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

[Chuck Murray]

To quote My Cousin Vinny, that's a bull**** question. Umile only recruited friends and family inside route 128, and he only hired guys within one degree of seperation. McCloskey was lucky enough to be working at Brown from 90-92 with two guys who Umile worked with at Providence (some guy named Borek and Lassonde). Bazin, while quite accomplished at Colorado College, was not a close friend, and would never get a job from Umile.

Point well taken. Just from a timing standpoint, though, I like to think about how things could have gone differently had the post-McCloskey choice been different. Bazin - for all the early plaudits on his career at UML - still hasn't quite measured up to Umile's accomplishments, and at 10 years in charge, may already have peaked with the similar trademark fall-off after that marked Umile's time at UNH. He also left CC for 3 years of leading a D-3 program before making what now seems to have been the inevitable move to his alma mater. But one would think if he was offered a chance to come back East and coach as an assistant at UNH post-McCloskey, it would have been a tantalizing opportunity, and could have complemented Coach Umile's strengths with his own strengths on the physical and motivational side of the ledger.

But as you point out, it was realistically never going to happen. In the end, Umile's (and our) loss ...

So how did UNH pick Umile's successor? Again, one degree of seperation: he convinced Scarano to ignore an open interview process, and instead pick someone willing to kiss the ring of Umile (Ok, that was a bad phrase, because Umile never got the ring.

Hard to disagree with any of that. Maybe if Bazin was Barzini instead, he'd pass the paisan test ... ;-)

[NCAA watcher]

Hard to disagree with any of that. Maybe if Bazin was Barzini instead, he'd pass the paisan test ... ;-)

Marty Scarano would concur

https://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/2018/05/patriarch-puck

The Patriarch

Through the years, fans and insiders of Wildcat hockey often thought of themselves in terms of a “nation,” but the operative word might be “family,” with Umile in the role of patriarch. When Scarano was the athletic director at Colorado College, he had tried to recruit Umile to Colorado’s hockey program. Not only did Umile stay at UNH, he helped recruit Scarano to Durham. Scarano recalls with great fondness the weekend he came to campus to interview for the newly vacant athletic director position.

“I came into town and stayed at the Three Chimneys Inn,” Scarano says. After his interviews, Umile invited Scarano to dinner at his favorite Portsmouth restaurant, The Rosa. “I show up and the owner Jerry leads me past the diners into a back room. It’s completely empty except for one table for two where Dick is sitting.

“‘This the guy?’ Jerry asks.

“‘Yep, that’s the guy,’ says Dick.

“Dick’s got a big grin on his face. It was like something out of the Godfather. So, we sat, two Italians, and had a glass of wine and I ordered spaghetti with olive oil and extra anchovies.

“‘He must be Italian,’ says Jerry.’”

The meal at The Rosa began a tradition of breaking bread together over important conversations between the two men that spanned nearly three decades.

Scarano pegs Umile as “a classic Italian patriarch,”

So would Chris Serino

You can understand how Scarano was afraid to tell Umile no when Dick wanted a three year payout and farewell tour, and to name his successor.

[Chuck Murray]

You can understand how Scarano was afraid to tell Umile no when Dick wanted a three year payout and farewell tour, and to name his successor.

WIS has secured secret surveillance footage of the first Scarano-Umile meeting at The Rosa ...

[Scott]

WIS has secured secret surveillance footage of the first Scarano-Umile meeting at The Rosa ...

Another one of those books that has never been written:

UNH Hockey: The Tale of Two Paisans

[Dan]

Puzzled by this "talent" you speak of....isn't the narrative that Souza has done a terrible job recruiting?

But now UNH is a talented team that is underperforming?

Its both - while I think the talent is being overstated a bit, they're also not playing up to the ability they do have. The big issue with the recruiting, however, is the depth of talent. Go back and look at all the forwards on the 07-08 team (Borek recruiting)...

