>I have always
>noticed that Lowell generally doesn't recieve any respect, in HE or nationally.
>Just look at the HE Preseason poll, Lowell was picked 6th out of 9 teams.  T
 
Mike has already covered this, but let me cover this from the perspective of
a Lowell fan.  The previous year had not been a banner year for the River Hawks
and we were losing top scorer Greg Bullock, staring at MAJOR question marks
in goal, and didn't have a wealth of new talent coming in.  When at the
season opening hockey luncheon Coach Crowder and the players talked about
making the NC$$s, I almost choked on my ziti.
 
Mike Machnik and I discussed a friendly wager involving which team would
finish higher, Merrimack or UMass-Lowell.  It seemed like a sucker bet to me
and I declined.
 
I can hardly fault the preseason polls; they seemed to make an objectively
rational view of things.
 
I may have been like a bull in the china shop the last few days, bellowing
with rage about getting shipped out west, but I don't get worried about
preseason polls or even early season polls.  Up until this Sunday, I've felt
that Lowell has been treated fairly in all respects this season.
 
DaveH
 
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