Tony Biscardi writes:
>With Andy Silverman turning pro, the man who brought out the best in BU's
>Mike Grier is gone.  Although Walsh and some Maine fans think Grier played
>well against Maine, Grier actually played well against Silverman.
 
Yes, but there is still Merrimack D Steve McKenna. :-)
 
For anyone who has not yet met Tony, it is great to hear (and see) him
relive the moment that Grier (what, 6-1 250) and McKenna (6-8 225) met
for the first time on an ice surface last season.  These two big guys
came at each other with a full head of steam, crashed into each other,
and then, as Tony puts it, "each one looked at the other as if to say,
'Why didn't YOU go down!?'"  You'll walk away feeling that this was
one of the great moments in college hockey history.
 
They collided a few more times over the course of the next three
BU-Merrimack games, and we have three more years of this to look
forward to. :-)  The great thing about both of these guys is that they
are big - but not cheap.  They don't get their sticks up, but they
sure hit hard.  And many a time did I see a hard hit by McKenna turn
the momentum 180 degrees during a game.
 
I never saw McKenna put on his back once last season, except for one
cheap shot from behind.  I doubt anyone put Grier down, either.
 
Jakopin may have been the Twin Tower from Merrimack who was named to
the All Rookie Team, but McKenna continued to impress me more and more
as the season went on and he was certainly just as valuable.  Often
these two rookies played like seniors.
 
The 1994 Merrimack highlight tape has a segment where Jakopin (6-5
225) and McKenna are supposedly thinking of switching from hockey to
hoop.  They're in the gym wearing Merrimack basketball uniforms and
getting ready to take some shots, and they banter back and forth a
little, saying something like, "I think Coach Hammel said you shoot
the ball in that hoop there, eh?"  Scene cuts to Coach Anderson
sitting at his desk shaking his head.  Back to the gym, where the two
miss shot after shot...and the hockey program is saved.
 
The highlight tape sendup of the Volpe Complex - "Jurassic Rink" - is
also pretty funny for anyone who has been there even once.
---                                                                   ---
Mike Machnik                                            [log in to unmask]
Cabletron Systems, Inc.                                    *HMM* 11/13/93
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