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UNH Hockey Off Season Thread 2026

UNH Season ticket information that I received yesterday

Season tickets sold: 1969 (1690 in loge) for $373,698. Going with 980 in the bench seats for students that is 36% of seats are STHs.

I have the public sales and student ticket information, but it appears incorrect. The total tickets when all put together is more than the capacity for the season.

If the STH information is correct and you say the average is 2 tickets per household, you have less than 1000 STHs.
 
norbert said:
UNH Season ticket information that I received yesterday

Season tickets sold: 1969 (1690 in loge) for $373,698. Going with 980 in the bench seats for students that is 36% of seats are STHs.

I have the public sales and student ticket information, but it appears incorrect. The total tickets when all put together is more than the capacity for the season.

If the STH information is correct and you say the average is 2 tickets per household, you have less than 1000 STHs.
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Thanks for these data, Norbert.

But what does “capacity for the season” mean?

Is the bottom line that UNH is making less than $400k per season on men’s hockey ticket sales? If so, that barely covers MS7’s and Torts’s salaries, let alone the assistant coaches.

I am surprised that 278 of the season tickets sold are for the bench seats. How much cheaper are those season tickets?

I calculate $221 per season ticket, which sounds lower than I expected.
 
Snively65 said:
Thanks for these data, Norbert.

But what does “capacity for the season” mean?

Is the bottom line that UNH is making less than $400k per season on men’s hockey ticket sales? If so, that barely covers MS7’s and Torts’s salaries, let alone the assistant coaches.

I am surprised that 278 of the season tickets sold are for the bench seats. How much cheaper are those season tickets?

I calculate $221 per season ticket, which sounds lower than I expected.
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There were 175 bench, 1690 loge, and 104 skybox.

I took 6501 as the capacity of the Whit for 17 games is 110,517. Per the data I was given, public sales totaled 77,014 for $1.161M

Total Capacity: 110,517
Season Tickets excluding skybox: 31,705
Public Sales: 77,014
Student Tickets: 21,478 (though this must be last year as it has U18, Bentley, RIT ect listed)

That is 130,197 tickets which is well over the calculated capacity. The only data I think might be accurate would be the STH information
 
2013hockeyfan said:
You are such a miserable hater

The tone of 90% of your posts is hopelessly negative
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Or, a realist.

He accomplished what 99% of hockey players dont; a chance to play D1 hockey as a scholarship athlete. That is a tremendous accomplishment. Kudos to he and his family

Less 7% of college players play ine game in the NHL. 30-50% (depending on sources) have the opportunity to play professionally at some level. He achieved that milestone. Statistically, he has overachieved. Again, well done.

That said, as an undersized, average to average+ college player, his options will be limited at the professional level. Saying that isn't negative, it's a reality that real world statistics/data supports.

I wish him luck in whatever his future holds.
 
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norbert said:
There were 175 bench, 1690 loge, and 104 skybox.

I took 6501 as the capacity of the Whit for 17 games is 110,517. Per the data I was given, public sales totaled 77,014 for $1.161M

Total Capacity: 110,517
Season Tickets excluding skybox: 31,705
Public Sales: 77,014
Student Tickets: 21,478 (though this must be last year as it has U18, Bentley, RIT ect listed)

That is 130,197 tickets which is well over the calculated capacity. The only data I think might be accurate would be the STH information
Click to expand...
Ok, I get the season seating capacity at 110, 517 (17 games x 6501).

But how did you get from 1969 season tickets sold for $373,698 in your first post to 31,705 season tickets in this post?
 
TheGrouchyCat said:
Or, a realist.

He accomplished what 99% of hockey players dont; a chance to play D1 hockey as a scholarship athlete. That is a tremendous accomplishment. Kudos to he and his family

Less 7% of college players make the NHL. 30-50% (depending on sources) have the opportunity to play professionally at some level. He achieved that milestone. Statistically, he has overachiever. Again, well done.

