Now here are the promised comments...just a few notes off of what passes for
the top of my head....
 
        -The game was actually much better than I expected.  The players
obviously had not seen too many NHL All-Star games and thus they actually
played some defense.  Except for the three goal West outburst early in the
third, the game was close and well-contested.
 
        -The Hockey-L contingent (maybe one of the contingents - the only
one I know of) watched the game from the balcony - my personal favorite
spot.  We had most of the first row of one section but we were partially
evicted by perhaps the only fans to actually *buy* tickets for the balcony -
UMaine econ professor Jim Breece and his former neighbor UMass-Lowell coach
Bruce Crowder along with their two sons.
 
        -Our group had a wonderful line to cheer for as the East coaches put
Heather's favorite Lenny Percira (from Plattsburgh), Mike's rooting interest
Rob Atkinson (Merrimack), and Wayne, Becky, Venky, and my hero, Cal Ingraham
(Maine) on the same line!  They played pretty well and had their chances,
but they never could pop one in.  Of course we had to put up with John H
standing up and yelling "You're the greatest Ollie!!!" every time Michigan's
David Oliver (the West MVP) touched the puck or perhaps stepped on the ice
or maybe every five seconds...[Just teasing John.]
 
        -Wayne made a couple of good calls as just after the introductions
he turned and asked "Am I the only one who thinks that the East doesn't have
a chance?" - or words to that effect.  Later, just before the beginning of
the third period, he asked us (we were sitting directly above and behind the
net defended by the West) "Don't you think we're at the wrong end?" - even
though the game was fairly close at 2-0 at that instant, he certainly was
correct.
 
        -Mike's predictive skills were showcased when he asked early on -
perhaps even before the game "What are the chances that Jason Zent takes the
first penalty -  the first penalty in the two years of the EW Shrine
All-Star game?"  You can guess who took the first penalty, though we all
(including this Badger fan) thought Zent could have done better than a
simple minor for holding.
 
        -The goaltending was interesting.  The West clearly had the greater
offensive power, and I think the two goalies for the East, Roloson
(UMass-Lowell) and Finch (Brown) were both outstanding even though they
combined for a GAA of 5 or so (Oliver's last goal was an empty-netter).
Finch stopped Hobey winner Chris Marinucci on a clean breakaway.
 
That's about it for my immediate recollections - perhaps some of the other
attendees will chip in with their comments on what was (is this really
true?) the last college hockey game of the season...
 
Actually, that last sentence is not quite accurate as this was not *really*
a college hockey game.  The players (I am told) were given an honarium to
play (I *know* that's true in the Shrine football games) and somewhat
surprisingly to those of us watching, the players only wore half-shields for
the contest!
 
Best wishes, Charlie
 
 
Charlie Slavin                           [log in to unmask]
Department of Mathematics
University of Maine                   "It's a great day for hockey."
Orono, Maine 04469-5752                        Bob Johnson (1931-1991)