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UMass Lowell 2021-2022: Which way are we going?

hawkeytown said:
You are correct. We were not autobid, my bad. Their regular season and playoff results were enough for us to qualify for the national tourney.

As mentioned, they don’t need NHL draft picks as much as players invited to NHL development camps. Gamby/CJ were not drafted. They were overlooked, diamonds in the rough. Players that fit the mold of what Norm wanted. In addition, Norm has found success in getting grade A assistants that have gone off to greener pastures. These assistants have been vital to recruiting. It’s been a revolving door of recruiters.

Seems like I am on an island here, which is fine. I feel incredibly optimistic about this team, the programs approach and play on the ice.

I guess we can agree to disagree. I think we are closer to a natty than most fans on here think.
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That 16/17 team had three drafted players, we only have one this year.

Anyway, I'm not saying this team will struggle this year. I think generally we have the talent to fight for home-ice in the HE Playoffs every year under Bazin, and sometimes make the NCAA Tournament. The question is just does that level of talent give you a chance to win the whole thing, and that's where I don't think the answer is yes.
 
My question is can you ever get progression under such a scenario. Yeah, maybe it is our ultimate lot in life but I don't think that its inevitable these teams are going to sit on top. Look at how many of those programs "above" have gone through disasters. I mean, does anybody here 20 years ago thought Maine would ever return to being a backwater. I mean sure Walsh had died and Whitehead was questionable but completely falling from grace? Same thing with New Hampshire. Then you have other programs that just seem to slip in like Minnesota State though I suspect the USHL's proximity to the western programs helps the western programs.

I don't know. It just seems to me with a talented coach things would incrementally improve even if its slow and subject to the "noise" of reality. I also don't believe that all our ideal choices for players in Bazin's rubric sit outside the realm of the potential mid-round NHL draftees.

----

To one of the other posts, I would have liked to have seen what the 21 team would have done. Double COVID plus hand-selection didn't help but lets face it our league in general sucks compared to the past and we had the legacy of a milquetoast wuss Joe Bertagna running Hockey East from 19-20 on prior. More potential than last year's squad for sure.
 
UMLFan said:
That 16/17 team had three drafted players, we only have one this year.

Anyway, I'm not saying this team will struggle this year. I think generally we have the talent to fight for home-ice in the HE Playoffs every year under Bazin, and sometimes make the NCAA Tournament. The question is just does that level of talent give you a chance to win the whole thing, and that's where I don't think the answer is yes.
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So let me ask a few questions, do you want Bazin as coach of Lowell? And I mean the entire package: how he recruits, strategy for team play, etc.?

Reading between the lines, I think a majority here have a problem with Bazin and wouldn’t mind someone else taking over. So, if that’s the case, you are in charge, who is going to bring us to the national championship? Get us 5/6 drafted guys? Have all this scoring power that will come to Lowell, and not BU, BC, NU, Michigan, Minnesota State, Minnesota, Minnesota Duluth, etc. Be top 4 in Hockey East every year. Frozen Fours for years to come. Who is the next Carvel?

Again, to be clear. I THINK EVERYTHING ABOUT BAZIN MAKES LOWELL A LEGIT CONTENDER, the high probability of a national championship and would not change a thing.
 
hawkeytown said:
So let me ask a few questions, do you want Bazin as coach of Lowell? And I mean the entire package: how he recruits, strategy for team play, etc.?

Reading between the lines, I think a majority here have a problem with Bazin and wouldn’t mind someone else taking over. So, if that’s the case, you are in charge, who is going to bring us to the national championship? Get us 5/6 drafted guys? Have all this scoring power that will come to Lowell, and not BU, BC, NU, Michigan, Minnesota State, Minnesota, Minnesota Duluth, etc. Be top 4 in Hockey East every year. Frozen Fours for years to come. Who is the next Carvel?

Again, to be clear. I THINK EVERYTHING ABOUT BAZIN MAKES LOWELL A LEGIT CONTENDER, the high probability of a national championship and would not change a thing.
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If that's what you take out of this then you misunderstand something. If somebody is better then we should be getting better unless something else is not getting better. What I want to know is "why not progression". I agree that getting rid of bazin would be bad, but I still struggle to see why we aren't making incremental improvement over the years. Maybe its we can never hope to draw players of certain types to Lowell so we're down to the trying to scoop the very top of that limited group every year. I guess that would explain lack of progression because we're already at the top of what we can achieve.

edit: I want to know what progression looks like. Is there progression to be had? Did he show up to campus and that was the only tweak to be had?
 
