The Barr Has Been Raised at UMaine

[Fishman'81]

Reading between the lines, it appears that Alfie might still be in the mix, and why not?

[Chuck Murray]

So in your 'adult world' the right way to do things is to have someone else give the bad news?

I suspect McMahon just worded his story clumsily. Barr should hire/fire whoever he wants without interference. It's kind of odd this wasn't announced soon after Barr took the job.

Please follow closely here ... Guite applied for the HC job through Ralph, and would only have disclosed to Ralph that he was interested in the AC job as a "Plan B" (which in and of itself would have been highly unusual). So yeah, actually, it all makes perfect adult sense this way. Except, of course, to you, who has been habitually and comically wrong each step of the way.

You also understand that Ralph is Barr's administrative boss, correct? No doubt Barr will have a whole lot of latitude with his staffing selections, but as the department head, Ralph has final sign-off on any assistant coaches hired by Barr (due diligence, background, etc.). That's not "interference", it's organizational basics. Should Barr be able to hire/fire the ticket manager too?

"Clumsy" is a perfect word, though, to describe how you've consistently misread each and every step of the process. I will apologize, though, for calling you a 14 year old kid in my last post. I clearly overestimated. You're 12 years old tops, right??

[amkirby10]

Reading between the lines, it appears that Alfie might still be in the mix, and why not?

I think he should be. Swayman has spoken glowingly about him in the NHL press, and he made Rob McGovern and Matt Morris look like capable goaltenders at times as well. Plus, he would placate the segment of the fanbase that absolutely must have a connection to the glory days somewhere within the program.

[Ralph Baer]

I listened to this yesterday and unfortunately he doesn't talk a lot about Maine. The only thing of note is that he only went up to Orono for a day or two and has spent the rest of the time in Amherst(with his family situation very understandable.) That's likely the reason we haven't heard anything regarding the Ben and Alfie. I went back and checked and when Red was hired he had told Kerluke and Corkum within a week they weren't coming back.

Does recruiting start back up Tuesday? If that is still the plan that would be the only reason I would think he would want to have the coaching staff finalized soon. Maine doesn't really have a desperate need for bodies, but obviously I think we all want to see some quality added.

Agreed. Here is a link which will start with Barr's segment https://overcast.fm/+UV2lsG4AM/26:28. It skips a half hour of non-hockey material.

[umhockey91]

I just want coaches that know what they are doing....and change things up when something isn't working. I'd say that Alfie is more than capable considering how the goaltenders have performed under his tutelage. Unless Barr can bring in a proven commodity to replace him....I don't know why he wouldn't retain him. Guite on the other hand was responsible for recruiting which has been way less than stellar......whatever his excuses might be, he just didn't get the job done. Time for him to move on and good luck in his future endeavors.

On a side note regarding Alfond......I'd like to see them renovate the seating in the upper levels on the side to be all chairback seats....and make them wide enough so you are not spilling into your neighbor. It would shrink capacity a bit but in this day and age....not such a big deal. I got to thinking about this when reading about UConn's new arena which will have very limited capacity but great amenities.

[Wayuphere]

Reading between the lines, it appears that Alfie might still be in the mix, and why not?

Keep Alfie. UNH fans need that reminder of what could have been…..lol.

[Drew S.]

I did read Josh Siembida left Yale soon after Barr was announced as head coach. Here is his bio https://yalebulldogs.com/sports/mens...h-siembida/938 Maybe he is one of the coaches Barr wants? I doubt he would have both him and Alfie on the staff.

I think whether Alfie stays or not is dependent if Barr wants someone as strictly a goalie coach or not. There are obviously different philosophies on that.

[Drew S.]

Forgot to mention in my post earlier that the school’s FY ends 6/30. Could they be waiting until July to officially get rid of Guite and potentially Alfie to bring in new assistant(s)? It would be disappointing if an accounting gimmick delays hiring new assistants for a month and a half but seems like something Maine would do.

[Chuck Murray]

Forgot to mention in my post earlier that the school’s FY ends 6/30. Could they be waiting until July to officially get rid of Guite and potentially Alfie to bring in new assistant(s)? It would be disappointing if an accounting gimmick delays hiring new assistants for a month and a half but seems like something Maine would do.

This is actually the sanest thing you've posted on this entire topic. Not knowing how UMaine pays its employees, it's quite possible there is an agreement for Barr to stay on the books at UMass for the rest of their FY, assuming it may end the same date as UMaine's FY (6/30)? It would also allow UMaine to finish paying out the balance of Guite's 2020/2021 contract prior to separation of employment. Considering Barr's oft-cited "family situation" (twins), there are also potential insurance issues in play that could be easier to coordinate if the two schools' FY end on the same date.

