On February 21, [log in to unmask] wrote:  ( I hope that she isn't mad
that I posted this to discussion... It's kinda my way of saying thanks
to one hell of a crowd!!!)...
 
>Dan,
>It takes quite a bit of guts to post to a college hockey list, before or
>after graduating.  Your name is just a *little* too well known. :-)
 
>Now, it's been tough for me to even listen to some of the posts on
>hockey-l (have you eavesdropped on it yet?) this past few years because
>of how nasty and vendictive people are. I mean, forget the word
>"discussion".  And I graduated from the last school you'd hear good
>things about Maine at-BU.  However, I don't share much of BU's animosity
>toward the black bears. I transferred to BU from a little college in
>Oregon. I had never seen a hockey game until I was 19, and only started
>to get a handle on it at BU in 93-94, when I went to all the home
>games.
>By the next year, I learned the one team BU should have a healthy
>rivalry
>with was Maine. I couldn't understand why everyone made such a big deal
>about the BU-BC thing. :-)  At the time, BC's recruiting wasn't to hot.
>Maine and BU were equally capable. And watching a good match is still
>more important to me than a landlside victory.   Then,......I went on
>the
>"Maine trip".
 
>I don't know what you call it, but I mean the two back-to-back games
>held
>in Maine.  I had been to every arena for away games and I this was the
>only one I thought I was going to be crushed by the arena. We were
>seated
>behind the goalie's net-wedged in- and the balcony above us was
>shuddering and creaking.  It might not sound loud to you, but it was
>EXTREMELY loud to us. Of course, it might have been those fans yelling
>obsceneties at us from 5 feet away.  You guys must have some problems
>with dynamics in your arena, because on the bus over there wasn't a
>light
>on in most of the homes. Everyone was parked outside the game. :-)  You
>mentioned your "Blue Line club". Is that the equivalent of Friends of
>Maine hockey. or the booster group?  If so, and you mentioned that the
>students(ie. fresh blood) don't make much noise, that might be because
>they are a *tiny* bit occupied yelling at the visiting supporters.
>Trust
>me on this from being on the receiving end of "Go back to Boston, you
>Bitch!"(this was one of the nicer ones).  Whoever designed your arena
>did
>a good job on making the visitors feel invisible.  All of us could
>barely
>see or be seen by the BU players, much less heard.  However, the same is
>probably true for Maine fans sitting underneath the balcony(especially
>behind the goalies).
 
>As for Walsh, whenever I saw something with his name I just skipped it
>after awhile. That was the most overtalked issue in college hockey in 5
>years.  Personally, I only met the man once. During the Bay State Games,
>he was down scouting. I was hanging out with the Ferullo family, and
>Mark
>said there wasn't a better coach in college hockey.  Now, I am a BU
>alumni, so I won't put them down, but.....Parker excels with forwards.
>Defenseman don't do well in the program typically. No one says that
>about
>the Maine program.  Walsh has a clean start now, we'll see what he can
>make of it.
 
>Ok, I never meant to write a book.  It was nice to read a
>thoughtprovoking (any flames yet?) post by a current player.  Most
>people
>have waited until after graduation before ripping into the list members.
>:-)  I hope you stay on-line after graduation.
>---Tamara
 
FIrst and foremost, I must apologize for the tardiness of this
response.  So, SORRY...
 
And now to the meat of the issue(s)...  Thanks for taking the time to
write,  (5k is usually a novel for me)..  RE:hockey-l... many people
are certain that their program is the best and can do no wrong, like
any true fan would, and are as quick to accuse someone else as they are
to defend their own.  I think that this is natural.  The maine -BU
bashing is a two-way street.  Many people here don't like BU because
they are just that... BU (myself included).  BUT  each and every one of
us have some form of respect for their successes and capabilities.
This is perhaps why we have beaten them over the years...  We do
respect them.  The reason that BU's maine bashing is a much more talked
about topic is, I think, mostly due to the access of media.  Who really
gets the BDN in comparison to the market of the globe...???  It's a
much smaller market!
 
As per the crowd at the BU-Maine game... (god love them)...  what you
saw is a typical Maine crowd... WHEN BU is in town.  It is not these
games that I refer to when I mention a quiet or settled audience.  NOT
AT ALL... ( as your experiences may support)...  The other LARGE
supporting factor to the games was that we got on the scoreboard early
and gave them something to chat about.  (lord knows how happy our fans
were at the weekend/season series results)  As per making you feel
invisible...  I used to think that the visitor seats were by their
bence... maybe I was wrong... who knows.  On a personal note, with no
disrespect intended, I'm ecstatic that the visitor seats were under the
balcony.  It helps to create a, "uh-oh we're going to maine" attitude
with opponents.  The fans talk to the players and stuff... it's an
overall impression.  Home ice advantages like this can come in
extremely handy at times.  In the case of this weekend, I guess they
did.  (maybe think twice about those opposing fans sitting on those
bleachers under the press box at BU next home game you go to...  That
is crummy too!!!
 
As for Coach Walsh...  I've been a part of four successful teams here
at maine (success characterized by an over .500 year ( not many college
players can boast this fact)...  Two of these years included players of
'unrecognized' talent.  We have had limited draft picks in comparison
with other 'top 10' schools across the country.  With the exception of
that 1993 class, I think this has generally been the case throughout
Coach's tenure here.  In each of the years we "should" have gone to the
tournament with 3 of those years inculding a bye in the first round...
Alas, enter the investigation/ sanctions...  (which, by the way... and
for the last time...   were NOT his fault ...  again, my opinion)..  He
has taken these 'average' players that included few draft picks and
turned them into winners.  The mark of a good coach, no???
 
I guess it all comes down to needing to play for the man.  To see how
he operates to get the best from his players.  Every coach has their
own method of doing this but in my future, I hope to utilize more of
his tactics than those of others I've seen, had, or talked with.  Shawn
Walsh is... Shawn Walsh...  I just can't explain it any better than
that...  If you wish to learn more...  meet the man and find out for
yourself... HINT of advice... don't mention the BU fan status in your
introduction... heh heh ...
 
Til later... (have to run to practice)
 
Danny