ANATOMY OF A HOCKEY EAST WEEKEND This is definitely one of those "you had to be there to appreciate it" stories, which probably means only five people will enjoy this post. However, some of it HAD to be posted (read on). :-) My journey began in Detroit on Friday afternoon. I had a 1:35 flight arriving in Boston at 3:26. I boarded the plane on time, only to be informed that ground control had delayed our takeoff until 2:10. After finally getting into the air around 2:20, I began to worry about missing my connecting flight to Manchester NH at 4:10. The plan was to meet Mike Machnik in Manchester, then drive back to his place where we would pick up Heather, drop off my bag and head for North Andover MA for the Boston University at Merrimack game. After checking with a stewardess, it became apparent that I could probably make my connection, but my bag might not. Back in Detroit, I had checked my bag straight through to Manchester. It had basically everything in it, so I wasn't about to leave it behind. I could probably catch the next flight to Manchester, but it was arriving too late for Mike to be able to pick me up and make the game on time. (Mike goes on radio at 6:45.) Decisions, decisions. The plane began the descent into Boston at 3:45, and I still didn't have a clue as to what would happen. Suddenly, the captain announced that we had been placed in a holding pattern and we couldn't touch down until 4:30. One thing became clear -- kiss my flight to Manchester goodbye. By the time I reached a phone in Boston's Logan Airport, I was already supposed to be in Manchester with Mike. I called Mike there and we discussed the options. The best plan was for me to meet Mike and Heather at the game. First, I had to locate my bag, which had already been checked onto the next flight to Manchester. The good thing was, this only took about 15 minutes. The bad thing was, my bag must have been traveling outside of the aircraft from Detroit to Boston. It was sopping wet. A quick change off coats and I was off. Now, for any of you trying to get to Volpe Center from Logan, pay attention. - Take the shuttle bus (#33) from the airport to the subway. - Take the blue line to State Street. [$.85 token] - Take the orange line to North Station. - Go across the street to the Gah-den and buy a one-way ticket to Andover aboard the Haverill commuter rail. [$3.25] - Jump that train to Andover. - Disembark at Andover and head for the nearest phone. - Catch a cab to Volpe Center in North Andover. [$7.00] - Tip the driver for saying nice things about Cam Stewart. [$3.00] OK, so I swish on up to Volpe around 7:45. The first period had just ended. BU Head Coach Jack Parker had just been tossed for the night. The place was going crazy. I slipped into the office of Jim Seavey, MC SID, dropped my bag, quickly changed into my Merrimack jersey and headed into the arena. I spotted Heather (who wouldn't pick out Heather in a crowd :-), then I saw Mike doing the radio thing. I received a quick update on the game (2-1 BU) and was told that Hockey-L'ers Tony 'H.G.' Biscardi and Adam Bryant were also in attendance. I took a seat among the MC students and began to soak up my first taste of Hockey East. Merrimack scored a pair of quick goals to go up 3-2, then BU's Jon Coleman answered for a 3-3 score after 40 minutes. I headed for the press box to be interviewed by Mike regarding Michigan and the CCHA in general. Of course, I had no idea what I was doing and no idea what Mike was going to ask me. Hopefully Mike's substantial audience wasn't too turned off by some CCHA stiff taking up airtime. After the interview, I decided that Volpe was nothing more than a giant freezer and I headed back to Jim's office to get my coat and gloves. Too late! Jim had already locked up and was back in the box for the third period. It was then that I recognized Adam Bryant in the concourse area. (Adam was at the H-L gathering in Milwaukee.) He introduced me to Tony and they agreed to allow me into the BU section for the third period, Merrimack jersey and all. When we reached their seats, I was greeted by a chorus of boos from the BU contingent. Tony explained that everything was OK, I'm not really from Merrimack, I'm from Michigan. This prompted another chorus of boos. The third period was an exciting one with Merrimack scoring first before BU answered with a pair for a 5-4 win. Following the GWG, I was enveloped by a collective BU hug. It was scary. With but a few seconds remaining in the game, Tony, Adam and company ceased the premature unveiling of a sign signifying BU's 1000th win by assaulting the sign holder. What me superstitious? After more BU whooping and a "T's Pub" cheer, the gang headed over to the press box to see Mike and Heather. We passed Hockey-L's Sid Whitaker along the way. It was then decided that I wouldn't be welcome at BU the following evening if I wore my Lake Superior jersey, which I had packed just for the occasion. We said goodbye to Tony, Adam and their friends who