Well...I'm FINALLY back at my office following a much longer than expected weekend in St Paul. In brief, no...I did not get out of town before the snow. :-( I did make it back home very late on Sunday, but being stuck on a grounded and packed to capacity plane for 6-7 hours exposed everyone to each other's germs and I'm now suffering from a hybrid of ailments, not to mention's Michigan's loss. :-) Since the Minnesota clan did a great job of posting all of the details, I'll try to keep it short. First, it was great to meet the gang in person. The Friday night entourage included the following familiar names: Erik and Paula B, Pam S, Lisa S and William Shangrey [who should be back on Hockey-L if he isn't]. Glen Keeney from MSU was the only familiar face as Carol was too ill to attend. :-( Lee joined the crew on Saturday, bringing my total of new H-L face-to-face contacts to six for the weekend. I *think* this is my non-phinal-phour record. The combination of my busy schedule [spent time with MN relatives] and Saturday night's mixed loyalties only allowed me to chat for two periods of the MSU-UW game and for a few minutes at the end of each evening...but it was enough to once again remind me how much I missed out by not making it to St Paul last March/April. I hope to see you all again...either in Madison or Providence...or in SE Michigan the next time the Showcase is here! GAME 1 Michigan 7 Wisconsin 2 I love drubbing the Badgers. Jason Botterill appeared to have a hat trick, but one goal was changed to Mike Knuble...raising Mike's total to three on the night. I had a lot of fun trading jabs with the UW fans...who were noticeably non-existent. Yeah, they outnumbered the Michigan fans...but I didn't see one cheesehead, or anyone dressed in red and white striped pajamas. Oh...the inconsistency of the refs was brutal. What constituted a game DQ was ridiculous after some of the things that had been going on early in the game. GAME 2 Minnesota 3 Michigan State 2 The score doesn't reflect what a number UM did on MSU. Mike Buzak played well in the Spartan nets, and deserved more support. GAME 3 Michigan State 3 Wisconsin 2 The four on four battle. Chad Short Dog Alban gives Buzak a night off if the MSU nets and moves his record to 4-0-0. GAME 4 Minnesota 4 Michigan 3 If I had a dime for every time someone said this game reminded them of Michigan-Maine in 1993...well, I'd have about $1.50. :-) Michigan dropped a two goal lead, went into a miserable defensive shell, gave up the tying goal on a botched faceoff in their own zone and eventually lost 4-3. In the end, Minnesota earned it. Gopher fans will point to Minnesota's astonishing third period dominance and ability to come from behind this season. Michigan fans will point to the Wolverine's continually unsuccessful defensive style when attempting to protect a third period lead. Which is it? Most likely a linear combination of the two, but I'm not going to solve it. I just look forward to a rematch in the NCAAs. And, although he may have not looked good at the end, I thought that Michigan freshman netminder Marty Turco had a fantastic weekend. Btw...I found Minnesota's chant of "overrated" odd, because I considered the Gophers the favorite going into the game. For the record, at the half-way point of the Showcase's initial four year run, Minnesota is 3-1, Michigan and Michigan State 2-2 and Wisconsin 1-3. Both seasons have seen a 2-2 split between the CCHA and WCHA. ODD AND ENDS If you go to St Paul, eat early because the city closes at 10:00 PM. I'm NOT joking. Unlike the previous season, their were no post-Showcase awards given. Last year, four team MVPs were named. NEW E-MAIL ADDRESSES! For those of you that have had mail to me bounce this weekend, my long src.src.src... address is no longer operational. To reach me directly, you must use one of the addresses given below, the latter two being preferable. Thanks. Sorry. John Haeussler Univ of Michigan [log in to unmask] [log in to unmask] [log in to unmask]