UNH 2020 Off-Season Thread: That Rinky-Shrinky Thang And Other Lively Banter :D

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH 2020 Off-Season Thread: That Rinky-Shrinky Thang And Other Lively Banter

I didn't want to let it go too long before mentioning the recent announcement of Dartmouth HC Bob Gaudet deciding that this coming season will be his last behind the bench for his alma mater. Gaudet's program has been floundering in a similar pattern to Coach Umile's trajectory, with DC's seven year run of winning hockey in the early '00's now a distant memory. I didn't run his overall numbers … but after parlaying an 8 year stint behind the bench at Brown (with two winning seasons) into another 20+ years of overall sub-.500 hockey in Hanover, he'll be putting a wrap on over 30 seasons at the D-1 level well below .500. So we won't be seeing any "long farewell" for Coach Gaudet, but for a guy I never heard a bad thing about, I wish him all the best.

Coach Gaudet's most prominent link to UNH Hockey remains the 1979 ECAC Tourney Finals and the once-in-a-lifetime "Granite State Showdown" (my tag today - nothing of the sort back then!) pitting the two most prominent NH schools against each other with hardware on the line. Gaudet was the Darmouth starting goalie as a sophomore, and I recall he played pretty darned well, coming up short to fellow soph (and tourney MVP) Greg Moffat in goal for UNH when Bobby Gould #17 netted at 17:17 of the 3rd period for the tourney winning goal. I'd love to see a box score for that one, assuming a video isn't stored away somewhere (haven't seen it since the day I saw it live and in person). But I do recall some of the players, and it turns out Gaudet wasn't only not the most famous coach in the game (in retrospect), but he might have been only the 3rd most famous coach on his own team that night. Even on the UNH bench … not only was this still smack-dab in Charlie Holt's heyday, but he also had future three-time HE Coach of the Year Bruce Crowder skating on one of the 'Cats forward lines. Back on Gaudet's side of the ice, not only was a young Mike McShane assisting Dartmouth HC George Crowe that season, but skating on one of their forward lines was none other than Buddy Teevens, who was a two sport star in Hanover, and more famous as the starting QB for the Big Green football team. Teevens has since been Dartmouth Football's head coach on and off for most of the last 35 years.

Both teams would move on to Detroit for the 1979 Frozen Four at the Olympia, where UNH would lose to Minnesota, and North Dakota would advance over Dartmouth. Dartmouth would get a measure of revenge with a 7-3 win over what had to be a very disappointed (and possibly going-through-the-motions) UNH in the consolation game, while some guy named Herb Brooks (who less than a year later would be doing more important things somewhere else) would lead his Gophers to the National Title over the Sioux. The consolation game would be Ralph Cox's final appearance at UNH, and I guess I've always wondered if Coach Brooks not only factored in his original invitation to Cox for the 1980 Olympic trials, but even may have drawn from some negative observations he may have made during that long weekend in Detroit, when he decided on the final 1980 cut. We'll never know ...

[e.cat]

I didn't want to let it go too long before mentioning the recent announcement of Dartmouth HC Bob Gaudet deciding that this coming season will be his last behind the bench for his alma mater. Gaudet's program has been floundering in a similar pattern to Coach Umile's trajectory, with DC's seven year run of winning hockey in the early '00's now a distant memory. I didn't run his overall numbers … but after parlaying an 8 year stint behind the bench at Brown (with two winning seasons) into another 20+ years of overall sub-.500 hockey in Hanover, he'll be putting a wrap on over 30 seasons at the D-1 level well below .500. So we won't be seeing any "long farewell" for Coach Gaudet, but for a guy I never heard a bad thing about, I wish him all the best.

