Another Big Sporting Event this Weekend

The first weekend of February is a tradition in Boston. No, I am not talking about the New England Patriots going to the Super Bowl. That’s becoming another tradition for Boston sports fans. It’s usually a four day weekend for the students at the four major hockey programs in Boston. What I am talking about? It’s called the Beanpot which involves Boston College, Boston University, Northeastern, and Harvard. The games are held at the TD Banknorth Garden. The first Monday of February is the first round, this year it will be Northeastern vs. Harvard at 5pm. BC faces BU at 8 pm. The winners face off the following Monday at 8 pm for the Championship and the losers go against each other at 5 pm. All games will be shown on NESN.

The tournament is usually dominated by BU; they have won it 28 times. This year should be a competitive tournament. BC is ranked No. 9 and Northeastern is No. 13 in the latest USCHO.com/CSTV Division I Men's Poll. Boston University is struggling with a record of 7-13-4 but always. They know how to get ready for this event. They are 6^th place in Hockey East. Harvard is tied for 5^th in the ECAC standings. Their overall record is 7-9-3. For the Maine or other Hockey East fans that are hoping the three Hockey East teams beat up each other, these games don’t count towards the standings. It’s a non-conference game.

That’s My Take

Nathan Fournier

(Nathan also is a writer for MVN.com. He's the writer for the Asylum which covers the Lewiston Maineiacs of the QMJHL. He's also a regular contributor to the NHL Source also at MVN.com. He can be reached at fbbhgfan@aol.com)

Demon Deacons Continue Remarkable Season

Wake Forest Men's team is in contention for third place in the ACC. After a buzzer beating shot that led them to win 70-68 over the Miami Hurricanes. If the Demon Deacons can steal a road win at NC State on Sunday, they will come home for games against surging Georgia Tech (Feb. 6) and disappointing Virginia (Feb. 9) before going to Florida State (Feb. 14) and coming home for Duke (Feb. 17). The Demon Deacons are led by freshman James Johnson out of Wyoming. But he didn't have much to contribute in the win over the Hurricanes. That was left to Jeff Teague who is another freshman on the team, scoring a career high 27 points. And it was Ishmael Smith hitting the game winning three with less than four seconds to go. Their next game will against NC State on Sunday Feb 3 at 12 Eastern time.

Tim Seames

Missouri suspends five players after brawl

Missouri coach Mike Anderson suspended five players indefinitly following a weeking altercation that left his top scorer with a broken jaw.

Columbia police confirmed that Stefhon Hannah was with four of his teammates outside a downtown nightclub when he was attacked and had his jaw broken. Being at the nightclub that late or at all for that matter was a violation of team rules, and is what led to the suspension of the players involved in the matter.

This is terrible judgment on the part of these players. This injury to Hannah could cause him to miss the remainder of the season and for what? A few drinks and some laughs with his buddies. This puts their season in shrambles and causes a lot of embarrassment for the entire Missouri program, and the family members of the players involved.

Adam Smith

Oregon AD apologizes for fans behavior against UCLA

Oregon's athletic director has apologized to UCLA for the behavior of their fans toward Kevin Love and his father last week.

Love and his father were booed by the student section, and were the target of homophobic chants and signs that displayed offensive messages. Love who scored 26 points and added 18 rebounds in the bruins win said it was one of his favorite wins in recent memory and why not? He comes into a hostile environment where the Duck's fans are without a doubt crossing the line. He hits the big shots to win the game for his team and lets his play do the talking before walking off the court a winner.

I dont believe this will be the last time that Kevin Love will have to go through a situation like this at a game, after all he is only a freshman. No question that what the Oregon fans did was wrong, but for Love, this is one sign that he's without a doubt a superstar on the rise. When you can get fans of another team to devote that much time and energy into bringing you down...you know you've arrived.

Ask J.J. Redick and his family what they had to go through while he was at Duke.

