UNH 2021 Off-Season Thread: Finally!?!

[HockeyRef]

See, it's only taken you a few years to let us turn you into a full-blown UNH cynic, 'Ref! ;-)

Well, I'm just being realistic and get how this basically works? Since when has UNH athletics yanked a high profile coach (I know that coaches have been axed but in my time of being a UNH sports fan that's only been done if something egregious happens). Never. So, why even think it would happen. Still hopeful for some good things to come but, I don't have any misconceptions about that process. You need the horses, a consistent vision, and, drop the excuses mentality. Perhaps a program only gets one 'heyday'. Tell that to long standing, winning programs that seem to get this. He**...just stop telling the old stories and start some NEW ones. Loved to be proven wrong. In the meantime I need a serious attitude shift that's for sure.

On a brighter note, Max and Angus continue to do good things in the AHL...! Oh, and Potsy too.

 

[NCAA watcher]

You need the horses, a consistent vision, and, drop the excuses mentality. Perhaps a program only gets one 'heyday'. Tell that to long standing, winning programs that seem to get this. He**...just stop telling the old stories and start some NEW ones. Loved to be proven wrong. In the meantime I need a serious attitude shift that's for sure.

UNH has the two leading +/- players in the USHL (Gagne & Huard). And Carfagna is 12th among D in +/-.
Ardanaz was on the BCHL all-rookie team last year.

It will be interesting to see how UNH juggles the D roster.

Jr.Eriksson
So.Reid
Sr.Verrier
Sr.McKinnon
So.Jenson
******** Sr.Hickey is depth/nonscholarship and Joe Nagle is in portal

if 5 regulars are returning, who do they bring in? Huard is 21, so has to be here next year. That seems to leave only one spot for Ardanaz or Gagne. I'd hate to see Ardanaz sent back unless he wants that. It's been a bad year for the BCHL, so maybe he wants a regular year to grow, and his skill set duplicates Eriksson's. But I am reminded of the Laleggia fiasco.

Or does UNH decide to make room on D with some decisions on existing guys? The weakest +/- was Eriksson, a powerplay specialist but weak in 5X5, while the Verrier/McKinnon group had good +/-.

Either way, if Gagne is deferred, he and Carfagna are good replacements for Verrier/McKinnon in 2022.

The D will be a position of depth.

 

[Drew S.]

I agree with a lot of what Watcher said, but will add I think to some degree the ‘99 Maine team has got a reputation over the years that’s a little undeserved. That team obviously wasn’t any where close to the ‘93 team, but what team is? There were at least eight guys from the ‘99 team who played in the NHL and a few guys who went fairly high in the NHL draft.

If you look back over the last 15 years at different times Sneddon, Dennehey, Bazin, and Leaman were all annointed as the next big thing. They are all good coaches as Carvel is, but it wouldn’t shock me if we look back in 10 years as him being a one hit wonder. They got a once in a lifetime draw and made the most of it. Apparently none of their players had Covid all season which must have made some sort of difference too.

I also see them in a similar light as UML and Bazin has consistently put out respectable teams but they’ve never come close to the heights they reached when he first started. To be an upper echelon team year I n and year out you need a lot more than a hard working team. Maybe Carvel can pull it off but I suspect he will go the same way as the coaches I listed above.

 

[HockeyRef]

UNH has the two leading +/- players in the USHL (Gagne & Huard). And Carfagna is 12th among D in +/-.
Ardanaz was on the BCHL all-rookie team last year.

It will be interesting to see how UNH juggles the D roster.

Jr.Eriksson
So.Reid
Sr.Verrier
Sr.McKinnon
So.Jenson
******** Sr.Hickey is depth/nonscholarship and Joe Nagle is in portal

if 5 regulars are returning, who do they bring in? Huard is 21, so has to be here next year. That seems to leave only one spot for Ardanaz or Gagne. I'd hate to see Ardanaz sent back unless he wants that. It's been a bad year for the BCHL, so maybe he wants a regular year to grow, and his skill set duplicates Eriksson's. But I am reminded of the Laleggia fiasco.

Or does UNH decide to make room on D with some decisions on existing guys? The weakest +/- was Eriksson, a powerplay specialist but weak in 5X5, while the Verrier/McKinnon group had good +/-.

Either way, if Gagne is deferred, he and Carfagna are good replacements for Verrier/McKinnon in 2022.

