The 3rd official 09-10 Maine season thread: Bubble-icious

[walrus]

Re: The 3rd official 09-10 Maine season thread: Bubble-icious

, regardless of the goaltending situation (that has to be addressed and can't be an excuse) !

Until we know what's happening with the goalie its pretty hard to tell whats up with next season

 

[BassAle]

Re: The 3rd official 09-10 Maine season thread: Bubble-icious

I think it is pretty clear that with Timmay at the helm, we'll more or less be a middle of the pack HE team. Some years he might be able to put together a team that can challenge for first, some years it will be a fight just to make the playoffs, but most years they'll be in the run for home ice but not a lock. We'll have some trips to the NCAAs to see the Black Bears, but not every year. We'll see a few frozen fours. Maybe Timmay will get lucky and win one some day, but the longer it takes to win one the harder and harder it will be to get back. Players that want to win championships, and have options, will not choose to play for Maine and Timmay.

Is that good enough for the fans?

 

[walrus]

Re: The 3rd official 09-10 Maine season thread: Bubble-icious

I
Is that good enough for the fans?

It appears to be good enough for the AD

 

[GoBlackBears]

Re: The 3rd official 09-10 Maine season thread: Bubble-icious

I think it is pretty clear that with Timmay at the helm, we'll more or less be a middle of the pack HE team. Some years he might be able to put together a team that can challenge for first, some years it will be a fight just to make the playoffs, but most years they'll be in the run for home ice but not a lock. We'll have some trips to the NCAAs to see the Black Bears, but not every year. We'll see a few frozen fours. Maybe Timmay will get lucky and win one some day, but the longer it takes to win one the harder and harder it will be to get back. Players that want to win championships, and have options, will not choose to play for Maine and Timmay.

Is that good enough for the fans?

I don't know about anyone else but I expect the team to contend for national championships year after year. Getting home ice every four years or missing the NCAA tournament 3 seasons in a row is a slap in the face to Shawn.

 

[acs64]

Re: The 3rd official 09-10 Maine season thread: Bubble-icious

I don't know about anyone else but I expect the team to contend for national championships year after year. Getting home ice every four years or missing the NCAA tournament 3 seasons in a row is a slap in the face to Shawn.

Or a testament to how good of a coach Walshy wuz.

 

[lkenney]

Re: The 3rd official 09-10 Maine season thread: Bubble-icious

Sun Sports feature on Mike Lundin:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7ses6XSJt4

Edit: In their recent 7-1 loss to the Sabres, Mike was +1 with an assist while playing 22:52. That's kind of amazing. Not surprisingly, he was the only Lightning player in the plus category.

 

[ck1969]

Re: The 3rd official 09-10 Maine season thread: Bubble-icious

I think it is pretty clear that with Timmay at the helm, we'll more or less be a middle of the pack HE team. Some years he might be able to put together a team that can challenge for first, some years it will be a fight just to make the playoffs, but most years they'll be in the run for home ice but not a lock. We'll have some trips to the NCAAs to see the Black Bears, but not every year. We'll see a few frozen fours. Maybe Timmay will get lucky and win one some day, but the longer it takes to win one the harder and harder it will be to get back. Players that want to win championships, and have options, will not choose to play for Maine and Timmay.

Is that good enough for the fans?

I agree with you for the most part but college hockey has changed from the Walsh years. The teams that were ALWAYS there, Minny, Wisc, Mich,Mich St, BC, BU etc, don't make the NCAA's every year anymore either. I'm not a Timmay fan, but the talent level is not the same, early signings are killing teams. It's not a question of reloading anymore. BC may be the exception but you get my drift. I think it's way more difficut to keep the teams at the top year in and year out. Is it good enough for the fans, no. Is it reality....I think it probably is. Would a coaching change help, maybe, maybe not.

