In a message dated 97-12-15 10:51:26 EST, you write:
 
> With goals by sophomores Jason Shipulski and Mike Souza late in the third
>  period, UNH overcame a two goal deficit (and, dare I say, the refereeing of
>  John Gravallese) to gain a 4-4 tie with BU.  UNH came into the game facing
>  BU goalie Michel Larocque, who had won five straight game against the
>  Wildcats, the latest coming in the 1997 Hockey East title game last March.
>
>  The first period was played at a some what tentative pace, with BU probably
>  getting the better of the chances.  The only goal of the period was scored
>  by Tommi Degerman when he tipped a Chris Kelleher center point slap shot
>  past Sean Matile at 6:26.  While the shots were even for the period (7
>  apiece), Matile was forced to make more quality saves, including a
>  breakaway by Scott Perry at the 18 minute mark.
>
>  Jason Krog, the nation's leading scorer, tied the came at 33 seconds of the
>  second period when he blistered a 35 foot slap shot from the right wing
>  past Larocque.  At this point, the crowd got more into the game and UNH
>  stepped up the pressure.  At the five minute mark, the appeared to have
>  scored off a scramble in close, however Gravallese blew a quick whistle and
>  seemed to ignore a BU defenseman who had covered the puck up in the crease.
>  BU took the lead at 6:22 when Juha Vuori scored after  Mike Sylvia had
>  come down the left wing and turned a UNH defenseman to set up the goal.  At
>  13:06 another UNH "goal" was disallowed as Larocque attempted to cover up a
>  rebound.  From my vantage point, 4 rows from the ice in the UNH zone, the
>  puck was not frozen and, after several swipes, UNH did put it in the net.
>  However, Gravallese was again too quick with the whistle, a decision that
>  proved costly 15 seconds later.  After Dan Ronan had been whistled off for
>  interference as a result of this scrum, UNH turned the puck over at center
>  ice and BU's Carl Corazzini scored on a slap shot that eluded Matile.  So,
>  instead of being tied, UNH found themselves down by two as the period
>  ended.
>
>  3rd Period
>
>  UNH started the period with a 5-on-3 power play for 1:16 but BU killed it
>  off rather easily.  As the period went on, BU seemed to be doing a pretty
>  good job holding UNH off just as they had done in their 4-2 victory at
>  Walter Brown rink last month.  However, UNH caught a break midway through
>  the period when Shipulski took a pass from Christian Braganolo at center
>  ice, deked a BU defenseman at the blue line and went in all alone to score
>  on a backhander at 10:18.  The crowd came to life but were quickly shut
>  down when a Joe DiPenta slap shot was deflected in front off a UNH defender
>  to give BU a two goal lead again.  If a poll of the crowd had been taken at
>  this point, I am sure most would have said that the game was gone.  At the
>  fifteen minute mark, Derek Bekar was taken down as he attempted to execute
>  a give-and-go with Krog but, this time, the whistle did not blow as
>  Gravallese apparently saw nothing. This led to a retaliation slash by Bekar
>  and a subsequent 10-minute misconduct, called by a linesman.  With less
>  than five minutes to go and UNH without Bekar (and Mark Mowers who sat out
>  his third straight game due to a concussion), the game seemed over.  At
>  this point, however, Tom Nolan came to the fore.  First, he broke out of
>  the UNH zone on the right wing, got the angle on the defense and fed
>  Shipulski with a perfect pass which was one-timed past Larocque at 16:04.
>  With crowd in a frenzy, UNH took the puck right back into the zone off the
>  face off, with Shipulski drawing a holding penalty on Jeff Kealty at 16:32.
>  On the ensuing face off, a Nolan shot rebounded off Larocque and, after a
>  couple of swipes, Souza put it in to tie the game at 16:44.
>
>  The remainder of the period and the overtime remained scoreless, although
>  Krog had an excellent tip chance with just 10 seconds to go in OT.
>  Overall, a great, great college hockey game.  And, without a doubt, the
>  noisiest crowd I have ever heard at the Whit.
>
>  Greg Ambrose, UNH '72
>  GO UNH BLUE!!!
>  JASON KROG FOR HOBEY!!!
>
 
Some more comments on the BU/UNH tie:
 
The Concord Monitor's take on the tie: "They say that a tie is like kissing
your sister. If that's the case, the University of New Hampshire hockey team's
sister looks a lot like Cindy Crawford and the Boston University's squad
resembles Howard Stern.
 
The crowd was the loudest I've ever seen at the Whittemore Center. Even the
fans at center ice, typically pretty sedate in Durham, were on their feet and
screaming.
 
Referee John Gravallese should be recognized for BU's defensive play of the
game for a spectacular non-call in the second period, when UNH goaltender Sean
Matile was knocked over and sat upon while Juha Vuori deposited the puck in
the net. Now, I admit that I often see things through blue-and-white tinted
glasses, but I  don't typically ref-bash, and this was unbelievably obvious
(at least from my seat, in the front row to Matile's left). Was that a red
sweater I saw peeking out underneath Gravallese's zebra suit?
 
And a couple of questions:
 
Why did Bekar get a game misconduct? I never saw the slash, but I know it was
his first penalty of the game. It must have been pretty nasty, which isn't
typical of his style of play.
 
What happens if BU and UNH are tied for first place at the end of the season
(now that they have split their three regular season games)?
 
-Mark Toussaint
UNH '96
Let's go WildCats!
 
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