Merrimack Offseason: ya, so that was fun.........

[Yuppie Scum]

Re: Merrimack Offseason: ya, so that was fun.........

So does the '88 team take a backseat to the '77-'78 team which won a National Championship? They lost in the ECAC's up at Bowdoin, but since the NESCAC schools (at that time) couldn't compete for a National Championship, MC got to go and croaked Lake Forest (IL) in the final. IMHO, the '76-'77 ECAC DII championship over the Ned Harkness led Union Dutchmen with Steve Baker in net may have been the best!

Ottowa it is for SDC, will prob have to get ahold of his shirt.

[HungryHungryHuskies]

Re: Merrimack Offseason: ya, so that was fun.........

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puc...urn=nhl-wp1514


Edit: whoops, little late on the trigger.

[Kirk 18]

Re: Merrimack Offseason: ya, so that was fun.........

A great season for Merrimack, maybe the best ever? Any predictions on how the team might do next season? I see a lot of discussion about players, but is the core of the team still left and want about the question in net?

I was disheartned by their OT loss to Notre **** and that crappy OT goal that ended the season. After leading 3-1 what happened?

[Thiessen'sBetter]

Re: Merrimack Offseason: ya, so that was fun.........

Eager to see what Toomey does. Watched him a lot growing up in Billerica. Was never on the same team as he was always 2 years behind me, but saw him play quite a bit. Fast and crafty are the two words that come to mind. Honestly never expected him to end up at a Hockey East school, but he's obviously worked hard and continued to improve enough to impress Dennehy.

Did you ever play with/against Dennis Macauley?

[mainetwentytwelve]

Re: Merrimack Offseason: ya, so that was fun.........

didn't see this here yet...

uscho reporting that Da Costa officially signed a 2 year deal with Ottawa. Best of luck to him

http://www.uscho.com/2011/03/31/da-c...r-ottawa-deal/

[dmjossel]

Re: Merrimack Offseason: ya, so that was fun.........

So does the '88 team take a backseat to the '77-'78 team which won a National Championship? They lost in the ECAC's up at Bowdoin, but since the NESCAC schools (at that time) couldn't compete for a National Championship, MC got to go and croaked Lake Forest (IL) in the final. IMHO, the '76-'77 ECAC DII championship over the Ned Harkness led Union Dutchmen with Steve Baker in net may have been the best!

I'm unable to make a direct comparison because I was too young during that season. It's hard to make comparisons between decades, and the difference between Division II, Division II/Division I Independent and Division I Hockey East only complicates things.

I think for me what nudges the '88 team to the forward is that they were straddling the gap between Division I and II at the time. They didn't have a full Division I schedule, but I think they would have done well if they had. The only league championship they were allowed to compete for, they won. They only won one round in the NCAAs-- compared to the '78 championship-- but it was the Division I tourney they were playing in, and in it, they beat the Hockey East and Beanpot champ to advance to the next round, and won the first game in the next round, against the eventual champion, at home, in what I think was their first and only home loss that year. It's hard to understate what was accomplished that season.

Yes, the '78 team won everything they could have one at the level they were competing at. The '88 team also won everything they could at that level (I'm not sure if there was a Division II national tourney that year, but even if there was, I think they could not possibly have been eligible for that tournament AND the Division I NCAA tourney) AND went further than I think just about anyone could have reasonably expected in the big dance. That's still as far as any Merrimack team has gotten in that tournament; that's two game wins and one series win, and since that time, the mark in the books is still zero NCAA tourney wins.

So this season had an awful lot of firsts, especially if you look only at the Hockey East era. All-time, though, I'd say the program still has steps to take in terms of being consistently good, and in terms of postseason achievements. I might very well take Da Costa as a player to build around over Vesey, and I'll admit that this year's team is definitely the best and deepest since '88... but if I were to pit the '88 team against this year's team, both at their peaks... I'm not sure this year's squad would win that, and my doubt there starts in net. Purely an armchair exercise, of course.

[dmjossel]

Re: Merrimack Offseason: ya, so that was fun.........

Vesey wasnt a 21 year old freshman either......

Neither was Da Costa. He was born in November 1989 and started playing for Merrimack in October of 2009, meaning he was just barely still 19 at the start of that season, but was 20, not 21, during the bulk of his freshman season.

Vesey, born in September of '65, was 19 when he started his first season for Merrimack in 1984. So we're talking of a difference of a tiny bit less than one year, not two.

If anything, I'd think Da Costa's one year in the NAHL and two in the USHL were a bigger factor; that's about 150 more games worth of experience than Vesey would have had coming right out of high school. Merrimack has, does, and needs to go after older players. The kinds of circumstances that bring a guy like Cannata straight to Merrimack out of high school or even prep school don't happen often enough for the school to depend on.