 

[Runsub5]

Re: The 3rd official 09-10 Maine season thread: Bubble-icious

I agree with you for the most part but college hockey has changed from the Walsh years. The teams that were ALWAYS there, Minny, Wisc, Mich,Mich St, BC, BU etc, don't make the NCAA's every year anymore either. I'm not a Timmay fan, but the talent level is not the same, early signings are killing teams. It's not a question of reloading anymore. BC may be the exception but you get my drift. I think it's way more difficut to keep the teams at the top year in and year out. Is it good enough for the fans, no. Is it reality....I think it probably is. Would a coaching change help, maybe, maybe not.

An example of what you are saying is seeing RIT in the Frozen Four this year. Miami, Bemidji State in the regionals the past two years and Yale this year. As you point out, college hockey has changed in many ways in the last 10 years. I see this balance continuing with more schools devoting more resources to recruiting and developing facilities. The talent pool is being diluted across more teams resulting in more parity. BC appears to be the exception right now but I think their day will also come. Coaching and on ice leadership will become even more important in developing successful programs as teams become more balanced. Just my opinion.

 

[BobF]

Re: The 3rd official 09-10 Maine season thread: Bubble-icious

Last night after the Bruins game on Versus they did an interview with Jimmy Howard. He was asked about the comments made by Babcock that he was possibly the best goalie the Red Wings have had in his tenure. Dan Patrick dropped in a U.Maine reference as well. Then they came back with top 10 plays of the week.

#1 play was Paul, looking like the Kariya of old busting through the Red Wing defense and scoring on Jimmy. Patrick made sure to let everyone know it was Black Bear on Black Bear action. Very good stuff! This on the heels of the nice Lundin video shared earlier. Good to see Maine players thriving on the big stage, and won't be too long (hopefully at least a year) until Nyquist is out there too!

 

[mainetwentytwelve]

Re: The 3rd official 09-10 Maine season thread: Bubble-icious

Last night after the Bruins game on Versus they did an interview with Jimmy Howard. He was asked about the comments made by Babcock that he was possibly the best goalie the Red Wings have had in his tenure. Dan Patrick dropped in a U.Maine reference as well. Then they came back with top 10 plays of the week.

#1 play was Paul, looking like the Kariya of old busting through the Red Wing defense and scoring on Jimmy. Patrick made sure to let everyone know it was Black Bear on Black Bear action. Very good stuff! This on the heels of the nice Lundin video shared earlier. Good to see Maine players thriving on the big stage, and won't be too long (hopefully at least a year) until Nyquist is out there too!

http://www.versus.com/nhl/videos/nhl-jimmy-howard-phoner/

http://www.versus.com/nhl/videos/nhl-plays-of-the-week/

 

[acs64]

Re: The 3rd official 09-10 Maine season thread: Bubble-icious

http://www.versus.com/nhl/videos/nhl-jimmy-howard-phoner/

http://www.versus.com/nhl/videos/nhl-plays-of-the-week/

Thanks....awesome stuff

 

[btb91]

Re: The 3rd official 09-10 Maine season thread: Bubble-icious

I would not be surprised at all if next season is a disaster. Or we might get lucky. Who knows.

We might see the trademark "Timmay Time" mid-season slump where he spends what seems like a million games screwing with lines and losing, or a OK season followed by a lackluster one and done performance in the NCAAs, or the good old favorite: backing into the NCAAs but somehow getting the softest possible bracket, making the frozen four, and losing, and all the Timmay lovers rubbing it in how he turned the season around. See the 2006-2007 season: the team underachieved and played especially bad at the end of the regular season (losing 4 straight to UMass, going 1-7-1 vs BC, BU, UNH after starting the season with promising wins vs MN and UND), and then got the a bracket where the other teams were Clarkson, St Cloud State, and UMass. If Maine had ended up in a real bracket and gone one and done the season would have been another Timmay disaster, but instead people thought it was a great run.


Maine with Timmay = UNH with FAR less regular season success.

I see some truth in this.

