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UMaine Hockey 23 - 24: The Barr Crawl to Glory!!!

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Lost the Latvia goalie, headed back to ushl. Picked up a kid from Sweden. Apparently Berzins was ruled to have played pro hockey in Latvia. Maine appealed and he got 20 game suspension. hopefully he plays next season.
 
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walrus said:
Lost the Latvia goalie, headed back to ushl. Picked up a kid from Sweden. Apparently Berzins was ruled to have played pro hockey in Latvia. Maine appealed and he got 20 game suspension. hopefully he plays next season.
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Too bad about Berzins but I don’t think all is lost there. He will likely be here next year. Instagram page still says UMaine commit despite also listing Madison capitals.
 
BlackBearFan19 said:
Too bad about Berzins but I don’t think all is lost there. He will likely be here next year. Instagram page still says UMaine commit despite also listing Madison capitals.
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The question I would ask is what happens to Boija once Berzins shows up? I’ve had the impression Shea is the goalie of the future and I don’t think you would have Boija, Berzins, and Shea all on scholarship.

Can Berzins serve his NCAA suspension and play in the USHL concurrently?
 
grooverider said:
I really think Hockey East this year is going to be a bloodbath. I do think Maine is going to give a little payback to some teams who have been a thorn in their side in recent years like UConn/Lowell/Merrimack.

My prediction is they finish 4th to 6th.

Also Chuck Murray how about a UNH White Out the Whitt sweep this year to get your coach fired?
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I can't outwardly root for this, groovy ... but if it happens and MS7 ends up walking the plank, I'll be eternally grateful.
 
BlackBearFan19 said:
Too bad about Berzins but I don’t think all is lost there. He will likely be here next year. Instagram page still says UMaine commit despite also listing Madison capitals.
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Seems rather odd that the UM staff is not picking up what these recruits are doing before coming to play NCAA hockey...two now with Duda & Berzins...myself I think it hurts Maine to lose out on Berzins...anyone know the ins and outs on the incoming Swede netminder..?
 
9twenty said:
Seems rather odd that the UM staff is not picking up what these recruits are doing before coming to play NCAA hockey...two now with Duda & Berzins...myself I think it hurts Maine to lose out on Berzins...anyone know the ins and outs on the incoming Swede netminder..?
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Yeah...not exactly thrilled about this either.
 
Drew S. said:
The question I would ask is what happens to Boija once Berzins shows up? I’ve had the impression Shea is the goalie of the future and I don’t think you would have Boija, Berzins, and Shea all on scholarship.

Can Berzins serve his NCAA suspension and play in the USHL concurrently?
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Don't know, just throwing this out...but could playing in the USHL...the NCAA take a year of eligibility from Berzins and if he returns in 2024-25 season that he can only play 3 years...??? Just a shot in the dark opionin on what may happen...remember dealing with the NCAA you never know for sure...
 
https://www.bangordailynews.com/202...mens-hockey-swedish-backup-goalie-n6hjn1me0n/

Some good information here. Sounds like Maine wasn't the only program that got bit by a ruling that a league in Latvia is now considered professional. Berzins still plans to come to Maine next year, sounds like.

The switch from Berzins to Boija comes after the NCAA ruled that a number of Latvian players were deemed to be professionals because of the league they played in, which made them ineligible to play college hockey in the United States, according to UMaine third-year head coach Ben Barr.
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It is mighty rich to me that Berzins playing 15 games for Liepaja at age 18 is a grave threat to NCAA and it's esteemed "amateurism" but Caleb Williams can be paid $2.6M to have someone write a tweet for him.
 
AMC said:
https://www.bangordailynews.com/202...mens-hockey-swedish-backup-goalie-n6hjn1me0n/

Some good information here. Sounds like Maine wasn't the only program that got bit by a ruling that a league in Latvia is now considered professional. Berzins still plans to come to Maine next year, sounds like.



It is mighty rich to me that Berzins playing 15 games for Liepaja at age 18 is a grave threat to NCAA and it's esteemed "amateurism" but Caleb Williams can be paid $2.6M to have someone write a tweet for him.
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Puts recruiting at another level to keep up with the ever changing eligibility rules....
 
Drew S. said:
I’m really excited for the season to start. I’m certainly not as optimistic as everyone else but it hasn’t dampened my enthusiasm in any way..
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Im of similar thinking. We should see more improvement in play and skill. More challenge for the upper 6 HE teams and also lose some to the bottom tier. Goal tending could be in question. Ostman may or may not rise to the occasion, one thing for sure is he has to become more consistently good and continue on his improvement curve.
 
I think you guys are overrating Maine and severely underrating Merrimack. Mack was in the NCAA’s and took BU to OT in the HE final.

I’m bullish on the direction of the program like everyone else. But BU and Mack were tourney teams. NU, UConn, BC, Lowell, Providence, Umass all finished ahead of Maine in the Pairwise. I know everyone is giving their HE predictions, but BC Providence, Umass I think are way better on paper (the later two having the 2 best coaches in the league). Lowell is always a pain to play. I think Maine is close with UConn and NU in terms of talent and direction. But they both have owned Maine for a while now. They have passed UNH and VT imo.

Again, I’m excited and bullish on the direction and we are lucky to have Ben. But this league has so much bloody parity that didn’t exist the last time Maine was consistently in the national conversation. I’m excited to get this season started. It feels like we have been stuck in 2 weeks before opening night for 2 months now.
 
dabears91 said:
I think you guys are overrating Maine and severely underrating Merrimack. Mack was in the NCAA’s and took BU to OT in the HE final.

I’m bullish on the direction of the program like everyone else. But BU and Mack were tourney teams. NU, UConn, BC, Lowell, Providence, Umass all finished ahead of Maine in the Pairwise. I know everyone is giving their HE predictions, but BC Providence, Umass I think are way better on paper (the later two having the 2 best coaches in the league). Lowell is always a pain to play. I think Maine is close with UConn and NU in terms of talent and direction. But they both have owned Maine for a while now. They have passed UNH and VT imo.

Again, I’m excited and bullish on the direction and we are lucky to have Ben. But this league has so much bloody parity that didn’t exist the last time Maine was consistently in the national conversation. I’m excited to get this season started. It feels like we have been stuck in 2 weeks before opening night for 2 months now.
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Yes the League is stacked from 1 thru 9...with UNH/VT both with their own program problems...but Maine will be the surprise and up and coming team in Hockey East...and not just with the new recruits but what they bring...the others on the team will be better because of them...also look for the underated/unsung Lydeen Breen to have a great season. Barr has this team playing his way, with confidence and structured.
 
My picks:

1. BU
2. Maine
3. UConn
4. BC
5. Providence
6. UMass
7. Merrimack
8. Northeastern
9. UMass-Lowell
10. UNH
11. Vermont
 
Drew S. said:
According to twitter Duda is going to return to Russia to play in KHL.
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This is not confirmed, this was from Hockey News Hub which is not a reliable source. Also, they commented back saying “something to keep an eye on”. Purely speculation, much like we do here. The NCAA did rule on Tom Willander for BU today, 1 game suspension after 2 games in the SHL.
 
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