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

[HockeyRef]

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

"he was an unbelievable centerman. We had the puck all the time because he won the faceoff all the time. . . . That’s something that probably gets overlooked at this level."

yes!! Faceoffs matter!!!

[Whalers]

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

I've got several from the same list - all Eastern guys as well (in order, top to bottom):

Martin St. Louis
Paul Kariya
Joey Mullen
Chris Drury
Jason Krog


Hard for me to include Eichel instead of Drury, and ditto Gionta instead of Mullen

I originally placed both Drury and Gaudreau on the list. Drury was really special and such a great leader. Figured if I put him on the list vs Eichel, people would say "what, did you only watch hockey east for just 6 years?" Gaudreau was also a super special player, but the rivalry had dropped quite a bit by then so viewed in a different light. The bitterness of the admissions dept not even taking a LOOK at his transcript also too fresh. Gionta was always the player you didnt want to see walking thru the door because you just knew he was going to do something to stomp you but you couldnt look away. The biggest factor for not having two eagles - I coudlnt reward all those diehard BC fans who would dress up as seats when they "attended" non-BU games at Conte.

[chickod]

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

Hard for me to include Eichel instead of Drury, and ditto Gionta instead of Mullen

Yeah, I would agree, because we can't consider hypotheticals, but I think if Eichel had not left after one season it could be different...at least it would be "arguable."

[Greg Ambrose]

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

I've got several from the same list - all Eastern guys as well (in order, top to bottom):

Martin St. Louis
Paul Kariya
Joey Mullen
Chris Drury
Jason Krog


Hard for me to include Eichel instead of Drury, and ditto Gionta instead of Mullen

Except for Kariya, it's pretty hard for me to anoint a guy as one of the best if he played only one year in college. You could see Eichel was going to be a very good NHL player. He's one of the few college players I ever saw who was in full speed mode on his first step. And he was wicked talented and, if he stayed in school, he projected to be totally dominant by, say, his junior year. But he didn't (for very good reasons) so I have to disqualify him. I notice in your post Chuck, as well as others, that there are no defensemen. The best college defenseman I ever saw was Brian Leetch. He had it all. Great skater, great shot, great defender. But he only played one year of college, so he's disqualified as well.

Very tough to choose between Drury and Gionta because there are so many similarities between them. They both had great offensive instincts but were also bulldogs defensively, were great leaders on the ice, always in the thick of things when it counted and they both won championships. I'd take Gionta over Drury simply because he won the last game of his career in the FF in Albany in 2001 while Drury lost his on Mowers OT goal at the same rink (I always throw that in the face of BU fans). Of course, Drury won the Hobey and Gionta did not so there is that. Like I said, a very tough choice. St. Louis has to be there, he was the most electric performer this side of Kariya I ever saw in college. You know, the last couple of weeks I have been watching the Bruins run to the 2011 Cup and the Tampa series was unbelievable hockey played by both teams. And St. Louis, even at an advanced age, was the Lightning's best offensive player. He was something. As for Krog, Mr. Consistency for his last three years. It always surprised me that he did not have better success in the NHL because he had all the offensive tools. Maybe a tad to slow? I don't know.

So enough of that. This thread got me to thinking of the great UNH players I have seen since I started watching the team in 1970. I know I go back a long way, although not as far as Snively, so here goes. I'm going to do a top five per decade with conviction up through 2010, but the teens? I'll have a list but, frankly, the overall talent drop off was so stark, it would be an injustice to lump them in with the greats who came before them. Just my opinion. Fire away.

