UNH 2020 Off-Season Thread: That Rinky-Shrinky Thang And Other Lively Banter :D

[Chuck Murray]

You made the point before but UNH has been a problem for BC these last couple years!

It's actually been longer than that, but not so much in recent years. Listening to the game on TV the other night, the BC crew touched briefly on the all-time BC vs. UNH record, and seemed genuinely surprised that it was relatively close (I think BC has won about 10 more games in the all-time series than UNH has?). But I specifically recall that well into the 2000's UNH had a (narrow) lead in the overall head-to-head series, and it's only been in recent years - the latter stages of the Umile Era mostly - where BC has moved ahead to where they stand now.

Of course, the bread-and-butter of the contest has always been postseason, and UNH hasn't won one of those since either the Snively Finale (Cedorchuck '94) or shortly before or after, early rounds against a departing Ceglarski or a rebuilding York. I honestly don't have that recall anymore, other than the '94 series, nor frankly does it matter a whole lot.

As a total aside to show where the two programs have gone in the last generation ... I recall one of BC's earliest trips to the brand-new Whittemore Center in the mid-'90's, where I went with an old BC work pal of mine, who was waxing lyrical over the fantastic future with Coach York, and then-new super-stud recruit Marty Reasoner (how's that for the "Way Back Machine"?). Turned out in the long run, my pal was right ... York has since redefined BC from a perennial bridesmaid to the ultimate winner program, and Reasoner went on to have a nice career at BC and a solid career in the NHL ...

... but on that evening, circa 1996 I believe, UNH tagged BC with either a 7-0 or 10-0 loss (I think it's the latter, but I hesitate to be certain since it's a shocking score line). Umile was starting to bring through his own studs who would propel UNH to the two FF's in the late '90's, and York still had a lot of work to be done after the carnage "Count" Cedorchuck had left behind - carnage that Mike Milbury recoiled in horror from after being the BC Hockey head coach for like 15 minutes or so.

Those were the days, my friend. We thought they'd never end. Until they did ...

 

[HockeyRef]

You made the point before but UNH has been a problem for BC these last couple years!

Yes! 3-1-2 if I'm correct. But at Conte...some ties here and there. Some teams we manage to solve, but others, like UConn....continue to stymie. I'm sure every team has 'that team' that sort of owns them. Like I often feel pretty confident the 'Cats can beat UML more than lose to them, as well as PC. Haven't seen UNH win at the Alfond, but, who does win there lol Even NU (but only at the 'Whitt; our Matthews Arena stats are not great; a tie 2 years ago?) Interesting how that works....go 'Cats!

 

[Darius]

Yup. Plays big/nice 200 foot game. Challenges everything in his area.

He and Angus both shoot left. Put them on a line with right shot Engaras? Been awhile since we had a line opponents had to game plan for.

 

[Darius]

Yes! 3-1-2 if I'm correct. But at Conte...some ties here and there. Some teams we manage to solve, but others, like UConn....continue to stymie. I'm sure every team has 'that team' that sort of owns them. Like I often feel pretty confident the 'Cats can beat UML more than lose to them, as well as PC. Haven't seen UNH win at the Alfond, but, who does win there lol Even NU (but only at the 'Whitt; our Matthews Arena stats are not great; a tie 2 years ago?) Interesting how that works....go 'Cats!

BC. We skate. They skate. No trap/clog BS. Always fun to watch.

 

[HockeyRef]

Oh, the humanity!!!!

 

[Chuck Murray]

I guess that's a split weekend, right? One OT win and one OT loss.

Throw in two more PPG's today. Better than anticipated, eh?

 

[Carmine Scarpaglia]

Not sure who made that drop pass in OT with his back to his own player and the BC player covering it, but... that's a gross mistake.

Honestly you guys got BC at a nice time, 4 guys coming back from a Mon/Tues WJC schedule, Hutsko hurt, Newhook banged up Fri/Out Sat. And BC took a lot of penalties. That being said, at least on Friday night, UNH looked reasonably decent. By the end, when BC is rolling, this .500 weekend against BC will likely be worthy of raising a banner up in the Whitt.

 

[HockeyRef]

I guess that's a split weekend, right? One OT win and one OT loss.

Throw in two more PPG's today. Better than anticipated, eh?

I would agree with that assertion Chuck...was just thinking we got some points out of a weekend where we might not have gotten any. I was happy to see some intensity up from the UMass game and think the new skaters got some great experience in this week v a quality team, banged up, tired or not. Every team experiences adversity. Unfortunate mistake at the end; it happens learn and move on. Let's see how we do with the Huskies. Go 'Cats!

