UNH v UMass HE qtr Final Extraganza

[Snively65]

Please please please please make this happen.

Oops, sorry to get hopes up, but apparently that match up cannot happen, as AIC/Niagara winner locked to be shipped west to play St Cloud in Fargo.

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH v UMass HE qtr Final Extraganza

If AIC gets the job done tomorrow night, maybe the Minutewagon will face the buzzzzz in the northeast regionals?

Please please please please make this happen.

[Snively65]

As well they should, given tonight's result.

Good luck to the Minutemen in the NCAA's!

If AIC gets the job done tomorrow night, maybe the Minutewagon will face the buzzzzz in the northeast regionals?

[Scott]

Re: UNH v UMass HE qtr Final Extraganza

Watching us in all four games (6 if you add BU into the equation) the team that scares me most is BC because their size creates problems for us and prevents us from controlling play as much. Same with Providence as evidenced by all three games being white knuckle one score games where we were badly outshot in two of them.

As well they should, given tonight's result.

Good luck to the Minutemen in the NCAA's!

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH v UMass HE qtr Final Extraganza

RE: Nazarian … what a crummy way to finish up what was a pretty decent UNH career.

[chickod]

Re: UNH v UMass HE qtr Final Extraganza

Any news on Nazarian? His injury looked pretty awful on Friday night (it happened directly across the ice from my seats). Looked like he got caught in a rut and *really* hurt his knee (the ice wasn't great on Friday - Mullins never is when its warm as it was on Friday).

Exactly how I saw it. The minute it happened I said "He's not coming back." A shame to have his career end that way too.

[Kieron]

Re: UNH v UMass HE qtr Final Extraganza

Question for you is why didn't Murray play Saturday night? I mean, he doesn't get the chance to step back in? Was he injured? I was just surprised that he didn't get the nod...

Murray hasn't played as well since Christmas as he did before that. Not sure why. Carvel's said in multiple pressers this season that Murray and Lindberg have similar GAA and save percentages and that he's seen one of them in practice and thought it was the other one. My guess? Carvel looked at a team down 0-3, saw a goalie struggling and figured shaking up the team was needed. Lindberg played well the rest of the way and the team got the message, so he got the nod Saturday. Now it's win-or-go-home, it'll be fascinating to see who starts. Ironically, we had a similar situation in 2004, when Tim Warner stepped in for Gabe Winer and won the Quarterfinals against Lowell against and the Semifinal against UNH. We don't talk about the game the next night anymore...

Changing the subject: Any news on Nazarian? His injury looked pretty awful on Friday night (it happened directly across the ice from my seats). Looked like he got caught in a rut and *really* hurt his knee (the ice wasn't great on Friday - Mullins never is when its warm as it was on Friday). I think I saw him on crutches in the upper tier of Mullins on Saturday, but couldn't be 100%. Best of luck to him in recovery!

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH v UMass HE qtr Final Extraganza

Props to uncledave … it would have been fun to have you on the thread last week pre-game.

[HockeyRef]

Re: UNH v UMass HE qtr Final Extraganza

Have been attending UMass games for five years now (after 25 at RPI), so I know a bit about good, bad, great and Potemkin. UMass, at their best is solid, methodical,talented, well-coached, and pretty fast. At their worst, they get a little out of synch, get running around (creating "bad gaps") and give up goals like any other team. The thing that has impressed me most, however, is their ability to weather the bad patches, and play on through it until they get the mojo back. Like this year's Patriots, they don't win by dominating, they just keep on doing what they do, trying to do it better, sticking with the plan until something clicks and they're skatin' and possessing like the Red Army. In Friday's game, they owned the possession in the first half by a wide margin, and found themselves behind 3-0 on 3 isolated breakdowns (2 high, 1 low). Cue dramatic music for goaltender controversy: There is none. Coach Carvel has stated repeatedly in press conferences, in his no-bull****, direct, businesslike manner, that all his goalies know that in any situation, "you can give up two; if you give up three, you're coming out." End of controversy. So Filly comes in, holds the fort, my favorite Long Island rink-rat gets the Minutemen rolling and from there, it was just a matter of "Do we have enough time? Did we leave it too long? Can we solve this Robinson-turned-Hasek?" And then the cream rose to the top. Enough with the schadenfreude; no sensible person thinks that any game in March is a walkover, especially at the Garden...

Well finally here's a no nonsense, basic depiction of what went down in this series. All of it absolute fact. No mudslinging, just the fact's m'am. Look, no honorable UNH fan worth their salt had any delusions about who we were playing against. The fact we took that Friday night game to OT (and, could've won, but yea, we didn't) is admirable. You guys going forward? It only gets tougher and wishing you the best.

Funny how one year really makes a difference; I mean, UNH swept UMass last season with pretty much the same team (well, exceptions are the goalie and a few new Frosh on the ice this year). Talent did/does indeed win out in the end but that's not always the case. End of story. So go do good things, while we wait. Next year...we hope to take another step. Goal is to get back to the Garden. Feeling is that our coaches and players learned a ton this past weekend, and that is..., to be good, you've gotta be good. Hopefully those returning players feel that hunger to go further.

Question for you is why didn't Murray play Saturday night? I mean, he doesn't get the chance to step back in? Was he injured? I was just surprised that he didn't get the nod...

Ps. You mention the resiliency of your team surviving the lows of a game; we prided ourselves on that all season; which is what kept us in it through almost 2 OT's Friday night. But, not meant to be Saturday.

