Having just waded through over 200 messages here from the last 5 days, I have a lot of comments to make on various happenings and not enough time to do it all now (can't post to h-l from work for some odd reason - probably better that way :-)). So I will do it in segments, and this one focuses on Maine. * First, a big congrats to Maine for their win. Heather and I were both rooting for them to win. It was nice to have been on hand to see it live, and I know Heather really enjoyed her first DivI championship (my 2nd). I have found it interesting how many people have actually been against Maine for many reasons, maybe because they're not the underdog, but I remember vividly the game where they really established themselves as one of the up-and-coming teams, with three goals in the final five minutes to upset Lowell in the 1987 HE semifinal. (Some would say it happened earlier and I probably wouldn't argue.) It was not that long ago that Maine was a HE doormat, and their rapid rise gives hope to those other programs looking to move up. * A special congrats to coach Shawn Walsh. We've gone over the way he came in and virtually built the program from the ground up, and if there is any dislike of him, it's probably mainly due to the success he has enjoyed. Other coaches may have been just as deserving of winning a national title, but none more so. Having looked on from the outside for the last 7 years, I've come to have an immense respect for the way he runs his program, but more so for the way he promotes the game of college hockey. I'm very happy for him that he finally achieved his dream. * It isn't possible to say too much about Jim Montgomery. He's been an incredible player to watch the last four years, and Maine will not be the same team without him. In the modern era, only three other players have ever done what he did, scoring 300 points in a career. But more important is the way he conducts himself and leads his team. For his first three years, he played in the shadow of players like Roy and Pellerin, and with Roy and Pellerin gone this year, it looked like this was the year for him to get the accolades he deserved - but in comes #9...and Montgomery takes him under his wing and actually plugged Kariya for the Hobey whenever asked. Heather and I caught the end of the Hobey ceremony at the Hyatt on Friday, and it was great to see Walsh suggest at the end that Kariya and Montgomery hold up the award together. I only hope Heather's picture came out well, it will be a nice one to have. She and I were both in the Merrimack sports information office back in February when Jim came in to say hello and talk a little after Merrimack had given Maine a tough series. Quite a kid... success hasn't appeared to ruin him at all. He was quick to compliment Merrimack on the way they played and wished us luck in the tourney. If you got a chance to see any of the "Out of the Woods" show about the Maine season (VERY well done), you got a great glimpse into what kind of leader he is - he leads by example. I'll take a team of five Montgomerys and beat anyone else you take. He had something like 23 points in the last 8 games, and 7 of those were playoff games. Talk about a clutch performer. It is too bad he leaves without a Hobey, but he will be remembered as one of the best. HE tournament and NC$$ playoff MVP...nothing more needs to be said. I don't know what the talk at Maine has been, but they had better retire #19 or else forget retiring any other numbers again. * I attributed Kariya's slow start vs Michigan to it being his first time there...not sure if that was the case or not, but boy, did he get going. It was nothing short of fitting that his 100th and final point was an assist on Montgomery's championship-winning goal. I'd said before that he's not the type of player who steals the show on every shift...sometimes he's quiet, but he's always dangerous, and just when you think he's having an off night, BANG. No points Saturday until the third period when the game was on the line. Thank you to the majority of the Hobey voters for voting the way it should have been done and giving this kid the award he deserved. Someone said something about it looking like he won the Hobey based on talent and not sportsmanship...I don't know about that, he only had about 10 PIM all year. :-) * So much for those who thought Cal Ingraham's success was due to his linemates. :-) He had an outstanding game vs Michigan, when I thought the bigger opponents would be able to muscle him off the puck. He never backed down; one play that stuck in my mind was when he lined up big D Aaron Ward and slammed him into the boards. You don't often see a guy do that to someone else who is a foot taller and about 50-60 pounds heavier. * An interesting role was played by Eric Fenton in both the HE and NC$$ championship games. (Thanks to you-know-who from BU for pointing this out.) He watched Sacco closely and was able to annoy him enough to get both players off the ice for 14 minutes early in the Garden, then vs LSSU, he did the same to Rolston and likewise seemed to knock the LSSU star off his game for a good part of the beginning of the game. * Some wondered whether Maine would have trouble since they had been so dominating - what would happen if the games were close? They answered that question, winning two close games in different ways. Vs Michigan, they fell behind early and trailed most of the way, fighting their way back into it. Contrary to some other views, I didn't think the GWG was a fluke - the defense just collapsed too much and allowed Saunders to walk right in and poke the puck past a helpless Shields. Vs LSSU, Maine looked early on like they might run away with it, but LSSU started to take it to them and did an impressive job of shutting Maine down for about 30 minutes. It would have been easy to fold under the pressure, but it appeared that Montgomery told the team to hop on his back in the third and he'd take them the rest of the way. Not to discredit Kariya who made three great feeds, but watch the tape again if you have it and see the determination #19 showed in the third...no doubt he picked them up and gave them the confidence to win. * Winding down for now...after flying from Milwaukee to Syracuse Sunday and then heading out to drive home to NH Sun night, I passed a bus from Old Town, ME, about 9 pm at the border of NY and Mass. I gave them a few honks and they flashed their lights. :-) * Finally, at the Bradley Center, they announced that championship t-shirts would be available after the game...I didn't pick one up. Although I did want Maine to win and was happy they won, to me, that was their win. Someday at Merrimack, we'll have our own... --- Mike Machnik [log in to unmask] Color Voice of the Merrimack Warriors alternate address days: [log in to unmask] *HMN* 11/13/93 (Any opinions expressed above are strictly those of the poster.)