The D will be a position of depth.

Thanks for this 'Watcher! This is the stuff I need to read about; more of this please. Goalie situation needs to be addressed and I imagine it will. What's your take on Robinson returning?

 

[NCAA watcher]

Goalie situation needs to be addressed and I imagine it will. What's your take on Robinson returning?

I wouldn't have thought so because he's already 24 and would be 25 at the end of next year, but perhaps he's not gotten pro interest. Given how everyone else slots, they could have Baliotta as a little used backup learning the ropes, and then Muszelik in 02 as a true freshman.

Up front, Bakos has found a new home at Lake Superior.

Hope UNH is on the next Hemingway sibling (the Brett Hemingway weaker skating, good hands). I think they still lack spaces for him next year, and a la the "roster turnover" post, maybe they don't return McAdams for a 5th year, even if he would provide more ready skills than Rickwood. Short term cost for a longer term payoff. Evans moved up to the USHL but has been in and out of the lineup even as he scores at an OK clip. He's 155 pounds, maybe he and Ardanaz agree to spend one more year together in a normal junior year.
https://bchl.ca/stats/player/6521/45/ellis-rickwood

Sr.Ward--------Sr.Pierson-----Sr.McAdams
Jr.Stevenson---Sr.Engaras---So.Gendron
Fr.Margel--------Fr.Cronin-------Fr.Evans
So.Cafarelli-----Jr.Hermann---Fr.Rickwood
So.Richels------Jr.Hankinson---Sr.Esposito
Fr.Ring---------Sr.Cipollone--Fr.Sweeney

 

[Chuck Murray]

Or does UNH decide to make room on D with some decisions on existing guys? The weakest +/- was Eriksson, a powerplay specialist but weak in 5X5, while the Verrier/McKinnon group had good +/-.

You can teach Eriksson to do what Verrier/MacKinnon do best (if you have an instructive coach).

You probably can't teach either of those guys to do what Eriksson does best.

And you get an extra season with Eriksson. Easy decision.

 

[Chuck Murray]

If you look back over the last 15 years at different times Sneddon, Dennehey, Bazin, and Leaman were all annointed as the next big thing. They are all good coaches as Carvel is, but it wouldn't shock me if we look back in 10 years as him being a one hit wonder. They got a once in a lifetime draw and made the most of it. Apparently none of their players had Covid all season which must have made some sort of difference too.

I also see them in a similar light as UML and Bazin has consistently put out respectable teams but they've never come close to the heights they reached when he first started. To be an upper echelon team year I n and year out you need a lot more than a hard working team. Maybe Carvel can pull it off but I suspect he will go the same way as the coaches I listed above.

I think you're being a little bit harsh on Carvel, and a little (LOT?) too gracious with Sneddon and Dennehey, neither of whom I ever recall being "anointed" as anything. I think the best comparison for Carvel is Leaman, who did get his program to the top that one season, and had a little bit of fortune in his corner to get him over the top. I have Bazin on the Umile track, the guy who gets close but never quite gets there - although I know 'Watcher will point out (and I'll probably agree) that Bazin has done more with less than Umile, and probably won't be mailing in the final 5-10 years of his head coaching career, either.

Say what you will about the luck of the draw this year, etc. but Carvel was missing two of his best players (virus) in the FF semis, yet still ran the entire postseason - league and NCAA's. They can only play (and beat) whomever shows up on the other bench, and a 5-0 dismantling of "UNH West" last night left no doubt who was the best team in D-1 this year.

And don't forget, Carvel had his team in the FF Finals two seasons ago when they lost to the defending champs, and who knows what last year's team would/could have accomplished had the season finished? This year could have been a repeat, and then where is this discussion now? Not even Coach York has won consecutive D-1 titles (though 3 in 5 was awesome).

So yeah, if Carvel sticks around and UMass recedes (presumably in part due to an inability to replace Coach Barr effectively) I'll be surprised. At worst, I see him following the Leaman path of contending consistently at or near the top of HEA, maybe the Coach Bazin path if we're all drastically underrating the importance of Coach Barr. But Dennehy and Sneddon? Really??