 

[btb91]

Re: The 3rd official 09-10 Maine season thread: Bubble-icious

Here's my .02 cents on next year and you all can quote me! Given the talent we have coming back, regardless of the goaltending situation (that has to be addressed and can't be an excuse)

And it will be the excuse, and that is the problem. We should have been recruiting a goalie to replace Wilson even before the beginning of this season. Have we been? I don't know.

If Darling's suspension at the end of the season is for the same reason as the Union series (and last year's), we should have been looking at a goalie. Have we been? Again, I don't know.

Because of the nature of the position, it is imperative that we develop more than one goalie, and invest in the success of more than one goalie, so that we don't have all our eggs in one basket, if anything should happen. That I have the answer to, and Tim has chosen the "eggs in one basket" method of managing goalies.

We will never know just how good David Wilson really is. After the last four games of this season, I think he is a far better goalie than many have given him credit for being. if Whitehead had invested in him, believed in him, and given him a better opportunity, Wilson may have had a much better career.

This is about team culture, and overall program management.

The script is written. Much like Purcell and Sweetland before him, Darling will be the scapegoat for any lackluster performance next season. And while there may be a shred of truth to it, the real blame lies in the coaching staff for their management of their personnel, and the program as a whole.

 

[btb91]

Re: The 3rd official 09-10 Maine season thread: Bubble-icious

we also insisted that they left the "storage" sign on the door

nicest storage closet I've ever seen

Hopefully people leave you alone that way.

 

[btb91]

Re: The 3rd official 09-10 Maine season thread: Bubble-icious

I think it is pretty clear that with Timmay at the helm, we'll more or less be a middle of the pack HE team. Some years he might be able to put together a team that can challenge for first, some years it will be a fight just to make the playoffs, but most years they'll be in the run for home ice but not a lock. We'll have some trips to the NCAAs to see the Black Bears, but not every year. We'll see a few frozen fours. Maybe Timmay will get lucky and win one some day, but the longer it takes to win one the harder and harder it will be to get back. Players that want to win championships, and have options, will not choose to play for Maine and Timmay.

Is that good enough for the fans?

It shouldn't be, and it is not with this fan.

 

[Drew S.]

Re: The 3rd official 09-10 Maine season thread: Bubble-icious

An example of what you are saying is seeing RIT in the Frozen Four this year. Miami, Bemidji State in the regionals the past two years and Yale this year. As you point out, college hockey has changed in many ways in the last 10 years. I see this balance continuing with more schools devoting more resources to recruiting and developing facilities. The talent pool is being diluted across more teams resulting in more parity. BC appears to be the exception right now but I think their day will also come. Coaching and on ice leadership will become even more important in developing successful programs as teams become more balanced. Just my opinion.

Didn't BC miss the NCAA's last year? Or am I 'misremembering'?

 

[BobF]

Re: The 3rd official 09-10 Maine season thread: Bubble-icious

And it will be the excuse, and that is the problem. We should have been recruiting a goalie to replace Wilson even before the beginning of this season. Have we been? I don't know.

If Darling's suspension at the end of the season is for the same reason as the Union series (and last year's), we should have been looking at a goalie. Have we been? Again, I don't know.

Because of the nature of the position, it is imperative that we develop more than one goalie, and invest in the success of more than one goalie, so that we don't have all our eggs in one basket, if anything should happen. That I have the answer to, and Tim has chosen the "eggs in one basket" method of managing goalies.

We will never know just how good David Wilson really is. After the last four games of this season, I think he is a far better goalie than many have given him credit for being. if Whitehead had invested in him, believed in him, and given him a better opportunity, Wilson may have had a much better career.

This is about team culture, and overall program management.

The script is written. Much like Purcell and Sweetland before him, Darling will be the scapegoat for any lackluster performance next season. And while there may be a shred of truth to it, the real blame lies in the coaching staff for their management of their personnel, and the program as a whole.