1970s. All offense, no defense. I am omitting probably the most recognizable UNH name, Rod Langway, from this list because, frankly, he was just okay at UNH. He was incredibly athletic but I don't think his attributes translated to the college game as much as it did with others. Much like Norm Lacombe who came along in the '80s. Anyway, in no particular order:
Gordie Clark, Jamie Hislop, Bob Miller, Ralph Cox, Bob Gould. Tough to leave out - Cliff Cox, Dave Lumley, Tim Burke, Cap Raeder
1980s. A very fallow period for UNH. Pretty good for the first few years, absolutely miserable in the middle period, the rejuvenation at the end. Slim pickings overall:
Andy Brickley, Danny Potter, Steve Leach, James Richmond, Chris Winnes. Tough to leave out - Peter Douris, Greg Rota, Bruce Gillies
1990s. Started with the rebuild, ended with . . . well you know. Great time for any UNH fan.
I have to have one guy from that 1992 team on this list so I'll pick Savo Mitrovic over Joe Flanagan and Dominic Amodeo. Mitrovic was a bulldog. Certainly not as skilled as some but the prototypical Umile player. Beyond him, the obvious - Mark Mowers, Jason Krog, Derek Bekar, Tom Nolan. Tough to leave out - Flanagan, Amodeo, Rob Donovan, Eric Nickulas, Tim Murray, Jamie Filipowicz and maybe two or three more I just forgot about.
The aughts. Two more Frozen Fours and a pretty impressive streak of NCAA appearances. Frankly, they should have accomplished more, especially towards the end of decade but whatever.
Darren Haydar, Ty Conklin, Sean Collins, Colin Hemingway, James vanReimsdyk. Tough to leave off - Steve Saviano (very tough), Brett Hemingway, Josh Prudden, Michael Ayers, Brian Foster, Bobby Butler, Paul Thompson, Blake Kessel. This is off the top of my head and, like the 90s, I know there are more so I have no problem with you helping me.
The teens? Steve Moses, Trevor vanRiemsdyk, Brett Pesce, Kevin Goumas, Tyler Kelleher. Tough to leave off - you tell me.

I enjoy this stuff during these days of trying to fill up the days beyond breakfast, paper, walk, lunch, book, dinner, TV. We have been Zooming with family and friends and that is good, but virtual conversations are just not the same, are they? All stay well and I'll check in later in this week or next. Here's praying that UNH forgets about the rink, and permanently.

[Snively65]

Except for Kariya, it's pretty hard for me to anoint a guy as one of the best if he played only one year in college. You could see Eichel was going to be a very good NHL player. He's one of the few college players I ever saw who was in full speed mode on his first step. And he was wicked talented and, if he stayed in school, he projected to be totally dominant by, say, his junior year. But he didn't (for very good reasons) so I have to disqualify him. I notice in your post Chuck, as well as others, that there are no defensemen. The best college defenseman I ever saw was Brian Leetch. He had it all. Great skater, great shot, great defender. But he only played one year of college, so he's disqualified as well.

Very tough to choose between Drury and Gionta because there are so many similarities between them. They both had great offensive instincts but were also bulldogs defensively, were great leaders on the ice, always in the thick of things when it counted and they both won championships. I'd take Gionta over Drury simply because he won the last game of his career in the FF in Albany in 2001 while Drury lost his on Mowers OT goal at the same rink (I always throw that in the face of BU fans). Of course, Drury won the Hobey and Gionta did not so there is that. Like I said, a very tough choice. St. Louis has to be there, he was the most electric performer this side of Kariya I ever saw in college. You know, the last couple of weeks I have been watching the Bruins run to the 2011 Cup and the Tampa series was unbelievable hockey played by both teams. And St. Louis, even at an advanced age, was the Lightning's best offensive player. He was something. As for Krog, Mr. Consistency for his last three years. It always surprised me that he did not have better success in the NHL because he had all the offensive tools. Maybe a tad to slow? I don't know.

So enough of that. This thread got me to thinking of the great UNH players I have seen since I started watching the team in 1970. I know I go back a long way, although not as far as Snively, so here goes. I'm going to do a top five per decade with conviction up through 2010, but the teens? I'll have a list but, frankly, the overall talent drop off was so stark, it would be an injustice to lump them in with the greats who came before them. Just my opinion. Fire away.

