President George W. Bush gave his State of the Union address Tuesday evening spoke on both foreign and domestic concerns he looks to focus on in the coming months.

The first-half hour of President Bush’s speech was on domestic issues, while the second was used to expound on his continued conviction to confront Saddam Hussein. He continued to unroll charges against the Iraqi leader, this time more specific, though they still lacked a clear “smoking gun.”

There were 75 interruptions for applause, with 34 being standing ovations. It’s typical, I guess, but Bush had a definite grin several times. He felt encouraged. Sen. Joe Lieberman, a potential rival for the presidency next year, offered his continued support for Bush’s Iraqi initiative.

Other Democrats offered nothing but the usual rhetoric. Gov. Gary Locke, the second-term Washington chief, gave the official opposition reply, insisted everything Bush proposed at home was bad and everything the Democrats prepared is good.

It becomes confusing when you begin to consider that every State of the Union address ends like this. If the incumbent administration was always wrong, every State of the Union address would be an apology for the last State of the Union address. What I know is Bush continued to push his reform efforts and that doesn’t sound so bad to me.

What does sound bad is that he is automatically seen as “wrong” every time. His economic stimulus package is criticized as being lopsided and favoring the top tier of the money line. It’s astonishing that the rich are so vilified when those who dislike them continue to support the form of economy that supports the continued pattern of commerce. I’ll admit it doesn’t make much sense to me.

Another thing that astonishes me is that Bush still has to rationalize that this country must keep a keen eye on Iraq. He hasn’t declared war, yet that’s exactly what everyone seems to think. He wants Saddam to be held accountable for his actions and weapons.

Those who most enjoy hawking at Bush point out that he’s only at it for the oil . Were those people paying attention when Bush unveiled his hydrogen-powered automobile initiative? Probably not. It doesn’t fit their perspective on things.

You want peace and prosperity? Fine, so does President Bush. Instead of trying to work against him, here’s a thought: Try being productive. I don’t see “productive” written on any of the protest signs about his designs concerning Iraq.

“Many challenges, abroad and at home have arrived in a single season. In two years, America has gone from a sense of invulnerability to an awareness of peril … from bitter division in small matters to calm unity in great causes. And we go forward with confidence, because this call of history has come to the right country,” Bush said.

I find myself questioning how many people realize that, and how many would rather fight it rather than realize that complacency has no place in this time in history.

Anthony Laplume is a senior English major.

Cohen, once head of the ACLU chapter in Michigan and currently a professor at the University of Michigan, filed a Freedom of Information Act request from the university and discovered rampant reverse racism occurring. Now, the University of Michigan is being taken to the Supreme Court.

Thank God. It’s time they finally take responsibility for the racism they practice.

Cohen looked through the document that he received. The most shocking part was the point system. The University of Michigan delivers points to their applicants, which determines who should get in and who should not. Sounds innocent enough.

Well, here is an example of how the system practices racism. The student gets 12 points for his SAT score and 20 points for being a non-Asian minority. What I would like to know is, what is fair about this? This means that if a person applies to this school and they don’t happen to be a Latino or an African-American, they are going to get the shaft. Apparently the Bush administration feels similarly since Bush himself said the University of Michigan was acting in an unconstitutional manner and using racial quotas.

Of course, many prominent liberals in Congress disagree, including Hillary Clinton and Ted Kennedy.

“An administration that takes such a course, whether out of conviction or political calculation, is no friend of minorities and no force for civil rights,” Sen. Ted Kennedy said.

This is a typical liberal trick — try to make the conservative look like a racist and shame him into changing his mind. However, the Republicans have nothing to be ashamed of concerning their policies or minorities. Affirmative action does not help the minority. How does allowing a minority student admission into a university based solely on the color of their skin seem helpful? The admissions office is saying it really doesn’t matter what grades one may have received in school, what really matters is your race. So much for a color-blind society.

Kennedy goes on to talk about the “core values of a diverse and democratic society.” While I doubt Kennedy would know what morality was if it slapped him across the face, the point is that America is well aware of its “core values” and does not share in his take on them.

In a poll done by The Washington Post, people were asked whether they thought race should be an aspect of college admissions. Ninety-four percent of whites and 89 percent of blacks said “no.” A poll by Newsweek said that two-thirds of Americans do not agree with “racial preferences.” I think these results speak for themselves.

