Maine Black Bears 2019-20: Seeing Red

[amkirby10]

My condolences to Maine fans. That was the worst, most over-matched Black Bears team I have ever witnessed play UNB. Usually the UNB-Maine games are fairly even, with Maine getting their goals with a superior power play, or off the rush with speed. Not this time. I hope this is young team that will get better. I did like the giant goaltender though.

Im holding out some hope that its a team that will grow up a little bit and improve throughout the year.

 

[NorthMike]

Would the current AD make a change in season? I don’t think there is any doubt he should, but it’s rare in college sports.

Unlikely, but can the AD shame Red into resigning or getting him off the bench to just go recruiting and fund raising. I suppose the contract wont allow that.

 

[Ma#1ne Hky]

Re: Maine Black Bears 2019-20: Seeing Red

Unlikely, but can the AD shame Red into resigning or getting him off the bench to just go recruiting and fund raising. I suppose the contract wont allow that.

This is a "MESS" no matter how we want to flush or wipe it out...stuck for sure this year, if the season stays the course and is just a total crash & burn train wreck, then we can ONLY HOPE the right moves are made...but then don't hold your breath.

 

[BlackBearFan19]

Re: Maine Black Bears 2019-20: Seeing Red

Hard to find words to describe this weekend. I mean losing both of these games was for sure a possibility and probably likely but 12-0? I figured Maine was at least going to have 1 line that looked like division 1 hockey players (Tralmaks Doherty Fossier) but even they looked lost out there.

It's going to be a long long season, perhaps that's what is needed to have a change behind the bench. I worry that the damage that has been done is too much. We're 7 years removed from our last tournament birth and the same amount removed from our last trip to the garden. People clamored for Whitehead to be fired (and it was justified) but people seem to be giving Red more slack. We fired Whitehead a year after we made it to the tournament, 3 or of his last 4 seasons were above .500 and his last recruiting class included 3 guys who played NHL games (Shore, Hutton, Lomberg). Whitehead at least was able to recruit talent. It always seemed like they underachieved though. I think Guite and Alfie are doing their best but I think getting players to play for an emotionless, disconnected dinosaur is a tough draw. I don't remember the last player on Maine who was confident carrying the puck through the neutral zone, Red has these players dump the puck the second cross the red line and then come off for a line change.

We see Red continually lose talent because he wants players to rot away in Juniors when they could provide scoring now. I hate calling out the players but these guys genuinely don't look like division 1 talent. Guite and Alfie have found some under-recruited diamonds, Keeper, Fossier, Tralmaks but it's not even close to enough.

Still gonna buy tickets, watch and listen to every game but it's painful watching lately. Last years team underachieved and this year's team just doesn't look capable of accomplishing anything. It's really a shame because the fans really still want to support the team but administration lacks the backbone to fire a coach and put a decent product on the ice. I hear people say it is the facilities but we know that's BS, the Alfond still rocks and this is one of the only schools in the country where the players are rockstars. Most schools can't just create that.

I know we're two games in but I think fans are justifiable in sounding the alarms. It's not even about the results, it's about the way we played the game.

 

[BlackI]

Hard to find words to describe this weekend. I mean losing both of these games was for sure a possibility and probably likely but 12-0? I figured Maine was at least going to have 1 line that looked like division 1 hockey players (Tralmaks Doherty Fossier) but even they looked lost out there.

It's going to be a long long season, perhaps that's what is needed to have a change behind the bench. I worry that the damage that has been done is too much. We're 7 years removed from our last tournament birth and the same amount removed from our last trip to the garden. People clamored for Whitehead to be fired (and it was justified) but people seem to be giving Red more slack. We fired Whitehead a year after we made it to the tournament, 3 or of his last 4 seasons were above .500 and his last recruiting class included 3 guys who played NHL games (Shore, Hutton, Lomberg). Whitehead at least was able to recruit talent. It always seemed like they underachieved though. I think Guite and Alfie are doing their best but I think getting players to play for an emotionless, disconnected dinosaur is a tough draw. I don't remember the last player on Maine who was confident carrying the puck through the neutral zone, Red has these players dump the puck the second cross the red line and then come off for a line change.

We see Red continually lose talent because he wants players to rot away in Juniors when they could provide scoring now. I hate calling out the players but these guys genuinely don't look like division 1 talent. Guite and Alfie have found some under-recruited diamonds, Keeper, Fossier, Tralmaks but it's not even close to enough.

Still gonna buy tickets, watch and listen to every game but it's painful watching lately. Last years team underachieved and this year's team just doesn't look capable of accomplishing anything. It's really a shame because the fans really still want to support the team but administration lacks the backbone to fire a coach and put a decent product on the ice. I hear people say it is the facilities but we know that's BS, the Alfond still rocks and this is one of the only schools in the country where the players are rockstars. Most schools can't just create that.

I know we're two games in but I think fans are justifiable in sounding the alarms. It's not even about the results, it's about the way we played the game.

Larry’s Bangor daily article is 80 percent about Mundinger and how well he played. Bad bad sign when Larry is searching for hope on the backbone of the third string goalie. I wish for once Larry had the kahunas to blast Red.

You are right, the fans want to support this program and the boys. But I don’t think anyone wants Red behind the bench now. Even optimists don’t.

 

[ticapnews]

Re: Maine Black Bears 2019-20: Seeing Red

The USCHO poll was released today. Inexplicably, Maine did not get a single vote.

 

[BlackI]

The USCHO poll was released today. Inexplicably, Maine did not get a single vote.

Thanks for that news flash.

 

[AMC]

Re: Maine Black Bears 2019-20: Seeing Red

From USCHO's Tuesday Morning Quarterback column:

If any concerns should come out of that game, it is for the Black Bears that many thought would take a step forward this year.

