As stated before, I didn't watch the game tonight. So I didn't see how it looked live to lose to Vermont (again), but I can't imagine it looked great. Can't comment on the refs, but Ive disagreed with the consensus here regarding the officials before. All that said, I don't have the same negative outlook that others here seem to share. I did at other points in the past this season, but over time Ive come to realize and accept that we were warned that the season might go like this by the coaching staff since the very beginning, and it turns out they were able to see into the future and were mostly correct. Say what you will about "advanced metrics", (personally I give them a little weight but certainly don't consider them gospel), but by a lot of the underlying numbers, Maine performed better on the ice than the results reflected in the box score on numerous occasions this year. You can speculatively pin the discrepancy on a few different things; goaltending being subpar, poor coaching, simply just bad luck, or something else. I don't really think that the coaching staff deserves a lot of the heat I see them sometimes get from some fans, at least to me. There were noticeable improvements by players over the course of the year, particularly with defensemen, with Peterson, Langois, Userau, and Djurasevic coming to mind for me right away as guys who improved from October until now, and even a few up front, with Marques and Lipinski each being the first two I thought of, along with Komarov and Pichette. It also appeared to me that the staff adjusted their coaching style and approach over the course of the year, going from more screamy, in-your-face type early on to a more reserved approach in the second half, and I think that it served the team well and is a testament to the fact that they are good coaches, since they are willing to adapt and adjust and not just be stubborn in their ways. They also integrated 13(!) newcomers to the roster, 11 of whom were freshmen. Turnover to that degree is very tough to navigate, and was bound to take time to really work out. And if there is some locker room trouble (which is into the realm of speculation for us obviously), those things have a way of shaking themselves out in the offseason, especially if it's a major problem. Additionally, the shortcomings of this team on the ice can primarily be pinned on upperclassmen not performing up to where we have previously seen them. I think with now having a full year as a team on the record, plus another entire offseason of training and further growing closer, I think next year could go much better.
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UMaine 25-26: Marques My Word: Back to the Big Time
- Thread starter UncleRay
- Start date
HockeyRef
Well-known member
Lol hence the bricks comment gotcha!! I was on a roll with dumb comments all.night!!My comment was on the UHN womens BBall team not the hockey teamThey were at Orono getting killed by UMaine Women
Northeastern finished above Merrimack
walrus
Wind up workin' in a gas station
Fell asleep last night, thankfully . Another no show from what I saw. Lots of folks want to blame refs, not sure that can be true when the play has been the same most of the season. They have been up and down all year. I don't know why, I expected them to have a learning period early with goaltending being a strong point. That sure didn't happen. One more game to prove themselves. I wouldn't bet on it.
. Another no show from what I saw. Lots of folks want to blame refs, not sure that can be true when the play has been the same most of the season. They have been up and down all year. I don't know why, I expected them to have a learning period early with goaltending being a strong point. That sure didn't happen. One more game to prove themselves. I wouldn't bet on it.tony potter
Active member
i hope #26 is gone hes a poor excuse for a team captain been non existent all year
He's a senior and I don't think he has any eligibility left.
tylerzx2002
Well-known member
Grabbed tickets to the game for Friday.
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BlackBearHockeyFan
Active member
Got tickets for Friday as well
grooverider
Your Team Sucks
I mean, backing into the playoffs against the last place team who was on a 6 game losing streak, going into the BC horror show where we are 1-3 last 4, looking like absolute trash.Fell asleep last night, thankfully
Yep, we are winning in BC. They do the opposite every time we expect it.
ticapnews
Never graduate.
Indeed they did. The standings hadn't updated.
That means Lowell @ Merrimack
UNH vs Northeastern
Not sure what he was so fired up about. Maybe show more emotion during the game instead...
ticapnews
Never graduate.
grooverider
Your Team Sucks
Two of the most bipolar teams in hockey east..what a grab bag this will be. If BC wants to get rid of Brown getting pummeled at home in the playoffs would do it.
As for your original question it depends who shows up the following week. Both of these teams can play with anyone if they dont drink their lunch before the game.
AMC
Registered User
Being unable to beat bad UVM and UNH teams is bad, full stop. Maine had plenty of reasonable opportunities to have like 21-23 wins and be comfortably in the NCAA tournament. I still can't jump on the doom and gloom bus.
