The Barr Has Been Raised at UMaine

[DavidNardolillo]

If the RPI job opens up again, it might be the only D-1 job Barr considers leaving UMaine for ... ?

Trying to wind the RPI fans up? Some still upset RPI passed up the chance to hire Barr 3 years ago.

[Chuck Murray]

I found someone I would be happy with, Kevin Sneddon. It looks like he isn't coaching right now and would be great in helping Ben transition to being a head coach. I see him helping in some of the areas Ben could potentially struggle with and stuff a lot of people on here overlook. To me someone with that sort of background would bring a lot more value than some random 30 year old. I'm not sure if he would be interested but I doubt he would ever be in the mix for another head coaching job in Hockey East and at his age it might be something to get the competitive juices flowing again.

Holy crap, just when you thought it couldn't get worse, he comes up with ... Kevin Sneddon.

Kevin Sneddon, five years of non-winning hockey at Union, followed by about seventeen more seasons of mediocrity at UVM, never won anything. Not a single regular season title, not a single conference tourney title, and never even close to a D-1 national title. Makes Dick Umile look like Vince Lombardi by comparison. Plus, he's now 51 years old, retired from UVM, and running his own hockey training program in Essex VT, so it's clear he's settled in to the Burlington VT area for the long haul. He looks to have come to terms with whatever "competitive juices" issues he harbored up to his retirement.

Apparently his best qualification for the AC gig at UMaine is "he isn't coaching right now", and would bring more value to the UMaine program than "some random 30 year old". Keeping in mind, of course, that "random 30 year olds" like Ben Barr (at Union) and Shawn Walsh (UMaine) were doing pretty well in their gigs by the time they hit 30. And if Barr struggles with transitioning to HC, I think he's a call away from former mentors Bennet, Leaman, Murray and Carvel - two of whom aren't even coaching in the same conference as Barr this coming season, and all of whom are superior to Kevin Sneddon.

And before you try to give Sneddon the big let-off for coaching at two middle of the pack programs, keep in mind that Union managed to win a D-1 title about a decade after the Sneddon Era ended in Schenectady (with lots of help from this random 30 year old assistant named Ben Barr), and UVM had been to the Frozen Four a few years before the Sneddon Era began in Burlington. So those places both had potential ... which Sneddon never managed to capture and realize.

All of this doesn't even touch upon why Sneddon (a Harvard guy) would consider uprooting himself to relocate to Orono to work for a guy a dozen years younger than he is.

UMaine just won the biggest coaching hire of the season, now you're determined to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Take a kind word of advice from a stranger, and let Barr do his job, OK?

[Drew S.]

Hook, line, and sinker

[amkirby10]

"I was only trolling"

[AMC]

Hook, line, and sinker

Here I just thought you had a hard-on for coaches with a .438 career winning percentage.

[Fishman'81]

Respectfully, people said the same sh-- about bringing a top coaching candidate to Orono and they just brought in who was considered to be one of the top assistants & best HC candidates in the nation. I have full faith that Barr has developed connections under the tutelage of some of college hockey's best minds. I'm personally of the opinion that the only current Assistant that will stay is Alfie - and that's a big if. Guite, was just the interim HC & interviewed for the same position, so while he might be a solid assistant there's a conflict of interest and ultimately Barr maintains the right to bring in whoever the hell he wants.

I get the sentimental UMaine connection, but let's get the best people here for the job and win.

Seems to me that Alfie has earned at least a 1-3 year extension, anyway.

[Fishman'81]

Respectfully, people said the same sh-- about bringing a top coaching candidate to Orono and they just brought in who was considered to be one of the top assistants & best HC candidates in the nation. I have full faith that Barr has developed connections under the tutelage of some of college hockey's best minds. I'm personally of the opinion that the only current Assistant that will stay is Alfie - and that's a big if. Guite, was just the interim HC & interviewed for the same position, so while he might be a solid assistant there's a conflict of interest and ultimately Barr maintains the right to bring in whoever the hell he wants.

I get the sentimental UMaine connection, but let's get the best people here for the job and win.

Ben was a decent to good college player, and hung around the NHL for a while... None of that makes him an effective NCAA coach/recruiter. The evidence is clear on that point.

[umhockey91]

If it makes sense with construction time lines....I expect Alfond renovations to leapfrog football and basketball facilities. I think that women's field facilities will be first (2022) then Alfond will be next (2023 probably in time for the 2024-2025 season.

[Chuck Murray]

Trying to wind the RPI fans up? Some still upset RPI passed up the chance to hire Barr 3 years ago.

