2009-2010 UNH Wildcats Season

[Mosrite]

Re: 2009-2010 UNH Wildcats Season

It's not the end of the world. It was a road game against a good opponent with a good goalie. I won't take the black pill yet.

After tonight's performance in Durham, that black pill is starting to look a bit more appealing.

 

[UNH09]

Re: 2009-2010 UNH Wildcats Season

After tonight's performance in Durham, that black pill is starting to look a bit more appealing.

Listened on the radio... Were they flat, or simply outplayed by a team with more talent and will to win???

 

[Mosrite]

Re: 2009-2010 UNH Wildcats Season

Listened on the radio... Were they flat, or simply outplayed by a team with more talent and will to win???

A little bit of both. UNH came out flying in the first period, scored the first goal, and I actually started to feel good about the outcome of the game. Slowly but surely Miami began to take control of the game and really started beating UNH to the puck. UNH's young blueliners looked, well, young and inexperienced and never really put much of a stop on Miami's talented forwards. Foster did what he could do, but that fourth goal was clearly a back-breaker for him. It's a good thing Umile benched him in the third, he just looked a bit out of sync in the 2nd period.

Borisenok was everywhere tonight...probably the best game he's played as a Wildcat. Moses had a couple of nifty moves too...that kid has jets. I wouldn't say it was UNH's lack of talent that did them in, it was Miami's superior talent that ultimately took control of the game and won it for them. Better passing, better ice vision, and a seasoned defense. If Miami plays like tonight for the rest of the season, there aren't many teams that will get in their way.

The UNH PP was pathetic with a capital P. They didn't even generate a shot on goal until the fifth or sixth PP. Un-freakin'-acceptable. Again, they're just not communicating well and their passes are terrible.

Hoping that tomorrow's game yields a more positive outcome...if nothing else, a closer score....

 

[UNH09]

Re: 2009-2010 UNH Wildcats Season

Foster did what he could do, but that fourth goal was clearly a back-breaker for him. It's a good thing Umile benched him in the third, he just looked a bit out of sync in the 2nd period.

Borisenok was everywhere tonight...probably the best game he's played as a Wildcat. Moses had a couple of nifty moves too...that kid has jets.

The UNH PP was pathetic with a capital P. They didn't even generate a shot on goal until the fifth or sixth PP. Un-freakin'-acceptable. Again, they're just not communicating well and their passes are terrible.

I've never been in love with Foster as a goaltender. Flashes of brilliance combined with moments of complete incompetence.

Borisenok has been my favorite player since last season, hard worker and has a nose for the situation that his talent would otherwise not allow. (As evidenced by his two points in the first period, despite his complete lack of talented hands)

When will someone shake Umile and tell him that the Umbrella simply does not work? Third season in a row that they run the umbrella, and 2nd season in a row that its been proven that a PP should be attacking the defense rather than letting them sit in the tight box...

I think we all get it, its a rebuilding and re-assessment season for the Wildcats, however there are problems program wide, including the fact that tickets are once again widely available. For UNH to not even come close to selling out the arena (official attendance was 5801, 700 less than capacity) is a definite problem, considering the investment into the hockey program that the University has put forth. I get that Maine, BU and BC will still sell out, but the program relies on sellouts even in games that include Merrimack, Providence and UML. Given this game, they won't even come close...

Have we become a football school yet?

 

[unh_hockey]

Re: 2009-2010 UNH Wildcats Season

Gone are the days when unh could compete against anyone on home ice. Guess its hard to hate miami, they have come a long way since the days of Brian Sipotz.

 

[Saetia22]

Re: 2009-2010 UNH Wildcats Season

Tonight was alright in my mind.

Second period was awful.

First had its moments, and third was kind of meh.

Borisenok has been playing awesome all year. He is breaking up plays and setting up plays as well. More so then DeSimone at this point.

Sislo-DeSimone-Burke is not working. I hope Umile switches things up a bit tomorrow. I like Thompson and Borisenok- they had some good give and go's tonight.

I don't see the connections with the first two lines. IE, drop passes to nobody, poor communication.

Tomorrow I'd like to see:

Moses-LeBlanc-Sislo
Thompson-Borisenok-Butler
McCarey-DeSimone-Henrion
Speelman-Block-Burke

Just to shake things up.

 

[i'zonprize]

Re: 2009-2010 UNH Wildcats Season

Didn't get to see or listen to the game tonight.

Great to read that Borisenok is all over the place, really. He could have been easily lost in the shuffle of forwards that the team has. Was a big fan starting last yr, especially when he was paired with Vranek and Moses for a game or two. He's got offensive upside that Collins and Fortney didn't.

As the season wears on, it'll be interesting who else shows up and steps up into leadership rolls. There are a handful of guys that you would think could do that, from Sr.'s to Fr.'s.

