On Fri, 9 Apr 1999 17:27:18 -0400 Clay Satow wrote:
 
> I may be wrong on this, because I didn't grow up in the east, but I think
> it's more accurate to say that the tradition was begun at a time when
> Canadian players dominated WESTERN college hockey.  I grew up in Colorado
> Springs, so I'm well aware of the situation at CC and DU; they were
> virtually 100% Canadian.  But I believe that the rosters of BU, BC, and
> Harvard, for example, had a fairly healthy number of Americans on their
> rosters (can someone please verify one way or the other?)
 
I am somewhat amused by the accusations of Minnesota's xenophobia, as it sounds
remarkably similar to the bleatings heard from Chestnut Hill in the 1960's and
1970's.  At the behest of Boston College hockey's patron saint, John "Snooks"
Kelly, BC took great pride in suiting up players entirely from the Greater
Boston area.  They did at times recruit players from outside of Massachusetts,
most notably Tim Sheehy of International Falls, MN in the 1960's.  The 1990's
saw BC dress two Canadians for the first time.  It should be noted that when
current BC coach Jerry York coached at Clarkson and Bowling Green, he had no
trouble with recruiting north of the border, as his teams at those schools were
almost exclusively Canadian.
 
BU started recruiting Canadians in the 1960's when Jack Kelley was coach, as he
discovered that the Terriers had great difficulty in competing for Massachusetts
players with Harvard and BC.  Without those Canadian players, BU would not have
been a force in college hockey during the Kelley years.   Despite the xenophobic
yelpings from BC fans (much like what Minnesota has been accused of), BU's
roster was never composed of more than 50% Canadian. Since Jack Parker has
elevated the status of the program in the 1980's and 1990's, BU has had no
problem in recruiting players from five of the six New England states (no one
from Vermont); at one point during this decade BU had more players from
Massachusetts than BC had.  In fact during one Beanpot matchup featuring the
Eagles' Greg Taylor, BC dressed one more Canadian than BU did.
 
Harvard, simply because they are Harvard, has never had trouble recruiting any
type of player, nor have they deemed it necessary to make excuses for it.
Northeastern is a different story.  The Huskies in the 1960's and 1970's
struggled badly behind the three other Beanpot schools and looked to the north
for players.  During those years the Huskies were as much as 75% Canadian.  I
always found it amazing that the BC bigots never complained about the number of
Canadians playing for Northeastern while whining nonstop about BU's roster; it's
probably because NU always lost and BU always won.
 
I started this post stating my amusement over the accusations of Minnesota's
xenophobia, but in hindsight I am not.  I cannot forget, nor can I forgive, the
behavior of certain Gopher participants in the 1976 Frozen Four.  It was
gruesome and shameful.  Here's hoping that all of that has changed.
 
--
Edward N. Moller
Controller
Mount Ida College
Newton Centre, MA  02459-3323
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