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UCONN 2015-2016: The Hockey East Journey Continues..the Future Looks Bright

F

FDNY99

Member
It's been a busy couple of weeks up in Storrs for Mike Cavanaugh and the UCONN Huskies Hockey Team. Cavanaugh lost his Associate head Coach Mike Souza who went "home" to his alma mater UNH for the same position with the added title of Head Coach-in-waiting. He was replaced by former BC Capt and Defenseman Brendan Buckley. This will be Buck's first coaching job since he retired from pro hockey...BUT he has been a talent scout for his brother's sports management company so it will be interesting to see how that translates to identifying and recruiting talent for UCONN. Going from 10 scholarships to 15 this season Cav announced a incoming Freshman class of 6..highlighted by F Tage Thompson of the USNTDP and Ottawa Senators 2014 draft pick D Miles Gendron. The class suddenly rose to 7 with the addition of former UNH commit D Joseph Masonius also from the USNTDP. Yesterday came the news that Cav and Asst Joe Pieriera had received the commit of highly touted 00 forward Drew Elser (looking at 2018-2019 as first season at UCONN). The news on a new barn/team facility on campus has been VERY SLOW coming out...hopefully that will change in the coming months. The 2015-2016 season will see 15 home games at the XL Center, a game in Brooklyn at the Barclay's Center vs ND, and 2 tournaments (Desert Hockey Classic in Az, and Mariucci Classic in MN). One thing is for sure...the Huskies will again be a young team and this team's success will be dictated by G Robby Nichols.
 
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Re: UCONN 2015-2016: The Hockey East Journey Continues..the Future Looks Bright

Nice post, FDNY99.
 
Re: UCONN 2015-2016: The Hockey East Journey Continues..the Future Looks Bright

They will definitely be young and they aren't going to sneak up on any teams this year, but you have to like the positive momentum this off season. These recruiting wins are contagious, although I guess we shouldn't be surprised seeing that Cav was a recruiting mercenary at BC. Just nice to start seeing results.

Looking forward to their '15-'16 campaign.
 
Re: UCONN 2015-2016: The Hockey East Journey Continues..the Future Looks Bright

HawkStar12 said:
They will definitely be young and they aren't going to sneak up on any teams this year, but you have to like the positive momentum this off season. These recruiting wins are contagious, although I guess we shouldn't be surprised seeing that Cav was a recruiting mercenary at BC. Just nice to start seeing results.

Looking forward to their '15-'16 campaign.
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GREAT point about not being able to sneak up on teams (that was evident the second time around last season). IMHO offense will be at a premium again this year...hopefully Naas won't suffer a Soph slump and can continue to put the puck in the net like he did last year.
 
Re: UCONN 2015-2016: The Hockey East Journey Continues..the Future Looks Bright

FDNY99 said:
GREAT point about not being able to sneak up on teams (that was evident the second time around last season). IMHO offense will be at a premium again this year...hopefully Naas won't suffer a Soph slump and can continue to put the puck in the net like he did last year.
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Agreed. Their offense needs help.

They also need to be in better shape to withstand the grueling Hockey East schedule. They ran out of gas last year. Understandable first year in, but having experienced it once already, there's no excuse this year. Whether the first game or last game, they need to outwork their opponent.
 
Re: UCONN 2015-2016: The Hockey East Journey Continues..the Future Looks Bright

HawkStar12 said:
Agreed. Their offense needs help.

They also need to be in better shape to withstand the grueling Hockey East schedule. They ran out of gas last year. Understandable first year in, but having experienced it once already, there's no excuse this year. Whether the first game or last game, they need to outwork their opponent.
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It will be interesting to see the make-up of the roster especially the offensive output as Cav, Joe P, and Buck fill it out recruiting the HE level kid. One thing about the 2 assistants on this staff (same can be said of Souza too); Cav has put guys on his staff who know what it takes to win a HE championship and play in the Frozen Four (in Joe P's case win a National Championship).
 
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Re: UCONN 2015-2016: The Hockey East Journey Continues..the Future Looks Bright

Guys, I am gonna predict one place higher than last year ... which means home ice in the first round, right?
 
Re: UCONN 2015-2016: The Hockey East Journey Continues..the Future Looks Bright

RSTuthill said:
Guys, I am gonna predict one place higher than last year ... which means home ice in the first round, right?
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Yeah...a reasonable prediction...as long as Robby Nichols plays like he did last year, and the kids that played as true freshman up their games accordingly. I think the 7 newcomers are gonna push some of the older kids hard for pt..especially on the blue line.
 
Re: UCONN 2015-2016: The Hockey East Journey Continues..the Future Looks Bright

RSTuthill said:
Guys, I am gonna predict one place higher than last year ... which means home ice in the first round, right?
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What really needs to be finished up are the location and plans for the new on-campus barn/team facility. If that isn't done soon besides ****ing off HE...it may bring recruiting to a screeching halt from where it is right now.
 
Re: UCONN 2015-2016: The Hockey East Journey Continues..the Future Looks Bright

FDNY99 said:
What really needs to be finished up are the location and plans for the new on-campus barn/team facility. If that isn't done soon besides ****ing off HE...it may bring recruiting to a screeching halt from where it is right now.
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I like to check around all Hockey East Team sites, and especially like your site as it is very informative...I do think it's a MUST to have a On Campus Arena...not just from Recruiting but for the Students attending games...UConn did a fine job last year and looks to be Building a solid foundation. I think your team will go as far as your Netminder Nichols takes them, Goaltending is the backbone to all winning teams/especially in Hockey East, well enjoy the info, checking other sites and have a good summer as October is not that far away.
 
