New Hampshire vs. Maine: Feb 4/5

[MEpucknut]

Re: New Hampshire vs. Maine: Feb 4/5

First, Whitehead is a bad coach. I'm not a Maine fan but if I was I'd be on the Fire Whitehead bandwagon too. He's had plenty of talent over the years but doesn't know what to do with it. They usually have good defense team but are boring and unproductive offensively. He gives them nothing to work with offensively. The strategy -- cross the blue line and take a slap shot, hope for a rebound. The championship game in Boston is a perfect example of how inept his offensive coaching is. They have a two man advantage in the last minutes of the game and can't score.

I watched both games this weekend and saw a sloppy team that showed weak fundamentals in passing, skating, carrying the puck, shooting. That's on the coach. The talent is there but the discipline is not. Defense was terrible Friday night giving UNH three or four wide open goals. The goalie was weak but he didn't have much help on most of those goals.

Maine played better tonight but there were still lots of missed passes, unforced turnovers, and sloppy play. They at least scored some even handed goals tonight. The fourth was even a well executed breakaway. But how many shots were from way out beyond the faceoff circle?

Second, Maine CAN'T beat any team on any given night. Look at the record. They had two wins against North Dakota in October and beat BC at home. That's it for quality wins. 1 point from BU, 2 points from BC, 0 points from UNH, 0 points from Merrimack so far with two games to play. The rest of Hockey East is bad. There's no parity this year.

Maine has got progressively worse since Whitehead took over. Good coaches take what they have and make them better. BC, BU seem to always improve as the year goes on. UNH has a well disciplined team that score goals. Those three teams are consistent year after year because of the coaches. If a team isn't producing, it's up to the coach to make it happen. The buck stops there.

Well said!

[gdawg]

Re: New Hampshire vs. Maine: Feb 4/5

I hate my user name

But you liked it a lot yesterday. And probably today until the final minutes of the game tonight.

[MEFANinLA]

Re: New Hampshire vs. Maine: Feb 4/5

Right. This was never posted in the Maine thread before Maine beat Boston College.



It's a figment of my imagination. And the moron who posted that didn't respond by saying that he does indeed want Maine to lose every game. Glad to know that never happened.

Priceless, I was too lazy to look back thru the threads about the lose every game comment, I do support the team/program but absolutely refuse to support you mancrush timmay groundhog, with all your hockey sense/knowledge you should be able to see pretty clearily he sucks as a coach and should resign. Tongith was another classic example of giving up late goals, not holding leads, crappy pokecheck D, the same issues Maine has prretty much every weekend on the road. I am sur eit has nothing to do with timmay's system, style of play, lack of coaching etc......anyway I am willing to put my money where my mouth is.. I'll put up $10k to start the buyout fund of Timmay groundhog!!!

[WildShawn]

Re: New Hampshire vs. Maine: Feb 4/5

Didn't take long for a good clip of the final sequence to get up on Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1Z9UspUHqg

[John_Fuller]

Re: New Hampshire vs. Maine: Feb 4/5

Maine's goaltending situation is a mess. That was pathetic.

Not much better here in Lowell....had to make sure that there wasn't any pigment red in the uniforms because it sure looks like a way UML would lose a game.

Man, I wonder what Nyquist did on the bus ride home. He's probaby going to be seeing that one in his dreams all week.

[walrus]

Re: New Hampshire vs. Maine: Feb 4/5

Congrats to UNH, see ya next year unless Maine drops to 7 or 8th, which after this weekend wouldn't surprise me

[Ma#1ne Hky]

Re: New Hampshire vs. Maine: Feb 4/5

First, Whitehead is a bad coach. I'm not a Maine fan but if I was I'd be on the Fire Whitehead bandwagon too. He's had plenty of talent over the years but doesn't know what to do with it. They usually have good defense team but are boring and unproductive offensively. He gives them nothing to work with offensively. The strategy -- cross the blue line and take a slap shot, hope for a rebound. The championship game in Boston is a perfect example of how inept his offensive coaching is. They have a two man advantage in the last minutes of the game and can't score.

I watched both games this weekend and saw a sloppy team that showed weak fundamentals in passing, skating, carrying the puck, shooting. That's on the coach. The talent is there but the discipline is not. Defense was terrible Friday night giving UNH three or four wide open goals. The goalie was weak but he didn't have much help on most of those goals.

Maine played better tonight but there were still lots of missed passes, unforced turnovers, and sloppy play. They at least scored some even handed goals tonight. The fourth was even a well executed breakaway. But how many shots were from way out beyond the faceoff circle?

Second, Maine CAN'T beat any team on any given night. Look at the record. They had two wins against North Dakota in October and beat BC at home. That's it for quality wins. 1 point from BU, 2 points from BC, 0 points from UNH, 0 points from Merrimack so far with two games to play. The rest of Hockey East is bad. There's no parity this year.

Maine has got progressively worse since Whitehead took over. Good coaches take what they have and make them better. BC, BU seem to always improve as the year goes on. UNH has a well disciplined team that score goals. Those three teams are consistent year after year because of the coaches. If a team isn't producing, it's up to the coach to make it happen. The buck stops there.

You are Correct and you hit the nail on everything...the worst part about all of this is...once Maine continues this slide be it 2,3,4 years then you can kiss the Day's of Top Notch Maine Teams away...GONE....and NEVER to be seen again..ONLY talked about..."Remember those Maine teams............................."

