Here I go, following up my own post.  Anyway, there were a couple of
interesting things I picked up from the NESN broadcast of this game
that I didn't know before.  At least two of the UMass players have
good bloodlines: first-line center Warren Norris (St John's, NFLD) is
the (brother?) of former MSU star Dwayne Norris.  And, D Jaynen
Rissling's (Edmonton, ALTA) brother played in the NHL for Pittsburgh
and some other teams.
 
I was even more impressed with UMass after watching the re-broadcast.
They looked like they'll be okay once they get familiar with each
other and gain some confidence.  One of the players was quoted in the
Lawrence Eagle-Tribune (paper near Merrimack) as saying the big
difference for him was that every time UMass got the puck, they got
hit.  Many of these kids (UMass) came from teams where they skated
circles around the opponents and were hardly touched.  The physical
aspect of the college game is something they'll need to adjust to.
 
Overall, a pretty solid opening game for the Minutemen.  And things
will only get better.  They seem to be pretty well-coached, and that
counts for a lot in college.  Mallen also has four players from the
Springfield Olympics, and if he can keep nailing down players from the
Pics in the future, he may build a winning program faster than people
think.
 
Anybody else see the game?
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Mike Machnik           [log in to unmask]          [log in to unmask]
Cabletron Systems, Inc.                                  *HMN* 11/13/93