Try to think about it this way, Drew ... let's say Walshy lost Standbrook as his lead recruiter after the '93 season or shortly thereafter (say, like when the folks from Overland Park started asking questions about retroactive financial aid). Would you then have thought Walshy was going to prove to be just a "flash in the pan" and then revert to the likes of Dick Umile, Blaise MacDonald or Paul Pooley? 'Cuz that's kind of what you're saying you think of Coach Carvel.

While on the subject here on the UNH thread ... I wonder if Commish Press Release has reached out to Coach Carvel with any more stellar coaching advice over the last 24 hours??? ;-)

 

[JB]

"Culture eats strategy for breakfast" Peter Drucker...

So I believe culture is important, and at the same time I think it is over used in sport.

To me it is important to have a strategy that drives on and off ice tactics, that is what you recruit against and at the same time needs to be flexible enough to allow the integration of the talent you can get. The culture is the reason that strategy is consistently implemented. It is how the team takes care of itself.

Watching Umass they have a clear strategy that others have noted, tough but not overly physical, in your face with a purpose. Also excellent tactics around what to do on the wall to advance the puck, stick on stick, etc. The culture is how consistently they all do it. Culture makes sure the role players know and play their role.

I am not sure UNH has a clear vision of there winning strategy... In that sense they don't know why they fail and how to improve. That then leads to an inconsistent culture, and so the strategy does matter... The inconsistent culture eats it for breakfast.

 

[Sean Pickett]

So wait... Paying for a coach and good assistants then giving a travel budget to go find talent works... Shocking

I'm working on updating my NCAA Financials spreadsheet and since you bring up finances I thought I would make a few comparisons between UMass and UNH. Looking at 2016 through 2020 (the first four seasons for Coach Carvel at UMass) here are the head coach's compensation:

[TABLE="width: 204"]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl70, colspan: 3"]Head Coaches[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl68"]2017[/TD]
[TD="class: xl69, align: right"]309,753[/TD]
[TD="class: xl69, align: right"]470,037[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl68"]2018[/TD]
[TD="class: xl69, align: right"]319,763[/TD]
[TD="class: xl69, align: right"]496,976[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl68"]2019[/TD]
[TD="class: xl69, align: right"]427,266[/TD]
[TD="class: xl69, align: right"]378,342[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl68"]2020[/TD]
[TD="class: xl69, align: right"]417,790[/TD]
[TD="class: xl69, align: right"]378,120[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]



As can be seen, Coach Carvel's compensation was less than Coach Umile's but is higher than Coach Souza's. As for assistant coaches compensation:


[TABLE="width: 204"]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl72, colspan: 3"]Assistant Coaches[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl70"]2017[/TD]
[TD="class: xl71, align: right"]220,759[/TD]
[TD="class: xl71, align: right"]336,470[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl70"]2018[/TD]
[TD="class: xl71, align: right"]234,356[/TD]
[TD="class: xl71, align: right"]379,169[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl70"]2019[/TD]
[TD="class: xl71, align: right"]305,088[/TD]
[TD="class: xl71, align: right"]323,214[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl70"]2020[/TD]
[TD="class: xl71, align: right"]301,271[/TD]
[TD="class: xl71, align: right"]337,257[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]



UMass reported two assistant coaches, both full-time for all four years, while UNH reported 2 and 2 for 2017 and 3 assistants, 2 full-time for 2018-20. As can be seen, UNH's total compensation for the assistants is higher, but Coach Carvel appears to have increased his assistants' pay between 2018 and 2019. UNH, meanwhile, appears to have reduced the assistants' pay from 2017 since they are paying for 2+ in 2020, but the compensation is almost the same as 2017. I would guess the increase in compensation in 2018 was in part due to the hiring of the third, part-time coach.

As far as a travel budget to find talent I'm going to assume you mean a recruiting budget.

[TABLE="width: 204"]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl72, colspan: 3"]Recruiting[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl70"]2017[/TD]
[TD="class: xl71, align: right"]83,652[/TD]
[TD="class: xl71, align: right"]66,515[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl70"]2018[/TD]
[TD="class: xl71, align: right"]59,171[/TD]
[TD="class: xl71, align: right"]62,073[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl70"]2019[/TD]
[TD="class: xl71, align: right"]76,849[/TD]
[TD="class: xl71, align: right"]93,331[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl70"]2020[/TD]
[TD="class: xl71, align: right"]49,162[/TD]
[TD="class: xl71, align: right"]63,748[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]



As can be seen, since Coach Carvel arrived at UMass his recruiting budget has been lower than UNH's since his first year. So, money by itself in the recruiting process has not been a difference maker.

