UNH Hockey Off Season Thread 2026

[Jellsville USA]

So back to hockey and coaches... Did BC really just under achieve this year?

It just seemed they had loads of talent and could win just about anytime they fully engaged for the full game. I did only watch a few. So I don't think the problem was talent. Was it mix? Or coaching? Or?

It is a long off season so yeah discuss

They were inconsistent 5x5. Brown had to do a lot of line shuffling due to a couple of key injuries and they never developed any consistency after winning the beanpot. Hockey East was simply not good this year. My guess is Conmy's stock may have been better served staying with UNH

 

[emily422]

Florida Panthers have signed Moose (Muszelik)

 

[DLG]

I think it is coaching, for sure, and it is the same challenge faced by BU. Both put some of the most talented teams on the ice in the country this season.

It is not the hockey part of coaching, though, that is their main problem, in either case. Both, however, play a game that is not suited to the win-or-go-home format of college playoff hockey.

The part of coaching where I see fault is in the strategic approach of both programs. They chase one-and-done superstars. This approach will always pose challenges with team chemistry on and off the ice but I think it was particularly detrimental this season where opponent's rosters included much older CHL players. I think the talent of both teams struggled to overcome their youth and inexperience.

They both have some soul searching to do. Do they want to be a stop along the way for the journey of NHL stars or do they want to compete for national titles?

Not true- the final four includes the 2nd 4th 8th youngest teams
need a blend-BU/BC tend to lose players early but mostly 2nd and 3rd year players
Only few elites leave aftr one year like Celebrini-
Just a missed season for eastern teams- maybe didn't adjust quickly to chl

 

[Robert Balin]

Of course criticism of Souza is fair game, I participate in it, but calling him an "entitled bastard," as Chuck has, just seems uncalled for.

Yea, not sure where the claim about comments regarding wife and family came from, I can't remember seeing that.

I kinda think that myself. Guy should have fired himself 3 years ago.....

 

[Felger]

My guess is Conmy's stock may have been better served staying with UNH

Would be interesting to see Conmy in the NCHC for a season. It looks to me like that's the place you want to go to get NHL ready.

 

[JB]

So in college the Coach is GM and Coach. So when I read the Carle interview I see a clear strategy on both.

As the GM you need to build a team and you need to get players willing to do the dirty work. During the Duluth games there was discussion that Sandalin had a defensive system that both he and the upper class men teach. That is culture that needs to be maintained. There were talks during the Olympics of some of those players accepting a lesser role than they have on their team in the NHL. It is one thing to accept that for a 2 week run and another for a year or multiple.

For me the most successful college coaches know how to build a team and teach the team.

My thoughts on both BU and BC this year, they had far better talent then the records.

 

[HockeyRef]

Cool to see incoming GK Leo Heniquez earning his second USHL 'Player of the Week' honors! .92% Save % 2.26 GAA 2nd best in the league.

 

[FlagUp17]

Cool to see incoming GK Leo Heniquez earning his second USHL 'Player of the Week' honors! .92% Save % 2.26 GAA 2nd best in the league.

This is great news! Thanks for sharing HR!

I hope they bring him onboard this year, if for nothing else I don’t want him to bolt somewhere else as I don’t think he has signed his letter of intent/financials yet like Tournas and a few others. I fear asking him to repeat in the USHL another team may try to swoop in and persuade him to go with them.

I still think they will look for someone in the portal as well, as that has been a theme for MS7 in the portal era with the likes of KC, Whale, and Hellsten. We also only have a sophomore goalie who played 0 minutes this year (much to many of our chagrin), so I can’t imagine they go with a freshmen and sophomore who have never played college hockey.

 

[FlagUp17]

So in college the Coach is GM and Coach. So when I read the Carle interview I see a clear strategy on both.

As the GM you need to build a team and you need to get players willing to do the dirty work. During the Duluth games there was discussion that Sandalin had a defensive system that both he and the upper class men teach. That is culture that needs to be maintained. There were talks during the Olympics of some of those players accepting a lesser role than they have on their team in the NHL. It is one thing to accept that for a 2 week run and another for a year or multiple.

For me the most successful college coaches know how to build a team and teach the team.

My thoughts on both BU and BC this year, they had far better talent then the records.

Agreed I thought they did not play up to their talent - similar to UNH but on a different scale. Especially for BU who don’t even make it to the garden this year, and did not have a great series against UNH.

