Hello all,
 
In response to Dave and Mike's little note battle about Merrimack, I hate to
take sides, but I have to in this case.
 
Ron Anderson is not only a great coach, he's a great person and an ever
better man to lead any Division 1 hockey program in the country!!!! The
problem is that its hard to recruit, as Mike and I have talked about before,
with Volpe Complex as your home in the heart of Massachusetts.
 
With UMass entering the picture, with a brand new building, it'll be harder
for Ron to compete than it usually is with the BU's, BC's and NU's of the
world when they have nicer buildings and the Beanpot to offer their kids.
It's also tough to compete against guys like Maine and UNH, because they are
the only thing in their towns. MC has to compete with the Celtics and the
Bruins for fan support as well.
 
But the bottom line is if you give Ron Anderson a new facility, I guarentee
he'd be as successful as the rest of the eastern coaches, if not better. As
much as it hurts me to say this, he took an average indepedent team into
Matthews Arena a few years ago in an NCAA tournament and beat Northeastern
before losing to eventual champion Lake Superior State. Did you think that
was luck? I sure as hell don't!
 
Yours in the bond of chaos in college hockey,
Jon Barkan
 
PS "Hockey is a slippery game played on ice." Jack Parker
 
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