I think it's a forgone conclusion that Moses is now a fan favorite. Kid is exciting to watch, that is for sure. He's bound to make things happen out there.

Congrat's to Borisenok, Kessel and McCarey for their 2 points tonight.. A few Sophmores making the most of their chance to play. Nice to see Thompson burry one as well.

Anyway. it's Oct. 16th.. team has time to find what works.

 

[UNH09]

Re: 2009-2010 UNH Wildcats Season

Tonight was alright in my mind.

Second period was awful.

First had its moments, and third was kind of meh.

Borisenok has been playing awesome all year. He is breaking up plays and setting up plays as well. More so then DeSimone at this point.

Sislo-DeSimone-Burke is not working. I hope Umile switches things up a bit tomorrow. I like Thompson and Borisenok- they had some good give and go's tonight.

I don't see the connections with the first two lines. IE, drop passes to nobody, poor communication.

Tomorrow I'd like to see:

Moses-LeBlanc-Sislo
Thompson-Borisenok-Butler
McCarey-DeSimone-Henrion
Speelman-Block-Burke

Just to shake things up.

I hate to throw somebody under the bus... However this is the third season in a row that DeSimone hasn't worked well with a line combination... Thoughts???

 

[The Zlax45]

Re: 2009-2010 UNH Wildcats Season

I think we all get it, its a rebuilding and re-assessment season for the Wildcats, however there are problems program wide, including the fact that tickets are once again widely available. For UNH to not even come close to selling out the arena (official attendance was 5801, 700 less than capacity) is a definite problem, considering the investment into the hockey program that the University has put forth. I get that Maine, BU and BC will still sell out, but the program relies on sellouts even in games that include Merrimack, Providence and UML. Given this game, they won't even come close...

Have we become a football school yet?

UNH needs to pack the Whitt to have any sort of athletic department as that is the bread and butter. Are they going to cut some more sports if the attendance figures continue to stay so low?

 

[JB]

Re: 2009-2010 UNH Wildcats Season

Last night was what you get when you have talent, precision and discipline. Miami has all of these. That 4th goal was a fantastic set play off the faceoff; they didn't need to think everybody was exactly where they were supposed to be - passing to spots on the ice. This game showed both the talent and experience gap, sadly the coaching gap too. Blasi's team didn't get that disciplined by accident.

UNH has lots to work on; problem I see is most is the same stuff of the last two years, and it isn’t all on the freshman.

PP is pathetic. Most of the problem is the dump and chase break into zone. Miami just out positioned UNH, got to the dump and the puck was back out of the zone. I have never understood a dump and chase pp at any level. It is taking puck possession and making it a 50-50 puck at best. Once in zone two much standing on the outside. Burke had 40 second screening the goalie, fighting for space and they got 2 shots into guys legs from the point.

Passing is a problem. They almost pass because they are suppose to pass not because it is a good pass. Same with skating they skate to places not open ice. That makes a team easy to cover as you know where they are going ahead of time.

Puck possession is a problem; UNH seems all too willing to give the puck away. There are times when dumping the puck in makes sense, particularly if you need a line change. However, Miami treats the puck like it is a precious item. They understand that it can be tough to get back once given away.

On the plus side UNH had some opportunities to keep this game closer and just missed the connection so on there is some hope but this will probably be a tough year. Lastly if Miami is this years BU, then it might not be so bad, UNH got clobbered by BU last year and it was an OK year.

 

[Aerman]

Re: 2009-2010 UNH Wildcats Season

What JB said ...

As the game wore on, I wondered if we should commit more penalties. Seemed like there were more offensive opportunities on PK than PP.

 

[UNHhockey29]

Re: 2009-2010 UNH Wildcats Season

What JB said ...

As the game wore on, I wondered if we should commit more penalties. Seemed like there were more offensive opportunities on PK than PP.

A lot like last year.

 

[NCAA watcher]

Re: 2009-2010 UNH Wildcats Season

A lot like last year.

Well, that's where Ryan Bourque, Cam Reid and Matt White will upgrade the talent level.

 

[dover4345]

Re: 2009-2010 UNH Wildcats Season

Im going to agree with watcher here, some of you fans are ruthless. First off, Miami is 1 in the country, and they should be. They were a 1 minute shy of a national championship last year, and they have returned all the key players from that team. People need to get off umile's back here, last february UNH expected to have Borque, Dries, White, Reid, and possibly JVR in the lineup tonight. Even with those guys there would have been a learning curve, but it would stil be much better. White and Reid couldnt get into school, how is that umile's fault? Dries did some things that were not acceptable in any program, JVR signs- the only one you can blame on the coaching staff is borque as he chose something else over UNH.

Also, someone mentioned that BU, Maine, and BC will always sellout...Have you ever been the a BC game? That place is half empty no matter who they play.

