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

[Wayuphere]

“The game is up, and only fools are being fooled anymore. Sadly, it's really all just about politics now.“

Self diagnosing. About time you came around, that ledge must be pretty lonely.....

[The Zlax45]

Again ... you realize the combined populations of those 3 states is approx. 60 million, correct? While Massachusetts has just under 7 million population, or roughly nine (9) times less than of those combined states? So, multiply MA deaths by a factor of 9, and you're around 75,000-80,000. TX-FL-GA are still (combined) only approaching 11,000. That's seven (7) times the overall rate. So despite the exaggerated so-called "spikes" in those oft-mentioned Red states, it is still far worse in Blue MA.

Let's match up Red TX-FL-GA (combined 66 million population) with Blue CA-NY-MA (66 million) ... should be right about the same amount, arguably with slightly more (10%?) in the Blue states. In actuality ... 11,000 deaths in the 3 Red states, and approaching 50,000 in the 3 Blue states. That's more than four (4) times the rate. Interestingly, CA has less COVID deaths than MA - although supposedly CA is another "hot spot" (often overlooked by the agenda driven MSM), so even if numbers continue to creep in the Red states, the CA numbers are also likely to at least match those increases.

NH also has one-fifth the population of adjoining MA, so multiplying our deaths by a factor of five (5) still only gets us to around 2,000 which is less than a quarter of the MA death rate. Rhode Island interestingly enough, has a rate only slightly below the MA rate. CT's rate is pretty much level with MA.

Predictably, the ghoulish MSM that once crowed about death figures, has now abandoned them so they can again shift the goalposts to overall positive tests, now that testing has expanded, and the average age of the positive tests have shrunken, meaning that well over 99% of those tests will not result in fatality. As this graph shows, deaths have trended steadily and substantially down over the last 12 weeks:

https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/d...-3-day-average

Interestingly, any (minor) increase in deaths seems (not-so-coincidentally) timed in the direct aftermath of the widespread riots (oops I'm not supposed to say that, am I?) in the big (virtually entirely Blue) cities. But even that slight uptick is heading back down.

The science says, kids are safe, schools have opened safely in other parts of the world, the Bundesliga and Premiership have or will be completing their FULL seasons by this time next weekend, fans are being allowed back into Aussie Football games already (reduced numbers) and the Premier League will be doing the same by October, with full capacity expected by the end of the year (December festive season). Yet our rich, whiny athletes and "woke" owners in North America continue to resist, for different reasons.

The game is up, and only fools are being fooled anymore. Sadly, it's really all just about politics now.

We played along long enough, now it's time to get back to normal. As in, the old normal.

And just as I say that, UNH announces it has "postponed" - not cancelled - its Fall Sports season ... shocking ... not

Funny you bring up Aussie Rules football and the German Soccer League...I wonder why they are playing games now? Oh right, the numbers are way down in that country since the leaders took care of their citizens. Australia had 206 cases yesterday with two deaths out of 24.9 million residents. Germany had 583 cases with four deaths in a country of 83 million.

[The Zlax45]

Oh yea, the Blue Jays just got told they can’t play this season in Canada.

[Chuck Murray]

Funny you bring up Aussie Rules football and the German Soccer League...I wonder why they are playing games now? Oh right, the numbers are way down in that country since the leaders took care of their citizens. Australia had 206 cases yesterday with two deaths out of 24.9 million residents. Germany had 583 cases with four deaths in a country of 83 million.

... and all of ten (10) minutes away from the UNH campus, I've been coaching my HS/college-player populated summer team in an organized league, twice a week, while playing another night per week on my regular Over 50 team in our normal league.

Yet all we hear from the putz pros in MLB and the NBA is how "horrifying" this all is ... please ...

As I've said all along ... it's sad just how amazingly soft we've allowed ourselves to become.

[Wayuphere]

“As I've said all along ... it's sad just how amazingly soft we've allowed ourselves to become.”

Acceptdeath2020. Would look good on a red hat.

[Chuck Murray]

Acceptdeath2020. Would look good on a red hat.

Beats the heck out of Hidinginmybasement2020.

Death is inevitable for all of us at some point. Cowardice, however, is a lifestyle choice.

FACT and FACT.

[Wayuphere]

You are good at proving my point. Thanks.

[Nifty16]

I miss when I could come here to get away from all the bs of the rest world and talk about hockey. Guess those days are over.

[Darius]

Washington... Swamp Rats.

Stay safe, Chuck.

[Chuck Murray]

Washington... Swamp Rats.

Stay safe, Chuck.

Good choice, Darius. I'm with you 100% on this one. Entirely fitting.

Can't wait 'til one of these SJW *geniuses* decides it's time to challenge Boston's Celtics mascot ...

[Chuck Murray]

I miss when I could come here to get away from all the bs of the rest world and talk about hockey. Guess those days are over.

Me too, Nifty16. "These days" will be over after November 3rd. Take that to the bank.

[Chuck Murray]

Bump.

https://www.unionleader.com/sports/h...9709ac603.html

Looks like the NHIAA will have a decision sometime later this week on Fall sports in NH. FWIW I've been both coaching and playing (the usual routine this time of year) for almost the last month. Totally incident-free, and in fact we had the team over in Durham last week, less than a half-mile from the UNH campus. Just like old times. It would be a shame if we didn't see college hockey this Fall, but given my operating assumptions, I fully expect the can to get kicked into January 2021.

P.S. - there's been an E.J. Smith sighting in the "sticky" thread over in the Faculty Lounge.

