...... You don't log on to hockey-l for about a week. (Of course getting caught up on homework also plays into that equation. :-( ) How do you all know when the college hockey season is over? I know when I was at Maine the first weekend after the season was over I found myself sitting around feeling lost and saying "what did I do on the weekends in sept. before hockey season started?" I don't want to beat a dead horse.... but since this is one of the rare times when I actually am able to talk about something that has been brought up I'll take my chances. I went to Waterville high school where Barry Cluckey went to school. While home on break from UMaine (a couple years ago) I saw him break the record. (Students threw 45's on to the ice when he broke it.) I don't know him at all. At the time there was a lot of local talk about Barry, some negative because the competition he faced v. other Maine highschools was not the caliber he would have gotten if he had stayed in Mass.. There was alot of talk about Barry and UMaine. I had heard that for some time Walsh was onlying offering Barry a partial scholarship (I don't know how it turned out). There was some talk about Walsh only recruiting Barry because of the grief he would get from the people around the state if he didn't recruit a Mainer with the talent that it appeared Barry had. I was at a game and Walsh was there (apparently scouting Barry personally). There were questions regarding his ability to step is game up a few notches to DIV 1 hockey. (speed etc.) The local rumor mill attributes much of Barry's attending UMaine to his father. Last year Barry was red shirted. I'm not positive about this but I believe it was medical. I think it was something about a torn muscle in his stomach that made him unable to skate much. If I may be allowed an editorial comment here... I think (hope) Barry will really flurish in his remaining career at Maine. Regarding Maine highschool hockey..... I don't believe that it is that the caliber of Mass hockey. There is a lot of evidence that, I'm sure partly to UMaine success, hockey in the state of Maine is growing at the lower levels. I went to a high school game over christmas break was more impressed by the talent level than I thought I would be. I think in ten years or so you will find alot more players coming out of the state of Maine. The youth programs that I see in the central Maine area are really going strong. I'm sorry that most of this stuff that I have written is of the local rumor mill nature and not based on facts. Hard to rumors, much less facts down here. Sarah.