Mike Machnik's comments on the officiating posts are excellent!
Thank you very much Mike!  As a loyal BU fan, I have had plenty of chances to
make comments about referees, but I have refrained, because I know that
usually, I would either be wrong, or I would go overboard with what I was
saying.
        I will comment very quickly on what I thought about this weekend's
action and officiating.  Friday night, I was in attendance for both contests,
and both were very hard-fought.  It was great hockey action, even the Maine-PC
game, which I thought was closer than the score showed.  Several times during
both games, I saw calls that werre misses, or calls that were made and
seemingly shouldn't have been, and yes, I screamed like a madman at the time,
but in retrospect, I realize that the referees have a different point of view
and definitely see things differently than the fans do.  Even during the
BU-Lowell game, when Gravellese and Fitzgerald called an unbelievable 5
matching penalties, in retrospect, all of their calls could have been
justified.  I missed most of the Maine-Lowell game Saturday, but the
championship game was definitely (and no one can dispute this) an intense
game.  Tempers flared, and players from both sides were taking cheap shots at
each other, behind the play.  Seeing almost every BU home game this year, I
don't have enough fingers and toes to count the number of times Mike Grier has
been mauled in front of the net, and yet he keeps on playing his game.  If he
did slash Gill, then it certainly wasn't characteristic Grier play.
        Getting back to my point, Saturday's game was a great game, and I
leaned over and spoke to my friend after the first period and told her that I
thought the refs were doing a great job allowing play to continue.  They let
the flow of the game continue, and I honestly believe that they did a fine
job.  I was especially impressed with referee Frank Cole, who I don't remember
seeing this season, but he made some fine calls, and he did a great job
keeping the game under control.
        All in all, although I definitely would not have said so at the games,
I think the referees are to be commended.  Theirs is not the easiest job in
the world, and you would agree if you think for a second and put yourself in
their "skates" (instead of shoes).  Having fans screaming at you and making
the nasty remarks that fans are known for can certainly be demoralizing after
a while.
        Well, I guess that's all I have to say for now, sorry to have dragged
it on for so long, but I hope that we can now return to discussion of hockey
itself, because there are so many great things about it! :)
 
Tom Fortier
BU '97