 

[Felger]

Random point that's probably gotten lost in the shuffle of Robinson's mostly-stellar play so far this season ... but Ty Taylor has yet to play, and he's arguably at the midpoint of his junior season now (he could redshirt - traditional or COVID). All indications are are that he is "the man" next year, but "the man" hasn't hit the ice in a competitive league setting to date. This follows an unimpressive frosh season, and some modest progress as a back-up as a soph. Robinson clearly has the trust of MS7.

I'm not trying to make this into something bigger than it is ... but two possible conclusions that can be drawn from what we've seen (and haven't seen) so far on this issue might be either/both:

* Taylor has gone from eagerly-anticipated prospect to borderline "bust";
* MS7 is coaching as if his job next season depends on results this season

Unless I'm missing something, I do believe TT is with the team, and dressing (if not playing) ...

Hard to read too much into anything in this bizarre season but I thought it was telling the past couple weeks when UNH was playing 3 games in 4 or 5 days and Taylor didn't see the ice.

 

[HockeyRef]

Hard to read too much into anything in this bizarre season but I thought it was telling the past couple weeks when UNH was playing 3 games in 4 or 5 days and Taylor didn't see the ice.

Bet he plays in one of the UConn games...? My take on it...MS is coaching to win these HE games coz they are all we have; no OOC games which is where you see the second goalie in with some of the weaker teams (and I say that tongue in cheek usually everyone's competitive) and not to impugn Ty's ability. Yep, guessing he gets one of the UConn matches; prob the one at home.

 

[Snively65]

Bet he plays in one of the UConn games...? My take on it...MS is coaching to win these HE games coz they are all we have; no OOC games which is where you see the second goalie in with some of the weaker teams (and I say that tongue in cheek usually everyone's competitive) and not to impugn Ty's ability. Yep, guessing he gets one of the UConn matches; prob the one at home.

Do you mean "cupcakes"? "If you cannot beat the cupcakes, YOU are the cupcake."

 

[Chuck Murray]

Bet he plays in one of the UConn games...? My take on it...MS is coaching to win these HE games coz they are all we have; no OOC games which is where you see the second goalie in with some of the weaker teams (and I say that tongue in cheek usually everyone's competitive) and not to impugn Ty's ability. Yep, guessing he gets one of the UConn matches; prob the one at home.

I don't necessarily disagree HR ... but we already had a two game series with UConn recently, and Robinson played both of those games. And maybe we didn't realize it at the time, but UMaine fits your "weaker team" description, and TT didn't get a sniff in either of those games. Robinson is obviously playing well, but Robinson's not going to be here for much longer than these next two months ... and then, what's next? Your successor for the #1 goalie role still hasn't made a breakthrough, and I'm not sure we have any top quality recruits in the pipeline ...

 

[Chuck Murray]

To be clear, I'm all for "coaching to win", MS7 gets paid to do what he does, so the W's are necessary if he wants to keep his job. It just feels like the goalie position has been drifting for some time now, and if the coach has lost faith with TT, then he's got to be working OT to find someone else for next season (and beyond).

 

[HockeyRef]

Do you mean "cupcakes"? "If you cannot beat the cupcakes, YOU are the cupcake."

Well...I wasn't gonna say it....ha! Oh the cupcakes, gotta love the cupcakes...And Chuck, point is well made I'm thinking Knight (BC) and gk's of his caliber don't sit much unless they have some kind of thing going on (like returning from winning a gold medal, I mean...) so that's good his backup gets to play. Saw where Maine had a change up with UVM the other day but didn't know/ don't know what their situation is as I really don't follow them per se. What's the chance Robinson returns for a 5th year (that NCAA ruling about Seniors can return not sure how that works)? Or, he goes off to the Sharks in some capacity. Time's gonna tell the tale...go 'Cats!

 

[Chuck Murray]

What's the chance Robinson returns for a 5th year (that NCAA ruling about Seniors can return not sure how that works)? Or, he goes off to the Sharks in some capacity. Time's gonna tell the tale...go 'Cats!

Hadn't thought of that ... I guess that's up to SJ, they look OK at the NHL level with Devan Dubnyk and Martin Jones, but after that Robinson looks to be one of several young prospects who would either get a long look at the AHL level OR continue where they are IF they can; not sure what the immediate future of the AHL looks like anyway? So a 5th year at UNH isn't out of the question and it's possible (probable?) there have even been discussions about that between the key parties.

