UNH 2024/2025 Goldberg Edition

[Dan]

That would be Conmy. Soft as 2-ply. You are fighting for your season and no physicality at all. I don’t expect him to be aggressive like Walsh Or Lavins but the continued effort to avoid contact leads to turnovers and the inability to have pressure. If you watch closely as he nears a corner or the boards he will turn away. Hes not Bedard level good enough to play this way.

Hopefully he'll go the way of other lazy, soft UNH team-killers like Carfagna and Sardaryan. Imagine the horror if we had to suffer through watching all three this season. That at least puts a bow on finishing 10th. Here's to a team full of Ronan Walsh smashers next season! We'll probably finish 11th, but we'll lead the league in hustle and body checks!

 

[NCAA watcher]

First, a giant caveat that college sports take a distant backseat to the real-world issues facing universities. That said, the state of UNH’s program saddens me. Forty years ago, I was the student reporter during the first very brief nadir, from 1985-1987, which was fixed by new coach Bob Kullen’s energy and success in recruiting, one he unfortunately was not there to see completed. The next cross-roads occurred ten years ago, in 2015, when Coach Umile chose his successor. Since then, UNH has finished above 8th place only once, and only once finished with an above-.500 record:

15-16 10th place 11-20-6
16-17 10th place 15-20-5
17-18 11th place 10-20-6
18-19 8th place 12-15-9
19-20 9th place 15-15-4
20-21 10th place 6-14-3
21-22 9th place 14-19-1
22-23 10th place 11-21-3
23-24 6th place 20-15-1
24-25 10th place 13-16-6

If Hockey East still followed the “top-eight” format, UNH would have managed only two playoff appearances. Even with a “play-in” format:

• UNH won the “play in” Opening Round only three times (2017, 2021, 2024).
• never made it to the HE Quarterfinals.

No other Hockey East program has consistently endured a decade near the conference bottom. In most cases the programs achieved some positive results at least on occasion (e.g., Merrimack’s 4th and 5th place finishes in ’11 and ’12, Vermont’s 3rd and 4th place in ’08 and ‘09, U.Mass’s 3rd place ’04 and 4th place ’07, Maine’s early Whitehead years).

With its lack of resources, I will be interested to see if, or how, UNH addresses its commitment to the program; whether by acknowledging the limitations by moving to a less-competitive conference, or taking any steps to regain a viable competitive program in Hockey East.

Chris Heisenberg, UNH '87

 

[2013hockeyfan]

If Hockey East still followed the “top-eight” format, UNH would have managed only two playoff appearances. Even with a “play-in” format:

• UNH won the “play in” Opening Round only three times (2017, 2021, 2024).
• never made it to the HE Quarterfinals.

I remember being at a game at Gutterson in 2018 or so, sitting next to a UVM fan. The game was in Jan/Feb timeframe and both UNH and UVM were in the midst of bad seasons. I remember the UVM fan, during a chat during intermission saying to me "we have a good shot to make the tournament this year" and I was very confused "you have no shot at making the tournament" I replied before quickly realizing he meant making the HEA tournament. I felt very sad for him in that moment that success for his program was simply getting to the HEA tournament. Little did I realize my own team was deep in throes of becoming a program with the same level of goal.

 

[Felger]

For the past several seasons I have been wondering if UNH has morphed into a version of Lake Superior without the National Titles. But even Lake State has had a couple better years than UNH over the past decade. A lot of us who have been around for a while assume that because the program came back from the depths in the mid-80's that it will again. The Lakers' experience show its not a guarantee.

