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

[Sean Pickett]

Semler is a stretch. His best days at UMaine were when they were still technically a D-2 start-up.

His second season in ECAC DI was his second best season, although his second overall and second in DII was his best. I guess I gave him so credit for starting up a program from scratch and going a pretty good job.

Weird seeing Parker in the "very good" category, but since you're a BU guy, you know well that he walked into a pretty good gig to start with.

I would say he followed BU's transformative coach, Coach Kelley (Coach Abbott having only coached for 1+ seasons), and did an excellent job of maintaining the high standards Coach Kelley set for half of his 40 seasons. Unfortunately, he also had a decade long fallow period, as well as other less than stellar seasons sprinkled across his last 16 seasons.

Maybe someday Merrimack gets their transformative coach ... but I sense Dennehy might be as close as it ever gets, at least while I'm still here on God's green earth.

So, I've been think a bit more about your term "transformative coach." I've started to research every coach of every DI team going back to WWII and of the Hockey East teams these are the coaches I think have been transformative for each program:
Boston College: Coach York
Boston University: Coach Kelley
Connecticut: none
Maine: Coach Walsh
Massachusetts: Coach Carvel (tentative)
UMass Lowell: Coach Bazin
Merrimack: Coach Lawler
New Hampshire: Coach Umile
Northeastern: Coach Madigan (tentative)
Providence: Coach Leaman
Vermont: none

I've also started on the NCHC teams and here are the 4 I've completed:
Colorado College: Coaches Tompson and Lucia
Denver: Coaches Armstrong and Gwozdecky
Miami: Coach Blasi
Minnesota-Duluth: Coach Sandelin

Sean

[Chuck Murray]

So, I've been think a bit more about your term "transformative coach." I've started to research every coach of every DI team going back to WWII and of the Hockey East teams these are the coaches I think have been transformative for each program:
Boston College: Coach York
Boston University: Coach Kelley
Connecticut: none
Maine: Coach Walsh
Massachusetts: Coach Carvel (tentative)
UMass Lowell: Coach Bazin
Merrimack: Coach Lawler
New Hampshire: Coach Umile
Northeastern: Coach Madigan (tentative)
Providence: Coach Leaman
Vermont: none

I agree with most of your takes, including UConn (no surprise) and UVM (a few good years here and there for both Gilligan and Sneddon, but never really sustained). You chose Lawler for Merrimack - presumably using a Semler "start-up" measure - instead of Ron Anderson, whom I believe was the guy who elevated Merrimack from D-II into Hockey East. Anderson gets my nod, but if we consider program elevation from D-II then Coach Riley (Lowell) probably needs to be in the discussion too?

I do know that many of my UNH colleagues would disagree with Umile instead of Holt, and as much as I'd like to agree with them, objectively I still have to give it to Umile. Sadly, though, neither man did themselves a favor by struggling with poor teams at the end of their respective illustrious careers. And I hold that more against Umile, because he saw what Holt went through, and still decided to hang around too long instead of opting for an earlier, more graceful exit. I get it - when you're an extremely successful coach, you always think the next great team is just around the corner, and you think you can turn chicken crap into chicken salad. But part of that comes down to whether you want to put the same necessary work into the program as you age. It's what makes Coach York so successful, and what most observers will say tripped up Umile later on.

Right now, I find the Carvel situation most interesting. Will UMass continue to thrive, or will there be a backslide? At SLU it took him two years to get to a winning program, and ditto at UMass. I think the UMass situation was the more challenging of the two, and a more impressive accomplishment. He's not an old guy ... but he's not a youngster either (50) and whether he stays in Amherst for the duration, looks at other prime established D-1 programs OR takes a shot at the NHL, where he was an assistant at Ottawa for a half-dozen years before leaving for SLU ... we'll probably get an answer on that in the next couple of years. If he stays ... will he be Bazin, will he exceed Bazin, or will he too begin to gradually fall off?

Thanks again for engaging, Sean. Fun to have this kind of discussion once in awhile.

[Chuck Murray]

After one period: UNH 1 UMaine 0
After 3 minutes of the 2nd period: UNH 3 UMaine 1
UMaine has since countered, down by 3-2 but going on the PP midway in the second

[Chuck Murray]

Tyler Ward SHG
UNH 4 UMaine 2

I think this was my end-of-game prediction. Rooting for no more goals. :-)

[Chuck Murray]

After two periods: UNH 4 UMaine 2

UNH goals so far: Eriksson (1st period); MacAdams, Pierson, Ward (2nd period)

Sounds like SOG's are running very lopsided for UNH, 30-ish to 10-ish

Alfond looks (and sounds) very strange without fans in the stands ...

[HockeyRef]

Keep it up 'Cats!!!!

[Chuck Murray]

Engaras adds another UNH goal early in the 3rd period

UNH 5 UMaine 2

[HockeyRef]

Who are these guys, and what have you done with our Wildcats?

[Felger]

Chuck you are spending a lot of brain cells on a game in the "make believe" round of the playoffs

[Chuck Murray]

Who are these guys, and what have you done with our Wildcats?

Whoever they are, hopefully they stick around for the weekend!

UNH kills off a penalty, 6 minutes left, still 5-2 UNH

[walrus]

Who are these guys, and what have you done with our Wildcats?

They are playing a 3 win team.

[Chuck Murray]

Chuck you are spending a lot of brain cells on a game in the "make believe" round of the playoffs

Just doing what I used to love doing, no brain cells being endangered for this glorified RS game :-)

Kind of sad listening to the UMaine announcers (I'm assuming?), trying to find little morsels of optimism amongst the mess that has become their program. I can relate ...

[Chuck Murray]

They are playing a 3 win team.

1999 seems a long long time ago, doesn't it Wally?

Reid makes it 6-2 with a SHG into an empty goal

[Snively65]

Puddy Cats letting Black Bears make some gains in SOG during the late going. :-)

[walrus]

1999 seems a long long time ago, doesn't it Wally?

Reid makes it 6-2 with a SHG into an empty goal

The glory days are all Maine fans have after 8 years of Red