Also, there is a trend here- UNH has been very good the last 12 years, this year and last year were a bit of downers, but before that they were usually always winning 25-30 games a year. Is it Umile's fault? Bottom line is it is harder for him to get the talent he used to be able to, why? Facilities sell. People on this board are praising Blasi, someone even mentioned he should get umile's job. Do you think he is just an amazing coach, or do you think the brand new building hes got has something to do with the sharp increase in success Miami has been having? I think hes a solid coach, but if he was still playing in the same rink with no plans for a new one, miami would still be middle of the road. Another example, wasnt BU sputtering from 2000-05? Jack Parker just a supierior coach, or do you think the new rink, gym, locker room, and everything else that his new rink has to offer have anything to do with the increase success an national championship? bottom line is facilities sell, and UNH can not even compete with BU right now, they are getting whatever recruits they want. Its no shocker Maine has fallen out of the loop, Its not whiteheads fault, who would want to go to school up there? Maine and UNH are in a similiar position, and I fear that UNH will be were Maine is right now in about 5 years if they do not update their facilities. If they care so much about the hockey program they need to put a new locker room in, lounge, gym, etc. Thats what the recruits want, and the recruits win games, and winning games fills the stands, bottom line.

 

[JB]

Re: 2009-2010 UNH Wildcats Season

Im going to agree with watcher here, some of you fans are ruthless. First off, Miami is 1 in the country, and they should be. They were a 1 minute shy of a national championship last year, and they have returned all the key players from that team. People need to get off umile's back here, last february UNH expected to have Borque, Dries, White, Reid, and possibly JVR in the lineup tonight. Even with those guys there would have been a learning curve, but it would stil be much better. White and Reid couldnt get into school, how is that umile's fault? Dries did some things that were not acceptable in any program, JVR signs- the only one you can blame on the coaching staff is borque as he chose something else over UNH.

Also, someone mentioned that BU, Maine, and BC will always sellout...Have you ever been the a BC game? That place is half empty no matter who they play.

Also, there is a trend here- UNH has been very good the last 12 years, this year and last year were a bit of downers, but before that they were usually always winning 25-30 games a year. Is it Umile's fault? Bottom line is it is harder for him to get the talent he used to be able to, why? Facilities sell. People on this board are praising Blasi, someone even mentioned he should get umile's job. Do you think he is just an amazing coach, or do you think the brand new building hes got has something to do with the sharp increase in success Miami has been having? I think hes a solid coach, but if he was still playing in the same rink with no plans for a new one, miami would still be middle of the road. Another example, wasnt BU sputtering from 2000-05? Jack Parker just a supierior coach, or do you think the new rink, gym, locker room, and everything else that his new rink has to offer have anything to do with the increase success an national championship? bottom line is facilities sell, and UNH can not even compete with BU right now, they are getting whatever recruits they want. Its no shocker Maine has fallen out of the loop, Its not whiteheads fault, who would want to go to school up there? Maine and UNH are in a similiar position, and I fear that UNH will be were Maine is right now in about 5 years if they do not update their facilities. If they care so much about the hockey program they need to put a new locker room in, lounge, gym, etc. Thats what the recruits want, and the recruits win games, and winning games fills the stands, bottom line.

The Whitt is not a bottom end facility. Are there better/newer sure but please it is still a top 20 facility.

As for BU and UNH, they have never really competed for the same players on an equal playing field even when BU was playing in a dump. During those lean years for BU they still got recruits that were highly sot after, the players just didn't become anything.

Let's not go “build” in excuses; the Whitt is not the problem. The Whitt didn’t make UNH give up in B.C. for several years, loosing then pipeline of talent that caused the 97 to 03 run. The Whitt did not have UNH overreaching and hanging on to long for players they were likely to get while the ones they should have had committed elsewhere. The Whitt has not caused the power play to each year look more lost than the last since McCloskey went to the Women’s team.

When UNH waits too long on a high end kid or looses somebody late in the year they always fall to the "safe" player. That safe player has limited upside, hence UNH never comes up with something special like the late get D-man at Denver last year, or even the first line forward at CC this year. Sometimes you need to swing for the fence.

As a team they could still do a better job of playing smart disciplined hockey. There are ways teams with less talent can beat teams with more talent. But UNH rarely pulls that off. If they played a more disciplined style of hockey, smartly playing to their strengths they would be a much more difficult NCAA out than they usually are (last year as the exception).

Lastly look at Blasi recent track record. He is not getting the same caliber of play Michigan is but he is getting those player to play well. Last year and mostly freshman and sophomore team made the Championship game. Some of that is talent but much of it is coaching. That set play off the face-off is amazing coaching.