Coach Gaudet's most prominent link to UNH Hockey remains the 1979 ECAC Tourney Finals and the once-in-a-lifetime "Granite State Showdown" (my tag today - nothing of the sort back then!) pitting the two most prominent NH schools against each other with hardware on the line. Gaudet was the Darmouth starting goalie as a sophomore, and I recall he played pretty darned well, coming up short to fellow soph (and tourney MVP) Greg Moffat in goal for UNH when Bobby Gould #17 netted at 17:17 of the 3rd period for the tourney winning goal. I'd love to see a box score for that one, assuming a video isn't stored away somewhere (haven't seen it since the day I saw it live and in person). But I do recall some of the players, and it turns out Gaudet wasn't only not the most famous coach in the game (in retrospect), but he might have been only the 3rd most famous coach on his own team that night. Even on the UNH bench … not only was this still smack-dab in Charlie Holt's heyday, but he also had future three-time HE Coach of the Year Bruce Crowder skating on one of the 'Cats forward lines. Back on Gaudet's side of the ice, not only was a young Mike McShane assisting Dartmouth HC George Crowe that season, but skating on one of their forward lines was none other than Buddy Teevens, who was a two sport star in Hanover, and more famous as the starting QB for the Big Green football team. Teevens has since been Dartmouth Football's head coach on and off for most of the last 35 years.

Both teams would move on to Detroit for the 1979 Frozen Four at the Olympia, where UNH would lose to Minnesota, and North Dakota would advance over Dartmouth. Dartmouth would get a measure of revenge with a 7-3 win over what had to be a very disappointed (and possibly going-through-the-motions) UNH in the consolation game, while some guy named Herb Brooks (who less than a year later would be doing more important things somewhere else) would lead his Gophers to the National Title over the Sioux. The consolation game would be Ralph Cox's final appearance at UNH, and I guess I've always wondered if Coach Brooks not only factored in his original invitation to Cox for the 1980 Olympic trials, but even may have drawn from some negative observations he may have made during that long weekend in Detroit, when he decided on the final 1980 cut. We'll never know ...

Interesting stuff for sure back in the heyday!

[HockeyRef]

Re: UNH 2020 Off-Season Thread: That Rinky-Shrinky Thang And Other Lively Banter

Chuck while I am not if that UNH hockey era you guys speak of but it is interesting that the first thing Coach Brooks thought of when the US took the gold was Ralph Cox. (As per the stories I've read and heard). Makes you think...

[Snively65]

I didn't want to let it go too long before mentioning the recent announcement of Dartmouth HC Bob Gaudet deciding that this coming season will be his last behind the bench for his alma mater. Gaudet's program has been floundering in a similar pattern to Coach Umile's trajectory, with DC's seven year run of winning hockey in the early '00's now a distant memory. I didn't run his overall numbers … but after parlaying an 8 year stint behind the bench at Brown (with two winning seasons) into another 20+ years of overall sub-.500 hockey in Hanover, he'll be putting a wrap on over 30 seasons at the D-1 level well below .500. So we won't be seeing any "long farewell" for Coach Gaudet, but for a guy I never heard a bad thing about, I wish him all the best.

Coach Gaudet's most prominent link to UNH Hockey remains the 1979 ECAC Tourney Finals and the once-in-a-lifetime "Granite State Showdown" (my tag today - nothing of the sort back then!) pitting the two most prominent NH schools against each other with hardware on the line. Gaudet was the Darmouth starting goalie as a sophomore, and I recall he played pretty darned well, coming up short to fellow soph (and tourney MVP) Greg Moffat in goal for UNH when Bobby Gould #17 netted at 17:17 of the 3rd period for the tourney winning goal. I'd love to see a box score for that one, assuming a video isn't stored away somewhere (haven't seen it since the day I saw it live and in person). But I do recall some of the players, and it turns out Gaudet wasn't only not the most famous coach in the game (in retrospect), but he might have been only the 3rd most famous coach on his own team that night. Even on the UNH bench … not only was this still smack-dab in Charlie Holt's heyday, but he also had future three-time HE Coach of the Year Bruce Crowder skating on one of the 'Cats forward lines. Back on Gaudet's side of the ice, not only was a young Mike McShane assisting Dartmouth HC George Crowe that season, but skating on one of their forward lines was none other than Buddy Teevens, who was a two sport star in Hanover, and more famous as the starting QB for the Big Green football team. Teevens has since been Dartmouth Football's head coach on and off for most of the last 35 years.

Both teams would move on to Detroit for the 1979 Frozen Four at the Olympia, where UNH would lose to Minnesota, and North Dakota would advance over Dartmouth. Dartmouth would get a measure of revenge with a 7-3 win over what had to be a very disappointed (and possibly going-through-the-motions) UNH in the consolation game, while some guy named Herb Brooks (who less than a year later would be doing more important things somewhere else) would lead his Gophers to the National Title over the Sioux. The consolation game would be Ralph Cox's final appearance at UNH, and I guess I've always wondered if Coach Brooks not only factored in his original invitation to Cox for the 1980 Olympic trials, but even may have drawn from some negative observations he may have made during that long weekend in Detroit, when he decided on the final 1980 cut. We'll never know ...

