UNH Wildcats - '10 Playoff Edition

[Jacques "Rabbit" Poriveau]

Re: UNH Wildcats - '10 Playoff Edition

JP.. Wanting it 'more' is different than "quiting". Tough to say they 'quit' when they gave up 1 goal. It happens. And it sucks any time of yr!

patayto patahto mon ami, in da playoff on you own ice against de nomber 8 seed et dey clearly wanted it more - you call it whatever it is dat make you feel better but what it is is lack of mental tuffness et desire, aka bizness of usual pour UNHs in de poste saison.

[WildShawn]

Re: UNH Wildcats - '10 Playoff Edition

yeah i understand that but maybe that's a good reason to have some if not a lot of your players who are not quite ready for prime time so they'll stick around for four years. don't get me wrong it's nice to have the JVR's of the world suit up for the old town team but it's hard to replace the experience of seniors. look at anctil for uvm. doesn't get much ice time, probably was passed on by the unh brain trust but yet manages to get the ot goal sending his team to the garden. i'll take team kids over glory hounds any day of the week though.

Yeah, I'd MUCH rather have a Jay Anctil (scored what, 2 of his 4 career goals this weekend) over a player like JVR.... (no disrespect intended for the hometown kid)

[5IslandsWildcat]

Re: UNH Wildcats - '10 Playoff Edition

UNH will make it if the numbers bear it out. If they miss, and anyone thinks that's unfair, that's too bad. UNH won ONE game out of conference (not counting Friday's game, which is technically OOC). Now, granted, 3 of their 5 OOC losses were to 2 of the top 3 teams in the PWR (a 4th loss was to a team tied for 8th). They needed just one goal either Saturday or Sunday to control their fate, and they fell short. It's tough, but they made their own bed.
Teams that win their tourneys definitely deserve a berth, regardless of their regular season (though, I will add that I think all conferences with more than a handful of teams should eliminate teams from the playoffs, like HEA does).

As login name indicates, am a UNH fan -- season tickets, travel long distance, need to get a life, the whole bit. And agree with post above because the 'cats blew it the last four weekends of the regular season, and thru the quarters. Reasons? Who is to blame? Who knows?
If they make the NCAA, will root for them, and any victories will be a pleasant and big surprise. Will I renew next year? Probably! Why? Who knows?

[Aerman]

Re: UNH Wildcats - '10 Playoff Edition

There are two in this youtube video. Both Gibbons and I think Ben Smith batted them right out of the air. Certainly takes some skill.

IIRC, BC beats Michigan in the 2004 Manchester regional with a puck batted out of the air. Perhaps Watcher is onto something with that whole "skill" argument.

[Greg Ambrose]

Re: UNH Wildcats - '10 Playoff Edition

Really late to this wake, but for me it is the same old, same old. I like the passion of some of the posters, but the reality is that we are just not that good. Middle of the season, against Providence, Northeastern, Merrimack, Lowell, whoever, we are tremendous on our own ice. We transition the hell out of the play, create a lot of odd man rushes which end in some beautiful goals. But in crunch time, in the playoffs, the opponent is going to take away those opportunities. You have to be able to grind it out, get the dirty goals, and prevent the opponents from getting theirs. UNH hasn't done that since 2003, bottom line. Our forwards, by and large, are too small, when times get desperate they resort to individual plays (see Sislo, DeSimone, and especially LeBlanc), and they don't make the right plays breaking out of their own zone. Defensively, I thought Kessel would improve as a puck carrier. But he fails to recognize the choices of when to pass and when to carry. The others, forget about it. The puck is a hot potato. They really missed Kostolansky in this regard. The only guy on the team, except Butler (who showed his grit, his determination all year), who deserves kudos is Foster. He'll never get his due as a great UNH goaltender, but he is so underrated ( kind of like Pietrasiak, who gave up one goal in the first five minutes against Michigan State, then watched his team, including the "great" Daniel Winnik, flame out for the next 55) I'd like to think that true students of the game will give him props when the season comes to its obvious end.

