I apologize to those on hockey-l who think I am taking cuts at the Gophers. The point I was trying to make is that the Gophers have a tremendous recruiting advantage in college hockey. There is nothing disputing that. Smaller schools have a much more difficult time trying to recruit. This is especially the case for St. Cloud State, North Dakota, and MN-Duluth, because since the Gophers get the top players every year, these schools fight for the remainders and pick up whoever they can. What also goes unnoticed is the strict recruiting laws that face colleges trying to recruit in Canada. This further hampers a small school's ability to attract talented players. Furthermore, I wasn't saying that ALL Gopher fans criticise teams with Canadians. But, many do. I've been to many games at Mariucci and seen the American flags being waved at the opposition and heard the obsentities being yelled at the coaches and the Canadian players. I found this to be very irritating and unsportsmanlike. For those of you who are good fans of hockey, and am sure this is irritating to you as well. It is too bad some fans seem to ruin things for everyone. Finally, I don't think myself or Reusse are ripping the use of Minnesota players. The Gophers should NOT use this as an excuse though! Herb Brooks' comments (Erik Biever's mail) stem from the fact that many Gopher fans DO use this excuse. Apologies to those taking offense - Paul Thalacker HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.