The Barr Has Been Raised at UMaine

[BlackBearFan19]

Preseason poll is out. I remember some talk of this schedule being on the weaker side. In October, that is definitely not the case. 5 of the first 7 games Maine plays this year are against teams in the preseason top 10.

If they can get through October at or around .500, I will be very optimistic. The Quinnipiac and northeastern series’ are at home so it’s possible.

 

[walrus]

21st anniversary of Shawns Death, no sure where the time went but doesn't seem that long ago. Maine hockey sure was a ton of fun back in those days.

 

[Drew S.]

21st anniversary of Shawns Death, no sure where the time went but doesn't seem that long ago. Maine hockey sure was a ton of fun back in those days.

Beyond the winning he knew how to promote the program and made being a fan fun.

For whatever reason post pandemic the glory days just seem so much further away than they did before. Hopefully Barr can turn things around but obviously last year wasn’t very encouraging. It sounds like the guys have been working pretty hard the few months and that is worth something.

 

[Chuck Murray]

Beyond the winning he knew how to promote the program and made being a fan fun.

For whatever reason post pandemic the glory days just seem so much further away than they did before. Hopefully Barr can turn things around but obviously last year wasn’t very encouraging. It sounds like the guys have been working pretty hard the few months and that is worth something.

Walshy's success did not come overnight or immediately either. No one ever said this was going to be easy, but I think you'll feel better about things at the end of this season than you do right now.

 

[NorthMike]

Maine hockey sure was a ton of fun back in those days.

Its still fun. I look forward to every weekend game series regardless of the moaning during and afterward.
Back in the day, which at the time we didnt go to many games couldnt get tickets and starting a young family, Im sure it was alot more fun to be in the alfond and travel to away games. It was something new for the area, a prominent national contender. This newness added a whole level of excitement around the program. Now since those times of success things transitioned into more of an expectation by the fan base, which has resulted in many grumpy fans. But it still holds that aura of potential for our area which keeps it fun.

 

[NCAA watcher]

Walshy's success did not come overnight or immediately either.

Maybe not on the ice, but recruiting wise he immediately killed it within his first half year on the job. Hired in April, he brought in five late recruits he knew from Michigan State to complete the inherited roster. His first class gained momentum when he got Mike Golden after he failed out of UNH, then took #5 overall NHL pick Shawn Anderson from Providence/Michigan State, and then stole Jack Capuano who was headed to BU, that translated into long-time NHLer Bobby Corkum who passed on BC, Bruce Major who passed on Michigan State/NCAA Champ Bowling Green, and North Dakota, which convinced Eric Weinrich to stay in Maine, rather than BC, BU, UNH and Providence. Basically, the foundation was already set in stone by the time his first year was over. He had deep recruiting roots from having built the Michigan State teams from 80-84, and convinced kids he could do it at Maine. [TABLE="border: 1, cellspacing: 0"]
[TR]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4/19/1984[/TD]
[TD]Dave[/TD]
[TD]Wensley[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4/19/1984[/TD]
[TD]Dave[/TD]
[TD]Nonis[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4/19/1984[/TD]
[TD]Paul[/TD]
[TD]Lelievre[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4/19/1984[/TD]
[TD]Stan[/TD]
[TD]Czenczek[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4/25/1984[/TD]
[TD]Dewey[/TD]
[TD]Wahlin[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]7/7/1984[/TD]
[TD]Todd[/TD]
[TD]Studnicka[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]7/7/1984[/TD]
[TD]Scott[/TD]
[TD]Drevitch[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]11/29/1984[/TD]
[TD]Mike[/TD]
[TD]Golden[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]12/4/1984[/TD]
[TD]Shawn[/TD]
[TD]Anderson[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]12/8/1984[/TD]
[TD]Jack[/TD]
[TD]Capuano[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]12/8/1984[/TD]
[TD]Chris[/TD]
[TD]Cambio[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]12/18/1984[/TD]
[TD]Bob[/TD]
[TD]Corkum[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1/1/1985[/TD]
[TD]Bruce[/TD]
[TD]Major[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1/14/1985[/TD]
[TD]Eric[/TD]
[TD]Weinrich[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4/1/1985[/TD]
[TD]Al[/TD]
[TD]Loring[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]6/1/1985[/TD]
[TD]Vince[/TD]
[TD]Guidotti[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]6/12/1985[/TD]
[TD]Tom[/TD]
[TD]McComb[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]6/22/1985[/TD]
[TD]Todd[/TD]
[TD]Jenkins[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

