HockeyRef
Well-known member
Ugh matches the '24 season score and there's 16 mins left
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UNH 2026-27 Season Let's Go 'Cats!
- Thread starter HockeyRef
- Start date
TheGrouchyCat
Litter Box of Bad Ideas
Embarrassing
Going back to last year, UNH has given up 25 goals in the last 4 games they’ve play. That’s almost 6 goals a game… who’s coaching defense on this team?!
Perhaps it would have been a good idea to play a scrimmage game to knock some of the rust off and get used to playing with new guys… best not to use an actual game as exhibition.
Merrimacks always plus us tough and with it being banner raising night for them you know they are going to come out hot. UNH must match that intensity if they are going to have a shot in that game.
This better get cleaned up in time for the home opener vs. MSU. They are certainly in the same echelon as QU, and if it’s 4-0 in the first, I presume Souza is gonna hear a certain chant pretty consistently for the next 40 minutes…
Perhaps it would have been a good idea to play a scrimmage game to knock some of the rust off and get used to playing with new guys… best not to use an actual game as exhibition.
Merrimacks always plus us tough and with it being banner raising night for them you know they are going to come out hot. UNH must match that intensity if they are going to have a shot in that game.
This better get cleaned up in time for the home opener vs. MSU. They are certainly in the same echelon as QU, and if it’s 4-0 in the first, I presume Souza is gonna hear a certain chant pretty consistently for the next 40 minutes…
HockeyRef
Well-known member
Well this isnt our first rodeo being embarrassed sadly. Seeing the looks of the players coming off the ice was tough.
umhockey91
Well-known member
It's time. 
Just an absolutely disastrous season opener...
There is a drill many teams do at the end of their warm-up period, where someone puts a puck on net and the entire team swarms the crease trying to put the rebound past the goaltender. That is what the first two periods looked like in front of Simpson, who played as well - and as helplessly - as a goalie possibly could in a .696 save-percentage outing. I actually thought he was the better of the two Wildcat goalies tonight. Kendrick was beaten on a couple of shots from distance. While the stats will likely ruin both goalies numbers deep into the season, if not entirely, I think you've got to wipe the slate clean and start over against MC with whatever you thought your goalkeeping plan was going to be this season. Tonight was NOT on those two pour souls...
I'm sure someone was charting turnovers for UNH, and they would have had themselves a very busy night. UNH defenseman were just throwing pucks into the neutral zone all night, and so many of those pucks were quickly turned around by the Bobcats for goals on the rush and at the doorstep. Give QU a lot of credit for how they played tonight, but that is THE worst defensive performance I remember watching in all my years as a UNH Hockey fan. Time and time again, when they did turn pucks over, they subsequently failed, en masse, to pick up ANYONE on their way back to their own goal.
So much of the excitement about this season's defensive potential revolved around the two newcomers. They were both awful in coverage and puck movement tonight. Von Richter was given a ton of responsibility playing top-four minutes and quarterbacking the top PP unit, and it was simply too much for a game one frosh. DeHaro was out of control and out of position far to often, as well. You'd expect Fitzgerald, Carr and Philbrick to be the most comfortable blueliners, and they were, but that's about as much as you can say for anyone's performance in the back...
Most of the forwards were invisible. Ring was the most consistently noticeably offensive threat, Zebeski popped with both goal and consistent effort, Svartstrom turned a few loose pucks into quick shots on goal, and Newcombe's size was a factor on the wall. That's about it for the forwards. So much is on the player's for their lack of positional discipline and poor performance (Certainly, none of them backchecked the way the needed to as a group), but I don't think the coaches' did them any favors with the line combinations...
There is a drill many teams do at the end of their warm-up period, where someone puts a puck on net and the entire team swarms the crease trying to put the rebound past the goaltender. That is what the first two periods looked like in front of Simpson, who played as well - and as helplessly - as a goalie possibly could in a .696 save-percentage outing. I actually thought he was the better of the two Wildcat goalies tonight. Kendrick was beaten on a couple of shots from distance. While the stats will likely ruin both goalies numbers deep into the season, if not entirely, I think you've got to wipe the slate clean and start over against MC with whatever you thought your goalkeeping plan was going to be this season. Tonight was NOT on those two pour souls...
I'm sure someone was charting turnovers for UNH, and they would have had themselves a very busy night. UNH defenseman were just throwing pucks into the neutral zone all night, and so many of those pucks were quickly turned around by the Bobcats for goals on the rush and at the doorstep. Give QU a lot of credit for how they played tonight, but that is THE worst defensive performance I remember watching in all my years as a UNH Hockey fan. Time and time again, when they did turn pucks over, they subsequently failed, en masse, to pick up ANYONE on their way back to their own goal.
