POPULAR OPPONENT: The fans at Lincoln's Ice Box have always had a special relationship with opposing goaltenders Former Rochester goaltender Dean Weasler, affectionately called "Weasel" by Ice Box fans, once said he had a love-hate relationship with Lincoln's fans. That is, he loved the fans, but they hated him.
Weasler's former backup, Marc Ranfranz, now the starting goaltender for the Billings Bulls, has also forged a unique relationship with fans at the Ice Box.
During Saturday morning's game against Des Moines, Ranfranz responded to the Ran-franz yell of the Bucs fans by communicating with the 500 or so Des Moines fans seated in section Q. Ranfranz applauded his defense when they cleared the zone, he pointed at Bucs fans in a gesture of communication, and generally had a good time on the ice in spite of an 8-1 Bucs win.
In a show of respect for the goaltender, the Bucs' fans changed the popular B-U-C-S yell to M-A-R-C late in the third period.
In Sunday night's game against Lincoln, Ranfranz began tapping his stick on the ice during a third period stoppage in an attempt to get the Ice Box crowd to join in by clapping. After he accomplished this, Ranfranz received a standing ovation from many of the approximately 4,000 fans in attendance. At the end of the game, Ranfranz tapped his stick at center ice and saluted the crowd. Ranfranz again received a loud ovation from those still in attendance.
Ranfranz also seemed to be a hit with young female fans in attendance Sunday night. Signs observed in the Ice Box included ones that said, "We love you Marc", "You're cute", and the slightly more risque "Strip for us."
As one fan said, if there was a sportsmanship award to an individual player, Ranfranz would have to be the top candidate.
LET THEM PLAY: Hockey fans at the national tournament have been treated to some great action through the tournament's first three days. Unfortunately, certain games have lacked the flow and tempo of other games, and there seems to be at least one common denominator.
Referee Brian Pochmara, a USHL official from Detroit, has called an astonishing 44 power plays in the three tournament games he has officiated. Had the Saturday morning game between Des Moines and Billings been more physical, the total would have likely been much higher. Pochmara gave one team a man advantage a relatively low eight times in the game between the USHL's least-penalized team and the team that received the sportsmanship award for fewest penalty minutes in the round robin.
Friday night's game between Lincoln and Compuware started out with a quick pace, as Lincoln scored two early goals. However, Lincoln found itself shorthanded five times in the period's final 16 minutes, including two 5-on-3 situations. By the end of the game, the trend had reversed, as Lincoln received the game's final six power plays. In total, one team had a 5-on-3 advantage for some period of time in five instances during Friday's game.
Sunday's game between St. Louis and Omaha bordered on the ridiculous. By the third period, Pochmara seemed to try to keep the game in check by calling a penalty for almost anything considered more physical than breathing on another player. Omaha finished 6 for 13 with the man advantage, while St. Louis was 0 for 7.
Before the first period was over, St. Louis had faced five shorthanded situations and found itself without one of its top blueliners, Josh Akright, for ten minutes after he was given a ten-minute misconduct. Akright, the team captain, was quickly given the misconduct after questioning a call despite the fact that by virtue of wearing the captain's C, he is supposed to be one of the designated players who can talk to the officials.
Pochmara showed a similarly short fuse on Friday night, when he whistled Jake Wiegand for a ten-minute misconduct after Wiegand slammed his stick following a very questionable call by Pochmara.
Let's hope that Pochmara's performance through the first three games has not earned him a spot in the semi-finals or finals. After all, most observers are here to watch the game, and not the ref.
TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE: Tickets are still available for all three tournament playoff games, including Tuesday's 7 p.m. semi-final between Des Moines and Lincoln. Tuesday's other semi-final, slated for 3 p.m., will be a rematch between Omaha and Compuware.
The winners of the semi-finals advance to the championship game at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
FOURNIER BRIGHTEST STAR IN ROUND-ROBIN: Considering he appeared unlikely to play in the national tournament one week ago, Lincoln's Chris Fournier has had a good round-robin.
Fournier, who was questionable with mononucleosis, is tied for the tournament lead with seven points (3 goals, 4 assists) after three games. Fournier is three points ahead of his closest teammate, Preston Callendar, who has four points.
Fournier is tied with Des Moines' Noah Clarke (2 goals, 5 assists) and Pete Fregoe (3 goals, 4 assists), as well as Omaha defenseman Rob Sandrock (4 goals, 3 assists) atop the tournament scoring list. Sandrock posted a hat trick in Sunday's 12-1 Omaha win against St. Louis.
May 1999
