It's taken a while for me to get around to my comments on the finals
in Albany, the Hockey-L dinner, etc.  There isn't much activity on the
list at this point but I'll throw my 2 cents out there ...

On the games:
It has been noted by many how flat MSU was in the first semifinal
game, and I have to agree with that.  I have rarely seen a team so
seemingly ill-prepared for such a big game.  I say "seemingly" ill-prepared
because I'm willing to give a lot of the credit to North Dakota for the
way this one started.  MSU's style was to play defensively and frustrate
other teams, and then gradually take advantage of mistakes and fatigue
during the game to forge a lead and put it away behind Miller in goal.  When
UND got off to the quick lead and then the 2-0 lead, it looked like the
Spartans just weren't ready to elevate their game to the level they needed.
They recovered and played better as time went on, but with the relative lack
of offensive power and UND's strong defensive play, it was too little, too
late.  North Dakota played much better, were much faster, and deserved this
one all the way.

BC - Michigan started much the same way, with BC having the early jump on
the Maize and Blue, and getting the lead.  I thought it might be over when
BC went up 3-0, but Michigan got it right back and I knew it would be a
tough one.  The Eagles were able to do enough to hold the lead, and I think
they just had a little too much talent for UM to overcome.  Somehow, once
BC got the lead, you just had the feeling they were going to make it to the
final one more time, especially with a revenge motive (UM beat BC in the
1998 final.)

It made for a good finals matchup, a rematch of the previous year's game,
with the BC revenge factor against the speed and grit of a UND team trying
to be the first repeat champions in 30 years.  I thought UND showed a bit
more jump than BC in the semifinals, and worried that they might be able
to use their forecheck to keep the Eagles bottled up in the championship
game.  But it didn't turn out that way; it was up and down quite a bit
during the final, though both teams forced the play to the outside as much
as possible.  BC finally, after 3 previous tries, seemed to have the fickle
"puck luck" on their side.  The first goal was a plain giveaway by the UND
team; I've watched the replays and think that Goehring was distracted by
his defenseman when he tried to clear the puck, but I don't think the puck
was deflected.  Giuliano didn't wait to control it well, just shoveled it
to the front, and Kobasew was not going to miss an open net.  The Lephart
goal was a lucky deflection into the upper corner; a hundred other times
this might have gone wide or high, but not this night.  (Of course, without
the deflection, the initial shot might have been saved and the rebound put
back in, too -- we will never know.)

I thought BC did a very good job playing strong during the entire game, and
certainly UND helped them by missing their open shots.  Clemmensen's big
save on Lundbohm late in the first gave everyone the hope on the BC side
that maybe, just maybe, things would finally go their way.  (I confess, I
saw the move to the backhand and sat back in my seat, resigned to the fact
it was in the net.  It took a second or two to realize that the cheering
was not from the UND fans, but from the BC section.)  As the game went on,
the feeling grew that BC would not be denied in their fourth Frozen Four,
and I think some of the UND people thought the same way.  When it got down
to 4 minutes left, it almost seemed impossible to lose it.  Then, one goal,
and then, tied up in the last minute.  Certainly there was a stunned feeling
for the BC partisans - it just didn't seem cosmically fair for them to lose
it again.  We had that brief flair of hope when Gionta got a shot with only
seconds left that he might end it right there and not go to an overtime,
but ...

The minutes before the overtime were nervous ones at our end; everyone just
very tense and uncertain.  We didn't know how the team would react or if
it would be too hard to take.  They were tentative for about 15 seconds at
the beginning of overtime, but after that they were skating hard and
aggresively, and if anything BC had the better play in OT.  North Dakota
was getting a few chances, but nothing really dangerous.  Clemmensen gloved
Lundbohm's shot from the middle, and it looked good, but I think from the
replay that it might have gone wide anyway.  The final UND rush was a more
dangerous chance but it went wide, and then, BC went the other way ...
In a lot of ways, I don't think we thought the Kolanos rush into the UND
zone was dangerous; after all, he was going wide.  But I think he had
the advantage of speed when the UND defense was standing up a bit at the
blue line, and I don't think Schneekloth realized how fast he was.  That
is typical for Kolanos, by the way, he doesn't look like he's moving very
fast or skating very hard, but suddenly he's on his way around you or
holding you off and firing a shot.  (There are reasons, after all, why he
was a first-round NHL pick ...)

