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UNH 2021 Off-Season Thread: Finally!?!

In today's Union Leader MS7 discusses the upcoming 2021/2022 UNH Hockey schedule ...

https://www.unionleader.com/sports/...cle_aaa1e3eb-511e-56db-8191-1417fc47ccd7.html

MS7 is also stoked about HE's return to its "participation medals" approach to MBPBEGAM playoffs:

Every team will make the Hockey East playoffs this year, with the opening round scheduled for March 9. The Hockey East semifinals and title game will be played at TD Garden in Boston March 18-19.

Only the top eight teams qualified for the Hockey East playoffs two years ago and each team qualified last season. Souza said every team should make the tournament while the league has an odd number of teams.

“I think as long as there’s an unbalanced schedule, every team should be in the playoffs,” Souza said. “I think the athletic directors felt that way, the coaches felt that way. I know the student-athletes are excited about it. I certainly am.”

((( puzzled emoji )))

Help me out here ... what exactly is "unbalanced" about a schedule where every member school plays every other member school twice per season? Does "unbalanced" mean when you play UMaine and UVM, there are two games played at the same site, instead of one game at each site?? And even if it were "unbalanced", why should that be the reason for the worst three teams to make up the numbers in the league tourney???

It's still the offseason, let's hash this thing out, and debunk the stupidity of allowing bad teams into the "postseason", and reducing the relevance of the regular season into a seeding exercise ...
 
Chuck Murray said:
Help me out here ... what exactly is "unbalanced" about a schedule where every member school plays every other member school twice per season? Does "unbalanced" mean when you play UMaine and UVM, there are two games played at the same site, instead of one game at each site?? And even if it were "unbalanced", why should that be the reason for the worst three teams to make up the numbers in the league tourney???
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Some HE teams play each other three times. UNH for example plays PC, UConn, Vermont and Lowell thrice.

But still, who cares. You finish in the bottom half of the league, you lose your right to complain that you would have done better if you hand't had to play someone a third time.
 
NCAA watcher said:
Some HE teams play each other three times. UNH for example plays PC, UConn, Vermont and Lowell thrice.

But still, who cares. You finish in the bottom half of the league, you lose your right to complain that you would have done better if you hand't had to play someone a third time.
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Thanks for clarifying, 'Watcher. And yeah, who cares, your 20 "balanced" games overrides any scheduling inequities from the other four "unbalanced" games.

FWIW the four games UNH has this season is hardly an onerous burden. It's got a very .500 feel to it, maybe with PC being top tier, UML slightly below (top half?), UConn on par and UVM below.

It's hardly as if UNH is going to be faced with UMass, BC, BU and NU. Get over it, MS7.
 
Seeing a coach who is happy that all teams will make the playoffs doesnt really foreshadow great results moving forward. What happened to selling my program as the best choice, fighting for and winning better recruits and playing the best opponents around to prove it?

There once was a rather "mediocre" college coach trying to grow his backwoods and irrelevant program who said something along the lines of - "To show the type of program we are building here, I will play anyone, anytime, and anywhere, as long as it is on TV". How did that attitude and confidence work out for Shawn Walsh?
 
every team should be in the playoffs,” Souza said. “I think the athletic directors felt that way, the coaches felt that way. I know the student-athletes are excited about it. I certainly am.”
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Whalers said:
Seeing a coach who is happy that all teams will make the playoffs doesnt really foreshadow great results moving forward. What happened to selling my program as the best choice, fighting for and winning better recruits and playing the best opponents around to prove it?
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Yes, he's pretty crappy at public messaging. Let's hope he's better in private. Saying you're "excited" about the change suggests it matters to you. How about "it won't effect us because we expect to be in the top half of the league."
Or else he's just brown nosing the bosses (ADs and Metcalf) who made the rule. "Gee, the smart guys made the best rule ever. Everyone loves them." Of course, they may just be dumb enough to believe the praise.


But, let me not end on a negative tone. Congratulations to UNH on making the playoffs for the second consecutive season.
 
