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UNH 2018 Offseason- Out with the old , in with the semi new?

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Snively65 said:
Thanks for posting link, Darius. I like that Souza said any of HR's three goal keepers has a chance at the starting gig, including Lazzaro. But, "four game road trip" sounds like the Cats are not coming home between the two weekends in Hamilton and Colorado Springs. :-)
Click to expand...

Interesting quote. Why? Because Lazzaro is absolutely not in the mix - he is a pure non-scholarship third goalie. It's complete coach speak and the polite thing to say. But, mentioning him as a part of the competition indicates Souza has told Taylor and Robinson that this a legitimate and wide-open competition. It means we may see (are likely to, even) a rotation and whoever emerges will have to have earned it...

Good for Souza. It's the right way to handle the situation in my opinion. I had expected Taylor to get a long leash as Souza's guy. I'd still favor Taylor to be the one to emerge (if one does) but he'll be better for having fought to earn the job. Ditto for Robinson if he is the guy...
 
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Re: UNH 2018 Offseason- Out with the old , in with the semi new?

Dan said:
Interesting quote. Why? Because Lazzaro is absolutely not in the mix - he is a pure non-scholarship third goalie. It's complete coach speak and the polite thing to say. But, mentioning him as a part of the competition indicates Souza has told Taylor and Robinson that this a legitimate and wide-open competition. It means we may see (are likely to, even) a rotation and whoever emerges will have to have earned it...

Good for Souza. It's the right way to handle the situation in my opinion. I had expected Taylor to get a long leash as Souza's guy. I'd still favor Taylor to be the one to emerge (if one does) but he'll be better for having fought to earn the job. Ditto for Robinson if he is the guy...
Click to expand...

I don't disagree with most of what you've said here, Dan. But I would be remiss if I didn't point out that you've previously discounted Lazzaro as any kind of a real factor in the UNH goalie mix, mostly after I dared to say that he *might* factor into the mix later in his UNH career. Now Coach Souza says (and I do agree, it's probably coach-speak) that he's … in the mix. :)

Putting aside my (admittedly silly) little "gotcha" moment there … like you, I've kind of assumed Taylor will emerge as the lead dog, if for no other reason than Robinson has been unimpressive virtually since the day he was drafted. He's a "potential" guy, which these days apparently means he's big, and fills a lot of the net, and *maybe* we can teach him all of the other stuff. It may be conditioned thinking from the last generation of Umile teams, but in the end, I suspect Souza will rotate Taylor and Robinson in the early going, and maybe settle on one of them (Taylor?) in early 2019? But if the team is struggling (as I sadly expect them to) by then, there might not be much to be gained by not sticking with the rotation through the end of the season?

More than anything else this season, I'm interested to see how Souza handles his business, where it matches his mentor's approach, and where it might stray in direction. It's almost show time ...
 
Re: UNH 2018 Offseason- Out with the old , in with the semi new?

Chuck Murray said:
I don't disagree with most of what you've said here, Dan. But I would be remiss if I didn't point out that you've previously discounted Lazzaro as any kind of a real factor in the UNH goalie mix, mostly after I dared to say that he *might* factor into the mix later in his UNH career. Now Coach Souza says (and I do agree, it's probably coach-speak) that he's … in the mix. :).
Click to expand...

And Ive been right to date, and will be right moving forward. I don't mean to denigrate Lazzaro who seemingly works extremely hard every day in his role and is a fantastic student. His role is vitally important to the team, but it also is what it is. He is this team's Michael Filardo or Tim Collins. Resumes can tell us a lot. You can argue that Robinson and Taylor have received more attention because of their size and potential and be correct, but they have also received a lot more attention and opportunity because of their superior levels of talent. Both were highly regarded recruits with a number of offers, who played on elite youth teams and were successful in the best junior leagues in North America (Taylor in particular). Stack their resumes up against Lazarro's (four years of 3+ GAA at a second-tier prep-school and one post-grad in prep as an overager on a loaded roster) and they tell a significant story...