This was, from day one, a rebuilding year. The coaching staff was saying it from last Spring. Maine graduated a ton of production from last season, including most of the guys whose backs the Hockey East tournament was won on. I understand that the incoming recruits are now from the Q instead of the USHL or whatever, but that's true of every team. There's still a learning curve. And Maine is getting outspent, significantly, by at least 4 teams (3 of them are ahead of Maine in the standings- BC, PC, UConn, plus BU), and Maine is spending commensurately with another 3 or 4 (UMass, Northeastern, Lowell).
I also think that Maine was a bit over their heads last year. Boija carried the team for a while, and Maine won a lot of games wherein they were playing the whole game in their own defensive end. There have been obvious steps forward this year, just in puck possession and chance creation, that were major issues last season that good goaltending papered over. NCAA hockey isn't exactly college softball where if you have a pitcher you are fine, but it's close, and for whatever reason the goaltending wasn't there this season. That's absolutely something that needs to be dug into in the offseason, whether it is personnel or coaching, or whatever.
I can't jump on the "this was a terrible coaching job" bandwagon. Maine has multiple season of less than a .300 winning percentage in the past decade! I don't understand the entitlement that Maine is endowed by its creator to be a 25 win, top 2 seed in the NCAA tournament program. I wish there were a database out there that included all of the public and private schools and the hockey spending including NIL and Revenue Share, but I would be absolutely shocked if Maine were spending in the top 15 nationally. There are 4 teams in Hockey East outspending Maine. There are easily five in the B1G (Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, Wisconsin, Minnesota). The NCHC has at least three (UND, Denver, WMU). Money isn't anything, but it's really f-ing helpful.
Like I said, there are individual games at the micro level that Maine could have or should have won. The bigger issue is macro. How is this program going to be funded? If Maine considers itself a peer in college hockey to the 12 schools listed above, what's the plan to spend like them? If Maine CAN'T spend like them, what's the plan to get there? Is it impossible? If so, who should we measure Maine hockey against? These questions have to be answered at the administration level, and we haven't heard a single peep about it. Certainly not with any urgency. I don't think that we can reasonably say Maine is above or below where Maine should be until those answers reach public ears.
This was, from day one, a rebuilding year. The coaching staff was saying it from last Spring. Maine graduated a ton of production from last season, including most of the guys whose backs the Hockey East tournament was won on. I understand that the incoming recruits are now from the Q instead of the USHL or whatever, but that's true of every team. There's still a learning curve. And Maine is getting outspent, significantly, by at least 4 teams (3 of them are ahead of Maine in the standings- BC, PC, UConn, plus BU), and Maine is spending commensurately with another 3 or 4 (UMass, Northeastern, Lowell).
I also think that Maine was a bit over their heads last year. Boija carried the team for a while, and Maine won a lot of games wherein they were playing the whole game in their own defensive end. There have been obvious steps forward this year, just in puck possession and chance creation, that were major issues last season that good goaltending papered over. NCAA hockey isn't exactly college softball where if you have a pitcher you are fine, but it's close, and for whatever reason the goaltending wasn't there this season. That's absolutely something that needs to be dug into in the offseason, whether it is personnel or coaching, or whatever.
I can't jump on the "this was a terrible coaching job" bandwagon. Maine has multiple season of less than a .300 winning percentage in the past decade! I don't understand the entitlement that Maine is endowed by its creator to be a 25 win, top 2 seed in the NCAA tournament program. I wish there were a database out there that included all of the public and private schools and the hockey spending including NIL and Revenue Share, but I would be absolutely shocked if Maine were spending in the top 15 nationally. There are 4 teams in Hockey East outspending Maine. There are easily five in the B1G (Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, Wisconsin, Minnesota). The NCHC has at least three (UND, Denver, WMU). Money isn't anything, but it's really f-ing helpful.