[NCAA watcher]

So, the 2020-21 roster is finalized. A much smaller roster with 15 forwards and 8 defensemen. With the now-standard caveat of actually playing games, this looks like a transition year, in which improvement comes from the existing players more than from hotshot freshmen or step ups from sophomores who got their feet wet.

Defense will be interesting with Gildon and Wyse departing. Reid should step in as a regular, but one of Nagle or Jenson will have to take a regular role. That means Eriksson needs to step up and become an offensive QB. Otherwise, it seems like a stay-at-home group.

Up front you have a top 8, with Cafarelli stepping in. The top 2 lines are similar to last year, with only Blackburn departing from the top 9 spots, adn Cafarelli hopefully taking that spot. Sato and or Esposito can fill the remaining spot, but ideally Richels will catch up to the speed needed to be a top 9 forward. Listed at 230, he becomes (I believe) UNHs heaviest player yet, surpassing a guy with a similar profile, LW Eddie Caron (let the discussion begin).

Jr.Crookshank---Jr.Pierson--------Sr.Grasso
Sr.Kelleher-------Jr.Engaras-------Sr.MacAdams
Fr.Richels--------So.Stevenson----Fr.Cafarelli
Sr.Sato-----------So.Hermann-----Jr.Esposito
So.Cipollone-----So.Hankinson----Fr.Gendron

Sr.Maass--------So.Eriksson
Fr.Reid----------Jr.MacKinnon
Jr.Verrier-------Fr.Nagle
Fr.Jenson-------So.Hickey

Sr.Robinson----Jr.Taylor----Fr.Forman

It's a transition year, and the large 2021 class (and transfer Ward) then steps in and upgrades the talent level with only Grasso, Kelleher and Maass graduating and perhaps Crookshank departing. I'd say thats where we see a jump from outside talent. How Cafarelli and Richels transition will set the floor for the quality of the 2021 offensive team, so their development will be interesting to see this year.

[Chuck Murray]

I want to get excited about the coming season. 'Watcher's post is an appreciated and well-intentioned attempt to spark some basic level of discussion ... but even his post is tempered with "now-standard caveat" and disclaimers that folks seem to drape over everything and anything we want to reach out and hold onto as a vestige of the way things were, just a few months ago. That's not a knock on you, 'Watcher BTW. Anyway, I'll give it a shot ...

I suspect UNH is going to be better than we expect them to be this year. Granted, improving from 9th place shouldn't be a huge reason for celebration, but I think the current players will show the necessary improvements to more than compensate for the players we're losing. Both goalies are back, and I expect Robinson to bounce back in the direction of his sophomore season, while Taylor will hopefully continue to improve, as he seemed to finally get his bearings set last season after a rocky and mostly wasted frosh season. Neither is All-Conference material, but both should be good enough for .500 or better.

On defense ... the big loss is obviously Gildon, and his play at the offensive end is going to leave a gaping hole in the UNH line-up for the coming season. However, there were always the blips in his defensive game, and some of his decisions in transition as well (although in fairness to him, those seemed to lessen over the course of his UNH career). I see him as the only "net loss" of the main departing trio. As for Wyse ... I know some on here held him in high regard, and his selection as last year's Captain didn't draw any criticism from me at his time of his selection. I just don't think he ever fulfilled whatever potential many on here (including myself) had envisioned for him. And my lasting memory of his time in Durham is going to be his proclivity for taking dumb penalties at the worst possible time in key games. I mean, everyone messes up once or twice, then you learn from it and move on. Wyse didn't seem to catch that drift. Definitely not what you want to see from your captain. So with the rest of the guys getting a year older (and wiser), I look for Maass to step up and provide stable reliable play on the top pairing, and I suspect one (if not both) of Reid and/or Nagle to make us forget about Wyse quickly.

Up front ... Blackburn was (sadly) the latest in a long and growing list of highly-touted forwards who teased at a breakout, but wallowed mostly in bottom six roles (see Vela, BvR, etc.). There's nothing wrong with any of those players BTW, unless you built your roster with assumptions those guys would develop into double-digit goalscorers on a regular basis. Blackburn was poised to have that big senior season, and then ... ppppfffftttt. Sato probably hit his peak last season, but with many of the other returning forwards, there is hope that they will develop further, and even a half goal per game or close over production of the last few years would make all the difference in the world.

The head coach is another year into his contract, and this should be an important one for him (and obviously the program). Meandering aimlessly in or near the bottom echelon of HE is not where UNH should expect to be. There's really no reason a highly competent coach shouldn't be able to get his team from here to the home ice slots, as Carvel has most recently proven in the Pioneer Valley. The question is, is MS7 "highly competent"? The jury on that remains out.

So I'm bullish on improvement from last season's disappointing finish.

Let's hope our former Asst. AD lets us have a complete hockey season, starting in 60 or so days ...

[HockeyRef]

'Watcher, looking at your line up, no Joe Sacco? He had redshirted along with Grasso? Wishing him well... Anyway, I think we'll see some hockey even if it means, no fans. Lots depends on what happens this Fall. Am so bummed out the there will be no Fall sports at the U. Esp. field hockey. NH is putting together the Fall; being involved with fh on the state level we are putting together our plans and wait and see what Superintendents want; initial inklings is that some schools will participate only in Regional games, others, will sit it out but, no clear word yet. Wouldn't be surprised if many schools forgo...could be wrong. Going to sit this season out, too many risks for a person my age and I figure school is going to be tough enough. Hope everyone is well...