What's new
By:
USCHO Fan Forum

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

  • The USCHO Fan Forum has migrated to a new plaform, xenForo. Most of the function of the forum should work in familiar ways. Please note that you can switch between light and dark modes by clicking on the gear icon in the upper right of the main menu bar. We are hoping that this new platform will prove to be faster and more reliable. Please feel free to explore its features.

Maine Black Bears 2026 Offseason: Missing Out on Mistlebacher

umhockey91 said:
Agreed. I think Engstrom underachieved a bit and really never seemed like the right fit IMO. This program must be funded pretty well now and obviously has top notch facilties to work with. I think that the applicant pool will be deep.
Click to expand...
I remember hearing this bit about Engstrom during the couple years she was getting her players in: “She can turn a good player into a great player, provided she has all good players to work with (e.g. the national team development camps).” And from that, considering she got the program back to the relative success of the Reichenbach era, after their sudden departure, I still think she did her job well. Had she stuck around for a couple more years, Who knows? I think she had the momentum building where they could finally get over the WHEA QF hump, and maybe make a run to the WHEA finals, a task our women’s program has yet to achieve. And who knows? Now that the women’s team has the facilities to compete, maybe we get a home run hire and the women’s program starts to build up even more steam.
 
BernieTheReffigy said:
If we cut women’s hockey can we also cut men’s basketball? 😂
Click to expand...

Now that would be a win-win! Hopefully the Flagg’s can revive men’s basketball, and to be fair to the program they were decent back in the day. It’s hard for me to see women’s hockey ever being that great but maybe the right person can make it happen.

Has Maine(meaning the state not school) produced many decent players? None come to mind but I don’t really follow it.
 
Drew S. said:
Now that would be a win-win! Hopefully the Flagg’s can revive men’s basketball, and to be fair to the program they were decent back in the day. It’s hard for me to see women’s hockey ever being that great but maybe the right person can make it happen.

Has Maine(meaning the state not school) produced many decent players? None come to mind but I don’t really follow it.
Click to expand...
The only one that comes to mind is Becky Wacker of York who played for Minnesota from 2003-7.
 
Drew S. said:
I think they would be much better off putting the money towards women’s basketball, but I’m sure if the program was ever cut there would be all sorts of outrage.
Click to expand...

Maine would have been better off reinstating volleyball or adding women’s lacrosse than it would be with women’s hockey. You’d think the Alfond renovations would have been cut by eight figures and they could’ve used existing facilities and/or programs to balance out for Title IX.

Same goes on men’s side - the only reason baseball is still around is legacy, success from generations ago and the old money still tied up with the program. It’s kind of appalling to see the men’s soccer success of Vermont and New Hampshire, two of your closest peers who also do not have baseball, and no concerted effort has been made to rightsize the programming of the department.
 
dunbar said:
Maine would have been better off reinstating volleyball or adding women’s lacrosse than it would be with women’s hockey. You’d think the Alfond renovations would have been cut by eight figures and they could’ve used existing facilities and/or programs to balance out for Title IX.

Same goes on men’s side - the only reason baseball is still around is legacy, success from generations ago and the old money still tied up with the program. It’s kind of appalling to see the men’s soccer success of Vermont and New Hampshire, two of your closest peers who also do not have baseball, and no concerted effort has been made to rightsize the programming of the department.
Click to expand...

I don't get this take. There are two, and only two, programs that could win a national title in Orono. Men's hockey and women's hockey. That's it. The upside for a UMaine women's volleyball program is probably going .500 in America East. There's zero chance of any national success, that sport is dominated by Big Ten and SEC schools.

Lacrosse maybe could be like women's soccer, but the party would end immediately and prolifically if Maine could win America East.

There's nothing really inhibiting women's hockey from being a national power. It's been a Wisconsin/Ohio State show the past couple of years, but within the last ten years Clarkson has two national titles, and Colgate, Duluth, and Northeastern have reached NCAA championship games.
 
AMC said:
I don't get this take. There are two, and only two, programs that could win a national title in Orono. Men's hockey and women's hockey. That's it. The upside for a UMaine women's volleyball program is probably going .500 in America East. There's zero chance of any national success, that sport is dominated by Big Ten and SEC schools.

Lacrosse maybe could be like women's soccer, but the party would end immediately and prolifically if Maine could win America East.

There's nothing really inhibiting women's hockey from being a national power. It's been a Wisconsin/Ohio State show the past couple of years, but within the last ten years Clarkson has two national titles, and Colgate, Duluth, and Northeastern have reached NCAA championship games.
Click to expand...
Can we stop acting like a national championship is the only definition of success? Maine would get more for their dollar sponsoring something other than women’s hockey. A majority of the NCHC does not sponsor women’s hockey, and two peers in UMass and Lowell do not either. The recent push to make it a ticketed/revenue sport is a wasted effort as well.
 
dunbar said:
Can we stop acting like a national championship is the only definition of success? Maine would get more for their dollar sponsoring something other than women’s hockey. A majority of the NCHC does not sponsor women’s hockey, and two peers in UMass and Lowell do not either. The recent push to make it a ticketed/revenue sport is a wasted effort as well.
Click to expand...

Should be trying to win National Championships in the sport that is possible. Especially on the Men's side.
 