 

[walrus]

Maybe not on the ice, but recruiting wise he immediately killed it within his first half year on the job. Hired in April, he brought in five late recruits he knew from Michigan State to complete the inherited roster. His first class gained momentum when he got Mike Golden after he failed out of UNH, then took #5 overall NHL pick Shawn Anderson from Providence/Michigan State, and then stole Jack Capuano who was headed to BU, that translated into long-time NHLer Bobby Corkum who passed on BC, Bruce Major who passed on Michigan State/NCAA Champ Bowling Green, and North Dakota, which convinced Eric Weinrich to stay in Maine, rather than BC, BU, UNH and Providence. Basically, the foundation was already set in stone by the time his first year was over. He had deep recruiting roots from having built the Michigan State teams from 80-84, and convinced kids he could do it at Maine. [TABLE="border: 1, cellspacing: 0"]
[TR]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4/19/1984[/TD]
[TD]Dave[/TD]
[TD]Wensley[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4/19/1984[/TD]
[TD]Dave[/TD]
[TD]Nonis[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4/19/1984[/TD]
[TD]Paul[/TD]
[TD]Lelievre[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4/19/1984[/TD]
[TD]Stan[/TD]
[TD]Czenczek[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4/25/1984[/TD]
[TD]Dewey[/TD]
[TD]Wahlin[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]7/7/1984[/TD]
[TD]Todd[/TD]
[TD]Studnicka[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]7/7/1984[/TD]
[TD]Scott[/TD]
[TD]Drevitch[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]11/29/1984[/TD]
[TD]Mike[/TD]
[TD]Golden[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]12/4/1984[/TD]
[TD]Shawn[/TD]
[TD]Anderson[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]12/8/1984[/TD]
[TD]Jack[/TD]
[TD]Capuano[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]12/8/1984[/TD]
[TD]Chris[/TD]
[TD]Cambio[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]12/18/1984[/TD]
[TD]Bob[/TD]
[TD]Corkum[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1/1/1985[/TD]
[TD]Bruce[/TD]
[TD]Major[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1/14/1985[/TD]
[TD]Eric[/TD]
[TD]Weinrich[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4/1/1985[/TD]
[TD]Al[/TD]
[TD]Loring[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]6/1/1985[/TD]
[TD]Vince[/TD]
[TD]Guidotti[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]6/12/1985[/TD]
[TD]Tom[/TD]
[TD]McComb[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]6/22/1985[/TD]
[TD]Todd[/TD]
[TD]Jenkins[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Some good players on that list, Golden was a key as was Capuano. What a blast it was back then.

 

[Wayuphere]

Its still fun. I look forward to every weekend game series regardless of the moaning during and afterward.
Back in the day, which at the time we didnt go to many games couldnt get tickets and starting a young family, Im sure it was alot more fun to be in the alfond and travel to away games. It was something new for the area, a prominent national contender. This newness added a whole level of excitement around the program. Now since those times of success things transitioned into more of an expectation by the fan base, which has resulted in many grumpy fans. But it still holds that aura of potential for our area which keeps it fun.

We never had to groan during or after games back then, except at Fitzgerald or McBride.

 

[Drew S.]