 

[Scott]

First, a giant caveat that college sports take a distant backseat to the real-world issues facing universities. That said, the state of UNH’s program saddens me. Forty years ago, I was the student reporter during the first very brief nadir, from 1985-1987, which was fixed by new coach Bob Kullen’s energy and success in recruiting, one he unfortunately was not there to see completed. The next cross-roads occurred ten years ago, in 2015, when Coach Umile chose his successor. Since then, UNH has finished above 8th place only once, and only once finished with an above-.500 record:

15-16 10th place 11-20-6
16-17 10th place 15-20-5
17-18 11th place 10-20-6
18-19 8th place 12-15-9
19-20 9th place 15-15-4
20-21 10th place 6-14-3
21-22 9th place 14-19-1
22-23 10th place 11-21-3
23-24 6th place 20-15-1
24-25 10th place 13-16-6

If Hockey East still followed the “top-eight” format, UNH would have managed only two playoff appearances. Even with a “play-in” format:

• UNH won the “play in” Opening Round only three times (2017, 2021, 2024).
• never made it to the HE Quarterfinals.

No other Hockey East program has consistently endured a decade near the conference bottom. In most cases the programs achieved some positive results at least on occasion (e.g., Merrimack’s 4th and 5th place finishes in ’11 and ’12, Vermont’s 3rd and 4th place in ’08 and ‘09, U.Mass’s 3rd place ’04 and 4th place ’07, Maine’s early Whitehead years).

With its lack of resources, I will be interested to see if, or how, UNH addresses its commitment to the program; whether by acknowledging the limitations by moving to a less-competitive conference, or taking any steps to regain a viable competitive program in Hockey East.

Chris Heisenberg, UNH '87

That would be my vote. Go back to the ECAC. Several schools relatively close by (Holy Cross, Dartmouth, Harvard, Brown) and several others within a 4 hour drive (Quinnipiac, RPI, Union, Yale). And they could keep some of the Hockey East schools for OOC play.

The founding of Hockey East back in 1983 was with all of the best intentions of combining schools that had rivalries and strong hockey programs, but UNH's ability to keep up with the "Hockey East Joneses" has eroded over the last decade.

Doubt that it will happen in my lifetime however.

 

[Felger]

That would be my vote. Go back to the ECAC. Several schools relatively close by (Holy Cross, Dartmouth, Harvard, Brown) and several others within a 4 hour drive (Quinnipiac, RPI, Union, Yale). And they could keep some of the Hockey East schools for OOC play.

The founding of Hockey East back in 1983 was with all of the best intentions of combining schools that had rivalries and strong hockey programs, but UNH's ability to keep up with the "Hockey East Joneses" has eroded over the last decade.

Doubt that it will happen in my lifetime however.

Scott, believe it or not I had the same thought when I saw that the Ivy League was not going to opt into the House Settlement. I figure when the dust settles there is going to be another round of college hockey re-alignment determined by those who want to spend and those who don't. Thought I read somewhere that UNH has little to no interest in doing an NIL collective.

 

[Scott]

Scott, believe it or not I had the same thought when I saw that the Ivy League was not going to opt into the House Settlement. I figure when the dust settles there is going to be another round of college hockey re-alignment determined by those who want to spend and those who don't. Thought I read somewhere that UNH has little to no interest in doing an NIL collective.

You are probably right.

Thanks the NCAA for caving-in on transfer rules ( yes, I know that the pandemic had a lot to do with it) and caving-in to NIL, today's talented college athletes think of themselves as four-year free agents, willing to jump from school to school whomever is willing to to pay the $$$. UNH doesn't have the financial wherewithall to compete in that arena.

 

[teez]

You are probably right.

Thanks the NCAA for caving-in on transfer rules ( yes, I know that the pandemic had a lot to do with it) and caving-in to NIL, today's talent college athletes think of themselves as four-year free agents, willing to jump from school to school whomever is willing to to pay the $$$. UNH doesn't have the financial wherewithall to compete in that arena.

Though you could make the point that Souza's only mediocre season (I refuse to call 6th place good) was due to a FA goalie from NoDak. I'm not convinced that the new transfer rules hurt teams like UNH. Sure they can't get the high end NIL talent, but they weren't getting that to begin with.

 

[TheGrouchyCat]

With its lack of resources, I will be interested to see if, or how, UNH addresses its commitment to the program; whether by acknowledging the limitations by moving to a less-competitive conference, or taking any steps to regain a viable competitive program in Hockey East.

