(reprinted from the July 24 edition of the Bangor Daily News..wts)
Former stars treat fans to some laughs, goals
by Larry Mahoney
Of the NEWS Staff
ORONO -- Bruce Major has University of Maine Blue-White Alumni games all
figured out.
"This is the fourth consecutive time the team Cheeks (Mike McHugh) and
Coach (Shawn Walsh) are on has lost. That could be a common key. And
Peter Mahar is always on the winning team," reasoned a grinning Major, a
former Bear forward. "So you want to play on Peter's team and stay away
from McHugh and Walshy."
McHugh, Major and Walsh all played for the White team which wound up on
the short end of an entertaining 7-6 loss to the Blue team in front of
more than 1,000 fans at Alfond Arena on Saturday evening.
McHugh and Peter Ferraro each had penalty shots in the final 30 seconds
of play but McHugh had his roll off his stick and Mike Dunham got his
right pad on Ferraro's point-blank backhander.
"The team I play on is at such a severe disadvantage," agreed Walsh
before placing some good-natured blame on NHL Rookie of the Year
finalist Paul Kariya of Anaheim, who coached the White team. "But I
thought we got flat-out outcoached. Quite frankly, I was very
disappointed in him."
"The biggest complaint of the players is that I didn't motivate them.
I'm not a motivator. I gave them a game plan. If they can't play, they
can't play," chided Kariya. "The bottom line is the (Jim) Montgomery
line was the worst line out there and we can't have that."
Twenty-nine former bear players returned for the alumni weekend, which
included the game, a couple of golf tournaments, a party and a postgame
get-together. Thirteen of those players have played in the National
Hockey League including nine who did so this past season.
The game had several moments of levity, including goalie Garth Snow
pretending to punch an opponent only to have Mahar score a wraparound
goal on him as he was doing so. There was also a tremendous exhibition
of passing, shooting and goaltending.
The 32-year-old Mahar and his close friend, 33-year-old Ray Jacques,
were the oldest players and each contributed to the Blue's win as Mahar
had a pair of goals and Jacques scored once.
"We move at such a slow pace and our reaction time is a little off.
So instead of being up in the play, I was behind the play. The puck was
right there (on my stick) a couple of times and it went in a couple of
times," smiled Mahar.
Jean-Yves Roy also had a pair of goals for the winners and dazzled the
spectators with his break-away speed. Martin Mercier and Joakim
Wahlstrom scored the other goals. Scott King and Dunham backstopped the
win. King allowed only one goal in his 16 1/2 minutes of work and
Dunham looked very sharp.
The teams played two 25-minute halves.
Justin Tomberlin had two goals for the White team with Peter Ferraro,
Steve Tepper, Kent Salfi and Eric Weinrich notching the others. Former
Maine goalie coach Joe Clark and Snow manned the nets.
King, who attends the University of New England's Medical School and is
interning with Dr. Jack Adams at the Eastern Maine Medical Center, said
he hadn't skated in two years.
"I was getting tired. But I felt pretty decent on my skates out there,"
said King. "It was just a matter of playing position. After 20 to 25
years of skating, you don't forget how. I got lucky. A couple hit me
when I was out of position. If I had to play at the end when Dunny did,
it might have been a different story. He made some unbelievable saves."
"It was a pretty good workout. It's great to take a break to see how
good or bad you are," said Dunham, who has been working out all summer
in preparation for New Jersey's training camp. "The bottom line is we
had fun and we won. We beat Walshy."
Dunham made the save of the evening when he flashed out his glove to
snare a Peter Ferraro shot off a two-on-one with McHugh.
The players said they had a thoroughly enjoyable weekend.
"It was a great time. It's great to be back. The fans are great. I
loved playing for them," said Toronto defenseman Matt Martin, who played
for the victors.
--- end of article ---
WTS's comments -- It was a great weekend. More like 2,000-2,500 showed
up for the game that was broadcast live on WZON radio. Though there was
not a check to be seen (Kariya and Walsh were trying to get the other to
treat the players at the post-game meal), there was some defense played
and a *lot* of talent on the ice. It's striking to see how much Maine
stars such as Eric Weinrich, Bruce Major, Mike McHugh and Jean-Yves Roy
have *improved* since graduation (I'm not sure that Roy has yet
graduated).
I was especially pleased that one of my favorite players, Ray Jacques
(sounds like "Jakes"), returned. Ray was a Senior during Coach Shawn
Walsh's first year and endured a lot during that (transition) year. Ray
is now a very successful stock-broker in the Boston area.
Kudos to Paul Kariya who signed hundreds of autographs before and after
the game. Every kid got a smile, too. When I got a questioning look, I
explained the puck we was signing would be auctioned for charity that
evening. I got a smile, too. (The autographed puck brought $95; too
bad I didn't have a couple of jerseys!). :-)
When I arrived at the arena, people were leaving as fast as they were
arriving ... they were heading back to their cars for a jacket or
sweater. Though the outside temperature was a humid mid-80s, inside at
ice level was a chilly 38 (just right, if you ask me!).
Three stars (Blue team):
3rd star - Peter Mahar
2nd star - Jean-Yves Roy
1st star - Scott King
Wayne's most impressive player: Eric Weinrich
The rosters:
White team Blue team
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Joe Clark (former asst coach) Mike Dunham (1990-93)
Andy Silverman (1991-94) Bob Beers (1986-89)
Jacque Rodrique (1991-95) Matt Martin (1990-93)
Eric Weinrich (1985-88) Ray Jacques (1981-85)
Jason Weinrich (1990-94) Chuck Texeira (1990-94)
Keith Carney (1988-91) Jean-Yves Roy (1989-92)
Mike McHugh (1984-88) Peter Mahar (1981-84)
Peter Ferraro (1992-94) Dan Murphy (1989-93)
Jim Montgomery (1989-93) Dave MacIsaac (1992-95)
Justin Tomberlin (1989-94) Chris Ferraro (1992-94)
Cal Ingraham (1991-94) Patrice Tardif (1990-94)
Kent Salfi (1989-93) Joakim Wahlstrom (1988-91)
Bruce Major (1985-89) Eric Fenton (1989-93)
Steve Tepper (1988-92) Martin Mercier (1989-93)
Garth Snow (1988-93) Scott King (1987-91)
Coach - Paul Kariya (1992-94) Coach - Pop Magnum
Others expecting to play, but not being able to attend: Mike Golden,
Richard Cote, Scott Pellerin, Vince Guidotti, Paul Giacalone.
Great memories rekindled ...
Wayne Smith
The College Hockey Discussion List administrator
Systems Group - CAPS BITNET/CREN: wts@maine
University of Maine System internet: [log in to unmask]
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