For as good as both BC and BU have been, they both haven’t won it all in over 12 years (BC in 2012, BU in 2009). Yea they make the tournament often, and even FF’s and championship games. But in the biggest spots, they have often faltered of late. I think part of that is in the FF they run into teams with similar amounts of talent, but superior coaching. I don’t think Pandolfo and Brown are in the same echelon as Parker and York in terms of overall coaching talent.

Maybe one day they will get there, but they aren’t there yet…

 

[Chuck Murray]

Of course criticism of Souza is fair game, I participate in it, but calling him an "entitled bastard," as Chuck has, just seems uncalled for.

Yea, not sure where the claim about comments regarding wife and family came from, I can't remember seeing that.

Please explain why this is "over the line", or whatever you think is "uncalled for" ... Souza was ushered to the front of the line to replace Coach Umile, while a few guys with more experience and tenure named Borek and even Stewart were pushed aside to clear the way. Both of those guys, plus countless others inside and definitely outside the UNH universe who were infinitely more qualified, were overlooked and/or ignored. Coach Umile certainly greased the skids as well for his successor, and he was given three years to settle in and recruit his own future players, before Umile stepped aside to let Souza take it and run with it. Who gets this kind of pampered, pre-arranged treatment and favoritism in the history of D-1 hockey?? If there's even a list, it's an exceptionally short one, you gotta admit.

So what does MS7 do with this fantastically tailored approach for him to succeed? Pretty much nothing. Early career press conferences show all the depth of a swimming pool for ants. Copying trite little coach-speak quotes, thinking all he has to do is sound and look the part, and it would all just fall in place. He's never learned how to coach ... I don't think he even has his own inner coaching voice to guide him ... as several have pointed out repeatedly, he avoids interacting with any folks who are not squarely in his corner, and can only ever be found interacting with UNH pals and friendly HE media in the "good ol' boys club" when his coaching future is in need of another contractual refresher. We can already see it emerging again, whether it's the BU announcers or online HE D-1 media.

He's had over a decade to get this right. Two years ago, he had a winning season ... one (1) season, and somehow the guy who has no outside interest to use to leverage anything more than a single season extension, somehow finds his way into three more seasons. The last two - including one where most of his only prior winning team returned, sans Hellsten - have seen a return to the normal abysmal bottom of the league finishes. One (1) winning season out of a decade or so is the walking talking definition of an outlier result. But the Corbetts and McMahons would have UNH fans believe they are "crazy" (Corbett) for not appreciating the hidden coaching genius that is Mike Souza.

So we have a guy who was pushed (or pulled) to the head of the line, due to some hidden-to-the-world qualifications buried in between the lines of his CV, has shown no apparent ability to develop winning teams and talented players, and whose talent appears to be nothing more than sucking up to the right folks and not being too greedy about the size of his paychecks, lest bigger ones come attached to winning and developmental expectations. He's said and done nothing apparent to the outside world to get better at his craft, and he seems distinctly indifferent to the fate of his alma mater's once prominent D-1 Men's Hockey program.

That feels pretty entitled to me, 2013. And sticking with a job that he was at best marginally qualified to take over, and to cling to it with a vice grip while the program circles the D-1 drain seems pretty damned selfish, no? It's not like he jumped in at Brown or (lol) UConn, both of whom were nothings when he was working there, and for the most part have accomplished nothing important since ... this is UNH, former two time HEA Tourney champs, multiple times over RS champs (something that has taken on a new shine since PC finally won one), former perennial D-1 tourney qualifier, and four time FF participant (and two time Finalists) under his predecessor. This is not flatlining on a program known for flatlining ... this is flatlining on a program that has normally existed near the upper echelons of D-1 hockey.

The Hippocratic Oath is a foundational, ethical pledge for physicians, functioning as an obligation to act in their patients' best interests based on their ability and judgment. "First, do no harm" is the piece of the oath most recognizable to most of us. One wonders if Coach Souza has ever considered the harm he is doing to UNH Hockey? Maybe he's not a doctor, but he's in a position of trust where his expertise should be a guiding force for good. If you're seeing it 2013, please, clue me in ...

 

[Chuck Murray]

Tonight, if you're interested and willing ... we're gonna play a little game of "Inside Baseball - USCHO Boards". First, turn your browsers to post #133 on this thread, where I'm responding to potty's quote about certain actions taken by a certain fellow poster. It's still up, I'm not gonna take stuff down (unlike others) ...

OK, so you're at Post #133 now. Take a look at the accusation leveled by potty at said other poster, basically accusing them of self-editing. Interesting, right?

Look at the circled arrow to the right of potty's name, in the grey quoted section. Click on it. It should open to the originating quoted post. But it doesn't.

