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

[Snively65]

Agree, that on a 5-3 they should be able to get the puck side to side at the top, forcing the forward to chase there. Down low, they can get it side to side, but no defender has to chase, and the two forward can shut down the pass out to the points.

On the PP, they need to get Luke Reid as the puck mover, as Kalle Eriksson is bogging down the plays. While he's an off-the puck one timer option, he's not creative in moving the puck from the top of the umbrella, just side to side. They are overly reliant on Grasso for the one-timers, though I liked the change of having him in the center, keeping an option that needs to be covered instead of the defenders just going round the periphery.

And on the 5 on 5, they need to watch McDonald of PC, who manages to get pucks on the net with wrist shots. The UNH d seem unable to get pucks to the net. They cue it up for a bit open shot, rather than just buying space to get around the defenders.

Been watching this stupid 5-3 PP strategy by MS7 for six years. Dan claims that it worked the first time, six years ago, I think.

But, I blame failure in senior leadership (I am talking about you, Sato) for this debacle.

[Whalers]

Concerning if UNH would even think about replacing Souza because of how they typically let coaches stay around forever regardless of results until they want to leave (Umile, Friel, etc), I have to believe that the hockey program is different. It is arguably the premier program and bread winner, most of the rest are little more than vanity projects. As an example, if I am Ford Motor, all my eggs are in the F-150 basket because that is what drives everything else from a dollar standpoint. The new Bronco or small suv can be a bust, but if the F-150 is, then ****e gonna hit the fan because that revenue props up the others.

UNH has to have at least some people within that see this. When the President sees lack of fans and support for the team (once they are allowed to return), then he has to react and put some pressure on Scarano. The BIGGEST job of a University President is fund raising and he came from UNorth Carolina so would clearly see the correlation between winning and fund raising/donations. I have outlined the business school model previously, so the dollars in play are pretty significant for a school and athletic program like UNH. Especially after corona is over because this has already cost them $10-12 million.

If Souza's collar is getting tightened (hopefully), then he better have used a double windsor knot on the two assistants to get out and SELL, SELL, SELL the program.

[HockeyRef]

Good points here Whalers ,esp the "UNH has to have at least some people who see this". You lay out what should be a priority; the premiere $$ maker isn't going to make $$ etc. But we 've been clamoring about that now for how many years and yet, it hasn't seen the change it needs to create that? In fact, and, I don't know enough about it to go down this road, changes made to create revenue streams; I hope they are going to be enough to offset said losses you mention already. Yep, you'd think someone would notice....and, no truer words than your last sentence, figuratively speaking, of course!

[norbert]

Just read that students will be allowed to some level at games based on a lottery. You know who isn’t? Those of us paying year after year for tickets.

I’ll be interested to see how this process works out

[Chuck Murray]

Concerning if UNH would even think about replacing Souza because of how they typically let coaches stay around forever regardless of results until they want to leave (Umile, Friel, etc), I have to believe that the hockey program is different. It is arguably the premier program and bread winner, most of the rest are little more than vanity projects. As an example, if I am Ford Motor, all my eggs are in the F-150 basket because that is what drives everything else from a dollar standpoint. The new Bronco or small suv can be a bust, but if the F-150 is, then ****e gonna hit the fan because that revenue props up the others.

UNH has to have at least some people within that see this. When the President sees lack of fans and support for the team (once they are allowed to return), then he has to react and put some pressure on Scarano. The BIGGEST job of a University President is fund raising and he came from UNorth Carolina so would clearly see the correlation between winning and fund raising/donations. I have outlined the business school model previously, so the dollars in play are pretty significant for a school and athletic program like UNH. Especially after corona is over because this has already cost them $10-12 million.

If Souza's collar is getting tightened (hopefully), then he better have used a double windsor knot on the two assistants to get out and SELL, SELL, SELL the program.

Whalers, I think we're seeing the same things, and feeling the same frustrations with UNH allowing the program to wallow in the mediocre standing in which it presently stands. One quick point first ...

How do you propose MS7 and his crew are going to SELL, SELL, SELL their program?