Who, who are these people?

 

[umhockey91]

Re: Maine Black Bears 2019-20: Seeing Red

There are more apologists (for Red and even more-so for the UM athletic dept.) out there than there are people calling for change. It is what it is.....a constant revolving door of UM Presidents & ADs is just as responsible as UMaine's financial woes. I bet 50% of the hardcore UM Hockey fans from the Shawn Walsh era are now dead....or bedridden in area nursing homes. The rest of us are becoming numb to it all.

Football & basketball are the new "it" sports at UM........hockey has shed most of casual fan base.....and they ain't coming back. Times change.

 

[Runsub5]

Re: Maine Black Bears 2019-20: Seeing Red

Im holding out some hope that its a team that will grow up a little bit and improve throughout the year.

Ideally, a young team should develop and get better throughout the season. There has been no indication of that happening under Gendron's leadership.

 

[Ma#1ne Hky]

Re: Maine Black Bears 2019-20: Seeing Red

At what point do you think that Hockey East re-thinks adding a 12th team to the League...and instead ask Maine to leave...so they could have a 10 team League..?..? Oh I am just kidding......

 

[Ma#1ne Hky]

Re: Maine Black Bears 2019-20: Seeing Red

Ideally, a young team should develop and get better throughout the season. There has been no indication of that happening under Gendron's leadership.

If they don't things could very well get ugly and even with tickets sold you could see a very empty Alfond Arena come after the Holidays....

 

[Ma#1ne Hky]

Re: Maine Black Bears 2019-20: Seeing Red

From USCHO's Tuesday Morning Quarterback column:



Who, who are these people?

Just one Dennis "RED" Gendron

 

[AMC]

Re: Maine Black Bears 2019-20: Seeing Red

Football & basketball are the new "it" sports at UM........hockey has shed most of casual fan base.....and they ain't coming back. Times change.

Ah, yes, football, that program that is so set up for a future of success that after the best season in program history the head coach fled to take the best job he could find, figuring that the peak the program was on would never be achievable again. And that new job? At best 5th or 6th on the org chart at Minnesota.

If you have to whore yourself out for two FBS games per year, which hamstrings your ability to make the playoffs AND still fund the program at or near the bottom of your conference, you aren't a growth industry.

 

[amkirby10]

Ah, yes, football, that program that is so set up for a future of success that after the best season in program history the head coach fled to take the best job he could find, figuring that the peak the program was on would never be achievable again. And that new job? At best 5th or 6th on the org chart at Minnesota.

If you have to whore yourself out for two FBS games per year, which hamstrings your ability to make the playoffs AND still fund the program at or near the bottom of your conference, you aren't a growth industry.

And men's basketball, one of the teams on our campus much worse off than hockey that dosen't even play in Orono. Maine is still a hockey school even in these tough times, the fact that it's still a question if they are as popular as football proves as much.

 

[Drew S.]

And men's basketball, one of the teams on our campus much worse off than hockey that dosen't even play in Orono. Maine is still a hockey school even in these tough times, the fact that it's still a question if they are as popular as football proves as much.

The challenge for football is they don’t play many games and it’s rare they have back to back good seasons. It seems to me they have a good season every five years, very good season every 10, and maybe a great season every 20. To be fair they have very few bad seasons as well.

 

[rufus]

You got him because of the ring he won at Yale, we are all finding out down here that Dan Muse was the best Assistant to be promoted out of that championship year. He is still sorely missed.

We got him cause he was a name familiar to those doing the search, and he was cheap. And he sold them a bill of goods. What, four years to be back in the final four? Or was it the NCAA tourney?

In any event, not accomplished. Didn't he also say if he couldn't get it done, he'd leave?

 

[Fishman'81]

Re: Maine Black Bears 2019-20: Seeing Red

Ah, yes, football, that program that is so set up for a future of success that after the best season in program history the head coach fled to take the best job he could find, figuring that the peak the program was on would never be achievable again. And that new job? At best 5th or 6th on the org chart at Minnesota.

If you have to whore yourself out for two FBS games per year, which hamstrings your ability to make the playoffs AND still fund the program at or near the bottom of your conference, you aren't a growth industry.

Cheap shot, AMC.

Football has clearly been the flagship for a few years now, and accepting a payday from FBS schools seems to be a financial necessity. We've been over this before.

Hockey is very clearly going nowhere under Red. No idea what your argument would be at this juncture, vis-a-vis any other Maine program.

Yeah, beating Richmond is paramount, as is coming close to to running the CAA schedule. But, hockey appears to have zero chance at the PS, while football has a prayer. No secret there.

 

[Fishman'81]

Re: Maine Black Bears 2019-20: Seeing Red

From USCHO's Tuesday Morning Quarterback column:



Who, who are these people?

No kidding. There was absolutely no reason to go there.

Maine hockey just keeps getting worse, and that's a an inescapable fact.

 

[ticapnews]

Re: Maine Black Bears 2019-20: Seeing Red

Cheap shot, AMC.

Football has clearly been the flagship for a few years now, and accepting a payday from FBS schools seems to be a financial necessity. We've been over this before.

Hockey is very clearly going nowhere under Red. No idea what your argument would be at this juncture, vis-a-vis any other Maine program.

Yeah, beating Richmond is paramount, as is coming close to to running the CAA schedule. But, hockey appears to have zero chance at the PS, while football has a prayer. No secret there.

Don't kid yourself. Football has always been the flagship. Even when we were winning the national championship it was still football.


I can't escape the stupid. I was wearing my Maine hockey jersey at work tonight and a guy walks up and tells me it was a long weekend for the Bears. "Yeah, it's going to be a long season."
'Think there's any chance they hire the coach who went to Denver?'
"Jim Montgomery?"
'Yeah, him!'

*sigh*