Without putting words in Parker's mouth (there's other things I'd like to do to him, but that is the the subject of another long post), if you put it in terms of Eastern hockey, his comments make sense. For the past 10 years or so, the two beasts of the East have been BU and Maine. Then there are the "Great Pretenders" that may be constantly nipping at there heels, but cannot consistently leap over those two. I'd put Clarkson and a few other schools in that pack. The ECAC had a nice run in the late 80's early 90's with final 4 teams, but since '91 it has been UVM from the ECAC in '96 and that's about it. Almost every other time it was Maine and BU. There is an air of confidence at those two schools that they know how to win when it comes to crunch time. How each school reloads and keeps that institutional memory going is a source of wonder and anger to me a fan of a "Great Pretender" school. Until other eastern schools surpass Maine and BU, I'd second Jack's comments. I'd look for both those schools #1 and #2 east next year. Face it folks, its envy. Joe Clarkson '77 HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.