But it's hard not to think Robinson will turn pro if that's a realistic and viable option for next season.

 

[HockeyRef]

To be clear, I'm all for "coaching to win", MS7 gets paid to do what he does, so the W's are necessary if he wants to keep his job. It just feels like the goalie position has been drifting for some time now, and if the coach has lost faith with TT, then he's got to be working OT to find someone else for next season (and beyond).

What's the story on the 3rd goalie we have? Is this a viable , can step in player after Taylor? I'm clueless about him. What's in the pipeline? These are q's that will be answered as the season goes on and decisions are made. Speculating wildly that it's all on what Robinson does next year? What a season...I'm so glad they are playing. And looking forward to next year already to be free to go when I want and where...yesssss. Go 'Cats!

 

[NCAA watcher]

What's the story on the 3rd goalie we have? Is this a viable , can step in player after Taylor? I'm clueless about him. What's in the pipeline? These are q's that will be answered as the season goes on and decisions are made. Speculating wildly that it's all on what Robinson does next year? What a season...I'm so glad they are playing. And looking forward to next year already to be free to go when I want and where...yesssss. Go 'Cats!

The third goalie is Forman, a good 3rd liner, but not projected to be more than a Jamie Regan emergency. Of course, some of those step up and can move into the number 2, but I'd say the odds are against this, but Bret Abel, Brian Larochelle and Matt Carney show it can be done. It is not necessarily a knock on Taylor that he is behind Robinson, who has been the team MVP. Robinson was drafted in 2015, and will be 24 at the end of the season. The odds of him staying are beyond long. I think he'd be a free agent and given his stellar play, would probably be in demand and given his age, needs to get into a system ASAP.

Taylor reminds me of Jeff Pietrasiak, highly regarded coming in, but spending two years sitting but able to play more. He also has the option of five years, which would give him 2 years after this, if he sees a long term progress (but given the lack of opportunity, I suspect he may want to move on after four years). Which brings to the pipeline. UNH has Jed Baliotti, a senior who was going to play prep hockey and then spend one more year in the USHL. With no prep hockey, he made a USHL team, but is sitting behind 2 NCAA goalies, so not really ready to step in a year early. So the goal was to bring in a competitive potential starter to replace Robinson next year.
Last year I said goalie is a late blooming position, and so I was comfortable waiting to watch which goalies popped in junior hockey in 2020-21. Well, there is no junior hockey other than the USHL where most goalies are spoken for. Theres a couple of 20 year olds (Boynton and Glockner) and a 19 YO MCCarthy that I could see them brining in. Robinson shows Dan's point about the benefits of size, and Baliotti and Taylor are in the 6'3 mold. Boynton in 6', but mcCarthy is 6'2 and Glockner 6'3. McCarthy is more highly regarded but his performance has not been as strong. Then there's two BCHL guys, Jackson Glassford, 6'4 and on Central Scouting list, and 6'2 John Derrick, who plays with Kelowna where John Evans and Nick Ardanaz play. But they're not playing, so scouting is riskier.

 

[Chuck Murray]

This was the year Commesso was originally slated to come to UNH, right?

IIRC UNH jumped on Taylor once Commesso decommitted. All is coming to fruition now.

 

[e.cat]

Not sure who made that drop pass in OT with his back to his own player and the BC player covering it, but... that's a gross mistake.

Honestly you guys got BC at a nice time, 4 guys coming back from a Mon/Tues WJC schedule, Hutsko hurt, Newhook banged up Fri/Out Sat. And BC took a lot of penalties. That being said, at least on Friday night, UNH looked reasonably decent. By the end, when BC is rolling, this .500 weekend against BC will likely be worthy of raising a banner up in the Whitt.

You might be right. BC didn’t look like a no. 2 team that’s fo sho!

 

[Snively65]

What's the story on the 3rd goalie we have? Is this a viable , can step in player after Taylor? I'm clueless about him. What's in the pipeline? These are q's that will be answered as the season goes on and decisions are made. Speculating wildly that it's all on what Robinson does next year? What a season...I'm so glad they are playing. And looking forward to next year already to be free to go when I want and where...yesssss. Go 'Cats!

Maybe. At current rates, we might have rolled out the vaccine to about 30% or our population, along with another 30% infected by community transmission, for perhaps a 60% total, not quite there for herd immunity, but would be close. "So, I gotta ask you, are you feeling lucky?"