Henry Bushnell's piece in Yahoo Sports on 21 February 2020 sheds some light on the last thought. Cox's broken ankle a month before decision time probably biggest factor. Also, Jack Hughes last guy cut, by about 10 minutes.

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH 2020 Off-Season Thread: That Rinky-Shrinky Thang And Other Lively Banter

Henry Bushnell's piece in Yahoo Sports on 21 February 2020 sheds some light on the last thought. Cox's broken ankle a month before decision time probably biggest factor. Also, Jack Hughes last guy cut, by about 10 minutes.

https://sports.yahoo.com/the-men-who...184500610.html

Fascinating article, Snives - even though I didn't see mention of Cox's injury, which I'll just assume was an oversight or edit - and especially with the part about Hughes. Sounds like they were 21A and 21B, with one a forward, and the other a defenseman. The order of the last two probably came down to Brooks' accurate reading of how the two meetings would go - Cox (with his injury) being more understanding, and Hughes being the more likely to get angry and make a scene. Brooks obviously identified more with Cox's situation more than he did with Hughes' situation, and that's reflected by the narrative that he'd woven about the team up until his death. With Hughes, with the benefit of distance and hindsight, it's easy to say he and Brooks were two headstrong individuals, and it's sad but hardly surprising that neither of those two men ever managed to find a way to bury the hatchet.

Roster construction these days is certainly different than it was 40 years ago, but Brooks was a pretty forward-thinking coach, so it's likely Cox lost out to one of the 3rd (or even 2nd) line forwards, assuming that Brooks' 4th liners were role players who were counted on for versatility or PK assignments in a pinch. Based on his penalty minutes in college and later in the pros, Hughes on the surface would seem to have been a perfect physical fit for Brooks' team. But Brooks' decision to move Dave Christian back from his usual forward role to a regular defenseman - perhaps with the dual purpose of having attacking depth later in the tourney if there was an injury to another forward - looks to have spelled the end for Hughes. Cox likely lost out to a kid like Verchota, Schneider or Strobel, with whom Brooks would have had institutional knowledge given their time together at Minnesota.

Regardless … even though neither knew it at the time, I suppose Cox had a big early opportunity that Spring of 1979 in Detroit to make a huge favorable impression on Brooks, who also pushed the fitness side hard because he felt that was an advantage Soviet teams had enjoyed over their North American competitors. UNH lost to Minnesota 4-3 in the semis - and I have no idea how well Cox played - and then looks to have "mailed in" a 7-3 consolation game loss to Dartmouth. Brooks wasn't named the head coach of the US Men's Olympic team until well after that long weekend in Detroit, but he obviously leaned on prior intelligence with his own UM players and many of their top Western D-1 competitors (UND, UMD, BGSU and Wisconsin, plus BU in the East) to make up the Olympics roster. It's probably to Cox's credit that he got as deep into the process as he did. Maybe it was his earlier injury … maybe he didn't have as rounded a two-way game as his competitors did … maybe he didn't have the flexibility that was needed, with a 20 man roster and no "taxi squad" in case of injury … or maybe, while Brooks saw lots of things to like about Cox's scoring ability in his time at UNH, he may have seen a brief glimpse or two during that "crossing of paths" in Detroit that he drew upon when making that final decision, and it turned out to be the deciding factor that let him stay loyal to a former Minnesota player?

At least in my mind, all very plausible possibilities. Thanks again for sharing, Snively65.

[Snively65]

https://sports.yahoo.com/the-men-who...184500610.html

Fascinating article, Snives - even though I didn't see mention of Cox's injury, which I'll just assume was an oversight or edit - and especially with the part about Hughes. Sounds like they were 21A and 21B, with one a forward, and the other a defenseman. The order of the last two probably came down to Brooks' accurate reading of how the two meetings would go - Cox (with his injury) being more understanding, and Hughes being the more likely to get angry and make a scene. Brooks obviously identified more with Cox's situation more than he did with Hughes' situation, and that's reflected by the narrative that he'd woven about the team up until his death. With Hughes, with the benefit of distance and hindsight, it's easy to say he and Brooks were two headstrong individuals, and it's sad but hardly surprising that neither of those two men ever managed to find a way to bury the hatchet.