Adam Smith

Class B East All In One Game

Class B east has been amazing to follow this year. The parity has been ridiculous. Maranacook, Presque Isle, Caribou, and Camden Hills have been the clear cut 1-2-3-4 for the last couple of weeks as this season winds down to an end, but it hasn’t been easy for these teams. Maranacook remains unbeaten as of today at 14-0 and in the number one spot, but chances are they will not finish there…even if they finish the season unbeaten. Presque Isle is in the second spot with two losses(Houlton and Caribou). They are above both one loss Caribou and one loss Camden Hills because of the teams they have beat. Huge wins over Mattanawcook, Mount Desert Island, John Bapst twice, and Old Town have given them enough points to have a shot at number 1. Caribou’s one loss came in a hard fought game verses Mattanawcook. Camden Hill’s one loss came from the hands of Maranacook. The one seed is so important this year because with 15 teams making tournament, the number 1 team is the only one who gets a bye.
Tonight a storied rivalry adds another epic chapter to the books. Caribou and Presque Isle will face off, the winner taking home the number 1 seed. These two neighboring towns, separated by a mere 12 miles, have a rivalry that dates back to when the schools opened. Presque Isle kids don’t like Caribou kids and Caribou kids don’t like Presque Isle kids. No matter what, these games are always great.
These teams have met already once this season…that game came down to Russ Mortland shooting a 3 from the corner for the game and just coming up a little bit short. Much more on the line tonight. I’ll be making the trip up along with many others. It’s going to be a packed house!

Brad Thibeau

Digging Into the Archives

Ever feel the need to look up who holds the record for most points scored in a state championship game?(Andy Bedard for Mountain Valley in 1994) Maybe you want to know where your team finished in 1996.(My team, Presque Isle, finished 8th that year). Wondering who has the most gold balls in the state of Maine(Jonesport-Beals with 9). Well I have the site for you.
He calls himself the “stat guy” and the title is more than rightfully his. Frank Spanky, with the help from others, has been working rigorously to create the “Maine High School Basketball Archives.” He dedicates the site to all high school broadcast announcers, whether they are TV or Radio. The website offers many things: Photos(past and present), all tournament teams, all time tournament records, individual and team records, heal points(1961 and up), sportsmanship award winners, tournament brackets(1950 and up), along with many other random facts about high school basketball. I urge everyone to check this website out, you’ll find that an hour feels like 5 minutes when you’re here.
http://frank.spanky.googlepages.com/

Brad Thibeau

Player Let Go After Comment

Everyone enjoys spending time on a social networking site. If you are a student in college, then you are almost guaranteed to be a member of one of these sites. When a 19-year-old running back was kicked off of the Wake Forest football team for comments he made on his personal social networking page, it had many people talking. For a lot of student-athletes, their social networking site is how they communicate with teammates. For the 19-year-old running back, angry comments that he made on the site were not taken well because they directed violence at both his football team and his school in general. To view these comments, go to http://www.ncaa.org/.

After dealing with the loss of so many students and faculty members at Virginia Tech last year, I feel that the Wake Forest football team made the right decision in relieving the 19-year-old from his duties as a running back. So many professional athletes think they can get away with anything because they are an athlete. It’s about time that a college sports team steps up and punishes the people that make comments like the ones made by this particular person. Hopefully all of the schools that are affiliated with the NCAA will work with the organization to come up with a policy to make sure comments like these don’t go unnoticed.

Mark Zadakis

Two Tickets, Please

The National Colligate Athletic Association (NCAA) has reinstated USC Student-Athlete OJ Mayo. Mayo’s eligibility with the organization was suspended because he decided to accept two tickets to a professional basketball game. Why is this a violation of the NCAA conduct code? It is because the person that gave Mayo the tickets was a friend of his who was also a student-athlete.

As part of Mayo’s reinstatement arrangement with the NCAA, he is required to pay $460, the value of the two tickets, to the charity of his choice. Under NCAA guidelines, Mayo could have been banned from competition for a few weeks, but since the NCAA learned that the USC basketball coach gave him permission to accept the tickets, they decided to let him continue to compete.

I have to say that I do not agree with the NCAA’s decision to bar OJ Mayo from competition because then the question becomes that of “Where do you draw the line between code of conduct rules and just plain fun? I will be honest with you. If I had a chance to go to a professional basketball game, I would have to go no matter what it costs me. A chance to see professional sports athletes in their line of work doesn’t come around too often, so that is why so many people jump at the opportunity when they come around.

Mark Zadakis

Boston College Went Into Orono and Got Three Out of Four Points

It was a tough weekend for the University of Maine Hockey Team. They had two game series with the No. 9 Boston College Eagles at the Alfond Arena. Friday night’s the game ended in a 3-3 tie. If it wasn’t for Simon Danis-Pepin blast with 10:06 remaining in the contest, the Black Bears would have walked away with two losses. Saturday night Maine was outplayed and lost the game 4-2. Nathan Gerbe of BC got the game winning goal with 2:24 remaining in the second period. He has 19 goals so far season and a total of 37 points. Gerbe is two points behind Kevin Porter (Michigan University) for the most points in the nation. Matt Greene added an empty netter with 16 seconds remaining in the game to make it 4-2.

