Brawl, more than loss, BU's haunting memory



By Joe Concannon

Globe Staff



            DENVER --­ Yesterday dawned bright, clear and invigorating in this Mile High City, the kind of day that makes you happy to be alive. But, to Terry Meagher and the players on the Boston University hockey team, there was only the ugly memory of the night before.



            It was not that BU had been beaten, 4-2, by Minnesota in the semifinals of the NCAA tournament. Not at all. What lingered was the hangover from a sustained brawl that erupted at 1:08 of the first period, a brawl that bared the savagery of the sport.



            Meagher, a BU co-captain who had served only eight minutes of penalties this past season and only 28 in three years, had been fingered as a primary protagonist, the instigator. "It's unbelievable," he said yesterday, "how short a time it takes for you to get a bad name."



            What happened, precisely, depends upon which version of which story you want to buy. The result, though, was visible to the 5204 in the Denver University Arena. It involved virtually everyone from each bench in a brawl that lasted a good 15 minutes before a semblance of order was restored.



            Two penalties preceded it and, basically, are at the heart of what happened. At 0:33 of the first period, Minnesota defenseman Russ Anderson ran a BU player into the parking lot and left for a cross check. At 1:08, Meagher was called for slashing after a jousting incident at the face-off circle.



            Meagher, arguing the call as he skated toward the penalty box, was verbally abused by the Minnesota bench. Nobody denied that. He entered the penalty box, sat down NEXT TO Anderson and BETWEEN Anderson and the Minnesota bench and, suddenly, all hell broke loose.



            Gary Smith, a Minnesota trainer who is also adept at dropping a contact lens on the ice to stop play, became a principal participant. His version is that Meagher spit at him. Meagher does not deny it. The question is: What precipitated the spitting? And, what triggered the brawl?



            The post-game bitterness centered on this and a second central issue. Jack Parker, the BU coach, charged that there is "no question they came out with the intent of running at us. It obviously is the coach's (Herb Brooks) philosophy. He not only tolerates it. He condones it.



            "Two different people from two different schools in the WCHA said he (Anderson) started the same thing in a couple of games. People from Colorado College and Michigan Tech. He came out running at people. I don't know if they wanted to get Terry or not. But it certainly wasn't a bad trade: A hatchet man for a 30-goal scorer.



            "I was so disgusted at the mere fact that Terry Meagher got kicked out of the game. I felt so bad for him. Not only is he our leading scorer, but he also has only eight minutes of penalties. Without question, he is the most gentlemanly player we have. On and off the ice.



            "It was unbelievable that this could happen in a national championship. We dump all over the pros for the brawling tactics of the game. Now it seems Minnesota believes that's the way it should be played. And the officials (Frank Kelley of the East, Dino Paniccia of the West) did nothing to change that aspect of the game."



            Meagher, the MVP in recent ECAC tournament and a superb competitor all season as he led BU to a 25-3 record entering the tournament, sat in his motel room yesterday before the consolation game against Brown and, if there was a picture of dejection, he was it.



            "Once the game started," he said, "they took a couple of runs at us. I was sticked in the gut before the face-off. It started out as another Canadian-American thing. (Minnesota plays on the emotion of being a 100 percent American team.) That started when I went to the penalty box.



            "Somebody grabbed my shirt, tugged at it. As I turned around, it was the same stuff. He (Smith) yelled, 'I'm going to knock your head off.' They yelled, 'MVP, where are you?' And, 'Canadian, go home, you fraud.' They called me a Frenchman, a frog. My name isn't French.



            "I went into the box and said, "Screw you.' I spit down at him. It was just a reflex. But that didn't start it. What started the whole thing was when they (the Minnesota players) came over the top with their sticks. I made a mistake. Yes. It's something I'm going to have to live with.



            "It all bothers me ­ for four years I've been trying to play the college game. Checking, speed, roughness are all a part of the game. But not the roughness and the cheap shots after the whistle. The high sticking. And, as I'm going to the box, he (Smith) yelled at me, 'I'm going to get you.' I can take the abuse. But here he and the team were at one side face to face yelling at me."



            Even though Meagher (as well as Anderson) was ruled out of the game yesterday, Parker told Meagher to dress. He took the warmup drills. There was no outcry from Brown. In fact, the Brown players and Brown coach Dick Toomey actually encouraged it.



            But Burt Smith of Michigan Tech, tournament chairman, warned Parker and BU athletic director John Simpson of possible reprisals against BU. Parker recanted. Meagher did not take the ice, forced instead to sit out the final game of a college career of great accomplishment.



            For the record, Brown won the game, 8-7, as it came from behind with a three-goal third period. Greg Vezzosi scored the winner at 1649, after Mike Flannigan had tied it for the Bruins at 15:50.



            BU took a 3-1 lead after one period and still led, 6-5, after two.



            Brown's John Ahearn and Wayne Luck each had a pair of goals while Peter Marzo scored two for the Terriers.