Penobscot County Superior Court Justice Robert Browne has accepted a joint motion from the University of Maine and the Hockey East Association to withdraw UMaine's lawsuit against HE. UMaine spokesman John Diamond told the Bangor Daily News Tuesday it was decided it was unnecessary to pursue the lawsuit against HE for the league's banishing the school's hockey team from the league playoffs. UMaine was granted a restraining order by Justice Browne that allowed it to play top-seeded Boston University in the quarterfinal two weeks ago. BU swept UMaine in the best of three series. UMaine head coach Shawn Walsh told WLBZ-TV in Bangor he is glad to put the lawsuit in the past. HE is reportedly revamping its bylaws to permit it to ban teams from the playoffs for "lack of institutional control," the reason cited in its decision to ban the Black Bears from the playoffs. Walsh said he is pleased HE is revising its rules. We would not have taken this to court if the league had the power to ban us, Walsh said. Hopefully there won't be any doubt about the conditions in which teams can be banned from the playoffs, he said. Ryan Robbins Stodder Hall University of Maine [log in to unmask]