He has also played just nine minutes of mop-up hockey at UNH despite the most porous goaltending the program has seen since the days of Heinke/Cavicchi, if not longer. There is a reason for that. The difference between the scholarship goalies attracted by DI programs and the third goaltenders they bring into add depth in practice and in case of emergencies is NOTABLE to say the least. And that needs to be acknowledged. UNH has NOT been a program to bring in three scholarship, starting caliber goaltenders. That hasn't been there m/o and it tells us a lot about the current situation. Jamie Regan is the best 'third-goalie' UNH has had since Brian Larochelle - he played two full seasons of junior hockey, including an All-Star season, in the EJHL and he still couldn't crack the rotation in any meaningful way. He was much more talented than Lazzaro.

Its coach speak. It just is what it is. When you're touting a legitimate competition to your team - everyone is included. And if Lazzaro (who, at 5-7, makes Danny Tirone appear like the giant, pillow adorned netminder you despise) turns into Jeff Lerg, than I'm sure they'd be happy to give him the job - but thats just not going to happen. The reality is, if Lazzaro is playing major minutes this season, something has gone horribly wrong (multiple injuries, departures, etc) and UNH's season is...

It is the right thing for Souza to say. I'm sure he'd also tell you that, early in the season, every one is getting 'competitive looks' for PP time and they're open to anyone winning those battles - but I bet we could realistically narrow down that candidates significantly, no? Talent and ability wins out and Taylor and Robinson have HUGE (and insurmountable) natural advantages in that regard...

---

Taylor is probably the biggest talent (and scout's descriptions of him as athletic, BIG, well-positioned, under control and never out of position are music to my ears). He was great in the BCHL last season and would likely be competing for the starting goaltender job at BU this year (if Oettinger had left early) or next year (if he had been willing to wait). He's a guy a number of programs wanted and was a good get for Souza. He is probably the odds on favorite to win a competition and at least earn a 1a moniker, but despite Robinson tailing off since his draft year he was pretty good last season as a FR. I wish he had played more - he deserved to and it would have been better for his development. If you remove his one awful outing against Northeastern (when the entire team - and multiple goaltenders - was horrendous) he posted a 1.47 GAA with a .911 SPCT in 204 minutes. I hope they rotate as long as possible until one plays so well they can't be denied or struggles themselves out of the competition...
 
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Re: UNH 2018 Offseason- Out with the old , in with the semi new?

Seems so weird we aren’t playing this weekend....and will you look at those other ‘Cats!! Soon enough....
 
Snively65 said:
Not speaking for Chuck, but I think that it will be Merrimack, UVM, and Yukon not making the HEA playoffs this season.
Click to expand...

Looks like I may have misunderestimated the Catamounts from the Republic of Vermont this year. So, maybe I will join Chuck in predicting that it will be Mack, Yukon, and UMass-Flagship on the outside looking in at the end of this regular season.
 
Re: UNH 2018 Offseason- Out with the old , in with the semi new?

I will be at both venues. I am optimistic as always. The best players are playing where they should be playing. Snively, you will be amazed at the number of freshmen and sophomores in key rolls. We will know more by Mid-November.
 
UNH1932 said:
I will be at both venues. I am optimistic as always. The best players are playing where they should be playing. Snively, you will be amazed at the number of freshmen and sophomores in key rolls. We will know more by Mid-November.
Click to expand...

Will be watching from afar!! It’s awesome the young players will get valuable ice time to develop...Let’s go ‘Cats!!
 
Re: UNH 2018 Offseason- Out with the old , in with the semi new?

