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

[OronoKO]

That was a great screen, not sure by who

Same guy that took the penalty, I think

 

[AMC]

In a game that felt like Maine - and Ostman - were a little “meh” they manage to win 7-3. What else to say. This team is an absolute blast.

Set aside good- it's been a while for that, too- but when is the last time that Maine was fun?

 

[9twenty]

At times it was not pretty and credit UConn for clogging the middle and disrupting the passing lanes, but sooner or later Maine sneaks that goal in here and there....and off to the races this team goes..big 6 points picked up. Alfond is fun again..!!!!!

 

[walrus]

7-3 and hit three posts. Fun game to be at, the whole team plays at an elevated level. I thought first period sucked though and Ostman wasn’t great at times but he made some key saves. The NB line plays at a different level than we have seen since?? Abbott Flynn nyquist? probably even further back? Connecticut players were frustrated at the end. I think they thought they deserved better and probably did but …..
Hockey etiquette still sucks in Alfond, people are clueless. One of the reasons I gave up my tickets.

 

[NorthMike]

7
Hockey etiquette still sucks in Alfond, people are clueless. One of the reasons I gave up my tickets.

Got news for you etiquette is just as bad at the other rinks these days - bu, whitt, lawler etc.
bu and bc ushers at least keep folks from going to their seats during play.

People are clueless these days and social grace is disappearing from our culture.

 

[Wayuphere]

Classic case tonight of talent overcoming a so-so team performance. Fans(new?) haven’t grasped that the aisles are for transport, not a place to hang and check phones. I politely yelled out more than once.
A plus, when Bananas came out with the shirt gun, I pointed at the bear on my chest and he nailed it right on target….that sucker hits hard…lol. Another shirt for the collection.

 

[grooverider]

Great win. The Nadeau Brothers are the real deal. UConn much better then their record indicates..they have a nice PP and some physical players and they are quick. Just goes to show you how far the Bears have come we would have got stomped in years past.

One thing I'm noticing is Maines conditioning. Credit to Coach Barr. They sometimes come out slow but boy they wear you down over the course of the game both against UNH and UConn this weekend.

PS - Extend Barr already.

 

[9twenty]

Time to wake the Ushers up...not all but a good portion....but I have been in other rinks and for the most part they control the flow...but this at Maine is so out of control, it's embarrassing.

 

[Wayuphere]

Just took a peek at some national player stats. After watching the BCHL scoring race last year basically end in a tie between the brothers, 148-146 with a 2.08 - 2.06 ppg edge to Bradly, amazingly this year they are
tied at 19 points each, 1.58 ppg.
Totally different styles resulting in identical stat results, consistently. Wow.

 

[umhockey91]

First time at Alfond this season as a 1/2 season ticket holder. What a fun night...definitely echo that Maine played "meh" at times and Ostman was average at best.....but when you have a couple of Nadeau aces up for your sleeve...wow. They elevate the entire team and make Maine a pretty good bet to make the NCAA tourney. Fun times ahead...enjoy the ride!

 

[Fishman'81]

In a game that felt like Maine - and Ostman - were a little “meh” they manage to win 7-3. What else to say. This team is an absolute blast.

You said it first today...

Ostman isn't a FF-quality goalie IMO. His numbers are fine, but he'll make a great save, then go to sleep.

 

[Fishman'81]

Time to wake the Ushers up...not all but a good portion....but I have been in other rinks and for the most part they control the flow...but this at Maine is so out of control, it's embarrassing.

People (many little people, often) at my D-3 venue were allowed to run around at will, and their dumb-ass parents often hung around sight lines, having a beer during live play. Drove me crazy.

FWIW, the ushers here now disallow any movement when the puck is live, and even the most clueless fans know enough to stay off the concourses until there's a whistle. Could work at the Alfond, too.

And, wow, I didn't expect that Maine would get so good, so soon. Love it. My ESPN stream stuttered and buffered, but it was still obvious to me that Maine is a completely different program than it was under Red.

I watch every game now.

 

[Drew S.]

I thought Ostman was decent enough. Three goals on 39 shots isn’t a bad effort and all of the goals were rebounds. If Boija was in goal he would have given up at least 10.

I was impressed with UConn and see that as a really good win for Maine. I expected a lot lower scoring game but a win is a win. I would expect at some point teams would be a lot more conservative when the Nadeaus are on the ice but UNH and UConn obviously didn’t do that.