1970s. All offense, no defense. I am omitting probably the most recognizable UNH name, Rod Langway, from this list because, frankly, he was just okay at UNH. He was incredibly athletic but I don't think his attributes translated to the college game as much as it did with others. Much like Norm Lacombe who came along in the '80s. Anyway, in no particular order:
Gordie Clark, Jamie Hislop, Bob Miller, Ralph Cox, Bob Gould. Tough to leave out - Cliff Cox, Dave Lumley, Tim Burke, Cap Raeder
1980s. A very fallow period for UNH. Pretty good for the first few years, absolutely miserable in the middle period, the rejuvenation at the end. Slim pickings overall:
Andy Brickley, Danny Potter, Steve Leach, James Richmond, Chris Winnes. Tough to leave out - Peter Douris, Greg Rota, Bruce Gillies
1990s. Started with the rebuild, ended with . . . well you know. Great time for any UNH fan.
I have to have one guy from that 1992 team on this list so I'll pick Savo Mitrovic over Joe Flanagan and Dominic Amodeo. Mitrovic was a bulldog. Certainly not as skilled as some but the prototypical Umile player. Beyond him, the obvious - Mark Mowers, Jason Krog, Derek Bekar, Tom Nolan. Tough to leave out - Flanagan, Amodeo, Rob Donovan, Eric Nickulas, Tim Murray, Jamie Filipowicz and maybe two or three more I just forgot about.
The aughts. Two more Frozen Fours and a pretty impressive streak of NCAA appearances. Frankly, they should have accomplished more, especially towards the end of decade but whatever.
Darren Haydar, Ty Conklin, Sean Collins, Colin Hemingway, James vanReimsdyk. Tough to leave off - Steve Saviano (very tough), Brett Hemingway, Josh Prudden, Michael Ayers, Brian Foster, Bobby Butler, Paul Thompson, Blake Kessel. This is off the top of my head and, like the 90s, I know there are more so I have no problem with you helping me.
The teens? Steve Moses, Trevor vanRiemsdyk, Brett Pesce, Kevin Goumas, Tyler Kelleher. Tough to leave off - you tell me.

I enjoy this stuff during these days of trying to fill up the days beyond breakfast, paper, walk, lunch, book, dinner, TV. We have been Zooming with family and friends and that is good, but virtual conversations are just not the same, are they? All stay well and I'll check in later in this week or next. Here's praying that UNH forgets about the rink, and permanently.

Great post, Greg!

Need to add Bogie for 90's (top 5?) and Loui Frigon for 70's ("tough to leave out").

Also, following Whalers' lead, I will still stick with Eichel over Drury and Gionta over Mullen. Number of years in college not a criterion (Eichel) and Mullen was not nearly as good as Gionta in college.

I will think about three others to go with Dude Thorn and Brad Houston for the 60's.

[Chuck Murray]

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

Except for Kariya, it's pretty hard for me to anoint a guy as one of the best if he played only one year in college. You could see Eichel was going to be a very good NHL player. He's one of the few college players I ever saw who was in full speed mode on his first step. And he was wicked talented and, if he stayed in school, he projected to be totally dominant by, say, his junior year. But he didn't (for very good reasons) so I have to disqualify him. I notice in your post Chuck, as well as others, that there are no defensemen. The best college defenseman I ever saw was Brian Leetch. He had it all. Great skater, great shot, great defender. But he only played one year of college, so he's disqualified as well.

Very tough to choose between Drury and Gionta because there are so many similarities between them. They both had great offensive instincts but were also bulldogs defensively, were great leaders on the ice, always in the thick of things when it counted and they both won championships. I'd take Gionta over Drury simply because he won the last game of his career in the FF in Albany in 2001 while Drury lost his on Mowers OT goal at the same rink (I always throw that in the face of BU fans). Of course, Drury won the Hobey and Gionta did not so there is that. Like I said, a very tough choice. St. Louis has to be there, he was the most electric performer this side of Kariya I ever saw in college. You know, the last couple of weeks I have been watching the Bruins run to the 2011 Cup and the Tampa series was unbelievable hockey played by both teams. And St. Louis, even at an advanced age, was the Lightning's best offensive player. He was something. As for Krog, Mr. Consistency for his last three years. It always surprised me that he did not have better success in the NHL because he had all the offensive tools. Maybe a tad to slow? I don't know.

So enough of that. This thread got me to thinking of the great UNH players I have seen since I started watching the team in 1970. I know I go back a long way, although not as far as Snively, so here goes. I'm going to do a top five per decade with conviction up through 2010, but the teens? I'll have a list but, frankly, the overall talent drop off was so stark, it would be an injustice to lump them in with the greats who came before them. Just my opinion. Fire away.