Back in the day when excitement for UNH hockey seasons was palpable, posters used to predict scoring output prior to each season. Here is a projection based on how I think lines may shake out for UNH once the season gets going. The 105-goal prediction may be a bit optimistic with a team on the younger side of the coin - and based on what they've done in the past - but just call me Dan1932! I think it will take balance to get there, so few goal totals will jump off the page - though if you wanted to argue that more goals should be moved to the likely PP candidates and away from depth I wouldn't put up much of a fight. This is a +17 goals per game projection which is nearly half a goal more per game over the course of the year and based on last year's numbers would bounce UNH from just inside the top-50 to just inside the top-25 in goals per game at the national level. If they can shave a few more goals off of the goals against as well, they can climb the HE standings. I'd imagine they'll put up a slightly improved GAA and fight for the final spot in the Hockey East Playoffs...

[table="width: 500"]
[tr]
[td]PLAYER[/td]
[td]GOALS[/td]
[td]ASSISTS[/td]
[td]POINTS[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Blackburn[/td]
[td]12[/td]
[td]18[/td]
[td]30[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Grasso[/td]
[td]15[/td]
[td]15[/td]
[td]30[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Gildon[/td]
[td]7[/td]
[td]21[/td]
[td]28[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Crookshank[/td]
[td]10[/td]
[td]15[/td]
[td]25[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Kelleher[/td]
[td]8[/td]
[td]16[/td]
[td]24[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Nazarian[/td]
[td]8[/td]
[td]12[/td]
[td]20[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Maass[/td]
[td]3[/td]
[td]15[/td]
[td]18[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Engaras[/td]
[td]8[/td]
[td]9[/td]
[td]17[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Van Reimsdyk[/td]
[td]5[/td]
[td]10[/td]
[td]15[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Wyse[/td]
[td]3[/td]
[td]10[/td]
[td]13[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Vela[/td]
[td]5[/td]
[td]6[/td]
[td]11[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]MacAdams[/td]
[td]5[/td]
[td]5[/td]
[td]10[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Pierson[/td]
[td]4[/td]
[td]4[/td]
[td]8[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Miller[/td]
[td]2[/td]
[td]6[/td]
[td]8[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Cippollone[/td]
[td]3[/td]
[td]4[/td]
[td]7[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Esposito[/td]
[td]3[/td]
[td]4[/td]
[td]7[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]MacKinnon[/td]
[td]1[/td]
[td]5[/td]
[td]6[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Boyd[/td]
[td]1[/td]
[td]4[/td]
[td]5[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Fregona[/td]
[td]1[/td]
[td]4[/td]
[td]5[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Cefalu[/td]
[td]1[/td]
[td]2[/td]
[td]3[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Verrier[/td]
[td]0[/td]
[td]3[/td]
[td]3[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Dawson[/td]
[td]0[/td]
[td]3[/td]
[td]3[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Sato[/td]
[td]0[/td]
[td]2[/td]
[td]1[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Sacco[/td]
[td]0[/td]
[td]1[/td]
[td]1[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Hickey[/td]
[td]0[/td]
[td]1[/td]
[td]1[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]TOTAL[/td]
[td]105[/td]
[td]195[/td]
[td]300[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

---

LINE PROJECTIONS:

Crookshank - Blackburn - Grasso
Engaras - Nazarian - Kelleher
BVR - Vela - MacAdams
Pierson - Miller - Esposito/Cippolone/Fregona

Wyse - Maass
Gildon - MacKinnon
Boyd - Verrier
Dawson (XD)*

* I'd peg Dawson as a likely choice to be the extra skater because he can fill in at defense and forward if there is an injury.

