Merrimack Hockey 2013-14: Get excited, get frozen

[mack87]

Re: mack attack wheres the offense gonna come from

hockey east more competitive than ever .. BC, BU, UNH, ND, will always have the elite talent rest of the league very tight, lowell, prov, been a nice surprise, maine, vermont, umass, mack battling in the lower half of the league these days..dennehy has done fantastic job, rebuilt this thing from scratch, changed the entire culture at merrimack. the last two years team has really struggled to score goals, next year may be worse unless kids start to develop, which some upper class kids may do... .the defense, goaltending should be ok, thats the teams strenght at the moment..creativity is an issue too, have alot same type bigger stonger type kids that are tough to play agaisnt, smart strong kids but really no true playmaker, or scorer on the roster..myers ,hussar, toomey scored alot in juniors but, seemed to be in the doghouse this year, for whatever reason. i think these two can contribute next year, if they stay in the lineup, work hard, compete in all zones, both these kids are pretty fast, and can contribute..dennehy knows excatly whats got to be fixed, and help is on the way..plevy is a true playmaker type kid who really sees the ice well, and should help out next year,but big change from bchl, to college hockey, size, pace wise, so hes got to adjust to that which some cases take a year or two. as a frosh he may have the best hockey iq on the roster,, so i think he will do well..tibbet,mccarren, henning, have some skill to, hopefully push for playing time.the defenseman on the way all are very good, thats gonna be the teams strength. dennehy wants another culture change, he got alot new kids on the way the next 2 years, going to be alot battles for ice time, and some pretty good players watching alot of nights..even with offensive struggles this team will be in every game, lost 8 one goal games this year, with some new blood, some lucky bounces i think they win more games next year, and in 2 more years even more

[walrus]

Re: Merrimack Hockey 2013-14: Get excited, get frozen

Your goaltender was excellent, maine could have scored 5 or 6 tonight

[The Zlax45]

Re: Merrimack Hockey 2013-14: Get excited, get frozen

Dude. Your season thread has a grand total of 34 posts. Your barn is worse than most high school rinks and you've been a perennial basement dweller in Hockey East. And you're disappointed. Umm not sure why you're program hasn't dropped to Div III.

Higher chance that Merrimack goes D-1 in all sports than them dropping to D-3!

[ck1969]

Re: Merrimack Hockey 2013-14: Get excited, get frozen

How fitting that they closed out this abysmal a season by getting shutout (7th time this year). 58th out of 59 teams in offense (only woeful Alabama-Hunstville was worse). Honest, I though my expectation of finishing anywhere from 6th to 8th were reasonable. I knew offense would be an issue, but I figured that they could rely on the veteran defense (a couple of 4 year starters) and a returning Marotta to be in the middle of the pack. Never happened. The scary thing is, they might be even worse next year without Collins. Who will score ANY goals? Their leading returning scorer going into next year had 7 goals this year.
Depressing

Dude. Your season thread has a grand total of 34 posts. Your barn is worse than most high school rinks and you've been a perennial basement dweller in Hockey East. And you're disappointed. Umm not sure why you're program hasn't dropped to Div III.

[RENCEB]

Re: Merrimack Hockey 2013-14: Get excited, get frozen

How fitting that they closed out this abysmal a season by getting shutout (7th time this year). 58th out of 59 teams in offense (only woeful Alabama-Hunstville was worse). Honest, I though my expectation of finishing anywhere from 6th to 8th were reasonable. I knew offense would be an issue, but I figured that they could rely on the veteran defense (a couple of 4 year starters) and a returning Marotta to be in the middle of the pack. Never happened. The scary thing is, they might be even worse next year without Collins. Who will score ANY goals? Their leading returning scorer going into next year had 7 goals this year.
Depressing

[Yuppie Scum]

Re: Merrimack Hockey 2013-14: Get excited, get frozen

There's a decent chance Maine is beatable, with a little bit of hard work and the "nobody believed in us" factor.

[QUAlum2004]

Re: Merrimack Hockey 2013-14: Get excited, get frozen

Mike McMahon @MikeMcMahonCHN 20h
'94 Defenseman Marc Biega Commits to Merrimack: Merrimack College has received a verbal commitment from '94 defe... http://wp.me/p2n6et-2Zi

His brothers all went to Harvard.

