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The Barr Has Been Raised at UMaine

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Maine Event said:
UMaine men’s hockey team lands 16-year-old from Ontario

https://www.bangordailynews.com/2022/08/31/sports/umaine-mens-hockey-16-ontario-joam40zk0w/

The University of Maine men’s hockey team has landed a 16-year-old playmaker who will join the program later this decade.

Nick Wellenreiter, who had 54 assists along with 14 goals in 77 games for the Bishop Kearney Selects 15-Under AAA team last season, has verbally committed to attend the University of Maine. He will be a scholarship player.....
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Is he an 06? The answer to all our prayers? Can't wait until he goes to Major Jr like all the other 16 yr olds that have verballed to UMaine
 
According to a friend of mine, the captain of this year's team will be Jakub Sirota. The assistants will be Ben Poisson, Lynden Breen, and David Breazeale.

EDIT: Saw it posted on Instagram, so it's confirmed by the team.
 
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This team looks very different from last years. Could they get over 500? Could they pull off 16-14-5?

Also I see Keith Carneys son Aiden has been added to this years freshman class.
 
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Tango said:
This team looks very different from last years. Could they get over 500? Could they pull off 16-14-5?

Also I see Keith Carneys son Aiden has been added to this years freshman class.
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My expectations are still low, but I do wonder how much everyone on the team actually wanting to be there and an improved attitude will help. Anyone who wanted to leave could have easily done so by now, and not having a toxic attitude from your supposed leaders like we allegedly did last year might do wonders in improving team performance.
 
Tango said:
This team looks very different from last years. Could they get over 500? Could they pull off 16-14-5?

Also I see Keith Carneys son Aiden has been added to this years freshman class.
Click to expand...

I’m not sure how much Aiden will contribute but I think it’s great to have him. Hopefully Keith can help get support for the program from the guys he played with and serve as a bit of an ambassador.

I think .500 is possible. I’d say there are around five freebies, eight or so games where Maine should have a decent chance, and there aren’t a ton where Maine has no chance(Denver is certainly an exception but you never know that early in the season.) The biggest key is Sirota being healthy. If he isn’t healthy Maine will really struggle in their own end.
 
Drew S. said:
This was blocked for me but it sounds like the school doesn’t have the money to upgrade athletic facilities right now https://www.bangordailynews.com/2022/09/08/news/bangor/umaine-athletic-facilities-money-joam40zk0w/
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I know the Alfond needs upgrades but if there is a funding shortfall it sounds like a new scoreboard and video displays should be much lower on the priority list going forward.

Maybe limit to just audio upgrades as that is a bigger need in that building.
 
Drew S. said:
Maine finished dead last in the media poll. Hopefully they can use that as some motivation.
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I hear they are having good practices, working hard and putting extra time on the ice for skills, something not seen for years. Only improved things can come of that.
 
Drew S. said:
Last in the coaches poll as well.
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They won’t be last, they’ll probably be 6-10 but not last. They will be greatly improved from last year and Barr has some guys who can play his brand.

I’m excited for this year, definitely have some winnable games on the schedule. I don’t know if they’ll be .500 but I assume they’ll be close. I don’t see a great team in hockey East so Maine should do alright in conference.

These are big ifs but if the Breen, Houle, Poisson line picks up where it left off and Sirota is healthy, they should get off to a good start.
 
I think one thing I've personally overlooked so far when analyzing this team is just how much the D corps has changed this year. Of the defenseman, only Sirota (the team captain and perhaps our best player) and Bruneski are older than sophomores, and the only sophomores are Duerr and Breazeale, both guys brought in by Barr at the wire last year. The rest of the defenseman are freshmen. The D is essentially already built in his image, and I remember reading that he was primarily in charge of D for Carvel down in Amherst. Therefore, I expect the D to be significantly improved, with a collection of his guys playing his game, and should be a strength of this team that may surprise some people. I'll be watching it closely.
 
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