headed back to Boston. Most likely, we (Mike, Heather and I) would see them the next night, but there was still a chance we might go to the Bruins game instead. Before we left, I had the pleasure of meeting BU SID Ed Carpenter, a damn nice guy. Mike and I also cast our ballots for the Hockey East All-Decade Team, bringing the ballot box total to nine. We gathered our stuff and headed for the Machnik's, stopping along the way for some fantastic roast beef sandwiches. We settled in, watched the end of the UAF-DU game, gabbed for awhile and called it a night sometime after 2:00 AM. Mike said not to look for them until 11:00 or so. Mike was right. I rolled out of bed after 9:00, called Sandra at home and got the scoop on Michigan's 5-1 win over Ohio State and Eastern Michigan's 19-4 romp over Purdue. I made an attempt to reach the Bruin's Cam Stewart, but missed him. I did catch Bryan Smolinski. Always a pleasure to chat with the 1992-93 CCHA scoring champion. (Insert large tongue in cheek.) Next up was a thorough reading of THE HOCKEY NEWS. Living on the east coast, Mike is an issue ahead of us lowly midwesterners. Mr and Mrs Machnik awoke just in time to catch a brief glimpse of the AM. :-) Breakfast, sports on TV, more gabbing and Mike's impressive collection of media guides passed the time all too quickly. And a new issue of THN came in the day's mail. We did have time to view "Out of the Woods", the video of Maine's 1992-93 season. Very cool. It re-enforced my opinion of Shawn Walsh (a legend in his own mind) and my belief that the Hobey Baker Award rightfully belonged to Jim Montgomery. Onto the game. Since I didn't reach Cam, we were off to Walter Brown Arena for the next round in the MC-BU series. My "Michigan Hockey" jacket turned many a head in BU-land. I spent the first two periods in the press box with Mike, Heather and a member of Merrimack's staff who must be one of the funniest guys in college hockey and who's name always escapes me. (If this is an important detail, message Mike, he'll know who I mean.) I also brushed by David Silk, marking the closest I've ever been to a member of the 1980 Team USA "Miracle On Ice." I would have snagged an autograph, but I always oggle first and think later. Please don't take that last line out of context. :-) The game wasn't as close as Friday, with BU leading 6-2 after two. I decided to experience a period among the BU students so I joined Tony (who was wearing a shirt that read, "Is B.C. REALLY necessary?") in the crowd. More boos, of course. "What is you, I Spy or somethin'?" As with the night before, zany comedy and a good time had by all in the BU section. The Terriers go on to win the game 8-4. I told Tony that Mike, Heather and I would join the gang over at T. Anthony's after we gathered up our stuff. After the game, I spoke with Warriors Matt Adams and Dan Hodge. Two fine young men and solid hockey players. I also met Mr and Mrs Adams, and Matt's brother. Mrs Adams is one of Mike's loyal listeners. Later, the three of us joined Tony, Adam and the BU gang at T. Anthony's. The five Hockey-L'ers were still there approaching 3:00 AM. Needless to say, I can't relate all of our discussion over a public network :-), but, with some risk of sounding like a male chauvinist pig, I will say the following: - Tony and Adam also cast All-HE ballots at MC on Friday, hence we collectively accounted for four of the nine votes. - I related to the crowd that after visiting two arenas and one pizzeria, I was convinced that the number of attractive, young females was much greater in Hockey East than in the CCHA. This delighted the crowd and prompted a pledge that I post the observation to Hockey-L. :-) - It was also evident that Hockey East fans, at least the 20- something set, were better at whooping it up both during and following the game. Or else I'm hanging out in the wrong places in Ann Arbor. Maybe it was just being with Tony, who knows about 1/4 of the people in Boston. - I've been inside Ewigleben Ice Arena at Ferris State and I don't *remember* it being as cold as Volpe. - We were joined by an attractive, young, slightly inebriated co-ed named Alex who was taken aback by my Michigan attire. Convinced that BU will defeat the Wolverines in the NC$$ Championships, Alex requested (and requested and requested) a bet on the outcome. I took the no-brainer win-win choice of dinner in St Paul. (Yes, my wife is OK with this. :-) Alex agreed. She then vacated the establishment, with some prompting from BU defenseman Jon Coleman. I thought to myself, "Ah, I'll never run into her in St Paul." But, Tony neglected to mention at the time that Alex happens to be BU's student trainer. I guess I'll know where to find her! Maybe she won't remember. :-) I'll wrap up by saying that we finally turned in at 4:00 AM with a 9:00 AM wake-up call for my return flight to Michigan. It was difficult to leave the Boston area, but I succumbed. Mike, Heather, Tony (H.G.), Adam -- let's do it again, eh! John H U Mich