Just wanted to speak for a moment on the behalf of another group of
Maine fans.
 
This group, which includes myself, was very upset when Maine's own
self-investigation revealed all the mistakes within not only our hockey
program, but the athletic department as a whole.  Lots of people have
thrown blame.  Remember, plenty of Maine people threw blame at Shawn
Walsh too.  Many blammed a compliance system and athletic department
that was so brutually operated, still more blammed Jack Parker for his
role.
 
The bottom line is mistakes were made.  Some people place blame to try
and lessen the effects of the truth, which is undeniable in this case.
 
However, what many people on this list STILL fail to realize is not
every RUMOR was true.  Not everything that came out in the press was
indeed proven to have happened, so while Maine did make mistakes and
while Shawn Walsh clearly was implicated, there are FEW people outside
of Maine who actually know what happened.  I think to some extend this
is what frustrates Maine fans, who are generally good people who love
their hockey.
 
Here are some facts to munch on:
- Maine received 2 years of postseason banishment for its troubles.
Make an objective comparison with other schools and other violations
and you will see this is a severe penalty.  Why?  Because while Maine's
violations were mostly minor, there were so many of them.
- In addition to this, Maine also lost 2 scholarships for the 1996-97
season, 4 for the 1997-98 season and 2 for this season.  That is a lot
of scholarships.
- The NCAA was very clear in stating that had Shawn Walsh been fired,
they may very well have not imposed the second year of postseason
banishment.  Maine made a TOUGH decision to keep Walsh and PAID the
price for that decision.  They didn't get away with anything.
- Maine received 4 years of probation.  This is the last year of that
probation and there have been no violations of said probation.  Maine's
detractors don't want to talk about that.
- The NCAA now rates Maine's compliance system as a "model" that it
presents for other schools to follow.
 
As I have said before publically and will say again, I feel the NCAA
was fair.  Maine needed to pay a hard price and they did.  The NCAA was
also very right in further punishing Maine for keeping Walsh.  As I
said above, compare the agregate penalties Maine has served to other
schools and look at the violations.  I'm sure you'll find things like
fixed grades and buying athletes cars.  Serious stuff.  Maine served a
serious penalty.
 
The problem people have is today Maine is in its second year AFTER the
postseason ban and currently sits in 2nd-place in Hockey East, at
19-2-4 and is ranked #2 in the country.  Maine will return to the
20-win plateau this year and likely will go to the NCAA Tournament.
This is the problem.  Maine's program was resilent and rebounded
instead of crumbling.  As sick as it may be, people were hoping for
Maine to get the toughest imaginable penalty so they would be removed
as competition.  Some people can't stand that Maine has now
re-established itself as one of the best programs in the country.  That
is just plain sad, disgusting really.  How can anyone perpetuate a love
for this sport when they want to see a program destroyed?
 
Maine fans and supporters should definitely take the high road.  Vicki
Price is absolutely right, Maine got caught and the real question is
who will be next?  Maine won't be the last school to get caught doing
something wrong.  It doesn't matter if it is UNH or BU or whoever, it
will be another sad day for our sport.
 
Maine fans should also learn a lesson.  Don't fan the flames and try to
make something where there is not.  There were a lot of vile words
spread on this list and I don't wish that on any team.  Some UNH
players have been arrested and Dick Umile did not release it.  Don't
make something out of nothing.  People will dig their own graves, just
like Maine and Walsh did, they don't need any help.
 
Ed is also right.  In 1993-94 Maine had the chance to put BU in its
place and did not, end of story.  It is sour grapes to complain about
that now, just like it is even worse to continue to complain about
Maine three years after the fact.
 
It is over.  UNH fans do seem to really have a difficult time letting
that go more so than others, probably because they felt most wronged by
everything that went on.  The Maine Campus had a picture it ran with a
sign from the Whittemore Center last year that listed all the Maine/UNH
results from that year (with Maine listed as "cheaters") and something
to the effect of:  "You cheated, you got caught, your record now equals
9-11-1.  Two lessons:  Cheaters never win and Maine sucks."  Of course
UNH hasn't beaten Maine (0-4) since that sign was shown, either, which
is a sign of the times.  What a game Maine/UNH will be this Sunday
though!!!
 
I think in the end the people of Maine learned a lot.  Hockey had grown
to be larger than life in the state and people had turned Shawn Walsh
into a god.  Both reputations came crashing down and things in Maine
are different today.  It is back to being about the game on the ice.
People think Shawn is a great coach, but he's no longer held in the
same light.  And, he IS a great coach and he's also human.  His
personality rubs people the wrong way, but all you have to do is look
at how he's rebuilt this program to realize how very good he is.  You
don't have to love the guy, but no one can accuse Maine of cheating
anymore and Shawn Walsh is still the coach of the nation's #2 team.
 
I've said it before and I'll say it again to everyone who keeps wanting
to put Maine down.. Maine hockey is back, get over it.
 
-dt
 
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