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Maine Black Bears 2026 Offseason: Missing Out on Mistlebacher

AmaineBlackBear said:
As long as we keep Veronin and Lafton I am happy. Seems like Barr is relying on the portal for bigger veteran players instead of taking the risk of bringing in a ton of green horns that might not be acclimated to the physicality and speed of ncaa d1 hockey.
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Personally, I think that bringing in guys Voronin, Bales, etc. will be the secret sauce that pushes us to success. The CHL experiment of 25/26 was a failure. And even then, it managed to get us a first-round bye in the HEA Playoffs. This year's portal activity/roster additions scream 24/25 to me. Some experienced veterans who aren't necessarily flashy, but will play into the system well, and maybe won't be part of the "culture" issue in the dressing room. The freshmen look promising as well. Give Fowler the C, and watch 'em go.
 
BernieTheReffigy said:
Personally, I think that bringing in guys Voronin, Bales, etc. will be the secret sauce that pushes us to success. The CHL experiment of 25/26 was a failure. And even then, it managed to get us a first-round bye in the HEA Playoffs. This year's portal activity/roster additions scream 24/25 to me. Some experienced veterans who aren't necessarily flashy, but will play into the system well, and maybe won't be part of the "culture" issue in the dressing room. The freshmen look promising as well. Give Fowler the C, and watch 'em go.
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Really hoping for a “the whole is more than the sum of its parts” year with the new roster!
 
ticapnews said:
Men's Hockey Day of Giving
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What a Maine Day of Giving it's been!

Another $10 million from Phil Morse.... https://goblackbears.com/news/2026/...illion-estate-gift-from-phillip-morse-64.aspx

"The $10 million estate commitment will establish the endowed Morse Arena, Alfond Stadium and Alfond Arena Endowment Fund, providing long-term support for the maintenance and enhancement of those facilities. A portion of the gift will also create the Morse Recruitment and Retention Fund, which will help recruit and retain UMaine coaches and staff, as well as the Morse Baseball Support Fund, which will provide resources for travel, projects, and other baseball program needs."

Maine Day of Giving link: https://engage.umaine.edu/mdg-2026

$87,224 in individual donations to UMaine Athletics with about 10 hours to go.
 
Jacob0804 said:
I'm sorry, but the "you can't control those who want to leave anyway" is the exact same mindset my managers at work have. It's a poor excuse for poor management and leadership. If you go into all this treating/expecting top tier talent to be a one and done and/or chase more money, you're failing from the start IMO.

Sure, there are anomalies that are truly using a year or two as a stepping stone to bigger and better things, whether it be money, NHL/AHL deals, etc. but I'd like to think that isn't the norm for most players (certainly not disputing the change in landscape). If we are unable to retain talent that may have otherwise stayed due to personality, cultural, (you name it) issues, we need to look in the mirror and consider maybe we're the problem and not the player.

Not implying Maine has a problem just yet, however, I agree completely that we should absolutely be disappointed that we are/were unable to keep some of the players leaving this year especially if the reason for leaving is something that is/was within our control and/or capabilities to address.
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Could not agree more w this
 
BlackBearHockeyFan said:
Possibility of expanding regular season to 40 games from current 34? Majority of coaches support it according to College Hockey News. 3 or 4 more home games per season would be great
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I feel like this would increase the fatigue and risk of injury for teams trying to make a deep run into the playoffs. I think the regular season schedule is perfect the way it is.
 
BlackBearHockeyFan said:
Possibility of expanding regular season to 40 games from current 34? Majority of coaches support it according to College Hockey News. 3 or 4 more home games per season would be great
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I think the NCAA would have to make the season length longer if the regular season was expanded to 40 games. There's about 22 or 23 weeks normally between (and including) the first week of October and March. That would mean only 2 or 3 weeks off (assuming 2 games a week are played). Could have to play 3 games a week some weeks if no games are played during holiday weeks (Thanksgiving and Christmas) and the regular season length isn't expanded. Would probably be too many games.

Though it would allow Hockey East to finally have a fairly even schedule with each team in the conference playing each other 3 times. That would give a total of 30 conference games and 10 non conference games for each Hockey East team.

Crazy thought here and no benefit to Hockey East so there is no reasonable way this would happen, but what if Hockey East went to 20 conference games for each team and then there was 20 non conference games. Would be able to see/schedule way more different teams across the NCAA.
 
walrus said:
I just like saying Bemidji
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Darius said:
How about Mankato?
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Mankato is good, Bemidji is better. Ask anybody.

MN has almost as many NA nameplaces as Maine does, and that's a good thing, but I think Maine edges them out.

(Kenduskeag, for example, is pretty tough to beat... Ditto, Mooselookmeguntic,, where my Grampie was a fishing guide, but the list goes on and on...)
 
Fishman'81 said:
Mankato is good, Bemidji is better. Ask anybody.

MN has almost as many NA nameplaces as Maine does, and that's a good thing, but I think Maine edges them out.

(Kenduskeag, for example, is pretty tough to beat... Ditto, Mooselookmeguntic,, where my Grampie was a fishing guide, but the list goes on and on...)
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Passagassawakeag
 
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