1970s. All offense, no defense. I am omitting probably the most recognizable UNH name, Rod Langway, from this list because, frankly, he was just okay at UNH. He was incredibly athletic but I don't think his attributes translated to the college game as much as it did with others. Much like Norm Lacombe who came along in the '80s. Anyway, in no particular order:
Gordie Clark, Jamie Hislop, Bob Miller, Ralph Cox, Bob Gould. Tough to leave out - Cliff Cox, Dave Lumley, Tim Burke, Cap Raeder
1980s. A very fallow period for UNH. Pretty good for the first few years, absolutely miserable in the middle period, the rejuvenation at the end. Slim pickings overall:
Andy Brickley, Danny Potter, Steve Leach, James Richmond, Chris Winnes. Tough to leave out - Peter Douris, Greg Rota, Bruce Gillies
1990s. Started with the rebuild, ended with . . . well you know. Great time for any UNH fan.
I have to have one guy from that 1992 team on this list so I'll pick Savo Mitrovic over Joe Flanagan and Dominic Amodeo. Mitrovic was a bulldog. Certainly not as skilled as some but the prototypical Umile player. Beyond him, the obvious - Mark Mowers, Jason Krog, Derek Bekar, Tom Nolan. Tough to leave out - Flanagan, Amodeo, Rob Donovan, Eric Nickulas, Tim Murray, Jamie Filipowicz and maybe two or three more I just forgot about.
The aughts. Two more Frozen Fours and a pretty impressive streak of NCAA appearances. Frankly, they should have accomplished more, especially towards the end of decade but whatever.
Darren Haydar, Ty Conklin, Sean Collins, Colin Hemingway, James vanReimsdyk. Tough to leave off - Steve Saviano (very tough), Brett Hemingway, Josh Prudden, Michael Ayers, Brian Foster, Bobby Butler, Paul Thompson, Blake Kessel. This is off the top of my head and, like the 90s, I know there are more so I have no problem with you helping me.
The teens? Steve Moses, Trevor vanRiemsdyk, Brett Pesce, Kevin Goumas, Tyler Kelleher. Tough to leave off - you tell me.

I enjoy this stuff during these days of trying to fill up the days beyond breakfast, paper, walk, lunch, book, dinner, TV. We have been Zooming with family and friends and that is good, but virtual conversations are just not the same, are they? All stay well and I'll check in later in this week or next. Here's praying that UNH forgets about the rink, and permanently.

Fantastic post, Greg. Agree 100% with your closing thought (rink size) as well.

My '70's UNH fandom was mostly remote via snowy Channel 11 TV coverage from your neck of the woods Greg, but Cap Raeder was THE MAN in my earliest days, and then Bob Gould won the ECAC title in my first in-person game (#17 @ 17:17) to cement my lifelong UNH fandom.

Also reminded me of how poorly the 1980's were for the program. Probably a fair comparison on whether the '80's team you've listed would have gotten the better of the '10's team we just completed. And just to shock those who think I don't like them, I'd put DeSmith on the list for that team in place of TvR, and Poturalski on the "tough to leave off" list for that team.

I've always been a HUGE Joe Flanagan fam from back in the early days of the Umile Era. Eric Flinton might be another "close call" from that era.

I know you qualified it as "very tough", but ultimately Steve Saviano needs to be on that list instead of JvR, if for no other reason than he was a great big game player, and instrumental in two HE Tourney titles and the last two UNH trips to the FF. JvR was a two year guy, and UNH won nothing. If you're going to give Gionta the nod over Drury for winning, you gotta give it to Saviano.

Just as a side note on my selection of BC's Joey Mullen … until I saw guys like Kariya and St. Louis in the mid''90's, I always felt Mullen was the most talented college hockey player I'd ever seen. After college, he went on to score over 500 goals, 1,000 points (just eking out both St. Louis and Kariya BTW) and also won Cups with Calgary and Pittsburgh. I suspect some locals don't rate Mullen higher because he played a mediocre year with the B's late in his career. But at BC, he took his '78 team to the FF Finals against a loaded BU team, when BC's talent level wasn't even close to who Jack Parker had skating for the Terriers that season (Craig, Silk, Bethel, Fidler, O'Callahan, Lamby, etc.). For a guy who learned hockey playing the roller hockey variety while growing up in a very urban part of NYC, Mullen was a great (if somewhat forgotten) player.

Nice to be back to talking hockey.

[NCAA watcher]

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

But at BC, he took his '78 team to the FF Finals against a loaded BU team, when BC's talent level wasn't even close to who Jack Parker had skating for the Terriers that season (Craig, Silk, Bethel, Fidler, O'Callahan, Lamby, etc.).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzGQP6zWnQ4&t=

[After the Whistle]

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

Snively how about adding Ken McKinnon to your 60s selections?

[Greg Ambrose]

Great post, Greg!

Need to add Bogie for 90's (top 5?) and Loui Frigon for 70's ("tough to leave out").

