UNH Wildcats 2016-17 -- We're Going to Have a Hockey Season Here!!

[HockeyRef]

He's got kind of a high pitched squeaky voice, and is known to be able to whistle down cabs in heavy traffic.

You'll be able to pick him out of a crowd in a jiffy.

I'd know that whistle anywhere...😉

[Snively65]

I'd know that whistle anywhere...😉

Black turtleneck?

Big Red fans turn their backs to the ice as they shake newspapers (what are those?), yell "boring" when opposition player names are announced, and scream "red!" showing no respect for our national anthem.

Where is UNH-Cornell game thread?

[HockeyRef]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2016-17 -- We're Going to Have a Hockey Season Here!!

Black turtleneck?

Big Red fans turn their backs to the ice as they shake newspapers (what are those?), yell "boring" when opposition player names are announced, and scream "red!" showing no respect for our national anthem.

Where is UNH-Cornell game thread?

Hmmm sounds like a blast. I did put one up... Frozen Apple Cornell Big Red v UNH Wildcats. No interest I guess maybe use it as a game thread. Not sure how many here (UNH) will be going, although I do know quite a few 'Whitt regulars' will be there. Still, I imagine we 'Cat fans will be very outnumbered!

[chickod]

Still, I imagine we 'Cat fans will be very outnumbered!

Probably true. When BU went (three times) we were outnumbered - maybe 65-35%. But BU has a TON of alumni in the NY/NJ area and still the Cornell fans outnumbered us.

[Red Hockey]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2016-17 -- We're Going to Have a Hockey Season Here!!

Cornell has long had many alumni in the New York area (including myself). NY and SF are far and away the most popular cities for jobs among recent graduates thanks to finance, tech, and many other fields. That's not to say that there aren't alumni in other places (there are), but everyone and their mother wants to go to those two cities.

[wildcatdc]

Hmmm sounds like a blast. I did put one up... Frozen Apple Cornell Big Red v UNH Wildcats. No interest I guess maybe use it as a game thread. Not sure how many here (UNH) will be going, although I do know quite a few 'Whitt regulars' will be there. Still, I imagine we 'Cat fans will be very outnumbered!

HR - Em and I will probably head to Legends at 6 W33rd for the Auburn-Alabama game at 3:30 and stay there til game time.

[wildcatdc]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2016-17 -- We're Going to Have a Hockey Season Here!!

Cats off to a great start in the FCS 1st Round. Up 35-7 over Lehigh with a little under 4 minutes in the 1st half.

For those of you fascinated by D2, I've included a link as they appear to be getting to their final four today.

http://www.ncaa.com/interactive-bracket/football/d2

[wildcatdc]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2016-17 -- We're Going to Have a Hockey Season Here!!

64-21 now. Time to head towards MSG.

[Snively65]

WIS Productions brings you the Thanksgiving '16 edition of "Umile's Last Stand - The _____ for 600".

"Umile's Last Stand - The Quest for 600"

Coach Umile's current career wins total: 577
Wins Remaining to the next round number: 23
*Games Remaining (Next 2 Seasons - Min.): 59
Win Pct. Required to Hit Target: 39%
WIS Estimated Likelihood of Success: 60%
2016/2017 Cupcake Conversion Ratio (CCR): 5/10 (50%)

* - minimum games remaining assumes 34 regular season games, and at least 2 games in the MBPBEGAM "playoffs"

Just what the doctor ordered ... UNH (as WIS predicted in this space last week) sweeps through two cupcakes in convincing fashion to poke their heads ever-so-tentatively above .500 (6-5-2) heading into the Thanksgiving weekend. These were two games Coach Umile needed very badly to keep the fires burning with his Quest for the next round number. Unfounded rumors of a Harry Quast sighting might have given the troops a little intangible boost, but a win is a win, and a two win extended weekend allows Coach to keep from becoming an immediate source of concern for his boss (more on that a little later). Not that margin of victory is a relevant issue for anyone other than the geekiest of stats geeks ... but while UNH overperformed on the scoreboard, WIS showed their inexperience at several key points, with the young forwards getting caught behind the play on transition a few too many times. You can get away with that sometimes - and against a slumping RPI team so obviously low on confidence, this was one of those times - but against the majority of Hockey East ...

In a 5-0 game (which was a very misleading score, I think most would agree), it's hard to heap too much praise on your goalie ... but I'm going to do that here, as Danny Tiirone came up with a pair of monster saves at key points late in the first period and then early on in the second, without which this becomes an entirely different hockey game. I'm not putting him up for All-HE honors just yet, but quietly he's pretty much extinguished the UNH goalie "controversy" (for now) with his recent improved play - not to mention the hairball his understudy hacked up against ASFU. It's hard to imagine Tirone not getting the nod at MSG this weekend, and continuing through the Maine weekend.