Americans are not dumb. They’ve seen how silly these affirmative action programs are. Perhaps Ted and Hillary should keep up with Americans and help give them what they want, instead of trying to create problems to appease minority factions.

Brynn Lary is a senior English major.

Recently, the Millinocket region of Maine has been economically crushed because of the closing of the regions largest employer, Great Northern Paper Company. More than 1,100 GNP workers are presently laid off and several other sources of employment will become threatened because of the ensuing overall economic depression in the area.

The “Big A” dam project started in 1983. During this time, Great Northern Paper Company was very interested in constructing a dam on the West Branch of the Penobscot River near Ripogenus Gorge. This dam would provide Great Northern with the low cost hydroelectric energy necessary to compete with mills in eastern Canada that already have abundant, low cost hydroelectric power.

The dam would back up a four-mile-long lake that would flood out much of the Ripogenus Gorge. This man-made lake would destroy sanctuaries for osprey, deer, moose, several woodland plants and opportunities for rafters and kayaks to tackle the challenging whitewater found in the Gorge.

Unfortunately, The “Big A” dam project was discontinued because of aggressive advocacy against the dam coming from the Penobscot Coalition to Save the West Branch. This group of left-wing, liberal yuppies included the Maine Audubon Society, the Appalachian Mountain Club, the Maine group of the Sierra Club and the Maine Council of Trout Unlimited. These self-proclaimed economic geniuses suggested that whitewater boating and fishing on the West Branch generated about $2.6 million per year and destroying this industry by constructing the dam wasn’t worth it in the long run.

It was speculated that without the “Big A” Great Northern Paper would lose 1,600 to 1,700 jobs throughout the state.

The construction of the “Big A” dam would have been economically beneficial to the Great Northern Paper company, making it a stronger, more competitive company able to fend off the hostile takeover by the Georgia Pacific paper company in 1989, which began the economic hard times for Great Northern Paper Company. Environmentalists of the past aren’t solely to blame for the current disaster in the Millinocket area. The North American Free Trade Agreement, the only notable thing Bill Clinton did during his presidency besides committing a felony when he lied to a grand jury under oath, also contributed to the dire straits in Millinocket. Nevertheless, I want to recognize the Environmental Movement in Maine for its wonderful contributions to the future of the Millinocket area. We’ll have lots of osprey, deer, moose, whitewater, future welfare recipients, soaring local taxes and impoverished schools.

Timothy Surrette

Senior secondary education major.

To make a long story short, I picked myself up and kept on going without really thinking about my fall. Later in the evening I started feeling ill. I spent the next 24 hours curled up in a ball on the floor, convulsing and vomiting. Attractive, I know.

When my vision grew blurry and I started hallucinating, my mother ruled out food poisoning and rushed me to the hospital. When I arrived at the emergency room, I got to take a nice little ride in a wheelchair. I even got to wear one of those slinky peek-a-boo dresses.

To calm me down, a nurse gave me some morphine, which I repaid him for later when I threw up on his uniform. The doctor then took some X-rays to try and figure out what was wrong with me. Apparently my body was being tricky and the doctor couldn’t tell much from the X-rays, so they decided to take a closer look and rushed me off to the operating room.

Once there, One of the male surgeons decided it was time to remove my undergarments. Let me tell you, I was having none of this. I swatted his grubby little hands away.

“Whoa, Doc, you’re moving a bit fast for my taste. Don’t I at least get to be wined and dined first?” He didn’t try anything after that, at least not while I was conscious.

Then it was time to prep for surgery. One of the nurses anesthetized me and I guess I found this to be pretty funny. “Oooh, I’m flying!” A few of the doctors chuckled and one turned to me and said, “If you ever wanted to try drugs, this is the best place to start.”

Okay, time out. Does anyone else find something insanely disturbing about the aforementioned statement? I guess doctors like to play tricks on you.

When I woke up from the procedure things were a bit hazy. I noticed I was missing my underwear. I asked a nurse if I could have them back and she assured me they were safe and sound, tucked under my pillow. Truthfully, I think I imagined this. For the next 15 minutes or so, I kept fishing around under my pillow. Needless to say, I didn’t find them.

My underwear weren’t the only thing missing. My surgeon paid me a visit after the procedure to inform me that she had to remove my appendix. When I fell, I landed on my appendix causing it to rupture or something to that effect.

Here I was, excited to be alive and thinking I’d get to have a new friend in a jar. This was not so. I apparently signed my appendix away in a drug induced-haze. My doctor explained that it was the largest appendix she had ever seen and she had it sent to another hospital for research.