Roster construction these days is certainly different than it was 40 years ago, but Brooks was a pretty forward-thinking coach, so it's likely Cox lost out to one of the 3rd (or even 2nd) line forwards, assuming that Brooks' 4th liners were role players who were counted on for versatility or PK assignments in a pinch. Based on his penalty minutes in college and later in the pros, Hughes on the surface would seem to have been a perfect physical fit for Brooks' team. But Brooks' decision to move Dave Christian back from his usual forward role to a regular defenseman - perhaps with the dual purpose of having attacking depth later in the tourney if there was an injury to another forward - looks to have spelled the end for Hughes. Cox likely lost out to a kid like Verchota, Schneider or Strobel, with whom Brooks would have had institutional knowledge given their time together at Minnesota.

Regardless … even though neither knew it at the time, I suppose Cox had a big early opportunity that Spring of 1979 in Detroit to make a huge favorable impression on Brooks, who also pushed the fitness side hard because he felt that was an advantage Soviet teams had enjoyed over their North American competitors. UNH lost to Minnesota 4-3 in the semis - and I have no idea how well Cox played - and then looks to have "mailed in" a 7-3 consolation game loss to Dartmouth. Brooks wasn't named the head coach of the US Men's Olympic team until well after that long weekend in Detroit, but he obviously leaned on prior intelligence with his own UM players and many of their top Western D-1 competitors (UND, UMD, BGSU and Wisconsin, plus BU in the East) to make up the Olympics roster. It's probably to Cox's credit that he got as deep into the process as he did. Maybe it was his earlier injury … maybe he didn't have as rounded a two-way game as his competitors did … maybe he didn't have the flexibility that was needed, with a 20 man roster and no "taxi squad" in case of injury … or maybe, while Brooks saw lots of things to like about Cox's scoring ability in his time at UNH, he may have seen a brief glimpse or two during that "crossing of paths" in Detroit that he drew upon when making that final decision, and it turned out to be the deciding factor that let him stay loyal to a former Minnesota player?

At least in my mind, all very plausible possibilities. Thanks again for sharing, Snively65.

Maybe you could comment on and also post links to these other related Ralph Cox articles, Chuck? Sorry that I cannot do with my antequated iPhone and lousy cell coverage.

Witnify in SBNation. 12 February 2014

Sam Weinma, Sports Illustrated, 21 December 2016

Seacoast Online, 6 February 2004

Also, I like this Ralph Cox quote from his own book titled 'Win at Losing .....': "Failure, if done properly, is the magical opportunity to create success and happiness."

[Darius]

Re: UNH 2020 Off-Season Thread: That Rinky-Shrinky Thang And Other Lively Banter

UNH construction impacted by coronavirus:
https://tnhdigital.com/2020/04/25/un...y-coronavirus/

No mention of the Whitt.

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH 2020 Off-Season Thread: That Rinky-Shrinky Thang And Other Lively Banter

Maybe you could comment on and also post links to these other related Ralph Cox articles, Chuck? Sorry that I cannot do with my antequated iPhone and lousy cell coverage.

Witnify in SBNation. 12 February 2014

Sam Weinma, Sports Illustrated, 21 December 2016

Seacoast Online, 6 February 2004

Also, I like this Ralph Cox quote from his own book titled 'Win at Losing .....': "Failure, if done properly, is the magical opportunity to create success and happiness."

I'll do you even one better, Snives …

https://www.sbnation.com/miracle-on-...e-last-man-cut

https://www.si.com/olympics/2016/12/...miracle-on-ice

https://www.seacoastonline.com/artic...ORTS/302069954

https://www.unionleader.com/sports/s...6bab48149.html

Interesting bit in the Seacoast Online item about UNH's own star-crossed hockey Hamlet Ed Caron, who apparently tried out for a role in the movie Miracle during the time he was at Yale, but backed out of his own volition because he (wait for it) … couldn't make the time commitment to the shooting. "To be, or not to be?" eh?? Anyway, looks like Eddie's finally sorted things out in real life too, so good for him. And certainly Cox has done exceedingly well post-hockey.

