How's da Chouwder Nawm???

The shithole they call Alfond

I caught this article called "Gopher Hunting" on the Maine Campus web site. I guess journalism class is not Maine's strong suit. Neither is their hockey program but that is another story.

This is only page one of four because the rag of a site makes you register to read further. Not happening!

"The Xcel Energy Center in St Paul, Minn., seats roughly 20,000. On any given night those 20,000-or- so spectators can turn what is normally a cookie-cutter arena into the loudest, most intense atmosphere for hockey in the country. The reason for the explosion is simple. Minnesota loves its hockey and hockey loves Minnesota. Like North Carolina and basketball, the sport belongs to the state. To the University of Maine men's ice hockey squad, however, all this means nothing. As far as the Black Bears are concerned, it's a tired, old story - one they know all too well. They've seen it, lived it and experienced it all before. In fact, UMaine is basically starting off from where they were last seen: a vocal arena filled with an eccentric fan-base. For the Black Bears, all that has changed is the team and the setting. Friday, nearly five months after falling to Wisconsin in Milwaukee and finishing one game shy of the National Championship, the Black Bears return to the Heartland. In what is already being billed as one of the best match-ups of the year, UMaine and the University of Minnesota are set to go head-to-head in hockey's Hall of Fame Game at 8 p.m. The match-up between the 11th-ranked Black Bears and No. 3 Gophers is the first since their overtime thriller in the 2005 NCAA Tournament West regional opening round, which Minnesota won 1-0. "We're excited about this challenge; this is a great opportunity for our hockey program to open the season in the hockey Hall of Fame Game at the Xcel center," UMaine head coach Tim Whitehead said of Minnesota, a team UMaine has gone into overtime with in three of the last four games. "We're very pleased to have been invited. This is exactly what we like to do. We like to challenge ourselves right off the bat and we're doing that again this year with Minnesota, Bemidji and North Dakota in our non-league start."

I take issue with the "cookie cutter" statement. Where the fuck has this guy head been? Not only is the X undoubtedly the NICEST arena in the country, the Goof fans that go there to watch them are most of the people that never get a chance to go to Mecca to catch a game. I think the waiting list for season tickets to Mecca is about 10 years based on how many come up. This crowd can get downright LOUD.

Minnesota's hockey scene tired and old? Let's see how many players from Maine actually play for Maine (Runs to USCHO and checks roster)..................

Humm..... I see there is 1. Now lets check how many Canuck's they have............

15 out of 28 are Canucks. WOW what a HOTBED of college hockey they are. The only thing tired and old is your constant reminders of the cheater of a coach that basically bought your school it's championships. Stick to fishing it's the only thing your decent at.