At the moment the goal went in and the players jumped up in celebration,
the emotions hit us.  A sense of disbelief in a lot of ways, but most of
all a sense of "FINALLY!!!"  After years of not winning the championship,
after the frustration of the previous 3 years, after the down years in
the early-mid 90's and the troubles that Jerry York had to rebuild from,
and after more than a few times of having to hear taunts and kidding from
the BU and Maine contingents -- it was a blessed relief to know that these
players had accomplished their goal.  A lot of folks, especially on USCHO,
had wondered if the BC fans (especially the band-wagoners) would be over-
bearing and insufferable if the Eagles won it.  More than anything, though,
everyone was just so damn happy that they won that there was just a sense
of celebration.  No taunting, no superior gloating.  After all, the BC
fans knew all too well what it was like to be on the other side.  We knew
how close the difference between winning and losing can be.  UND was
universally recognized as a great team, a tough team, and one that came
"this" close to being the first repeat champion in a long time.  Lots of
class from both teams, both sets of fans.

[Soapbox On]
Of course, there were pockets of jerks, individuals who couldn't maintain
any sort of objectivity or had too much to drink.  I think we all know that
every team has some of those fans, and given time (and more drink) they come
out of the woodwork even more.  I know there will be plenty of BC jerks in
the months/years to come; I don't admire them or agree with them and I
certainly would never defend them.  I just treat all teams/fans with respect
and expect the same from the opposition.  True hockey fans can root for their
team without having to denigrate/demonize the opposition.  I know there are
a lot of good BC fans, as I see them every game.  Certainly this group of
players had class, so I would hope the fans would respond in kind.  I know
most of the Hockey-L fans fall into the "class" category, at least the ones
I meet at games, and that is part of the reason I stay on Hockey-L instead
of just floating with the rest of the flamers on places like USCHO.
[Soapbox Off]

On the Hobey Baker:
There was discussion of the Hobey candidates during the Hockey-L meetings
between periods of the games, and at the dinner.  I had heard from a BC
friend that Miller was the winner before the first semifinal game even
started, but didn't tell others (I guess I didn't think it was my place to
spread rumors, even if I thought this was a reliable source.)  But I did my
best to point out reasons why Miller was a viable candidate, and used a lot
of the reasons that I think were why people finally voted for him.  As good
a season as Panzer had, he didn't set any sort of all-time records, and he
certainly wasn't dominant in the sense of a Kariya (the all-time special
Hobey case, in my opinion.)  Miller, though certainly aided by a strong
defensive team and system, elevated his game above that to a level that no
one had reached, and set records as a sophomore that others hadn't matched
in 3 or 4 years of a career.  The shutout record, the GAA, and the save
percentage were so far above the norm that you had to overlook his sophomore
status or his being a goalie.  Let's face it, MSU has had some very strong
goalies in the past few years, and Miller still stood head and shoulders
above them.  So while he benefited from the MSU "system", he still added a
lot of his own.  Having seen him play three games this year (2 in the GLI,
and one in Albany), I agree that he is a phenomenal goalie, and I didn't have
any problem with him winning the award.  (Frankly, I don't think I would
have had a problem with any of several candidates winning this year.  They
all are great players and a case can be made for many of them.  We had the
pleasant situation to have seen 9 of the 10 Hobey finalists play this year,
so I had some personal knowledge of their games.)

The venue for the award ceremony was great; they obviously have done these
types of public presentations before.  It was moved from the hotel, I was
told, and I am glad they did so.  The crowd was the largest I have seen to
date at a ceremony, but there was plenty of room and it was comfortable.  I
think some of the UND fans were disappointed at the outcome, but the fact
that there were fewer BC fans than I expected showed (I think) that the news
of the winner was fairly common in Albany.  It didn't hurt when the morning
papers noted that Miller and Ron Mason stayed behind in Albany after the
rest of the MSU team went back to Michigan.

Miller was quietly gracious, but a bit ill-at-ease in front of all those
people.  (And, boy, he is skinnier than I thought!)  Quite an honor for his
family, though, continuing the strong Miller tradition at MSU.

On the Humanitarian Award:
Personally, I am coming to like this award even more than the Hobey; there is
a lot less politicking and a lot less animosity involved, and frankly it is
probably more meaningful.  It will never have the cachet or publicity of the
Hobey, but the fact that they combine the two ceremonies is another reason
I like college hockey.  It reminds everyone of certain human values that
transcend just goals and assists and saves.  Once again, the winner of this
award, Jason Cupp of UNO, demonstrated a flair and comfort for public
speaking that the Hobey winners rarely have.  I think the fact that he had
done so much work in his charitable efforts and was used to speaking to
groups meant that he was at ease with the lights and cameras.  He was older
and probably more mature, too, which didn't hurt.  One side note was that 4
of the 5 finalists for this award were Canadian kids.  It is probably just a
statistical anomaly, but it made me wonder if the kids in NCAA hockey that
are Americans are more focused on the ice and less on other things.

