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UML Fires Coach MacDonald

Re: UML Fires Coach MacDonald

Hokydad said:
go back to the bc thread.

you heard right
could sign a 2 way nhl/ahl deal today if he wanted.
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LOL on both counts, but particularly the first one--quite possibly the most hypocritical post ever on this board considering you post about EVERY hockey east team. Pardon me, but S T F U.

Hokydad said:
What does a BC connection mean and how would that help UML? What the he** does that even mean? There is a reason he hasn't gotten an HC job anywhere lse, even with all of BC's success. York's influence? What is he going to do, influence all the players they don't make offers to and push them to Lowell? Please
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Wow, you are dense. In almost all college sports, assistants under successful coaches move on to head coaching positions. Any monkey understands what "York's influence" means. Cav has been a candidate and finalist before. Someone else got the job...big deal. He will have more opportunities.
 
Re: UML Fires Coach MacDonald

Now, after getting that out of my system, what candidates would UML fans like to see in the mix?
 
Re: UML Fires Coach MacDonald

I'd say Bazin, Mceachern and as a darkhorse David Quinn would be three candidates everyone at Lowell would be happy with. As someone said in a different thread, it depends on the salary that can be given. Mceachern getting free tuition with kids is a pretty big expense and landing Quinn would be a downgrade in salary for him. I think all three have the fresh mindset that can help the program be successful. Also, all three have been recruiters for their previous jobs so that is something that would immediately give more credibility to the program.
 
Re: UML Fires Coach MacDonald

I agree that realistically Bazin looks like the best candidate. A former Lowell player himself with 8 years of experience as a recruiting coordinator at Colorado College, and now a few years of head coaching experience at D-III Hamilton.

I'm hoping we'll see a formal announcement, one way or the other on Blaise, by Friday. I hate waiting on something as big as this and I'm sure it's 10x worse for the players and incoming recruits.
 
Re: UML Fires Coach MacDonald

Hokydad said:
What does a BC connection mean and how would that help UML? What the he** does that even mean? There is a reason he hasn't gotten an HC job anywhere lse, even with all of BC's success. York's influence? What is he going to do, influence all the players they don't make offers to and push them to Lowell? Please
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this isn't rocket science, think Red Auerbach, do you know who he is? how many of his explayers became head coaches, or the Celtic connection, think Larry Bird, Kevin McHale. ok, i'll even make it easier for you. think Bill Belichick and Patriot connections, how many of his staff or even player personnel people got jobs elsewhere BECAUSE of him and the Patriot connection? I think York's staff wasn't in a vacuum these past 15 or so years and may have picked up a few things:rolleyes:
 
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Re: UML Fires Coach MacDonald

Would you two take your ongoing ****ing match somewhere else please??!! We all know you don't agree with each other and never will. Short of watching yourselves argue- what is the point?

Agreed that a decision soon would be best for all including the coach. Probably more for him than others mentioned. Doubtful players are goig anywhere. Wonder how many players actually leave when the coach moves on. Anyone feeling motivated to find that fact? :p
 
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Re: UML Fires Coach MacDonald

leswp1 said:
Would you two take your ongoing ****ing match somewhere else please??!! We all know you don't agree with each other and never will. Short of watching yourselves argue- what is the point?

Agreed that a decsion soon would be best for all including the coach. Probably more for him than others mentioned. Doubtful players are goig anywhere. Wonder how many players actually leave when the coach moves on. Anyone feeling motivated to find that fact? :p
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i dont get into flame wars and never will but if my post is ridiculed i feel it is necessary to respond ( i think you would do the same) it just happened to be on your thread so sorry 'bout that
 
Re: UML Fires Coach MacDonald

leswp1 said:
Would you two take your ongoing ****ing match somewhere else please??!! We all know you don't agree with each other and never will. Short of watching yourselves argue- what is the point?
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pistols at dawn. there. it's settled.
 
