I was fortunate enough to get up to Denver today and see both the bronze and gold games. It was great to see some of the best players there. I liked that a lot of the players were wearing their own equipment, because then you could tell what teams they are from, and see the different helmet designs. Speaking of which, can someone from BU explain the significance of the different number of pawprints on the helmet? I noticed they weren't all the same and was curious about it. The bronze game was between the East and West teams. The first period was scoreless, but there was end to end action. Early in the second, East struck first, breaking the scoreless tie. Halfway into the period, West came back to tie up the game, and a few minutes later took the lead. The score was 2-1 West after two periods. In the third, East tied it up again, but West later regained the lead, scoring from a scramble in front of the net. A little scuffle ensued shortly after the goal, and O'Sullivan and Welsing were given 5 minutes for fighting and a game misconduct. West quickly capitalized and scored again to take a two goal lead. It was too early for West to celebrate, though, and East came back with two goals to tie the game at 4 and send it into overtime. Luckily for Don Lucia, this game didn't end the way his last overtime one did, and West won the bronze with a goal a few minutes into overtime. Both teams played well and it was a great game to watch. After leaving and grabbing a bite to eat during the couple of hours between games, we came back at 6 for the gold medal game between the North and South teams. This game was definitely fast-paced and exciting to watch, although at times it seemed to be a little too fast, as possession of the puck bounced back and forth between players. The crowd at the Coliseum was fairly good sized,and seemed to be mostly rooting for North, as John Grahame, the hometown player from Denver, was on that team. South took the lead first, but North tied it up before the end of the first, giving a score of 1-1 and even shots on goal. The beginning of the second period was wild, as South scored 30 seconds and 45 seconds into the period to take a quick two goal lead. North got one of those goals back a minute and a half later. With about 12 minutes left in the period, both teams switched goaltenders to give everyone an equal chance to play in the game. North would keep coming back, and the teams were tied at the end of two. In the third was more great playing, both in shots and saves, but no one could break through and take the lead until 1:04 left in the game when North finally got a score. South called a timeout, and with 30 seconds to play pulled the goaltender, but it didn't work out as planned and North got an empty-netter to win the game 6-4 and claim the gold medal. It was another great game where you didn't know the outcome until the last seconds of the game. After the game was the medal presentations to the North, South, and West teams. Sorry I don't really have very many names to go with this, but I was enjoying watching the games, not taking notes. :) Hopefully someone else will be able to post a box score soon. I'm glad the festival was in Colorado this year and I was able to see some great hockey. Also a good place to stay cool when it's 90 something outside. :) Karen Heasley Colorado College '95 [log in to unmask] * [log in to unmask] 1995 WCHA Regular Season Champions CC Hockey home page: http://www.cc.colorado.edu/sports/hockey/