WhistleBB009
New member
This is a 100% a coaching issue…
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UMaine 25-26: Marques My Word: Back to the Big Time
- Thread starter UncleRay
- Start date
WhistleBB009
New member
True, different team but…the same coach!
Ineverquit
Born a Mainer
If you don't care about Maine's NPI and their curent available path to the NCAA's you can skip this post.
Maine's currently 39th in the NPI, if they had split with UNH, Maine would have been 30th. If they swept UNH, Maine would have been 19th in the NPI sitting in a decent spot to climb up. The margin of error now for a At large NCAA bid is extremely low.
Using the CHN NPI modify game results tab. I entered Maine winning all the remaining games except the two Denver games which would put Maine's record at 24-9-1 (16-2-0 for the rest of the regular season) before the HE playoffs. That would get Maine to 9th in the NPI. Obviously game results from all the other NCAA games will lower or raise our placement in the NPI a little. If Maine lost an additional game against Northeastern they would be 11th before adding in results from all the other NCAA games.
So to sum it up, if Maine wants to make the NCAA tourney they would probably need to either:
1. Win HE playoffs
2. Go 16-2 (.889%) or better the rest of the regular season, lose in their 1st HE playoff round (probably technically the 2nd round) and hope there are not a lot of Conference autobids from other conferences from teams that would be below the at large NPI cutoff line.
3. 16-2 (.889%) or better the rest of the regular season, make at least HE semis, then they would probably be in as an at large bid unless there was 4-6 autobids.
4. 15-3 (.833%) or better the rest of the regular season, make HE finals and then hope there are no to minimum amount of autobids.
5. Lose 4 or more of the remaining regular season games then the chance for an NCAA bid is dead without winning HE playoffs.
Maine's currently 39th in the NPI, if they had split with UNH, Maine would have been 30th. If they swept UNH, Maine would have been 19th in the NPI sitting in a decent spot to climb up. The margin of error now for a At large NCAA bid is extremely low.
Using the CHN NPI modify game results tab. I entered Maine winning all the remaining games except the two Denver games which would put Maine's record at 24-9-1 (16-2-0 for the rest of the regular season) before the HE playoffs. That would get Maine to 9th in the NPI. Obviously game results from all the other NCAA games will lower or raise our placement in the NPI a little. If Maine lost an additional game against Northeastern they would be 11th before adding in results from all the other NCAA games.
So to sum it up, if Maine wants to make the NCAA tourney they would probably need to either:
1. Win HE playoffs
2. Go 16-2 (.889%) or better the rest of the regular season, lose in their 1st HE playoff round (probably technically the 2nd round) and hope there are not a lot of Conference autobids from other conferences from teams that would be below the at large NPI cutoff line.
3. 16-2 (.889%) or better the rest of the regular season, make at least HE semis, then they would probably be in as an at large bid unless there was 4-6 autobids.
4. 15-3 (.833%) or better the rest of the regular season, make HE finals and then hope there are no to minimum amount of autobids.
5. Lose 4 or more of the remaining regular season games then the chance for an NCAA bid is dead without winning HE playoffs.
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Helpful analysis. If the season continues as it has gone so far, wonder how many of the younger guys will hit the portal.
Ineverquit
Born a Mainer
I'm thinking more then I thought at the beginning of this season.
walrus
Wind up workin' in a gas station
They just spent 50 million on the rink, doesn't seem like its had the desired effect on play. They would have been better off using the money for NLI.
I was wondering when our old friend Whistle would show up this weekend; surprised it took him this long.
I don't have a ton of confidence in the next week for the final three games before the break. We'll see how they go, but my expectations are quite low now. UML is a shadow of the program they once were at this point, but as we should know by now, in Hockey East nothing is a guarantee. And Lindenwood is an NPI bubble team, so I'm not exactly brimming with confidence there either.
We can speculate all the live-long day about whats going on with the team right now, and we'll probably never be able to nail it down for sure. But that's part of the fun of being a fan and posting on a message board. Maybe the departures of the former assistants Jason Fortier and/or Eric Soltys has been a bigger problem than we thought? Maybe something has happened with Ben and he's lost the shine a bit? (Hopefully only temporarily, if so). Maybe there was some sort of off-ice incident or personal problem within the team that has caused some rifts? Who knows. But to me at least, it's clear that the "team chemistry" is probably a negative number.
I think we'll learn a lot about the team and their chances going forward when they take the ice in Colorado after the semester break. Meaning, maybe the break will give them time to take a breath, reset, start over a bit, and get back to the basics and serve as a new beginning for them to get their heads on straight.
I don't have a ton of confidence in the next week for the final three games before the break. We'll see how they go, but my expectations are quite low now. UML is a shadow of the program they once were at this point, but as we should know by now, in Hockey East nothing is a guarantee. And Lindenwood is an NPI bubble team, so I'm not exactly brimming with confidence there either.
We can speculate all the live-long day about whats going on with the team right now, and we'll probably never be able to nail it down for sure. But that's part of the fun of being a fan and posting on a message board. Maybe the departures of the former assistants Jason Fortier and/or Eric Soltys has been a bigger problem than we thought? Maybe something has happened with Ben and he's lost the shine a bit? (Hopefully only temporarily, if so). Maybe there was some sort of off-ice incident or personal problem within the team that has caused some rifts? Who knows. But to me at least, it's clear that the "team chemistry" is probably a negative number.
