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.)