I guess the only thing I gained from this experience was childbirth practice. My doctor said the amount of pain I was in was far worse than being in labor. So, to my future children, all I have to say is, “bring it.”

Erin Morgan is a sophomore journalism major.

The MaineRx program makes prescription drugs much cheaper for people with low incomes. Most college students’ heads should turn when they hear the words “low-income benefits.”

Your average college student makes just enough money to get by. When that pesky cold or influenza virus sneaks its way into your life, things get a little more complicated. However, if prescription drugs were more affordable, the overall health of low-income families and students certainly would improve.

Unfortunately, the Supreme Court is questioning the constitutionality of the MaineRx program — halting its beneficial effect for students and families.

Large drug companies are worried that MaineRx will cut into their profits, and even more worried about the 29 other states and Puerto Rico that have thrown their support behind the program. These states believe it is possible to implement similar solutions for low-cost prescription drugs.

These companies need to stop looking at their bottom lines and start looking at the suffering that will ultimately occur if the people who need prescription drugs cannot get them due to outrageous prices.

MaineRx is a big step in the right direction for providing lower cost healthcare, and the rest of the country is taking notice; However, this has the drug companies shaking in their boots.

It is crucial that these companies realize the quality of human life should take priority over profits.

Funked Up, The Very Best of Parliament

Universal

The funk era of the mid-70s might be a time some of us would like to forget. But funk is essential to the music we listen to now. George Clinton and Parliament were the ultimate representation of what funk was all about.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers played funk all through the 80s before hitting the big time in the early 90s. Their second album, Freaky Styley, was even produced by the ringleader of Parliament, George Clinton himself. This music had a lot to do with hip hop becoming a genre. There would be no Snoop Dogg or Outkast without Parliament.

In Funked Up, The Very Best of Parliament, you can sit back, blaze one and just chill out to the beats. Everyone knows the hit “Give Up The Funk (Tear The Roof Off The Sucker).” It’s like “Freebird,” you’ve heard it and know it well, whether you like it or not.

The track “Do That Stuff” is classic funk, tight drums, the wah-wah of a guitar, harmonizing vocals and funky slap bass. The live version of “Let’s Take it to the Stage” is a great example of how Parliament gets the party going on every stage, having the crowd become the vocal section for part of their songs.

-Schuyler Dean

t.A.T.u

200 Km/H in the Wrong Lane

Interscope

t.A.T.u’s debut 200Km/H in the Wrong Lane is as bad as their ridiculous name indicates. You have probably heard their single “All the Things She Said” on the radio– you know, the lyrics are “running through my head, running through my head.”

t.A.T.u. is comprised of two Russian teenage girls named Lena Katina and Julia Volkova. The album is mostly techno-rock, with the girls’ squealing, high-pitched voices layered over fuzzy guitar riffs and programmed beats.

Each song on the album sounds basically the same, but on “30 Seconds” and “Stars,” the group tries its hand at Enigma-like synthesizer and vocal arrangements — but fails miserably.

Some of the songs are in the duo’s native Russian tongue, so you can even be annoyed in another language. The album also features a Russian version of “All the Things She Said” and don’t worry, it’s as bad as the original.

What might be of interest to many male crappy-techno aficionados is the album’s overt girl-on-girl action. The CD’s jacket features photos of the two girls embracing in erotic positions.

The album features lyrics like “They say it’s my fault, but I want her so much,” and “I long for you to hold me like your boyfriend does.” The CD also features the music video for “All the Things She Said,” which mostly shows the duo making out with each other in the rain. I’m not sure if either of them are 18 and can legally be filmed in this manner, so I didn’t watch the entire video. Honest.

-Nate “Head Coffee Boy” Webster

Zwan

Mary Star of the Sea

Reprise

Zwan’s christening album, Mary Star Of The Sea, is nothing short of a masterpiece. The band is made up of some of the best “leftovers” in rock music: former Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan, former Skunk guitarist Matt Sweeney, former guitarist for Slint, David Pajo, former bassist of A Perfect Circle, Paz Lenchantin, and former Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin.

With such an all-star crew in the band, it’s no wonder Zwan is probably the best thing the alternative rock community will see this year.