Some fans still have hope for the Black Bears. The blog on the Portland Press Herald called “Inside UMaine Sports” had a rally cry by KeepWhitehead.

“Fellow Black Bear fans, let's not be too discouraged by another winless weekend at home. I just checked the standings; we have now passed Merrimack and are now ninth in Hockey East! Hooray! Cellar dwelers no more!

I'm pretty sure this weekend is just a preview of whats to come. We have UNH in two weeks; we need to get back at them for the 8-2, "taking us out behind the shed and bending us over a log" beating they gave us least year at home.

We will win the Hockey East tournament and march into the NCAA's.”

The Black Bears might not be in the cellar anymore but they still have work to do. Right now they are in ninth place in Hockey East but are only two points behind UMass Amherst for eighth place. To make it in the Hockey East Playoffs, a team needs to finish eighth or better. New Hampshire is leading Hockey East right now and would face the eighth place team in a three game series to start the Hockey East Playoffs. Hockey East is too deep for the Black Bears to make a run. As a Black Bear fan I am looking forward to next year. I do believe this team will find a way to make into the playoffs but won’t make it into the NCAA Tournament

That’s My Take

(Nathan also is a writer for MVN.com. He's the writer for the Asylum which covers the Lewiston Maineiacs of the QMJHL. He's also a regular contributor to the NHL Source also at MVN.com. He can be reached at fbbhgfan@aol.com)

The Memphis Tigers Keep On Rolling

The Memphis Tigers Men’s Basketball team is on fire this season with an undefeated record of 19-0. They beat there last opponent Gonzaga 81-73 putting them in charge with a ranking of #1 in the country. The team is averaging nearly 81 points a game and giving up fewer than 60. The Tigers next opponent will in Houston against the Cougars. The Cougars are second in the division behind Memphis in the C-USA conference so it should be a decent match up. Guard Chris Douglass-Roberts has been one of the key players in the success of the Tigers team. The junior is averaging 16.8 points a game along with 4.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists. Joey Dorsey one of the team’s only seniors is also among the top 10 in rebounding averaging 10.6 a game. Memphis last year came up short of the final four last year losing to Ohio St 92-76 in the Elite Eight.

Memphis has been playing good team basketball so far and that’s why they are undefeated. The Tigers are going to need to continue that as they go down the stretch. March Madness is still over a month away and they don’t want to get full of themselves. It has happened before to teams and they folded under the pressure.

Tim Seames

Can the John Bapst girls team be beat?

While I was driving home from the auditorium after watching the John Bapst Crusader girls put an end to the Lynx of Mattanawcook Academy's perfect season, I began thinking to myself...can anyone beat Bapst for the rest of the season?
I don't see anyone beating the Crusaders until they meet up with Waterville...and even then...I think this could be the year they finally top the panthers. They are so talented from player 1 all the way down to the last player on the bench.
Eve Jordan and Morgan Chasse in the backcourt is so so dangerous. They both can find the open man with ease and both play the game really smart. Eve is probably one of the better point guards in Class B with her ball handling abilities. Chasse is so so fast. The second the ball touches the rim, she is streaking down the court. She's also a tough defender. She would give Sarah Givens(Waterville) a fit for sure. Then you add Hillary Laferriere and Samantha Gormley who both find each other in the post like no other. You can't double one of them, because they will just find the other one. They also finish really well around the hoop, especially Laferriere...she knows how to use her body and has some quick post moves that get her to the basket with ease. They are so big they just dominate the defenders. Then you throw Bree Hardy, Sam Maquillan, and Amber Estes into the mix who add great chemistry and team play.
Bapst has 1 loss this year, it was to the also very talented Hermon Hawks. This was at the Bangor Auditorium. Hermon played a very tightly compacted 2-3 zone to stop the two bigs for Bapst and the guards didn't step up...shooting only 25% on the game. I don't see this happening again as 25% seems like a fluke to me.
They play like they are all best friends out on the court..and that's because for the most part they are...that's something rare, but special, in basketball. They'll be tough to beat for anyone.

