# days until Jutting is collecting unemnployment

[4four4]

Re: # days until Jutting is collecting unemnployment

Agreed. In my opinion, Hastings has a better chance to be a regular NCAA team in Mankato than in Omaha. This is a good move for both sides if he is committed. If he really is biding his time until Blais leaves then it is a bad move on both sides. Time will tell.

For all we know Mike Guentzel might be the number one pick for UNO?

[Bale]

Re: # days until Jutting is collecting unemnployment

I'm not saying its not true, but what was he supposed to say? "That place is a cluster**** of an abomination of hockey and I wouldn't wish that coaching job on a Kardashian!"?

By all accounts, I've been hearing that coaches/media around the league are saying the same thing off the record. They don't need to soften their words as much when off the record so I believe those a lot more than the lip service that so routinely gets paid.

[MavHockey14]

Re: # days until Jutting is collecting unemnployment

The biggest thing is going to be getting the grant for the new facilities downtown. that's where the program solidifies the potential to be a top nWCHA team.

[Bale]

Re: # days until Jutting is collecting unemnployment

The biggest thing is going to be getting the grant for the new facilities downtown. that's where the program solidifies the potential to be a top nWCHA team.

Maybe Uncle Glen would be willing to help out the hockey program.....

[Bale]

Re: # days until Jutting is collecting unemnployment

...and no, I don't actually think that will happen. It's worth dreaming about though.

[MavHockey14]

Maybe Uncle Glen would be willing to help out the hockey program.....

Does he know what the sport of hockey is?

[Bale]

Re: # days until Jutting is collecting unemnployment

Does he know what the sport of hockey is?

Likely not, but we can hope, right?

[SCSU Euro]

Re: # days until Jutting is collecting unemnployment

We do have more talent than Tech did when Mel came in as well, though.

I don't believe that to be true... Baker, Olson, Gordic, Seigo, Furne, its not like their cupboard was bare, plus he had some committed guys that were ready to come in, they had a good freshman class. I'm not trying to put down your guys young core, but its not like Tech was atrocious last year, they were hit even harder than you guys with injuries this past season.

I will concede that Mankato's getting better, but if you had to ask me which sitaution would you take when the new coach came in, I'd personally rather have Tech's forwards bc of some roles they play besides just scoring, but I could easily call it a wash or even be ok with someone saying Mankato had a slight edge. But I'd certainly rather have had Tech's blueline and one-two goalie rotation, and I have a hard timme thinking good arguments can be made for the opposite.

[It's Maverick Hockey Time]

Re: # days until Jutting is collecting unemnployment

Hastings is a good hire for Mankato. he should be able to make your program one of the best teams in the new WCHA year in and year out.

Finishing first in the new WCHA is kind of like finishing first in the Mid American conference in football. Impressive when compared to the teams in your own league, not that impressive when compared to the best teams in college hockey.

[The Rube]

Re: # days until Jutting is collecting unemnployment

Finishing first in the new WCHA is kind of like finishing first in the Mid American conference in football. Impressive when compared to the teams in your own league, not that impressive when compared to the best teams in college hockey.

*****http://stuffucanuse.com/more_images/arguing1.jpg******

[MavsFan]

Re: # days until Jutting is collecting unemnployment

Finishing first in the new WCHA is kind of like finishing first in the Mid American conference in football. Impressive when compared to the teams in your own league, not that impressive when compared to the best teams in college hockey.

How quickly Omaha fans have developed an unearned arrogance.

[kdilks]

Re: # days until Jutting is collecting unemnployment

Finishing first in the new WCHA is kind of like finishing first in the Mid American conference in football. Impressive when compared to the teams in your own league, not that impressive when compared to the best teams in college hockey.

Spoken by an expert on not being that impressive compared to the best teams in college hockey.

[The Rube]

Re: # days until Jutting is collecting unemnployment

How quickly Omaha fans have developed an unearned arrogance.

*****http://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/youtube-18.jpg******

[Red Cows]

Re: # days until Jutting is collecting unemnployment

Interesting thread, from the perspective here in Omaha.

A little history lesson for all as far as the Blais/Guentzel/Hastings UNO conjecture.

For those that don't already know this, both Guentzel and Hastings have long and storied histories with the Omaha Lancers.

From Guentzel's Gopher bio:

Prior to his first stint at Minnesota, Guentzel spent two seasons as head coach and general manager of the Omaha Lancers of the USHL from 1992-94. He led the Lancers to a combined 89-39-2 record, including a 23-11 mark in postseason playoff action. In his first season, Omaha won both the regular season and playoff championships.

