A couple of final thoughts on this thread. Brian Morris expressed disappointment about Union's financial aid policies regarding hockey players. To Union's credit they have been very upfront about what that policy is and how it will remain. It is a matter of institutional philosophy and it is aimed at providing aid to every student in need -- in other words making a scarce resource go around. That is a fine goal and one for which we should not criticize them. And for awhile, Union was able to be competitive in D-1 hockey while living under that policy. I think, however, that the day has come where that course of action is no longer feasible. Except for D-1 hockey, Union still seems to fit the NESCAC philosophical profile to a "T". Seems like it would be a natural for them to go back. Certainly one of the Current ECAC D-1 presidents might be able to act as a go-between to smooth the way in light of past history? The second point about the new arena Union might have built off campus last year is also not quite a black and white issue. According to the Gazette, the students themselves turned it down as well as the athletic department. The problem was really with the site and the proposed management arrangement. Personally I would rather see Achilles get some major renovation including women's team accommodations. Big new rinks are very sterile places, especially if they are not filled to capacity. Achilles has a lot of character very much like Walker had at Tech. Finally, I guess I ruffled some feathers with my comment about the relative strength of the top MAAC teams (I happen to follow UConn and QC) and Union. Not sure who Michael Hutter was watching and when, but I do respect Larry Winer's opinion. I went back and looked at QC's, Union's, and UConn's stats against Army. Pretty close on aggregate. I'll stick by my contention that those two teams skate better than Union now. Whether they beat them is something we'll never know until the established conferences deign to schedule the MAAC on a regular basis. -- Dick Tuthill HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.