Whether we make the NCAA's or not, it really doesn't matter. The program has fallen mightily since the heady days of 1997 (14 game winning streak) to 2003 (fourth FF appearance in 6 years, and a NCAA championship game to boot). Some say the answer is firing Umile, or bringing back Coach Mac. Neither is going to happen. Time to focus on the types of players we are bringing in, why they are recruited, and are they successful or not. If they don't measure up, and we still are committed to having a national presence, it is, indeed, time for a change.

One last thing, Wyer has been accelerated for next year, at least according to one source from Reading.

[zoofer]

Re: UNH Wildcats - '10 Playoff Edition

Like any stew, many ingredients go into making a tasty dish, but what if you can't get the needed ingredients? Maybe it's not Umlie, Borek , nor McCloskey but the Admissions guy that took over about 6 years ago.....what if he doesn't allow anybody in who really wants to play at UNH because of his grades?
What chance then does Umile or McCloskey have to compete with the other D-1 programs? This is not a hypathetical issue......unfortunately only to real...and COSTLY!

[e.cat]

Re: UNH Wildcats - '10 Playoff Edition

Yeah, I'd MUCH rather have a Jay Anctil (scored what, 2 of his 4 career goals this weekend) over a player like JVR.... (no disrespect intended for the hometown kid)

you're missing my point wild. the point is unh is not going to win jack unless they can manage to get a core group of seniors to lead them to victory. plain and simple. players coming in and leaving after two years is not going to cut it unless they are on a team with a strong senior class. btw, unh didn't win anything with jvr on the team did they?

Like any stew, many ingredients go into making a tasty dish, but what if you can't get the needed ingredients? Maybe it's not Umlie, Borek , nor McCloskey but the Admissions guy that took over about 6 years ago.....what if he doesn't allow anybody in who really wants to play at UNH because of his grades?
What chance then does Umile or McCloskey have to compete with the other D-1 programs? This is not a hypathetical issue......unfortunately only to real...and COSTLY!

my wife spoke with my daughter's guidance counselor and he said unh is very selective right now and has been for some time.

[WildShawn]

Re: UNH Wildcats - '10 Playoff Edition

you're missing my point wild. the point is unh is not going to win jack unless they can manage to get a core group of seniors to lead them to victory. plain and simple. players coming in and leaving after two years is not going to cut it unless they are on a team with a strong senior class. btw, unh didn't win anything with jvr on the team did they?

Obviously I was being a bit hyperbolic. You have to have superstar type players mixed in there to make it to the highest levels. Find me a team that has won it all without them.

JVR won a hockey east regular season championship and last year came within a flukey bounce of making the Frozen Four (an extremely winable one)

To counter your point, check out UML. For some reason, they've been bent on having a cycle, whether intentional or not, of a HUGE senior class every 4 years (2005-06 and this season) with HUGE expectations, and they've fallen flat on their faces each time...

there are no guarantees, nothing is as cut and dry as finding a group of kids that will all stay for 4 years, you have to mix in talent to win on the highest levels. There is certainly something to be said for a good sized senior class, but you need high-end talent to win on the biggest stages, now more than ever...

[C-H-C]

Re: UNH Wildcats - '10 Playoff Edition

Like any stew, many ingredients go into making a tasty dish, but what if you can't get the needed ingredients? Maybe it's not Umlie, Borek , nor McCloskey but the Admissions guy that took over about 6 years ago.....what if he doesn't allow anybody in who really wants to play at UNH because of his grades?
What chance then does Umile or McCloskey have to compete with the other D-1 programs? This is not a hypathetical issue......unfortunately only to real...and COSTLY!

There are only an handful of teenagers with both extraordinary hockey skills and academic intelligence - and most of them get recruited to Harvard by Patrick Foley. I love my alma mater but Durham NH is not Hanover NH so the UNH admissions guys/gals should give it a rest.

[joegrav]

Re: UNH Wildcats - '10 Playoff Edition

The following schools in Hockey East are more selective than UNH:

Boston College
Boston University
Providence College
Northeastern University
UMass-Lowell
Merrimack College
Vermont


(not saying any of those schools are "better" or "worse" than UNH, I'm just talking about pure selectivity.)