That said, as an undersized, average to average+ college player, his options will be limited at the professional level. Saying that isn't negative, it's a reality that real world statistics support.

I wish him luck in whatever his future holds.
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No one disagrees with that -- it is largely self evident, but you always chime in to point out anything negative or degrading you can say about anyone adjacent to the program. It rarely needs mentioning.

It would be like if everyone replied to your posts that you're an insecure loser. It is known, it doesn't need to be said.
 
Snively65 said:
Ok, I get the season seating capacity at 110, 517 (17 games x 6501).

But how did you get from 1969 season tickets sold for $373,698 in your first post to 31,705 season tickets in this post?
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There were 1969 season tickets sold with 1690 being in loge and 175 in bench. I assumed that was seats not games and multiplied those totals by the 17 games. Not sure if the boxes is in the 6501 or not.
 
As a taxpayer and alum, I've grown tired of the gross mismanagement, excuses and justifications spewed to fans about why the program has regressed.

While I fully understand that a state institution will never be run like a corporate entity, the fact remains there has been zero accountability for those who make the decisions and manage day to day operations.

Blue Skies left the program in a distressed state (once he secured his pension).

SB renewed MS7. Her incompetence was rewarded with a non tender. Can't imagine anyone on this board has shed a tear over this news. Hopefully, this a sign of good things to come.

MS7 has had eight years to prove he can coach a D1 team. It hasn't worked out. Not because of locker rooms, jumbotrons or ice size but because he can't manage a team. Nice guy. Questionable skills as a coach. His track record validates that statement.

Outside the safety of a college campus, there are consequences for non-performance. I'm hoping the non-renewal of SB is a harbinger of things to come and that fundamental change forthcoming when a new AD is hired.

Until then, I will call it like I see it. And, what Ive seen over the last ten years is a case study in incompetence and equivication.

Pray tell, 2013hockeyfan, enlighten us as to what we should be celebrating in regards to UNH hockey?
 
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TheGrouchyCat said:
Outside the safety of a college campus, there are consequences for non-performance.
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Sometimes but often times no. How about the bankruptcy laws that forgive debt by the trillions? Ever seen what lobbyists working for private businesses steal in Washington DC for the Fortune 500 and Wall Street? There are consequences for most but not for the select few. How about the bailout in 2008 from the financial crisis? The taxpayers bailed out Wall Street and saved their jobs. Consequences for poor performance are becoming more selective in the US every day.

Mike Souza never has been the enemy or the problem. He's a symptom. You cannot seriously evaluate the program or AD Rich for that matter without evaluating honestly the performance of UNH as a whole or the dedication the taxpayers of NH have towards UNH. The taxpayers support of UNH has been disgraceful and pitiful. Many of us believe you usually get what you pay for in life. Rah rah talk and the Norman Dale nonsense is fictional. That's precisely the problem at UNH. The place is a mess.

BTW, shouldn't we evaluate the quality of the hockey players Souza has brought in as people? Souza has consistenly recruited good people to play hockey at UNH. Sorry, but that's supposed to be part of college sports, no?

I like and respect Souza. I wish him well. He will have considerable success away from UNH when he leaves.
 
Potluck said:
BTW, shouldn't we evaluate the quality of the hockey players Souza has brought in as people? Souza has consistenly recruited good people to play hockey at UNH. Sorry, but that's supposed to be part of college sports, no?
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It's not an either/or proposition though, is it? Coach Umile consistently recruited good people AND managed to win a lot of games too.

Look at the awards that get given out, locally and nationally. There are some good citizenship awards, sure, but most apply to on-ice performance.

We all wish Souza well in his post-UNH career. But he's proven to be a mediocre at best hockey coach, and we'll be reminded of this again next Winter.
 
