After seeing several comments concerning Maine Coach Shawn Walsh and how he gets along with other coaches, I thought I'd post an article which appeared in Saturday's Milwaukee Sentinel. It talks about a meeting between LSSU coach Jeff Jackson and Walsh last summer. Included in the article are references to Walsh's "P.T. Barnum" attitude. == begin quoted material == Old friends meeting again as rivals in NCAA title game by Michael Hunt For two brainstorming days this past summer, old buddies Jeff Jackson and Shawn Walsh hunkered down in the bowels of a Northwestern Michigan College dormitory, talking hockey, sharing philosophies and swapping lies. Eventually the discussion turned to the possibility of their teams meeting in Milwaukee for the national championship. Recalling that moment Friday with a glint in his eye, Walsh turned to Jackson and said, "Didn't we say, 'Wouldn't it be nice?'" They're here, Jackson's Lake Superior State Lakers and Walsh's Maine Black Bears, making Saturday night's title match at the Bradley Center a game of no secrets, but much intrigue. Jackson and Walsh revealed and exchanged all this summer at the Huron Hockey School in Traverse City, where Michigan State Coach Ron Mason runs a camp for the game's future stars. It was at a coaches convention in Florida that Jackson and Walsh agreed to the summit. "We both got into it with each other regarding certain tactics," Jackson said. "We came to the conclusion we should really sit down together." Said Walsh, "We had it preplanned for a month. We actually sent each other itineraries and things we wanted to talk about -- everything from booster-club involvement to game-day practices, how to get your band involved, what to do to get your students involved in the game == everything that involves running a college hockey program." The result of this ice-breaking conference? "The greatest knowledge I picked up over the off-season was spending two days with Shawn in Traverse City," said Jackson. "The most enlightening 48 hours of my coaching career," said Walsh. "What's intriguing to me is the way we both shared everything and how we're two of the more successful programs." Imagine the unthinkable: Mike Krzyzewski and Rick Pitino meeting for a couple of days in the North Carolina mountains to share basketball secrets. On a different scale, that is what happened in Michigan == the coach of hockey's defending national champion and the coach of the No. 1 team in detente. The difference, of course, is relative interest. Walsh, the P.T. Barnum of his game, recognizes college hockey's entertainment value is what will make it a viable commodity with the consumer. That's why his players will take the ice Saturday night with helmets off, so the fans can get a look at their faces. That's why he played the crowd after Friday's semifinal victory against Michigan, pumping his fist toward the stands. That's why he asks for tickets for Stephen King. [ Walsh announced Friday he was looking for tickets for horror novelist Stephen King, Maine resident and Black Bears fan. King took out a full-page ad in Saturday's Milwaukee Sentinel congratulating Maine and wishing them luck. Said Walsh, "We need help. You don't want to get Stephen King on your bad side." As it turned out, King was a no-show at Saturday's game. ] Walsh knows all these things are good for his game, as well as his close relationship with Jackson. Both are proteges of the iconoclastic Mason, who stepped on a few toes on the way to becoming college hockey's all-time winningest coach. Like Mason, Walsh has a brash side which has alienated him from some of his peers. "It's a very, very competitive arena," Walsh said. "I would rather be liked by people like Jeff Jackson than some of the people who dislike me." When Jackson coached midget and junior hockey in Michigan, Walsh, as Mason's assistant at Michigan State, recruited many of his players. It was the beginning of a solid relationship between the coaches, both 37 years old. It is a relationship that has rubbed off on both teams. "What Coach has brought back to our program this year ... I've noticed a lot of Lake Superior State influences," Maine captain Jim Montgomery said. "Almost everything he's said this year is 'we have something new I've learned from Jeff Jackson at Lake Superior State.'" Walsh readily admits he has blended Lake Superior State's blueprint with his own; Jackson, too, has been heavily influenced by Maine. == end quoted material == -- Steve Manning Milwaukee, WI [log in to unmask]