2009-2010 UNH Wildcats Season

[PSW]

Re: 2009-2010 UNH Wildcats Season

From the sound of Coach Umile's postgame interview, he is pleased when his team plays more physical:
"We got more physical," Umile said. "We weren't losing the one-on-one battles. We were definitely losing those early in the game. We had a difficult time controlling them. They're very good down low cycling. That's a big part of their game and they do it well. We didn't get many shots, but in the third period we battled back and got shots to the net. We didn't do that earlier in the game."

There's a distinction between taking the body all of the time and selective, strategic body checks. When an opposing forward is freewheeling in the corner and a UNH defenseman checks him into the boards, the forward is taken out of the play and the puck comes loose. If the defenseman is skilled at playing the body, he steals the puck. At a minimum, he makes it available for a teammate to retrieve. I don't consider that taking himself out of the play.

AGREE........we can't spend whole shifts trying to get it out of our own end. You give BC forwards that time in your own zone......It will not be pretty

 

[CarlS]

Re: 2009-2010 UNH Wildcats Season

Josh - SIAP (and i should start a thread of it's own), but great to see your pictures all over the Union-Leader this weekend and recently. Great shots of the storm damage - glad my house wasn't one of those that needed a picture. And to think it all started shooting UNH hockey (obligatory hockey content). Now I want to see a cover shot for Rolling Stone, or SI - maybe the swimsuit issue?

 

[Malts18]

Re: 2009-2010 UNH Wildcats Season

What a pleasure meeting and talking with Chad (Malts18) and Toby (limeycat) at the game tonight. In a perfect world, all the loyal UNH fans would live their lives, from London to Detroit to San Diego, during the week and get together in our own section at the Whit on weekends. Informed conversations, interesting stories, shared memories, and camaraderie. The remarkable comeback in the third period is yet another memory to savor.

Mike, it was a pleasure meeting you. Very good to finally put a face to the name and posts! Very cool reminiscing about the days of yesteryear (and the days of today)!

And I can once again say our trip out for our Hockey East Weekend was amazing. Our group was a bit smaller this year -- just me, Toby, Matt (from Montreal), and Pete (our lone Durham-ite) -- but we had a blast!

Darci, thank you again so much for all that you do for me/us! From the tix to the pre-gaming to including us in the group during the games to making us feel like just being part of the gang... well... it does not go without notice. Also good catching lunch with you and Mike (Rouge) before the Sat. game at the Whitt. Good stuff! As always, you rock! THANKS!!! Phenomenal trip!!

George (great that you could make it to WYW on Thurs and thanks for bringing the tix there... always good to grab a beer or three with you, buddy...), Ricky, Josh (great catching up with you at Matthews... sorry you had to work on Sat.), Ankur (thanks for helping out with the tix!), Matt, Rob, Mike (Irish), and everyone else I might be forgetting (sorry!), you guys are awesome! Thanks for including us, too.

Every year we look so forward to coming out to NH for the games... and this year did not disappoint in the slightest... Friday pregaming at Pizzeria Uno's near Matthews (and watching the US beat down Finland!), the great tie with 13 seconds left, Saturday at Wings, awesome win at the Whitt later that night, and I even managed to win the 50/50 raffle at the Whitt, too. Really?? How could it be a better time than that??!! No chance!

Great, great weekend and I am so fortunate to have such great friends who are so selfless in including us each year and making sure we have a blast. Very humbling. Thank you, everyone, and hopefully next yr will be just as awesome.

 

[Malts18]

Re: 2009-2010 UNH Wildcats Season

The Knot (a few doors down from Ballard's) has the hottest, but is more of a hole-in-the-wall type place. Ballard's has a few decent options, but their usual bartenders are two dudes and a larger woman (at least I'm pretty sure it's a woman).

Really, George? Glad we never made it there (hell, I don't think we ever have gone there) this weekend!

 

[Snively65]

Re: 2009-2010 UNH Wildcats Season

Right. I'd have to think that the post-season tournaments start now. UNH's performance since Christmas has been eminently forgettable, and winning the regular season championship really means nothing, especially in a league as top-to-bottom mediocre as is Hockey East this year.
I had resigned myself to a rebuilding season, and Umile had them peaking in November. But they don't quit. They still have Butler, LeBlanc, and Foster. What they don't have entering the playoffs? The swagger.
Beat BC twice this weekend, they'll have the swagger.
Tie a game, back into the RS Championship, there's nothing. No swagger, just a trophy.
I want to see the swagger.

