UNH Men's Hockey 2022 Off Season Thread- Goodbye Lake Whitt!

[Chuck Murray]

Maybe it's a closed scrimmage, much like last year's scrimmage with Merrimack? HELLO, AD RICH....PAGING AD RICH.....WOULD YOU PLEASE LIGHT A FIRE UNDER SOMEONE'S BUTT? PLEASE AND THANK YOU!

Why on God's green earth would it be a closed scrimmage this year?

Last year was already pushing things ... but still engaging in this crap now ... if so, wow, just wow.

This should have been low-hanging fruit for the newbie AD. Yet she's still managed to muff it.

And ClOuD 9 is spot on in questioning how to establish any causal connection on ice surface etc.

[ClOuD 9]

And that's a good question. Maybe what I should have said was, "If an NHL surface helps them win games down the road, then I'm all for it." Which means, maybe they'll snag those key recruits who want an NHL surface (copyright MS7 and to some extent, Umile). Or maybe the current roster of players will adapt quickly to the new dimensions? It would definitely be an interesting study on how this quantifies improved winning margins.

Glad you pointed out prior use here, my reply originally included a long winded explanation that I wasn't trying to call you out specifically but that it was a long standing narrative going back to the Umile era before I backspaced it out for fear of losing the larger point.
It's been repeated so often and for so long that it seems in some cases the premise is just accepted (again, not you).

[Scott]

Why on God's green earth would it be a closed scrimmage this year?

Last year was already pushing things ... but still engaging in this crap now ... if so, wow, just wow.

This should have been low-hanging fruit for the newbie AD. Yet she's still managed to muff it.

And ClOuD 9 is spot on in questioning how to establish any causal connection on ice surface etc.

Chuck, you already know the root cause/reasons for the ice surface reduction. Maybe it will pay off in the future, or maybe it's just another version of "lipstick on a pig".

As for the supposed "exhibition" game, I was only throwing out a possible reason why no one has heard about this....well, no one except of course our steadfast Nigel.

[Darius]

Why on God's green earth would it be a closed scrimmage this year?

Little/no revenue from walk up ticket sales, limited concession revenue from any that do show up so not worth spending the money to open the Whitt. Just a guess.

[d.gerry]

Five skaters hailing from NH on this year's roster. Seems like the most we've had in a long time. Anyone remember this many NH guys on the team in recent memory?

[NCAA watcher]

https://www.grandforksherald.com/spo...erence-preview

Hockey East

Herald predicted standings

1. Northeastern
2. Boston University
3. Providence
4. UMass Lowell
5. UMass
6. Boston College
7. UConn
8. Merrimack
9. Vermont
10. New Hampshire
11. Maine

THE BEST OF…

Best forward: Aidan McDonough, Northeastern
Best defenseman: Domenick Fensore, Boston University
Best goalie: Devon Levi, Northeastern
Best rookie: Jeremy Wilmer, Boston University
Best transfer: Gustavs Grigals, UMass Lowell

NORTH DAKOTA/MINN. SECTION 8

Maine: F Cole Hanson (GF), D Brandon Holt (GF)

Vermont: F Jens Richards (Detroit Lakes)

Five things to know

1. Two of Hockey East’s traditional powers will have new coaches at the helm. Greg Brown is the new coach at Boston College, replacing Jerry York, who was with the Eagles for 28 years. Jay Pandolfo, meanwhile, is the new coach at Boston University. He replaces Albie O’Connell, who was let go in the offseason.

2. UConn will have the youngest player in college hockey this season in 17-year-old forward Matthew Wood, who could be a first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. Wood was a dominant player for Victoria in the BCHL last season.

3. Merrimack will be bringing in one of the best finds of this year’s rookie class in defenseman Zach Bookman. Last season, Bookman dominated the AJHL, racking up 21 goals and 102 points in 55 games for the Brooks Bandits. Other schools were interested in trying to flip his commitment, but Bookman remained loyal.

4. This could be the Year of the Goaltender in Hockey East, which is loaded with high-end puck stoppers. Devon Levi, who won the Mike Richter Award last season, leads the way, but Boston University’s Drew Commesso and UMass Lowell’s Gustavs Grigals enter the season with pretty good pedigree.

5. Three schools dug into the Division-III ranks to grab transfers this summer, including New Hampshire. The Wildcats nabbed Babson’s leading scorer, Ryan Black, who had 39 points last season, while notably not taking a single penalty. The other D-III transfers are Babson’s Mike Egan to Niagara, Wisconsin-Eau Claire’s Ryan Ouellette to Niagara and Skidmore’s Austin Rook to Long Island.

[Nifty16]

[B]
5. Three schools dug into the Division-III ranks to grab transfers this summer, including New Hampshire. The Wildcats nabbed Babson’s leading scorer, Ryan Black, who had 39 points last season, while notably not taking a single penalty. The other D-III transfers are Babson’s Mike Egan to Niagara, Wisconsin-Eau Claire’s Ryan Ouellette to Niagara and Skidmore’s Austin Rook to Long Island.

wooboo competing with Niagara and LIU for players

[Scott]

[B]https://www.grandforksherald.com/spo...erence-preview


5. Three schools dug into the Division-III ranks to grab transfers this summer, including New Hampshire. The Wildcats nabbed Babson’s leading scorer, Ryan Black, who had 39 points last season, while notably not taking a single penalty. The other D-III transfers are Babson’s Mike Egan to Niagara, Wisconsin-Eau Claire’s Ryan Ouellette to Niagara and Skidmore’s Austin Rook to Long Island.