---

SCHEDULE PREDICTIONS

W - @Gate, @CC, UVM, MIA, DART, BENT, MC, @MC, UC, ME, @UVM, NU, UML
L - @CC, UM, BU, @BC, @UM, MIA, @PC, PC, @BU, BC, @ME, @UC, @UVM, @UML, @NU
T - @Gate, @UML, @DART, YALE, ME, NU

Overal: 13-15-6
Hockey East: 8-13-3 (19 pts / 8th-Place)

---

HOCKEY EAST STANDINGS
Boston College
Providence
Boston University
UMass-Amherst
UMass-Lowell
Northeastern
Maine
New Hampshire
Vermont
Connecticut
Merrimack

---

GAME 3

Sox Win
 
Last edited:
Dan said:
Back in the day when excitement for UNH hockey seasons was palpable, posters used to predict scoring output prior to each season. Here is a projection based on how I think lines may shake out for UNH once the season gets going. The 105-goal prediction may be a bit optimistic with a team on the younger side of the coin - and based on what they've done in the past - but just call me Dan1932! I think it will take balance to get there, so few goal totals will jump off the page - though if you wanted to argue that more goals should be moved to the likely PP candidates and away from depth I wouldn't put up much of a fight. This is a +17 goals per game projection which is nearly half a goal more per game over the course of the year and based on last year's numbers would bounce UNH from just inside the top-50 to just inside the top-25 in goals per game at the national level. If they can shave a few more goals off of the goals against as well, they can climb the HE standings. I'd imagine they'll put up a slightly improved GAA and fight for the final spot in the Hockey East Playoffs...

[table="width: 500"]
[tr]
[td]PLAYER[/td]
[td]GOALS[/td]
[td]ASSISTS[/td]
[td]POINTS[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Blackburn[/td]
[td]12[/td]
[td]18[/td]
[td]30[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Grasso[/td]
[td]15[/td]
[td]15[/td]
[td]30[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Gildon[/td]
[td]7[/td]
[td]21[/td]
[td]28[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Crookshank[/td]
[td]10[/td]
[td]15[/td]
[td]25[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Kelleher[/td]
[td]8[/td]
[td]16[/td]
[td]24[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Nazarian[/td]
[td]8[/td]
[td]12[/td]
[td]20[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Maass[/td]
[td]3[/td]
[td]15[/td]
[td]18[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Engaras[/td]
[td]8[/td]
[td]9[/td]
[td]17[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Van Reimsdyk[/td]
[td]5[/td]
[td]10[/td]
[td]15[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Wyse[/td]
[td]3[/td]
[td]10[/td]
[td]13[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Vela[/td]
[td]5[/td]
[td]6[/td]
[td]11[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]MacAdams[/td]
[td]5[/td]
[td]5[/td]
[td]10[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Pierson[/td]
[td]4[/td]
[td]4[/td]
[td]8[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Miller[/td]
[td]2[/td]
[td]6[/td]
[td]8[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Cippollone[/td]
[td]3[/td]
[td]4[/td]
[td]7[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Esposito[/td]
[td]3[/td]
[td]4[/td]
[td]7[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]MacKinnon[/td]
[td]1[/td]
[td]5[/td]
[td]6[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Boyd[/td]
[td]1[/td]
[td]4[/td]
[td]5[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Fregona[/td]
[td]1[/td]
[td]4[/td]
[td]5[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Cefalu[/td]
[td]1[/td]
[td]2[/td]
[td]3[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Verrier[/td]
[td]0[/td]
[td]3[/td]
[td]3[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Dawson[/td]
[td]0[/td]
[td]3[/td]
[td]3[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Sato[/td]
[td]0[/td]
[td]2[/td]
[td]1[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Sacco[/td]
[td]0[/td]
[td]1[/td]
[td]1[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Hickey[/td]
[td]0[/td]
[td]1[/td]
[td]1[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]TOTAL[/td]
[td]105[/td]
[td]195[/td]
[td]300[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

---

LINE PROJECTIONS:

Crookshank - Blackburn - Grasso
Engaras - Nazarian - Kelleher
BVR - Vela - MacAdams
Pierson - Miller - Esposito/Cippolone/Fregona

Wyse - Maass
Gildon - MacKinnon
Boyd - Verrier
Dawson (XD)*

* I'd peg Dawson as a likely choice to be the extra skater because he can fill in at defense and forward if there is an injury.

