Reply to:   RE>We Don't Need No Stinking R
Paul Marchant wrote:
>From which league does that esteemed ref hail?
 
Aah, our very own Tim MacConaghy from ECAC had the honor to ref the national
championship on Saturday night, and turned himself into the center of all
controversies (so what's new with him?).
 
MacConaghy refed probably three games involving Cornell this past season, and I
would venture to say that he did not like the colors Red and White.  He has had
a tendency to call a tight game (not always a bad thing in itself).  Take the
Union at Cornell game for example, he called a total of 20 penalties.  The
Brown at Cornell game in December, 1991, he called a total of 15 penalties.
For the two games, Cornell went 0-1-1.  What were the Badgers' team colors?
Red and white.  Is MacConaghy penalty-happy?  I think so.  Did he make any bad
calls Saturday night?  Definitely.  Was the officiating an factor in the final
outcome?  Probably.  However, I was disappointed to see the unsportsmanlike
behavior from the Wisconsin team.  They'd lost their cool at the end of the
game, throwing sticks to prevent the empty net goal and trying to pick a fight
with a Lakers player.  Those were uncalled-for and did not belong in the
national championship game.
 
Having watched the ESPN broadcast of the game on Saturday made me doubly happy
that I went to the Boston Garden for the Hockeyfest in March.  I was glad to
have cheered for the Big Red in their bid for an ECAC trophy (we'll have our
turn again), moreover, I saw a really exciting, and high-caliber college hockey
game in the Hockey East final between Maine and UNH.  I saw clean, crisp
passing on the ice; some beautifully set-up goals and at least one blistering
shot from the blue line; and last but not least, a fairly clean game (though
UNH may not have liked Frank Cole's calls too much, the officiating was better
than MacConaghy's, I thought).  I was disappointed that Maine was eliminated in
the NCAA tournament.
 
This is not to say that LSSU Lakers did not deserve the Championship.  Quite
the contrary:  they were down two goals and they fought their way back to take
the lead.  They showed much character and confidence on the ice.  I saw the
1990-91 edition of the Lakers at SIT when Cornell played them, and that Lakers
team was indeed very good.  Congratulations to you, LSSU.
 
Tom Tseng '87
Cornell