I know a lot of people don't have a positive opinion of Maine coach Shawn
Walsh - you either like him or you don't - but I think it is only fair that
I relate a few things that many hockey-l readers may not be aware of.
 
Most of us are here because we love college hockey and want to see it grow,
and we support things that we believe are good for it - regardless of the fact
that we may have different views on what those things are, that's not
important and is in fact to be expected.  Everytime I have had the chance to
talk to Shawn or hear him in a speaking situation, he never fails to laud
those things he believes are for the good of the game.  Here are some examples.
 
Back in January, Shawn was at Merrimack on a weekend Maine was not playing to
scout the Warriors for an upcoming matchup, and he came on with us for an
in-between periods interview.  We talked about a lot of things that are
hurting the game (like the lack of respect at the NC$$ convention) and he
continually used the phrase "for the good of college hockey".  An example
was the change to the single-elimination regional NC$$ format, which clearly
does not work to Maine's advantage - Shawn admitted this but said that
nonetheless, he thinks it is for the overall good of the game.
 
This weekend, I got to hear the post-game interviews after the Maine-BC and
Maine-UNH games.  After the BC game, Shawn began by saying that he was sad
to see BC's Len Ceglarski coach his last game.  He added that Len was very
different from him, more of a "silent ambassador", but that he was still a
person that would be missed in college hockey and he hoped a place could be
found for him somewhere in the game.  I thought his comments went above and
beyond the typical "bowing to Lenny" that every other coach did when playing
BC for the last time.
 
Then, tonight, he began by looking around the small interview room and saying
with a grin, "Wasn't that a great first period?  Up-and-down skating, no
hitting after the whistle etc. etc.  That's the way hockey is meant to be
played.  What a great atmosphere.  You couldn't help but feel it, down on the
bench.  What a great game for college hockey."  He went on to praise the
Wildcats (deservedly so) and UNH coach Dick Umile for never quitting and
playing tough to the end.  After taking a few questions, he brought in Dunham,
Montgomery and Salfi, and stood off on the side, but during one pause as
the questions wound down, he spoke up and said he wanted to thank all of the
people in the room (from NY, Maine, Mass, NH, etc.) for the great job they do
covering college hockey and helping people learn more about this great game.
 
Finally, as everyone was pouring out of the room, I noticed one more thing.
The interview room at the Garden is off to one side and you have to walk a
little ways to get where all the people are waiting after the game.  After
almost everyone had gone by, I looked back and saw that a little kid had come
up to Shawn and he was bending down, talking to him, etc. with no one else
around.  Maybe he was recruiting a future player, I don't know. :-)
 
This may sound like I'm placing a halo around the guy's head and you should
know that's not true.  This comes from someone who has disagreed with many
of the things he has done or said in the past and in fact, I've now spent
six years with teams who played against his; those three years with
Northeastern featured some of the most bitter, hard-fought games ever.  But
I thought it was only right to give you some of the things that don't get
out.  I'm sure some folks may be a little cynical and think that, hey, he's
just trying to improve his image, but I don't think that's the case.  College
hockey is lucky to have someone like him involved in the game.
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Mike Machnik    [log in to unmask]   mikem@{beanpot,bubba}.ma30.bull.com