All the teams visited a local Dexter Shoe outlet today and got a
Christmas present.  Then ...
 
Clarkson 7 ,  Western Michigan 0
 
   The game was 1-0 going into the third period, but a couple of goals
   on a 5 minute major for charging the goalie took the wind out of the
   Western sails and Clarkson routed a rather immature Western team.
   The Western coach joked that his team statistically played man-down
   well because they have had so much practice.  This game was no
   exception;  Western took many many penalties ...  most of them
   foolishly.  With a stronger goalie (sorry, I missed his name) and a
   lot less foolish penalties, Western Michigan could be an NCAA
   tournament challenger.
 
   Clarkson on the other hand is a talented hard-working team that to me
   deserves its high rankings this year.
   Curry was excellent between the pipes.  The Clarkson-Maine
   championship game tomorrow night should be a dandy!
 
Maine 7, Brown 5
 
   Maine ran to a 3-0 lead and then forgot about the game and remembered
   the finals that (some) had earlier in the day.  The Brown goalie (I
   have a hard time with losing goalies today) was superb robbing Roy 4
   times (and others) on semi-breakaways.  With Maine up 6-4 through
   much of the third period, and with less than a minute left in the
   game, Brown pulled the goalie and stuffed home a rebound sitting near
   the goal line.  The final goal was an open netter with about 16
   seconds to go.
 
   Maine goals were scored by Roy(2), Tomberline, Tepper, Weinrich,
   Robitaille, and Pellerin (I think).  Exceptional for Brown were King
   and Brewer.
 
A nice touch tonight was the singing of O Canada before the playing of
the Star Spangled Banner.  Maine hockey (and for that matter baseball)
tournaments have the extra touches that make them enjoyable and special.
 
P.S. As I'm off to Princeton for a week, I'll be missing the Dexter
Saturday games ... how about an attendee posting a description?
Brian? Jay? someone else?
 
P.P.S.  Happy Holidays everyone.  It's been an honour and a pleasure to
"administer" the list for the past year (7 months :-)).  As our list
membership now reaches 200, I congratulate you on making it the success
that it is.  Best wishes for the new year!