Brad Thibeau

Kentucky shocks No.3 Tennessee

Patrick Patterson scored 20 points and had 8 rebounds, but it was Kentucky's defense that was key in their upset win over the No. 3 team in the country; Tennessee. Kentucky held the Vols to just three field goals over the final ten minutes of the game to snap their 11-game winning streak. The win marked the first time Kentucky had beaten a top ten team since December 2005. Even in a losing effort though Tennessee was able to make some history; Chris Lofton set an SEC record for career three-pointers made after he hit 5 during the game giving him 367 for his career.

This is the second time within the past week that a top 3 team has been upset, the other of course was North Carolina who was upset by Maryland. It really makes things interesting because it allows people to see just how unpredictable college basketball can really be. The Tar Heels were a team that barely escaped against Clemson before being upset by Maryland but have at times looked unstoppable, and the Vols were ranked higher than they ever had been before in school history after winning 11 games in a row. It just goes to show that when your on top there's always going to be somebody who wants what you have and especially in college basketball or in any sport if your the best, you better be ready to get the best out of other teams.

Although it hasn't seemed to stop the Patriots.....

Adam Smith

Bob Knight sets yet another milestone

Texas Tech head coach Bob Knight became the first men's division I coach to reach the 900 win plateau with a win over a Texas A&M team ranked 10th in the country. Knight's Red Raiders won 68-53 after playing what Bob Knight deemed their best basketball game of the season. Texas Tech player Martin Zeno scored 19 points and Trevor Cook also pitched in by scoring a career-high 14 for the Red Raiders. The win was the third straight for Texas Tech over the Aggies. Before he left the floor Bob Knight addressed the 11,ooo fans that were in attendance, before leaving the court with the fans giving him a thunderous ovation. Knight who is now 67 years old and has been coaching for 42 years is the first men's coach to win 900 games. Two women's coaches have reached 900 wins; Tennessee's Pat Summitt and former Texas coach Jody Conradt.

Adam Smith

Ben Bishop Enters an Exclusive Club

There were only four goalies at the University of Maine to have won 50 or more games wearing a Black Bear jersey prior to Saturday night – Garth Snow (66 wins), Scott King (66), Blair Allison (62), and Alfie Michaud (60). In a 4 – 0 victory over Providence College, Ben Bishop added his name to that list. Bishop made 41 saves, including 21 saves in the first period alone.

It’s an amazing feat because two years ago he wasn’t suppose to be a starter. Jimmy Howard was supposed to be the starter for the 2005-2006 season but he decided to sign with the Detroit Red Wings in the summer of 2005. Tim Whitehead had this blue-chip recruit in Ben Bishop who hails from the St. Louis area. Unlike most goalies who are no taller then 6’3, Bishop is 6’7. Before coming to Maine, Bishop spent one year with one of the premiere teams in the North American Hockey League, the Texas Tornado. He had a 35-8 record, with a 1.93 Goals Against Average (GAA), and a .920 Save Percentage (SV%) in the 2004-2005 season. The St. Louis Blues drafted him in the 3^rd round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.

He stepped in as a freshman due to the Howard departure and led the Black Bears to the NCAA Frozen Four. They lost in the National Semi-Final to the Wisconsin Badgers. As a freshman he put up a 21-8-2 record, had a 2.28GAA and a .907SV percentage. Last year as a sophomore he won 21 wins again. He lost 9 games and was apart of two ties. His goals against was 2.14 which was the third lowest in Maine’s history. He also had a .927SV percentage. Maine went to the Frozen Four again-this time it was held in St. Louis. They lost in the National-Semi Final to the eventual National Champions Michigan State.

With all the accolades he still gets questioned because of his inconsistent play. A reader of the Portland Press Herald had this to say:

“He is NOT in that club - not even close!! He was an after thought recruit because that idiot of a coach Whitehead didn't think that Jimmy Howard would leave school early (Hello Whitehead - here's your sign!!) so he scrambled around that summer and found this over-rated 7 foot should be back up goalie. How many D1 head of the bus goalies are available to recruit in the middle of June?? Exactly! None and that's how this clown landed in Orono. He couldn't make the team that those other goalies played on, read again - could not make the team! Jeff Nord was a far better goalie than this "watch your head" joker! Look him up - ground breaker for the program. Bishop and Garth Snow should never be mentioned in the same sentence.
You must get a real kick out of this season Jen, being a UNH grad, but we all know how this story ends as it's the same every year.
UNH will not win the last game of the season.......again.”