Like I said, there are individual games at the micro level that Maine could have or should have won. The bigger issue is macro. How is this program going to be funded? If Maine considers itself a peer in college hockey to the 12 schools listed above, what's the plan to spend like them? If Maine CAN'T spend like them, what's the plan to get there? Is it impossible? If so, who should we measure Maine hockey against? These questions have to be answered at the administration level, and we haven't heard a single peep about it. Certainly not with any urgency. I don't think that we can reasonably say Maine is above or below where Maine should be until those answers reach public ears.
umhockey91
Well-known member
Maine found a way to fund $200+ million for athletic facilities....certainly they can find $1 million annually to acquire hockey players....no? Not saying that the Alfond Foundation or 3 surviving Alfond children owe UMaine anything.....but Harold Alfond's name is plastered all over campus. You would think that they would want the premiere program on campus to be able to compete with other top programs on a national level in the building that bears their father's name. Harold Alfond's children are each worth $3.5 billion. The Alfond Foundation is managing $1 billion in assets. Find a way.
tylerzx2002
Well-known member
The rebuild could have been even worse coming into this season as well if Nadeau had taken the one-year deal Montreal offered him. Maine is probably nowhere near the NCAA bubble if that happens and all this hand-wringing about missed opportunities is completely moot.
Even factoring in a down year this year, I think Barr has put this team in position to be playing meaningful games in March over the next couple seasons with the talent he's brought in. They'll hopefully add to that pool with guys like Voronin and Mistelbacher next season. Is that enough to get them over the hump if they are more in line with the middle of the pack teams spending-wise? Maybe we get lucky like last year and it all gels quickly and they can make a run.
Barr's talked at length about culture this season so it'll be interesting to see what the exodus looks like from the roster after this season is complete and how he using the available funds to fill out some of the question marks (goaltending and depth down the middle both come to mind immediately).
umhockey91
Well-known member
Looks like Western Michigan just bought Adam Benak.......
www.instagram.com
Adam Benák on Instagram: "I am excited to announce my commitment to play D1 hockey at Western Michigan university. I would like to thank everyone who has helped me along the way. #broncosreign"
743 likes, 45 comments - adam_benak_ on March 9, 2026: "I am excited to announce my commitment to play D1 hockey at Western Michigan university. I would like to thank everyone who has helped me along the way. #broncosreign".
www.instagram.com
Someone mentioned it a little earlier in this thread, but I think they were correct, when they said that Maine hasn't really had a goalie "steal" a game for them all season. None come to mind for my based off the eye test, and Ive watched every Maine win this season, several of them in person. The stats seem to back it up, at least by CHNs xGoals metric, where there hasn't been a single instance all season of a game where Maine won by a goal or two, and the goalie had a huge game as per xG that they otherwise would have lost.
Maine's offense/scoring really hasn't declined much, if at all, compared to the last two seasons. In 34 games this year they have 116 GF, compared to 124 in 38 games last year, and 119 in 37 games in 2024. The GA column has taken a hit, 91 in 34 this year, compared to only 75 in 38 last year, but interestingly 94 in 37 in 2024. So their GF/GA ratio is actually pretty similar to 2024 when we made it back to the national tournament and were a high #2 seed. That was also in a much better Hockey East overall in 2024 compared to the current Hockey East in 2026. So why the pretty significant gap in results? My theory is that its a combination of worse goaltending this year and just plain old bad luck. I dont think this team is significantly worse than 2024, in fact taken as a whole package, I think they're probably a better team, or at least about equal at worst.
So I guess in summary, what I'm trying to say is, I view goaltending as this team's biggest weakness currently and going into next year, which I would never have expected to say about a year ago from now.
Maine's offense/scoring really hasn't declined much, if at all, compared to the last two seasons. In 34 games this year they have 116 GF, compared to 124 in 38 games last year, and 119 in 37 games in 2024. The GA column has taken a hit, 91 in 34 this year, compared to only 75 in 38 last year, but interestingly 94 in 37 in 2024. So their GF/GA ratio is actually pretty similar to 2024 when we made it back to the national tournament and were a high #2 seed. That was also in a much better Hockey East overall in 2024 compared to the current Hockey East in 2026. So why the pretty significant gap in results? My theory is that its a combination of worse goaltending this year and just plain old bad luck. I dont think this team is significantly worse than 2024, in fact taken as a whole package, I think they're probably a better team, or at least about equal at worst.
So I guess in summary, what I'm trying to say is, I view goaltending as this team's biggest weakness currently and going into next year, which I would never have expected to say about a year ago from now.