The statistical details of the weekend's west regional games have been posted, so I thought I'd just add a few stray thoughts as I look back at it... Minn-RPI: RPI's offense never really got going, and Callinan stopped whatever came his way. Tamburro kept the game from being more of a blowout than it was, in my opinion; he just didn't have enough help. The RPI band was a blast, though, and seemed to get along well with the Badger band for the rest of the tourney. (Red schools stick together?) Wisc-MSU: A thoroughly exciting game to watch. I was very impressed with Anson Carter for the Spartans. He always seemed to be open right in front of the goal mouth, and his skating and passing made him ever-dangerous on the ice. Once the Badgers battled back in the second, the wave of momentum was incredible, and the Dane was rocking like I've never heard it. Minn-CC: The goal at 19:59 of the 2nd was a real killer for CC. They never recovered, after hanging in against a Minnesota team that was clearly the sharper one out there. Perhaps CC had the NCAA jitters (been a loooong time for them), while Minnesota knew the drill all too well. As for the Badger fans booing at the end of the game, that upset me as well (and I certainly didn't participate). Minnesota played some darn good hockey to get to the Final Four, and earned my applause. I don't root for the Gophers, but booing for no good reason is out of line. Other note: none of the Gopher fans are music majors, I presume -- the M-I-N-N... chant was not in unison the whole night long, and ended up rather jumbled. It sounded better in '89 in St Paul :) Mich-Wisc: What a game! As a Badger fan, I'm disappointed that we lost, but I still had a blast. The Wisconsin team had a lot of heart, and really put in a great effort against a faster and more skilled team. Kirk Daubenspeck made some amazing saves. After Turco's now-famous blue-line muff, he made some nice saves as well, esp. in the third period. The Michigan band was rather unimpressive, playing the same cheer over and over... with the entire Dane shouting "high school band!" at the end of it each time. :) (ECAC fans will know exactly the cheer I'm talking about.) The Michigan fans were a vocal and spirited bunch, however -- hats off to them for showing class and spirit in a decidedly hostile arena. These teams always seem to play a great game... I look forward to seeing next year's College Showcase game! Good luck to the Gophs and Wolverines at the Phinal Phour!! -john nash