Re: UML Fires Coach MacDonald

Agreed that a decision soon would be best for all including the coach. Probably more for him than others mentioned. Doubtful players are goig anywhere. Wonder how many players actually leave when the coach moves on. Anyone feeling motivated to find that fact? :p[/QUOTE]

Your points are on target with respect to the urgency of getting the right coach identified and in place as soon as possible for the stability of the 2011-2012 season first and foremost. Most existing players are not going any where as you suggest, but they are wondering and anxious to know who will be at the helm next year and how they fit in... New recruits could be at risk as Hokydad suggests if someone they do not like or do not feel compatible with gets the job. Even then it is still very difficult to change this late in the game but it has happened.

Good things can certainly happen with changes like this as well and St. Johns is a great example. New coach with senior rich class that out performs expectations by a mile based on new culture, new ideas, different coaching style and most importantly a very smooth transition. The right coach will do the right thing for returning players and quickly address the concerns of his recruited kids as well. For them it is more about... "recruiters saw me in this role helping your program, is that consistent with where you see me fitting in as well?"

End of the day UML folks will be very happy with the selection and the direction change in my opinion. Very good times ahead for the club, the school, and their fan base!
 
Re: UML Fires Coach MacDonald

BCHF said:
End of the day UML folks will be very happy with the selection and the direction change in my opinion. Very good times ahead for the club, the school, and their fan base!
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As I've said elsewhere, I find it hard to be happy that a person I consider a good man (yes, I know he got caught for DUI once) is losing his job. That's what makes it tough.

But this school needs to go in a new direction. The players that Coach MacDonald brought in generally are a higher class than what we'd been getting before. Hopefully the new coach will continue that trend, and will also be a better game day coach (not that I'm the greatest judge of that, more just from what it looks like).

I think Lowell fans would love to see a charismatic recruiter like MacDonald, someone who does push academics like MacDonald, but the change needs to be the on-ice product. Oh and one other thing I'd personally like to see ... don't just skip out on the high end recruits because you think you might have no shot. When someone on the UML recruiting thread said that they barely made an attempt to get Ryan Badger to head to Lowell was just pathetic if true. His brother's currently a player at Lowell, his father played here ... but just because he's probably on the high end of your potential recruits, doesn't mean you don't go after him.
 
Re: UML Fires Coach MacDonald

You go after a player if yiou think he can fill a slot, not already taken and that the player can help the program win in Hockey east. I agree with their decision.
 
Re: UML Fires Coach MacDonald

UMLFan said:
As I've said elsewhere, I find it hard to be happy that a person I consider a good man (yes, I know he got caught for DUI once) is losing his job. That's what makes it tough.

But this school needs to go in a new direction.
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I agree with you 100%.

I hope if/when the decision is made that the school paints the picture more of a "New Direction" rather than "FIRED".

Coach MacDonald has done alright in his years at UML, this shouldn't be a burning at the stake type situation. It is just time to change the way things are going at UML. Blaise has not made it to the next level and it is time for UML to find someone who can.
 
Re: UML Fires Coach MacDonald

BCHF said:
Agreed that a decision soon would be best for all including the coach. Probably more for him than others mentioned. Doubtful players are goig anywhere. Wonder how many players actually leave when the coach moves on. Anyone feeling motivated to find that fact? :p
Click to expand...

Your points are on target with respect to the urgency of getting the right coach identified and in place as soon as possible for the stability of the 2011-2012 season first and foremost. Most existing players are not going any where as you suggest, but they are wondering and anxious to know who will be at the helm next year and how they fit in... New recruits could be at risk as Hokydad suggests if someone they do not like or do not feel compatible with gets the job. Even then it is still very difficult to change this late in the game but it has happened.