Chris Heisenberg, UNH '87

The fans care. The players care. Even MS7, despite his dismal track record, cares. But, does the administration or AD?

Doesn't seem like it.

 

[bakchk20]

You are probably right.

Thanks the NCAA for caving-in on transfer rules ( yes, I know that the pandemic had a lot to do with it) and caving-in to NIL, today's talented college athletes think of themselves as four-year free agents, willing to jump from school to school whomever is willing to to pay the $$$. UNH doesn't have the financial wherewithall to compete in that arena.

Absolutely true; the athletes no longer have the same level of loyalty as pre-ChinaVirus. So leverage them the same. Cut the bottom of the roster. Drop the recruits that are non-performers. And tell them "if we give you a 4-year scholoarship and you turn pro, you owe us the dough. We'll pass the $$ down to someone who might want to graduate." Of course, that idea will never work unless its universal. My bad...

And BTW, some on here write abt early departures as "alumni"... They aren't alumni; they were attendees, is all, same status as a drop-out...

 

[JB]

Though you could make the point that Souza's only mediocre season (I refuse to call 6th place good) was due to a FA goalie from NoDak. I'm not convinced that the new transfer rules hurt teams like UNH. Sure they can't get the high end NIL talent, but they weren't getting that to begin with.

I do feel bad for Souza (just a little, not a lot) Hellsten stays and the team might have taken a step forward. Now watching DiMatteo the last 4.5 games I do think that Whale should have had more competition and that is back on the coaches.

 

[JB]

That would be my vote. Go back to the ECAC. Several schools relatively close by (Holy Cross, Dartmouth, Harvard, Brown) and several others within a 4 hour drive (Quinnipiac, RPI, Union, Yale). And they could keep some of the Hockey East schools for OOC play.

The founding of Hockey East back in 1983 was with all of the best intentions of combining schools that had rivalries and strong hockey programs, but UNH's ability to keep up with the "Hockey East Joneses" has eroded over the last decade.

Doubt that it will happen in my lifetime however.

I think Maine has demonstrated that it really takes a competent coach to turn around the hockey program.

10th, 10th, 11th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 9th, 6th, 10th

vs.

11th, 7th, 3rd, 2nd

UNH athletics budget is 20%+ more than Maine. UNHs athletics budget is in the same range as BU and NU, but some is how you choose to spend it. BU and NU both chose to get out of football (97 and 09). That means each spends more than $1M more than UNH on Hockey.

UNH spends 16% of the Athletics budget on football and 8% on hockey. I am NOT saying to discontinue football, even if it is a giant money looser. Just be aware of the choices being made. UNH chooses to go with a Hockey Coach that has proven he can't do this job.

 

[Aerman]

A few pages back MS7 was credited with killing the Friends, or at least that’s how it seemed to read. I would disagree and lay that squarely on Blue Skies. BS killed the women’s Friends because they were loud and persistent defenders of McCloskey. There were echoes of that support from the men’s Friends as well. BS couldn’t kill them while Dick was still here, but MS7 didn’t have the juice (and maybe didn’t care) to resist. Blue Skies was quite the glad hander with no tolerance for fan opinions let alone opposition.
I can also relate to the comment about Dick always smiling and saying hi. He has no idea who I am, but he still recognizes the face and reacts graciously.

 

[Darius]

You are probably right.

Thanks the NCAA for caving-in on transfer rules ( yes, I know that the pandemic had a lot to do with it) and caving-in to NIL, today's talented college athletes think of themselves as four-year free agents, willing to jump from school to school whomever is willing to to pay the $$$. UNH doesn't have the financial wherewithall to compete in that arena.

Crossing sports here but from 60 Minutes’ recent segment on CT basketball coach Dan Hurley:

“…sport where players now can enter a transfer portal and shop for the highest bidder, a disruptive force for even the best teams.

Jon Wertheim: Do you have players right now that are fielding offers and considering playing for other teams next season?

Dan Hurley: Fifty percent of my roster or more.

Jon Wertheim: Fifty?

