Please forgive that last response about the refs.  Maybe I should clarify.
 I have been meaning to write this all AM,but have been interrupted everytime I
 start.
    First,congratulations are in order for the Spartans,and their fans who made
 the trek to Providence.  They are a great team,and could well go all the way.
 As you may be reading in your local papers in a few days,things got out of han
d with a couple of the 13 buses which went South yesterday/today(returned 6:30
AM).  I won't go into detail until the events become public,and are varified.
    However,the officiating of the game was BRUTAL.  19 penalties in two period
s,two matching minors in the third!!!  Inconsistent??????
    Now to my two keys to the game:
        1)An MSU defender gloving,holding and then passing the puck(with his gl
ove) while IN THE CREASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
        2)Jean-Yves Roy's (Disallowed) GOAL!!!!,and subsequent (BS) misconduct.
 
     1) With approximately 7:00 left in the second,MSU goalie(Gilmore) made a
great stop on a shot from the right circle,but was out of position as JY collec
ted the puck and wound up.  A Michigan State defender made the save(somehow) wi
th his glove,placed the puck on the ice in front of him,saw JY standing there w
aiting,and COVERED IT WITH BOTH HANDS!!!!!!  After *3-4 seconds* he shoveled
the puck to a teammate in the corner ,who skated up the ice. Note:In HockeyEast
regular season play,this was allowed,I do not know if hand passes in the defens
ive zone are allowed are in the NC$$ tournament.  But that dosen't matter.  Wha
t about the covering of the puck in the crease??????  Can you say "penalty shot
"  boys and girls????  That play went pretty much unnoticed by most people,but
it definitely was a key to the results of the game.
         Read on.
     2) Just moments later JY shot a puck from the slot to the upper corner,a
 certain goal.  But Gilmore*apparently* made the save.  JY thought it went acro
ss the line in Gilmore's glove,but the goal judge disagreed,and the light never
 went on.  JY went over to the goal judge,tapped on the glass and muttered some
thing in French.  BAM!! 10-Minute Misconduct!!  I don't know exactly what JY sa
id,but I hope that the refs weren't making assumptions,and one of them could
actually translate what he said.   But that scene should *NEVER* have taken
place.
     Here is how I *KNOW* that both of the above situations were poorly called
against UMaine.  I was one of about 10 people with access to videotape during
the game.  I was in the 'press box' videotaping the game.  Between periods,I re
wound the tape and watched the plays I had  taped.  The delay of game/penalty
shot play was the most blatant no-call.  The puck was securely under the glove
for 3-4 seconds,and we had no chance to hit it in for a goal.  The play was
clearly in the crease,thus a penalty shot should have been called awarded.
The goal JY scored is not as clear,as my angle was off,but Gilmore's glove
clearly retreated after the went in.  His skates were dead on the goal line,so
his glove could not have been far away from the line.  If his glove went back
more than a couple of inches,it was a goal.
 
     I am not going to make excuses for why we lost the game.  We had several
chances that we didn't capitalize on,and MSU did.  Plus Gilmore had one of the
most incredible/LUCKY performances I have witnessed.  I tip my hat to their
terrific team. They played like winners and came out on top.  Still,I have to
wonder what would have happened if the refs had been awake.  But that's the way
the game goes.  I was heartbroken for Pellerin and all of the Seniors who have
played their last UMaine game.  They leave as the winningest class in NC$$
History,and they never won the Big One!      I hope I'm not repeating that stat
ement next season at this time,as Jimmy Montgomery,JY and Garth Snow lead thrir
class to the All-Time Winningest Senior Class.
 
                                                  JSH Forsyth
                                                NYA '91 UMO '95
 
"They aren't neccessarily a better team,they just played better than we did....
today"      -Marv Levy after losing SuperBowl XXVI to Washington.
"Today,they were a better team"    -me
 
P.S.   I see that mail is starting to come in,probably in response to that last
 article about the refs.  I DON'T have pity for them having to have *EASTERN*
refs at the F*nal  F*ur. (reference to DRAGNET THEME)  We had WESTERN refs who
called 19 penalties in two periods.   NO SYMPATHY HERE!!!!