Personally, I don't think Minnesota has anything to be ashamed of. They compete every season for the National title, and I know that most every team wants to stay away from them when it comes down to it, no question about it. I think he is being extra hard on Minnesota, regarding last years loss. Of the four teams in the Final Four, if most people had to seed them Minnesota would not have been a favorite, they would have been third or fourth. There was no question the best two teams were BU and Michigan. I also don't think BU was sitting in the locker room shaking being tied 3-3 going into the third period. They had a very experienced, and explosive club I think they were probably pretty confident. Incidently, the Final Four was my first experience with Minnesota fans (being from Maine) and I was impressed with them, as I was with the Wisconsin fans who made the trip to Providence! It's funny that this article should come out now, when many people feel that Minnesota are much improved from last season, and quite possibly *are* a early season favorite to go all the way this year. I personally wouldn't hold much faith in this writer, who seems to be very short-sighted. Just my two cents from Maine, ------- Deron [log in to unmask] MMM MMM University of Maine Hockey MM MM MM MM MM MM MM MM MM MM MM MM MM M MM Owner/GM/Coach: MM MM Maine Mariners-The EHH's New Threat MM MM http://maine.maine.edu/~dtread41/ehh.html ------- HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.