On the Hockey-L dinner:
As others have noted, a great location for the dinner this year and a good
time had by just about everyone.  (There are always a few ...)
Thanks again to Brian Morris for his organizational efforts and willingness
to take the time for this work.  It was so nice to be in a room where it was
just Hockey-L people, with space to move and enough quiet so you could talk
with your friends.  The last time it was this comfortable from that
perspective for me was in Cincinatti (perhaps the best thing about the
Cincinatti experience ...)  A very strong Eastern presence this year, no
doubt due to the location and the ease of travel.  It is always fun to meet
the H-L community, a small but dedicated band of hockey nuts.  :-))

We were a little disappointed that some of the attendees feel the need to
"diss" fans of other teams instead of just celebrating their own, but I
suppose that is par for the course.  The vast majority are welcoming and
things like the Hockey-L dinner bring home the fact that we are all fans
and we all love the game of college hockey, no matter who we root for.  (See
Soapbox above for my general philosophy on this.)

The sessions of H-L fans who met between periods of the games were a bit
smaller this year, possibly because some of the regulars were not in Albany
and probably because it was so darn hard to move through the corridors
between periods.  The meeting location was okay, it was getting there that
was tough, especially if you were at the Pearl Street end of the building.
The Pepsi Arena is fine, up to a point, but when you pack it full, add all
the extra concession stands, force everyone to the Pearl Street end to use
the bathroom, well, crowd control is not the best.  The arena did adjust a
bit after they realized some of the problems, but there was only so much
they could do.

On Albany in general:
We were struck by the difference in how Albany treated the finals between
1992 and 2001.  In 1992, all the teams were western, the exposure was less,
the city was not promoting the games as much, and the arena was not nearly
full.  This year, they knew they had sellouts (despite lots of available
tix thru reselling), they wanted to impress the NCAA how enthusiastic and
capable they were, and I think they wanted to sell the locals on why they
should put up with this rowdy bunch of people disrupting their downtown on
a Thursday.  Overall I think they tried very hard, and did as good a job as
you can do when you are saddled with selling downtown Albany, which just
isn't very exciting.  The folks who wanted to go to local restaurants and
bars downtown (or stay in downtown hotels) were mostly disappointed, as the
city really isn't geared to that.  Most of the nicer restaurants and hotels
and shopping are further out, near the malls and Wolf Road.  We don't stay
in downtown and are reasonably pleased with the experience.  The effort to
run shuttle buses with the Fan Pass was useful.  We actually took the city
bus to the games and back, not the special Wolf Road shuttles; we stayed
at the Holiday Inn Express on Western Ave. (Rt. 20) and took the #10 bus
every day, and it was just fine.  We saw a bit of the city as well, and the
Fan Pass was accepted on the city buses.  By the way, we enjoyed the hotel
a lot - clean, accessible, nice breakfast buffet each day, a small but nice
pool, and not too expensive.  They were happy that college hockey fans
turned out to be nice folks, not alcohol-fueled, destructive monsters.  We
had lots of other fans, there, too, and shared lots of hockey talk.

By going to the Hobey presentation, we got to see the scope of the Empire
Plaza complex.  Very large, but it is obvious that it is strictly a 9-to-5
thing during the week; once the government workers go home, it is pretty
quiet downtown.  Overall, the city is caught in the dilemma of not having
any native industry other than government, and it is a small city other
than that.  If New York wasn't such a large state and such a large govt.,
Albany would be even smaller than it is.  The arena is a bit too small to
make the NCAA cutoff of 15,000 for future Frozen Fours, and probably too
large to justify regionals, especially if they go to 4-team regionals once
the expansion to 16 teams occurs.  But in a lot of ways it is a place
with a "regional" flavor.  I enjoy going to games in Albany.  But I will
enjoy going to St. Paul and Buffalo and Boston and Milwaukee more.  I've
been to Columbus, and I suppose one Frozen Four there will be okay; but
I don't know if it can support more than one.  (It isn't that exciting a
place.  And yeah, I suppose Buffalo has to prove itself, too.)

I suppose we will always remember Albany a bit more fondly due to the
successful conclusion BC had there.  It was the setting for the end of a
great season for BC hockey, one that will be very hard to top.  While we
can hope for more good seasons and have shots at championships, we know
there are lots of fans whose teams hope for just that one special season,
to move up into the elite.  Best of luck to all in the future -- may you
have a chance to enjoy a year like we did.
--------------------               ----------------------
Rick McAdoo                        [log in to unmask]
"Volunteer reporter"               A satisfied BC fan.  GO EAGLES!