Wow could not disagree more with so much you had to say. Sirman was brought in because there was no longer any faith in Wilson as a back-up and Darling had ended the season poorly. Typically teams do not have more than two goalies on scholarship and this was one of the few times Maine has done that. Which is why I am puzzled by the comment that Maine should have been recruiting another goalie at the beginning of the year to replace Wilson. At that time the assumption would have been that they had Sirman and Darling for next year and that would be sufficient. In fact they did recruit another goalie who originally verbalized his intention to come to Maine in Matt McNeely of the USNDT for 2011, but he later decided to go to Duluth.

As for Wilson, he was given chances on several occasions and unfortunately was never consistent. He gave us a great run at the end and I will remember him for the save on Gaudet on the breakaway, but let's not get carried away. We all harkin back to the great tandems at Maine Loring/King, King/DelGuidice, Snow/Dunham and for some Howard/Doyle, but it was really Howard! Shawn did not always have a tandem! DelGuidice owned the position for awhile over King, Blair Allison owned the job as did Alfie. Yes we need 2 goalies we can count upon, and there can be no excuses. IF they stick with Sirman/Darling that is there decision but by all accounts they are looking to bring in another goalie, which is a tough situation for a freshman goalie to walk into.

Your post indicates essentially that you have zero faith in the coach, so likely there is no winning. But to say they Wilson was not given a chance and then basically give up on Sirman (or are you giving up on Darling) makes no sense.

Finally I hate excuses and that has been one of the things that has disappointed me, once players are gone they are gone and I hope we don't see any more excuses from the coach, or anyone else affiliated with the program. The comments in the past on players leaving is a sign of weakness and they have been quoted 1000's of times on this board rightly so. Next year there are no excuses, and I hope that is the attitude in the locker room!

 

[btb91]

Re: The 3rd official 09-10 Maine season thread: Bubble-icious

Since the topic of a contract extension has come up for Tim, and he will probably get it since the Whiteheads and the James' are friends, I have looked back on the Whitehead Era of Maine Hockey. Here is some information about each year.

For the sake of my argument I am not going to consider the 2001-02 as Tim, but an extension of Walsh. That team had everything to play for, and was the most motivated I have ever seen. Also, I feel that the "true" Tim era starts after the end of the 2005-06 season, since the next four years are players that were recruited by Walsh, and committed to play to Walsh.

2001-2002
Whitehead brought on as Interim Head Coach in August to fill in while Walsh is fighting kidney cancer. Walsh passed away on September 24, 2001. Tim would carry the title of "interim" through the season that saw the team lose a heartbreaker in the National Championship Game.

Record - 26-11-7
HE Regular Season - 3rd
Lost HE Championship Game
Lost National Championship Game

2002-2003

Record - 24-10-5
HE Regular Season - 3rd
Lost HE Quarterfinal Series
Eliminated in first round of NCAA playoffs

2003-2004

Record - 33-8-3
HE Regular Season - 2nd
Won Hockey East Championship
Lost National Championship Game

2004-2005

Record - 20-13-4
HE Regular Season - 4th
Lost Hockey East Semifinal
Eliminated in first round of NCAA playoffs

2005-2006

Record - 28-12-2
HE Regular Season - 3rd
Lost Hockey East Semifinal
Lost National Semifinal

Grant Standbrook retires at the end of the 2005-06 season as a full time coach, and will remain in volunteer capacity for a couple more years. Four full seasons out from his passing, this marks where the majority, if not all, of the players who were "Shawn's" have passed through the program.

2006-2007

Record - 23-15-4
HE Regular Season - 5th
Lost HE Quarterfinal Series
Lost National Semifinal

2007-2008

Record - 13-18-3
HE Regular Season - 9th
Did not Qualify for Hockey East Tournament
Did not Qualify for NCAA Tournament

2008-2009

Record - 13-22-3
HE Regular Season - 8th
Lost HE Quarterfinal Series
Did not Qualify for NCAA Tournament

2009-2010

Record - 19-17-3
HE Regular Season - 4th
Lost HE Championship Game
Did not Qualify for NCAA Tournament

Part of what bothers me is that Tim did not inherit a program that was in trouble. On the contrary, he inherited a contender for a National Title. It is much easier to say that a season or two was a "rebuilding" year, when you don't start with a major contender. We have gone from a contender for the National Title, to a contender for home ice in the Hockey East Quarterfinals. That is a huge difference.

