What's new
By:
USCHO Fan Forum

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

  • The USCHO Fan Forum has migrated to a new plaform, xenForo. Most of the function of the forum should work in familiar ways. Please note that you can switch between light and dark modes by clicking on the gear icon in the upper right of the main menu bar. We are hoping that this new platform will prove to be faster and more reliable. Please feel free to explore its features.

UMaine 25-26: Marques My Word: Back to the Big Time

Providence has to be a frustrating team to follow. Always have great rosters with size but can’t seem to put it all together. They should perennially be a top 10 team. With the way both these rosters are constructed, when they are on their game Maine can’t match it. Granted, Maine has been dumb tonight and Boija can’t stop a beach ball. Maine needs to get bigger and nastier without sacrificing speed and skill.
 
I honestly do not think Langlois is healthy enough to be out there right now. Genuinely- not roasting him- he made a lot of weird decisions and is looking foggy. The commentator was correct when at the beginning of the third he mistook the white player for the blue
 
Last edited:
Also does anyone feel like it looks like Poirier is holding back. Lol like what someone looks like when they’re point shaving. Like he’s playing against his younger brother and has to let him win. Or maybe he’s not feelin it and knows to hang back and recharge. But I don’t believe it’s a head thing and that he’s actually getting that discouraged. He’s taking so many fewer chances it seems
 
Last edited:
Final thoughts of the night:
They did have 5 “up” games, and this is will happen. They worked their ass off last week. This is exactly like night 2 at Q and UMass. Can Rousseau be good enough? Idk and the Boija thing is a disaster. And it’s getting a little tough NPI-wise. But no tougher than what Northeastern, UCONN, Providence, Minnesota State, Cornell, and Dartmouth are facing too. And none of them I’d feel comfortable facing in the tournament (lol or I guess anyone, since the opponent is never really the problem). There are 13 new players; I can’t tell if the program’s getting too big too fast, or if this is what it’s like when it’s happening. They definitely think they’re hot shit, and they haven’t earned anything, so there is no reason they should have an easier path than the above teams. Which is probably what would’ve happened w a sweep this weekend. In which case they would’ve earned it then. But ya I sense they’re starting to think they’re Michigan State or Minnesota or someone who’s been there the last decade. Which ya confidence is good sometimes. Back to back top 5 seeded tournament appearances brings in pretty big pressure. I think they are a hardworking group and tons of fun and tons of potential, but they aren’t the most seasoned bunch
 
Last edited:
I think inexperience, merging of personalities and talent for team culture, and goal tending are major reasons this team has the outcomes in games we hate to see.

This game was as bad as 2nd UNH game and a prime example.

First period out shoot and out play Providence, but down 2-0 on horrible goal tending.

Culture is not strong enough to turn it around, and it falters further with ANOTHER incredible weak goal given by Boija. 8 shots faced. 3 goals 5 saves. Then take a major penalty. Then take another penalty. Give up a 5vs3 goal.

Effort. Skating. Skill. Didn’t have a chance tonight. 17-18 of the guys could’ve been firing, but when your goal tending is this poor, it’s the first domino of many to fall.

Boija GAA 2.58 is 37th in the country
His .899 save % is 54th.
Connor Androlewicz, our 3rd goalie from 2021-2024, is still at Stonehill. He is 4-12-2 with a save % of .894.
THAT is the quality of goal tending we’re getting this year.
His xGA - expected goals against model is -3.65, 61st in the country out of 78 goalies and basically the bottom of hockey east. Woof.
 
amkirby10 said:
I can't get over how bad Boija is
Click to expand...
I feel bad for him, selfishly we all wanted him to come back for another year but his value was at peak at the end of last year and he should have left. Of course hindsight........

Team is way too young, you can't bring in that many players and expect them to gel as quickly as needed to compete at a high level. Lots of pressure from coach, fans and themselves.

I thought they would have figured it by now but I guess not. Still have time but its running out
 
walrus said:
I feel bad for him, selfishly we all wanted him to come back for another year but his value was at peak at the end of last year and he should have left. Of course hindsight........

Team is way too young, you can't bring in that many players and expect them to gel as quickly as needed to compete at a high level. Lots of pressure from coach, fans and themselves.

I thought they would have figured it by now but I guess not. Still have time but its running out
Click to expand...
Team is way too young???

UNH and Maine are the oldest teams in hockey east
 
Glad I missed this one. Sounds like they left their skates in Orono, lol. Lets see what they can do tonight. Crucial game....last night was too, but........phart.
 
Instead of a long post detailing Maine’s various deficiencies my question is where does Maine go from here(meaning next year)? In the old days I would think Maine is in an okay position with some decent younger players but who knows how many of them stick around.

Providence is a good team and there is no shame in losing to them, but it’s sad to see what can only be classified as Maine meekly surrendering.
 
At this point, Boija and his struggles have been discussed at length. Rousseau has shown flashes but is also a pretty inconsistent goalie. I still think Rousseau is the better choice right now, he has the better lateral movement and vision by a mile, and he isn't visibly reacting negatively after every goal against like Boija is. But I dont want to discuss the goalies here. I dont even want to discuss the forwards, because I think generally they've played decently well this season. They sometimes score a lot of goals, and even if they're not scoring a lot, they have a lot of great looks and sustained zone time. I want to talk about the defense.