In looking at the number however, I did find two area where Coach Souza is outspending Coach Carvel by a large amount:

[TABLE="width: 204"]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl72, colspan: 3"]Support / Admin[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl70"]2017[/TD]
[TD="class: xl71, align: right"]95,820[/TD]
[TD="class: xl71, align: right"]79,430[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl70"]2018[/TD]
[TD="class: xl71, align: right"]81,243[/TD]
[TD="class: xl71, align: right"]84,917[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl70"]2019[/TD]
[TD="class: xl71, align: right"]70,946[/TD]
[TD="class: xl71, align: right"]138,476[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl70"]2020[/TD]
[TD="class: xl71, align: right"]49,165[/TD]
[TD="class: xl71, align: right"]141,446[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]



In dedicated support and administrative staff for men's hockey Coach Carvvel has cut his costs almost in half, likely using the athletic department's shared staff in place of dedicated staff. Meanwhile, Coach Souza has increase his dedicated staff costs by about 78% from Coach Umile's 2017 amount. Another area Coach Souza is outspending Coach Carvel is on memberships and dues:

[TABLE="width: 204"]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl72, colspan: 3"]Membership / Dues[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl70"]2017[/TD]
[TD="class: xl71, align: right"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: xl71, align: right"]561[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl70"]2018[/TD]
[TD="class: xl71, align: right"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: xl71, align: right"]80[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl70"]2019[/TD]
[TD="class: xl71, align: right"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: xl71, align: right"]60,920[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl70"]2020[/TD]
[TD="class: xl71, align: right"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: xl71, align: right"]62,005[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]



I don't know what these costs are for, so I can't explain why Coach Carvel has reported zero for each year, but as can be seen, Coach Umile only reported a minimal amount for both 2017 & 2018, as have other coaches among the 30 public schools I have financials for from 2010-20. Whatever, Coach Carvel appears to have different priorities than Coach Souza when it comes to staffing and memberships.

Sean

 

[JB]

Sean... Thanks (?)... I was assuming from the excuses and apparent malaise from Durham the athletic department was constraining... Your numbers however report something very different. If I was the AD there would be some uncomfortable conversations about investments vs results...

 

[zoofer]

I’ll stay away from the stats and indicate analysis of the team’s makeup since I’ve been to disgusted to watch/follow the team...
But as for “culture”, UNH still has you folks leading the threads posted, sickened by the way that Union, ULowell, Providence, Yale and now UMass have easily passed us....as is the case every time a Hockey East team wins the NC, a few friends get together and discuss WTF is going on.....!
Culture? Why did Scarano eliminate the Friends group? How did its existence affect his vision of returning UNH to the top? This booster club lead the way back in the ECAC days! We had an amazing following throughout the country, at Snively and on the road....why was this “culture” destroyed?
With every issue of our Alumni magazine I’m very proud of how UNH succeeds in today’s world, on many social, domestic and international frontiers.....so why is it that we can’t give our dedicated athletes the same venues to success?

 

[NCAA watcher]

Thanks Sean. Very interesting, though as you say, apples to apples comparisons are a bit harder without the granular data. I suspect the 2017 & 18 figures may show more than two assistants because of Souza's hybrid role as "head coach in waiting"

I'm working on updating my NCAA Financials spreadsheet and since you bring up finances I thought I would make a few comparisons between UMass and UNH. Looking at 2016 through 2020 (the first four seasons for Coach Carvel at UMass) here are the head coach's compensation:

As can be seen, Coach Carvel's compensation was less than Coach Umile's but is higher than Coach Souza's.

Certainly explains why Umile stayed as long as he could. A tidy half mil each year, no State taxes, no heavy lifting or travel. Only had to act perturbed when the team crumbled around him to maintain the "I'm competitive and want to turn this around" story line.

As for assistant coaches compensation:

As far as a travel budget to find talent I'm going to assume you mean a recruiting budget.

As can be seen, since Coach Carvel arrived at UMass his recruiting budget has been lower than UNH's since his first year. So, money by itself in the recruiting process has not been a difference maker.