The on-ice product right now is not exactly selling itself. That's a huge impediment. Are future recruits supposed to lap up some rote sell job from a program that struggles to crack .500? As in, all sizzle and no steak? Kids/parents aren't dumb, in fact they have access to more information on the recruiting process than anyone ever has in the history of D-1 hockey.

Player development, maybe? Uhhh ... players who stick around for 4 years (looking at you, Maass) are not progressing, and arguably regressing from developing players when young to mediocre, stagnant players later on. The best ones leave early.

The off-ice product - the vibe in the stands, full capacity crowds, etc. - are a thing of the past. Used to be a HUGE selling point, but when BSinfinity felt compelled to jump in and sterilize the fan experience, a selling point gradually disappeared.

This is why other programs with desperate coaches sometimes feel the need to take shortcuts.

Or why other programs decide to change coaches before their programs crater.

+++++++++++++++++

Today's game was just SO predictable ... 40 minutes of some pretty focused team defending, but just a momentary crack in the edifice, and all bad things just flow in immediately after. If we thought Umile teams were emotionally brittle under the pressure of post-season play at the highest levels ... well, MS7's teams should consider themselves lucky to ever get to that exalted position. Nope, instead, we get the team taking "brittle" to a whole new level, collapsing in nondescript midseason regular season games, like a pup tent under the slightest bit of headwinds. I absolutely detest the part of defending a PP by packing every one of your players at or under the dots. But that's what they continue to do. Get out, pressure the points, clear the slot, and trust your goalie to get good looks and make some saves. The 5 on 3 PP, that's been handled elsewhere.

Robinson had that same "Ayers 2003" look today after Maass messed up in his own end for a second straight night to hand the Friars a lead they never relinquished. Honestly, it's hard to blame him. He's been put in a place where he almost has to be perfect/flawless for his team to have a chance at points. And even when he does his part, which is on most occasions, there's either a veteran teammate making frosh mistakes, or his coaches using dumb passive tactics. It's a cluster, really.

Was the Sato penalty dumb or avoidable? Probably a little of both. But if you have some disciplined clarity from a coach, you'd know that you and your teammates had busted your collective butts for almost two full periods, and it was crucial not to do anything that gave the officials any reason to "even things up" on a night when most of the calls were going your way.

Even at that, the guys managed to kill almost the first two minutes before the second break. With a chance to change things up and maybe catch your opponent a little off-kilter, do you start pressuring the points a little, or do you instruct all four PK players to pack it in under the dots, and do snow angels in hopes of blocking most of the shots and shutting down passing lanes? So passive, so "playing not to lose". For every time it works, I bet there are at least as many times that it doesn't. And the underlying message is one of "we're not good enough" desperation. Not exactly a recipe for success.

This was a winnable game. For the better part of 40 minutes, your guys played relatively penalty-free, organized hockey, and took advantage of two situations for goals, while PC was becoming increasingly frustrated. Three (3) minutes at the start of the 3rd period clearly was going to define whatever followed. Kill that off, and PC is uber-frustrated, and you may even catch them on the break as they fester in their frustration. And if you do allow that first goal during the PK, then damned well make sure you fight back and don't allow them the traction to get a second. Even if the second one came a few seconds later, it was still connected to the PP/PK.

And reeling from the realization that they'd given up in less than 4 minutes what they'd worked so hard to earn over the first 40 minutes, the brittleness sets in, and the 3rd goal was a predictable as the Sun setting in the West.

I can accept and understand limited ability, player or coach. No one is perfect.

I can't tolerate competitive stupidity. And that, my friends, is where we are now.

I've never been closer to a "no mas" on UNH Hockey than I am right now. Sad but true.

This situation is going to require a LOT more than SELL, SELL, SELL I'm afraid ... :-(

[Chuck Murray]

Just to follow up on the interchange between myself and Whalers on SELL, SELL, SELL ...

... new game for our trusty UNH friends to play. You Be the Recruiting Team for MS7!!

Make believe you are Glenn Stewart or Jeff Guiliano. Or MS7 himself. List your selling points.