Maybe not on the ice, but recruiting wise he immediately killed it within his first half year on the job. Hired in April, he brought in five late recruits he knew from Michigan State to complete the inherited roster. His first class gained momentum when he got Mike Golden after he failed out of UNH, then took #5 overall NHL pick Shawn Anderson from Providence/Michigan State, and then stole Jack Capuano who was headed to BU, that translated into long-time NHLer Bobby Corkum who passed on BC, Bruce Major who passed on Michigan State/NCAA Champ Bowling Green, and North Dakota, which convinced Eric Weinrich to stay in Maine, rather than BC, BU, UNH and Providence. Basically, the foundation was already set in stone by the time his first year was over. He had deep recruiting roots from having built the Michigan State teams from 80-84, and convinced kids he could do it at Maine. [TABLE="border: 1, cellspacing: 0"]
[TR]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4/19/1984[/TD]
[TD]Dave[/TD]
[TD]Wensley[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4/19/1984[/TD]
[TD]Dave[/TD]
[TD]Nonis[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4/19/1984[/TD]
[TD]Paul[/TD]
[TD]Lelievre[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4/19/1984[/TD]
[TD]Stan[/TD]
[TD]Czenczek[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4/25/1984[/TD]
[TD]Dewey[/TD]
[TD]Wahlin[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]7/7/1984[/TD]
[TD]Todd[/TD]
[TD]Studnicka[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]7/7/1984[/TD]
[TD]Scott[/TD]
[TD]Drevitch[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]11/29/1984[/TD]
[TD]Mike[/TD]
[TD]Golden[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]12/4/1984[/TD]
[TD]Shawn[/TD]
[TD]Anderson[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]12/8/1984[/TD]
[TD]Jack[/TD]
[TD]Capuano[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]12/8/1984[/TD]
[TD]Chris[/TD]
[TD]Cambio[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]12/18/1984[/TD]
[TD]Bob[/TD]
[TD]Corkum[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1/1/1985[/TD]
[TD]Bruce[/TD]
[TD]Major[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1/14/1985[/TD]
[TD]Eric[/TD]
[TD]Weinrich[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4/1/1985[/TD]
[TD]Al[/TD]
[TD]Loring[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]6/1/1985[/TD]
[TD]Vince[/TD]
[TD]Guidotti[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]6/12/1985[/TD]
[TD]Tom[/TD]
[TD]McComb[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]6/22/1985[/TD]
[TD]Todd[/TD]
[TD]Jenkins[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

To me it doesn’t seem like Barr has gotten many guys who are surefire high impact players. His best recruit, Brad Nadeau, is the brother of someone already recruited. His second and third best recruits are from an area he never recruited from when he was at Umass and where Maine’s previous regime got a lot of players so I question how much those had to do with them as well.

I have no doubt some of the guys has lined up are going to be pleasant surprises but it would be nice if there were more guys who had more excitement around them. You’re only going to get so far with under the radar/diamond in the rough guys.

 

[NorthMike]

We never had to groan during or after games back then, except at Fitzgerald or McBride.

Lol, yeah. Different times.

 

[BlackBearFan19]

To me it doesn’t seem like Barr has gotten many guys who are surefire high impact players. His best recruit, Brad Nadeau, is the brother of someone already recruited. His second and third best recruits are from an area he never recruited from when he was at Umass and where Maine’s previous regime got a lot of players so I question how much those had to do with them as well.

I have no doubt some of the guys has lined up are going to be pleasant surprises but it would be nice if there were more guys who had more excitement around them. You’re only going to get so far with under the radar/diamond in the rough guys.

I think the biggest difference between the players in Barr’s classes is the amount of quality players coming in. The “superstar” recruit mold isn’t sustainable for a school like Maine.

Between Josh and Brad Nadeau and Ryan Hopkins, I’m extremely optimistic about next years recruiting class. Say what you will about nadeau not being Barr’s recruit but keeping a player committed through a coaching change is not an easy thing to do. Not only did he keep that player but he went out and got the brother and another potential draft pick from his junior team.

In addition to that, we landed a couple high impact transfers and he brought back the best defenseman for a 5th year. I just can’t wait to see a team that doesn’t get skated out of the rink night in and night out.

 

[Drew S.]

I think the biggest difference between the players in Barr’s classes is the amount of quality players coming in. The “superstar” recruit mold isn’t sustainable for a school like Maine.

Between Josh and Brad Nadeau and Ryan Hopkins, I’m extremely optimistic about next years recruiting class. Say what you will about nadeau not being Barr’s recruit but keeping a player committed through a coaching change is not an easy thing to do. Not only did he keep that player but he went out and got the brother and another potential draft pick from his junior team.

In addition to that, we landed a couple high impact transfers and he brought back the best defenseman for a 5th year. I just can’t wait to see a team that doesn’t get skated out of the rink night in and night out.

