It doesn't matter if I'm not actively involved full time in hockey anymore. There are some...well...legends that persist amongst the people down at Germain Arena that know me.

For example: Saturday, one of the arena staff members introduces me to a new staffer as "having a jersey from every ECHL that ever played in the league."

Now, I have a fairly sizeable sweater collection, I won't deny that, however, it is no where near as complete as the above statement would leave one to believe. I don't for example own a Erie Panthers sweater or a Carolina Thunderbirds sweater or even, for that matter, a Roanoke Valley Rampage sweater even though Rob played for that team at one time.

However, I've argued this point often enough, so now I just sort of grin and bear it because nothing I can say is going to change the belief that some people have built up in the their minds.

The funny thing was though, on Saturday, that I put the pictures I'd take of Dan Bellissimo in the car, jumped in and got on the road to Germain Arena when I realized...I had not brought one sweater with me. And all I had on was my long sleeved Twins T-shirt which was not going to stave off the icy blast at the arena.

(Yes, I realize it's an ice arena, but does it have to be so friggin' COLD?)

So I had to stop at Walgreens and buy a fleece on the way over. Which left me unbanded for the tournament which left some people to think that I was either a member of the press (because I had a camera) or attached to one of the colleges. Yes, I did have a rooting interest in Western Michigan, but no, I didn't come all the way from K-Zoo for the tourney.

(Dawn did mention they'd been running the building colder to get better ice, and yes, I do recall in years past the ice being somewhat sloppy during the tournament, so perhaps I can put up with a bit of hypothermia now and then.)

Another thing that persists at the arena, is that once you put on an Everblades uniform and step out onto the ice for the team, you have not just gained professional hockey player status. You've gained a family, several thousand members strong.

"You just missed Vince!" I get told as I wander into the pro-shop.

"er....vince is in Texas?"

"He just called, you just missed him."

"Oh. I got pictures of Dan," I say, offering them up.

"Oh look...he looks JUST LIKE VINCE."

"Well, yeah, with hair." Or at least enough that if I didn't know he was Vince's brother I'd have asked if they were related.

And once they have been shared in the pro-shop I had to go off and share the joy that is Dan with the other unofficial aunts and uncles, surrogate moms and dads and brother and sisters that Vince has amongst the Seasonal Ticket population at the area.

I mentioned at one point that I will leave copies for Vince at the pro-shop which earned the "Oh, he's so going to love that!" statement as well as garnering tales of Dan and what a nice, well spoke and pleasant young man he is. I wonder if he was warned that being related to a member of the Everblades as going to catapult him to instant celebrity status at the arena.

"Oh look...he has a little bump on his nose, JUST LIKE VINCE."

Yeesh.

In any case, Dan Bellissimo took the start in net for Western Michigan University While Kevin Regan got the nod for the University of New Hampshire. IF Dan was not in the tournament, I probably would have latched on to Regan, but even taking way the family relationship to Vince, there was really no contest.

Regan is Bruins property, drafted in the 3rd round of the 2003 entry draft. He's in his Junior year at UNH, majoring in business administration: finance. He's a good goalie, but...he's just not that cute.

He did play a very tough game though, posting a shut out before New Hampshire took pity on the Broncos and pulled him in favor of Kirk Manke with just about 3 minutes left on the clock. Manke gave up two goals on the two shots.

Meanwhile, Bellissimo looked nervous in net - perhaps he wasn't informed he'd be an instant celebrity in Florida - allowing Matt Fornataro to score just :56 seconds into the game. Mike Radja made it 2-0 just under 3 minutes later before Bellissimo would settle down.

“I let my team down early on. I was nervous and we just didn't have it tonight and that is unfortunate," Bellissimo is quoted as saying in the Fort Myers News Press.

Beyond that, Bellissimo was solid except for a nine minute opening in the third period where New Hampshire's quick attack strategy left him struggling.

Chris Murray made it 3-0 on a shorthanded goal with Thomas Fortney and Greg Collins assisting. Avalanche prospect Brett Hemingway (7th round, 2003) hit about 4 1/2 minutes later to make it 4-0. Jacob Micflikier and Radja picked up the assists on that one. Chris Frank's penalties finally hurt the team at the 16:09 mark when Matt Fornataro made it 5-0, with assists to Jerry Pollstrone and Nashville prospect Craig Switzer (9th round, 2004).

(I honestly felt one of the keys to Bronco's victory involved keep Frank out of the box, but he seems to have an affinity for it. But he's a gritty player, which is why I liked him, and why he's going to get called for penalties.)

Brian Bicek and Kevin LeBatte had the two goals, less than a minute apart, for Western Michigan, but there just wasn't enough time left to get back into the game with Manke in the net.

"Their kid in net was great, every time we thought had an opportunity to get one by him he was there to stop it," Broncos head coach Jim Culhane was quoted as saying of Regan in the Naples Daily News of Regan. "Still you're only down 2-0 after 40 minutes and you get to start the third with a 5-on-3 there and you hit the crossbar. I think they could hear (Tyler) Ludwig's shot all the way down in South Beach he hit it so hard.

"But I'm disappointed with the loss. You can't play at 80 percent against teams of this caliber, but we'll take some positives out of this weekend, like the fact that we played very well against very, very good teams for long stretches of the game."

Bellissimo, who is recovering from shoulder surgery, was playing only is second game in the past couple of months, so perhaps a case of the shakes was understandable. UNH was anxious to correct the mistakes they made against the University of Cornell the night before, and did it in a big way.

Toward the end of the game, Cornell fans started filtering into the section where I was sitting for the championship game.

"I don't understand this place," one said. "The parking lot is packed, but there's no people in the arena." Evidently he was NOT aware of the Florida International Holiday Invitational going on down in the rec rinks. 79 teams participated in the youth league portion of the tournament, with the Goulding Park Rangers from Toronto, Ontario taking home the Midget 16AA title. Ernesto Valente and Andrew Bellissimo were noted as scoring for the Rangers which left me to wonder...

Bellissimo? Toronto? Did anyone go down and find out if THIS kid was related to Vince? vince only listed Dan in his recent Q & A as another hockey playing member of his family, but, you know...maybe little Andrew is a cousin or something?

In any case, not a great time for Western Michigan who returns to the frozen north to take on Bowling Green (a team I'd like to see at the Classic one year) on the road for a pair of games on Saturday and Sunday. The Wildcats, who return home with a third place finish in the tournament, take on the University of Vermont, also on the road on the same days.

I will get photos of Regan and Manke up as well as Bellissimo and the Bronco's Riley Gil as soon as I can. Lots of scanning to get through and lots of writing to catch up on.



Um...by the way Vince, your brother is fine and he plays with a much bigger stick than you do.

And no, there is no truth to the rumor that I've slept with every goalie in the ECHL either. I'm sure there are quite of a few of them over on the west coast I've never even met yet...