Maine Hockey 2013-2014 - Red Light District

[Dirt]

Re: Maine Hockey 2013-2014 - Red Light District

Red keeps talking about attendance and how important it is to have fans in the seats at games. Has anyone talked to him about the $50 seats? I was thinking about sending him a Twit, but if lots of folks have already mentioned this to him then I may let it go.

 

[rufus]

Re: Maine Hockey 2013-2014 - Red Light District

Cam Brown has been my favorite since the first game of the season. But then, someone(his old coach?) said he was a lot like Tim Lovell, and he was one of my all-time favorite Maine players, so i was a bit biased from the get-go.

Morgan and Byron have been good, and should be better next season, Schurhammer and Renouf are both reliably solid(what I thought Hegarty was supposed to be), but next season, I think Campbell will be a huge impact player, just based on what I've seen of him since he's been in the lineup, and how his game and confidence look to be improving with every game.

 

[rufus]

Re: Maine Hockey 2013-2014 - Red Light District

Just looked at the league standings. Imagine where this team would be if they had just gone .500 on the road.

 

[BlackI]

Re: Maine Hockey 2013-2014 - Red Light District

Just looked at the league standings. Imagine where this team would be if they had just gone .500 on the road.

Well let's see it for what it is. No offense to any of the upperclassmen... but, when the bulk of your skaters/scoring talent are in your sophomore and freshmen classes... you are going to have "learning experiences". For all intents and purposes, and at the same time no pun intended... your team will be "sophomoric".

Now, you may say... what a disadvantage! Well, sure but not so much... these sophomores and freshmen have had much more ice time than any Maine team I can remember back when Maine was Maine. And there are signs from Lumberg, Brown, etc... where it is ok to be this young given their heart factor. Some of the upperclassmen are playing their own games well lately. O'Connor, Anthoine, Rutt have been seemingly the vocal leaders. Leen is playing at an elite level now. He is a guy that I can see playing his lights out to close this season. Now, we get to the beast, Oullette. I saw that the first night against Notre Dame and just went WOW! He's a gamer. And I like Maine's chances in the playoffs for that reason.

This team has all the tools it seems. However we have to take it for what it is... "sophomoric".

The only game that matters right now is Friday night in Matthews arena. It is going to take everyone throwing the kitchen sink at it next weekend. Perhaps I will have to go watch that one.

 

[ck1969]

Re: Maine Hockey 2013-2014 - Red Light District

So on the Olympic play of former BlackBears:

Jimmy Howard - hasn't played yet and appears to be the third goalie behind Quick and Miller. Was the back up to Miller this past game and didn't play.

Gustav Nyquist - has played a little over 20 minutes spanning 3 games. Looks like he isn't getting much ice time. Has no stats.

Matthius Trattnig - is a -2 with 9 shots on goal. Near the top in minutes played for his team. Austria is 1-2-0 and has been outscored by 8 goals. So not a strong team it seems.

And......Everyone knew Jimmy wouldn't play in any game and lucky to dress for one, as he was clearly the 3rd guy.
Gus was an injury replacement and is lucky to see any time at all on a loaded Swede team
Austria is an after thought in Olympic hockey and Matthius is pushing 40 and I'll bet my 401K nobody thought he was still playing.

Was there a point or were you just being Capt Obvious? Or just assuming none of us were following Olympic Hockey?

 

[umhockey91]

Re: Maine Hockey 2013-2014 - Red Light District

Just looked at the league standings. Imagine where this team would be if they had just gone .500 on the road.

In 2nd place? They still have a chance to finish 3rd. This was BC's HE regular season to win all they way.

On another note........I wonder if Sean Romeo has signed his LOI yet? He has really struggled this season in the USHL. I know that he was injured at one point but since he wasn't originally recruited by Red........I wonder if he will actually end up in Orono? I have a hard time believing that they will be using a scholarship on him with 2 other goaltenders (Morris and Nugnes) already in the fold.

 

[BlackI]

Re: Maine Hockey 2013-2014 - Red Light District

And......Everyone knew Jimmy wouldn't play in any game and lucky to dress for one, as he was clearly the 3rd guy.
Gus was an injury replacement and is lucky to see any time at all on a loaded Swede team
Austria is an after thought in Olympic hockey and Matthius is pushing 40 and I'll bet my 401K nobody thought he was still playing.