Yes, the swagger was there in 2003, from beginning to end, with the HE RS and tourney titles, and then great efforts in Worcester and Buffalo until Thomas Vanek took them apart. I had no expectations either last year or this year, after the mediocare post-season efforts from 2004 to 2008, but really appreciated the swaggerless senior leadership and post-season run last year, which got them oh so close to the FF. I would really like to see at least a split this weekend, and not just a tie for the RS title, as someone else also noted above. I am ok without the swagger if the effort is there for all six periods of hockey this weekend.

 

[C-H-C]

Re: 2009-2010 UNH Wildcats Season

Josh - SIAP (and i should start a thread of it's own), but great to see your pictures all over the Union-Leader this weekend and recently. Great shots of the storm damage - glad my house wasn't one of those that needed a picture. And to think it all started shooting UNH hockey (obligatory hockey content). Now I want to see a cover shot for Rolling Stone, or SI - maybe the swimsuit issue?

And another plug for Josh's work - I purchased 3 prints of Fortney's game-tying goal against North Dakota from Josh's website and it is sweet. Very crisp images. It captures JvR for posterity and the fan reactions are fascinating.

 

[Gibber]

Re: 2009-2010 UNH Wildcats Season

Josh - SIAP (and i should start a thread of it's own), but great to see your pictures all over the Union-Leader this weekend and recently. Great shots of the storm damage - glad my house wasn't one of those that needed a picture. And to think it all started shooting UNH hockey (obligatory hockey content). Now I want to see a cover shot for Rolling Stone, or SI - maybe the swimsuit issue?

Thank you for your compliments, its been a crazy few days, put in a lot of mileage and hours, well worth it

And another plug for Josh's work - I purchased 3 prints of Fortney's game-tying goal against North Dakota from Josh's website and it is sweet. Very crisp images. It captures JvR for posterity and the fan reactions are fascinating.

Excellent, glad they came out nice! Those were the first prints made from that image. If anyone else is interested, check the link below

 

[gounhwildcats]

Re: 2009-2010 UNH Wildcats Season

Don't know if anyone has mentioned it yet, but with or without a sweep of BC, this will be the first time since the 95-96 season that UNH will finish with less than 20 wins. However, they are also playing four less games this year. Which begs the question, where did the four extra games go?

 

[Aerman]

Re: 2009-2010 UNH Wildcats Season

Don't know if anyone has mentioned it yet, but with or without a sweep of BC, this will be the first time since the 95-96 season that UNH will finish with less than 20 wins. However, they are also playing four less games this year. Which begs the question, where did the four extra games go?

Not so, the "20" includes all games, RS & playoffs. They may yet make 20 as they did in 2004 (IIRC).

 

[thecomicbookguy]

Re: 2009-2010 UNH Wildcats Season

Not so, the "20" includes all games, RS & playoffs. They may yet make 20 as they did in 2004 (IIRC).

True, though you don't even have to go back as far as '04 - they did the same thing last year. The win over NoDak was #20.

 

[irishfan85]

Re: 2009-2010 UNH Wildcats Season

Don't know if anyone has mentioned it yet, but with or without a sweep of BC, this will be the first time since the 95-96 season that UNH will finish with less than 20 wins. However, they are also playing four less games this year. Which begs the question, where did the four extra games go?

This stat is why it drives me nuts when some UNH fans insult Umile. I have no problem with some constructive criticism, but the so-called UNH fans who bash him no end when they fall short in March or April is what makes me laugh. This is a program that has been just awesome for 15 years now.

Besides Michigan and maybe North Dakota, I doubt any other team has come close to 20 wins every year since 95-96.

 

[gounhwildcats]

Re: 2009-2010 UNH Wildcats Season

True, though you don't even have to go back as far as '04 - they did the same thing last year. The win over NoDak was #20.

Not so, the "20" includes all games, RS & playoffs. They may yet make 20 as they did in 2004 (IIRC).

Woops, I forgot that post season counts as overall games.

 

[thecomicbookguy]

Re: 2009-2010 UNH Wildcats Season

This stat is why it drives me nuts when some UNH fans insult Umile. I have no problem with some constructive criticism, but the so-called UNH fans who bash him no end when they fall short in March or April is what makes me laugh. This is a program that has been just awesome for 15 years now.

Besides Michigan and maybe North Dakota, I doubt any other team has come close to 20 wins every year since 95-96.

Just looking quickly, BC and BU have both come close; both have 4 sub-20-win seasons in that stretch. Colorado College and Denver have just 3 sub-20 seasons. UND has two. Michigan State won 20+ games every year from 91-92 through 07-08 before winning just 10 games last year. Michigan's won 20+ every year since 87-88. Can't find anyone else (though my research was not exhaustive). Some pretty good programs in there.

Here's what people will tell you, though: all of those teams, (with the exception of CC) have won a National Title in that stretch. Regardless of the Regular Season success, people are critical of Umile because he's never won a quick, single-elimination tournament. Partly, that's because they've seen the team win everything else except that, and partly it's because too many people buy into what the trolls on here (and at rinks) say.