In order of scoring that season:

Fornataro
Radja
JVR
Pollastrone
Dries
Butler
Leblanc
Desimone
Thompson
Sislo

That's 10 All-HE to All-American type forwards (at some point during their careers) on a single roster. How many does UNH have now? I'd say Crookshank qualifies, so that's one. Maybe Pierson? There are some other guys who could be third pieces to top lines, but they're not driving forces. So, to say they're underachieving is fair - but they also represent a significant drop in recruiting.

Goaltenders that season were Regan and Foster.

The defense on that team wasn't exactly a big name group, but they're sure a lot more productive than this year's group. Reid might be the most talented on either roster, but he's still just a frosh...

[Dan]

Bruins blasting the Flyers in Tahoe, 7-3, but no fault of JVR who has a goal and two assists, and now boasts 502 career points...

[NCAA watcher]

Player	POS	YR	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-
Angus Crookshank	F	JR	18	9	8	17	1
Cam Gendron	F	FR	14	2	3	5	1
William MacKinnon	D	JR	20	0	3	3	1
Drew Hickey	D	JR	6	0	0	0	1
Jackson Pierson	F	JR	21	8	15	23	0
Eric MacAdams	F	SR	14	3	4	7	0
Nikolai Jenson	D	FR	18	0	2	2	0
Kohei Sato	F	SR	20	1	6	7	-1
Lucas Herrmann	F	SO	15	2	4	6	-1
Joe Hankinson	F	SO	13	1	1	2	-1
Chase Stevenson	F	SO	4	0	0	0	-1
Charlie Kelleher	F	SR	11	0	4	4	-2
Alec Semandel	D	JR	18	0	0	0	-3
Ryan Verrier	D	JR	21	2	5	7	-4
Nick Cafarelli	F	FR	14	1	5	6	-4
Joe Nagle	D	FR	7	0	0	0	-4
Joseph Cipollone	F	JR	10	0	0	0	-4
Tyler Ward	F	JR	19	2	4	6	-5
Luke Reid	D	FR	20	1	5	6	-6
Patrick Grasso	F	SR	21	7	8	15	-7
Filip Engarås	F	JR	20	5	3	8	-7
Benton Maass	D	SR	18	2	2	4	-7
Carsen Richels	F	FR	21	0	1	1	-12
Kalle Eriksson	D	SO	21	5	12	17	-13
Eric Esposito	F	JR	15	0	1	1	-15

[Chuck Murray]

Assuming the point of your listing is to highlight some of the plus/minus figures there, 'Watcher ... there are some surprising (and some not-so-surprising) names near the bottom of that list. Maybe your theory of moving Kalle up to a forward line role doesn't look so crazy when you consider what he's leaking and costing the team on the back end?? Unfortunately, there's no similar compelling justification for Maass; it's disappointing to see a kid with four years in the program lagging, confirming a few of my in-game observations. I'm also a little surprised at where Engaras is, for someone who has enjoyed a positive rep for an all-around game. Thanks for sharing.

[NCAA watcher]

Assuming the point of your listing is to highlight some of the plus/minus figures there, 'Watcher ... there are some surprising (and some not-so-surprising) names near the bottom of that list. Maybe your theory of moving Kalle up to a forward line role doesn't look so crazy when you consider what he's leaking and costing the team on the back end?? Unfortunately, there's no similar compelling justification for Maass; it's disappointing to see a kid with four years in the program lagging, confirming a few of my in-game observations. I'm also a little surprised at where Engaras is, for someone who has enjoyed a positive rep for an all-around game. Thanks for sharing.

Eh, I posted to see if the statistics match the eye test. There's several where they don't, to my eyes.

Like a lot of stats, much like goals, assists, or shots on net Corsi that you recently diminished, you can get something that doesn't show true impact. Particularly in small samples, you can get a guy who happens to be on the ice but did everything right, and gets a minus. Or the second defenseman who did nothing but watch the forwards get the goal and gets a plus.