The Lancers also won the title in his 2nd season as well. The Assistant Coach of the Lancers then? None other than Mike Hastings.

From Mike Hastings UNO bio (which is still up):

Prior to joining the Mavericks, Hastings spent one season as an assistant coach at the University of Minnesota. His return to Omaha marked the return to some of the most fertile hockey ground in his career. He spent 14 years as the coach of the Omaha Lancers where he became the winningest coach in the history of the United States Hockey League. He never had a losing season in Omaha, compiling a career record of 529-210-56. He led the Lancers to the USHL’s Clark Cup championship during his final season of 2007-08, one of three playoff championships during his time in Omaha.

Hastings won two junior hockey national championships with the Lancers prior to the current league tiering system. He was twice named the USHL’s Coach of the Year and as the team’s general manager, was named the league’s GM of the year five times. During his time with the Lancers, he developed 35 National Hockey League draft picks.

Hastings was inducted into the Omaha Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009.

These two guys walk on water in this town.

As an interesting sidebar to all of this, who do you suppose was Guentzel's predecessor with the Lancers? None other than Frank Serratore of Air Force, who authored up a one season turnaround from last place to a Clark Cup championship himself in 1990 with the Lancers. When Air Force came to play UNO in 1998 and in 1999, Coach Serratore got big ovations in pregame intros.

While Serratore, Guentzel and Hastings were winning all these titles, the Omaha Lancers became and are, by far, the most successful franchise in USHL history. The Omaha Lancers sold out 241 straight games during this time frame at the old Aksarben Coliseum, capacity 6,124!!! I am dead serious, you had to buy tickets from scalpers back then. They were almost impossible to get. That's better than all but 9 NCAA teams last season (including UNO). The Lancers hold every attendance record the league has.

I bring all this up because of all the Blais and "how long is he gonna be at UNO?" speculation I've seen here.

It was widely speculated that Coach Blais was going to retire here after coaching through the end of 2013-2014 season and Coach Hastings was openly referred to here as the "Head Coach in Waiting".

When UNO was in North Dakota earlier this season, Coach Blais publicly rebuked this out of the clear blue sky when asked about it there by the press and said that there wasn't any real timeline for his retirement and that he didn't know how long he'd stay here, just that this is his last stop.

My thinking is that this statement probably played a role in Hastings deciding to take the Mankato job, much like Will Muschamp got tired of waiting around for Mack Brown to step aside.

For whatever it's worth, Mankato Fan, Hastings was in charge of the power play and the defense at UNO, the team's two Achilles Heels this year. It'll be interesting to see how he does on his own at the NCAA level.

My bet is that Hastings probably thinks he can make Mankato a player in the "new" WCHA since I believe the competition level will be pretty watered down from the "old" WCHA. Plus, there's nothing like having "The Buck Stops Here" sign on your desk.

All this said, when Blais decides to leave, unless it is something like 10 years hence, IMHO, I think that Serratore, Guentzel, or Hastings are all guys that would be interested in the UNO job. Any of them would be wildly popular choices with the fanbase here because of their extensive, successful histories here. Guentzel, and Hastings, in particular, are household names.

These guys, from their own prior personal experiences here, know what kind of a hockey town this is (despite what a lot of, in particular, fans of this or that Minnesota school's posters in this Forum might think of UNO and their fans) and that it is something of a sleeping giant. We play in the 2nd largest building in the NCAA, we have a gigantic booster club, the largest in all of college hockey, play in a centrally located major metropolitan area, and, last season, was the 4th largest draw in all of college hockey and we have been in the top 10 in attendance every year since the program's inception.

Anybody who thinks the head coaching job at Air Force or Minnesota State Mankato, or, an assistant's job at Minnesota is a better gig than the head coaching job here isn't looking at the situation objectively. Why do you think Coach Blais came here in the first place? How did UNO get in the NCHC in the first place given our somewhat meager "historical" program legacy and why is the conference tournament for the new league probably going to be here?

Because of all the groundwork, good will, and hard work laid out and done here in Omaha in the past 20+ years by Messr's Serratore, Guentzel, Hastings, & Blais.

[SCSU Euro]

Re: # days until Jutting is collecting unemnployment

For the record, I've been one of those to take shots at UNO's fans, but I don't think that Omaha is a horrible hockey town. I'm saying that the UNO fans I met didn't understand quite a bit of the game; getting loud and going to games is awesome and they do that, but knowing the nuances and really being a part of hockey culture is a different thing. Hopefully they get there, and I've never been to a Lancers game, and for all I know those fans get that.