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UNH 2026-27 Season Let's Go 'Cats!

Best time for UNH to face Michigan State is in October before the MSU wagon picks up speed and gets really rolling. Of course, I said that about Quinnipiac.

My guess is an MSU sweep. i doubt MSU will be pushed very hard. UNH has had some good goaltenders in the past 4-5 years - Chauvette, Hellsten, Robinson. Simpson is a concern and doesn't seem to be at their level. Hope I'm wrong.
 
Simpson's numbers are dragged down by the opener at Quinnipiac, when he gave up 7 on 23 shots. He's stopped 50 of 55 since, including the shutout at Colgate. Michigan State is a different level though, especially that power play. Getting a split at home this weekend would be a big result.
 
grooverider said:
Everything since Quinnipiac and you lost 10-2. This is some lol logic here. You better pray you don't get smoked both nights. UHN is not in the same league as MSU. If Souza sells his soul you will possibly split
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Those are fighting words. Sure, MSU may be the better team on paper, but Maine was supposed to be better on paper last year too, and we swept them in Orono. That's the beauty of hockey, anything can happen.

I like UNH's chances to steal one at home. The bigger ice surface can force teams like MSU into mistakes, and if we capitalize on the power play, we can make them pay. Offensively, this is the most skill I've seen up front in a few years. The Ring line is dangerous and looks capable of generating offense every night.

I think a split is a realistic expectation. My biggest question remains Simpson. I would have preferred more of a split in net, but hopefully he makes me a believer this weekend. Defensively, I like our structure and overall commitment, though I'd still like to see a greater willingness to block shots. Maybe Lavins' game-saving block that preserved the Colgate sweep becomes the type of play that sets the standard going forward.

Overall, this team is noticeably improved offensively, and if the goaltending holds up, I think UNH is capable of competing with anyone on a given night. (Cautiously Optimistic)
 
Fair enough on the 10-2, that one's hard to explain away. My point was just that one bad night is still weighing on his numbers. Agree a split is realistic though. Home ice and the bigger sheet help, and this team looks a lot better than the one that left Hamden. This weekend will tell us more about Simpson than anything so far.
 
The 15' bigger ice will help for sure, always gives us a HUGE advantage so we can use our craftiness and speed. When we get the Jumbotron next year, that will be an even larger advantage.

Oh wait ................ Sorry, I Rip Van Winkled that information. :-)

- The extra 5' vs Munn is not much of a difference.
- The Sparty NHL Draft picks are certainly larger, faster and more skilled.
- The Jumbtron only gave some extra advertising space and helped give the tinier fan base more in-arena exposure to fewer fellow game patrons in attendance

As PL mentions, best time would be to get MSU early like last time, but I also think that sentiment is actually pretty damning on MS7 and his ability to bring improvements throughout the year.
 
Fair point, I didn't realize Munn was that close in size. Five feet isn't going to cancel out that roster. Catching them in October is probably UNH's best shot at a split, so we'll see if that holds.
 
Jellsville USA said:
Those are fighting words. Sure, MSU may be the better team on paper, but Maine was supposed to be better on paper last year too, and we swept them in Orono. That's the beauty of hockey, anything can happen.

I like UNH's chances to steal one at home. The bigger ice surface can force teams like MSU into mistakes, and if we capitalize on the power play, we can make them pay. Offensively, this is the most skill I've seen up front in a few years. The Ring line is dangerous and looks capable of generating offense every night.

I think a split is a realistic expectation. My biggest question remains Simpson. I would have preferred more of a split in net, but hopefully he makes me a believer this weekend. Defensively, I like our structure and overall commitment, though I'd still like to see a greater willingness to block shots. Maybe Lavins' game-saving block that preserved the Colgate sweep becomes the type of play that sets the standard going forward.

Overall, this team is noticeably improved offensively, and if the goaltending holds up, I think UNH is capable of competing with anyone on a given night. (Cautiously Optimistic)
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Thank you for this post, it was very objective. I will gladly eat my crow if you guys get a win.

As for you @Robert Balin - I must be living rent free in your head, which makes you the 🤡.
 
Removing the QU game makes the numbers much prettier sure, but you could just as easily remove the five-goal outburst at Colgate. If you did the latter, you’d find a team averaging just 2.33 goals per game…

You can’t play those games through four outings and pretend you've found any real patterns.

UNH is exactly who we thought they were. Not at the level of the elite (QU), but better than the worst (CU), and maybe or maybe not even with the average (MC)…

I’d expect those trends to continue with an MSU sweep this weekend. The answer to how UNH stacks up to the middle of the pack remains to be answered…
 
Maybe UNH will pull out a win this weekend, five plus to go in the third and up 1-0…

Five games is still a complete lack of data points, but this one - win or lose - would be very interesting to dissect. Ravensbergen has looked like a 1st-Round draft pick, but UNH has made the rest of an immensely talented roster look slow, pedestrian and boring. Put MSU in Maroon and they’d be mistaken for Colgate tonight…

Funny discussion on the MSU message board about whether or not UNH’s demise corresponds directly to the Black Betty ban…
 
Well I think Simpson just showed he’s goalie #1. That was a SportsCenter Top 10 play right there. Absolute highway robbery, even the MSU guy was stunned.

What a snipe by Guite. Really enjoy his game. And also Johnson he plays every shift with fire.

What a win! Gotta stay greedy for tomorrow. Keep cutting off those MSU passing lanes.

Looked like a raucous crowd at the Whitt tonight! Great to see the fish back on the ice!
 
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Great night to be a Wildcat fan! Good for them. Watched Sam Oliver tonight...he did alot of defensive work off the puck and that line was competitive.
Agree..Simpson shows he's the one. No telling what tomorrow night will bring but I'm gonna savor this one!
 
Great to see a big win and hostile home crowd. BC, BU and Michigan hockey have March Madness while UNH has October Madness. If hockey season ended every year at Halloween UNH would be top 10 every year.
 
Not even a full house but it was electric in that building. The student section were the 4th stars of the night. After 2 giant saves in the third period I can see now why Souza picked Simpson. The Ring-Guite-Johnson line gave MSU a challenge all night including the key cross check when Ring was firing into the offensive zone leading to the PP and the Guite sniper shot to win the game! The boys were connected all night and outplayed MSU. Tonight they are playing with house money! Go Cats! (Cautiously Optimistic).
 
Jellsville USA said:
Not even a full house but it was electric in that building. The student section were the 4th stars of the night. After 2 giant saves in the third period I can see now why Souza picked Simpson. The Ring-Guite-Johnson line gave MSU a challenge all night including the key cross check when Ring was firing into the offensive zone leading to the PP and the Guite sniper shot to win the game! The boys were connected all night and outplayed MSU. Tonight they are playing with house money! Go Cats! (Cautiously Optimistic).
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💯 Ryan Johnson has some decent speed! MSU was frustrated by how tight the 'Cats played them. Everybody pulled their weight for a full 60. What a bunch of grabby guys Sparty is lol. Tonight will be interesting...
 
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