So be it. I'll have an intelligent discussion on why the past really doesn't matter.
There are many fans on this board who feel it necessary to point out a major flaw in UNH's men's hockey program; namely, the lack of a national championship. Perhaps it is more glaring that our best chance at winning one was thwarted by our rivals to the north, UMaine. Fans of that program have taken a particular delight in reveling over that particular game, along with many other of our post-season shortcomings. Due to the fact that past events cannot be changed, nor do they have a direct outcome on the upcoming game, it is irrelevant to use historical results as an argumentative crutch.
That isn't to say that there is no impact on the teams whatsoever. To the contrary, the fallout of that game, along with many other past match-ups, has created an atmosphere of a rivalry between the 2 schools where this game has additional meaning attached to it. Were it not for the 1999 game, along with many others along the way, UNH would not have continued the drive towards earning a national title. Though it may act as an impetus for UNH to strive for the national title, our past failures aren't a part of this weekend's series.
In honesty, even last weekend's triumphs won't be in this weekend's series. The fluidity of time forces a team to constantly keep improving itself in order for it to be considered "The Best That There Is." Time is constantly in motion, and therefore, the past is in a constant rate of growth. The future, to our minds, is infinite; we don't know when it ends (some even believe that there will be no end of time, it will simply start over again). All that truly matters is who the best team is at this given moment. Even the last game played between these two teams is irrelevant because circumstances have changed at least three times over. Lines have shuffled. Players who were injured then are healthy now, and vice versa. Like time, the teams are in a constant state of flux.
Since December, these teams have changed superficially; since 1999 these programs have changed immensely. The change at UMaine is obvious: your coach tragically passed away in 2001 and created an upheaval of seismic proportions. UNH lost a great assistant coach, Brian McCloskey, to the women's hockey program where he has had relatively successful seasons. Furthermore, the hockey teams themselves have graduated 2 full classes of players since then. Most players on the teams now were in elementary school in 1999. Their connections to that game are minimal, if any.
To sum, it is heinous to use our past, which could be likened to Shakespearean tragedy, in order to prop up your insults against our program. The kids playing this year were 5th graders themselves during the Incident in Anaheim. Furthermore, due to the transient nature of time, even Friday night's game will be made irrelevant by the time the puck drops on Saturday night. Though some of the emotions may carry over, the direct impact ANY of our past failures have on our program are, in fact, uncorrelated to the play of our student-athletes.