---

SCHEDULE PREDICTIONS

W - @Gate, @CC, UVM, MIA, DART, BENT, MC, @MC, UC, ME, @UVM, NU, UML
L - @CC, UM, BU, @BC, @UM, MIA, @PC, PC, @BU, BC, @ME, @UC, @UVM, @UML, @NU
T - @Gate, @UML, @DART, YALE, ME, NU

Overal: 13-15-6
Hockey East: 8-13-3 (19 pts / 8th-Place)

---

HOCKEY EAST STANDINGS
Boston College
Providence
Boston University
UMass-Amherst
UMass-Lowell
Northeastern
Maine
New Hampshire
Vermont
Connecticut
Merrimack

---

GAME 3

Sox Win
Click to expand...

Well, at least the Sox scored first. :-)

Not too bullish on the projected captain to be, I see?
 
Snively65 said:
Well, at least the Sox scored first. :-)

Not too bullish on the projected captain to be, I see?
Click to expand...

Not sure he's really going to play a scoring role if we are to believe that the younger more talented players are getting their deserved roles. That said, despite his relatively disappointing scoring to date, he is without a doubt the biggest variable to predict on the roster.

He was a good JRs scorer and is easily the big candidate for UNHs typical big breakout senior.

One way thy might happen is putting him on a PP with Gildon and stationing him in front of the net. He's really good at tipping picks and should get plenty of rebound opportunities, also, if they use him that way...

He has a chance to get to 10-15 and I wouldn't be surprised - but I still think 105 sounds about right, so he'd be cannabilizing someone else.

Would like to see other predictions...
 
Dan said:
Not sure he's really going to play a scoring role if we are to believe that the younger more talented players are getting their deserved roles. That said, despite his relatively disappointing scoring to date, he is without a doubt the biggest variable to predict on the roster.

He was a good JRs scorer and is easily the big candidate for UNHs typical big breakout senior.

One way thy might happen is putting him on a PP with Gildon and stationing him in front of the net. He's really good at tipping picks and should get plenty of rebound opportunities, also, if they use him that way...

He has a chance to get to 10-15 and I wouldn't be surprised - but I still think 105 sounds about right, so he'd be cannabilizing someone else.

Would like to see other predictions...
Click to expand...

I may be misremembering, but I believe that I proposed 13.5 wins for an over/under and chose the over, to which Chuck (and now you) chose the under, and I think HR and maybe another chose the over. I think that your 105 GF and GA sound about right, and I think that success will depend largely on goaltending and blueline D, as I do not see this team scoring a whole lot of goals, especially on the PP. I would really like to see at least one SHG this season. :-)

Make that 10 runs. :-)
 
Last edited:
Snively65 said:
I may be misremembering, but I believe that I proposed 13.5 wins for an over/under and chose the over, to which Chuck (and now you) chose the under, and I think HR and maybe another chose the over. I think that your 105 GF and GA sound about right, and I think that success will depend largely on goaltending and blueline D, as I do not see this team scoring a whole lot of goals, especially on the PP. I would really like to see at least one SHG this season. :-)

Make that 10 runs. :-)
Click to expand...

Make that 16 runs, Dan. :-)

Thanks for the link, Darius. Good to read about Souza's passion, but hope that he is not too disappointed if he never sees a full house again at Lake Whitt, even if he is able to get the Cats back to the Frozen Four, as I think that those full house days are over in cawlidge hawkey.
 
Last edited:
Snively65 said:
Make that 16 runs, Dan. :-)
Click to expand...

Hear me now, believe me later! I like their chances to clinch at Yankee Stadium for a second time this season. I predict they are moving on to face the Astros in the ALCS one way or another...

---

As for Souza. I predict I am already tired of feel good stories. Show me how that passion translates into action. And why it translates better now than it did the last three years...
 
Re: UNH 2018 Offseason- Out with the old , in with the semi new?

Pierson is far better than you project. Do not be surprised if he is on first line. He is the best skater on the team with offensive talent beyond most projections.
 
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