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

[Chuck Murray]

Toughest UNH game that I have ever watched in person, although the debacle against RIT in the Albany regional about a decade later was a close second.

Also saw the 2002 debacle in person, with former poster Old Dog from this forum, and a bunch of Gopher posters who were very hospitable (saw them again in Buffalo the following year).

Big takeaway from the 2002 FF? Skating cheerleaders (UM) was a great idea. BS20 (at the time) apparently didn't agree. Bummer. Might want to revisit that one, eh Marty? Sell some tickets, etc.?

Oh, and I missed out on the RIT debacle. Probably one of my best "stay home" decisions of all time.

[Snively65]

Also saw the 2002 debacle in person, with former poster Old Dog from this forum, and a bunch of Gopher posters who were very hospitable (saw them again in Buffalo the following year).

Big takeaway from the 2002 FF? Skating cheerleaders (UM) was a great idea. BS20 (at the time) apparently didn't agree. Bummer. Might want to revisit that one, eh Marty? Sell some tickets, etc.?

Oh, and I missed out on the RIT debacle. Probably one of my best "stay home" decisions of all time.

Speaking of selling tickets, my brother and I had to resist really hard scalping our 2002 finals ticket to Gopher fans, who offered up to $700 for the pair, and go to see Garrison Keilor instead.

To add insult to injury in Albany, when I got back to the parking garage after a celebratory libation at a nearby pub, I found that my vehicle was locked inside, forcing me to pay big bucks to stay in an overpriced downtown hotel on Friday night. :-(

[Chuck Murray]

To add insult to injury in Albany, when I got back to the parking garage after a celebratory libation at a nearby pub, I found that my vehicle was locked inside, forcing me to pay big bucks to stay in an overpriced downtown hotel on Friday night. :-(

Nothing quite says "fashionably swank" than an evening in downtown Albany, does it?

First place raffle winner: One free night in Albany
Second place raffle winner: One free week in Albany :-)

[Darius]

Go ‘cats. Beat BC. BC sucks. Sieve.

[Snively65]

Puddy Cats have BC and the rest of HEA right where we want 'em. :-)

[Chuck Murray]

Looks like after a big W against the old enemy at Orono, UNH comes up against another traditional rival from its long-ago glory days a generation ago. BC comes into the QF single elimination contest as the top seed in the tourney, having lost only a single game in regulation over the last two months since they split a pair of overtime results with UNH. MS7's boys had a couple of weeks off to rest up before their breakout performance at UMaine, where Coach Gendron set the bar low with his "attitude of gratitude" message, and his team still managed to underperform. For tomorrow, WIS predicts reality finally sets in with the 'Cats, and a BC team that spurned lots of chances two months ago won't be so generous this time:

BC 6 UNH 2

From his penthouse office high atop the Encore Boston Harbor Casino in picturesque Everett MA, WIS bookmaker Michel "Mikey" Nostradamus has also set a secondary line, where you can get 3:1 odds on MS7 still being in charge at UNH by the time Coach York finally decides to retire as BC's head coach. More adventurous bettors can get 9:1 odds on Coach York's squad losing a postseason game to UNH tomorrow for the first time in over two decades (somehow it seems even longer). Looking for longshot action? Go with the UConn Huskies to win their first-ever Lamoriello Trophy in '21 at a healthy 666:1.

We'll be hearing more from Mikey on the Effingwoods Hockey Almanac thread after UNH's next loss ...

[HockeyRef]

Go ‘cats. Beat BC. BC sucks. Sieve.

Yeah! Beat those Beagles! Go 'Cats!

[Darius]

Team sendoff: https://twitter.com/unhmhockey/statu...923993603?s=21

[NCAA watcher]

Team sendoff: https://twitter.com/unhmhockey/statu...923993603?s=21

They know its 1:20 min bus ride, right? Maybe 1:40 in traffic, of which there's little during this time.

[HockeyRef]

They know its 1:20 min bus ride, right? Maybe 1:40 in traffic, of which there's little during this time.

This happened yesterday...not sure if they went down the night before but looks like it! Wish I could have gone but had other plans...GO 'CATS!!!

[HockeyRef]

Well that's a wrap. Good teams find ways to win but I'll give UNH a ton of credit today given the start of the game. 4 posts. Looking forward to reading the post mortem from you guys. Nice to see we had Knight on his heels and could have been interesting. Despite the loss am happy with the game overall. Good luck to the departing Seniors, whomever they may be and thanks for everything!

[Scott]

Great game. Kinda knew what the final outcome would be at the end, but they didn't cave in after being down 3-0 and keep the Eagles a bit on their heels the rest of the game. This was probably the best week of hockey they have played all season.

OK...so who's gonna start the NEXT post-season thread????

[HockeyRef]

Great game. Kinda knew what the final outcome would be at the end, but they didn't cave in after being down 3-0 and keep the Eagles a bit on their heels the rest of the game. This was probably the best week of hockey they have played all season.

OK...so who's gonna start the NEXT post-season thread????

Totally agree Scott! Now the 'Angus Watch' is on but not sure players will be leaving their teams after their season ends like that have in the past given the circumstances? Maybe Snively wants a shot at the new thread title...but these don't shut down like they did in the past?

[Carmine Scarpaglia]

I do have to tip my cap to the Mildcats. That turnaround from Period 1 through the final buzzer was pretty impressive.

Sure we all knew the outcome ahead of time given the month on the calendar and the fact that UNH hasn't won a postseason game vs. BC since 1997, but they impressed me for the final 40 minutes. With a road win in Rd 1, and a one-goal loss on the road vs. a heavy favorite, this would not have qualified as a Umiliation even in the old days of Whistlin' Dick.

Chuck, I see the folks in Storrs are really hoping Luce gets a contract extension in light of his winning percentage this season of .478 (down from .500 last year even though they claim "consistent improvement" year over year under the current staff). Thoughts? 6-1 home beatdown vs a fellow bubble team (seriously) isn't a good look.

[Chuck Murray]

What a shame ... a UNH team finally shows it can take the body effectively, against a top-notch opponent on their own home ice, and play some REAL postseason hockey ... except, well, the unfortunate part where the team comes off the bus in a haze, forgets to cover their own net-front and spots the top seeded homestanding hosts a 3-0 lead inside of about 5 minutes. Wow.

Listen, I want to take the last two periods as a massive positive as much as I'm guessing most of you want to as well ... but it's something we should have seen from this underachieving team much earlier in the season, never mind in just this game. And it would be nice to think that next year's team will have learnt a lesson to apply to the start of next season ... but just how many of those same players are going to be back for next season? If what's left over from this year's team, and some surprisingly strong new recruits can use this last performance as base camp for next season, then great. But the much more likely turn of events will be, UNH '21/'22 will have to restart from scratch, learn how to compete with even less talent on board, and the cycle of perpetual mediocrity will take another spin down into the lower reaches of Hockey East.

Moral victories are for losing teams/programs, unless the lessons can be translated into better performances - players AND coaches alike. MS7 had his team ready on Wednesday, and should have had them ready right from the start tonight. That they so obviously weren't is frankly on him. I don't want to hear about goalposts, whether it's April '99 or March '21. MS7 needs to own this, take a long hard look in the mirror, and if it sinks in that any turnaround of this program is only going to be possible if he himself does all aspects of his job better - no excuses, no "I'm proud of the boys" - then maybe today meant something. If not - then nothing is likely going to change. Not under him, and not until someone else takes over.

In the second most predictable outcome of the day, I see MS7's "mentor" bit the dust too. Shocking ...