It would be nice to think that this season would help silence some of the critics. They probably won't win any post-season hardware, but this is a a young team that lost a lot of its leadership and scoring from last season, not to mention losing a few recruits to situations that I believe were out of the coach's control. They were picked to struggle to get home-ice in the HE playoffs, and not expected to do much more than that (maybe not even making the NCAAs). Heading into the final weekend, the worst they'll finish is 1 point back of the top seed, and will probably earn a berth in the Nat'l tourney (unless they completely fall apart here). UNH fans should be thrilled that this team could actually skate some hardware around this weekend.

 

[sterlippo1]

Re: 2009-2010 UNH Wildcats Season

obviously quite impressive but seems to me that a lot of UNH fans have a defeatist attitude , i guess because what has or has not happened in the NCAA tourney. Would you guys say that this is one of Umile's best coaching jobs considering what the last poster said? I share the same home town as Umile and remember him as a great player for my high school and always pull for the 'cats if my alma mater isn't in it. Can't say "go cats" this weekend but good luck going forward and you have lots to be proud of but a couple more HE tourney championships would look a bit better on the resume, only 2 to date, not enough for all the great teams there have been at UNH, IMO

 

[unhpuckfan2001]

Re: 2009-2010 UNH Wildcats Season

I think CbG hit the nail on the head; we've had so many talented teams come through here, and we've never brought home THE hardware. There have seemed to be years where the team couldn't get motivated, and play hard enough, to win in the 'big games'.

As for this year; this is not just because he's the head coach of the team I root for; Umile should be voted COTY. (cooty? cooties?) It will be more telling for me, though, if UNH has a similar gritty, don't quit year next year. I have to give a lot of the credit for this year to Bobby Butler, Peter LeBlanc (the captains), Nick Krates and Brian Foster. Some of this, as has been mentioned, is probably a carryover from the crazy finish last year (see Gibber's website for a great photo )against North Dakota, and their direction of an otherwise young team.

As always, I for one (or many, I believe) enter this postseason, like last, with limited expectations, but always hoping for the best.

 

[tangledupinblue]

Re: 2009-2010 UNH Wildcats Season

This is kinda off the wall but what did Wildcat Nation think about the USA team with Phil Kessel and Joe Pavelski being the older sibs of our own Blake Kessel and Scott Pavelski? The way I see it we'll take any noteriety we can get -it's a tough world out there with all those BC ,BU fans.

 

[C-H-C]

Re: 2009-2010 UNH Wildcats Season

Would you guys say that this is one of Umile's best coaching jobs considering what the last poster said?

"No question." (for those who haven't seen Coach Umile interviewed, this is his favorite phrase for "Yes").

 

[LimeyCat]

Re: 2009-2010 UNH Wildcats Season

Hi Guys, I'd like to echo Chad's comments and say thanks to everyone at Matthews and Durham for making us feel so welcome at the Hockey games last weekend. Darci and the gang, you guys rock and your efforts to help with tickets are always appreciated. Mike, it was great to meet you - your posts always make sense and now I see why!

FWIW - We're now unbeaten in the last 7 games we've seen UNH play on our annual weekends (6-0-1) and that's against BC, BU, Maine and NU (No Merrimacks or Providence in the list!). By my reckoning 7 post season undefeated games would take us to the NC game. Anyone willing to pay my airfares and hotel costs to see if I can double up the streak?

 

[WildShawn]

All Decade Team

All Decade Team

Friday Night the UNH All-Decade Team will be announced. Any guesses as to who we'll see?

Guesses off the top of my head... had trouble filling out the Ds and Fs
2 goalies:
Ayers
Conklin

4 Defensemen:
Stafford
ummmmmm...
Yandle?
Flashains?
Kessel?

6 Forwards
Haydar
Saviano
Hemingway
Gare
Winnik
JVR?

 

[Dan]

Re: All Decade Team

Re: All Decade Team

Friday Night the UNH All-Decade Team will be announced. Any guesses as to who we'll see?

Plenty of forwards to choose from...Haydar, Gare, C. Hemingway, B. Hemingway, Saviano, Collins, Callandar, Fornataro, Smith, Radja, MicFlikier, JVR, Butler, Winnik...and a few more fringy guys I really enjoyed watching...

Defense is definitely more difficult...Stafford, Flaishans, Yandle, Kessel, Switzer? Mounsey? Lubesnick? Fritsch? Teplitsky? I know everyone hated Switzer, I think he was dramatically under-appreciated. Stafford and Yandle (strictly offense) will be there, after that its a pretty underwhelming group overall...

Goalie...I'll take three, Conklin, Ayers, Regan...