I will play the role of the snot-nosed 18 year old recruit and/or his parent(s).

Sell me on why 4 star blue chippah Chuck WIS Jr. should play for you at UNH?

NOTE: this exercise is conducted subject to the Maxwell Smart "Cone of Silence" rules, so anything proposed to my imaginary stud recruit or his family will NOT be reportable to the NCAA. If you need to "go there" then don't hold back. SELL me/my kid on UNH, no holds barred. HINTS: Junior likes girls, and his folks would like to retire early.

I'll provide feedback from the perspective of said recruit. Let's see how this goes ... :-)

[HockeyRef]

Whalers, I think we're seeing the same things, and feeling the same frustrations with UNH allowing the program to wallow in the mediocre standing in which it presently stands. One quick point first ...

How do you propose MS7 and his crew are going to SELL, SELL, SELL their program?

The on-ice product right now is not exactly selling itself. That's a huge impediment. Are future recruits supposed to lap up some rote sell job from a program that struggles to crack .500? As in, all sizzle and no steak? Kids/parents aren't dumb, in fact they have access to more information on the recruiting process than anyone ever has in the history of D-1 hockey.

Player development, maybe? Uhhh ... players who stick around for 4 years (looking at you, Maass) are not progressing, and arguably regressing from developing players when young to mediocre, stagnant players later on. The best ones leave early.

The off-ice product - the vibe in the stands, full capacity crowds, etc. - are a thing of the past. Used to be a HUGE selling point, but when BSinfinity felt compelled to jump in and sterilize the fan experience, a selling point gradually disappeared.

This is why other programs with desperate coaches sometimes feel the need to take shortcuts.

Or why other programs decide to change coaches before their programs crater.

+++++++++++++++++

Today's game was just SO predictable ... 40 minutes of some pretty focused team defending, but just a momentary crack in the edifice, and all bad things just flow in immediately after. If we thought Umile teams were emotionally brittle under the pressure of post-season play at the highest levels ... well, MS7's teams should consider themselves lucky to ever get to that exalted position. Nope, instead, we get the team taking "brittle" to a whole new level, collapsing in nondescript midseason regular season games, like a pup tent under the slightest bit of headwinds. I absolutely detest the part of defending a PP by packing every one of your players at or under the dots. But that's what they continue to do. Get out, pressure the points, clear the slot, and trust your goalie to get good looks and make some saves. The 5 on 3 PP, that's been handled elsewhere.

Robinson had that same "Ayers 2003" look today after Maass messed up in his own end for a second straight night to hand the Friars a lead they never relinquished. Honestly, it's hard to blame him. He's been put in a place where he almost has to be perfect/flawless for his team to have a chance at points. And even when he does his part, which is on most occasions, there's either a veteran teammate making frosh mistakes, or his coaches using dumb passive tactics. It's a cluster, really.

Was the Sato penalty dumb or avoidable? Probably a little of both. But if you have some disciplined clarity from a coach, you'd know that you and your teammates had busted your collective butts for almost two full periods, and it was crucial not to do anything that gave the officials any reason to "even things up" on a night when most of the calls were going your way.

Even at that, the guys managed to kill almost the first two minutes before the second break. With a chance to change things up and maybe catch your opponent a little off-kilter, do you start pressuring the points a little, or do you instruct all four PK players to pack it in under the dots, and do snow angels in hopes of blocking most of the shots and shutting down passing lanes? So passive, so "playing not to lose". For every time it works, I bet there are at least as many times that it doesn't. And the underlying message is one of "we're not good enough" desperation. Not exactly a recipe for success.

This was a winnable game. For the better part of 40 minutes, your guys played relatively penalty-free, organized hockey, and took advantage of two situations for goals, while PC was becoming increasingly frustrated. Three (3) minutes at the start of the 3rd period clearly was going to define whatever followed. Kill that off, and PC is uber-frustrated, and you may even catch them on the break as they fester in their frustration. And if you do allow that first goal during the PK, then ****ed well make sure you fight back and don't allow them the traction to get a second. Even if the second one came a few seconds later, it was still connected to the PP/PK.