Also, following Whalers' lead, I will still stick with Eichel over Drury and Gionta over Mullen. Number of years in college not a criterion (Eichel) and Mullen was not nearly as good as Gionta in college.

I will think about three others to go with Dude Thorn and Brad Houston for the 60's.

Yikes how could I forget Bogey? See what I mean? It was of the top of my head. As for Louie, he’d be on my second tier. Unbelievable stick, great shot (Charlie called it the Louie shot) and a good passer. But he had no drive like guys on the first tier. Comparing his motor to Hislop’s or Gould’s is folly.

[Whalers]

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

Yikes how could I forget Bogey?

Greg, you have viewed most of the top UNH scorers so you have a great perspective. I wouldnt place Eric very close to the top, but Bogey is probably my all time favorite Wildcat. An incredible mixture of talent, results, feistiness, leadership, spunk, **** off bigger players and able to do it with a wry smile. The good Cats played in the Governors Cup against Vermont in 96 (St Louis, Perrin, Tim Thomas in net) where I was sitting low on the far end behind Thomas, a great closeup view of the net front. A high scoring back and forth affair that UNH eventually took 8-6. I believe UVM jumped out to a couple goal lead, UNH stormed back with a big 2nd period to take the lead and UVM came back to go ahead. The Gut was rocking for sure.

Cant remember if Bogey got the game winner or the final, but it occurred after quite a flurry of action around Thomas and some scraps along the boards. UNH corralled the puck on the boards and cant remember who flung it over to a WIDE OPEN Bogey about 8-10 feet in front of the net. He was so open that he was able to pretty much pause, collect himself, get this huge *** grin on his face, and then wind up into a FULL, point blank slapshot. Went right along the ice and past Thomas who barely moved. All the while, the smile never left his face, he skated over to the end glass in front of the student section and non-verbally said - "F Off, time to leave people!".

[Snively65]

Snively how about adding Ken McKinnon to your 60s selections?

Great call, ATW! I do not remember McKinnon playing 1958/59-1961/62, but he became "Mr Hockey" in NH, playing citizens leagues into HIS late 70's. A bunch my ORHS friends growing up in Durham also continued to play citizens hockey in NH with McKinnon, who also was a long-time referee at nearly all levels of ice hockey in the Northeast.

EDIT: Ken McKinnon's day job was in the insurance industry, Greg. :-)

First Canadian recruited to UNH; Coach Pepper Martin promised him UNH would have an indoor rink by his senior year, which of course did not happen until 1965. Only UNH player to score six goals in a game.

Defintely need to have McKinnon in the top five on UNH 1960s hockey list.

EDIT: To round out my top five UNH players who finished in the 1960's, I will add Bob Brandt and Rich David, recruited by Rube Bjorkman. I will write more about Rube's four years as HC at UNH when I have a better cell signal. I also will add five more players worthy of "hard to leave off." Rube put UNH ice hockey on the map, setting things up for Charlie Holt in the 1970s.

[Greg Ambrose]

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

Great post, Greg!

Need to add Bogie for 90's (top 5?) and Loui Frigon for 70's ("tough to leave out").

Also, following Whalers' lead, I will still stick with Eichel over Drury and Gionta over Mullen. Number of years in college not a criterion (Eichel) and Mullen was not nearly as good as Gionta in college.

I will think about three others to go with Dude Thorn and Brad Houston for the 60's.

Yikes, I knew I would forget somebody! How could it be Bogey? We all know the story that the rejuvenation of UNH Hockey went up to full speed when Umile landed him and Tom Nolan. God Bogey was good, wasn't he? I can't believe I left him off. I have to put him in the top five, replacing Nickulas I guess because Eric only played three and just wasn't as a dominant force as Bogey. As for Louis, I guess he is in the tough to leave out category but, frankly, I never was a Louis fan. He had a good stick, he had what Charlie called the Louis shot, and he was an adept passer. But he was not a take charge guy, was he? He certainly didn't have the motor that guys like Hislop and Gould had.

