game. That means the team did not deserve to win the game or the tournament if the captain cannot absorb some minor verbal abuse nor if the coach did not have him prepared for such an attack. There is no prejudice, bigotry or other emotional aspects to the event. Rather there was a strategy successfully employed, thanks to a willing and gullible opponent who I would not have any pride in considering as a national champion.

Nathan Eric Hampton


-----Original Message-----
From: - Hockey-L - The College Hockey Discussion List on behalf of Erik Biever
Sent: Tue 2/15/2005 3:58 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: PWR flaws
 
So far we have a 29 year old hearsay account of what happened.  Perhaps we can
find a contemporary newspaper story.  Though I am admittedly a biased Gopher
fan, I have a hard time believing that the only villains in this piece were
wearing maroon and gold.

-- Erik


Jeffrey Partnow wrote:
> Ed (et al)--
>
> Herb Brooks!!!??? Our American hero? Surely there MUST be another side
> to this tale.
>
> Gopher fans????
>
> --Jeff Partnow
> --Fairbanks
>
>
>
> On Feb 15, 2005, at 12:22 PM, Moller Edward N wrote:
>
>> I was still in high school in 1976 and was not there, but heard the
>> game
>> on radio and from several eyewitnesses.  Here is what I heard.  I do
>> know subscribers to this list who were there, and they will corroborate
>> this story.
>>
>> Prior to the opening faceoff of the semifinal game between BU and UMTC,
>> Herb Brooks instructed his top goon, Russ Anderson, to remove BU's top
>> player from the game, captain Terry Meagher (now the head coach at
>> Bowdoin).  Anderson complied, by engaging Meagher in a slashing duel.
>> The two skated to their respective penalty boxes, which were beside the
>> Minnesota bench.  The officials had to escort the players, but that did
>> not stop Brooks from bombarding Meagher with obscenities, while the
>> UMTC
>> trainer called Meagher a frog and spat towards him.  [Meagher is
>> Canadian but he is not French.  Frog is equivalent to the N word in
>> Canada.]  This caused fisticuffs to ensue, and both Meagher and
>> Anderson
>> were ejected.  Nothing happened to Brooks and I can't recall whether
>> any
>> penalties were assessed to the trainer.  Not a bad deal from
>> Minnesota's
>> perspective:  a goon for a key player.  All the while the Minnesota
>> band
>> played the Battle Hymn of the Republic.
>>
>> The 1976 Frozen Four title should not be a source of pride for the
>> Gopher faithful.  There is no honor in that banner.  It demonstrated
>> team and fan behavior at their worst, ranging from poor sportsmanship
>> to
>> out and out bigotry.  29 years later it is largely forgotten, in no
>> small part because it wasn't televised.  Imagine the reation if
>> something like that happened today.  I am confident however that it
>> won't.
>>
>> Gopher fans flame away.
>>
>>
>> Edward N. Moller
>> Controller and Assistant Treasurer
>> Mount Ida College
>> 777 Dedham Street
>> Newton, MA  02459-3323
>> Tel  617-928-4515
>> Fax 617-928-4581
>> [log in to unmask]
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: - Hockey-L - The College Hockey Discussion List
>> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Carl Ford
>> Sent: Tuesday, February 15, 2005 2:30 PM
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: Re: PWR flaws
>>
>>
>> Such as?
>>
>> In the interest of full disclosure, I was born & raised in MN, went to
>> BU, and was 6 in 1976.  I just see an interesting story coming up...
>>
>> Quoting Moller Edward N <[log in to unmask]>:
>>
>>> I think most college hockey fans from the eastern part of the country
>>> would say that the Gophers should not have been there, particularly in
>>
>>
>>> light of the players', coaches', staff's, and band's behavior during
>>> that tournament.
>>>
>>
>> -------------
>> Carl Ford
>> [log in to unmask]
>>
>>
>> ___________________________________________________________
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>>
>
> .
>