So much of the excitement about this season's defensive potential revolved around the two newcomers. They were both awful in coverage and puck movement tonight. Von Richter was given a ton of responsibility playing top-four minutes and quarterbacking the top PP unit, and it was simply too much for a game one frosh. DeHaro was out of control and out of position far to often, as well. You'd expect Fitzgerald, Carr and Philbrick to be the most comfortable blueliners, and they were, but that's about as much as you can say for anyone's performance in the back...
Most of the forwards were invisible. Ring was the most consistently noticeably offensive threat, Zebeski popped with both goal and consistent effort, Svartstrom turned a few loose pucks into quick shots on goal, and Newcombe's size was a factor on the wall. That's about it for the forwards. So much is on the player's for their lack of positional discipline and poor performance (Certainly, none of them backchecked the way the needed to as a group), but I don't think the coaches' did them any favors with the line combinations...
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As far as the line-up, lets start from the back.
I'm not evaluating the goalies tonight. Their teammates hung them out. Go to the college hockey news box score and check out the shot chart to see how many chances QU had unmarked in the slot and on top of the crease. It's ugly. And I'd argue that the QU statistician mismarked many of the Bobcat goals, most were a little bit to a lot closer than placed...
Defensively, its hard for me to complain, as the line-up they ran out tonight and the line-up I had hoped to see were fairly close in composition. The one change they made was to pair Philbrick-Carr as a shutdown first pair and Fitzgerald-DeHaro as the second pair. I can see the reasoning for wanting a shutdown, match-up first pairing, especially against a top offense like QU, but it didn't work tonight. Was tonight an aberration in effort and performance or did it expose some real concerns in your pairings? That's what the staff will have to answer this week.
It does concern me that pairing Philbrick (-2 tonight) and Carr (-3) tonight exposes the rest of your defense. If you continue to pair them together, I'm sure they'll be far better than they showed tonight, but it leaves you with defensive risk on the second and third pairs. They're not SO good defensively that they can single-handidly shutdown opposing top lines, so I'd split them up.
Fitzgerald (-2) and DeHaro (-3) both think offense first. I don't think this pair works. DeHaro did not play well tonight. Fitzgerald did not give you what a senior who has played nearly every game of his career should give you.
The excitement for this season's defensive corp came from two newcomers, Vass (-2) and VonRichter (-2), but this pairing had a BAD game. Vass was terrible in coverage and left several Bobcats alone in high-danger areas, while VonRichter turned over a ton of pucks and looked over his head in his collegiate debut. They need to be a lot better individually and together. VonRichter was given a ton of responsibility, playing top-four minutes and quarterbacking the top PP unit. Vass was also on the ice for two QU power-play goals against.
Here's how I'd adjust the defense:
Fitzgerald - Carr | This is your most experienced and consistently dependable pair. They can be balanced and UNH needs them to anchor the defense.
Philbrick - VonRichter | They gave VR responsibility for a reason. Hopefully a lot of tonight was a lot of nerves. Philbrick is steady & can cover him.
Vass - DeHaro | They both need to be much better, but they should compliment each other if they settle down.
* VR, Vass & DeHaro could/should be pushed by Kennedy and Plandowski in the weeks ahead. Kennedy is big and long, could he simply give them dependable coverage and first passes? Plandowski is now a third-year college student, so you would expect he'd be calmer than what we saw from some tonight.
I'm not evaluating the goalies tonight. Their teammates hung them out. Go to the college hockey news box score and check out the shot chart to see how many chances QU had unmarked in the slot and on top of the crease. It's ugly. And I'd argue that the QU statistician mismarked many of the Bobcat goals, most were a little bit to a lot closer than placed...
Defensively, its hard for me to complain, as the line-up they ran out tonight and the line-up I had hoped to see were fairly close in composition. The one change they made was to pair Philbrick-Carr as a shutdown first pair and Fitzgerald-DeHaro as the second pair. I can see the reasoning for wanting a shutdown, match-up first pairing, especially against a top offense like QU, but it didn't work tonight. Was tonight an aberration in effort and performance or did it expose some real concerns in your pairings? That's what the staff will have to answer this week.
It does concern me that pairing Philbrick (-2 tonight) and Carr (-3) tonight exposes the rest of your defense. If you continue to pair them together, I'm sure they'll be far better than they showed tonight, but it leaves you with defensive risk on the second and third pairs. They're not SO good defensively that they can single-handidly shutdown opposing top lines, so I'd split them up.
Fitzgerald (-2) and DeHaro (-3) both think offense first. I don't think this pair works. DeHaro did not play well tonight. Fitzgerald did not give you what a senior who has played nearly every game of his career should give you.
