The University of Maine repeated as Hockey East Regular Season
     Champions with a 6-1 victory against BU here at the "Morgue"...
     formerly known as Alfond Arena...Actually, the crowd was finally
     into a game...for the first 2 periods, but as Maine pulled ahead by
     4, 5 and 6 goals, the crowd died....no pun intended.
       UMaine opened fast once again, with a Chris Imes blast just 55 seconds
     into the game.  That seemed like all the scoring in the first period
     until Dave MacIssac launched a rocket past BU Goalie Scott Cashman
     with 7 seconds left.  The Ferraro Twins chipped in 2 goals in under
     2 minutes (Peter scored first on the power play at 17:09, then Chris
     stole the puck in front of the BU net, made a move around Cashman
     and deposited a Short-Handed goal into the net with 59 seconds left
     in the second period.
       Everyone at Alfond was on edge...this was the third straight game
     UMaine held a 4 goal lead against BU at Alfond...the first was last
     January 31 when Maine led 4-0 after 1, only to end up in a 4-4 tie.
     And, of course, last night's debacle that no UM fan will ever forget.
     But a tip in by Justin Tomberlin off a Paul Kariya shot at 6:29 gave
     the Bears an insurmountable lead, and the Hockey East Regular Season
     Championship.  But Jim Montgomery wasn't through for the night, as he
     notched his 20th goal of the season with 11:36 gone in the third.
       Now the only question that remained was whether Garth Snow would
     record a shutout...with 3:32 left, DOug Friedman(1 goal, 20 PIM tonight)
     got on the scoresheet for something other than a cheap shot...this one
     was a tip in shot and ended Snow's bid.  Greg Hirsch played the final
     3:32, and never faced a shot.
       This weekend was a bitter sweet one for Maine..."The Streak" and the
     hope of an undefeated season ended.  UMaine had not lost a home game
     since December 7, 1990...and only 2 homes games this decade.  But we
     clinched the Regular Season crown, and we did it in style: At home,
     following a BIG loss and against our number 1 rival.  This weekend may
     also have been a "re-birth" of sorts for all those corpses who have
     been filing into the Alfond this season.  Friday night's events had
     the crowd so shocked and so outraged that tonight they were ready to
     explode...but there was a point in the second period when BU had the
     momentum, that their 40-50 fans were louder than UM's 5400...at which
     time a certain student manager shouted, "I didn't realize we were in
     Walter Brown Arena"...after giving me several dirty looks, the people
     of section DDD did something they hadn't done all season...they stood
     up and started to cheer.  A few minutes later Peter Ferraro lit the
     lamp, and the BU crowd was not heard from again (but neither was section
     DDD).
 
       All in all, it was a good night at the Alfond.  We clinched the Crown
     and rather handily avenged our only loss of the season.  The Unbeaten
     Season is no longer, but one Championship has been won, and two more
     remain.  The fans appear to be back to their form of seasons past and
     Garth Snow was once again, a wall in front of the UM net.  Now, it is
     off to North Andover, and a weekend pair with the Merrimack Warriors.
 
 
         Goals:
 
    Period 1
        M   Chris Imes (8) (Montgomery, Kariya) :55
        M   Dave MacIssac (4) (Montgomery, P. Ferraro) 19:03  PPG
 
    Period 2
        M   P. Ferraro (14) (Kariya, Ingraham) 17:09  PPG
        M   C. Ferraro (20) (Latendresse)  19:01  SHG
 
    Period 3
        M   Tomberlin (10) (Kariya, P. Ferraro)  6:29  PPG
        M   Montgomery (20) (Kariya, MacIssac)  11:36  PPG
        BU  Friedman  (13) (Koskimaki)  16:28
 
          Scoring by Period:
                                  1  2  3  Total
                           BU     0  0  1    1
                           Maine  2  2  2    6
 
          Saves By Period:
                                  1  2  3  Total
                        Cashman   7  13 5   25
 
                        Snow      7  6  5   18
                        Hirsch    -  -  0    0
 
          Total Penalties:
 
                         BU    *26* / *76* minutes
                         Maine *25* / *74* minutes
           150 total minutes, including 4 Misconducts...the Band played
           the "Rocky" theme a few times tonight.
 
          Power Plays:
 
                  BU   0/7  (24 Consecutive Power Plays killed by UM)
                  UM   4/8  (Many thanks to Doug Friedman for blowing his top)
 
 
          Three Stars:
 
              1) Garth Snow 18 saves/ 19 shots (Most from point blank)
              2) Paul Kariya  4 assists
              3) Peter Ferraro 1 goal 2 assists
 
              1) Garth Snow  18 saves/19 shots (almost all from point blank)
              2) Paul Kariya  4 assists
              3) Peter Ferraro  1 Goal 2 assists
 
          Officials:
                           Referees: Frank Cole  Drew taylor
                           Linesman: John Jones
 
          Records:
 
                  BU:  22-7-2   15-5-1 HE
                  UM:  31-1-2   18-1-1 HE  (Hockey East Champions)
 
 
 
            Note:  I would have included the penalties, but they were
                   still typing page 2 of the penalty report when I left...
 
 
 
 
                                      John Forsyth
                                        UMaine Class of '9?
 
          Hockey East Champions Once Again!
          Shout til the rafters ring Maine Fans!