Once upon a time (1991), my NY Football Giants hired Ray Handley as their HC instead of Bill Belichick ... and 30+ years before that, they let their top assistants Vince Lombardi (GB) and Tom Landry (Dallas) leave so they could preserve a right of succession for Allie frickin' Sherman. Never mind that Belichick, Lombardi and Landry were not quite famous yet at the time, but even if Barr proves to be the second coming of Walshy, RPI will have some ways to go to match the NYFG's record of futility in letting 3 of the most iconic coaches in their sport's history walk out the door in poor HC decisions. Thank God there was still Bill Parcells and Tom Coughlin in the mix to salvage 4 Super Bowls for the franchise over my lifetime, although that clearly pales by comparison with Lombardi (5 NFL titles in 10 seasons - including the NFL's one & only three-peat - before his untimely passing), Belichick (6 SB's in 26 seasons), and even Landry (2 SB's over 29 years, plus what at least used to be the NFL's longest-ever playoffs streak).

I've got no quarrel with RPI fans - and if Barr succeeds (again), I'll know how they feel.

[Drew S.]

Once upon a time (1991), my NY Football Giants hired Ray Handley as their HC instead of Bill Belichick ... and 30+ years before that, they let their top assistants Vince Lombardi (GB) and Tom Landry (Dallas) leave so they could preserve a right of succession for Allie frickin' Sherman. Never mind that Belichick, Lombardi and Landry were not quite famous yet at the time, but even if Barr proves to be the second coming of Walshy, RPI will have some ways to go to match the NYFG's record of futility in letting 3 of the most iconic coaches in their sport's history walk out the door in poor HC decisions. Thank God there was still Bill Parcells and Tom Coughlin in the mix to salvage 4 Super Bowls for the franchise over my lifetime, although that clearly pales by comparison with Lombardi (5 NFL titles in 10 seasons - including the NFL's one & only three-peat - before his untimely passing), Belichick (6 SB's in 26 seasons), and even Landry (2 SB's over 29 years, plus what at least used to be the NFL's longest-ever playoffs streak).

I've got no quarrel with RPI fans - and if Barr succeeds (again), I'll know how they feel.

I don’t think co-head coaches is the way to go regardless of how good they are.

[Chuck Murray]

I don't think co-head coaches is the way to go regardless of how good they are.

Reading comprehension isn't a strong suit of yours, is it?

Or is this another of your clever "hook, line, sinker" thingies??

[NorthMike]

If it makes sense with construction time lines....I expect Alfond renovations to leapfrog football and basketball facilities. I think that women's field facilities will be first (2022) then Alfond will be next (2023 probably in time for the 2024-2025 season.

When does the contract with cross center end?
Might affect bball facility schedule.

[Drew S.]

Lomberg!!!! I’m so happy for him.

[Fishman'81]

I think it's great you're willing to wait 5 seasons, I just hope others are as patient. Here is a chart showing the cumulative winning percentage of 9 current and former coaches; 6 considered very successful, and 3 considered successful so far. As can be seen all but one had a record below 0.400 after one season, but after the fifth season 7 had records above 0.500 and 2 had records over 0.600:



I didn't identify the coaches by name as it's summer and I thought it might be fun to see if anyone can identify them. In no particular order the 9 coaches are:
Red Berenson
Jerry York
Eric Lang
Rand Pecknold
Shawn Walsh
Scott Sandelin
Greg Carvel
Ron Mason
Nate Leaman

As for Drew S.'s previous statement about needing to know where the program had been when a coach took over here is where they were:
Red Berenson: Michigan - two decades of mediocrity, with only one league and one NCAA runners-up eight seasons earlier, two consecutive losing seasons below 0.400
Jerry York: BC - three consecutive losing seasons and a mess with scholarships
Eric Lang: AIC - 22 consecutive losing seasons
Rand Pecknold: Quinnipiac - 13 of 19 losing seasons, 5 consecutive losing seasons
Shawn Walsh: Maine - a young program with three consecutive losing seasons
Scott Sandelin: UMD - 14 seasons of mediocrity, with only one regular season and one FF appearance eight seasons earlier, two consecutive losing seasons
Greg Carvel: UMass - 18 losing seasons out of 22, ten consecutive seasons at or below 0.500
Ron Mason: MSU - 30 seasons of mediocrity, 13 seasons removed from a surprise NCAA title and 12 seasons removed from a surprise return to the FF, three consecutive losing seasons
Nate Leaman: PC - 15 seasons of mediocrity, 11 seasons removed from a league runners-up and NCAA appearance, five consecutive losing seasons

So, yes, you will need to be patient, ,but if Coach Barr is the right coach for Maine he should have the program headed solidly in the right direction after five seasons.

No way any of us will (or could) compile the data to guess who is whom... But, who is Mr. Lavender, and who is Mr. Green?

(I'd guess that Mr. Green is Walshie.)

[amkirby10]

No way any of us will (or could) compile the data to guess who is whom... But, who is Mr. Lavender, and who is Mr. Green?

(I'd guess that Mr. Green is Walshie.)

Walsh is the light blue I think.