“Lyric” starts the album off on a rocking note, easily settling into mature anthems like “Settle Down” and the radio-friendly “Honestly.” Corgan seems to tap into his spiritual muse, as he prods his own conceptions of faith and what life means in songs like “Declarations Of Faith” and “Ride a Black Swan.”

“El Sol” is a bit too easy to not like. While it offers a nice look into the band members’ vast potential as musicians, “Heartsong” and “Of a Broken Heart” are more the touching caliber most Corgan fans are used to.

Besides “Come With Me,” the album ends on one of the best musical notes in a long time. “Endless Summer” emotes the freedom few people can capture in music and “Baby Let’s Rock” breaks into Zwan’s ability to seriously rock without being angry.

While tracks like “Desire” show us the musical prowess of each member, “Jesus, I/Mary Star Of The Sea” is the crowning achievement of this album. It rocks, it slows down and then comes back to kick you in the head — it’s perfect.

Zwan is made up of musicians some people only dream of. With such a strong album having just come out, hopes for a future album will keep fans warm until the awaited summer tour.

-Marshall “No Diggity” Dury

While it was easy to recognize the first Java Jive act of the semester as two talented musicians, they also seemed to try too hard. The largest audience in recent months at the weekly coffeehouse series didn’t seem to mind much, as they warmly welcomed the acoustic music of Gregory Douglass and Jeremy Mendicino.

With a few exceptions, Douglass and Mendicino fronted an excellent set Tuesday night. Despite technical problems and some small lulls, the duo managed to impress on only the third night of their tour.

“We’re from Burlington, Vt., we’re the Indigo Guys,” Douglass joked before the set. The duo opened with a cover of Patti Griffin’s “Rain,” showcasing the extremely tight and powerful harmonies that would mark their performance for the rest of the evening.

While tuning, Douglass offered observations on his trip north.

“Do any of you have frostbite yet? It’s much colder here, but Maine has the nicest people. They talk to us at gas stations like we are family.”

The brand new songs “Hush” and the uptight “Have A Nice Day,” about the frustrations of retail, came next.

After the mellow “Never Mind Me,” Douglass put down his guitar and assumed a Michael Stipe-esque posture, gesturing to the microphone. Although he managed to impress with his powerful voice during tunes like “Hard” and “American City,” the songs tended to sound the same and run together. Some of the blame should be laid on the vocal mix on the monitors, which seemed to muffle the lyrics.

When Douglass returned with his six-string guitar, however, the set seemed to get a breath of fresh air. “Til Your Dead” was one of the best songs of the evening, with a tight and uplifting groove.

Throughout the evening Douglass handled delays with humor.

“We do every song in a different tuning, it takes about eight minutes between songs,” he said.

“We don’t like to do sing-alongs, on this one just breathe, only everyone in here is a good breather,” he said.

“Feel You Breathe” was an amazing and heartfelt song, which Douglass managed to convey with a wide range of emotions.

A hilarious “Radio Medley” came next.

“I wrote all these hit songs, I’ve won several Grammys,” Douglass said before launching into short renditions of radio hits such as “Im Gonna Be (500 Miles),” “You Oughtta Know,” “Linger,” “What’s Going On” and “Paradise City.” The extended set closed with the heavy and powerful “Valley.”

Despite some slow points, the set was great overall. Douglass utilized his emotional yet strong voice and the talents of Mendicino were evident in his guitar playing, despite three broken strings and constant tuning switches, sometimes on the fly.

Douglass released two CDs, both of which hit No. 1 in Vermont before his senior year of high school. Mendicino has been plucking notes for 13 years.

Douglass described his songwriting process as music first.

“I hear a refrain, then say the first words that come to my mind and see if it works,” Douglass said. “Words come last, I mean I put thought into them but what’s more important? The song has to grab you first.”

Douglass also mentioned his audience as “all over the map.” He said he writes songs to get to the “truth of the matter,” songs that are political, serious, emotional, or influence by observation of people. “I see how full of bullshit life can be,” he said, “and I’m amazed people survive.”

The duo’s latest album, “Teeter,” was recorded and produced entirely in Mendicino’s home studio. The disc contains lush and full arrangements of many of the songs featured in the show that would have been hard to recreate live.

Both expressed their appreciation for the close-knit music scene in Burlington, but also realized its restrictions and limitations.

“Burlington used to be great,” Mendicino said. “But I always have hope. Hope that something new comes along and sweeps us off our feet.”