Although I suppose not being able to recruit those academic stretches that UMass-Amherst and Maine are getting is really hurting you.

[Slasher7]

Re: UNH Wildcats - '10 Playoff Edition

The following schools in Hockey East are more selective than UNH:

Boston College
Boston University
Providence College
Northeastern University
UMass-Lowell
Merrimack College
Vermont


(not saying any of those schools are "better" or "worse" than UNH, I'm just talking about pure selectivity.)

Although I suppose not being able to recruit those academic stretches that UMass-Amherst and Maine are getting is really hurting you.

Im sure the economy is forcing in-state kids to look at UNH much more than in the past. UNH is a good school, but if they get several thousand applications from in state students who, in other years, would look elsewhere, you can see how their selectivity will increase. No shame in that.

[joegrav]

Re: UNH Wildcats - '10 Playoff Edition

This is a good point - you're right.

My question is, would this really impact admissions policy for hockey players?

I somehow doubt it. I would think that would be an administrative decision mostly independent from other admissions factors.

While it's possible that UNH has decided to be choosier than they were in the past with hockey players, I doubt it's anything that's hampering their ability to compete, given that a lot of their competition is fairly selective as well.

[C-H-C]

Re: UNH Wildcats - '10 Playoff Edition

Really late to this wake, but for me it is the same old, same old. I like the passion of some of the posters, but the reality is that we are just not that good.

"I'm still not sure how we did it; to keep that team off the scoreboard for how many periods? Seven?" UVM coach Kevin Sneddon said. "(That) is a testament to our defense because they are as good a team as we've played all year."

Ya, I know Sneddon is part of the Coachs' Fraternity and they always praise each other for the sake of good public relations, BUT, do you really think Sneddon (whose team beat Denver, Yale and Minnesota-Duluth) was bull-sh*tting us?

[e.cat]

Re: UNH Wildcats - '10 Playoff Edition

The following schools in Hockey East are more selective than UNH:

Boston College
Boston University
Providence College
Northeastern University
UMass-Lowell
Merrimack College
Vermont


(not saying any of those schools are "better" or "worse" than UNH, I'm just talking about pure selectivity.)

Although I suppose not being able to recruit those academic stretches that UMass-Amherst and Maine are getting is really hurting you.

not even close. bu, bc and maybe providence but the others no.

[C-H-C]

Re: UNH Wildcats - '10 Playoff Edition

Really late to this wake, but for me it is the same old, same old. I like the passion of some of the posters, but the reality is that we are just not that good. Middle of the season, against Providence, Northeastern, Merrimack, Lowell, whoever, we are tremendous on our own ice. We transition the hell out of the play, create a lot of odd man rushes which end in some beautiful goals. But in crunch time, in the playoffs, the opponent is going to take away those opportunities. You have to be able to grind it out, get the dirty goals, and prevent the opponents from getting theirs. UNH hasn't done that since 2003, bottom line.

Ya, in the "middle of the season" UNH beat other crappy teams like BU at Agganis and UMass when they were nationally ranked. And Friday night they only managed 7 "dirty" goals against UVM. Isn't it possible that UVM played extraordinarily well on Saturday and Sunday and UNH beat the UVM defense and Madore a few times on Sunday but the puck eluded the net?

Our forwards, by and large, are too small, when times get desperate they resort to individual plays (see Sislo, DeSimone, and especially LeBlanc), and they don't make the right plays breaking out of their own zone. Defensively, I thought Kessel would improve as a puck carrier. But he fails to recognize the choices of when to pass and when to carry.

Sislo is small? Small forwards don't do well in Hockey East (e.g., the Whitney brothers from BC; Vock and Roloff from UVM; etc.)?

Each top Hockey East team has a few really talented players who can make plays on their own (e.g., Irwin, Krieder, Nyquist, etc.). They may not rise to your standards but DeSimone, Sislo, and LeBlanc all made a number of nifty, individual plays against UVM this weekend. And, don't forget that other "small" UNH forward, Butler, who desperately resorted to individual plays all season long. How did that work out for him and the team?

Are you referring to the Blake Kessel who had 9 goals and 26 assists as a sophomore defenseman?