Looking at the big picture ... WIS experts' projection that Coach Umile's Wildcats would amass at least 10 wins in the opening 18 game stretch of the season is still looking to be a stretch, but after these last two games, it's still on life support, as the 'Cats will now need to almost run the table with 4 wins in their final 5 games of the 2016 section of their schedule. With 3 of those games being against a UMaine team that's been struggling since opening the season with two wins over RPI (and we can now put that into proper perspective), and one of those against in-state rivals Dartmouth (at 2-2-3 whose own cupcake status is very much on "watch" entering a big weekend series against mighty Robert Morris), you can see why the Cornell game becomes a big one in the overall scheme of things for UNH and for Coach Umile.

As a result of too many squandered cupcakes, WIS has decided to hold firm at its recently downgraded forecast for a happy ending to The Quest at 60% after these last two wins. WIS needs to see better performances against beatable opponents on a more consistent basis ... and it's fair to say that the final 5 games on the 2016 calendar all fall into that category. Winning on a Tuesday night prior to the Thanksgiving Day weekend is a good omen, if nothing else. WIS remains in "Missouri Mode" - as in "Show Me" - moving into December, which for a program that used to major in being "Champions of December" may hopefully be another good omen.

Predictions:

Saturday: UNH 4 Cornell 3 @MSG (OT)

NEXT CUPCAKES ON THE SHELF: 12/2/16 @ home vs. UMaine; 12/3/16 vs. UMaine @ Orono

IS BS35+4 PAYING ATTENTION YET?

Hahahahahahahaha ... good one. Right now (and ever since about 11:10 a.m. this past Sunday morning), BS35+4's dream weekend has played out exactly the way he planned (or TBF, more likely hoped and/or prayed). After scraping past UMaine on Saturday to finish up the regular season at 7-4-0, the Football Cats will be hosting Patriot League champs Lehigh across the street, and the Curse of the 13th Season in a row in the D-2 playoffs has been banished. I'm sure the "Frozen Apple" game that evening against Cornell will provide our esteemed AD with his biggest quandary of the season so far, but you know it's written in stone that he'll be strutting around his new stadium as proud as a peacock for the 2:00 p.m. kickoff. Whether the Clinton Campaign might have some extra helicopter resources still at their disposal in light of the big pre-election event at The Whitt remains to be seen, but if he can pull that off, then an 8:00 p.m. arrival at MSG to catch his former flagship program in action can't be ruled out. Oh, and lookie here - they've got a winning record now. Happy days indeed.

In the meantime, somewhere in Midtown Manhattan before the evening face-off, a middle-aged balding man in a turtleneck will ask the barkeep if he can find the big playoff game in Durham (NH) somewhere on his dish. Praying for just a little more cover to get his boys to the holiday break with a few more chances to fatten up on a few more cupcakes.

Yup, looks like Cats now need to run table in December, including three wins against Black Bears, to garner 10 W's before first half wraps up, and keep DU on track in The Quest for 600. Definitely possible, even if two of the four games are OOC.

[Tater]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2016-17 -- We're Going to Have a Hockey Season Here!!

Probably true. When BU went (three times) we were outnumbered - maybe 65-35%. But BU has a TON of alumni in the NY/NJ area and still the Cornell fans outnumbered us.

Five times I think? 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015. Agreed on the percentages.

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2016-17 -- We're Going to Have a Hockey Season Here!!

WIS Productions brings you the Thanksgiving '16 edition of "Umile's Last Stand - The _____ for 600".

"Umile's Last Stand - The Quest for 600"

Coach Umile's current career wins total: 577
Wins Remaining to the next round number: 23
*Games Remaining (Next 2 Seasons - Min.): 58
Win Pct. Required to Hit Target: approx. 40%
WIS Estimated Likelihood of Success: 60%
2016/2017 Cupcake Conversion Ratio (CCR): 5/10 (50%)

* - minimum games remaining assumes 34 regular season games, and at least 2 games in the MBPBEGAM "playoffs"

No big surprise last evening ... although WIS optimistically predicted a win in this space last week, a 3-1 road loss at MSG to non-cupcake Cornell was hardly a surprise. Sounds like it was a fun experience for all, and a good game was decided by what apparently was the first converted Cornell penalty shot since the days of Joe Niewendyk. Attention now shifts to the UMaine weekend, where the pressure to produce results against a cupcake-trending UMaine squad (that just beat powerhouse Brown) ramps up intensely.

Looking at the big picture ... WIS experts' projection that Coach Umile's Wildcats would amass at least 10 wins in the opening 18 game stretch of the season remains on life support, as the 'Cats will now need to run the table with 4 wins in their final 4 games of the 2016 section of their schedule. With 3 of those games being against a UMaine team that's been struggling since opening the season with two wins over RPI (now a confirmed 2016 cupcake), and the other against in-state rivals Dartmouth (at 2-3-2 whose cupcake status was confirmed by a 3-0 loss last night against mighty Robert Morris), there is no margin of error for the 10 win target in 2016 for UNH.