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TheGrouchyCat said:
I evaluate outcomes at face value, good or bad.
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Appreciate the honesty which underscores the key problem you are having with UNH hockey. You can't look at the outcomes at face value. You need to dig deeper and find out why. The best way to solve a serious costly problem is to dig and evaluate it from all angles.
 
Potluck said:
Appreciate the honesty which underscores the key problem you are having with UNH hockey. You can't look at the outcomes at face value. You need to dig deeper and find out why. The best way to solve a serious costly problem is to dig and evaluate it from all angles.
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All fair comments, 100% You and I have our battles here but we are closely aligned in terms of identifying the root cause of the dysfunction. I am sure that over dinner or beers we could conduct our own analysis and built out a portfolio of solutions.

That said, this is a hockey board, not a local/state government board. As someone who deals with state (sometimes), federal and international governments daily, I would willingly go down that rabbit hole in the appropriate forum.

USCHO is not that place, however.
 
TheGrouchyCat said:
All fair comments, 100% You and I have our battles here but we are closely aligned in terms of identifying the root cause of the dysfunction. I am sure that over dinner or beers we could conduct our own analysis and built out a portfolio of solutions.

That said, this is a hockey board, not a local/state government board. As someone who deals with state (sometimes), federal and international governments daily, I would willingly go down that rabbit hole in the appropriate forum.

USCHO is not that place, however.
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Amen!
 
Chuck Murray said:
It's not an either/or proposition though, is it? Coach Umile consistently recruited good people AND managed to win a lot of games too.

Look at the awards that get given out, locally and nationally. There are some good citizenship awards, sure, but most apply to on-ice performance.
Click to expand...

It is not like there is a wave of bad behavior coming out of NCAA Hockey. There are ~1,690 players (65 x 26) and we see maybe 1 or 2 a year on average for all of the NCAA. Best my friend Google Gemini I can find looking for legal or academic trouble is:
  • Gavin McKenna (Penn State - 2026): In February 2026, Penn State freshman and top 2026 NHL draft prospect Gavin McKenna was charged with felony aggravated assault, along with misdemeanor simple assault, harassment, and disorderly conduct following an altercation in State College, PA. The charge stemmed from an incident on January 31, 2026, where a man suffered a broken jaw. Prosecutors later announced they would drop the felony charge but proceed with misdemeanor assault charges.
At the same time I always think you need to give college students a little room for a little stupid (not crazy illegal mind you), it is part of the experience, part of growing up.

My point is having bad citizen hockey players would seem to take effort - just based on the rough odds 2/1690 = 0.1%.
 
JB said:
It is not like there is a wave of bad behavior coming out of NCAA Hockey. There are ~1,690 players (65 x 26) and we see maybe 1 or 2 a year on average for all of the NCAA. Best my friend Google Gemini I can find looking for legal or academic trouble is:
  • Gavin McKenna (Penn State - 2026): In February 2026, Penn State freshman and top 2026 NHL draft prospect Gavin McKenna was charged with felony aggravated assault, along with misdemeanor simple assault, harassment, and disorderly conduct following an altercation in State College, PA. The charge stemmed from an incident on January 31, 2026, where a man suffered a broken jaw. Prosecutors later announced they would drop the felony charge but proceed with misdemeanor assault charges.
At the same time I always think you need to give college students a little room for a little stupid (not crazy illegal mind you), it is part of the experience, part of growing up.

My point is having bad citizen hockey players would seem to take effort - just based on the rough odds 2/1690 = 0.1%.
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You're making my point, JB ... kudos to Souza for running a clean program with good kids, yes, but more is expected. Both of us could run a "clean program with good kids" too, but we'd probably both be even worse at coaching/driving performance in Men's Ice Hockey than he is. D-1 HC's salaries aren't tied to Boy Scout standards and academics - they're based in large part on the HC's on-ice performance and results. Saying Souza runs a clean program is the faintest of faint praise. I think we would all be hard-pressed to name any one of the 65 or so D-1 HC's that isn't meeting that low bar at this point in time ...
 
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