-CanWhitehead!

It’s too early to tell if he should be mentioned in the same breath along with the other four goalies. He still has this year and next season. If he can lead the team to a National Title next season then he can enter the discussion. I don’t see him leaving for the NHL after this season because the St. Louis Blues have depth at the goaltending position. I believe the Blues want him to stay at Orono for more seasoning. Ben Bishop is not overrated. CanWhitehead! thinks otherwise but that’s his opinion. People thought Bishop had those great stats because of the players in front of him. I say look at the stats. He has a 2.51GAA and a .914SV percentage. Of course his record isn’t the up to par but that’s because the team has no offense. His record is 8-10-2.

That's My Take

Nathan Fournier

(Nathan also is a writer for MVN.com. He's the writer for the Asylum which covers the Lewiston Maineiacs of the QMJHL. He's also a regular contributor to the NHL Source also at MVN.com. He can be reached at fbbhgfan@aol.com)

The Bangor Rams Are Continuing Their Dominance

The Bangor Rams boys basketball team have taken it to the other teams so far this season with an impressive 12-0 record overall. Looking at their schedule the closest game they had to losing was against Edward Little out of Auburn, and that was only three points. Even the closest team Mt. Blue hasn't shown any signs of taking down the Rams. The way Bangor is playing they should be an easy number one seed heading into the big tournament next month. The Rams are hoping to do a little better than the football team and try to get past the first round in the playoffs. Their last game they beat Lewiston by twenty six points and have been man handling opponents with the exception of one game.

In my opinion the Rams are good enough to copy the New England Patriots trend of going undefeated even though the Pats are still yet to prove to everybody that they can finish the deal and shut everyone up about it. When the super bowl gets here it will be about the last game for the Rams so another opinion can be made further down the road.

Tim Seames

The Possible Issues Of Having College Football Playoffs

There has been a lot of talking going on around the idea of having College Football playoffs for the beginning of the 2011 season. University of Georgia president Michael Adams proposed an idea for an eight team playoff system, making it easier to give teams that deserve a chance to be in a bowl will fight to prove they belong there. Mainly the reason why the NCAA doesn't want to do it because it would cost a heck of lot more money to conduct a playoff system as opposed to a one game championship. As a fan I would love to see a playoff system because it would give teams an opportunity to battle for a chance to win the big game. However, if I was a president for a big time university like Florida, Ohio St, or USC then I'm thinking that it's a bad idea because my team would be good enough to qualify for the National Championship. Not only that but it would be a bigger expense plus a lot more traveling.

For the most part the playoff scenario is out of the picture but don't be surprised to hear it come up next season. Nobody expected the season to go like this so it makes it more interesting to see what will happen. So if you're hoping for playoffs then cross your fingers because it might happen.

Tim Seames

Does Money Really Matter?

When it was announced this week that Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis would forego his chance to enter the NFL draft and remain with the school for his senior year, it had many people talking. People were questioning why a top-notch athlete would wait to enter the NFL draft when he was pretty much guaranteed to go as a high first round draft pick. When asked why he chose to stay in school, Laurinaitis stated that he wanted to help lead the Ohio State Buckeyes to their third straight national title. People associated with the NCAA should be excited to hear this news because it gives every school that is affiliated with the organization the idea that just because a star player has a professional contract on the table, it doesn’t mean they feel ready to leave their alma mater.

I have to commend this player for the courage he had to turn down the multimillion dollar contracts to return to school. It takes a lot for a college student to decide to finish out his college education instead of letting money do the talking. In the long run, he will be better off for making this decision because, when his professional playing career is over, or he gets a career ending injury, he will have a college degree to fall back on.

Mark Zadakis

Possible NCAA Changes on the Horizon

Most college students that watch any college sports know that the sport is most likely affiliated with the NCAA. What is the NCAA? It’s the National Collegiate Athletic Association. In recent weeks, there have been a few schools that are affiliated with NCAA that feel the athletic association needs to start a new division. They feel that the number of schools that deserve the NCAA branding have grown so much over the years that this new division would be created in order to make it fair for all schools involved. Being a college senior of NCAA-affiliated Husson College, I have witnessed the trials and tribulations of trying to get the NCAA to recognize us as an athletic organization that can uphold the organization’s high standards.