[Ma#1ne Hky]

Re: New Hampshire vs. Maine: Feb 4/5

I agree. DiGi made some huge saves all night and should have been one of the stars. I guess with a six goal night, offensive players get the nod.

He was top notch both nights...he made the difference...key saves...even giving up 3 & 4 goals...you could count on him to keep you in the game...just like he did in Orono when UNH was trailing 3-1 and won in O.T. Big time Saves at the Clutch Time...and you can't say that about Maine's goaltending.

[zoofer]

Re: New Hampshire vs. Maine: Feb 4/5

I just read back the last 3 pages of this thread to catch up with what everyone thought after the 2 weekend games....I truly am sorry that the Maine fans are so lost....I know that no one is blaming the athletes, but the only thing I saw differing between the 2 teams was strength in the four lines for UNH vs. 2 for Maine....can any of us imagine how tired Nyquist was when he was skating to the open net? It seemed that he, Abbott and Flynn were out there for the whole 3rd period.....Maine pushed UNH to be the team that they can be...always moving their skates, smart board play, and continual forcing the play to the net, (UNH that is)....Thompson scored a goal that many UNH fans saw Ralph Cox score back in the 70's.. you don't have 4 5-goal games with out the concept of putting the puck on net and see what happens...the non-goal of Nyquist hitting the post makeme want to believe that maybe this year UNH will get the bounces that you need to win a NC (ask BU about getting the bounces 2 years ago)...a great weekend of college hockey!

[lkenney]

Re: New Hampshire vs. Maine: Feb 4/5

the non-goal of Nyquist hitting the post makeme want to believe that maybe this year UNH will get the bounces that you need to win a NC (ask BU about getting the bounces 2 years ago)...a great weekend of college hockey!

I was thinking the same thing. Unless they run out before the tournament.

[thecomicbookguy]

Re: New Hampshire vs. Maine: Feb 4/5

Back to timmays world....I have mastered how to look like a deer in the headlights, play non check womens hockey and lose like nobody's business....awesome!!! mission accomplished!!!

I'm not going to get into the whole Timmay argument that has dominated this thread, but I will agree that Maine doesn't seem to hit. Could be a figment of my imagination, but I think UNH threw the body around more than Maine this weekend, and that is rare.

Sirman or Martin tonight? Or just have Seeley drive down to Durham and see what he can do because I don't think it matters tonight.

Seeley dressed both nights, so it wouldn't have been that hard for him to play. Ouelette looked terrible Friday night. I'm surprised Whitehead didn't pull him after the first.

I really enjoyed the game last night with a rare opportunity to sit in the Pres's skybox suite. Student energy below was the best that I have heard in a long time. Matt and Darci (I think) were excellent with cowbell duet, not an easy thing to do.

Fun nights in the Gen. Admission sections, and yes, Darci was on the other cowbell (there were actually FIVE going at times during the games).

unreal. I can not believe Nyquist hit the post on the open net

He missed two in the game. Had Digi flat on the ice with 3/4 of the net to shoot at in the 2nd (short-handed, no less), and missed completely. He might have nightmares of this game later in the season.

Although, watching the replay this morning, when he goes to poke the puck away, Digi actually gets a piece of Nyquist's skate. Not much, but enough to get him off balance, which I think caused him to shoot off-target. We all thought it was in on the far end, and I spoke to someone near that net who said he saw it hit the post and bounce away, but the idea that he'd missed just didn't register. Crazy.

Congrats to UNH, see ya next year unless Maine drops to 7 or 8th, which after this weekend wouldn't surprise me

Ugh. One team I don't want to see in the 1/4's is Maine. For various reasons.

I was thinking the same thing. Unless they run out before the tournament.

And then we'll hear the BC fans: "You used up all your puck-luck too early!"

[UNHhockey29]

Re: New Hampshire vs. Maine: Feb 4/5

fun nights in the gen. Admission sections, and yes, darci was on the other cowbell (there were actually five going at times during the games).

bellmageddon!!!!!!

[Lake Whitt]

Re: New Hampshire vs. Maine: Feb 4/5

Student energy below was the best that I have heard in a long time.

I thought that the noise was both louder and more frequent Friday night without the Thunderstix than it was Saturday with. Hopefully it is not just a one off and is something that the students can keep going to the close of the season, I've always felt that the game time atmosphere can help raise the level of play on the ice.

[thecomicbookguy]

Re: New Hampshire vs. Maine: Feb 4/5

I thought that the noise was both louder and more frequent Friday night without the Thunderstix than it was Saturday with. Hopefully it is not just a one off and is something that the students can keep going to the close of the season, I've always felt that the game time atmosphere can help raise the level of play on the ice.

A) Thunderstix are terrible. People clap them and cheer less.
B) I kinda feel like the crowd was less energetic, perhaps tired (or hungover) from Friday night.

[Malts18]

Re: New Hampshire vs. Maine: Feb 4/5

Just got back to Detroit after an amazing weekend in NH... thanks to Darci, Matt, and the rest of the Hosers for making my group always feel so welcome when we come back for our annual hockey weekend. We could not have asked for two better games!! You guys rock!!!! Thanks so much and can't wait for next year (in the reserved seats... it will surely be different!)!!!!!!!!!!! Special thanks to Darci --- from getting the tix to securing the doors to saving our spots in Row 2 -- you just always take care of us!!!

PHENOMENAL WEEKEND and the Cats did their part, too!!!