I'd heard the one about Mike Eruzione getting plucked away from UNH (and then-D2 Merrimack) by BU, but I hadn't been aware Dave Silk was also lined up to come to UNH a couple years later, until the dreaded UNH Admissions office stepped in to scuttle the deal. Eruzione (BU) … then Silk (BU) … then decades later, Gaudreau (BC). I guess UNH Admissions has confused themselves with Dartmouth Admissions for the better part of a half-century now. Can you imagine ...

[Snively65]

UNH construction impacted by coronavirus:
https://tnhdigital.com/2020/04/25/un...y-coronavirus/

No mention of the Whitt.

Thanks, Darius.

I heard this past week on WEEI that the SNHU Arena and the Whitt were no longer under consideration as neutral sites for hosting this year's Stanley Cup play offs.

[HockeyRef]

Re: UNH 2020 Off-Season Thread: That Rinky-Shrinky Thang And Other Lively Banter

Thanks, Darius.

I heard this past week on WEEI that the SNHU Arena and the Whitt were no longer under consideration as neutral sites for hosting this year's Stanley Cup play offs.

RATS! Was hoping for something like this but doubt fans could attend anyway? What a world, what a world!

[Snively65]

RATS! Was hoping for something like this but doubt fans could attend anyway? What a world, what a world!

Right-o. Empty arenas, but televised of course. Several teams of players would have been quarantined in dorms and maybe taken meals at Swillings. :-)

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH 2020 Off-Season Thread: That Rinky-Shrinky Thang And Other Lively Banter

Holy crap - no posts for over a week?!? Did the Kung Flu rip through this place, or what … ?!?

[Snively65]

Holy crap - no posts for over a week?!? Did the Kung Flu rip through this place, or what … ?!?

Everyone distracted by the Longisland University Div 1 hockey thread? :-)

[Aerman]

Re: UNH 2020 Off-Season Thread: That Rinky-Shrinky Thang And Other Lively Banter

UNH athletics awards streaming right now.

[jeteye1717]

Re: UNH 2020 Off-Season Thread: That Rinky-Shrinky Thang And Other Lively Banter

It’s my understanding that Tyler Ward could play for UNH in the 2020-21 season if the NCAA approves the one-time transfer waiver at its May meeting.

Well, as we now know, the NCAA has voted to "disprove" this proposed one-time transfer waiver, so what does that mean for recent transfers such Tyler Ward if the upcoming 2020-21 season is shortened, or canceled entirely? Since this ruling means the existing transfer rule(s) will remain in place, he will have to sit out one season before being allowed to play competitively for UNH. But what is the actual language in the statute? If the 2020-21 is canceled entirely, must he then sit out the *following* year since the "season" of his sport he was obliged to sit out was never played? And what if a reduced number of games are played instead, say 20 games of in-conference play only, must he then watch from the stands for the first 14 games in the 2021-22 season to meet his obligation of sitting for an entire "season" (as it's defined for each sport) of games? Or will a shortened slate of games be deemed a complete "season" in this instance, thus freeing him to play a full season of 34 games in 2021-22?

The NCAA has previously decided to grant an extra year of eligibility to seniors whose Spring sports seasons have already been canceled (baseball, lacrosse, etc.); will that benefit also be extended to transfers such as Ward if their upcoming Fall/Winter season is canceled? Our local DivI baseball coach is on record as saying there's not enough money available for both the presumably "extended" scholarships of seniors who chose to take this option + the committed scholarships of incoming freshmen (who normally would utilize the $$ freed up by the graduating seniors). Similarly, how might this play out at UNH? Ward has played 2 seasons for Denver, and must now sit out a "season" before suiting up for UNH; how many years of eligibility will he have left (and how many years to fulfill them) if the 2020-21 season is canceled? With this ruling - and no season-ending cancellations - UNH must now commit (presumably) 1 year of scholarship money to him; IF the season is canceled the money committed to him will now bleed into the following year's recruiting budget; will this mean an incoming player in that following year may be deferred since his promised money must now be redirected to Ward? It's all enough to make your head spin, and I expect that concrete answers are in short supply, since so much hinges on the yet-to-be-decided fate of 2020 Fall/Winter sports. Perhaps Watcher or Dan, who know so much more than I re: recruiting ins 'n outs, can chime in with some more informed speculation ...