[Yuppie Scum]

Re: Merrimack Hockey 2013-14: Get excited, get frozen

Went last night and saw a very entertaining, end to end battle where every goal was a hard fought one. Also shockingly well reffed by Benedetto and his crew. I sure wouldn't mind if we had a first round playoff matchup against the cats. It would be a memorable three consecutive games and this is the time of year they start choking anyway.

[RENCEB]

Re: Merrimack Hockey 2013-14: Get excited, get frozen

What in the world is Dennehy thinking? Great coach but Bahe on the first line? The kid wouldn't be on the first line at Bowdoin or Williams. It's got to be killing Collins.

Seems as if he missed on two recruiting classes in a row although Tirronen and Christie are working out. What's up with Hussar? Thought he was a solidly talented player coming from the USHL. It's might be the biggest team in college hockey but that doesn't win games. Maybe proven talent is a better route sometimes than diamonds in the rough, so to speak.

What happened to the Sr. Class? Ellis and Heywood looked like they would grow into top notch D, but that never happened, Bates gets kicked off, Bly has 5 points in 26 games. Only Collins really lived up to his potential. Juniors? Toomey and Myers showed some flashes last year, but have all but disappeared.
Yes, Da Costa and Cannata dropped into Dennehey's lap, but he also recruited Flanigan, Stollery, Jesse Todd, Barton and at least a couple of other players who could score. LeBlanc has potential, but otherwise, it looks bleak.

[Carmine Scarpaglia]

Re: Merrimack Hockey 2013-14: Get excited, get frozen

Seems as if he missed on two recruiting classes in a row although Tirronen and Christie are working out.

Aside from two special circumstances falling into Dennehy's lap (Da Costa/Cannata) one has to start to wonder if this is a sustainable way to go for Dennehy.

[WDR357]

Re: Merrimack Hockey 2013-14: Get excited, get frozen

What in the world is Dennehy thinking? Great coach but Bahe on the first line? The kid wouldn't be on the first line at Bowdoin or Williams. It's got to be killing Collins.

Seems as if he missed on two recruiting classes in a row although Tirronen and Christie are working out. What's up with Hussar? Thought he was a solidly talented player coming from the USHL. It's might be the biggest team in college hockey but that doesn't win games. Maybe proven talent is a better route sometimes than diamonds in the rough, so to speak.

[RENCEB]

Re: Merrimack Hockey 2013-14: Get excited, get frozen

While the 20 game schedule precludes them from breaking the HE record for most losses in a season (27, Lowell '85-'86 and somewhat surprisingly UNH '87-'88), the Warriors are still in hot pursuit of their own record of fewest wins in an HE season (1, MC '04-'05). Something to shoot for I guess.
3 goals on 7 shots in the 1st last night against UMass. So much for "....but then, defense has not been as issue for the most part". Tirronen in net has run its course. Hugely inconsistent. Time to plug Marotta back in.

[sterlippo1]

Re: Merrimack Hockey 2013-14: Get excited, get frozen

. Holding Gaudreau, Arnold and Hayes to a combined 2 points is a pretty good defensive effort (but then, defense has not been an issue for the most part).

no question, 5 on 5 the big line was not effective save for the lucky first goal . It's always going to be tough for Mack so Denehey needs to come up with a hidden jewel with offensive skills like Da Costa and a Cannata here and there to stay reasonably competitive , a tall order but the precedent has already been set

[RENCEB]

Re: Merrimack Hockey 2013-14: Get excited, get frozen

Gettin' back at it....

Frozen Fenway. Yes, it was fun, but once is plenty. Sterlippo, absolutely appreciate why you guys are so over this.

Weekend series vs QU. I was pleasantly surprised to see 'Mack up after 1 on Friday night, then the roof crashed in. QU has the guns to do that to you. Sat. night was a nice win. Played tough @ Lawler as usual.

BC. Hate to be a "moral victory" kinda guy, but that's what you do when your team is in last place. 1st BC goal was brutal (not like BC also needs lucky bounces!). Holding Gaudreau, Arnold and Hayes to a combined 2 points is a pretty good defensive effort (but then, defense has not been an issue for the most part). Don't know if they need to resort to the "hanger" approach, but they have to figure out a way to get some goals! They are frighteningly inept on offense except for Collins.

[MCgrad07]

Re: Merrimack Hockey 2013-14: Get excited, get frozen

Had a great time yesterday. I now can see why people can get sick of the outdoor games. I went for the experience and happy I didn't want to the game because you really can't see much. Thought the team played well and I think the second half will be much better