Dean Blais steps down at Omaha

[5thYearFreshman]

Re: Dean Blais steps down at Omaha

Yes, but with the exchange rate, undefeated in Canada is like 6-14-4 in the NCHC.
Ryan J

Hey, everyone has to start somewhere. 250K for an On the Job Trainee coach seems like a solid financial decision for a school in dire financial straits

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

Re: Dean Blais steps down at Omaha

Yes, but with the exchange rate, undefeated in Canada is like 6-14-4 in the NCHC.
Ryan J

Wow, this was actually funny!

[Great Day for Hockey]

Yes, but with the exchange rate, undefeated in Canada is like 6-14-4 in the NCHC.
Ryan J

Lol. Great point.

[JohnsonsJerseys]

Re: Dean Blais steps down at Omaha

Gabinet spent one year as a head coach in Canada... The year Gabinet coached NAIT, they went undefeated...

Yes, but with the exchange rate, undefeated in Canada is like 6-14-4 in the NCHC.
Ryan J

[5thYearFreshman]

Re: Dean Blais steps down at Omaha

Jim Montgomery had only been a head coach in the USHL before getting the job at DU. Is that really much different?

Gabinet spent one year as a head coach in Canada and 5 months as an assistant in D1 Hockey. The year Gabinet coached NAIT, they went undefeated, but they were outstanding the year before under the previous coach. Unproven talent can surprise at times, but I would have rather had a Cary Eades or anyone who had been a head coach in this country.

[St. Clown]

Re: Dean Blais steps down at Omaha

Montgomery probably has grant standbrook on speed dial any time he wants advice

Sure, but any coach taking on a D-1 head coach position has people he can use for advice when needed. New coaches are always looking for mentors, unless the mentor is the competition, then he's peppering the now-guy-he-knows for inside information.

[Patman]

Jim Montgomery had only been a head coach in the USHL before getting the job at DU. Is that really much different?

Montgomery probably has grant standbrook on speed dial any time he wants advice

[St. Clown]

Re: Dean Blais steps down at Omaha

UNO hired Mike Gabinet in the most expected and budget-friendly move ever. I can see the recruiting trip now.

Coach: Hello, I'm Mike Gabinet and I'd like you to play hockey in Omaha.
Recruit: Who are you and where do you want me to play?

Rookie head coach in the NCHC? Say hello to the cellar rats because Gabinet's going to get schooled quick and often

Jim Montgomery had only been a head coach in the USHL before getting the job at DU. Is that really much different?

[sm2pk]

Re: Dean Blais steps down at Omaha

we

[5thYearFreshman]

Re: Dean Blais steps down at Omaha

UNO hired Mike Gabinet in the most expected and budget-friendly move ever. I can see the recruiting trip now.

Coach: Hello, I'm Mike Gabinet and I'd like you to play hockey in Omaha.
Recruit: Who are you and where do you want me to play?

Rookie head coach in the NCHC? Say hello to the cellar rats because Gabinet's going to get schooled quick and often

[Riz]

Re: Dean Blais steps down at Omaha

Considering half of the NCHC makes the NCAA tourney every year thanks to the current tourney selection formula, it looks even worse that UNO wasn't making the tourney on a more frequent basis with DB behind the bench. Heck UND is going to the NCAA tourney with a sub 0.500 conference record. UNO only had two seasons with double digit conferences win (first two seasons) and has been in the bottom half since.

Unless something completely unexpected happens, looks like Colorado College will have increased competition for the bottom spot of the NCHC next season. As other have noted, I'm sure DB was a big part of what talent UNO did get on their campus. With that name gone, I would expect recruiting to drop off further unless another big, established name comes to town.

Ryan J

I'm predicting UNO to finish 8th as soon as next season. CC is slowly improving and has a good goalie that can steal them some games.

Half the NCHC making the tournament is tough though when Denver & North Dakota are almost guaranteed to make it no matter how good any other team in the conference is. So, that leaves 2-3 spots.

[JohnsonsJerseys]

Re: Dean Blais steps down at Omaha

Yet, he barely had a better record than Kemp. Maybe some of that was CCHA versus WCHA/NCHC but I expected him to perform better at Omaha. Only 2 NCAA wins and 2 appearances in 8 years for an "elite" coach.