I think we'll learn a lot about the team and their chances going forward when they take the ice in Colorado after the semester break. Meaning, maybe the break will give them time to take a breath, reset, start over a bit, and get back to the basics and serve as a new beginning for them to get their heads on straight.
grooverider
Your Team Sucks
Agree with this. Also we are missing Langolis. One highlight last night: Brock James brought it. We need more physical players. Peterson and Holt were steady but the rest of the D including Usereau were awful. Califiore shouldn't be on the ice. Also how many whiffs did we have last night? That's a sign of a team feeling the pressure and letting it get to them pressing too hard.
The only thing I'm hearing right now is that this team is young and they dont understand the importance of these games and have not risen to the occasion. Coaching can only do so much they need to perform.
grooverider
Your Team Sucks
Coaches dont play the game
NorthMike
Well-known member
Shoulda built on football field- obviously too late.
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Because it wasn't a penalty.,, Boija initiated the contact by trying to go out of his crease and impede the UNH player as he went in front of the net. Was a good non-call IMO.
I don't think Max Scott has successfully hit a one timer all season...
NorthMike
Well-known member
Thanks for the correction, I was just paraphrasing what I thought coach said.
Didnt see or notice any of it on tv
Darius
Go 'cats!
Fourth place. Sorry. My bad.
Being serious for a moment, college sports fans need to be ready for teams defying yearly expectations. The portal/NIL/free agency thing means that any (many) team can be significantly different from year to year. Indiana football? Really? WTF? I've never followed recruiting, transfers but it is now wide open like MLB where year to year rosters can be drastically different. From what I gather UNH now has a bunch of older players who seem to have significant mental and physical strength.
Barr hasn't gone from being a great coach to a lousy one, but he may need an approach adjustment. Another cross sport analogy is Mike Vrabel. I hear comparisons between him and Belichick. I think he is more like Parcells, but a HUGE BUT is that he realizes many of today's players need to be coddled so he has incorporated that into his coaching persona. Most of what I know about Barr is from the UMO threads but perhaps, if he has lost the locker room as is being suggested, he needs to show some warm tender love to at least some of his players.
It is a long season, still only early December.
Sparkee
Blackbear
No they didn’t. The Alfonds spent the money and they get to choose how it is spent. They want the Alfond name attached to the Maine hockey arena forever to honor Harold Alfond. That is how they honor the man that gave them the generational wealth. Why would they choose instead to spend on players without improving all of these athletic buildings that carry their name? You know this, so what you are implying isn’t a realistic scenario. However, they may donate additional funds for NIL. But let’s not criticize the school for spending improperly when it wasn’t even their money. And I do think that addition will help with recruit far more than you realize. It will at least get some high end recruits to put us on their list before the NIL even starts. With the old facilities it might have been the thing keeping Maine from even getting on their list. All other things being equal and you choose between substandard work out room, film room, locker room, no recovery pools, etc… then you would eliminate our program quite easily.
I think at moments like this when the team hits a skid everyone comes out with irrational thinking. I think you should recognize the facilities upgrade was a good thing for recruiting. And it is more about your previous point that this team has 13 newcomers, and the team isn’t gelling as a unit.
Too many people trying to be heros. For example, I saw Charbrier several times pass up a chance as dishing an assist to a forward cocked and waiting to onetime a pass. Instead he would try to wheel with the puck and end up shooting something that gets blocked or once he turned the puck over and it went for a rush the other way.
You have Boija that is too busy hollering at everyone, his own team, the officials, etc… He’s talented but his mental make up is showing it isn’t resilient.
You have C Freel seemingly sad and exhibiting frustration is having to be the spokesperson for the bad results. He’s obviously the best of the captains because we never hear from Holt. And Djuresevic is now being given the night off for turnovers even though he is an assistant captain.
I think we have a bunch of ingredients that are good but when mixed together doesn’t make anything good. It is annoying as a fan. But at least they technically still have a winning record. Might not be a world beater of a season.
I think we should lower our expectations to a middle of the hockey east standing, likely not hosting quarterfinals, and likely not getting to TD Garden, and likely not making NCAA tournament. Basically a rebuilding year.
UVM Cat in Texas
Now UVM Cat in Georgia
Surprised by all the negativity about Barr. I mean, he completely resurrected the program after the Red years, didn’t he? What are the issues with him?
Someone on here a over the spring/summer claimed no one liked playing for Barr and that all he did was yell at everyone. I forget the poster. Maybe someone else recalls.
At this point, I don't think it's so much negativity, as questioning what's going on. Today's generation requires to be coddled as has been previously posted. HIs current tactics may not be working and he may have to adjust his approach. Whether or not he is able/willing to do that is yet to be seen. For certain, nothing has changed so far this season despite the broken record issues of "culture", "identity", "egos" etc.
umhockey91
Well-known member
It is weird that $50 million did nothing to increase revenue (expanded club seating or arena capacity) or fund NIL for the program.
He's in this very thread, just posted a huge spiel about how awful Barr is. WhistleBB009
walrus
Wind up workin' in a gas station
They just spent 50 million on the rink, doesn't seem like its had the desired effect on play. They would have been better off using the money for NLI
Yes, I think NIL will have far bigger effect on recruiting than facilities will. Isn't it always follow the money? But Sparkee made the point that it was Alfonds money so they did what they wanted with it.