UNHSince1969
Active member
Hell, I'm going to send the school a check after this past weekend.
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.
UMaine 25-26: Marques My Word: Back to the Big Time
- Thread starter UncleRay
- Start date
IDK how many times he doesn't even react to a shot, happened numerous times last weekend as well as getting scored on other weekends. Just a statue in net as if he didn't even see the puck despite being largely unimpeded.
He's the only obvious one.
Everyone keeps saying "long way to go", "plenty of hockey left". The season is half over, they sit in the cellar of the NPI with the toughest part of their schedule yet to come. I mean if we want to throw in the towel on this season now, sure, there's plenty of hockey left in the grand scheme of things, but as far as this season goes, I don't see them going 18-2 to close out or whatever as has been previously discussed.
grooverider
Your Team Sucks
Get over the Barr yelling BS, these guys aren't wimps nor are they soft skinned. Can others deal with it better then others sure. But you want to blow smoke up people's asses dont be a clown about it.
Fact: Barr can have a hair across his ass and get pissed off. Fact hes hard on the players.
But as someone who has talked with multiple people DIRECTLY connected to the program quite frequently they will tell you one thing: he may be a hard ass but nobody questions his passion and nobody wants to win more than him. And that drives his players knowing he wants to win just as much as them and will run through a wall for them.
Fact: Barr can have a hair across his ass and get pissed off. Fact hes hard on the players.
But as someone who has talked with multiple people DIRECTLY connected to the program quite frequently they will tell you one thing: he may be a hard ass but nobody questions his passion and nobody wants to win more than him. And that drives his players knowing he wants to win just as much as them and will run through a wall for them.
Im much more inclined to trust grooverider than I am to trust Whistle, since Groove has made predictions before that have come true and otherwise given valuable info
Sparkee
Blackbear
Yep, Groovey is real fan and has seats in a box so he pays a premium/donates so no doubt he has some connections. He is a dedicated fan and we all like him.
He should in NO WAY be confused with peckerhead Whistle which is likely a family member or friend of a former player that got benched then transferred and is butt hurt over it.
I have no inside info and this is just what I’ve observed from the outside…I would be very surprised if Barr is outright abusive. I’m sure at times he’ll tell kids to shut the **** up and things like that and on occasion tear into someone over their performance but that’s all pretty standard stuff. There is a huge difference between being harsh and abusive.
The more interesting piece to me is how effective it is. I don’t think there is any doubt it can help at times in the short term but I think it’s a fairly short shelf life. Maine obviously has some major recruiting disadvantages and if the word on the street is that Maine is a miserable place to play it doesn’t help.
I’m not super concerned what happens the rest of this season but hope he is able to improve things for next year. I think folks need to accept that all the changes in college sports the last five years have likely been bad for Maine and there is that much more headwind because of them. I also hope that there have been a lot of lessons learned as far as recruiting goes and that he is able to improve in that area. It seems like older players have done better with Barr and perhaps he should pursues transfers instead of MJ players.
The more interesting piece to me is how effective it is. I don’t think there is any doubt it can help at times in the short term but I think it’s a fairly short shelf life. Maine obviously has some major recruiting disadvantages and if the word on the street is that Maine is a miserable place to play it doesn’t help.
I’m not super concerned what happens the rest of this season but hope he is able to improve things for next year. I think folks need to accept that all the changes in college sports the last five years have likely been bad for Maine and there is that much more headwind because of them. I also hope that there have been a lot of lessons learned as far as recruiting goes and that he is able to improve in that area. It seems like older players have done better with Barr and perhaps he should pursues transfers instead of MJ players.
The last thing we need is any sort of humor.
umhockey91
Well-known member
I can't believe I am again agreeing with much of what you say.
Agreed on Barr....and also agree that recruiting is a more immediate concern. It figures that Maine finally gets gold plated athletic facilities and at the same time the goal posts are moved in a major way with NIL which now has become the most important aspect of recruiting top players......pfft. I also think that Maine has become somewhat of a country club for student-athletes.....and it is showing across multiple sports. The blue collar underdog work ethic seems to have been replaced with selfies, softness and fragile egos. Self promotion has replaced team achievement.....a sign of the times I guess.
I also agree that the rest of this season pales in comparison to what happens next season. Recruiting (NIL) is going to have to be figured out by Maine's AD, coaches and donors....or UMaine teams will continue to lose at an alarming rate.
walrus
Wind up workin' in a gas station
Does anyone think Maine can compete with big money schools just because it has a new locker room with a lit UMAINE logo in the ceiling? That would have been nice 10 years ago. If I was a 5 * rated recruit I'd be looking for how much money can I get paid to play. Can they get me ready to go to the NHL?. Baubles ain't going to cut it. The Big Ten will rule any and all sports they want to compete in.
NorthMike
Well-known member
Im surprised in the culture war as Barr in his previous life prided himself on recruiting kids to fit into the culture. It seems he may have greatly missed the mark this year. Maybe things settle out will see.
Part of me wonders if recruiting to maine is tough because of the lunch pail hard working hockey style with expectation to be here in the later summer for training with heavy forecheck style and required high level of fitness. Elite players want to showcase their skills with nifty puck handling and play making.
Im no nhl fan but it seems the nhl recruiting favors skill over hard work. So why would a lunch pail program do better at prepping a player for the nhl.
IDK just spit balling while the woodstove gets cranking.
Blackbear96
Active member
On the recruiting note, there's also a certain level that falls on the rest of Barr's staff. While I'm sure he co-signs everyone that walks in the door, he's no longer the lead recruiter like he was at previous stops. I would imagine you have staff vouching for certain players, there's no way as the HC he's out on the road quite as much as he was previously as an assistant.