As for Eichel, I just can't see anointing him. Unlike Kariya, the team he played on was not dominant and, for whatever reason (lousy goalie) they did not win the national championship. Don't get me wrong, Eichel was already real good as freshman, but I never saw him take over a game like Kariya could. To me it is an injustice to leap frog him ahead of Drury. As for Gionta over Mullen? You can make the argument, but I'll throw this at you, that Bob Miller was better than either one of them based on pure offensive skills. I'll always remember the first time I ever saw Miller play, on Channel 11 in his first or second game. He was centering Hislop and C. Cox and I said to myself,, "what the hell is Charlie doing, putting a freshman on a line with two these two great seniors?" But Charlie knew offense and it became pretty clear pretty quickly that Miller was special. My favorite Miller goal ever was in his second year, 1977 I guess, at BC's McHugh Forum. He took an outlet pass from Paul Powers and skated in alone on Paul Skidmore. I am sure Skidmore thought Miller was going to rush in and deke him. Instead Miller caught him flat footed and ripped off a 30 foot wrist shot, top corner for the goal. If he had stayed four years (an impossibility) he would have had 300 points.

I always liked Mullen, always underrated in my book, especially when he was a pro. My favorite story about him is how he got his start by playing roller hockey on a third floor rink in Manhattan. His dad was on the Madison Square Garden maintenance crew back in the fifties at the original Garden. The old place, built for boxing, was too small to accommodate a Zamboni so between periods the crew would skate up and down the ices with hot towels on squeegies to make new ice. I remember this from watching the NHL game of the week on CBS with Bud Palmer. Palmer was on the mic when the US beat the Russians and the Czechs to win the gold at the 1960 Olympics at Squaw Valley. So much trivia on a snowy April day. As an aside, today is my wife's (the always lovely Karen) 70th birthday. She's the one who first introduced me to what is the craziness of UNH Hockey back in 1970 on our first date. She was all in way before I met her (one of her roommates dated a hockey player for awhile) and, frankly, has been so ever since.

[Greg Ambrose]

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

Fantastic post, Greg. Agree 100% with your closing thought (rink size) as well.

My '70's UNH fandom was mostly remote via snowy Channel 11 TV coverage from your neck of the woods Greg, but Cap Raeder was THE MAN in my earliest days, and then Bob Gould won the ECAC title in my first in-person game (#17 @ 17:17) to cement my lifelong UNH fandom.

Also reminded me of how poorly the 1980's were for the program. Probably a fair comparison on whether the '80's team you've listed would have gotten the better of the '10's team we just completed. And just to shock those who think I don't like them, I'd put DeSmith on the list for that team in place of TvR, and Poturalski on the "tough to leave off" list for that team.

I've always been a HUGE Joe Flanagan fam from back in the early days of the Umile Era. Eric Flinton might be another "close call" from that era.

I know you qualified it as "very tough", but ultimately Steve Saviano needs to be on that list instead of JvR, if for no other reason than he was a great big game player, and instrumental in two HE Tourney titles and the last two UNH trips to the FF. JvR was a two year guy, and UNH won nothing. If you're going to give Gionta the nod over Drury for winning, you gotta give it to Saviano.

Just as a side note on my selection of BC's Joey Mullen … until I saw guys like Kariya and St. Louis in the mid''90's, I always felt Mullen was the most talented college hockey player I'd ever seen. After college, he went on to score over 500 goals, 1,000 points (just eking out both St. Louis and Kariya BTW) and also won Cups with Calgary and Pittsburgh. I suspect some locals don't rate Mullen higher because he played a mediocre year with the B's late in his career. But at BC, he took his '78 team to the FF Finals against a loaded BU team, when BC's talent level wasn't even close to who Jack Parker had skating for the Terriers that season (Craig, Silk, Bethel, Fidler, O'Callahan, Lamby, etc.). For a guy who learned hockey playing the roller hockey variety while growing up in a very urban part of NYC, Mullen was a great (if somewhat forgotten) player.

Nice to be back to talking hockey.

Chuck, good call on Flinton. I took a lot of crap from my friends back then for supporting him but I think in his senior year he was second team All American. And I forgot about Poturalski. And I just remember the Mayor. See . . . this was all from the top of my head.

[After the Whistle]

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

Snively, thanks for a great fill in the blanks on Ken. You are so right that he is still held in high regard here in NH. Just a really nice individual too.

[Darius]

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

Bobby Miller 2.27 PPG!

A Bogey memory I can still see as if it were from this morning is him and Drury in the face off circle back when waiting for TV wasn't a thing until the playoffs. Players and fans were not used to it as they are now and we are WAITING. Drury looks at Boguniecki and clearly says "This sucks". Bogey's back was to me so I couldn't see his response, but they chatted it up until the puck drop. Something about those days...