 

[NCAA watcher]

Re: 2009-2010 UNH Wildcats Season

Stale. Recruits want buzz and upswing. Kind of hard to generate buzz when the exact same crew is overseeing a downward trend for the past 7 years. When you're a second tier program, you have to claw to remain there, and the signs since early in 2003 were things a few of us pointed out -- though the success continued a bit longer. Of the last four real talent gets, three didn't show up on campus - Yandle, Bourque and Kolomatis.

This year should have been year one of a real upgrade in talent. Losing Bourque will set the program back 2 years.
This year's class should now be the beginning of the talent upswing. But I've learned not to count the chickens before Laleggia/Reid/Downing show up.

 

[Mosrite]

Re: 2009-2010 UNH Wildcats Season

Maine and UNH are in a similiar position, and I fear that UNH will be were Maine is right now in about 5 years if they do not update their facilities. If they care so much about the hockey program they need to put a new locker room in, lounge, gym, etc. Thats what the recruits want, and the recruits win games, and winning games fills the stands, bottom line.

Seriously?? You can't be comparing Alfond to the Whitt. UNH's hockey facilities outclass Maine's by quantum leaps. Have you even seen the renovated locker rooms, lounges, and training facility at the Whitt? Trust me, "lack of decent facilities" is not what is preventing UNH from landing top notch players. The road to the pros is so much easier and enticing nowadays, schools have to take what they can get and have the coaching staff to build them into winners. "Decent facilities" is a factor, but it's not a factor that UNH needs to concern themselves with.

It's going to be a very long time before UNH invests $50 million plus into building a brand new facility, if ever. Players were drawn to UNH because of the exciting crowd atmosphere of past seasons, and the fact that it has very decent facilities. Look at the football team and the facilities that they have to work with - a mediocre D-II stadium, yet they still manage to land some of the best talent in the FCS. To your point, losing seven players including 3 experienced D-men and an unexpected loss of incoming talent is hurting UNH right now. Umile and co. need to figure out how to mold the talent that they have, bring the crowds back to the Whitt and make the place an enticing sell for incoming recruits.

 

[JB]

Re: 2009-2010 UNH Wildcats Season

Stale. Recruits want buzz and upswing. Kind of hard to generate buzz when the exact same crew is overseeing a downward trend for the past 7 years. When you're a second tier program, you have to claw to remain there, and the signs since early in 2003 were things a few of us pointed out -- though the success continued a bit longer.

Totally agree.

I have some hope however.

If JVR can stick and play to a 1st/2nd line level in NJ.
If this years Freshman and Sophmore progress.
If Kessel stays.
If all the high end kids show up next year.
If all the good 2011-12 progress and arrive.

There is an opportunity for the buzz to come back.

It appear there has been a renewed attack at the recruiting level. Now it need to translate on to the ice. There are systems and tatics need need to be updated as the current version isn't working and some would argue never really has when the months turn to March and April.

But there is hope on the horizon.

 

[NCAA watcher]

Re: 2009-2010 UNH Wildcats Season

Oh, and I hope the season tickets really suffer. I'm always a fan of corrections, particularly if they drive out the corporate guys and let the real fans back in.

And if it causes a bit of urgency in the hockey program that exhibited a big sense of unearned hubris and complacency during the 2003-09 period.

 

[IrishWildcat]

Re: 2009-2010 UNH Wildcats Season

Oh, and I hope the season tickets really suffer. I'm always a fan of corrections, particularly if they drive out the corporate guys and let the real fans back in.

And if it causes a bit of urgency in the hockey program that exhibited a big sense of unearned hubris and complacency during the 2003-09 period.

Agreed, but this seems to be an epidemic with much of New England sports nowadays anyways. See: Red Sox, Patriots, now Celtics, and coming-to-an-arena-near-you Bruins.

My favorite sports-business related quote is from Bill Veeck: "In my experience walking around stadiums, it seems to be that knowledge of the game is inverse to the price of the seat." It seems that the fans that know their stuff, who actually go for the enjoyment of the game are the ones who don't pay much and are happy to sit in the balconies/GA seats because at least they get to see the game...and if anything, they get a great vantage point of everything.

In reality, it's a matter of philosophy. Yes, if ticket sales go off, and less corporations pay the big bucks for tickets, that'll allow for more small-timers and die-hards to show up for the games again. The atmosphere will be better and the fan experience will be great, the players experience will be great, and it will all be hunky-dory. But eventually you'll get back to the point where corporations will say "Hey! These things are great to bring clients to do business. It's exciting, makes great background, etc. Let's get some seats!" Then, when the place sells out night after night, they'll have to raise ticket prices again, and the cycle continues. It comes down to a matter of atmosphere vs. business. Personally, I like having the great college atmosphere; absolutely nothing beats a night when the Whitt is actually rocking for a game. I understand the business aspect however, for the long-term survival of the athletics dept. Just kind of a crappy situation, in reality.