This may seem like an absurd place to bring a date on V-day, but in 1996, on this fateful day of roses and romance, 1,420 people gathered at UMaine’s Alfond Arena to try and break the world record for the most couples kissing simultaneously. UMaine broke the standing record and held its title for four years. The record was even entered in the Guinness Book of World Records.

On Feb. 11, 2000, UMaine lost the title when the town of Sarnia, Ontario broke the record with a reported 1,588 couples kissing at once.

“This means we need nearly 1,600 couples to reclaim our record,” Sandra L. Caron, professor of family relations and human sexuality, said.

Caron, along with others, is helping to promote the event. Caron first came up with the idea for breaking the world record while on sabbatical in London during the fall of 1995. She acquired the necessary documentation from the Guinness office and began organizing the event with the help of students when she returned to UMaine.

“Anyone who is 16 or older can be officially counted,” Caron said. Those living both on and off campus are encouraged to participate.

The Field House doors open at 9 p.m., but the actual kissing won’t take place until 10 p.m. In order for a kiss to be counted, a couple must kiss on the lips for 10 seconds. While this may seem like a relatively long time to kiss in a public place, it allows for photographs and video footage.

To ensure the counting is accurate, there will be two people at each door. One person will have a hand-held clicker while the other person hands out numbered stickers.

“According to Guinness, we need to have three independent judges from off campus,” said Lauri Sidelko, assistant director for Campus Activities and Events. The event is part of this year’s Winter Carnival Week, which Sidelko coordinates.

The three judges include Ric Tyler of WLBZ 2, Mike Elliot from the radio station KISS 94.5 and an affiliate from the Bangor Daily News. Kiss 94.5 is the co-sponsor of the event and its announcer will count down to the big kiss.

The event will also give the Alpha Phi Sorority the chance to raise funds for the American Heart Association. Not only will participants be helping to break a world record, but they’ll also have the chance to help a good cause. There will be a booth, hosted by the sorority, where photos can be taken of couples for a fee.

According to Caron, the event’s sponsors have received a case of Dentyne Ice chewing gum, which the company donated for distribution prior to the kiss-off.

“The company is very interested in receiving photos and video of the event for possible use in advertising their product,” Caron said.

Both Caron and Sidelko feel strongly that UMaine will regain its once-held title.

“We have a lot of motivated people working to promote this event and I predict that we will recapture the record,” Sidelko aid.

UMaine will go into the weekend ranked No. 1 in the U.S. College Hockey Online Poll, but No. 2 in the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine Poll, sliding one spot after a win and a tie against the University of Massachusetts-Lowell last weekend. The team’s record is 20-2-4, 10-1-3 in Hockey East. UNH is ranked fifth in both polls, with a 17-5-3 overall record and an 11-3-1 Hockey East mark.

UMaine coach Tim Whitehead feels Saturday night’s first game at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester will be an exciting environment.

“It can’t hurt us,” Whitehead said. “We were really ready to go for our game in Portland, I’m sure they will be for this one. It’s exciting to play in a different arena, and it will be a lot of fun.”

The building seats 10,500 fans and the game is sold out.

If you don’t have a ticket though, you’re not out of luck. Saturday’s game will be broadcast by WABI-TV in Bangor, and Sunday’s game will be on Fox Sports Net New England as the Hockey East Game of the Week.

“I think it’s great, because it is rare for [Maine] road games to be on TV,” Whitehead said. “It’s great too because UNH/Maine games are always sold out, no matter what rink it’s played at. It’s a great opportunity to create more enthusiasm over the rivalry.”

The Black Bears have won the only confrontation between the two teams so far this season. UMaine took a 2-1 overtime win at Alfond Arena Nov. 22 on a Martin Kariya goal. These games are important because the two teams are part of a three-way tie atop Hockey East with Boston College going into the weekend. UMaine has one game-in-hand on UNH and two games-in-hand on BC.

UNH is coming off of a weekend split with Boston University. The Wildcats lost at BU 5-2 on Thursday but picked up a 3-0 win at the Whittemore Center in Durham on Saturday. Junior goalie Mike Ayers made 38 saves in the shutout.

Ayers is a major key to UNH’s success. He is 16-5-3 in 24 games played, with a 1.99 goals against average and a .932 save percentage.

Up front, UNH is loaded. Senior Lanny Gare has surprisingly been the leader this year. He is second in Hockey East in scoring with 14 goals and 23 assists for 37 points. The only man ahead of him is UMaine’s Kariya (13-27-40). UNH also has senior Colin Hemingway (13-16-29), breakout sophomore Prestin Callender (9-12-21) and the 2002 Hockey East Rookie of the Year Sean Collins (13-5-18).