For that reason, you Jackson Pierson can lead this year, but have a team worst -8 last year. And Benton Maass can be bad this year, but among the leaders last year.

But so can goals. I mean, was Sato at 10 goals last year different than his one goal this year?

[Chuck Murray]

Eh, I posted to see if the statistics match the eye test. There's several where they don't, to my eyes.

Like a lot of stats, much like goals, assists, or shots on net Corsi that you recently diminished, you can get something that doesn't show true impact. Particularly in small samples, you can get a guy who happens to be on the ice but did everything right, and gets a minus. Or the second defenseman who did nothing but watch the forwards get the goal and gets a plus.

For that reason, you Jackson Pierson can lead this year, but have a team worst -8 last year. And Benton Maass can be bad this year, but among the leaders last year.

But so can goals. I mean, was Sato at 10 goals last year different than his one goal this year?

Fair points all. As you know, I'm hardly the stats devotee, especially when it comes to continuous motion team sports, which in my mind are hockey and soccer (not so coincidentally my two favorite sports). I probably give more credence to the plus/minus stats in hockey than other "advanced analytics", and I'm honestly not sure if it's (1) because it's been around longer, or (2) because I think it tends to balance itself out over the long run? That's hardly objective, I know. But I've seen Maass making some absolutely brain-dead decisions - and costly ones too, at key moments in losses - so seeing him near the bottom of the list "clicks" for me. Eriksson, I probably focus more on his game at the other end of the ice, and hadn't picked up on his defensive shortcomings like you did.

Sato's case is probably an example of water settling at its "right" level. The break-out season last year came from out of nowhere (an Austin Block comp, except Block did it as a senior?), and it's kind of proven to have been an outlier after this season to date. But that's a kid I'd like to see getting more time on the PK. I don't see full games regularly enough to see if he's a regular part of the PK or not. Hard worker, strong skater, decent positional sense, was trusted to play defense earlier in his career (if only briefly), but even if he fits the mold, if they make him play below the dots, those skills get wasted, no?

Umile certainly got his fair share of criticism, but I don't ever remember it being based on such fundamental things, as it seems to be now with MS7. The "Robinson 24/7" thing has me scratching my head too, and all I can read into that mess is Souza is legitimately scared he might not be back next season if he doesn't squeeze every last W out of this season, right to the end. He's certainly handling that issue a lot different than his mentor did. And in this instance, I suspect Umile had the better approach. Robinson is good ... but he's not Conklin good, or Regan good, or DeSmith good. That he plays virtually every game while a junior he personally recruited rots at the end of the bench ... something's just not adding up ...

[NCAA watcher]

The problem for UNH start and almost ends with even strength. Ignoring the horrendous PK, some even strength stats. UNH 34 in 21 games, or 1.5 even strength goals per game

Scoring		GP		+	-	+/-
Boston College	19		64	29	+35
UConn	19		42	35	+7
Massachusetts	19		42	29	+13
Providence	19		38	37	+1
Northeastern	17		37	37	E
New Hampshire	21		34	53	-19
Boston University	11		32	19	+13
UMass Lowell	13		30	33	-3
Merrimack	16		26	43	-17
Maine	12		19	37	-18
Vermont	10		9	21	-12

On an individual basis,
http://www.hockeyeastonline.com/stat...ring&sort=plus

Try that link for even strength goals in HE. Pierson leads UNH, and is 19th in HE with 16, and Crookshank/Will McKinnon are second for UNH, but they rank only 29th in HE.

Keep in mind that UNH has played the most games, with 21, and therefore has had multiple more minutes of even strength play than other HE teams. BU has only at 11 games, Vermont 10, Maine 12, Lowell 11, Northeastern 16.

On a per game rate, the UNH guys would be pushed down by another half dozen or more.

