Maine Offseason 2020: We Stay Home But Swayman Leaves

[Wayuphere]

Feel bad................
for the women’s BB.

 

[Fishman'81]

Feel bad................
for the women’s BB.

Me too. Women's BB is the current flagship.

 

[Fishman'81]

I’m okay with 4x4 but even that is a gimmick. Larry said early in the year that because of 3x3 an ot win only gets you 55% of the pairwise points so it really isn’t much different than a tie. To me all this nonsense is extra complication that doesn’t add to the competition.

You're quoting Larry? ;P

 

[Drew S.]

Jimmy Howard retired today. Congrats to him on a great career!

 

[Fishman'81]

Jimmy Howard retired today. Congrats to him on a great career!

Definitely. He's certainly in the discussion for greatest Bear of all.

 

[UncleRay]

Definitely. He's certainly in the discussion for greatest Bear of all.

He's in the discussion because you have to talk about the top five or ten. But he's not a contender for greatest Bear.

 

[walrus]

He's in the discussion because you have to talk about the top five or ten. But he's not a contender for greatest Bear.

Not sure where he stands in the ranking but he sure was fun to watch. I stood behind him on the rail many games, his position was unreal. He lives about 5 or 6 houses down from my brother on Philips .

 

[NorthMike]

Well, best umaine goalie. (Howard)

He was fun to watch at the alfond.

Saw him playing with some group at the brewer rink about 7 or 10 years ago. Pretty impressive.

 

[Fishman'81]

He's in the discussion because you have to talk about the top five or ten. But he's not a contender for greatest Bear.

You don't think so? PK is the pick of the litter IMO, but Jimmy certainly is a legit contender for #2. (Hockey only, to be clear.)

No way Jimmy doesn't crack the top three.

 

[Drew S.]

You don't think so? PK is the pick of the litter IMO, but Jimmy certainly is a legit contender for #2. (Hockey only, to be clear.)

No way Jimmy doesn't crack the top three.

I would have to think Jim Montgomery is clearly number two.

Jimmy Howard is an interesting case. He was awesome in net and had unbelievable stats but to me it always seemed that his first couple years the team didn’t play great when he was in net. He really was the issue when they collapsed so bad in 2003. The two Hockey East quarterfinals against UMA were just shocking and that led to them having to play at Michigan. In 2004 Maine actually had a better record when Doyle played and Timmy had to bring Doyle in when they had the incredible comeback against Harvard.

 

[walrus]

Frankie Doyle doesn't get anywhere enough credit for his time in Net in Orono.

 

[Fishman'81]

I would have to think Jim Montgomery is clearly number two.

Jimmy Howard is an interesting case. He was awesome in net and had unbelievable stats but to me it always seemed that his first couple years the team didn’t play great when he was in net. He really was the issue when they collapsed so bad in 2003. The two Hockey East quarterfinals against UMA were just shocking and that led to them having to play at Michigan. In 2004 Maine actually had a better record when Doyle played and Timmy had to bring Doyle in when they had the incredible comeback against Harvard.

I agree with you and Wally about Frank. He was awesome, just came along at the wrong time to get enough minutes. And, yeah, he saved the bacon vs. Harvard in what was my favorite game to see in person. Made a number of amazing saves in that classic.

 

[walrus]

Are you going to take Swayman or Howard? Howard had good teams in front of him, Swayman not so much. Imagine Grant coaching Swayman. I don't think its an easy choice.

 

[Fishman'81]

Are you going to take Swayman or Howard? Howard had good teams in front of him, Swayman not so much. Imagine Grant coaching Swayman. I don't think its an easy choice.

True enough. But even Darling could have saved the ship for a while if he didn't screw himself.

I suppose, in terms of all-time goalies, I might go with Jimmy. But i wouldn't quibble with Swayman, Frankie, Dunham, Snow, Alfie or several others.

We've been spoiled for many years at Maine in terms of 'tending, but truly Sway has been the only guy for a loooong time that has made a difference.

 

[walrus]

Covid takes down hockey and Mens BBall, didn't read the article but I assume a few more weeks of down time

 

[BoSox3066]

Second best Bear ever is a doozy. Tough to go with anyone but Monty BUT Pellerin won a Hobey after all. Nyquist and Steve Kariya were pretty good too. Yves-Roy deserves mention. And that’s just the F’s, never mind the D like Carney and Imes.

Best goalie for me is Howard or Swayman. Both better than Snow Dunham or Bishop.

 

[Fishman'81]

Second best Bear ever is a doozy. Tough to go with anyone but Monty BUT Pellerin won a Hobey after all. Nyquist and Steve Kariya were pretty good too. Yves-Roy deserves mention. And that’s just the F’s, never mind the D like Carney and Imes.

Best goalie for me is Howard or Swayman. Both better than Snow Dunham or Bishop.

As ancient as I am, I'd include Gary Conn and Andre Aubut in this conversation. They were key figures in simply getting Maine out of D-2 in the first place. Both were exceptional talents.

And, BTW. Jeff Nord and Jimmy Tortorella were considered the best 2-goalie tandem in college hockey by some pundits waaaay back in 1980.

These guys should not be forgotten. Without that jump-start, Maine would have most likely never have been any good.

 

[Fishman'81]

Second best Bear ever is a doozy. Tough to go with anyone but Monty BUT Pellerin won a Hobey after all. Nyquist and Steve Kariya were pretty good too. Yves-Roy deserves mention. And that’s just the F’s, never mind the D like Carney and Imes.

Best goalie for me is Howard or Swayman. Both better than Snow Dunham or Bishop.

Weinrich comes to mind as well. 17 years in the NHL. Red will never get a sniff of that quality of a player if he coaches until he's 100 (God forbid).

 

[UncleRay]

As ancient as I am, I'd include Gary Conn and Andre Aubut in this conversation. They were key figures in simply getting Maine out of D-2 in the first place. Both were exceptional talents.

And, BTW. Jeff Nord and Jimmy Tortorella were considered the best 2-goalie tandem in college hockey by some pundits waaaay back in 1980.

These guys should not be forgotten. Without that jump-start, Maine would have most likely never have been any good.

Geezer. ;-) Right there with you on the value to the program of those guys. I used to walk over to the games as a kid. Loved Aubuuuuuuut!

Best three Bears?
1) Paul
2) Monty
3) A goalie
The debate, as we see raging in this thread, is which goalie. While there have been some truly amazing position players in Maine sweaters, we fans have been completely spoiled over the years by exceptional goaltending. Thank you, Grant, for finding the talent and then coaching them to greatness. In the Top Ten, you'd probably have 5 goalies so which is #3 will be a matter of personal opinion and preference. And may have something to do with the age of the fan.

 

[walrus]

Hockey canceled for another week or 2.

I'm going with Howard as #3, then Pelly and Jean Yves, Swayman, Chris imes, Too many to choose from after that, so many fun players to watch. It was great to be a Maine fan after Shawn showed up.