ORONO, Maine -- Hundreds of University of Maine students who cheered themselves hoarse stood in stunned silence as the Minnesota Gophers beat the Black Bears 4-3 in overtime Saturday night.

Moments later they rebounded with the chant, "Shawn Walsh! Shawn Walsh! Shawn Walsh! Shawn Walsh!"

	Maine fans watching in Orono were disappointed with the final result, but not with the Black Bears' effort.

Maine fans were disappointed that their team didn't win the NCAA hockey championship for their beloved coach, who died from cancer the day before practice was to begin last September.

"Tonight was supposed to be Shawn Walsh's night. It was his time to be recognized," said Rory Boland, a junior English major from Dublin, Ireland.

More than 500 fans, many with their faces painted, blue and white beads around their necks and some even wearing blue wigs, gathered in the student union to watch the game 1,600 miles away from the action.

The Black Bears came from behind and appeared to have the game won before Minnesota tied it with less a minute to go in regulation.

Fans game the team an "A" for effort.

"I don't think we lost because we didn't play hard. Coach Walsh would have been happy with the effort," said Colin Seddon, a junior wildlife ecology major from Smyrna, N.Y.

While Maine wanted to win the championship for Walsh, Minnesota got sweet revenge for Maine knocking them out of last year's NCAA tournament with a 5-4 overtime win in the first round. It was the first time since 1979 that Minnesota won the national championship.

"It was a great game. It was a great season. I just wish it ended differently," said Mike Major, another Maine junior studying wildlife ecology, from Rotterdam, N.Y.

Afterward, about 800 students poured outside from the student union and dormitories for a bonfire.

University officials set up the event to avoid a repeat of the rowdiness after Maine's 1999 championship, in which an impromptu bonfire was fueled with park benches, door frames and even a snowmobile.

This time, there was no significant incidents as the bonfire burned down and a band played, said Noel March, campus police chief.

Beyond the realm of sports, the game carried political ramifications.

The nation's two independent governors, Angus King of Maine and Jesse Ventura of Minnesota, issued a challenge on Ventura's weekly radio show. The loser had to wear the opposing team's jersey at the capitol.

Also, U.S. Reps. John Baldacci of Maine and Martin Sabo of Minnesota had a wager on the game's outcome.

Baldacci has to provide a Maine lobster dinner because the Black Bears lost. If Minnesota had lost, Sabo would have provided Norwegian specialties like salmon, lutefisk and lefse.