What that shows is Grasso tied with Herrmann for being on the ice during even strength UNH goals at 7. For a first line RW playing lots of minutes, being on the ice for 7 even strength goals in 21 games when getting lots of TOI kind of shows why UNH is low scoring. By comparison, Cafarelli, for all of his flaws, has been on for 5 even strength goals in only 14 games.
For Erikssson, you can see he has 13 points on the PP, but only 10 goals scored even strength when on the ice. That suggests his offensive skill are not really translating in even strength (or, is it that he moves the puck well, but gets it to forwards who can't beat anyone and generate offense?) That is essentially my Tyler Ward argument, which is that he clearly from the eye test generates offense, but has only generated 8 goals while on the ice. Because I like him and it fits my eye test, I would say its the players he plays with that depress the goals for plus.

[Darius]

Approaching 100-point milestone, fifth-year senior looks back at UNH career"
https://www.fosters.com/story/sports...st/6779712002/

Everything and everyone is in disarray this season because of a contagious coronavirus... "I think everyone kind of puts a negative spin on what’s happened this year but I like to think of it as at least we get to play. We could have been shut down and not been able to play at all.”

[Felger]

Approaching 100-point milestone, fifth-year senior looks back at UNH career"
https://www.fosters.com/story/sports...st/6779712002/

Everything and everyone is in disarray this season because of a contagious coronavirus... "I think everyone kind of puts a negative spin on what’s happened this year but I like to think of it as at least we get to play. We could have been shut down and not been able to play at all.”

Souza made similar comments in Adam Wodon's story last week.

I think they could use a week off.

[Chuck Murray]

Souza made similar comments in Adam Wodon's story last week.

I think they could use a week off.

So the players seem ambivalent at times about playing, citing the general distractions beyond the rink, and then they back into a less-than-inspiring "at least we get to play" mantra. Coincidentally (not), their coach is on the record saying similar enabling things. Shocking.

I'll bet anyone dollars to donuts that Coach York and Coach Carvel aren't saying dopey, low-threshold stuff like that. I bet they talk to their players about commitment, work, opportunities, focus and perseverance. Things that winners talk about.

I hate to go there, but this time I'm compelled to share my personal experience (at an admittedly lower level) of coaching a group of HS age players through a pandemic, almost a year to the date when things started last year/season. We generally start right after the Fall NHIAA season wraps up, and literally go for the better part of 9 months until the NHIAA pre-season arrives again in August. There are short breaks built in here and there, but it's a pretty steady commitment, and kids will mostly go through the whole thing, but some do jump in and out if they have other commitments. We figure out ways to make it work for everyone. There are no crazy drop-dead ultimatums, must do this, can't do that, etc. It's evolved over the last 15+ years, and it sells itself. We do virtually no "recruiting" (Coach Umile would be proud) beyond word of mouth. We do it at cost plus minor expenses, I make no money, and I do it for fun. I answer to my constituency (players/families).

At this time last year, the kids were enjoying a great offseason (anything not on an outdoor pitch is considered "offseason") and after a slow start had hit their stride, and hadn't lost a game in over 3 months. Kids were excited about going back out for the Spring and Summer seasons, and our tourney schedule. That all came crashing down quickly when in the space of a few days, the offseason and Spring season were cancelled. Access to facilities and fields was virtually nil. We kept tourney play alive as a possibility for another month or so, but inevitably, despite everyone's best efforts, that fell by the wayside too.

Things finally did open up in time to save the Summer season though, and the kids were excited to see each other again in the team setting after over 3 months apart. Missing out on a lot of special competitive moments we were looking forward to in the Spring - it was/is a group that's been together for years, mixed ages, not at all unlike a HS or college roster age range - there was some hurt and disappointment with the returning players that I probably underestimated. As a coach in my situation, with a rolling cast of players who come in, and others who age out or leave every season, I have to remind myself that things past teams may have accomplished, may not have been experienced by your newest players, so you never want to become jaded with the idea of "I've done this before, no big deal" ... when it is absolutely a BIG deal to your current kids.

