On Sun, 14 Dec 1997 02:11:04 -0500 Bill Fenwick wrote:
 
> >Inside the Whittemore Center in Durham, NH, hangs a banner celebrating
> >the Wildcats 1997 Hockey East championship.  I suppose the University of
> >New Hampshire offers a course detailing the strategies Dewey utilized in
> >his 1948 victory over Truman.
>
> An admirable try at a backhanded slap... of course, the problem is that UNH
> *did* win a share of the regular-season Hockey East championship (along with
> BU) in 1997, which I assume is what the banner is for.  BU got the higher
> playoff seed, along with the regular-season-champ auto bid (which became a bye
> when they won the Hockey Eat tournament), thanks to tiebreakers, but the two
> teams were considered co-champions for the regular season.
 
The banner makes no reference to the fact that the title was shared or was for
regular season honors.  The conference champion is the team that wins the
tournament.  For UNH to claim title to the Hockey East championship would be like
Michigan claiming the 1997 NCAA title by virtue of their having the highest PWR at
the close of the regular season.
 
BU has never made an issue of regular season championships.  In the Terriers' eyes
it just doesn't matter.  That, of course, is BU's business.  I know that teams
throughout the nation do make a point of their regular season accomplishments, and
that they recognize those accomplishments with full disclosure.
 
I don't begrudge what the Wildcats accomplished over the course of the 1996-97
regular season. They earned a share of the regular season title fair and square.
UNH should do the right thing, however, and take the banner down and replace it
with something that accurately represents the facts.
 
--
Edward N. Moller
Controller
Mount Ida College
Newton Centre, MA  02159-3323
[log in to unmask]
Tel:  (617) 928-4515
Fax:  (617) 928-4706
 
HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey;  send information to
[log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.