I was happy to have been joined by Niagara coach Blaise MacDonald in between periods of the Dartmouth-Merrimack game Saturday night. Some of the things he said were things I think Chris Lerch has mentioned before, but I'll mention them again. I know some of them are new. First, Blaise said that the timetable for Niagara is to play next year in the ECAC West and then spend a year or more as a DivI Independent. Technically they are that now, but I presume this means playing more and more games against DivI opponents. Niagara will be visiting Lowell and Merrimack for a pair of games next season. In a few years, he hopes Niagara will be able to join one of the DivI conferences. He talked about how the location Niagara is in means they could be in any of three conferences - the CCHA, ECAC, or Hockey East. He also talked about the relationship with the Buffalo Sabres and a tournament that he's trying to get going at the new Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo. Some of the teams he's talked to are BU, Michigan, Michigan State, and Cornell, and he said reception has been good. They'd like to make it a Thanksgiving tournament since many other teams are locked up over Christmas. The Sabres are supporting the effort, including agreeing to schedule around the tournament. Also, Niagara will be playing an exhibition at the Arena over Christmas this year, I believe against a Russian team. This was also done with the cooperation of the Sabres. Unfortunately I cannot recall the date or opponent. A couple of other tournaments he mentioned that we could see Niagara appear in during upcoming seasons are the Syracuse Invitational and the JC Penney Classic. You also have to like Blaise's sense of humor. When I brought up the travel time to western NY for HE teams (if Niagara was to join HE), he said, "Well, we put a man on the moon, I think we could find a way to get some teams to western New York." And on recruiting in Massachusetts/New England, "I'd like to get some players who will understand me when I drop my r's." :-) (he's originally from the Merrimack Valley, Chelmsford I believe.) Niagara is 8-6-2 overall and 1-2-0 against DivI competition (win over Fairfield, losses at Air Force). It looks like Blaise is off to a terrific start with the Purple Eagles, and I wish him the best of luck. --- --- Mike Machnik [log in to unmask] *HMM* 11/13/93 ***** (Part-Time) Color Voice of Merrimack Hockey WCAP 980 AM ***** ***** Unofficial Merrimack Hockey home page located at: ***** ***** http://www.tiac.net/users/machnik/MChockey/MChockey.html ***** >>> U.S. College Hockey Online http://www.uscollegehockey.com/ <<< HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.