It also would allow Barr some additional time to finalize his incoming staff, UMaine to do the due diligence, and Guite to get a head start on his "landing on his feet somewhere else". Sure, there may be a short hold on formal recruiting, but certainly nothing to prevent Barr from calling up recruits not attached to UMass (where I'm sure he has an accord on pending recruits with Carvel) to see if he can get a head start on beefing up the UMaine roster for the coming season. From what most of you guys have posted, it sounds like UMaine has plenty of players coming back/coming in, so maybe Barr's plan is to inventory what he's already got (I'm sure he was already well into that process in prepping for his interview), and then concentrate on maybe one or two late impact guys (perhaps from the portal?), and then hit the road full bore with focus on 2022/2023 and beyond? Or he could clean house, along the lines of what he and Carvel did at UMass? Will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

[Fishman'81]

Keep Alfie. UNH fans need that reminder of what could have been…..lol.

Ain't that the truth lol.

Every time I think of the '99 NC game, I have nightmares regarding how clinched my AH was.

UNH was loaded that year, and terrifyingly fast. Chuckles can help me out here, but wasn't that a Krog, Haydar, Mowers team?

Alfie absolutely saved the bacon, UHN was a far better than the Denver team who found an acorn vs. Maine in 2000.

[Chuck Murray]

Ain't that the truth lol.

Every time I think of the '99 NC game, I have nightmares regarding how clinched my AH was.

UNH was loaded that year, and terrifyingly fast. Chuckles can help me out here, but wasn't that a Krog, Haydar, Mowers team?

Alfie absolutely saved the bacon, UHN was a far better than the Denver team who found an acorn vs. Maine in 2000.

Actually, Mowers graduated the previous season, capping off his senior year ('98) with a shorthanded OT game winning goal in Albany against BU to send UNH to its first FF in almost 20 years (where they hacked up the obligatory Umile hairball with a 4-0 semis loss to Michigan). Derek Bekar was a classmate of Krog's and skated on his left wing for 3 years before he left to go pro after the '98 season, a year early. Krog stayed for his senior year in '99, while Haydar was a frosh. Current UNH HC Mike Souza ("MS7") was a junior in '99, and basically took Bekar's slot on the left wing with Haydar (RW) and Krog (C). I believe Haydar and Souza both scored in the '99 FF Finals. Bekar was the huge "miss" that year, "what might have been?", etc.

I've never begrudged Alfie for performing so well under the pressure of that title game. That's a quality to be admired, and how I feel about that will not change, whether or not Alfie ends up staying under Coach Barr. Huge respect for Michaud here.

Wasn't that Denver-UMaine game you noted the '04 FF Finals in Boston, not 2000 (when BC won)?

[Drew S.]

Actually, Mowers graduated the previous season, capping off his senior year ('98) with a shorthanded OT game winning goal in Albany against BU to send UNH to its first FF in almost 20 years (where they hacked up the obligatory Umile hairball with a 4-0 semis loss to Michigan). Derek Bekar was a classmate of Krog's and skated on his left wing for 3 years before he left to go pro after the '98 season, a year early. Krog stayed for his senior year in '99, while Haydar was a frosh. Current UNH HC Mike Souza ("MS7") was a junior in '99, and basically took Bekar's slot on the left wing with Haydar (RW) and Krog (C). I believe Haydar and Souza both scored in the '99 FF Finals. Bekar was the huge "miss" that year, "what might have been?", etc.

I've never begrudged Alfie for performing so well under the pressure of that title game. That's a quality to be admired, and how I feel about that will not change, whether or not Alfie ends up staying under Coach Barr. Huge respect for Michaud here.

Wasn't that Denver-UMaine game you noted the '04 FF Finals in Boston, not 2000 (when BC won)?

North Dakota won in 2000 after beating Maine in the semis.

[walrus]

North Dakota won in 2000 after beating Maine in the semis.

Cory Larose in the stands for Butt ending in the Michigan game

[Chuck Murray]

North Dakota won in 2000 after beating Maine in the semis.

I stand corrected, BC won over NoDak in 2001.

[Fishman'81]

Actually, Mowers graduated the previous season, capping off his senior year ('98) with a shorthanded OT game winning goal in Albany against BU to send UNH to its first FF in almost 20 years

Of course, I have the CRS these days.

Mowers is from just down the road from us; my mom knew his mom.

Anyhoo, not blowing smoke up your behind when I say that I fondly recall Umile's best teams. Very fun to watch, unless your boys were facing them.