In looking at the number however, I did find two area where Coach Souza is outspending Coach Carvel by a large amount:

In dedicated support and administrative staff for men's hockey Coach Carvel has cut his costs almost in half, likely using the athletic department's shared staff in place of dedicated staff. Meanwhile, Coach Souza has increase his dedicated staff costs by about 78% from Coach Umile's 2017 amount.

I wonder if Scarano is folding some of the admin costs into hockey, figuring that with the additional money they save from Umile they could remain "flat" in hockey, even by increasing admin costs.

Another area Coach Souza is outspending Coach Carvel is on memberships and dues:

Well, Rockingham Country Club isn't going to play itself.

I don't know what these costs are for, so I can't explain why Coach Carvel has reported zero for each year, but as can be seen, Coach Umile only reported a minimal amount for both 2017 & 2018, as have other coaches among the 30 public schools I have financials for from 2010-20. Whatever, Coach Carvel appears to have different priorities than Coach Souza when it comes to staffing and memberships.

Sean

Ouch. Sean with the dagger. Well earned, i'd say.

It does seem that the constant complaints about a lack of resources at UNH is pure deflection. Money doesn't seem to be the reason for the coaching choice. Souza is being paid along the lines of a known hire, even without an open hiring process. Certainly no discount given for being given a plum job without the background of most coaches. Of course, most would have had too much credibility to subordinate themselves to Umile's scheme to keep milking the gig.

Lesson: do it right the first time, and you save lots of money that you'll spend after the fact trying to fix it.

 

[HockeyRef]

I’ll stay away from the stats and indicate analysis of the team’s makeup since I’ve been to disgusted to watch/follow the team...
But as for “culture”, UNH still has you folks leading the threads posted, sickened by the way that Union, ULowell, Providence, Yale and now UMass have easily passed us....as is the case every time a Hockey East team wins the NC, a few friends get together and discuss *** is going on.....!
Culture? Why did Scarano eliminate the Friends group? How did its existence affect his vision of returning UNH to the top? This booster club lead the way back in the ECAC days! We had an amazing following throughout the country, at Snively and on the road....why was this “culture” destroyed?
With every issue of our Alumni magazine I’m very proud of how UNH succeeds in today’s world, on many social, domestic and international frontiers.....so why is it that we can’t give our dedicated athletes the same venues to success?

It's much cleaner this way, on not having a bunch of people you have to talk to after games, to have to explain yourself, etc etc etc. And I'm sure there are 'other' issues that are NCAA related that someone could prob explain m ore about. It's easier to find the big donors and deal directly with them. But they have their hand out for the 603 Challenge (as does every other UNH org this week) so maybe having a group to do the heavy lifting isn't necessary? They still have the golf tournament (although not sure it went off this summer due to covid restrictions). Anyway, I still send my meager funds to support where possible. Even did the card board cut out thingy (you knew I would). Interesting on what Sean reports on spending; would like to know and SEE the return on that investment.

Does any D1 program have a 'friends' group like we did anymore; some kind of fan booster club? I tell you; that was a big loss...still felt by many of the long time members.

 

[Sean Pickett]

Does any D1 program have a 'friends' group like we did anymore; some kind of fan booster club? I tell you; that was a big loss...still felt by many of the long time members.

BU still has its Friend of BU Hockey (or did the last I knew), but it's not what it used to be. Between the opening of Agganis Arena with its premium club (with the Friends an afterthought - literally. I was told that the original plans for the arena didn't include a Friends room.) and Coach Quinn pretty much eliminating it other than as a fund raising organ (he eliminated gifts for donor levels, closed the Friends room and created the high priced Coach's Cabinet) it lost a lot of what made it special. Coach O'Connell has made some effort to return it to some semblance of its former self, but I have no idea how it's going as I stopped being a member years ago when I transferred my financial support to the BU women's team.

Sean

 

[DavidNardolillo]

Does any D1 program have a 'friends' group like we did anymore; some kind of fan booster club? I tell you; that was a big loss...still felt by many of the long time members.

Union College has the "Garnet Blades"

 

[DavidNardolillo]

BU still has its Friend of BU Hockey (or did the last I knew), but it's not what it used to be. Between the opening of Agganis Arena with its premium club (with the Friends an afterthought - literally. I was told that the original plans for the arena didn't include a Friends room.) and Coach Quinn pretty much eliminating it other than as a fund raising organ (he eliminated gifts for donor levels, closed the Friends room and created the high priced Coach's Cabinet) it lost a lot of what made it special. Coach O'Connell has made some effort to return it to some semblance of its former self, but I have no idea how it's going as I stopped being a member years ago when I transferred my financial support to the BU women's team.