Was there a point or were you just being Capt Obvious? Or just assuming none of us were following Olympic Hockey?

Just Captain obvious. If I ever need an at home guy I'll look for you.

Thought maybe this was a message board where I can talk about hockey. Am I supposed to run things by you first. Well, tell you what, go outside and hold your breath at the same time and wait for me to run my opinions/thoughts/facts by you.

 

[blackbearbandie]

Re: Maine Hockey 2013-2014 - Red Light District

Just Captain obvious. If I ever need an at home guy I'll look for you.

Thought maybe this was a message board where I can talk about hockey. Am I supposed to run things by you first. Well, tell you what, go outside and hold your breath at the same time and wait for me to run my opinions/thoughts/facts by you.

Yeah, I was kind of hoping that Nyquist would pick up in the Olympics where he left off in Detroit and have his hot streak carryover, so I'm a little disappointed that he hasn't been given the ice time but I guess it was to be expected.

 

[Fishman'81]

Re: Maine Hockey 2013-2014 - Red Light District

He's under-valued on that team; his two-way game has improved immeasurably this season, IMO.

 

[Fishman'81]

Re: Maine Hockey 2013-2014 - Red Light District

Here is a list for me in the order of how good I think they've played:

1. Cam Brown
2. Eric Schurhamer
3. Dan Renouf
4. Blaine Byron
5. Brian Morgan
6. Josh Henke
7. Brady Campbell

I like Byron best; I really think he has the tools to go farther than anyone else on this list, but I don't think that he's been healthy for some time now.

Having said that, I really like the entire Freshman class. Every one of those guys look legit to me. (Even Campbell, who some people have maligned on here, looks like a quality player to me.)

Very good class, in the net.

 

[Hoover]

Re: Maine Hockey 2013-2014 - Red Light District

Thought maybe this was a message board where I can talk about hockey. Am I supposed to run things by you first. Well, tell you what, go outside and hold your breath at the same time and wait for me to run my opinions/thoughts/facts by you.

Well said.....your response above to the post that ended with "Was there a point or were you just being Capt Obvious? Or just assuming none of us were following Olympic Hockey?" is how I felt when I first started posting here. It's why I don't use the Fan Forum much anymore and enjoy talking to Black Bear supporters and fans in person when I can get to road games (St. Lawrence/Notre Dame so far this season........)

 

[ck1969]

Re: Maine Hockey 2013-2014 - Red Light District

Just Captain obvious. If I ever need an at home guy I'll look for you.

Thought maybe this was a message board where I can talk about hockey. Am I supposed to run things by you first. Well, tell you what, go outside and hold your breath at the same time and wait for me to run my opinions/thoughts/facts by you.

My apologies. Was having a bad night and was annoyed. Not my usual tone when I post. It was a stupid post. (Mine, not yours)

 

[amherstblackbear]

Re: Maine Hockey 2013-2014 - Red Light District

In 2nd place? They still have a chance to finish 3rd. This was BC's HE regular season to win all they way.

On another note........I wonder if Sean Romeo has signed his LOI yet? He has really struggled this season in the USHL. I know that he was injured at one point but since he wasn't originally recruited by Red........I wonder if he will actually end up in Orono? I have a hard time believing that they will be using a scholarship on him with 2 other goaltenders (Morris and Nugnes) already in the fold.

I think the big difference is with the NCAAs.* As it is, Maine is on the NCAA bubble. Currently, the right side, which is amazing when you think about results on the road. If Maine had played closer to .500 hockey on the road, they'd be breathing a lot easier. Of course, being on the right side of the bubble is progress in itself.

Regarding HEA, I agree that Maine's ceiling really was 2nd place. Of course, Maine hasn't finished 3rd yet, either. Northeastern is 1 point behind, and they're playing Maine at Matthews. Then, Northeastern finishes with 2 versus UMass while Maine gets Providence. Honestly, I think 4th place is more likely than 3rd. On the other hand, if Maine actually does well at Northeastern (3+ points), then 2nd place is up for grabs. UML still has 2 games left vs. BC.