Try clicking on other similar arrows in other quoted posts, and notice what happens then. Yup, they still take you to the original quoted post, like clockwork.

Go back to the quoted section of Post #133 again, potty accusing said poster of removing said poster's own post of his own volition. A confirmed lie by potty, which I have since confirmed with multiple board sources, who recall that probably at least a half dozen posts were swooped by USCHO admin at the same time.

But the really rich part is potty's original post, demonstrating his outright lie, has been removed. Self-edited, already caught in the lie (which he has since expanded into areas at the very least bordering on libel). Also, accusing someone else of doing what he himself is doing - textbook case of projection, if I've ever seen one.

Conclusion? potty is a confirmed unconscionable, inveterate and pathological liar, taking joy at driving other posters away from a forum they enjoy taking part in ... and this is the same guy who claims others on here are disturbed etc.?!? So, is potty a sociopath or a psychopath?? I'll leave that up to you readers.

Megalomaniac - someone who has an unnaturally strong wish for power and control, or thinks they are much more important and powerful than they really are

The tell on him was a long time ago, and every time anyone of us gives him the benefit of the doubt, you're just enabling him. Proceed with caution.

 

[Chuck Murray]

Norbert. Incredible, huh? But he's gone now. He harassed the players and coaches. Troubled guy.

There's a few more that said they are quitting posting, which is good. Took some time but I'm getting some of the more troubled people off this Board.

This will be a really positive place when a few more call it quits.

Megalomania (ICD-10-CM F60.81) ... lying. libeling, way out over his own skis, drunk on his own perceived power. Hilarious if not so GD sad, dangerous even ...

 

[Potluck]

I see Chuck Murray a/k/a Buford went all unabomber manifesto again. Oh what a delight. Buford, I live at 2853 Main Street Alexandria Virginia.

Can we all agree that Buford is going to google the address?

 

[2013hockeyfan]

The Hippocratic Oath is a foundational, ethical pledge for physicians, functioning as an obligation to act in their patients' best interests based on their ability and judgment. "First, do no harm" is the piece of the oath most recognizable to most of us. One wonders if Coach Souza has ever considered the harm he is doing to UNH Hockey? Maybe he's not a doctor, but he's in a position of trust where his expertise should be a guiding force for good. If you're seeing it 2013, please, clue me in ...

I agree with most of what you've outlined, Chuck. Souza was handed an upper tier program on the decline and did nothing to right the ship and only furthered/accelerated the decline.

I, unlike you, I think, don't believe its for lack of trying or effort, though, simply lack of ability. Should he resign? Sure, in a perfect world. In reality, though, that expectation is likely unreasonable. The responsibility lies with organizational leadership; Dr. Rich and President Chilton, in this case, who I feel are derelict in their duty.

Please explain why this is "over the line", or whatever you think is "uncalled for"

I think personal attacks and name calling are uncalled for, even on a public figure. Most folks on this board ostensibly agree or claim to, when it is someone from outside their clan doing the name calling.

This is just my personal opinion, though. You have every right to refer to him as an entitled bastard, that is your prerogative, of course.

 

[Chuck Murray]

I see Chuck Murray a/k/a Buford went all unabomber manifesto again. Oh what a delight. Buford, I live at 2853 Main Street Alexandria Virginia.

Can we all agree that Buford is going to google the address?

When you use words like "all" and "us", it'd be nice if you clarified for everyone else on here that you're referring to yourself and the voices in your head, slugger.

As far as the address goes, I won't bother to take the bait, knowing it's undoubtedly the latest (tamest) lie you've uttered in a long string of lies.

But it doesn't change the fact I know who you are ... and knowing how that endlessly gnaws at you, is good enough for me.

 

[Potluck]

But it doesn't change the fact I know who you are

But you don't, Buford. You think I work for some type of company in Washington DC. You've clearly been searching for my exhaustively.

As for "we" is, I've received DMs from at least 20 people regarding you and the flunkies.

 

[Chuck Murray]

I agree with most of what you've outlined, Chuck. Souza was handed an upper tier program on the decline and did nothing to right the ship and only furthered/accelerated the decline.

I, unlike you, I think, don't believe its for lack of trying or effort, though, simply lack of ability. Should he resign? Sure, in a perfect world. In reality, though, that expectation is likely unreasonable. The responsibility lies with organizational leadership; Dr. Rich and President Chilton, in this case, who I feel are derelict in their duty.

