Raise Our Glasses to the Plague

Hockey Fights Hard Against Formidable Foe

The golden sunshine of springtime brings with its rays rowdy shouts of pleasure and renewal for Oberlin, for all have waited with baited breath for a day when our exhalations refuse to hang in front of our faces and our blood does not chill our bones.

Hidden amongst the streamers and parades of springtime is a receding figure in black, a lone pestilence that has been close to our hearts for the duration of the winter months. The Oberlin Plague must, like some dread beast, retrieve in its cloak the hockey fever that has spread like Anthrax, and slouch towards its den deep below the precincts of the Oberlin hockey rink, waiting once again for the mackerel gray skies and ice to call it forth into the world.

Let us eulogize the expiration of this millennial season, not with sad countenances and weepish dirges, but with madrigals and cheers that transmit our love for this motley group of Olympians. On Mar. 3, Oberlin supported the second and final match of the season in a style that only speaks well of the many Plague apostles on campus.

Valiant though the effort was, the Plague could not overpower the visiting Case Western team, ending the season with an 0-2 record. The offense was highlighted by a dazzling performance by the sophomore sensation Kurt Heniecke who yielded a hat trick, buttressed by a tenacious goal by first-year Caleb Miller and a precision slapshot goal by the exquisite senior defenseman, Matt "Green Thumbs" Winstanley. The quintet of lamp-lighters was not enough to overcome the ten scored by Case.

Team leader Dan "Raymond" Bourque skated a tireless three periods of defensive reign on the ice with a grace and defiance that is reflective of his prestigious career. "We had the heart, but lacked the legs. We have always sneered in the face of opposition, but just couldn't contend with Case's numbers," said Bourque of the under-manned match. Of equal note was the rousing performance in goal by sophomore John Breskey and the electric third period tending of Jess Friedman.

Winstanley voiced his sentiments to the Oberlin fans in the locker room after the game, saying, "Ask nothing more of me my sweet, all I could give you I gave."

The close of this season is of particular emotional intensity because we are not only witnessing the premature death of a team long before its prime, but must also watch the curtain fall on the careers of such seasoned athletes as the four year Clydesdales Dan Bourque and Jess Friedman, as well as seniors Matt Winstanley, Paul Reinitz, and Nat "Chilblain" Howard. Let us raise our glasses to the year 2000 Oberlin Plague Ice Hockey Team and the loyal fans, and bid sweet passage and merriment to the individuals that have sprinkled some delight over the cold Friday nights in Ohio.