I have followed the turmoil which seems to have engulfed Shawn Walsh and
the Maine Black Bears passively, trying to search for the silver lining in
these seemingly never ending storm clouds surrounding the hockey program.  At
this point I must raise the fundamental question: who or what is in control of
this program?  To paint the worst case scenario: is Maine the UNLV of college
hockey?
 
I read Coach Walsh's column avidly, and wish I could meet him at the Hockey-L
confab in Minnesota.  I believe he answered the various issues thoughtfully and
with candor, and his insights certainly prove him to be one of the "star"
coaches of collegiate hockey.  I also want to state unequivocally that Maine
hockey, as it is played on the ice, is an exciting, engrossing spectacle which
represents one of the most positive representations of the sport today.
 
But what I can't put together is the relationship between the coach and the
program.  Not to kick a program when it's down, but it is safe to say that
there has never been a hockey program guilty of three separate violations in
a season.  Obviously Carvil wasn't the most scrutinizing compliance officer,
but, as I recall, Walsh didn't even rely on his advice with the Jeff Tory
case.  Walsh, to his credit, has taken full responsibility for that incident.
But that incident does show that Walsh has not been oblivious to the goings-
on, and certainly has some degree of familiarity with the whole eligibility
mess.  IMHO a coach who would simply delegate sole responsiblity for
eligibility questions to a junior administrator would be derelict of his
overall management responsibilities.  Walsh clearly does not fall into that
category.
 
Then what is going on?  I am constantly reminded of Peter Ferraro's
characterization of Maine as a "hockey factory", a statement which I initially
dismissed as a poor choice of words.  Has this idea, that the program is a
machine who's goal is to produce championship-caliber teams, come to overwhelm
the command and control ablities of its administrators and coaches?
Navigating the minefield of NCAA rules and regulations is clearly not a job
for the neophyte.  At Maine, it seems like neither players, nor coaches, nor
administrators are able to do so, as a result of casual indifference,
incompetence, or whatever.
 
It is now impossible to view these violations as random events.  I'm sure the
Maine president now shares this viewpoint, and is undoubtedly about to
intervene into the sports program, of which Walsh is it's most famous member.
As an outsider looking in, it is impossible to render judgements on motives,
attitudes or rationales.  One can only string together the events as they occur
and look for patterns--and the picture which forms is not a positive one for
Coach Walsh and the Maine program.  What proves undaunting to me is the
juxtaposition of a fabulously successful hockey team led by an immensely
talented coach with a program that seems to be out of control.  It's not the
how but the why did these events occur which is troubling to me.
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