Sean

My experience with booster clubs (although not hockey-related) is that many schools tend to see the independent ones as a liability, e.g. as competition with the school for fundraising; a lack of institutional control over the the funds raised; and various NCAA compliance concerns. The school-controlled ones do not seem offer value at the various donation levels. However, there is a tension here as many schools ask coaches to raise money to cover budgetary expenses; well-organized booster clubs could meet those needs in a compliant way.

 

[Sean Pickett]

My experience with booster clubs (although not hockey-related) is that many schools tend to see the independent ones as a liability, e.g. as competition with the school for fundraising; a lack of institutional control over the the funds raised; and various NCAA compliance concerns. The school-controlled ones do not seem offer value at the various donation levels. However, there is a tension here as many schools ask coaches to raise money to cover budgetary expenses; well-organized booster clubs could meet those needs in a compliant way.

I don't know the entire history of the Friends of BU Hockey, but I believe that in the beginning it worked with Coaches Kelley and Parker and controlled the funds. However, by the early 2000s at the latest the university had text saying that the Friends board votes on how to spend the funds were advisory and that the school had control of the funds. As far as compliance concerns, as I recall, that is one of the reasons Coach Quinn used when he closed the Friends lounge at Agganis, as parents of players were allowed in the room.

Sean

 

[zoofer]

I understand the want to control the funds but I also know that without the Friends, there aren’t any get togethers with the team after the games....the team knew that some signings after the game or events were part of the gig....it gave the parents more interaction with the program, hence seeing how happy (90% of the time) the program made their kids.... small but important things....like Sean, I too had drifted to the women’s program, yet now they also are simply antiseptic avatars you try to care about from social media!!
Controlling the money aside, the University loses a ton of goodwill and positives in the communities where they keep searching for new talent!! And,10 miles away in Portsmouth, does anyone care about UNH like they once did? No freakin way.....
That is why it makes no sense to me to void the group! Takeover the funds but don’t eliminate the positives unless your afraid of them for some paranoid reason.....

 

[zoofer]

As a former board member of both UNH Friends programs, we knew the rules.....more extreme annually for sure, but we found a way to stay in bounds and still get positive things done....if you’ve been to Lake Whitt, who do you think paid for ALL the framed photos....ALL the league and National banners....ALL the All American photos in the lobby....who paid for their upkeep and replacements....UNH Friends of Hockey! Don’t get me going on skate sharpening machines or other necessities to actually run the programs!!!

 

[HockeyRef]

As a former board member of both UNH Friends programs, we knew the rules.....more extreme annually for sure, but we found a way to stay in bounds and still get positive things done....if you’ve been to Lake Whitt, who do you think paid for ALL the framed photos....ALL the league and National banners....ALL the All American photos in the lobby....who paid for their upkeep and replacements....UNH Friends of Hockey! Don’t get me going on skate sharpening machines or other necessities to actually run the programs!!!

Zoofer, it's well known to me (and several others) the things that FOH have done in the past for the hockey team (at least on the men's side of things). New carpet for the locker room...a lap top for the athletic trainer, countless meals during the winter break when the team was on campus...scholarships...money for equipment...I could go on. Oh, (see I'm going on now) and the loss of the banquet that they put so much loving care in doing...gone. (EDIT: the banquet still exists but on a different level fans not invited) All I can say is what a shame. Sure there (before covid) were opps to catch up to the team providing you are a STH but they don't compare to what happened with the FOH group, at least IMHO. And I'm a 'newbie' compared to the vast majority of the group....As I said its apparent that UNH has found other ways to fund the program. My little donation to the 603 today most likely will sharpen a few skates or buy some athletic tape....but, the thought was there. (I also give to other things besides hockey fwiw dept).

It's almost that time of year when STH are asked to pay their bill for the coming season...should be interesting to see how that all unfolds as the covid turns....

Ps...of course, the 50/50 still goes on...how that money is dispersed is not something I am privvy to nor would I expect to be. Just wanted to throw that in. UNH to my knowledge has certain groups do the 50/50 and I'm thinking those groups get a slice of that?? I mean, why would they do it otherwise...