Patman said:
If that's what you take out of this then you misunderstand something. If somebody is better then we should be getting better unless something else is not getting better. What I want to know is "why not progression". I agree that getting rid of bazin would be bad, but I still struggle to see why we aren't making incremental improvement over the years. Maybe its we can never hope to draw players of certain types to Lowell so we're down to the trying to scoop the very top of that limited group every year. I guess that would explain lack of progression because we're already at the top of what we can achieve.

edit: I want to know what progression looks like. Is there progression to be had? Did he show up to campus and that was the only tweak to be had?
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I honestly give up with this group. Good luck finding progression. Go cheer for UVM, plenty of progression to be had
 
hawkeytown said:
I honestly give up with this group. Good luck finding progression. Go cheer for UVM, plenty of progression to be had
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You're free to find your own school.

All I am saying is "I don't understand". I know this game isn't linear.
 
hawkeytown said:
Seems like I am on an island here, which is fine. I feel incredibly optimistic about this team, the programs approach and play on the ice.
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I am with you. I have read for years that the team does not have the draft picks and the "talent" yet they are
almost always in the top half or better in Hockey East. Not every team can say that.
 
gochiefs said:
I am with you. I have read for years that the team does not have the draft picks and the "talent" yet they are
almost always in the top half or better in Hockey East. Not every team can say that.
Click to expand...

I think the thing that frustrates most fans is Lowell has had really good success over the last decade plus, but it either hasn't been enough to lure some of the higher skilled players in, or the program doesn't go after them. All those trips to the Garden, winning Hockey East Championships, making it to Regional Finals, a Frozen Four... you'd think that would be a selling point to get the players here, but it hasn't in most cases. Why does Lowell have so few recruits in the pipeline for the next few years? On the ice, I don't think there are many complaints, but if there's to be this "progression" you need to start stocking the pipeline with talented players.
 
Thanks for your post bottomdweller. You said it very succinctly, better than my last two posts. It's not that we are not competitive, but rather where we would be if we recruited better skilled players which based on the programs' past and recent success seems like a no brainer . Now we can say that we only lost 1-0 to UMass in the HE championship game two years ago, but in that game we could never generate any sustained offensive pressure and for me, watching that game, I was never confident we could muster a comeback. Same with last years' 3-1 loss to UMass in the semis, out skilled and out played.....once down we were out. Ditto for Denver in the NCAA's. Close but no cigar, nice hard working team.....but lacking top skating/speed, passing, puck handling and the ability to get open shots that are not blocked or shot right into the defenseman's feet, plus lacking that killer instinct to close out games.

For me the whole season last year was tough to watch, so many 1 goal wins where we could never put the other team away, allowing teams to make it closer than it should have been, and forgettable loses to Long Island, Merrimack (twice) and UNH. I think we will be middle of the pack this year in HE, probably 7th behind BC, BU, Northeastern, UMass, Providence and Merrimack, (in no particular order of finish) slightly ahead of UConn, UNH and Maine (hopefully). Let's not become Vermont!!!!! And having 6 recruits in the pipeline is strange and points to something wrong with the program in my eyes. Who is in charge of recruiting? Anyone?
 
UNH at least had the party school factor in their advantage. Maine was able to do a lot despite being in Maine. Maybe its a different world.

Reviewing some of the other posts. I do not want Bazin gone, I think he's our best option. I am more than willing to claim other factors are involved. If you had to put it to me I think none of the eastern schools are truly getting the talent anymore and that's the real reason. I think this program under Bazin other than a couple of years produces results and that should attract talent. But it isn't. But I'd also want the opinion of others and their view on the world.

Since I don't exactly get to the arena much any more this is the closest I'll get.
 
Mike Machnik @MikeMachnikCHN 2022-23 @hockey_east

Writers & Broadcasters Association Media Poll:
1. Northeastern (7) 117
2. Massachusetts (3) 96
3. Providence 87
4. Connecticut 86
5. BU (1) 85
6. Massachusetts-Lowell 73
7. BC 63
8. Merrimack 51
9. Vermont 24
10. New Hampshire 23
11. Maine 21

HEWBA Pre-season All @hockey_east Team:
F Brett Berard (Jr., Providence)
F Aidan McDonough (Sr., Northeastern)
F Ryan Tverberg (Jr., Connecticut)
D Domenick Fensore (Sr., Boston University)
D Scott Morrow (So., Massachusetts)
G Devon Levi (Jr., Northeastern)

Time for a new thread?
 
I don't know if there any fans of the Survivor television show out there. You may want to take a look. It was announced that Noelle Lambert, the field hockey team member who was involved in the terrible accident on the Cape a few years back and lost her legs, is a contestant on season 43 of the show that starts on Wednesday the 21st.
 
Lowell ranked #17 in the USCHO Preseason Poll, #16 in the USA Today Poll. Just like in the Hockey East Poll, they're the fifth highest Hockey East team.
 
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