I really am blown away with the Nadeaus. I would have been happy with something like 10-15-25 but they are both likely to be over 40 points as long as they stay healthy. Barr certainly can’t complain about the talent he inherited.

I’m no pairwise guru but I assume any slipups the next six games will be extremely costly? They should be strong favorites in all of them but see the games at Union and Dartmouth as a little tricky. Maine historically has struggled in their first series after Christmas but hopefully this year will be different.

 

[Wayuphere]

Re: PWR. Their strength of Schedule gives them a boost. They have consistently been ranked #1 in SOS. Add a winning record to that and a #3 PWR is not surprising. I fully expect them to drop in the PWR as they work through the lower HE teams, even if still winning. HE teams doing well in the coming Holiday tourneys when they play out of conference games could help.

 

[Fishman'81]

I really am blown away with the Nadeaus. I would have been happy with something like 10-15-25 but they are both likely to be over 40 points as long as they stay healthy. Barr certainly can’t complain about the talent he inherited.

Damn, Sam, Barr didn't "inherit" the talent; he brought it in himself.

Without the brothers, this would just look like another futile Red team.

 

[Drew S.]

Re: PWR. Their strength of Schedule gives them a boost. They have consistently been ranked #1 in SOS. Add a winning record to that and a #3 PWR is not surprising. I fully expect them to drop in the PWR as they work through the lower HE teams, even if still winning. HE teams doing well in the coming Holiday tourneys when they play out of conference games could help.

Don’t the out of conference games hurt Maine more than the in conference games?

Next weekend Hockey East is playing a lot of trash teams. Hopefully they can take care of business and not hurt the conference.

 

[Maine Pudge]

Damn, Sam, Barr didn't "inherit" the talent; he brought it in himself.

Without the brothers, this would just look like another futile Red team.

Actually Barr did inherit Josh Nadeau as he was a Red recruit. He committed 4 months before Gendron passed. With how well they play together, I feel it is likely that Bradly would have followed his brother here regardless.

Having said that, this team is light years away from what it would be if Red was still behind the helm. Barr seems to get the most out of the players he has brought in which seems go back to recruiting the right people who want to be here and who can be pushed to improve. To have a team full of player who buy into the team, expect to win, are part of a winning culture, and who can be motivated I feel is the biggest difference between Gendron and Barr. I highly doubt the Nadeaus would be putting up these numbers if Gendron’s culture was still ingrained.

All that’s left now is to get the damn band back up in the balcony so we can have the students more in sync again. I’d be willing to carry whoever can’t make it up the balcony stairs up there myself…

 

[walrus]

One other thing, must have been some chirping going on, as late in game when #23 was in sin bin a couple Maine players skated over there to make sure he knew UConn was losing .

 

[UnMcGovernable]

I thought Ostman was decent enough. Three goals on 39 shots isn’t a bad effort and all of the goals were rebounds. If Boija was in goal he would have given up at least 10.

I was impressed with UConn and see that as a really good win for Maine. I expected a lot lower scoring game but a win is a win. I would expect at some point teams would be a lot more conservative when the Nadeaus are on the ice but UNH and UConn obviously didn’t do that.

I really am blown away with the Nadeaus. I would have been happy with something like 10-15-25 but they are both likely to be over 40 points as long as they stay healthy. Barr certainly can’t complain about the talent he inherited.

I’m no pairwise guru but I assume any slipups the next six games will be extremely costly? They should be strong favorites in all of them but see the games at Union and Dartmouth as a little tricky. Maine historically has struggled in their first series after Christmas but hopefully this year will be different.

Ostman clearly wasn't at his best, but with the rumors that he was hurt you can't really be surprised. I don't expect Ostman to have a long pro career but he is absolutely our #1 goalie and one of the stronger goalies in the conference.

Speaking of goalies, the broadcast for both games stressed how good the other team's tendies were and we put up 5 and 7. The offensive firepower is just plain fun.

 

[umhockey91]

Maine has such a great supporting cast now. Chabrier is definitely one of my favorite players...a great offensive d-man. Renwick made his presence felt last night as well which was good to see. Holt and Scott have been solid too.

On the subject of Alfond....love the improvements. The new video boards add to the fan experience IMO....and obviously provide the athletic program with a ton of ad revenue. The new sound system is very clear and PA announcer is great and into the game without being unprofessional. He does a really good job. Thankfully the weaknesses.....restrooms, concessions, and amount of public space will all be addressed with next round of renovations. Agreed that the amount of people milling about during gameplay in the walkways is bit out of control.