The excitement for this season's defensive corp came from two newcomers, Vass (-2) and VonRichter (-2), but this pairing had a BAD game. Vass was terrible in coverage and left several Bobcats alone in high-danger areas, while VonRichter turned over a ton of pucks and looked over his head in his collegiate debut. They need to be a lot better individually and together. VonRichter was given a ton of responsibility, playing top-four minutes and quarterbacking the top PP unit. Vass was also on the ice for two QU power-play goals against.
Here's how I'd adjust the defense:
Fitzgerald - Carr | This is your most experienced and consistently dependable pair. They can be balanced and UNH needs them to anchor the defense.
Philbrick - VonRichter | They gave VR responsibility for a reason. Hopefully a lot of tonight was a lot of nerves. Philbrick is steady & can cover him.
Vass - DeHaro | They both need to be much better, but they should compliment each other if they settle down.
* VR, Vass & DeHaro could/should be pushed by Kennedy and Plandowski in the weeks ahead. Kennedy is big and long, could he simply give them dependable coverage and first passes? Plandowski is now a third-year college student, so you would expect he'd be calmer than what we saw from some tonight.
Tonight was rough for the defense, but in terms of line combinations I think I'm most disappointed in the forward decisions. It seemed like they tried to build four lines that had a bit of everything, rather than building each line with a purpose. I don't think UNH is deep enough to roll four lines within the same game plan, instead they need four distinct groups with four specific roles...
Svartstrom scored 17 goals as a freshman at SLU. He did that scoring on a line with Tyler Cristall (21 assists / 50 career assists) and Cooper Pierson (Jackson's brother / 15 assists as a FR). He need someone to get him the puck! I know how Souza feels about Lavins, and his career offensive numbers are OK considering missed injury time, but he still has just 0.25 APG for his career. VanTassell earned 0.14 APG in three seasons at UMass. This trio left Svartstrom on an island and the only time he showed up was when a loose puck found his stick for a quick shot on goal. He was alone in front once, but the pass ended up in a tangle of his skates, shins and the goalie's pads. I didn't understand this line at all...
Ring was easily UNH's most consistently dangerous forward. While I am stunned to find he has only scored 0.30 assists per game, I still believe he is clearly UNH's best playmaking forward. Today, he found himself on a second line with another playmaking forward in Ryan Johnson (0.38 career APG) and a freshman. You're either expecting Ring/Johnson to become goal scorers over night, or your pegging your second-line finishing hopes on a true freshman. Guite is talented, but I find that to be a large ask.
Seeing Newcombe, MacDonald, Gagnon and Oliver all in the bottom six was disheartening. It makes me wonder if the coaches see any of the four as capable of a true breakout offensive season. That would be extremely problematic for UNH's fortunes this season. One or two of those guys HAVE to score for this team to be successful.
The PP units were even more mysterious. The first line out was Newcombe, MacDonald and Gagnon - All in the bottom six, all on different lines at 5x5. No Svartstrom. No Ring. Very strange. I missed identifying the true second unit, I have to assume Svartstrom made that cut?! Though Ring scored his PP goal on an individual rush with his regular line, so who knows. They played mainly with two defensemen on all of their PPs, except for the 4x3, a departure from seasons prior...
I really hope they go back to the drawing board to define roles and find complimentary chemistry this week in practice. Here's where I'd look:
Svartstrom - Ring - Johnson | Give Svartstrom playmakers! Ring & Johnson buzz around and make plays, Svartstrom settles into shooting position. This is your scoring line.
Newcombe - Gagnon - Guité | Depth scoring. Gagnon wins FOs, Newcombe has size and Guité has skill. Guité can play RW.
Zebeski - Lavins - Turner | Let Lavins do what he does best. Zebeski lived up to his buzzsaw rep. Turner was somehow E tonight. UNH needs a match-up line to defend top lines 5x5. I'd put these three together and tell them their role is helping the D eliminate opposing top scorers as best as they can. Stay above the puck, defend, skate, dump, counter. Keep games closer than 10-2. Draw the top line to generate better match-ups for the two scoring lines.
Oliver - MacDonald - Romeo/Hyles | Don't be a liability, chip in what you can, when opportunity allows. I like what Romeo brings for this UNH team more than Hyles.
PP1 - Svartstrom, Ring, Johnson, Newcombe, Fitzgerald
PP2 - Zebeski, Gagnon, Guite, MacDonald, DeHaro/VonRichter
--
If it keeps looking like tonight, I may check out again (like so many already have). So I might as well get it all out now, eh...?