And reeling from the realization that they'd given up in less than 4 minutes what they'd worked so hard to earn over the first 40 minutes, the brittleness sets in, and the 3rd goal was a predictable as the Sun setting in the West.

I can accept and understand limited ability, player or coach. No one is perfect.

I can't tolerate competitive stupidity. And that, my friends, is where we are now.

I've never been closer to a "no mas" on UNH Hockey than I am right now. Sad but true.

This situation is going to require a LOT more than SELL, SELL, SELL I'm afraid ... :-(

This is the hard part. Def winnable. Saw Mike R pound his stick on the bench at the end, that was all I could watch didn't see the end. For the life of me, oh, never mind. As per your game, Chuck, hope you get some takers...

[Chuck Murray]

This is the hard part. Def winnable. Saw Mike R pound his stick on the bench at the end, that was all I could watch didn't see the end. For the life of me, oh, never mind. As per your game, Chuck, hope you get some takers...

Me too, HR.

Are you saying, though, that you can't come up with anything to sell my imaginary teenager/stud prospect on the benefits of playing the next few years of his burgeoning career in Durham?

He's kinda dopey, and when he's not playing hockey, he likes ice cream and puppies, too. :-)

[HockeyRef]

Me too, HR.

Are you saying, though, that you can't come up with anything to sell my imaginary teenager/stud prospect on the benefits of playing the next few years of his burgeoning career in Durham?

He's kinda dopey, and when he's not playing hockey, he likes ice cream and puppies, too. :-)

haha you know I work with this kid all day right? lol...I'd like to come up with a song kinda like "Escape" and put in noteworthy Durham highlights...could be the new recruiting song ya know. Or how's 'bout "Please Don't Go to Boston" to the tune of "Please Come to Boston" but, discouraging things like the Bean Pot, winning HE titles, you know, the ave stuff. Remember that song? Here's what I've got for one verse and the chorus for our young man, 'Hockey Boy'.


Please come to Durham and play your hockey
We got the beach within your reach not far away
The bean pot and HE titles are over rated
Though we got a few of those don't cha know?

Please come to Durham, don't say no, Hockey Boy, won't you come play for me?

And he said,

Oh Hockey Boy why don'tcha settle down?
Boston ain't your kind o' town.
We got the 'Whitt and there ain't no body like me...
I'm the number one fan of a man named Umile....
I'm the number one fan of a man named Umileeeeee.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TedXFSUUboY

[Chuck Murray]

haha you know I work with this kid all day right? lol...I'd like to come up with a song kinda like "Escape" and put in noteworthy Durham highlights...could be the new recruiting song ya know. Or how's 'bout "Please Don't Go to Boston" to the tune of "Please Come to Boston" but, discouraging things like the Bean Pot, winning HE titles, you know, the ave stuff. Remember that song? Here's what I've got for one verse and the chorus for our young man, 'Hockey Boy'.


Please come to Durham and play your hockey
We got the beach within your reach not far away
The bean pot and HE titles are over rated
Though we got a few of those don't cha know?

Please come to Durham, don't say no, Hockey Boy, won't you come play for me?

And he said,

Oh Hockey Boy why don'tcha settle down?
Boston ain't your kind o' town.
We got the 'Whitt and there ain't no body like me...
I'm the number one fan of a man named Umile....
I'm the number one fan of a man named Umileeeeee.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TedXFSUUboY

Creative!!! That gets you some bonus points, HR. That's the good news ...

Unfortunately, Junior doesn't go for sappy '70's folk songs, like the ones we both grew up on.

His idea of "oldies" is the Britney Spears back catalogue, or maybe Backstreet Boys?

Try again. Or as BS herself might suggest ... "Hit me baby, one more time" ...

[NCAA watcher]

The presumptuousness of this board, trying to tell the Master Recruiter how to do his job

https://www.uscho.com/2018/03/14/wit...ildcats-coach/

“Mike is a master recruiter and evaluates talent very well,” said Umile. “He is a hard worker and is well respected. As a graduate of UNH and a former student-athlete, he understands the school and the program. He brings respect, enthusiasm and hard work to the rink. Mike is a natural and will lead the program to tremendous success. I am very excited for him and his family.”