So I undersold the Summer season with a lot of the "we're just lucky to be playing" commentary to our players that we hear now from the UNH camp. Was there some truth to that? Of course there was. But did the players - who were happy to be back to a semblance of their former normal lives - need to hear that, and just keep reminding them of the lost opportunities from the Spring season and tourneys they would never get back? Probably not. Our Summer league play was uninspiring, and dotted with occasions when players collectively "zoned out" and lacked the focus that had always been their strong suit.

I kind of figured out my mistake a week or two into the short season, but by then the horses had left the barn, etc. The kids went back to their respective HS programs, and experienced a wide array of seasons - some fairly normal, others restricted, and others with no semblance of normalcy. But when that was all done, and this year's group got together in November to get things started for this new season, I made it an absolute point to NEVER talk about "wow we're lucky just to be playing". We knew we would have playing opportunities, so that would have been a false premise to begin with, and none of us wanted to be reminded of things we'd missed out on last season. We hit the ground running, and as of this writing, the kids have won almost 90% of their games to date, and are starting to chatter again about the outlook for Spring and Summer seasons.

So I've made the mistake of setting the bar low with tempered expectations during this pandemic - once - and learned from it, and have made the corrections and moved on, with good results. Noting the comments from Grasso and MS7 (there's no reason to believe everyone in that locker room hasn't heard that message), maybe that provides some insight for a lot of the uninspired hockey that's being played by UNH this season?

So Felgie - the team is going to have about 6-7 months off after the next 3-4 weekends. Giving them a week off (games and/or practices) seems like precisely the wrong enabling message to be sending to them right now. I suspect, as was the case in our last Summer season, that with a wrong message embedded, the horses have left the barn, and there's nothing this year's team is going to be able to do to get things back on track. Their only chance now is to double down on the hard work and system tweaks/overturns (PK), and hope to catch a wave of momentum that (improbably) carries them deep into the HE Tourney. Give them a week off now, and I'm afraid they've got one final RS weekend, and a one-and-done tourney (which may be the case regardless).

They'll have plenty of time to rest from April through August. And MS7 will have plenty of time to come up with a better pitch, both on the recruiting trails AND in his dressing room, to get his players and the program pointed towards success.

[Felger]

So Felgie - the team is going to have about 6-7 months off after the next 3-4 weekends. Giving them a week off (games and/or practices) seems like precisely the wrong enabling message to be sending to them right now. I suspect, as was the case in our last Summer season, that with a wrong message embedded, the horses have left the barn, and there's nothing this year's team is going to be able to do to get things back on track. Their only chance now is to double down on the hard work and system tweaks/overturns (PK), and hope to catch a wave of momentum that (improbably) carries them deep into the HE Tourney. Give them a week off now, and I'm afraid they've got one final RS weekend, and a one-and-done tourney (which may be the case regardless).

They'll have plenty of time to rest from April through August. And MS7 will have plenty of time to come up with a better pitch, both on the recruiting trails AND in his dressing room, to get his players and the program pointed towards success.

I don't have the insight as a coach that you have. And I respect that perspective. But I don't see why you couldn't have a week off AND still approach the games with your mindset. In fact, it would seem to me (granted, an outsider to the coaching world) EASIER to switch gears with a break. Tell the guys something to the effect of "enjoy your weekend off, but when we return there will be none of this happy to be here crap."

If this was a "normal" season, and my understanding is you want a return to normalcy, they would have missed a weekend at some point given the odd number of teams in the league. This was supposed to be a 20 game season; they have already played 21, the most in the league. (From Wodon's article it appears that Souza is the driving force behind playing so much.)

Probably I am just being selfish. I think a one game quarterfinal match up between BC and UNH (which holds a winning record over the Eagles in the Souza era) would be fascinating. Do I expect a UNH win? No, but still think it would be interesting. The problem is that situation could only arise if the Cats win in the (Make Believe?) round, which I think is unlikely no matter whether they play 2 or 4 more regular season games.

Anyway, I guess that's why Baskin Robbins makes 31 flavors.