[uncledave]

Re: UNH v UMass HE qtr Final Extraganza

Have been attending UMass games for five years now (after 25 at RPI), so I know a bit about good, bad, great and Potemkin. UMass, at their best is solid, methodical,talented, well-coached, and pretty fast. At their worst, they get a little out of synch, get running around (creating "bad gaps") and give up goals like any other team. The thing that has impressed me most, however, is their ability to weather the bad patches, and play on through it until they get the mojo back. Like this year's Patriots, they don't win by dominating, they just keep on doing what they do, trying to do it better, sticking with the plan until something clicks and they're skatin' and possessing like the Red Army. In Friday's game, they owned the possession in the first half by a wide margin, and found themselves behind 3-0 on 3 isolated breakdowns (2 high, 1 low). Cue dramatic music for goaltender controversy: There is none. Coach Carvel has stated repeatedly in press conferences, in his no-bull****, direct, businesslike manner, that all his goalies know that in any situation, "you can give up two; if you give up three, you're coming out." End of controversy. So Filly comes in, holds the fort, my favorite Long Island rink-rat gets the Minutemen rolling and from there, it was just a matter of "Do we have enough time? Did we leave it too long? Can we solve this Robinson-turned-Hasek?" And then the cream rose to the top. Enough with the schadenfreude; no sensible person thinks that any game in March is a walkover, especially at the Garden...

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH v UMass HE qtr Final Extraganza

You're a sensitive little flower eh? All I did was point out that the "best goalie" got chased the first time we played them, that's a fact. He did in fact stand on his head the second game while Murray gave up two goals on breakaways. That's also a fact. If you can't handle facts then let the adults have the conversation and stay out of it.

We had a much easier time controlling play vs Northeastern than we did with the bigger more physical BC team this year despite the actual outcome of all 4 games. We played 11 games against 5 goalies up for the Richter award so we've seen good goaltending. I don't worry about a goalie because I'm confident in our team's ability to keep coming in waves and create multiple high quality scoring chances with our skill players. Watching us in all four games (6 if you add BU into the equation) the team that scares me most is BC because their size creates problems for us and prevents us from controlling play as much. Same with Providence as evidenced by all three games being white knuckle one score games where we were badly outshot in two of them.

"We", eh?? I didn't realize you were on the roster. Clue us in, which player/coach are you?

What I've done is objectively challenged your little self-absorbed delusion about NU being a pushover.

Your #2 goalie didn't even play in a World Juniors game that mattered. Sorry to call you on that.

Snowflake.

[chickod]

Re: UNH v UMass HE qtr Final Extraganza

You're a sensitive little flower eh?

You're an acerbic little twit, huh?

[SJGMoney]

Re: UNH v UMass HE qtr Final Extraganza

OK, so let's go with your version. The loaded and invincible MinuteWagoners sent the best goalie in the league to the bench in shambles in their first meeting … so then, 24 hours later, despite apparently being skated off the ice by the Amherst Red Army for a second night in a row in the rematch, the best goalie in the league withstood the onslaught, and those spunky NU Huskies caught a break to steal a win from the otherwise totally dominant league leaders. Does that make you feel better?

* Their guy has a crappy RS game, gets pulled, and 24 hours later stands on his head to steal a win; or
* Your guy has a crappy playoff game, and his coach doesn't trust him enough for the rest of the series

* Primeau was the starter for the silver medalists in the World Juniors;
* Lindberg was a back-up for the gold medalists in the World Juniors

But if you think this all works out better for you guys, don't let me go ruining it for you.

You're a sensitive little flower eh? All I did was point out that the "best goalie" got chased the first time we played them, that's a fact. He did in fact stand on his head the second game while Murray gave up two goals on breakaways. That's also a fact. If you can't handle facts then let the adults have the conversation and stay out of it.

We had a much easier time controlling play vs Northeastern than we did with the bigger more physical BC team this year despite the actual outcome of all 4 games. We played 11 games against 5 goalies up for the Richter award so we've seen good goaltending. I don't worry about a goalie because I'm confident in our team's ability to keep coming in waves and create multiple high quality scoring chances with our skill players. Watching us in all four games (6 if you add BU into the equation) the team that scares me most is BC because their size creates problems for us and prevents us from controlling play as much. Same with Providence as evidenced by all three games being white knuckle one score games where we were badly outshot in two of them.

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH v UMass HE qtr Final Extraganza

Obviously one of us saw that OT game at Mathews and one of us didn't. And the night before that loss we chased the "best goalie" back to the bench before the 2nd period was over so let's make sure we keep track of all the poopy pants out there. Our backup has a gold medal from the World Juniors so I'm not too worried about his lack of big game experience although if it was up to me I'd go back to Murray.

OK, so let's go with your version. The loaded and invincible MinuteWagoners sent the best goalie in the league to the bench in shambles in their first meeting … so then, 24 hours later, despite apparently being skated off the ice by the Amherst Red Army for a second night in a row in the rematch, the best goalie in the league withstood the onslaught, and those spunky NU Huskies caught a break to steal a win from the otherwise totally dominant league leaders. Does that make you feel better?

* Their guy has a crappy RS game, gets pulled, and 24 hours later stands on his head to steal a win; or
* Your guy has a crappy playoff game, and his coach doesn't trust him enough for the rest of the series

* Primeau was the starter for the silver medalists in the World Juniors;
* Lindberg was a back-up for the gold medalists in the World Juniors

But if you think this all works out better for you guys, don't let me go ruining it for you.

[chickod]

Re: UNH v UMass HE qtr Final Extraganza

Obviously one of us saw that OT game at Mathews and one of us didn't. And the night before that loss we chased the "best goalie" back to the bench before the 2nd period was over so let's make sure we keep track of all the poopy pants out there. Our backup has a gold medal from the World Juniors so I'm not too worried about his lack of big game experience although if it was up to me I'd go back to Murray.

You're corresponding with Murray now.