And if you can't just rely on another Master Recruiter like Coach Umile to give you an unbiased evaluation, then your name isn't Marty Scarano. It's management 101 to allow retiring people to hand pick their successors. Otherwise the proud tradition of nepotism dies, and you suddenly end up with a meritocracy.

Let's focus on the real problem. If we're quoting oldies, the line about who bears ultimate responsibility that rings in my head is "you screwed up, you trusted us"

[Chuck Murray]

The presumptuousness of this board, trying to tell the Master Recruiter how to do his job

https://www.uscho.com/2018/03/14/wit...ildcats-coach/

And if you can't just rely on another Master Recruiter like Coach Umile to give you an unbiased evaluation, then your name isn't Marty Scarano. It's management 101 to allow retiring people to hand pick their successors. Otherwise the proud tradition of nepotism dies, and you suddenly end up with a meritocracy.

Let's focus on the real problem. If we're quoting oldies, the line about who bears ultimate responsibility that rings in my head is "you screwed up, you trusted us"

I guess your pitch to my imaginary bambino hockey spawn goes something like this then, 'Watcher?

"Come ta UNH, if ya know what's good for ya, kid. I'm gonna make ya an offah ya can't refuse."

Not sure how that works for my kid ... he's not paisan like Souza, Umile nor Scarano?!? Just sayin' ...

[Chuck Murray]

BTW does anyone know what Brian McCloskey is doing these days?

Shame he (understandably) probably won't take BS' calls anymore ...

[Snively65]

BTW does anyone know what Brian McCloskey is doing these days?

Shame he (understandably) probably won't take BS' calls anymore ...

Is this a trick question? Assistant coach at Dartmouth the past three seasons, but likely hanging out in Newburyport this season, as Reid Cashman brought in his own assistants?

[NCAA watcher]

I guess your pitch to my imaginary bambino hockey spawn goes something like this then, 'Watcher?

"Come ta UNH, if ya know what's good for ya, kid. I'm gonna make ya an offah ya can't refuse."

Not sure how that works for my kid ... he's not paisan like Souza, Umile nor Scarano?!? Just sayin' ...

No, it's actually....

"Hi [recruit]. [___], my new recruiting assistant, who has been watching you while he was recruiting you for ____*** top 10 school ***, has told me you're his kind of player, and so you're now my guy. We share a vision, that I'll talk about in a few seconds. Since we share that vision, I trust ______, and have told him to make all the decisions before meeting with me as the HC. But otherwise he has my 100% faith to pick his new kids. Let me tell you a little bit about my situation. I used three years to evaluate the program and how I wanted to go, and have now decided this is unacceptable. I was young and made mistakes, just as you as a player will make mistakes your first two years. But you'll learn from them, and I have learned. Mistakes are OK, as long as we learn from them, so I will be hard on you if you repeat mistakes. I have learned, and I'm not going to repeat my mistakes, otherwise we'll never win HE, which is what I now have an urgency to do by the time you're a senior here. To do that, we have about 4 very good pieces in the pipeline, but we're blowing out all other parts of the existing organization. This is new start, and I want you to join with Ardanaz, Evans, Carfagna and Gagne as the core of my teams. We have about 8 kids who we have told we'll honor their scholarships but they are no longer on the team. That leaves lots of room for new kids, and ___ and I want you to be part of that reboot. You'll be able to tell people you helped restore UNH hockey to the HE finals. We're going to focus on small fast forward who can create turnovers and actually do something with the puck once they possess it. I envision you as having the skills that you'll be able to play on a line with Evans, who is exactly that sort of player. I can't promise you that, but I think you can earn it, and there's lots of opportunties, so scouts will see you a lot on top lines and PP right away. Because of where we are, you'll get more opportunity right away than at other HE schools. And that excitement will bring back the best fans, including the students. So I'd love it if you want to be part of this team, can I count on you?"