*Wow, did Maine's soft schedule help them this season, or what? Maine is something like 20th in KRACH and 11th in the new pairwise (essentially RPI). I'm not complaining, but it is unfortunate that the new pairwise *really* doesn't reward ambitious scheduling.

 

[umhockey91]

Re: Maine Hockey 2013-2014 - Red Light District

Is Sean Romeo still coming next season? Is he worth a full scholarship at this point?

 

[Drew S.]

Re: Maine Hockey 2013-2014 - Red Light District

Is Sean Romeo still coming next season? Is he worth a full scholarship at this point?

I have no idea on either count. One thing I would say though is that his team absolutely sucks. They're the second worst team in the league so that could have a lot to do with his stats. The other goalie on the team doesn't have any better stats. He was hurt early in the year as well so it could be more of a temporary thing than him not being good enough. Out of the three Morris is the one I'm most concerned about.

 

[Drew S.]

Re: Maine Hockey 2013-2014 - Red Light District

I like Byron best; I really think he has the tools to go farther than anyone else on this list, but I don't think that he's been healthy for some time now.

Having said that, I really like the entire Freshman class. Every one of those guys look legit to me. (Even Campbell, who some people have maligned on here, looks like a quality player to me.)

Very good class, in the net.

I like Renouf and Schurhamer the best. Defenseman win games plain and simple.

I was one of the people who maligned Campbell and I think/hope that I was completely wrong. He definitely has looked a lot better in last half dozen games or so and he can be successful at this level. I think I held a bias against him where Timmy missed with so many forward recruits in the last six or seven years.

 

[dwollstadt]

Re: Maine Hockey 2013-2014 - Red Light District

Regarding HEA, I agree that Maine's ceiling really was 2nd place. Of course, Maine hasn't finished 3rd yet, either. Northeastern is 1 point behind, and they're playing Maine at Matthews. Then, Northeastern finishes with 2 versus UMass while Maine gets Providence. Honestly, I think 4th place is more likely than 3rd. On the other hand, if Maine actually does well at Northeastern (3+ points), then 2nd place is up for grabs. UML still has 2 games left vs. BC.

Maine could finish anywhere from 2nd to 7th, depending on how we do during the next two weekends. If we take six points against Northeastern and Providence, Lowell would have to take at least five points against Vermont and BC to retain 2nd place, as we have the tiebreaker (head-to-head competition). On the other hand, if we tank both weekends, we would definitely sink below NU and PC, and we would also sink below UNH if the 'Cats win one game, and below UVM if they win three games (one win for UNH and three wins for UVM would give them 10 wins, which beats nine wins and two ties. If we get four points against NU and PC, we could still finish anywhere between 3rd and 6th depending on how NU, PC, and UNH finish out.

 

[dwollstadt]

Re: Maine Hockey 2013-2014 - Red Light District

Actually, if we get four points against NU and PC, we could still finish 2nd if (a) Lowell is held to two points against BC and UVM (we win head-to-head against UML), (b) if Northeastern gets four points or less against us and BU, (c) UNH doesn't win all six points against BU (tonight) and Merrimack, and (d) PC doesn't sweep both us and UMass-Amherst.

 

[dwollstadt]

Re: Maine Hockey 2013-2014 - Red Light District

With four points, we could also finish as low as 5th if (a) UNH beats BU tonight and sweeps Merrimack, and (b) NU gets six points, or five points including a sweep or a win and a tie against us, or PC sweeps its last two weekends, including the series at the Alfond. If we get four points, we can't finish below 5th, since four points would mean either a sweep against NU or at least a tie against PC, which would ensure that they finish below Maine in the final standings.

With two points, we could still finish as high as third, if NU, UNH, and PC lose most of their games. We could also finish as low as 7th if UVM sweeps and the others win most of their games.

 

[dwollstadt]

Re: Maine Hockey 2013-2014 - Red Light District

Last post, I promise: all of this matters because the top five teams in the regular season standings get byes in the first round of the playoffs, which is a single-game, one-and-done playoff at the home of the higher-seeded team. Also, the top four teams have home ice for the two-out-of-three series in the quarter-final round of the playoffs.

By the way, the HE tiebreakers are: 1. head-to-head record in regular-season conference play. 2. Number of wins in conference play (a win and a loss beats two ties). 3. Record against the first-place team (BC), the second-place team, etc. 4. Coin toss.