Deron:
I am from Dubuque, Iowa and the place that Michael Ayers played his junior hockey before attending the University of New Hampshire! (Jayme Filipowicz, Mark Mowers and John Sadowski all played their junior hockey here as well)! Michael Ayers is a tremendous individual, aside from proving his worth as a goaltender! He took my 6 year old son under his wing during his time spent in the Junior A league of Dubuque and skated with him on many occasions and ALWAYS at each home game paying special attention at each intermission to my son sitting in the third row! He made a point of noticing my son! He is truly a class act and when he announced his intentions to attend University of New Hampshire, we were pleased for him but had to bury emotions as BlackBear backers! And on his last game for the Dubuque Fighting Saints, he skated over to my son and put his goaltenders stick up over the plexiglass to my son! A class act indeed! Good luck Mike and I hope all continues to go well for you!
God Bless,
Paul, Andrew and Andrea Hannigan
>From: Deron Treadwell <
[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Maine Hockey Discussion List <
[log in to unmask]>
>To:
[log in to unmask]
>Subject: Michael Ayers
>Date: Sun, 3 Feb 2002 08:28:03 -0500
>
>New Hampshire goaltender Michael Ayers earned my respect Saturday night.
>
>For those who don't know, on Friday night Ayers had his left wrist (glove
>hand) stepped on by a teammate creating a huge gash and severing a tendon in
>his wrist.
>
>But doctors in Bangor, Maine told Ayers that while he'll require surgery
>this week, he couldn't do anymore damage to the wrist. So Ayers (in his own
>words) talked them into allowing him to play Saturday with a soft
>cast/brace.
>
>So Ayers laced them up Saturday night in Orono for possibly his last game of
>the season as he faces a 4-6 week recovery time from surgery this week, but
>it could be longer. Ayers wasn't tested much in the first period, but Maine
>kept building offense and by the end of the game Ayers had made more than 30
>saves (33) and you can probably say earned the point for the tie for UNH.
>Third-stringer Tim Collins might not have fared so well, especially in the
>third. You don't really want the first game for your walk-on third-stringer
>to start in Orono with first-place on the line.
>
>Keep in mind that it was Ayers glove hand which was injured. He struggled
>to cover pucks and it was obviously very uncomfortable. But time after time
>when Black Bear shooters went high, Ayers flashed his glove, including
>stopping a canyon of a shot by Colin Shields in overtime. Each shot hurt,
>but he stood strong. He was not beaten on a shot to his glove all night,
>and don't think Maine didn't put a few up there.
>
>In an age when pro sports are often all about the "money", last night
>Michael Ayers showed everyone about true competitive sport. In a hostile
>environment with UNH needing a lift, Ayers stepped to the plate and took
>care of business while in tremendous pain. I am sure he wouldn't have
>played if he didn't think he could perform and he was the game's #1 star,
>and deserved every bit of it.
>
>Good luck to Michael Ayers and I wish you a speedy recovery. You are
>obviously a gutsy, class act.
>
>-dt
>
>
>
>_________________________________________________________
>Do You Yahoo!?
>Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com