Glad to see that we share the limelight with Niagara and LIU.

Edit: Nifty16 beat me to it. :-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlBr...channel=Mothra

[e.cat]

Why on God's green earth would it be a closed scrimmage this year?

Last year was already pushing things ... but still engaging in this crap now ... if so, wow, just wow.

This should have been low-hanging fruit for the newbie AD. Yet she's still managed to muff it.

And ClOuD 9 is spot on in questioning how to establish any causal connection on ice surface etc.

Why on God’s green earth is UNH scrimmaging Merrimack to begin with? I’d rather watch a Don Lemon docuementary about reparations or climate change!

[Chuck Murray]

Why on God’s green earth is UNH scrimmaging Merrimack to begin with? I'd rather watch a Don Lemon docuementary about reparations or climate change!

LOL ... well, he does have some spare time on his hands, having lost his prime-time gig (shame) ...

[Chuck Murray]

https://www.grandforksherald.com/spo...erence-preview

Hockey East

Herald predicted standings

1. Northeastern
2. Boston University
3. Providence
4. UMass Lowell
5. UMass
6. Boston College
7. UConn
8. Merrimack
9. Vermont
10. New Hampshire
11. Maine

THE BEST OF…

Best forward: Aidan McDonough, Northeastern
Best defenseman: Domenick Fensore, Boston University
Best goalie: Devon Levi, Northeastern
Best rookie: Jeremy Wilmer, Boston University
Best transfer: Gustavs Grigals, UMass Lowell

NORTH DAKOTA/MINN. SECTION 8

Maine: F Cole Hanson (GF), D Brandon Holt (GF)

Vermont: F Jens Richards (Detroit Lakes)

Five things to know

1. Two of Hockey East’s traditional powers will have new coaches at the helm. Greg Brown is the new coach at Boston College, replacing Jerry York, who was with the Eagles for 28 years. Jay Pandolfo, meanwhile, is the new coach at Boston University. He replaces Albie O’Connell, who was let go in the offseason.

2. UConn will have the youngest player in college hockey this season in 17-year-old forward Matthew Wood, who could be a first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. Wood was a dominant player for Victoria in the BCHL last season.

3. Merrimack will be bringing in one of the best finds of this year’s rookie class in defenseman Zach Bookman. Last season, Bookman dominated the AJHL, racking up 21 goals and 102 points in 55 games for the Brooks Bandits. Other schools were interested in trying to flip his commitment, but Bookman remained loyal.

4. This could be the Year of the Goaltender in Hockey East, which is loaded with high-end puck stoppers. Devon Levi, who won the Mike Richter Award last season, leads the way, but Boston University’s Drew Commesso and UMass Lowell’s Gustavs Grigals enter the season with pretty good pedigree.

5. Three schools dug into the Division-III ranks to grab transfers this summer, including New Hampshire. The Wildcats nabbed Babson’s leading scorer, Ryan Black, who had 39 points last season, while notably not taking a single penalty. The other D-III transfers are Babson’s Mike Egan to Niagara, Wisconsin-Eau Claire’s Ryan Ouellette to Niagara and Skidmore’s Austin Rook to Long Island.

Few random observations and comments on this worthwhile read ...

(1) Good to see someone refusing to drink Luce Canaan's UConn Kool-Aid. 7th looks about right;
(2) To repeat, UMaine will NOT finish in last place. You can deduce the impact of that on UNH;
(3) The lone UNH mention in this article is how the 'Cats poached Babson's leading scorer

Babson

Yup it's shaping up to be another *great* season in Titletown.

At least the traffic here is picking up!! :-)

[Felger]

(2) To repeat, UMaine will NOT finish in last place. You can deduce the impact of that on UNH;

Chuck, if you want to take a ride over to Seabrook you can get Maine at +25,000 to win the NC

[Chuck Murray]

Chuck, if you want to take a ride over to Seabrook you can get Maine at +25,000 to win the NC

LOL I might just do that, Effingwoods being just a hop skip & a jump away ;-)

To be clear, I'm not THAT bullish on UMaine (yet) ... but looking at the HEA '22/'23 field, I see UMaine likely finishing around 8th or 9th at worst, moving ahead of both UNH and UVM, and possibly picking off someone like Merrimack, too. Coach Barr is a consensus Top Ten recruiter (and arguably WAY better), and it looks like the consensus is, he's bringing in a Top Ten class to Orono this season. So the program has probably bottomed out - just like UMass did after a transitional Carvel/Barr season - and if there is another Top Ten recruiting class coming in behind that (not unreasonable given Barr's history), then UMaine should comfortably slide into the middle of the pack for the '23/'24 season. The hard sledding probably starts then, but Barr-recruited teams have thrived at the highest levels of postseason play in Schenectady, Providence and Amherst, so as they say, "the sky's the limit".

What a shame we didn't beat UMaine to the punch on this one ...

[Nifty16]

So Providence can get 2 exhibition games this weekend and UNH can’t even get one together?

[Chuck Murray]

So Providence can get 2 exhibition games this weekend and UNH can't even get one together?

Pathetic. The rot in the program runs deep, literally from top to bottom.

Someone wake the new AD, please ...