As a casual observer I think the real problem at Norwich is simply that all of you knew/know who the new coach was before he was announced.
The alumni clearly didn't like the incumbent coach they came on these boards and beat the crap out of him constantly. Everyone who makes a comment about Norwich hockey claims to have inside knowledge. It would seem that all of the leaks are coming from a single or very few sources, these leaks need to be addressed and the sources eliminated. What happens in a locker room needs to stay in the locker room that is the first rule of all sports. You don't air your dirty laundry in public!
The dislike of the coach has blinded everyone to the on ice results.
As for the hockey, on one of these boards someone made a statement that Hobart is the new Norwich. Hobart has been to ten straight National tournaments and won the last three. Both of those feats have never been equalled by Norwich hockey. Norwich has had some great teams and great results that should not be diminished, but what Hobart is doing is historic, and by the time they are done they may go down as the greatest team in DIII history. So don't compare apples to oranges and what does that tell us about this "crappy" Norwich team?
Two years ago Norwich led the nation in games played by freshman and managed to finish second to Hobart. They had some inexplicable defeats including the quarter final loss. However, if they made the conference final game against Hobart that year they had an outside shot of making the tournament, and would have been at worst, part of the first four out. The coach should have been commended for accomplishing so much with a team that young instead he was run into the ground. That team had one glaring weakness playing away from home.
Last year this same group of underachievers again finished second in a much tougher NEHC. The NEHC went eight deep. A compelling argument could be made that they went nine deep, (UMASSB started 0 and 5 with a couple of six goal losses after that they were a winning team with a positive GD). They had a team that missed the playoffs that might have made the playoffs in every other conference. The conference and overall records of not only Norwich but all of the teams in the NEHC looked terrible on paper because everyone underestimated the overall quality of the conference. The number of quality teams prevented any team not named Hobart from getting on any kind of a roll and jumping in to the national rankings for a sustained period. The evidence of how good and how deep this conference will, I firmly believe, become evident next year when you look at the standings of the SUNYAC, UCHC and LEC. I would not be surprised if as many as four teams from last year's NEHC end up in next year's National Championships.
Norwich went 15 -10 - 3. On paper mediocre. However, even a cursory look shows that half of those ten losses came against teams in the national quarter finals. Four of them against teams in the frozen four. They had three additional losses against Salve, Skidmore, and Babson all of whom were ranked at some point last year then they had a tough tournament final loss against traditional rival Middlebury, and what seemed like a bad loss at NEC. That loss at NEC looked better as the year went on as they gave many teams fits especially in Henniker and wound up in the NEHC final four. In retrospect Norwich eliminated those inexplicable losses from the year before. However, they were even worse on the road.
Regardless of who is coaching them they are, if we are being honest, one of the favorites to win the new LEC. Sure, Babson and Plymouth St. are going to be right there and I would not underestimate NEC and Keene, but Norwich has proven over the last two years, depite what has been said, that they have the talent to compete with anyone. This team has been second in the NEHC over the last two years behind a historically good Hobart that no longer stands in their way. Furthermore, for a team that is good at home the schedule could not be setup any better. They have only lost one conference home game over the last two years! They have 16 games at home next year and I would be shocked if they don't add at least two playoff dates. While past performance is no guarantee of future success their recent results suggest they will win 14 or 15 games at home next year. If somehow they can figure out how to show up on the road ready to play and overcome their road yips they could have a monster year.
In short, this has been easily the number two team in the NEHC over the last two years to one of the best teams in DIII history. They had one clunker at the worst possible time. So all of the vitriol that has been spit at the former coach and current players is simply misguided and unfounded. You can't rack up thirty wins in one of the nations toughest conferences, finish second twice, lose the conference finals, and say that both the coach and the players are crap. Both of those things cannot be true. In this case neither one of those things is true. The coach is a good hockey coach with a very specific plan and system that is not for everyone. You have one of the most talented groups of players in the country with great resumes. To their credit they set aside their personal accolades trying to make the coaches system work and get their team to succeed. It did not get them to where they all wanted to go.
The good news is that the players needed to succeed are already on your campus, the results bear that out. Remember this team was only down 3 - 2 against Hobart with 10 minutes to go in the third of the NEHC Championship. A new coach who loosens the reins a little bit I think will actually help this group. The old coaches system was designed specifically to beat Hobart instead of winning hockey games no matter the opponent, that approach created a lot of close hockey games against good and bad opponents. It never allowed them to put teams away. However, to keep carrying on about how awful everything is, is quite frankly, embarrassing. It is not the glory years but the team has finished inside the top 20 of both the NPI and Pairwise each of the last two years. The situation is not nearly as dire, and the team is not nearly as far off as the handful of posters on here with an axe to grind would have you believe. Running down the kids who have given their all and have had decent results over the last two years is just so cowardly. if you really want this team to succeed and it to return to where you believe it belongs have it start here with an overall change of tone. Be positive you got a new coach and by all accounts the one all of you wanted. Celebrate and take a more positive approach to the future.
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