Some comments on the Cornell-Clarkson game, and some answers to the
questions that Jeremy and Mike brought up:
 
First of all, I didn't see the game (the only trip I will miss all
year...I had to do the PA for the Cornell-Penn football game and
help the team win a share of the Ivy title), but I did listen to it
on the radio and I talked to some people who were there. Despite the
fact that, this time, Cornell was on the long side of Pierre Belanger's
"officiating", you won't find a whole lot of Pierre Belanger fans
among the Lynah Faithful. My only reaction when I heard Pierre was
warning the Clarkson band and threatening them with a penalty for
playing "Three Blind Mice" was "What does this guy think he's doing?"
 
Keep in mind that Cornell got Pierre on BOTH ends of the North
Country trip...he did the Cornell-St. Lawrence game Friday night, also.
 
If you want to express an opinion to someone whose opinion counts,
write to Joe Bertagna, c/o Eastern College Athletic Conference,
P. O. Box 3, Centerville, MA (sorry, I don't have the ZIP code handy).
Joe is the executive director of ECAC ice hockey, the closest thing
our league comes to having a commissioner.
 
Do I think Pierre Belanger is a good referee? No. Do I think Pierre
Belanger is capable of calling a good hockey game? Yes. The unfortunate
fact about Pierre is he does a good job more often than most of the
other ECAC officials. When he's awful, though, he's REALLY awful.
 
Yes, there is such a thing as a minor penalty for unsportsmanlike
conduct. There is also a rule that prohibits the use of artificial
noisemakers by the spectators. How enforceable that one is, I wouldn't
want to speculate.
 
Arthur