[ Spoilers at the end, with blank lines before 'em ] Well, the first day of the championships has drawn to a close, and all I'll say about the games was that they both were surprising. I didn't expect Michigan to keep Maine in check so well, and I did expect the second game to be a more evenly matched affair. One other thought: it seemed to me that there was alot of stuff going on away from the play; clutching & grabbing, holding, tripping, etc. A good portion of it was not called, or matched up. I don't seem to recall seeing that much of this sort of stuff in WCHA games I've watched this year ( 1/2 :-) ), but then again, these teams are playing in a life-or-death competition where the loser gets to go home. I'd guess I'd be "intense" too... Several hockey-l folks were keeping good notes during the games (though Matt Evans couldn't find his after we ate supper), and summaries of the games will be forthcoming, I'm sure. I was mightily impressed with Paul Kariya. At one point near the end of regulation, he drove down the slot from the blue line, *almost* splitting the defensemen. They both combined to check him to his knees. After sliding for a few feet on his knees with the puck sliding along with him, he regained his skates (now behind both defensmen) and got off a quality shot that was barely turned away. I think that everyone who was supposed to be in town from the list made it OK. At least, I heard no mention of any missing persons. Mark Grassl did make the trip, and Carol White and her friend made the drive down from MSP, although they did take a detour into the ditch on the way down. (The roads around here were *very* bad for a while. Lotsa ice.) Those who haven't been to a hockey-l gathering always post something like this next statement, so let me be the first this year: It was really great to meet some of the people on the list and I'm glad that I can now put some faces with the names that I've read for the past few years. There do seem to be a number tickets available from scalpers and the like near the Bradley Center (law requires that they stay 500 ft. away), so I'd guess that someone ought to be able to get tickets for Saturday's game if they don't have them already. Probably at a reasonable price too (close to face value, if not better). I'll leave comments about the Bradley Center itself and our get-together to the others. [Spoilers ahead] Hockey is a game of poetry in motion and, as I said to John H. with something of a smirk on my face, the Maine-Michican game was poetic justice (for Badger fans anyway). Michigan, leading 3-2 late in the 3rd, gives up the tying goal with around the 3 or 4 minutes left. The game winner for Maine is scored 1:36 into O.T. for a final of 4-3 Maine. This sequence is virtually identical to the Wolverines win over the Badgers last Saturday, where Mich scored the game-winner 1:35 into O.T. The game winner was actually a flukey sort of goal. A Maine attacker was cruising at 1/2 speed down the slot, pulled up and let the puck continue to slide down the slot. The puck, apparantly, deflected off of the stick of another Maine player who had been checked to the ice and was laying prone in front of the goal. Somehow this minor redirection was enough to allow the puck to slide gracefully into the net. At the time of the goal, everyone was waiting for the whistle to blow, as it seemed certain that the easy save would be made. Shields was crestfallen after the goal, and stood, staring over the net, for several minutes after the game ended. As for the LSSU-BU game, BU seemed somewhat out of control, playing too physically and drawing numerous penalties. How valid the calls themselves were I'll leave to others to discuss. They ended up in a deep hole and couldn't get out. Final: 6-1 LSSU. Another Wisconsin fan at the hockey-l dinner tonight stated that he hoped LSSU would win so that they could get scr*wed over by Buzzy Christiansen the way Wisconsin got scr*wed last year by Tim McConaghey (or whatever). This got a good laugh from everyone, particularly the WCHA contingent, I think. :-) Saturday: Maine-LSSU. (Personally, I think that the Maine-Michigan game determined the National Champion already...) -- Steve Manning Milwaukee, WI [log in to unmask]