Good things can certainly happen with changes like this as well and St. Johns is a great example. New coach with senior rich class that out performs expectations by a mile based on new culture, new ideas, different coaching style and most importantly a very smooth transition. The right coach will do the right thing for returning players and quickly address the concerns of his recruited kids as well. For them it is more about... "recruiters saw me in this role helping your program, is that consistent with where you see me fitting in as well?"

End of the day UML folks will be very happy with the selection and the direction change in my opinion. Very good times ahead for the club, the school, and their fan base![/QUOTE]

When Osiecki took over at Ohio State this season he actually released three Canadian players on the roster before the season started. Two Juniors and a Senior. All given a reason that they were being released due to "numbers". One was a fifth round NHL draft pick, Taylor Stefishen.
As there was no breach of their NCAA contract on the part of the players, all scholarships had to be honored for this school year only. The senior chose to stay at OSU and graduate, the two juniors left.
Now that a precedent has been set at OSU, it can happen.
Also, another senior left the team at Christmas Break to go to the ECHL.
Sometimes a new coach has his own ideas with the existing roster.....
 
Re: UML Fires Coach MacDonald

I agree it's time for a change, but I do wish Blaise well in his future and as someone noted, I think he'll land on his feet somewhere. As Monty pointed out, we did generally improve the level of recruits coming in during his tenure. I also like the focus that Blaise had on character, academics and community involvement.

All that being said, the on-ice product didn't improve as much as the off-ice portions of the program did. My big beef is the failure to balance the classes (or even improve the situation) and the effect it has on the program every four years.

It will be interesting to see how things play out over the summer.
 
Re: UML Fires Coach MacDonald

Go-UML said:
I agree it's time for a change, but I do wish Blaise well in his future and as someone noted, I think he'll land on his feet somewhere. As Monty pointed out, we did generally improve the level of recruits coming in during his tenure. I also like the focus that Blaise had on character, academics and community involvement.

All that being said, the on-ice product didn't improve as much as the off-ice portions of the program did. My big beef is the failure to balance the classes (or even improve the situation) and the effect it has on the program every four years.

It will be interesting to see how things play out over the summer.
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I'll echo what everybody else is saying... he seems to be a good enough guy.... he's done a good job keeping the "kids" (players) in line and flying right... and we've been through some rough stretches... but as the years have tolled he's had teams that have performed below their abilities and have been lumpy... which i think affects development. After awhile, when you lose you get that attached to you... I can certainly conceive of situations where you may very well need to replace a coach with his clone... while I'm not advocating a clone here (I've never been fond of his philosophy) people do associate losing with the coach and as a result, even for in no fault of the coach himself, changes need to be made.

I think that is certainly the case here... time for new blood... time for a fresh take... time for somebody else to take a crack at this. I'm sure Blaise will land on his feet... who knows, maybe he lands at Penn State and makes us look like fools... maybe he decides its time to move into the athletic office somwhere? Either case, I think its time to see what somebody else can do here because I think the course has run and the perceptions have been assigned to him. I think its in our best interest to have a new coach.
 
Re: UML Fires Coach MacDonald

Nothing official from UML, but USHR is reporting:
MacDonald Reported Out at Lowell
UMass-Lowell head coach Blaise MacDonald reportedly emailed his players yesterday, notifying them that he was out as head coach.

We have no word on the fate of his coaching staff yet. Most likely that will be left to whomever Lowell AD Dana Skinner hires.

It’s obviously early to be talking about successors, but we have heard the names of former Edmonton Oilers head coach Craig MacTavish and current Hamilton College head coach Norm Bazin being bandied about. Both are Lowell alums.

A Billerica, Mass. native, MacDonald was 150-178-42 in his ten years at Lowell, coming over from Niagara University. His last job as an assistant was at BU in the early ‘90s, a run which culminated in an NCAA crown for the Terriers.

MacDonald, who got through a patch of trouble in the summer of 2007 – specifically, a DUI arrest – just couldn’t get past this year’s 5-25-4 record (4-21-2 in HE play). He had one year remaining on his contract.
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