Svartstrom scored 17 goals as a freshman at SLU. He did that scoring on a line with Tyler Cristall (21 assists / 50 career assists) and Cooper Pierson (Jackson's brother / 15 assists as a FR). He need someone to get him the puck! I know how Souza feels about Lavins, and his career offensive numbers are OK considering missed injury time, but he still has just 0.25 APG for his career. VanTassell earned 0.14 APG in three seasons at UMass. This trio left Svartstrom on an island and the only time he showed up was when a loose puck found his stick for a quick shot on goal. He was alone in front once, but the pass ended up in a tangle of his skates, shins and the goalie's pads. I didn't understand this line at all...
Ring was easily UNH's most consistently dangerous forward. While I am stunned to find he has only scored 0.30 assists per game, I still believe he is clearly UNH's best playmaking forward. Today, he found himself on a second line with another playmaking forward in Ryan Johnson (0.38 career APG) and a freshman. You're either expecting Ring/Johnson to become goal scorers over night, or your pegging your second-line finishing hopes on a true freshman. Guite is talented, but I find that to be a large ask.
Seeing Newcombe, MacDonald, Gagnon and Oliver all in the bottom six was disheartening. It makes me wonder if the coaches see any of the four as capable of a true breakout offensive season. That would be extremely problematic for UNH's fortunes this season. One or two of those guys HAVE to score for this team to be successful.
The PP units were even more mysterious. The first line out was Newcombe, MacDonald and Gagnon - All in the bottom six, all on different lines at 5x5. No Svartstrom. No Ring. Very strange. I missed identifying the true second unit, I have to assume Svartstrom made that cut?! Though Ring scored his PP goal on an individual rush with his regular line, so who knows. They played mainly with two defensemen on all of their PPs, except for the 4x3, a departure from seasons prior...
I really hope they go back to the drawing board to define roles and find complimentary chemistry this week in practice. Here's where I'd look:
Svartstrom - Ring - Johnson | Give Svartstrom playmakers! Ring & Johnson buzz around and make plays, Svartstrom settles into shooting position. This is your scoring line.
Newcombe - Gagnon - Guité | Depth scoring. Gagnon wins FOs, Newcombe has size and Guité has skill. Guité can play RW.
Zebeski - Lavins - Turner | Let Lavins do what he does best. Zebeski lived up to his buzzsaw rep. Turner was somehow E tonight. UNH needs a match-up line to defend top lines 5x5. I'd put these three together and tell them their role is helping the D eliminate opposing top scorers as best as they can. Stay above the puck, defend, skate, dump, counter. Keep games closer than 10-2. Draw the top line to generate better match-ups for the two scoring lines.
Oliver - MacDonald - Romeo/Hyles | Don't be a liability, chip in what you can, when opportunity allows. I like what Romeo brings for this UNH team more than Hyles.
PP1 - Svartstrom, Ring, Johnson, Newcombe, Fitzgerald
PP2 - Zebeski, Gagnon, Guite, MacDonald, DeHaro/VonRichter
--
If it keeps looking like tonight, I may check out again (like so many already have). So I might as well get it all out now, eh...?
And PC won the National championship that year.
Chuck Murray
WIS & Effingwoods Hockey Almanac
Genius level call by MS7, not going first with the usual dry run exhibition game, and instead traveling down to Hamden to get waxed. Brilliant!! 
There's an infamous European footballing chant that comes down from the terraces in situations like this, when a coach is stumbling around to figure out who his best 11 players are, and a complementary tactical approach, and it goes like this ...
YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YER DOIN' ... YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YER DOIN' ... YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YER DOIN' ...
Some folks say it's impolite to point, but a road map is hardly necessary here to assess blame for the current situation ...
There's an infamous European footballing chant that comes down from the terraces in situations like this, when a coach is stumbling around to figure out who his best 11 players are, and a complementary tactical approach, and it goes like this ...
YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YER DOIN' ... YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YER DOIN' ... YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YER DOIN' ...
Some folks say it's impolite to point, but a road map is hardly necessary here to assess blame for the current situation ...
TheGrouchyCat
Litter Box of Bad Ideas
The excuse for the 2026-2027 season cannot be ice size, lack of a jumbotron, locker room amenities, fancy lobby or an incompetent AD.
So, the only reasonable explanation for last night's debacle is outdated and overweight uniforms.
It couldn't possibly incompetent coaching or a lack of preparation.
NCAA watcher
Registered User
It's just one game. Let's see how this plays out. He's got more talent than in the past decade, but the talent level everywhere has risen and there is more parity. We can judge actual coaching and development over the season. And Souza is comfortable with that.
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TheGrouchyCat
Litter Box of Bad Ideas
So, his quote infers that he may or may not have been supported from Blue Skies and/or the AD formerly known as SB. It's not a good look for MS7 to indirectly disparage the predecessors of his current boss.
Then again, in his lame duck year, does he have anything else to lose (besides his job) by speaking the truth.