I certainly trust his ability to evaluate players, but would agree that he had highlighted the importance of the "right" athletes. Perhaps this is just a year where some of it is more of player personalities clashing and not to much of "bad eggs." Regardless, I trust he and the staff to sort it out this offseason.
I certainly trust his ability to evaluate players, but would agree that he had highlighted the importance of the "right" athletes. Perhaps this is just a year where some of it is more of player personalities clashing and not to much of "bad eggs." Regardless, I trust he and the staff to sort it out this offseason.
Maybe with the influx of CHL talent and the competition for them he felt the need to take some chances on kids he normally might not? Maybe the other teams are picking up the pace with regards to work ethic moreso than in the past. My guess is all coaches are putting more emphasis on the need to outwork your opponent because the talent level is getting spread more and more evenly (with certain exceptions of course). Watching that game the other night I saw several shifts (too late in the third though) where the Maine guys were hitting everything that moved, so there was no lack of effort I could see. The obvious problem is they are not finding the back of the net when its crucial lately. And other teams are playing the rope a dope trap game hoping to frustrate and looking to counterattack off any mistake. Its not fun to watch but can be effective against a fast team like Maine. I want to see Frank and Lipinski back in the lineup. We need that size and we need them to be effective.
Sparkee
Blackbear
People have to realize that the bulk of recruiting was done by Soltys and Fournier. Now I happen to think recruiting isn’t the issue anyways because your better players are freshmen. Somehow people miss this and blindly say recruiting sucks. No, the upperclassmen aren’t performing and have less talent than is needed. So this means the recruiting from 4 and 5 years ago wasn’t that great. Well, Maine wasn’t that great 4 or 5 years ago. Below .500 team, new head coach, old facilities, etc… NOW it is much different with above .500 program, Coach with some success(HE Title and two NCAA playoff appearances and above .500 record), and new facilities. People need to see the Forrest from the trees here. 13 new players and a team that is 8-7-1, not that shocking really. Feels like a rebuilding year. We will see how the new coaching staff recruits over time. My guess is that it will be as good or better than in the past.
People also have to lighten up a bit on the freshman in the sense that on most teams you shouldn’t be so reliant on the freshmen. In an ideal work all of your upperclassmen have the most impact and freshmen have time to develop. But because the team has less talent in the upper class this means Maine relies on the freshmen for more contribution than normal. That usually never works out well and we are seeing that. At the same time if the freshmen have cocky attitudes then they need to knock it off, grow up, and stop acting like high school cheerleaders.
blackbears9
Active member
Do people really think things like improved strength/conditioning, recovery and treatment facilities are baubles? Maine is never going to sign guys like Mckenna, if that’s what you’re holding out for you’re never going to be happy. Players more than ever care about off ice training and recovery. Culina said the old training room was the size of his new office. Breen had to go to Bangor last year for PT, most/all of that can now be handled in Orono. These things matter.
I agree with Sparkee, blaming recruiting alone is lazy. You can blame not getting the right personalities, but this is the most talented freshman class in over a decade. I also think people acting like Maine can never compete in the NIL era is silly. Mark Mcmahon has consistently reported that NIL is here, but nowhere near the levels people seem to think. Roger McQueen, a top 10 pick went to Providence for $100,000-$150,000. Barr went on a fan podcast over the summer and was asked if Maine could compete with the Big 10 teams and schools like Providence/UConn. He essentially said he’s not concerned, Maine has the resources, it just takes a little longer to get the back end people hired at the athletic department at Maine than the bigger school. Maine will never get the very top guys, but they should be able to get 2-3rd rounders pretty consistently (and have 2 this year).
grooverider
Your Team Sucks
We all need a ass in the bunch lol..my wife says I'm part of the club
Sparkee
Blackbear
I agree with you, it is a lazy take to blame recruiting. But some people don’t put much time into analysis. They would rather say the same shit they’ve been saying for the last 20 years. Because they were right for the last 20 years at the end of Whitehead’s tenure and all throughout Gendron’s tenure the recruiting as a whole was not good. Sure there were some good players. But beyond those few gems, but the average rating of the recruits and the depth suffered. Mostly in the forward lines. Goalie was good overall. Defensemen weren’t awful. The average forward back then was larger, slower, topped off with hands of stone. Now we have guys that can skate, fast, nimble, and can stick handle and shoot. It is ignorant for people to say it is recruiting when these are the same people complaining we don’t get enough skilled players that can put the puck in the net. We have a forward that is tied(or was) for most goals in the country as a freshman. These same people once Maine gets it going with be the ones that come back and say we finally got some good recruits when it’s the same recruits they dump on now.
It’s not just hockey either. I have been telling everyone I know to invest their extra money they have sitting in savings account into precious metals specifically silver. I have spent hours on the phone with my family and friends discussing all the reason why it makes SO much god damned sense. I have had only one of them listen to me and she has been very thankful. The rest just have it in their head that saving cash in the bank and buy bonds and cds is the way to go despite staring down the barrel of diluting dollar with rate cuts and stimulus checks(printing money). None of them would take me seriously. I predict 6 months from now they will wake up and invest in gold and silver and then when I talk to them they will tell me all about their great idea and try to convince me it is what I should do without even remembering me urging them to invest in Silver. No, I am not kidding, this is how the average person is, even my own family members. If I let it bother me though I will have high blood pressure, a stroke, or some kind of hernia or something.
I am glad you can see the Forrest from the trees though. Also, since I like pretty much all my Blackbears fans please consider protecting your wealth by converting some of your cash or portfolio to silver and/or gold. Please watch this video if you think I’m nuts and then ask yourself if you still think I am nuts after watching it. I hope it helps you all. https://youtu.be/wEMPw9vg1Xg