Between the Nadeaus, Hopkins, Nobes, and if a few other guys develop next year’s class should be decent. Beyond that though not sure how many high impact recruits are left. That is a bigger concern to me than next year’s class. Maine’s best players up front for the last 10 years were all guys who showed a lot of promise at the time they committed.

 

[BlackBearFan19]

Between the Nadeaus, Hopkins, Nobes, and if a few other guys develop next year’s class should be decent. Beyond that though not sure how many high impact recruits are left. That is a bigger concern to me than next year’s class. Maine’s best players up front for the last 10 years were all guys who showed a lot of promise at the time they committed.

It’s hard to look at classes more than a year out and really have a good idea of what we have. What I do know is Maine has more players committed than any other school in hockey east.

These players up front for the last 10 years, I’m guessing you’re referring to Shore, Lomberg, Pearson, fossier and Tralmaks?

Outside of Shore, none of them really lit up their junior leagues. Tralmaks was still in the EHL when he committed to Maine. He lit up the playoffs but struggled in the regular season. Shore played in the OJHL which isn’t a huge producer of D1 talent.

I’m liking the approach of coaching staff on recruiting so far. My gripe for the last 10 years was that we were picking up the USHL scraps. Seems like the new staff would rather go after the best players in the BCHL, NAHL and other smaller leagues and then round out the classes with USHL guys who have progressed every year and can be plugged into the lineup day 1.

 

[Drew S.]

It’s hard to look at classes more than a year out and really have a good idea of what we have. What I do know is Maine has more players committed than any other school in hockey east.

These players up front for the last 10 years, I’m guessing you’re referring to Shore, Lomberg, Pearson, fossier and Tralmaks?

Outside of Shore, none of them really lit up their junior leagues. Tralmaks was still in the EHL when he committed to Maine. He lit up the playoffs but struggled in the regular season. Shore played in the OJHL which isn’t a huge producer of D1 talent.

I’m liking the approach of coaching staff on recruiting so far. My gripe for the last 10 years was that we were picking up the USHL scraps. Seems like the new staff would rather go after the best players in the BCHL, NAHL and other smaller leagues and then round out the classes with USHL guys who have progressed every year and can be plugged into the lineup day 1.

I actually consider Tralmaks more of a diamond in the rough type guy.

Some others I would add to your list are Vesey, Byron, Breen, and Dawe. When they committed it was obvious they all had a lot of talent and all of them showed it at the college level. I just don’t see much of that right now beyond the guys we previously agreed on.

Hopefully where there are so many players committed enough develop that it doesn’t matter we don’t have the surefire guys but I have my doubts. I am excited to see how this years team looks and hope to be pleasantly surprised. Honestly when the polls came out last year I thought there was no way in hell Maine would be so bad and then they were. Because of that I’m a little reticent to have much for expectations this year but hopefully that hesitancy is misplaced.

 

[Jackcurtis23]

I actually consider Tralmaks more of a diamond in the rough type guy.

Some others I would add to your list are Vesey, Byron, Breen, and Dawe. When they committed it was obvious they all had a lot of talent and all of them showed it at the college level. I just don’t see much of that right now beyond the guys we previously agreed on.

Hopefully where there are so many players committed enough develop that it doesn’t matter we don’t have the surefire guys but I have my doubts. I am excited to see how this years team looks and hope to be pleasantly surprised. Honestly when the polls came out last year I thought there was no way in hell Maine would be so bad and then they were. Because of that I’m a little reticent to have much for expectations this year but hopefully that hesitancy is misplaced.

Number 9 NZ recruiting class….things are looking up

 

[amkirby10]

I actually consider Tralmaks more of a diamond in the rough type guy.

Some others I would add to your list are Vesey, Byron, Breen, and Dawe. When they committed it was obvious they all had a lot of talent and all of them showed it at the college level. I just don’t see much of that right now beyond the guys we previously agreed on.

Hopefully where there are so many players committed enough develop that it doesn’t matter we don’t have the surefire guys but I have my doubts. I am excited to see how this years team looks and hope to be pleasantly surprised. Honestly when the polls came out last year I thought there was no way in hell Maine would be so bad and then they were. Because of that I’m a little reticent to have much for expectations this year but hopefully that hesitancy is misplaced.

