UNH Wildcats 2016-17 Vol II -- We Do Have a Hockey Season Here!?!

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2016-17 Vol II -- We Do Have a Hockey Season Here!?!

To the hordes of MC fans and alums who chimed in to defend your facility, and deny the need for a "start from scratch" upgrade ... never once did I say your arena needed more seats. I've been to your arena more often than any other rink in college hockey except for Snively and The Whitt, and I worked within a 10 minute drive of your facility for over a decade, so I do know the lay of the land. Would any of you folks really be all that upset if President Hopey issued a press release tomorrow that MC was going to demolish Lawler once they completed a 3,500 seat rink (with wraparound seating and a slightly higher ceiling) somewhere else on campus? With even better locker rooms, and just move the weight room stuff over from the old place (or upgrade that too?)?

Some of you folks are acting like this is an either/or situation. Either we stay at Lawler and keep all the new goodies we've plugged into it, or go to a new facility ... with all the same goodies, no?

Don't be so defensive, ferchrissakes. Take it as a compliment, your program has outgrown that HS rink.

Bottom feeders were outscored 15-1 tonight. The league is a joke this year.

In the "Silver Lining Department", it must be pointed out that last night, UConn moved to 0-5-0 all time in the MBPBEGAM "playoffs" under legend-in-his-own-mind Luce Canaan. Just sayin' ...

So, is tomorrow night it for the coach? Did not go tonight but was in constant texting contact with a friend who did. He observed that Umile was pretty slump shouldered as he walked off after the second period. He exited directly to the coach's room, not the locker room. The proverbial passing of the torch? I know there is not a lot of love for DU on this forum, but he was behind the bench for a lot of the best years of UNH Hockey. Just amazing how his end parallels the end of his coach, Charlie Holt. Time to move on.

Good observation by your pal, Greg. From the few times I've seen him over the last month plus, Coach Umile's body language has eroded weekly. His appearances in the short bits on the WMUR 9 sports broadcasts, I've never seen him so detached and disinterested, or critical of his players as a whole. Say what you will about his postseason history ... but usually when it's gotten to this part of the season, there has always been a sparkle of competitive fire in Coach's eyes. Not so this year.

On the similarities with how the end came for Coach Holt's, here is a link to my "Open Letter to Coach Umile" from 2010, which contains some really excellent contributions from folks who don't post on here anymore. With the offseason possibly less than 12 hours away, you may want to bookmark that one for an hour's worth of "What do I do to keep me sane until next October?" time.



http://board.uscho.com/showthread.ph...ch-Umile/page9

[HockeyRef]

Eiserman and Vela are missed. Big time.

No truer words in the past 24 hrs on this board.

[Darius]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2016-17 Vol II -- We Do Have a Hockey Season Here!?!

Eiserman and Vela are missed. Big time.

[riverchief1]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2016-17 Vol II -- We Do Have a Hockey Season Here!?!

Just think how good UNH would be if they had a decent rink like Merrimack has.

[The Earl of Bodine]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2016-17 Vol II -- We Do Have a Hockey Season Here!?!

And another thing........ I will miss watching Jamie Hill. He gives his very best effort at all times.

[The Earl of Bodine]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2016-17 Vol II -- We Do Have a Hockey Season Here!?!

Hey I just remembered that I had not made my annual post yet: I'm really bummed that the Whitt stopped selling cheeseburgers.

[Dirt]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2016-17 Vol II -- We Do Have a Hockey Season Here!?!

For the size of the school and the size of the fan base I think Lawler arena is perfect size. My only complaint is that I wish the seats in the corner sections wrapped around the rink instead of remaining straight to the end wall, that would fix the gym feel people have IMO.

[Yuppie Scum]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2016-17 Vol II -- We Do Have a Hockey Season Here!?!

I mean, I basically chose MC over UNH because Merrimack had waaaay better freshman dorms at the time.

[MC Alumni]

I don't really understand your argument. Merrimack's enrollment is only about 3,500 students. Andover isn't a huge community - so the size of lawler is fine. As a former collegiate athlete myself, I'd rather play in a smaller rink that's sold out most games than a big arena that's half empty. And the locker room/weight room are way more important than the ice sheet in recruiting, that's just a fact with 18-22 year old kids.
We know our identity as an athletics department and that's our strength.

[Middle Street]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2016-17 Vol II -- We Do Have a Hockey Season Here!?!

Chuck, how many rinks have you been to in recent times? Hockey East doesn't have the following it once did and I think Merrimack has the perfect size for the brave new world we are in.

Now that Merrimack has installed chair backs, the video board, etc. it's not that bad. Personally I think Schneider and Gutterson are worse places to watch a game.

Is Lawler any worse than half of the ECAC rinks?

