----- Begin Included Message -----
From: Mike Machnik <[log in to unmask]>
 
  The team didn't look bad considering that 1) they
    had just been put together two days before, and 2) they didn't have
    their pick of all of the top collegians, since teams like Minnesota,
    Boston College, and Michigan State all had games during the week
    and couldn't let their players go.
----- End Included Message -----
I don't know about the other schools, and I don't have "inside" information
on Michigan State, but I don't believe it was the case that MSU "couldn't
let their players go".  This is the first year in a while that we haven't
had players missing  so as to play for one team or another over the holidays,
always missing the Great Lakes Tournament and usually one or two other games
(sometimes including Conference games).  The only nominee this year was
Rob Woodward and the local story is that he chose not to go because he
felt he wasn't playing well enough and chose to stay here to work on it.
 
So far as I know, any player chosen to participate on a team over the
holidays is able to do so, regardless of the fact we always have games
over that period of time.