As a result of too many squandered cupcakes, WIS is holding firm at its recently downgraded forecast for a happy ending to The Quest at 60%, despite the Cornell loss. As the numbers above reflect ... UNH needs to win 40% of its games for the rest of the season and next season combined to get Coach Umile to the next round number. With 6 wins in 14 games (43%) so far during what is clearly the cupcake section of the schedule, that explains the downgrade in expectations from the start of the season. To make things simple ... if or when the required win percentage (now at just under 40%) drops below the active win percentage, then the forecast chances of success might dip to 50% or lower. So these next few games are crucial in maintaining something of a gap - "breathing room" - between those two numbers. WIS sincerely hopes UNH can recapture its past "Champions of December" during this important stretch of games.

Predictions:

Friday: @ UNH 5 UMaine 3
Saturday: @ UMaine 4 UNH 1

NEXT CUPCAKE ON THE SHELF: 12/10/16 @ Dartmouth

IS BS35+4 PAYING ATTENTION YET?

Not a chance. UNH Football's 64-21 thrashing of Lehigh at the first postseason home game at a real stadium in Durham NH kept BS35+4 home in a celebratory mood last night, and a 3-1 Hockey loss due in (small) part to a squishy 3rd period penalty shot gives Coach Umile enough of an excuse to just chalk this up to an improved effort by an improving squad. I'm sure the esteemed AD is focused entirely on the upcoming Round of 16 game against D-2 conference rivals James Madison - and not a little perturbed that this next game will not be played at his new showpiece - but there's always that chance with another win, a default quarterfinal home game is not out of reach. So the theme this week around the UNH AD's offices will indeed be "Blue Skies" - even when it's raining cats and dogs at midweek.

In the meantime, after touching down at Logan early this morning, the middle-aged balding man in the turtleneck has stopped the bus at the St. Anthony's Church just off Route 1A in Revere to take his followers on a brief spiritual journey on a Sunday morning to curry favor with The Really Big Guy (believed to be at least two rungs above BS35+4 on the balding man's org chart). The man briefly disappears into the confessional, emerges and solemnly goes up to the rail to say his penance, and then veers over to the votive candles, where he lights 23 of them while engaging in silent prayer. His young followers watch on in equal parts curiosity and awe, not daring to interrupt their leader's sincere reverence. Afterwards, the balding man leads his young charges back onto the bus, and with noontime approaching, informs the group that lunch at The Kowloon is on him. The group's devotion to this man is understandably strong and beyond question.

[NCAA watcher]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2016-17 -- We're Going to Have a Hockey Season Here!!

In the meantime, after touching down at Logan early this morning, the middle-aged balding man in the turtleneck has stopped the bus at the St. Anthony's Church just off Route 1A in Revere to take his followers on a brief spiritual journey on a Sunday morning to curry favor with The Really Big Guy (believed to be at least two rungs above BS35+4 on the balding man's org chart). The man briefly disappears into the confessional, emerges and solemnly goes up to the rail to say his penance, and then veers over to the votive candles, where he lights 23 of them while engaging in silent prayer. His young followers watch on in equal parts curiosity and awe, not daring to interrupt their leader's sincere reverence. Afterwards, the balding man leads his young charges back onto the bus, and with noontime approaching, informs the group that lunch at The Kowloon is on him. The group's devotion to this man is understandably strong and beyond question.

Your humor obscures a very real part of the transition. They also made several stops in donut shops along Route 1 to speak with high school coaches and find out who the top HS kids in the GBL or Cathoic HS (Malden Catholics or Austin Prep) in Mass are. It is now likely December may include a puff of smoke from the chimney, signifying another recruit.

[Felger]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2016-17 -- We're Going to Have a Hockey Season Here!!

UNH needs to win 40% of its games for the rest of the season and next season combined to get Coach Umile to the next round number. With 6 wins in 14 games (43%) so far during what is clearly the cupcake section of the schedule, that explains the downgrade in expectations from the start of the season.

Agree with most of your assessments Chuck, but what I think you are missing is that UNH only has two non-Hockey Least opponents left on the schedule. I think you have to recalibrate your overall predictions for the entire season based on just how bad the league is this year. As I have said, there are more cupcakes IN the league than OUT OF the league.

[HockeyRef]

Probably true. When BU went (three times) we were outnumbered - maybe 65-35%. But BU has a TON of alumni in the NY/NJ area and still the Cornell fans outnumbered us.

There was a lot of red in the place that's for sure...wish we could pull even half of that for our Verizon game...🙄

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2016-17 -- We're Going to Have a Hockey Season Here!!

Agree with most of your assessments Chuck, but what I think you are missing is that UNH only has two non-Hockey Least opponents left on the schedule. I think you have to recalibrate your overall predictions for the entire season based on just how bad the league is this year. As I have said, there are more cupcakes IN the league than OUT OF the league.

But the creamiest of the HE cupcakes have either been eaten already (UMass, Merrimack) or are on the table soon enough (UMaine). And UNH is already behind schedule, unless they can run the next four games in a row (I'll set the over/under at 2.5). After that, the 'Cats will be mostly cupcake-free until season's end and UConn's arrival. Maybe Northeastern stays down ... maybe they can nick a win against Providence ... but after that, I'm not sure I see much more low-hanging fruit than what's been mentioned already here? The fact that the league may be down this season is probably the only thing keeping my forecast above 50% at this point.