It's really hard to make these comparisons. If you're talking about timelessness and character, about what sort of player you'd want at the core of any team-- not necessarily to play in any particular season, or in any particular league, then I can see Vesey being the choice.

On the other hand, if you're talking about Merrimack's team, in Hockey East, here and now, then I think Da Costa is the player you want if you're forced to choose. His extra experience is a bonus here, not a minus; there's no point in inventing some kind of imaginary and arbitrary meritocracy where we take points away from Vesey for playing in D2, add them for him being younger.

[dmjossel]

Re: Merrimack Offseason: ya, so that was fun.........

didn't see this here yet...

uscho reporting that Da Costa officially signed a 2 year deal with Ottawa. Best of luck to him

http://www.uscho.com/2011/03/31/da-c...r-ottawa-deal/

Also: classy use by USCHO of the word "flees" to refer to Da Costa's signing, where Hayes only "signs" a deal leaving BC early, and Donovan "inks" a deal leaving Denver early.

[Salvo1017]

Re: Merrimack Offseason: ya, so that was fun.........

Also: classy use by USCHO of the word "flees" to refer to Da Costa's signing, where Hayes only "signs" a deal leaving BC early, and Donovan "inks" a deal leaving Denver early.

News and coverage wise...this site sucks plain and simple. The Hockey East writers or at least one of them is a complete bozo...only class act working for them IMO is Melissa Wade on the photos.

I get all my news from CollegeHockeyNews.

[Federal League]

Re: Merrimack Offseason: ya, so that was fun.........

Did you ever play with/against Dennis Macauley?

No, he was too far ahead of me in years. I was in 8th grade when he was a senior in high school. Watched a lot of his games, though, and watched him quite a bit at NU, too. Was nice to see him wear the C for the Huskies. Also nice to see him represent Billerica well by being such a great agitator. His twin brother Ryan was a great goalie in high school, too.

[Hokydad]

Re: Merrimack Offseason: ya, so that was fun.........

Neither was Da Costa. He was born in November 1989 and started playing for Merrimack in October of 2009, meaning he was just barely still 19 at the start of that season, but was 20, not 21, during the bulk of his freshman season.

Vesey, born in September of '65, was 19 when he started his first season for Merrimack in 1984. So we're talking of a difference of a tiny bit less than one year, not two.

If anything, I'd think Da Costa's one year in the NAHL and two in the USHL were a bigger factor; that's about 150 more games worth of experience than Vesey would have had coming right out of high school. Merrimack has, does, and needs to go after older players. The kinds of circumstances that bring a guy like Cannata straight to Merrimack out of high school or even prep school don't happen often enough for the school to depend on.

It's really hard to make these comparisons. If you're talking about timelessness and character, about what sort of player you'd want at the core of any team-- not necessarily to play in any particular season, or in any particular league, then I can see Vesey being the choice.

On the other hand, if you're talking about Merrimack's team, in Hockey East, here and now, then I think Da Costa is the player you want if you're forced to choose. His extra experience is a bonus here, not a minus; there's no point in inventing some kind of imaginary and arbitrary meritocracy where we take points away from Vesey for playing in D2, add them for him being younger.

two best players in programs history is probably a good way to leave it. Vesey was better though.... Kidding. Vesey came out of hs, SD came out of 3 years of USHL/NAHL

[RENCEB]

Re: Merrimack Offseason: ya, so that was fun.........

Hokydad, you'll enjoy this read, especially the quote from Jack Parker:

http://www.hockeydraftcentral.com/1984/84155.html

Geez, I wonder which Charlestown kids he had trouble with? Fidler and Fidler, O'Callahagn, Ensign O'Neill, Billy Cotter? All seem to have done pretty well at BU (and he has yet another Townie recruit in Collier from MC)

[bigeasy29]

Re: Merrimack Offseason: ya, so that was fun.........

DaCosta to start tonight for Ottawa he is going to Shannon line.

[boblav1]

Re: Merrimack Offseason: ya, so that was fun.........

DaCosta to start tonight for Ottawa he is going to Shannon line.

Comcast is allowing a free sample of the NHL Center Ice and MLB packages this weekend in the southern NH. So the folks with Comcast should be able to see that game tonight.

[WildShawn]

Re: Merrimack Offseason: ya, so that was fun.........

Comcast is allowing a free sample of the NHL Center Ice and MLB packages this weekend in the southern NH. So the folks with Comcast should be able to see that game tonight.

ch 631 here in southern NH. Da Costa is skating with Bobby Butler, and looks really fast, great hands. He's with a good team to stick in the NHL, thats for sure.