The college hockey landscape has changed as others have pointed out, but that should not be a reason for lowering one's expectations. Comparisons to Walsh may not be fair, but they are inevitable. Shawn never made excuses that I can recall regarding the location in Orono, Maine. On the contrary, he sought out players who welcomed the challenge, and embraced the community. In exchange, he never lowered the expectations of his program, his players, or himself.

We need to not lower our expectations of our head hockey coach. If we do, we get what we deserve. If we keep our standards high for our coach and our program, we will have a team that all of us will be proud of.

I do want to emphasize that I think we have a great core group of players, that with the right coaching, mentoring, and leadership, is capable of doing great things. They deserve a coach that will demand great things of them, and one who will do everything in his power to develop them into the best possible players they can be.

 

[btb91]

Re: The 3rd official 09-10 Maine season thread: Bubble-icious

Wow could not disagree more with so much you had to say. Sirman was brought in because there was no longer any faith in Wilson as a back-up and Darling had ended the season poorly. Typically teams do not have more than two goalies on scholarship and this was one of the few times Maine has done that. Which is why I am puzzled by the comment that Maine should have been recruiting another goalie at the beginning of the year to replace Wilson. At that time the assumption would have been that they had Sirman and Darling for next year and that would be sufficient. In fact they did recruit another goalie who originally verbalized his intention to come to Maine in Matt McNeely of the USNDT for 2011, but he later decided to go to Duluth.

As for Wilson, he was given chances on several occasions and unfortunately was never consistent. He gave us a great run at the end and I will remember him for the save on Gaudet on the breakaway, but let's not get carried away. We all harkin back to the great tandems at Maine Loring/King, King/DelGuidice, Snow/Dunham and for some Howard/Doyle, but it was really Howard! Shawn did not always have a tandem! DelGuidice owned the position for awhile over King, Blair Allison owned the job as did Alfie. Yes we need 2 goalies we can count upon, and there can be no excuses. IF they stick with Sirman/Darling that is there decision but by all accounts they are looking to bring in another goalie, which is a tough situation for a freshman goalie to walk into.

Your post indicates essentially that you have zero faith in the coach, so likely there is no winning. But to say they Wilson was not given a chance and then basically give up on Sirman (or are you giving up on Darling) makes no sense.

Finally I hate excuses and that has been one of the things that has disappointed me, once players are gone they are gone and I hope we don't see any more excuses from the coach, or anyone else affiliated with the program. The comments in the past on players leaving is a sign of weakness and they have been quoted 1000's of times on this board rightly so. Next year there are no excuses, and I hope that is the attitude in the locker room!

You and I are going to have to agree to disagree, since I can say the same about this post. But that is the beauty of free speech isn't it.

What I am saying is that the warning signs were there on Darling based on the previous suspensions, IF Darling is suspended now for the same reasons as before, that should have been a warning sign to our staff. That is something I don't know, but I am left wondering.

I must remember things very differently, since I would never look to devalue the contributions of King or Doyle in their respective tandems. Certainly there were times when one goalie in a tandem is hotter than the other, but their contributions were solid, and a part of the Maine Hockey tradition. We have had times when we have had only one goalie, but so much of our history is tied to a goalie tandem, and that is a very good measure in the event of injury, etc.

And for the record, I had a lot of faith in Whitehead for a while. He deserved a fair chance in the most difficult of circumstances. I have just personally come to the conclusion that his leadership is not likely to advance our program back to being a consistent winner and contender.

 

[Priceless]

Re: The 3rd official 09-10 Maine season thread: Bubble-icious

The script is written. Much like Purcell and Sweetland before him, Darling will be the scapegoat for any lackluster performance next season. And while there may be a shred of truth to it, the real blame lies in the coaching staff for their management of their personnel, and the program as a whole.

And you've saved the team the problem of even playing next season. Awesome.