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UMaine Black Bears 2013-14 season

Re: UMaine Black Bears 2013-14 season

HockeyEast33 said:
Most Assabet Valley Red Major players (and Wizards, Spitfires, Breakers, and Polar Bears players) go to very academically strong prep schools and have higher academic goals - Ivy League generally. The ones that can't pull that off for whatever reason go either to D1 schools with stronger current women's hockey program than Maine (or UNH) or academically strong D3 schools like the NESCAC schools. There aren't many pining for Maine (or UNH at this point either), not even the ones from Maine. The players you speak of may have appreciated being recruited by Maine, but they wouldn't have gone there. So the Maine coaching staff is focusing on the players that have talent that they can actually attract and that sends them primarily to Canada.

BTW - given what is going on UNH at the moment, I have only concern for Brooke Avery in selecting UNH as her college of choice. Let's hope that the coaching situation is straightened out and the team purged of the players/parents that seem to be causing the problems prior to her arrival there.
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Agree with your assessment HE33. The local interest needs to be there and if it's not, the coaches will go where there is some. Believe those Canadidan players in question are pretty good players. Seem to be up there in the top 6'ish of the line combo's.
 
Re: UMaine Black Bears 2013-14 season

Ya4sure2 said:
Agree with your assessment HE33. The local interest needs to be there and if it's not, the coaches will go where there is some. Believe those Canadidan players in question are pretty good players. Seem to be up there in the top 6'ish of the line combo's.
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Maine's proximity to the border has also been cited as a draw for our neighbors to the north, whereas the long haul up 95 from points south isn't as attractive to some of the players with more local options.
 
Re: UMaine Black Bears 2013-14 season

To bad game winner in 3rd OT was on an uncalled offsides. Refs were probably exhausted.
Teams matched up great. Maine had a very good second half of season.
 
Re: UMaine Black Bears 2013-14 season

dontblink said:
To bad game winner in 3rd OT was on an uncalled offsides. Refs were probably exhausted.
Teams matched up great. Maine had a very good second half of season.
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Indeed. Anyone have video of the Maine goal that got waived off? Even the UVM announcers were at a bit of a loss seeing where the high stick came into play. I know seeing the video is not gonna change things, but inquiring minds want to know.

Coverage of the game from Burlington Free Press: http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/...e-longest-UVM-hockey-game-ever?nclick_check=1
 
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Re: UMaine Black Bears 2013-14 season

Ya4sure2 said:
Agree with your assessment HE33. The local interest needs to be there and if it's not, the coaches will go where there is some. Believe those Canadidan players in question are pretty good players. Seem to be up there in the top 6'ish of the line combo's.
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This is an interesting thread for me personally. My daughter was an Assabet red player all of her seven years in the program right up to U19. We never understood why Maine wouldn't even return an e-mail.
 
Re: UMaine Black Bears 2013-14 season

Maine has a new AD as of a couple of weeks ago. I haven't heard anything as to his intentions.
 
Re: UMaine Black Bears 2013-14 season

Tjames said:
This is an interesting thread for me personally. My daughter was an Assabet red player all of her seven years in the program right up to U19. We never understood why Maine wouldn't even return an e-mail.
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Maine's recruiting in the last few years has been very questionable? On my daughter's team, they inquired about our #6 D-man, no others! I think that Richard Reichenbach has been easily sold on kids with out really looking at it himself.
 
Re: UMaine Black Bears 2013-14 season

Call It said:
Maine's recruiting in the last few years has been very questionable? On my daughter's team, they inquired about our #6 D-man, no others! I think that Richard Reichenbach has been easily sold on kids with out really looking at it himself.
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Seems like some of the recent recruits are doing pretty good. Some rookies of the week out of #12, and#11. A couple of players of the week #28,and #21. One honorable mention all-star hockey east forward. Some pretty good young D #8, #4, and #29. Those are all freshman and sophomores. I would think the other Hockey east teams might argue the questionable recruiting statement after facing them the second half of the season. Remember their first half was a little chaotic with the loss of Coach Lewis.
 
Re: UMaine Black Bears 2013-14 season

With the Job being Posted,my thoughts are that Maine should clean house and go with a whole NEW Coaching Staff...sorry but this Staff will never move Maine up the ladder...time to improve is now and to do that UM has to ante up the money in the attempt to lure someone to consider the job and program...if you don't pay up you get what you pay for...45k per season won't get anyone to consider Maine...prove to them that you mean Business by paying up...will it happen...my GUESS is NO...WHY?...because the NEW A.D. wants to be on the Job for 90 days till he starts a search for a Coach...why wait for 90 days...I mean your ON THE JOB now so do your Job and get this Program to go forward..imo. Pretty Sad situation with this Program.
 
