Here's this week's instalment of the coulmn I do Wednesdays in
the student paper here. Sorry it's a little late, but my work with our
women's soccer team has my free time at a minimum right now. I literally
just finished the post-season guide for tomorrow's Atlantic 10 Tourney.
        UMass-Lowell SID Jim Seavey's legendary 96 page D2 sofball guide
it isn't, but 38 pages is long enough for now, it will grow some for the
upcoming NCAAs.
        I only wish I didn't have to run this until tomorrow, because I
could have included all the developing information on the MTU-UMD affair.
Along that line, a special thanks to Dave Fischer for his help and
assistance with this week's edition.
 
 
Referees attempt a Duluth cover-up; Maine improving
 
        Shoddy officiating has made more than one coach legendary for
their tirades. Every coach at one point or another has wanted to rip a
referee's head off.
        Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher will long be
remembered for stuffing a polaroid of a blown call into an official's
pocket last month. Billy Martin's patented dirt-kicking tirades are
legendary.
        Indiana basketball coach Bobby Knight is renowned for his chair
throwing exhibition which was recently impersonated by charismatic UMass
water polo coach Russ Yarworth.
        Given this, just how Michigan Tech coach Bob Mancini and
Minnesota-Duluth coach Mike Sertich kept their composure, while facing a
tremendously botched officiating job on Friday night is incredible.
        In the eyes of coaches, players and fans from both sides, this
was the worst officiating in their collective memory.
        The two teams engaged in a spiritd game, made nasty after Tech
winger Kyle Peterson ran, and injured, Bulldog goalie Taras Lendzyk. As
Tech clung to a 5-4 lead with 6:06 to play in regulation, a fracas
erupted on the ice.
        A Duluth player left the bench to join the melee while Tech's
Jarkko Ruutu was involved in a fight with the Bulldogs' Jason Garatti.
Ruutu turtled and received the brunt of the blows, having already
received one game disqualification this young season. It appeared as if
Tech would wind up with a power play out of the debacle.
        In the end, Michigan Tech received a total of five minors and
Minnesota-Duluth received nine. Thingsseemed to be back to normal after
sorting out the lopsided penalties, until the officials let the teams
skate four-on-four.
        To top that miscue, Jason Haakstad and Jimmy Roy were allowed to
remain on the ice despite each receiving double minors for roughing on
the scurmish. For the next four minutes the possibility existed that, for
the first time in the entire history of hockey, someone might score a
goal while allegedly being in the penalty box.
        Realizing that they completely and utterly failed in their
assesment of penalties, the refs corrected themselves after the game,
which ended as a 6-5 overtime win for Duluth.
        The officials added four Tech penalties at 13:56 of the third
period after the game had ended, to make it appear that they were
justified in permitting the four-on-four situation. In reality Tech
should have had an extended power play.
        All this led the Duluth News-Tribune's Chris Miller to quip
"Richard Nixon is dead. So if this is a cover-up don't blame him," in
regards to the ref's efforts to mask the miscues by adding penalties well
after the game had ended.
        No chairs were trown by Mancini and there was no repeat of when
Los Angeles Kings coach Tom Webster threw a stick at, and hit NHL referee
Kerry Frasier. Instead, Mancini handled his frustration in a civil manner.
        "The only answer I'll give you," hesaid while awaiting an
explanation outside the official's room after thegame. "Is I'll wait for
the investigation."
                                * * *
        Much has been said both pro and con on the issue of Hockey East's
revolutionary scoring system, which awards five points for a victory and
uses shutouts to settle a tie.
        One arguement in favor of the shootout is the enjoyment of the
fan, as Hockey East has to compete for the entertainment dollar just as
much as any other enterprise.
        Saturday night Merrimack and Northeastern completed regulation
and overtime tied at one and went to a shootout.
        No Hockey East shootout has ever been more gripping, as college
hockey fans throughout New England were captivated, watchin the game
which was NESN's Game of the Week. It took thirteen penalty shots for the
eternal shootout to mercifully end as the Huskies Justin Kearns beat
Martin Legault sending the Warriors fans home deflated.
        Just 842 were on hand at the Volpe Complex to witness the
enthralling events. If Merrimack draws over 1,000 for Saturday's game
with UMass there will be some truth to the arguements that the shootouts
raise interest. The excitment generated by the never-ending shootout,if
the logic follows, should be sufficient to push attendance up by at least
158.
        If not, then chalk up another arguement to the league's
conservative bastion who would rather return to the standard scoring methods.
                                * * *
        Despite opening at 4-1, with four of the games coming against top
national competition, Maine coach Shawn Walsh is alarmed by his team's
play.
        After permitting 14 goals in their first three games (against
NCAA caliber teams in Miami of Ohio, Michigan State and Michigan), Walsh
started Blair Marsh instead of All-American goalie Blair Allison for
Saturday's game at Union. Allison had started 47 in a row for the Black
Bears.
        Marsh responded by holding Union to just one goal, before
yielding to Allison on Sunday against Colgate.
        After running around the defensive zone like chickens with their
heads cut off, on occasions against Michigan, Maine's defense stepped
forward this weekend.
        It wasn't soo much Allison's abilities that led Maine last year,
but Chris Imes and the rest of Maine's exceptional defense. The wake-up
call was heard by freshmen Brett Clark and David Cullen who with strong
forwards, will have the Black Bears on the prowl in no time.
        Leigh Torbin is a Collegian columnist.
 
        'til tomorrow when after a women's soccer double-header I'll be
at Mullins for an invasion of the Merrimack Machniks...
 
Leigh
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