>I have always >noticed that Lowell generally doesn't recieve any respect, in HE or nationally. >Just look at the HE Preseason poll, Lowell was picked 6th out of 9 teams. T Mike has already covered this, but let me cover this from the perspective of a Lowell fan. The previous year had not been a banner year for the River Hawks and we were losing top scorer Greg Bullock, staring at MAJOR question marks in goal, and didn't have a wealth of new talent coming in. When at the season opening hockey luncheon Coach Crowder and the players talked about making the NC$$s, I almost choked on my ziti. Mike Machnik and I discussed a friendly wager involving which team would finish higher, Merrimack or UMass-Lowell. It seemed like a sucker bet to me and I declined. I can hardly fault the preseason polls; they seemed to make an objectively rational view of things. I may have been like a bull in the china shop the last few days, bellowing with rage about getting shipped out west, but I don't get worried about preseason polls or even early season polls. Up until this Sunday, I've felt that Lowell has been treated fairly in all respects this season. DaveH HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.