Re: UMaine Black Bears 2013-14 season

dontblink said:
Seems like some of the recent recruits are doing pretty good. Some rookies of the week out of #12, and#11. A couple of players of the week #28,and #21. One honorable mention all-star hockey east forward. Some pretty good young D #8, #4, and #29. Those are all freshman and sophomores. I would think the other Hockey east teams might argue the questionable recruiting statement after facing them the second half of the season. Remember their first half was a little chaotic with the loss of Coach Lewis.
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I agree with you. The present coaching staff turned this program around in the second half of the season and they finished very strong. A young team as you outlined, that should continue to develop next year. The new AD is encouraging the Richenbach's to apply for the position as a national search goes forward. The new coach (coaches), do need to be paid more. It's going to be challenging to find more money with the University's 2015 fiscal year budget facing a deficit. Raising private money may be the only alternative.
 
Re: UMaine Black Bears 2013-14 season

They finished 5th. Simard recruited the top players two years ago when they won 17 games. Ott, Doherty, Crousette and most of the impact players. Richard recruited Ward and the freshmen. In a season with no head coach, no plan of their own they clearly got better and were a close to making a final four weekend. If Maine doesn't retain the Reichenbach's it will be a loss. Who are you going to bring in to replace them, there are 4 other d1 head jobs open. They have another u18 player coming in next year, they had two come in last year. I think the program is heading in the right direction. It's not easy to go from cellar dweller straight to the top, it seems like they are making progress. I'm sure Maine isn't an easy place to have success.
 
Re: UMaine Black Bears 2013-14 season

Besides the Reichenbach's is there anyone outside of Maine interested in the Job..? With the Pay Scale as they presently have it,I don't see anyone other then these two-some applying for the Job. I really think there needs to be a bump in Pay and I would think and this is only me,but someone other then the Reichenbacks can turn this program around...not in 1-2 years but a 2-3 year plan with the 4th year being the Break-out season(imo).
 
Re: UMaine Black Bears 2013-14 season

Tncuse said:
They finished 5th. Simard recruited the top players two years ago when they won 17 games. Ott, Doherty, Crousette and most of the impact players. Richard recruited Ward and the freshmen. In a season with no head coach, no plan of their own they clearly got better and were a close to making a final four weekend. If Maine doesn't retain the Reichenbach's it will be a loss. Who are you going to bring in to replace them, there are 4 other d1 head jobs open. They have another u18 player coming in next year, they had two come in last year. I think the program is heading in the right direction. It's not easy to go from cellar dweller straight to the top, it seems like they are making progress. I'm sure Maine isn't an easy place to have success.
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Correct me if I'm wrong here, but wasn't Maria's 17-win season done when Dan Lichterman's recruits were juniors & seniors? Was Simard the assistant / recruiting coach then? (I thought she was at Dartmouth then but I could be wrong). I think Ricky has some good recruits, and some not-so-strong ones. Not sure if that's a reflection of his recruiting prowess, or the difficulty of recruiting at Maine.

I do hope they get some good applicants for the job, and Reichenbachs or not, the program can return to the strength they had in the 2010-11 & 2011-12 seasons, when they were on the rise.
 
Re: UMaine Black Bears 2013-14 season

AggiesHockey said:
Correct me if I'm wrong here, but wasn't Maria's 17-win season done when Dan Lichterman's recruits were juniors & seniors? Was Simard the assistant / recruiting coach then? (I thought she was at Dartmouth then but I could be wrong). I think Ricky has some good recruits, and some not-so-strong ones. Not sure if that's a reflection of his recruiting prowess, or the difficulty of recruiting at Maine.

I do hope they get some good applicants for the job, and Reichenbachs or not, the program can return to the strength they had in the 2010-11 & 2011-12 seasons, when they were on the rise.
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The Jr's on that team were her final recruiting class, though she left for Dartmouth the summer before they started at Maine
 
Ma#1ne Hky said:
Any NEWS on the Maine Coaching search...?
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Totally from the outside, but my guess is that a program that went winless through November, but 7-8-1 once the interim head coaches had a chance to settle into their new roles, may want to give them another chance.
 
Re: UMaine Black Bears 2013-14 season

Well the Maine Mens B-Ball Job has gotten over 100 Applications according to the BDNews/with 40 already deemed not worthy...BUT no word on how the Womens Hockey Search is going...sadly the W-Hky takes the back page again. This program could work "IF" there was anyone around that would PUSH for it...no reason why this can't work...imo a 3 or 4 year plan could get this Program up and working. If they are going to have this Program,make it work.
 
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