Dan Hurley: Fifty percent of my roster or more is at least, you know, considering going in the portal if not already knows what school that they're going to.

Jon Wertheim: So wait. Half your team is already thinking in terms of whether they want to transfer to another program or not?

Dan Hurley: Yeah. And in a couple of those cases they've already talked to the coaching staff at, at future school and have an idea of what their NIL is gonna be there and...

Jon Wertheim: The money.

Dan Hurley: Yeah.

Jon Wertheim: What does it do to a culture of a college basketball team when half the guys are fielding offers for next season to go elsewhere?

Dan Hurley: Well, I mean, look at the volatility this year. The level of volatility in college sports, this has now become a year-to-year proposition. The game has changed completely.“

 

[Whalers]

That would be my vote. Go back to the ECAC. Several schools relatively close by (Holy Cross, Dartmouth, Harvard, Brown) and several others within a 4 hour drive (Quinnipiac, RPI, Union, Yale). And they could keep some of the Hockey East schools for OOC play.

The founding of Hockey East back in 1983 was with all of the best intentions of combining schools that had rivalries and strong hockey programs, but UNH's ability to keep up with the "Hockey East Joneses" has eroded over the last decade.

Doubt that it will happen in my lifetime however.

Are you F&^%ING kidding me? You pack up that easily? Do you speak Vichy French or just decided to co-opt their white flag. THIS WOULD BE THE WORST MOVE POSSIBLE!

GET A COACH WHO CAN RECRUIT, PLAIN AND SIMPLE. 4-5 years ago Chuck and others on here were touting an unknown asst coach that UNH should go after hard, his name? Ben Barr, an asst at UMass. UNH stuck with the "plugged in, master recruiter" (eye roll emoji?) and Maine went after Barr because - "Barr was noted as a strong recruiter when hired". Jeez, what do you know, someone with ACTUAL recruiting RESULTS (not talk) attracted better players to Orono (so much nicer than Durham + the Whitt) and the win totals went from 7 to 15 to 23 and now 21 and counting.

Get a sack and pull off the stupid band-aid.

 

[Fishman'81]

Yes, I think that MS7 will make avoidance of the HEA cellar all seven of his seasons as head coach a centerpiece in his contract extension campaign two years from now, unless as someone posted above he already has the extension.

Not to butt-in, but that's exactly how the Maine fans (well, those of us with several functioning brain-cells, anyway) felt about Gendron being extended after he'd already run the program, face-down, into the turf.

Hockey East has enjoyed a great season thus far, yes, but, for the sake of the longer term, the State schools have to be in the mix every single year.

UMass has stepped-up fairly recently, and Maine is relevant again, but we need UNH and UVM back in the National picture. That'll make the entire conference even more of a factor, across the board.

Hope that it happens.

(And bring back the Governor's Cup, already! Much more fun than the Beanpot.)

 

[amkirby10]

So, not to be taking over your thread, but if I may offer my thoughts, genuinely in good faith and not intending to troll...

When I look at UNH Hockey in 2025, I see Gendron-era Maine written all over it. A coach with a low ceiling, connected to the glory years, sufficient but not spectacular facilities, who rode a strong goalie performance to his best season as a coach, which was an outlier among the rest of his body of work. Both guys can and will do enough to not have his team be completely pathetic, as in single-digit wins on a regular basis, but if your goal is postseason performance and national relevance, he's not going to take you there. I remember Maine fans having similar types of conversations as you guys are right now; about the school dropping to D3, Orono losing flagship campus status, that they can't compete and it's over for them, that the facilities aren't good enough and that's why they can't win, etc. However, this isn't football or basketball, where the same small collection of schools are always going to be the ones to dominate. I truly believe, especially in hockey, that any team in D1 (aside from maybe an AHA member) can become a national title contender, even in this upcoming brave new world of unlimited transfers and NIL money, with the right head coach hire. And that leads into what I guess is my overall point; from an outsiders perspective, Mike Souza is very clearly not going to be the coach that gets UNH back to the national picture and attending the Garden and potentially Frozen Fours again. We at Maine are very fortunate to have found a guy who appears that he can do just that, but in my opinion it all starts at the head coach position. Hockey East and the college hockey world more broadly would be a better place with UNH as a nationally competitive program, but I just don't see the current guy in place as the one who will be able to make it happen. But I do think it could happen if you can find that guy.

