Tony writes:
>One minor quibble, I feel that Chris Imes of Maine should
>be second team, not first, while Chris Theirin should
>clearly be first (Providence).  I do, however, feel that
>Imes is the 3rd best defenseman in the league.
 
I think that what caused Therien to be dropped to 2nd team was that people
expected an All-America type year from him, maybe even a Hobey type year,
and he didn't come up with it.  He didn't meet the high expectations people
had of him.  I was disappointed at watching him this year because after
seeing him for the last few years, I thought he had an off year in 92-93.
He's still one of the better Ds in the league, but too often when I saw PC,
he was not one of the players you'd notice, and for a guy who is 6'5" 235,
that is kind of unusual, not to notice him.
 
Imes has become a consistent defenseman, and I think that is a reason for
his selection.  I don't really have a problem with that.  There's no way I
think Therien deserved first team this year.
 
>Now, the major quibble:  What the heck is Kaj Linna (BU)
>doing on second team, all Hockey East?!?
 
It's probably because HE has not been full of great defensemen this year.
I look at the four guys who were chosen, and this is probably the worst
year for defensemen in the league - which isn't a knock on the players
chosen, but we have been fortunate to see some truly outstanding Ds in HE
since 1984: Peter Taglianetti, Claude Lodin, Brian Leetch, Eric Weinrich,
Jack Capuano, Brian Dowd, Greg Brown, Bob Beers, Keith Carney, Peter Ahola,
Shaun Kane, Tom Dion...at least one of these guys made the All-HE team each
year from 1984-92.
 
Note the conspicuous absence of BC's Ian Moran.  It certainly helps to play
for a good team, and Moran did not have that bad of a year.  As with Therien,
I think people expected too much from Moran.
 
I also thought at least a few other guys deserved mention on D, maybe even
ahead of Linna and/or Therien: UNH's Jim McGrath has played well, as has
Merrimack's Mark Cornforth.  But they did not come into the season as
highly regarded as some of the others.
 
BTW, Maine's Dave MacIsaac made the All-Rookie Team even though he is a
sophomore, since it's his first season.  Where is Mike Latendresse?  Why
wasn't he chosen?  I'm happy to see Mark Goble from Merrimack on the team,
but Latendresse certainly belongs in there as a forward.  Maybe the
coaches didn't want it to become the All-Maine Rookie Team. :-)
 
Also, before the Merrimack series, I would not have supported placing both
Dunham and Snow on the first and second team as goalies.  That series
changed my mind.  Cashman and Roloson played well enough to merit
consideration, but that series showed me how valuable Dunham and Snow are
to Maine.  I think if Maine has a weakness, it is defense, and that makes
it even more amazing that Dunham (2.52) and Snow (1.89) posted such low
GAAs.  But it's odd that Dunham was named to the first team and Snow to the
second team, despite Snow setting a new HE record for lowest GAA (and
lowest save %, .923).
---
Mike Machnik    [log in to unmask]   Color Voice of the Merrimack Warriors
(Any opinions expressed above are strictly those of the poster.)    *HMN*