Agreed on the lack of ability, and I guess I still disagree on the "lack of trying" etc. Maybe we're talking over each other on this point, but I sincerely believe Souza totally underestimated the demands of the job from the start, and I'm not sure he's ever truly caught up? I don't think anyone in Brown's universe has ever been under any real pressure to perform, it's been a flatlining program for a long time, so that can't have helped set his expectations far beyond.

I'll shock some on here in commenting on his next stop, where while UConn never had any past expectations to live up to, he certainly had a demanding and driven boss. I may not be his biggest fan, but no one can accuse my bestie Luce of not being focused and driven to succeed. In retrospect, I have to think the short professional relationship between Souza and Luce was not so great to begin with, and it brings me to remember the time when Souza's departure was announced, and was followed by a curious disclosure by a writer in the CT media that Souza was Coach Umile's "nephew". I forget if the quip was attributed to Luce directly OR was something the writer just floated from an undisclosed source (again, likely Luce). It seemed a super snarky quip at the very least, and at the time it first came out, a lot of attention was paid to debunk the quip (which I do believe was indeed incorrect, even if one major AI search engine still says yes!) as opposed to maybe reading into it a little further? Maybe Luce wasn't overly impressed with Souza's work ethic, and this was his way of throwing shade at his former assistant? Not even I can argue that after Souza left UConn ... UConn has risen, while UNH has tanked.

Souza spent his final 3 pre-HC seasons at UNH working for a retiring semi-legend, who had always heavily relied on talented and ambitious assistants to do the heavy lifting recruiting-wise, and set himself up as the "closer". It's a system that worked incredibly well for a long time, and also worked to everyone's strengths in the process. But with the departure of Borek, Tortorella, Lassonde, McCloskey and Serino ... Souza didn't see or learn from those guys, and he may just have discounted or ignored the example set by Luce during his tenure, maybe because by that time, UConn and Brown were really not so different?

I think personal attacks and name calling are uncalled for, even on a public figure. Most folks on this board ostensibly agree or claim to, when it is someone from outside their clan doing the name calling.

This is just my personal opinion, though. You have every right to refer to him as an entitled bastard, that is your prerogative, of course.

Whether I call him "entitled" or "selfish", I don't know that changes anything drastically? I guess it still rankles me that the only time I've ever seen Souza put his all into the program, it was when he was stumping for his latest renewal/extension. The same guy who didn't save Friends of UNH Hockey, the same guy who rarely if ever puts himself within range of any notable media ... and as my friends on here often comment, the same guy who cannot attend fan-friendly events out in the community to enhance the local NH perception of his program. Things he has seen his past coaches do when he was a player, and things we will undoubtedly see again once the U gets around to moving on and hiring his successor. So I guess I'll stick with "entitled bastard" until he shows me he isn't. That hasn't happened yet ...

 

[Chuck Murray]

But you don't, Buford. You think I work for some type of company in Washington DC. You've clearly been searching for my exhaustively.

As for "we" is, I've received DMs from at least 20 people regarding you and the flunkies.

Hahahaha ... it's funny, what ended up sinking you on this was your DM chains, the answer arrived on my doorstep, free of any really hard detective work.

You've played the DM game before with your previous ID, you're playing it again, and with other folks on the boards too. This only cements who you are.

With your previous threats to doxx your so-called DM network, it's amazing anyone would ever trust you with DM's again. The absolute height of naiveté.

So I call BS on you, slugger. Go do one. Better yet, prove me wrong. And regardless, please seek professional help ...

 

[cinnamoroll]

OA D Wyatt Kennedy commits to UNH, plays for Windsor Spitfires. 6’5 RHD, not big offensive producer but he’s steady as they come on the blue line. +/- isn’t a perfect stat but he leads his team with +37, only guy close is his D partner i’m guessing with +36.

this season- 66 games, 3-23-26 which is a season high

Windsor is playing Guelph in the first round of the OHL playoffs, they’re up 2 games and game 3 is tonight

 

[Potluck]

OA D Wyatt Kennedy commits to UNH, plays for Windsor Spitfires. 6’5 RHD, not big offensive producer but he’s steady as they come on the blue line. +/- isn’t a perfect stat but he leads his team with +37, only guy close is his D partner i’m guessing with +36.

this season- 66 games, 3-23-26 which is a season high

Windsor is playing Guelph in the first round of the OHL playoffs, they’re up 2 games and game 3 is tonight

It's a tough time for UNH to recruit with Souza unlikely to return after the 2026 season. It's a little unfair for the next coach to have to potentially reneg on committed players. That's an ugly start but that's part of the deal. Anyone worthwhile will likely be quick to turn the roster many players transferring or being pushed out.