Just my personal thoughts.

 

[norbert]

This is an interesting take on Conmy. I actually felt his physicality increased as the season progressed, to no benefit. As I mentioned previously, I found the biggest limiting factor on his game (which was glaring last night) was his unwillingness to move the puck on zone entry and always try and dangle. He draws a lot of attention from opposing teams which allows time and space for his linemates and he didn't take advantage as best he could. Not sure if it was selfishness, bad coaching, or lack of trust in his teammates. Probably some combination of all of the above.

All of this is a problem. The glaring aspect is he is not strong enough to win battles down low. In a corner he is not going to win a battle but you are also correct that he gets stopped at the blue line a lot.

Problem is, that we will never know because you can't ask the coaches anything because they are in the UNH Witness Protection Program.

 

[norbert]

So, not to be taking over your thread, but if I may offer my thoughts, genuinely in good faith and not intending to troll...

When I look at UNH Hockey in 2025, I see Gendron-era Maine written all over it. A coach with a low ceiling, connected to the glory years, sufficient but not spectacular facilities, who rode a strong goalie performance to his best season as a coach, which was an outlier among the rest of his body of work. Both guys can and will do enough to not have his team be completely pathetic, as in single-digit wins on a regular basis, but if your goal is postseason performance and national relevance, he's not going to take you there. I remember Maine fans having similar types of conversations as you guys are right now; about the school dropping to D3, Orono losing flagship campus status, that they can't compete and it's over for them, that the facilities aren't good enough and that's why they can't win, etc. However, this isn't football or basketball, where the same small collection of schools are always going to be the ones to dominate. I truly believe, especially in hockey, that any team in D1 (aside from maybe an AHA member) can become a national title contender, even in this upcoming brave new world of unlimited transfers and NIL money, with the right head coach hire. And that leads into what I guess is my overall point; from an outsiders perspective, Mike Souza is very clearly not going to be the coach that gets UNH back to the national picture and attending the Garden and potentially Frozen Fours again. We at Maine are very fortunate to have found a guy who appears that he can do just that, but in my opinion it all starts at the head coach position. Hockey East and the college hockey world more broadly would be a better place with UNH as a nationally competitive program, but I just don't see the current guy in place as the one who will be able to make it happen. But I do think it could happen if you can find that guy.

Just my personal thoughts.

I think Red had something going after a few down years, but I have a different opinion as he was a family friend. Though, the early success of Barr can be partially attributed to the recruits that Red had coming in. The difference is that Souza had 3 years as an assistant and it was his recruits coming in, so this is all on him unlike the Maine situation where someone came in fresh.

 

[acs64]

Seeing that the Mainuhs are taking over your thread here, thought I'd add my half a cent. Without a doubt, the consensus is that your head coach needs to be replaced, with a great deal of emphasis on NOW rather than in 2 years. Thats been discussed ad nauseum for some time now.....so this begs 2 questions.... how does a buyout happen (probably not gonna happen) and who, or better yet, are there viable candidates out there now or on the horizon that can bring the type of success that the fans, and team obviously, want to see ? I mean for chits and giggles, of all the active coaches in Hockey East right now, which coaches would you fans be happy to hire tomorrow to take over the reins at UNH? Not just okay with, but which coaches would you be almost giddy having behind your bench next season.

As much as I like seeing UNH lose (old wounds heal slowly lol) it is painful to see the fans going through this quasi-suffering. Especially since we recently enjoyed that. But as mentioned it is better to see the state schools ALL being relevant on a consistent basis.

Barr
Brown
Pandolfo
Cavanaugh
Carvel
Bazin
Borek
Keefe
Leaman
Wiedler