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NCAA watcher said:
Yes, he's pretty crappy at public messaging. Let's hope he's better in private. Saying you're "excited" about the change suggests it matters to you. How about "it won't effect us because we expect to be in the top half of the league."
Or else he's just brown nosing the bosses (ADs and Metcalf) who made the rule. "Gee, the smart guys made the best rule ever. Everyone loves them." Of course, they may just be dumb enough to believe the praise.

But, let me not end on a negative tone. Congratulations to UNH on making the playoffs for the second consecutive season.
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I vote for Option #2. "Please don't fire me, Blue Skies ... we made the playoffs two years running!"
 
UNH playing Hahvad instead of Bentley for their 34th game. Who cares about balanced vs unbalanced HEA schedules. All that matters is the almighty PWR. UNH has challenged itself with another blockbuster season of OOC opponents: Union (2), AZ State (2), @ Harvard, Holy Cross (back to back nights), @ Dartmouth and BC (Ledyard), St Lawrence, and Clarkson, with seven home and one neutral game. Win those ten, and we just might get to Albany, Woostah, Allentown, or Loveland (Colorado) for a NCAA regional in lieu of da Gahden for the HEA tourney. And, would not that be somethin' if we got to da Gahden for the FF instead?
 
Snively65 said:
UNH playing Hahvad instead of Bentley for their 34th game. Who cares about balanced vs unbalanced HEA schedules. All that matters is the almighty PWR. UNH has challenged itself with another blockbuster season of OOC opponents: Union (2), AZ State (2), @ Harvard, Holy Cross (back to back nights), @ Dartmouth and BC (Ledyard), St Lawrence, and Clarkson, with seven home and one neutral game. Win those ten, and we just might get to Albany, Woostah, Allentown, or Loveland (Colorado) for a NCAA regional in lieu of da Gahden for the HEA tourney. And, would not that be somethin' if we got to da Gahden for the FF instead?
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It's been a quiet summer up yonder, hasn't it, Snives? Hope you bounce back from the head injury. ;-)
 
Well, its a reverse draft, where the best teams get the first picks. Hard to break into the top if you're drafting next to last.

Thankfully Kohei Sato was just announced so his is the last feed on the twitter "unh hockey" filter. Previously there was a post encapsulating all that was wrong with UNH recruiting 2015-2019, and it set me off each time I saw it.
 
NCAA watcher said:
Thankfully Kohei Sato was just announced so his is the last feed on the twitter "unh hockey" filter. Previously there was a post encapsulating all that was wrong with UNH recruiting 2015-2019, and it set me off each time I saw it.
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Good to see UNH Hockey sweating the details off the ice these days, just as they do on the ice ...
 
NCAA watcher said:
Let's see tomorrow where UNH ranks in the pecking order.
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I doubt much happens today - these kids need to take their time in order to prove Durham is where they want to be. The kids committing early are just the talented ones with lots of offers - no worries, it’s the one offer kids that are truly grateful!!
 
What is this "draft" that should be capturing our attention?

Back to my brain injury, I still think that UNH made the right call in choosing Hahvad over Bentley for their remaining OOC game this season, for whatever meager improvement in their SOS that provides. However, I think that UNH had a good chance of beating Bentley this season, given that Bentley lost nearly all of their limited offensive production at the end of last season.
 
Snively65 said:
What is this "draft" that should be capturing our attention?
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First day juniors can commit. Top programs trot out their offers and get the first rounders.

He picked out a top five: UND, UMass, Boston College, Boston University and Wisconsin. Strathmann did his research on them and was prepared for Aug. 1 — the first day college hockey programs can offer scholarships to high school juniors, and the first day they're allowed to accept those offers.

On Sunday morning, UND coach Brad Berry called Strathmann with the offer, and Strathmann committed on the spot.
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I see Warren Foegele just signed a three year deal with the Oilers for $2.75m per year. Not bad. Too bad they didn't recognize his talent while he was here.
 
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