Barr's system seems to me much more skating oriented and less physical than Red's system was. But, being his first year, he was left with a roster mostly of players brought in to play Red's more physical style, and while you can coach fluid players to play physical, coaching up physical players to be more fluid is much more difficult, if not outright impossible. It wasn't really a coincidence that one of the least physical players from the old guard (Sirota) and a new guy brought in at the last moment by Barr (Breazeale) were two of your best players all season long. And, to top it off, the alleged discord among the players would not have helped at all either. For what it's worth, my source who told me that the team was unhappy in the room also told me in the middle of last season that a player was going to retire from hockey entirely after his junior year, and that appears to be the case; AJ Drobot isn't on the roster this year and never entered the transfer portal.

I think things are undeniably looking up and I have complete faith in the process and in Ben Barr.

 

[Tango]

Barr named 6th best recruiter in the country.

https://theathletic.com/3591225/2022/09/27/college-hockey-recruiters-rankings/?amp=1

 

[Jackcurtis23]

From Mike McMahon .... FWIW

Maine’s recruiting class is ranked No. 9 in the nation by Neutral Zone and the Black Bears did an excellent job in the transfer portal. Justin Michaelian (Ferris State) brings some veteran offense along with Didrik Henbrant (Alaska).

Maine’s biggest portal addition was Clarkson goalie Jacob Mucitelli, who I thought was the top goaltender available in the portal this past spring. He has a .941 career save percentage in 11 games, the bulk of which came last season.

Those reasons, combined with two promising rising juniors - Lynden Breen and Donavan Villeneuve-Houle - who led the team in scoring last season as sophomores, should mean some immediate improvement for Ben Barr in his second season behind the bench.

Maine finished No. 51 in the Pairwise last season, so like with Vermont, I’m expecting a big jump.

 

[Fishman'81]

From Mike McMahon .... FWIW

Maine’s recruiting class is ranked No. 9 in the nation by Neutral Zone and the Black Bears did an excellent job in the transfer portal. Justin Michaelian (Ferris State) brings some veteran offense along with Didrik Henbrant (Alaska).

Maine’s biggest portal addition was Clarkson goalie Jacob Mucitelli, who I thought was the top goaltender available in the portal this past spring. He has a .941 career save percentage in 11 games, the bulk of which came last season.

Those reasons, combined with two promising rising juniors - Lynden Breen and Donavan Villeneuve-Houle - who led the team in scoring last season as sophomores, should mean some immediate improvement for Ben Barr in his second season behind the bench.

Maine finished No. 51 in the Pairwise last season, so like with Vermont, I’m expecting a big jump.

I hope you're right.

We're not going to drive into Boston this year, but we have two at Colgate.

If we see some improvement there, we might drive into Boston again next season.

Not holding my breath, though.

 

[Drew S.]

From Mike McMahon .... FWIW

Maine’s recruiting class is ranked No. 9 in the nation by Neutral Zone and the Black Bears did an excellent job in the transfer portal. Justin Michaelian (Ferris State) brings some veteran offense along with Didrik Henbrant (Alaska).

Maine’s biggest portal addition was Clarkson goalie Jacob Mucitelli, who I thought was the top goaltender available in the portal this past spring. He has a .941 career save percentage in 11 games, the bulk of which came last season.

Those reasons, combined with two promising rising juniors - Lynden Breen and Donavan Villeneuve-Houle - who led the team in scoring last season as sophomores, should mean some immediate improvement for Ben Barr in his second season behind the bench.

Maine finished No. 51 in the Pairwise last season, so like with Vermont, I’m expecting a big jump.

I think there absolutely are reasons to be optimistic. The flip side for me is Maine was just so inconsistent last year I worry we could see more of the same this year. Hopefully where it’s a new group that isn’t the case but time will tell.

I listened to Barr last night and it was hard to get a read on how he is feeling about the team. He didn’t really single any of the newcomers out which is a bit of a concern but did say the team has a lot more depth. He is going to treat Saturday as more of a regular game which I strongly agree with. Where Maine has practiced so much I think that makes more sense than trying to get everyone ice time.