“They have a great stable of forwards, so we’ll need to be sharp,” Whitehead said. “They have a lot of weapons. But we’ve seen them and played them tough each time. They play us tough as well. It should be a typical Maine/UNH weekend where each game goes down to the wire.”

The defense, already one of the best in Hockey East, got a major boost at the end of December when senior Garrett Stafford re-entered the lineup. Stafford missed the entire first half of the season because academic problems rendered him ineligible for the entire fall semester. He has played eight games and has five assists.

One interesting decision for Whitehead will be which goalie he goes with.

“Jimmy [Howard] had the better of the last two weekends, but I’m very confident that Frank [Doyle] will play well in his next game,” Whitehead said. “When you get down to the end of the season, you need to do what it takes to put yourself in position to win games, and that changes from week to week. We may do one thing one weekend and do the complete opposite the next. We don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves. We are going to focus on the first game and try to steal some points on the road.”

Howard has won his last two games, stopping 35 and 34 shots, respectively. Doyle has been in net for the two recent ties. He stopped 20 shots in a 5-5 tie at Merrimack and 30 last Saturday against UMass-Lowell in the 4-4 draw.

“It was truly a learning experience,” Howard said. “I only played in two games altogether, but that stuff happens.”

Howard was the starting goalie in the opening game of the tournament in Sydney against Russia, who eventually won the tournament. Howard surrendered four goals to the Russians by the 10-minute mark of the second period and was pulled by USA coach Lou Vairo for Bobby Goepfert, a freshman at Providence.

Team USA lost that game 5-1, and Goepfert started every game thereafter, until the bronze medal game in Halifax against Finland. Howard played the first period and surrendered two goals before giving way to Goepfert to start the second. USA lost that game 3-2.

“They made the right decision,” Howard said of Vairo’s choice to play Goepfert over him. “In a short tournament, you go with the guy who wins games.”

In the Russia game, Howard gave up three of the four goals to 17-year-old Alexander Ovechkin. Ovechkin is already being touted as the top draft pick in the 2004 NHL entry draft, when he is old enough to become eligible at age 19.

Howard says Ovechkin was the real deal.

“He has the best shot I’ve ever faced. He one-timed one out of the air on me, the next time he picked the corner over my shoulder. He has one of the best shots in the world. Certainly better than anything I’ve seen in college.”

Some goaltenders who had played as well as Howard before the tournament might have gotten down about bad play. Howard, though, used his struggles at the World Juniors as motivation to play better once he got back to UMaine.

“We always talk about mental toughness,” Howard said. “I wanted to show that I was mentally tough. I was excited to get back here and see the guys [and] the coaches and get to play in a game. I left [the experience] in Halifax, I wasn’t going to bring it back here. We’ve got the second half of the season in front of us and I don’t want to screw it up for us, I want to go as far as we can.”

“[The tournament] experience helped him,” UMaine coach Tim Whitehead said. “It’s helped him focus on what he needs to do to get better. He loves it here and we’re glad to have him. He just wants to play hockey and we’re going to give him that opportunity. He’s picked up right where he left off. He’s consistent in preparation, practices and games. We have tremendous confidence in him.”

Greg Moore also had his struggles at World Juniors, but thinks he also came away better for it.

“It wasn’t easy to get going up there,” Moore said. He had only one assist for the entire tournament, in an 8-2 win over Belarus in the preliminary round. He did play in all seven games for Team USA.

“It was a good experience. It was nice to see everyone again,” Moore said. Both Howard and Moore played with most of the players from the World Junior team in the U.S. National Team Development Program, a two-year intensive hockey training program in Ann Arbor, Mich.

“The level of coaching [at USNDP] is outstanding,” Moore said. “Hockey is your focus. You’re on the ice twice a day. You really become close to your teammates.”

Howard played with two players from the program on his line at World Juniors, with Brian McConnell of Boston University and Gino Guyer of Minnesota. Minnesota’s Barry Tallackson was also shifted in on that line.

Moore has had one multiple-goal game since the tournament, a two-goal showing at Merrimack Jan. 17.

“Greg is a great prospect,” Whitehead said. “He’s been a strong power forward for us from day one. We think he will be major player for us for years to come. World Juniors was a great experience for him.”