[chickod]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2016-17 Vol II -- We Do Have a Hockey Season Here!?!

Tonight I hit Bentley's rink in Watertown to see Sacred Heart play and all I have to say is "yikes!" Makes Merrimack's facility look like the TD Garden. Thank god they're building a new rink on campus as I have no idea how you survive as a DI program in that place. There was even a gentleman in the row in front of me who unsolicited said to me "How can a DI program play here? Is it even regulation?" so it wasn't just me taken aback by it. After seeing that place tonight, I will never diss Merrimack's facility again as at least they've done upgrades you can't see and ones you can like the second ice sheet, expanded lobby, etc.

Tell him to check this out.

[riverchief1]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2016-17 Vol II -- We Do Have a Hockey Season Here!?!

It doesn't have to be Agganis or even The Whitt. And the locker room facilities might have the greatest carpeting known to man, and the weight room may be state of the art, while the audio system might even go all the way up to 11. But there have to be a significant number of potential recruits who have a negative visceral reaction to the rink, and decide they'd rather play at Lowell or Northeastern, or even UMaine or UNH.

Lowell used to have an even worse facility (Tully Forum). Sure, they got some help from Papa Tsongas, but look at where they are now. Lowell and MC Hockey both come from D-2 roots. One program has emerged as a legit title contender, the other has an effective ceiling right about halfway up the standings.

Tonight I hit Bentley's rink in Watertown to see Sacred Heart play and all I have to say is "yikes!" Makes Merrimack's facility look like the TD Garden. Thank god they're building a new rink on campus as I have no idea how you survive as a DI program in that place. There was even a gentleman in the row in front of me who unsolicited said to me "How can a DI program play here? Is it even regulation?" so it wasn't just me taken aback by it. After seeing that place tonight, I will never diss Merrimack's facility again as at least they've done upgrades you can't see and ones you can like the second ice sheet, expanded lobby, etc.

[chickod]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2016-17 Vol II -- We Do Have a Hockey Season Here!?!

I sold my business 2 1/2 years ago. No health problems, no real money worries, just time to leave. I knew the business (insurance) was evolving rapidly and I either needed to ratchet up my intensity or get out. So I got out. No regrets. I was hyper competitive for a lot of years but when you get to a certain age you're fooling yourself if you don't see that the times are passing you by. Umile is about my age and knowing him as I did back when I was involved, it surprises me that he just hung on. Not the way he should have gone out. Not the first to fail to see the obvious and he won't be the last. Just time to move on.

Yes. Agreed.

[Greg Ambrose]

That's almost always how it ends, isn't it? How many go out on top? As I mentioned last week (when bringing up similar scenarios at BU, BC and Michigan), one of the guys who got it right was David Ortiz. He left before his skills eroded to the point where it was embarrassing. MOST people don't know when to give it up, in ANY profession. The only difference is that people don't pay to watch what we do. I remember my Dad who had to give up his business due to Parkinson's Disease. It's really sad. And I know a lot of people are upset, but we need to have some compassion. It's the toughest decision a person makes in their entire life, and when you're in the public eye, it can be tough to leave the bright lights behind. Let's hope he makes the right decision but let's not bash him on the way out the door (I'm agreeing with you).

I sold my business 2 1/2 years ago. No health problems, no real money worries, just time to leave. I knew the business (insurance) was evolving rapidly and I either needed to ratchet up my intensity or get out. So I got out. No regrets. I was hyper competitive for a lot of years but when you get to a certain age you're fooling yourself if you don't see that the times are passing you by. Umile is about my age and knowing him as I did back when I was involved, it surprises me that he just hung on. Not the way he should have gone out. Not the first to fail to see the obvious and he won't be the last. Just time to move on.

[HockeyRef]

Bottom feeders were outscored 15-1 tonight. The league is a joke this year. So, is tomorrow night it for the coach? Did not go tonight but was in constant texting contact with a friend who did. He observed that Umile was pretty slump shouldered as he walked off after the second period. He exited directly to the coach's room, not the locker room. The proverbial passing of the torch? I know there is not a lot of love for DU on this forum, but he was behind the bench for a lot of the best years of UNH Hockey. Just amazing how his end parallels the end of his coach, Charlie Holt. Time to move on.

Greg how sad really...you and so many here have seen a lot of amazing years and it's hard to see them play the way they have the past few (well many) games as of late. I cannot speak for everyone here but there is a lot of respect for what he has done...we surely do understand. Anyone that doesn't look at his record and what he's been able to do well they don't get it. But all things come to their end. Not sure if this is it but there does come a time...

Going back to the game Merrimack executed and we did not/could not. 4 power plays that didn't mount much offense. Second goal can't even think of it now. Ok well tomorrow we'll see what's what. For the Seniors sake I would love to see it go three but thinking there is blood in the water...