Holt has been great. He's by far our best defenseman, and I think he's the only one thats been good or great in every game. Ive been a big fan of his for a while, so me heaping praise on him isn't really unexpected. I think Peterson has already shown a lot of improvement this season, and he's a guy who I actually think played decently well last night. I think he's probably already our second best defenseman after Holt, and he's going to be a stud going forward. Chabrier, though he was not very good last night, has been at least serviceable this year in my opinion. Maybe a bit of a step back, but still a decent player. Langlois was also bad last night, but I like what Ive seen from him overall and I think he's gonna be a long-term contributor. Someone said it looks like it might be too early for him to be back, and sadly I think I might concur. Better to maybe let him rest and recover some more before stepping back in full-time. Userau has been a disappointment in my opinion, I dont think he's played particularly well and is prone to the defensive zone mistakes that lead to breakdowns and goals against. But speaking of disappointments, man what happened to Djurasevic. He's honestly been kinda awful this year, aside from at Denver and maybe against UML. He was bad again last night, left a puck sitting alone in the circle down low that eventually led to a goal against Rousseau. Probably my vote for the biggest letdown on the team this year other than Boija so far. I hope he can figure it out, because he looked so great last year and like he'd be an anchor of the team. I think I'd like to see some more of Nobes, Motew, and Coughlin going forward, especially the former two. I think tonight might be a good time to get Nobes back in the lineup, as a matter of fact.

But yeah, I guess my summary is that the defense needs work.
 
Drew S. said:
Instead of a long post detailing Maine’s various deficiencies my question is where does Maine go from here(meaning next year)? In the old days I would think Maine is in an okay position with some decent younger players but who knows how many of them stick around.

Providence is a good team and there is no shame in losing to them, but it’s sad to see what can only be classified as Maine meekly surrendering.
Click to expand...
Drew high turnover is now the reality of D1 hockey for as long as it exists in its current form.
The hockey will just do what Barr has been doing, building a program over time and getting players in that he thinks will fit. Some years will be better than others.
One day either Barr will reinvent himself to better manage the stress/intensity or go somewhere else. Hope he becomes a long term fixture and grows as a coach in orono.
 
Last edited:
amkirby10 said:
At this point, Boija and his struggles have been discussed at length. Rousseau has shown flashes but is also a pretty inconsistent goalie. I still think Rousseau is the better choice right now, he has the better lateral movement and vision by a mile, and he isn't visibly reacting negatively after every goal against like Boija is. But I dont want to discuss the goalies here. I dont even want to discuss the forwards, because I think generally they've played decently well this season. They sometimes score a lot of goals, and even if they're not scoring a lot, they have a lot of great looks and sustained zone time. I want to talk about the defense.

Holt has been great. He's by far our best defenseman, and I think he's the only one thats been good or great in every game. Ive been a big fan of his for a while, so me heaping praise on him isn't really unexpected. I think Peterson has already shown a lot of improvement this season, and he's a guy who I actually think played decently well last night. I think he's probably already our second best defenseman after Holt, and he's going to be a stud going forward. Chabrier, though he was not very good last night, has been at least serviceable this year in my opinion. Maybe a bit of a step back, but still a decent player. Langlois was also bad last night, but I like what Ive seen from him overall and I think he's gonna be a long-term contributor. Someone said it looks like it might be too early for him to be back, and sadly I think I might concur. Better to maybe let him rest and recover some more before stepping back in full-time. Userau has been a disappointment in my opinion, I dont think he's played particularly well and is prone to the defensive zone mistakes that lead to breakdowns and goals against. But speaking of disappointments, man what happened to Djurasevic. He's honestly been kinda awful this year, aside from at Denver and maybe against UML. He was bad again last night, left a puck sitting alone in the circle down low that eventually led to a goal against Rousseau. Probably my vote for the biggest letdown on the team this year other than Boija so far. I hope he can figure it out, because he looked so great last year and like he'd be an anchor of the team. I think I'd like to see some more of Nobes, Motew, and Coughlin going forward, especially the former two. I think tonight might be a good time to get Nobes back in the lineup, as a matter of fact.

But yeah, I guess my summary is that the defense needs work.
Click to expand...
Agree the defense still needs work but I think Barr at least has three pairings he trusts. It's just a matter if the 2nd/3rd pairings show up on any given night.

I don't think it's hyperbole to say that Peterson has easily been the best dman aside from Holt. He rates out surprisingly well on the defensive side too, for someone who is smaller stature and doesn't play physical. Not crazy to think he will be among the best offensive defensemen in Hockey East as soon as next season. I think Sparkee was singing his praises when he was in Green Bay before he arrived with good reason. Very impressed with what I've seen from him so far this season.

Usereau/Chabrier and Langlois/Djurasevic both work on paper but nightly execution is spotty at best. I'd love to take the easy road and say "Oh it's growing pains with freshmen" but Chabrier isn't driving play as much this season and Djursevic has been a butcher more often than we expected (I think 44 has been slowly been improving over the last month fwiw). Coughlin and Motew are probably the next men up as 7th/8th options but not sure we'll see much of Nobes or Arnott as both have been bad in their limited chances.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top