Par back both mens and womens ncaa D1 teams. Focus for success on the remaining teams.
Add other non ncaa collegiate sports. Get more kids involved at a lower cost. Target ones that are traditionally more popular in maine.
 
Hopefully we will get more clarity this week on Maine's OOC...it would help if Q would release their schedule.

Maine has 5 OOC games left to fill for a 34 game schedule. What opponents are left for the first 4 weekends (1 weekend will likely be a bye and 1 will be Q at home):

10/2-10/3

Alaska
Bentley
Canisius
Colgate
Ferris State
Holy Cross
Notre Dame
Penn State
RPI
Robert Morris
Stonehill
Wisconsin

10/9-10/10

Army
Bentley
Canisius
Colgate
Long Island
Omaha
Quinnipiac
Robert Morris
Stonehill

10/16-10/17

Ferris State
Long Island
Penn State
Quinnipiac
RPI
St. Lawrence
Union
Wisconsin

10/23-10/24

Alaska
Army
Canisius
Colgate
Long Island
Notre Dame
Penn State
Quinnipiac
RPI
RIT
St. Lawrence
Wisconsin

Maine will not have a home game on 10/3 with a 3:30 start for football. Maybe they do an exhibition on 10/2 or 10/4.

My final predictions:

10/9-10/10 - Stonehill
10/16-10/17 - @ Wisconsin
10/23-10/24 - Quinnipiac

And I'll say Bentley or Long Island for a Portland game in December.
 
Last edited:
It won
umhockey91 said:
Hopefully we will get more clarity this week on Maine's OOC...it would help if Q would release their schedule.

Maine has 5 OOC games left to fill for a 34 game schedule. What opponents are left for the first 4 weekends (1 weekend will likely be a bye and 1 will be Q at home):

10/2-10/3

Alaska
Bentley
Canisius
Colgate
Ferris State
Holy Cross
Notre Dame
Penn State
RPI
Robert Morris
Stonehill
Wisconsin

10/9-10/10

Army
Bentley
Canisius
Colgate
Long Island
Omaha
Quinnipiac
Robert Morris
Stonehill

10/16-10/17

Ferris State
Long Island
Penn State
Quinnipiac
RPI
St. Lawrence
Union
Wisconsin

10/23-10/24

Alaska
Army
Canisius
Colgate
Long Island
Notre Dame
Penn State
Quinnipiac
RPI
RIT
St. Lawrence
Wisconsin

Maine will not have a home game on 10/3 with a 3:30 start for football. Maybe they do an exhibition on 10/2 or 10/4.

My final predictions:

10/9-10/10 - Stonehill
10/16-10/17 - @ Wisconsin
10/23-10/24 - Quinnipiac

And I'll say Bentley or Long Island for a Portland game in December.
Click to expand...

Won't be LIU.
 
ticapnews said:
What? Says the NCAA? I'm sure we can find our own friendly judge to tell the NCAA to pound sand. It would do "irreparable harm" to the program or something...
Click to expand...
Seems to me that the NCAA, and all it's BS rules, are on the fast track for oblivion, for better or for worse. NIL has turned their entire sanctimonious narrative on its head.

Does anyone doubt that Title 9 will soon be defeated in court, and that schools will then be able to pivot to funneling all the money to a few sports they deem worthwhile?

I sure don't. It's the Wild West these days. Just a matter of time before every college runs its athletics like a business.
 
Last edited:
I think as time goes on we’re going to look back at how college athletics used to be run and absolutely cringe. There were a lot of people making big money off of athletes labor and the athletes were treated horribly. Obviously the sports were entertaining so it was easy for folks to rationalize it, but it wasn’t fair to the athletes at all.
 
Won't be Ferris.
iu
 
Drew S. said:
I think as time goes on we’re going to look back at how college athletics used to be run and absolutely cringe. There were a lot of people making big money off of athletes labor and the athletes were treated horribly. Obviously the sports were entertaining so it was easy for folks to rationalize it, but it wasn’t fair to the athletes at all.
Click to expand...
Not to mention how many athletes have been vilified over the years for trying to make some money on the side. Or all the silly things the NCAA tagged Maine for back in the mid '90s.

It's worth the chuckle to go back read some of those violations now, especially with the NCAA citing "lack of institutional control" for things like free/extra meals, getting a discount on skates at a local store, borrowing a vehicle, and someone getting a telephone card (if any of you old geezers remember those).
 
tylerzx2002 said:
Not to mention how many athletes have been vilified over the years for trying to make some money on the side. Or all the silly things the NCAA tagged Maine for back in the mid '90s.

It's worth the chuckle to go back read some of those violations now, especially with the NCAA citing "lack of institutional control" for things like free/extra meals, getting a discount on skates at a local store, borrowing a vehicle, and someone getting a telephone card (if any of you old geezers remember those).
Click to expand...
I was cleaning out my office and found the UMaine self report, dated Dec 18 1995. I went to the printing building the day it was available and paid some fee, don't remember how much, took it home and read it. Funny reading about the Husband and Wife who gave Latendresse a camp to live in. Anyone who knew the husband knew he was a lying sack of excrement.
 
Anyone who was a student back then had to laugh when we were penalized because players got free meals. I never saw the lunch ladies who ran the dining halls on campus turn anyone away, athlete or not.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top