Re: UCONN 2015-2016: The Hockey East Journey Continues..the Future Looks Bright

FDNY99 said:
What really needs to be finished up are the location and plans for the new on-campus barn/team facility. If that isn't done soon besides ****ing off HE...it may bring recruiting to a screeching halt from where it is right now.
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Not to try to stir up a debate, but I am gonna respectfully disagree with this assertion. Even if a new barn is built, the majority of games will be at the XL Center. The guv is basically mandating this. And it is a great place for college hockey. Just like the Rent is a fantastic place for college football. One if the loudest venues in the nation if not the biggest. The XL, on the other hand IS the biggest in HE. And it taps into a customer base on both sides of the river whereas a barn in Storrs can't. And it doesn't hurt recruiting to be playing in front of 8,500 fans.

I know that plenty of people feel the opposite on this issue. But it's nice that we UConn fans try to keep it polite and collegial.
 
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Re: UCONN 2015-2016: The Hockey East Journey Continues..the Future Looks Bright

When I went down last year to see PC and UConn at the XL Center in the middle of the week, there was a better crowd then I expected. The game was far from a sellout but thought the atmosphere was fine.
 
Re: UCONN 2015-2016: The Hockey East Journey Continues..the Future Looks Bright

RSTuthill said:
Not to try to stir up a debate, but I am gonna respectfully disagree with this assertion. Even if a new barn is built, the majority of games will be at the XL Center. The guv is basically mandating this. And it is a great place for college hockey. Just like the Rent is a fantastic place for college football. One if the loudest venues in the nation if not the biggest. The XL, on the other hand IS the biggest in HE. And it taps into a customer base on both sides of the river whereas a barn in Storrs can't. And it doesn't hurt recruiting to be playing in front of 8,500 fans.

I know that plenty of people feel the opposite on this issue. But it's nice that we UConn fans try to keep it polite and collegial.
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that's fine Dick...I'm of the opinion that games should be played on campus...and this comes from someone who has had season football tickets since day 1 at Rentschler (had tickets at Memorial Stadium in early to late 90's as well). I have no issue seeing the bigger games in Hartford (like basketball), but I want to see a 500-5500 seat barn accompanying team facilities that will help Cav AND Women's coach Chris McKenzie in recruiting (just like the other sports have). I would pay DEARLY for this facility as it would make my trip for games from my home in Port Chester over 2 hours. I also think it would be a tough place to play with the students making it loud as h*ll! In closing Malloy should keep his nose out of this...UCONN signed a deal with HE that stated they would have concrete plans in place for a on-campus barn that met league specs. Malloy can posture and rant about playing in Hartford all he wants..at the end of the day HE has ZERO allegiance to him and his rants..and can tell UCONN to take a hike if they don't abide by the deal they signed! I am also in the camp that it isn't UCONN Athletic's job to bail out the CRDA, and the City of Hartford in the entertainment end. Those 2 groups are totally dysfunctional!
 
Re: UCONN 2015-2016: The Hockey East Journey Continues..the Future Looks Bright

Supposedly the new barn will be privately funded so this debate may be moot. But if it isn't, Malloy will have his way.
 
Re: UCONN 2015-2016: The Hockey East Journey Continues..the Future Looks Bright

XL is not a great place for college hockey. At best, it's sufficient. Cavernous, curtains are an eyesore, seats are falling apart, concourses too small, building is flat out ugly.
 
Re: UCONN 2015-2016: The Hockey East Journey Continues..the Future Looks Bright

RSTuthill said:
Supposedly the new barn will be privately funded so this debate may be moot. But if it isn't, Malloy will have his way.
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More importantly I looked at the 2015-2016 official roster today...4 Seniors (3 Forwards, 1 Defenseman); 4 Juniors (2 Defensemen, 1 Forward, and Nichols); 11 Sophomore's (6 Forwards, 3 Defensemen, 2 Goalies); 6 Freshmen (4 Forwards, 2 Defensemen). Cav's next 2 recruiting classes will fill this program with all his recruits, the Sophmore class was pretty much put together before he was hired. Even though he has Thulin and Creel on the roster...one of these next 2 classes needs to yield the replacement for Robby Nichols. Next year he will be at the max 18 scholarships...up from 15 this year. I can see him bringing in 5 or 6 kids the next 2 years.
 
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Re: UCONN 2015-2016: The Hockey East Journey Continues..the Future Looks Bright

From a neutral observer with no horse in the race... My opinion is all but 1-2 special (ie Beanpot type) should be played on campus. It's what makes college sports so special.
 
Re: UCONN 2015-2016: The Hockey East Journey Continues..the Future Looks Bright

brassbonanza said:
XL is not a great place for college hockey. At best, it's sufficient. Cavernous, curtains are an eyesore, seats are falling apart, concourses too small, building is flat out ugly.
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I've never been to XL, but your description sounds eerily similar to UMass, and that place is horrid to watch games.
 
Re: UCONN 2015-2016: The Hockey East Journey Continues..the Future Looks Bright

brassbonanza said:
XL is not a great place for college hockey. At best, it's sufficient. Cavernous, curtains are an eyesore, seats are falling apart, concourses too small, building is flat out ugly.
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I guess that I do not share this opinion. Have never seen a seat with a problem. The concourses are fine for the college sized crowd. If they ever draw a Whalers sized crowd of 16,000 you might have a point. And although I do not like the first four lower level rows with the aluminum flooring, that is not a big deal.
 
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