Although NCAA officials say that they are only in preliminary talks about starting a new division, I feel that it might take away the accomplishment of being named to the NCAA if another division is added. Usually, if an organization is in “preliminary talks” it means that a new division will happen eventually. That is my take.

Mark Zadakis

When Did You Decide to Choose A School?

What were you doing at 14 and 15 years old? I was in eighth grade (14) about to become a freshman in high school. Was college on my mind? It was the furthest thing away from my mind. The semi-formal was more important to me at the time; college didn’t even enter the picture until my junior year. Did I know what I wanted to do when I enter college? Of course, I wanted to be a sports journalist/broadcaster. Why am I bringing up my lousy life from the past? Well because highly touted young hockey players are making the decision where they want to play college hockey at 14/15 years old. They haven’t took their SAT’s yet and I don’t think they know what the SAT’s are to begin with.

Jack Johnson a defenseman was the first major player to make a commitment at the age of 14. He made the commitment to Michigan University. He spent two years there before signing with the Los Angeles Kings last year after his sophomore season was done. Jon Merill another defenseman committed to Michigan on October 10^th, 2006. He was also 14 but younger then Johnson. His freshman year will be in the fall of 2010. Luke Moffatt and Jared Knight also are committed to Michigan for the fall of 2010. North Dakota got a verbal commitment from Garrett Clarke this week and won’t be there until 2010. Maine has gotten in the act too; New Brunswick defenseman Kevin Gagne who will be in Orono in the fall of 2010. Earlier this week Maine got a verbal commitment from Stuart Higgins who will also be attending in the fall of 2010. You can see all the commitments here.

The funny thing about all these players committing this early, the college coaches can’t contact potential recruits until they are juniors in high school. Recruits can contact the coaches and make unofficial visits whenever. The coaches can’t mention them coming to the school until they sign a Letter of Intent their junior year.

How did this come to be an accepted practice? Well in some cases, committing to a college is a back up plan. Yes that’s right a back up plan. When these kids turn 16 they are eligible for the major junior draft. What is Major Junior hockey? It’s the top development system in Canada. It’s called the Canadian Hockey League and the CHL has three leagues. The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, the Ontario Hockey League, and the Western Hockey League make up the CHL.

An example is current Edmonton Oiler Sam Gagner. He committed to the University of Wisconsin for this season on 1/11/06. He was drafted by the London Knights in the 4^th round of the 2005 OHL Midget Draft. The 2005-2006 season he played for the Sioux Falls Stampede of the United States Hockey League the top junior league in the United States that allows players to keep their NCAA Eligibility. Once you play in major junior hockey you lose your NCAA Eligibility. Last year he was with the London Knights along with another highly touted prospect Patrick Kane who’s with the Chicago Blackhawks this season. They were both drafted in the 2007 Entry Draft

Other players use the college hockey recruiting process to play for a better major junior team. Some players play the NCAA Card. What do I mean by playing the “NCAA Card”? When a player says he wants to go the college route so he can basically can choose which major junior team he wants to play for. For example, Angelo Esposito now a Pittsburgh Penguins draft pick. In 2005, he was the top rated player for the QMJHL draft but fell to the Quebec Ramparts who had the 11th pick. The Ramparts are owned and coached by Hall of Fame Goaltender Patrick Roy. Esposito said all along he was going the NCAA route until Roy selected him. He didn’t make a college commitment. Rumor has it Roy offered him 500,000 dollars to play for the Ramparts. Why don't teams call the Ramparts and the Knights out you ask? Every team has done it or will do it sometime. Plus the leagues don’t want to lose these players to college hockey.

What will Jon Merrill and company do this spring for their Midget draft? Well Merrill is the 2^nd best available player for the OHL Draft according to the ISS Scouting Service. Luke Moffatt has been drafted by the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL because they draft players at 15. Kevin Gagne and Garrett Clarke could both go in the 1^st round of the QMJHL draft.

That’s the world of college hockey recruiting. It’s kind of disturbing that these kids are making choices at such a young age. What can you do though? Now I am just waiting to see Max Gerlach the nine year old star to make his college choice. You probably have seen him on Sportscenter with this shot.

That’s My Take

Nathan Fournier

(Nathan also is a writer for MVN.com. He's the writer for the Asylum which covers the Lewiston Maineiacs of the QMJHL. He's also a regular contributor to the NHL Source also at MVN.com. He can be reached at fbbhgfan@aol.com)