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Maine Offseason 2020: We Stay Home But Swayman Leaves

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(Hopefully not a premature?) congrats to my UMaine-iac friends. I think this is your best outcome.

Not sure why there have been congrats spread beyond AD Ralph to the hiring committee though? I think you'd have come up with the same result if you pulled a half-dozen of the most knowledgeable UMaine posters on this thread. The best available choice for the job was always pretty obvious, and it was always going to come down to whether the AD could sell him on it.

Let's see what they all have to say later this morning. Must be an exciting time for all the diehards.
 
BlackBearFan19 said:
Really excited for the future of Maine hockey. Ralph deserves a huge round of applause. He put together an excellent search committee and the committee looks to have delivered.

The uscho blogs are the best form of investigative journalism in college hockey lol. All the talk of the future coach was spot on.
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I have to say that I was totally wrong with Ralph. He is not as public as other ADs but maybe that is a good thing. Nothing is guaranteed.....but at least he is setting the program up for success with (hopefully) a premiere national caliber assistant.....and updated facilities courtesy of the Alfond Foundation. I don't think that we can underestimate the power of that donation to UM athletics......without it, this hire doesn't happen.
 
I really don't think Maine could have hoped for someone better than Barr. That's not to say it guarantees success but it's the type of hire Maine needed.

If it doesn't work out I don't know where Maine goes from there.
 
J.D. said:
I really don't think Maine could have hoped for someone better than Barr. That's not to say it guarantees success but it's the type of hire Maine needed.

If it doesn't work out I don't know where Maine goes from there.
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Maine fans need to step away from the cliff. Good bless him, but how could 16-20 year old recruits relate to a 63 year old man who railed on about "the old girl" and coached a style of hockey suited for the late 1970s? Red was someone that you would want as a father, father in-law, uncle or friend.......not a college hockey coach in 2021. This hire coupled with new Shawn Walsh Center and other Alfond improvements at least gives Maine Hockey a fighting chance in the new college hockey era.
 
I'll be honest after sleeping on it for a night I still don't feel great about it. I think Ben Barr has the potential to be an awesome coach and he absolutely was the best candidate as far as outsiders go. I think after all the trauma the players have been through the past year with Covid and losing Red this wasn't the right direction to go. I know some folks think they all suck and want to see them leave anyway but that just isn't true. Hopefully they do stay, and have the best of experiences, but if they do bail I'd be very surprised if Barr is successful. It's a lot harder to recruit if the program goes from middle of the pack to propping up the table.
 
Umm UMass was as big a laughingstock as could and he was able to recruit just fine. Cheer up Drew. This is a good day for Maine hockey.
 
Drew S. said:
I'll be honest after sleeping on it for a night I still don't feel great about it. I think Ben Barr has the potential to be an awesome coach and he absolutely was the best candidate as far as outsiders go. I think after all the trauma the players have been through the past year with Covid and losing Red this wasn't the right direction to go. I know some folks think they all suck and want to see them leave anyway but that just isn't true. Hopefully they do stay, and have the best of experiences, but if they do bail I'd be very surprised if Barr is successful. It's a lot harder to recruit if the program goes from middle of the pack to propping up the table.
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Cmon Drew. Maine just landed the best possible hire. I feel for the players, Guite and Alfie over the loss of Red but at some point a tough decision had to be made. At the time of his death, Red hadn’t been extended, we’ll never know whether Ralph was going to take the program in a new direction anyway.

Guite’s resume does not stack up to Barr’s. Barr has proven he can recruit anywhere. Maine will be the biggest brand that Barr will ever have recruited with. If he can recruit to empty arenas at Union, Providence and UMass, he will be able to recruit to a sold out Alfond. I’m sure it was tough on Montgomery and Snow to tell a black bear hockey alum that we have to go with the outsider but at the end of the day the right decision was made.

I’m hopeful, if Barr can’t do it, we’re in trouble.

Fill the steins to Ben Barr and to a new age of Maine hockey
 
The official hockey twitter account tweeted "Soon" at 8:25. Nothing on the website as of yet. No word on if it'll be streamed.
 
BlackBearFan19 said:
Cmon Drew. Maine just landed the best possible hire. I feel for the players, Guite and Alfie over the loss of Red but at some point a tough decision had to be made. At the time of his death, Red hadn’t been extended, we’ll never know whether Ralph was going to take the program in a new direction anyway.

Guite’s resume does not stack up to Barr’s. Barr has proven he can recruit anywhere. Maine will be the biggest brand that Barr will ever have recruited with. If he can recruit to empty arenas at Union, Providence and UMass, he will be able to recruit to a sold out Alfond. I’m sure it was tough on Montgomery and Snow to tell a black bear hockey alum that we have to go with the outsider but at the end of the day the right decision was made.

I’m hopeful, if Barr can’t do it, we’re in trouble.

Fill the steins to Ben Barr and to a new age of Maine hockey
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You’re definitely right, it’s just hard for me not to feel sad for Ben, Alfie, and the lads on the team. Hopefully it works out brilliantly and Barr is able to unite everyone. I don’t think that will be easy to do though.
 
Congrats in advance! :). You're on a roll...according to NESN, Swayman has been named as the Bruins' backup goalie for the playoffs. That's going to get more exposure for the program if he gets to play in any of the nationally televised games.
 
There's certainly a chance that Ben Barr isn't the answer, but I will say that success has followed him and he's had a tremendous opportunity to help build programs alongside of two of the very best coaches in Hockey East. I'm excited to see what the future holds in Orono, as Barr seems to be a tremendous recruiter and should have ties to very good programs to bring in his own, solid assistants.

BDN has confirmed Barr. Big, big day for the Black Bears.
 
Drew S. said:
You’re definitely right, it’s just hard for me not to feel sad for Ben, Alfie, and the lads on the team. Hopefully it works out brilliantly and Barr is able to unite everyone. I don’t think that will be easy to do though.
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Well people who go into sports for a career know and understand the risks and that jobs are tentative. If the coaches are good they will land on their feet.
As far as the players go you would have to think it will bring excitement, they are young and eternally optimistic.
 
NorthMike said:
Well people who go into sports for a career know and understand the risks and that jobs are tentative. If the coaches are good they will land on their feet.
As far as the players go you would have to think it will bring excitement, they are young and eternally optimistic.
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I wouldn't be surprised if the Bruins look into Alfie for a developmental role given how Swayman has spoken glowingly about him.
 
I also would advise people to look into what UMass fans are saying about Barr leaving. They're incredibly disappointed that he's leaving and haven't read a negative thing about him. I, for one, am very excited. We'll probably have to revisit the hire in year 3 or so to see what he's been able to bring in for talent.
 
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