Considering half of the NCHC makes the NCAA tourney every year thanks to the current tourney selection formula, it looks even worse that UNO wasn't making the tourney on a more frequent basis with DB behind the bench. Heck UND is going to the NCAA tourney with a sub 0.500 conference record. UNO only had two seasons with double digit conferences win (first two seasons) and has been in the bottom half since.

Unless something completely unexpected happens, looks like Colorado College will have increased competition for the bottom spot of the NCHC next season. As other have noted, I'm sure DB was a big part of what talent UNO did get on their campus. With that name gone, I would expect recruiting to drop off further unless another big, established name comes to town.

Ryan J

[Bradz]

Re: Dean Blais steps down at Omaha

Not surprised. He never lived up to his billing and even hinted at the administration not having his back last year. I kind of feel for the guy. Kind of.

That being said, I think this was a cost-cutting move more than a performance move. The state's in the middle of a budget crisis, and whenever that happens, UNO gets absolutely gutted in every department possible. It happened in the mid-2000s and it's happening now.

To add to this, the baseball manager Bob Herold, who was one of the most underrated in the country and made UNO finish top two in the conference over the last three years, was "fired over an altercation on the team bus." The players all very vocally protested in favor of keeping him, and fans think it was a cost-cutting measure, especially when you consider them hiring some alum who was playing semi-pro ball in Sweden when he got the call to manage his alma mater. Now Herold's managing the Phillies' rookie league team and UNO baseball went from vying for an NCAA bid to 2-17. That's where we are. If I'm the basketball or soccer coaches, I'm updating my resume in case the year goes a little below expectations or I yell at a player a little too loud and word gets to the AD.

The talk is that the replacement will be current assistant Mike Gabinet, and he won't be given full cost of attendance, so he'll be recruiting against UND and Miami who are while having only a year's knowledge of coaching in US college hockey. He was very successful in the CIS, but the NCHC is a different beast. Is this the "commitment to the sport" that got UNO brought into the NCHC?

If we lose, fans stay home or go to Creighton games, which means less money to pay off the new arena, which means more belt-tightening at the athletic department, which means more questionable firings of successful coaches in favor of newbies, which means more losses, which means...

TL:DR; UNO is screwed for the foreseeable future and probably has no business remaining in the NCHC if we can't find a way to pay off the new arena while offering FCOA to help out the new coach.

Yup! A lot depends upon who Gabinet gets for assistants, if he ends up being the guy, and whether or not he will have control of that.

[AkSarBen]

Re: Dean Blais steps down at Omaha

Not surprised. He never lived up to his billing and even hinted at the administration not having his back last year. I kind of feel for the guy. Kind of.

That being said, I think this was a cost-cutting move more than a performance move. The state's in the middle of a budget crisis, and whenever that happens, UNO gets absolutely gutted in every department possible. It happened in the mid-2000s and it's happening now.

To add to this, the baseball manager Bob Herold, who was one of the most underrated in the country and made UNO finish top two in the conference over the last three years, was "fired over an altercation on the team bus." The players all very vocally protested in favor of keeping him, and fans think it was a cost-cutting measure, especially when you consider them hiring some alum who was playing semi-pro ball in Sweden when he got the call to manage his alma mater. Now Herold's managing the Phillies' rookie league team and UNO baseball went from vying for an NCAA bid to 2-17. That's where we are. If I'm the basketball or soccer coaches, I'm updating my resume in case the year goes a little below expectations or I yell at a player a little too loud and word gets to the AD.

The talk is that the replacement will be current assistant Mike Gabinet, and he won't be given full cost of attendance, so he'll be recruiting against UND and Miami who are while having only a year's knowledge of coaching in US college hockey. He was very successful in the CIS, but the NCHC is a different beast. Is this the "commitment to the sport" that got UNO brought into the NCHC?

If we lose, fans stay home or go to Creighton games, which means less money to pay off the new arena, which means more belt-tightening at the athletic department, which means more questionable firings of successful coaches in favor of newbies, which means more losses, which means...

TL:DR; UNO is screwed for the foreseeable future and probably has no business remaining in the NCHC if we can't find a way to pay off the new arena while offering FCOA to help out the new coach.

[MAVFANJEFF]

Re: Dean Blais steps down at Omaha

I'm glad he's gone. He lost his touch. He's too expensive. We have a problem. No recruiting budget. Snuggerud left. They might try to get Mike Hastings but I'm sure he won't budge. Trev needs to go next. Don't be surprised to see Mike Kemp back behind the bench to save $$$. OR,,,, he could end up as the new AD. We are screwed.