UNH 2024/2025 Goldberg Edition

[Snively65]

Attendance is awful.

Everyone is in northern Cow Hampsha this weekend gawking at fall foliage with all roads gridlocked.

 

[HockeyRef]

Everyone is in northern Cow Hampsha this weekend gawking at fall foliage with all roads gridlocked.

Seeing how it's a long weekend it seems about right (attendance)...supposedly 4k there? Didn't seem like it. I drove up to PSU (I93) to see some field hockey and it was 60 mph most of the way...

 

[e.cat]

LOL I was wondering what "BU" had to do with tonight. Good to see you on board, buddy!!

Good to be seen Chuck;-)

 

[HockeyRef]

Of the five games the teams have now played, all have been one-goal games, with two OT’s, except for the Bentley 5-1 win at the Whitt in October 2016.

Bentley commonly plays better against HEA teams than they do against Atlantic Hockey teams, although the AH coach’s poll has the Falcons finishing fourth this season. I think that UNH has a long history of playing down to their opponents, even back in their hay days of the late 90s to early 00’s.

In an annual friends and family pool, I have UNH going 21-10-4 through one playoff game. Good to read that everyone here was happy with Jared Whale’s play in net tonight, which I think is key to another winning season. Will be good to get Leclerc and Jensen back, but whaasup with Connor MacPherson not in the lineup tonight?

Regarding MacPherson not in the line up, no idea. Wasn't that impressed with the offense we had out there but it was a bad night all around for finding each other, making basic,
run of the mill passes etc. I thought in the exhibition game the two brothers complimented each other in the times I noted they were on the ice at the same time.
Echoing the thoughts we got better as the game went along but yeah; we stole that one. Funny how we do against Bentley; given our play last night
they look like a team that has a lot of promise and it will be interesting to see how they progress as the season moves along...

You have 2 sophs out there (Turner and Siedem) that I think they want to give play time to but, I'd like to see alot more from guys like Lovett and Sweeney, if I'm being
perfectly honest. Early yet; I just don't have a handle on the two of them and not sure you can compare them with the Nadeau boys skill wise (which is prob not a good
comparison and not that you were). The brothers came to UNH highly touted and I look forward to seeing what they can do as we go along.

Thinking back on the game to be honest I think the compete level was certainly there but we seemed shaky on connection and I have to think and HOPE that
was due to trying to find groups that could work together. If I were a betting woman (and I am haha) I think we are going to see alot of changes going
through the first half of the season, and hopefully LeClerc gets back into action.

I will say that you just have to love the work of Marty Lavins out there, if he could stay out of the box and really hoping Liam D gets some good stuff cooking
for his Senior year. Ryan Conmy impresses as the playmaker and his fake shot and pass to Nick Ring was awesome. Ring's work against their keeper was excellent.

Onto Merrimack.

 

[Darius]

In other news ... UNH Men's Soccer (3W-3L-5D) has somewhat predictably receded with Coach Hubbard at NC State this season, where they are 5-2-4 after a 6-9-3 season last year. It was really fun and nice while it lasted ...

The women are 9-2-1, 4-0-0 conference.

 

[Darius]

...
Then there's player age which is not even listed on unhwildcats.com rosters. Thankfully we have hockeydb.com to tell us that our brand spanking new Senior goaltender was born on November 1, 2002. An actual college age transfer is nice to see, but by the time I get to "know" him he will be halfway gone. UNH football has a great Senior QB. He's in his fifth year, but I never heard of him a year ago. Why? Because last year's great QB got a better offer so we had to portal. Again, great for both QBs, but my interest would be elevated watching the QB we recruited from high school continue to develop. Oh wait. I can still do that. Go Gophers!

(Darius) Taylor’s touchdown with 27 seconds remaining rallies Minnesota to 21-17 victory over UCLA:
https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-ucla-score-fccc592a7726bc6358e08b5d93c164f6

After Brosmer’s 1-yard keeper last week lifted the Golden Gophers to an upset victory over Southern California, the senior quarterback was entrusted to produce another late rally on Saturday against UCLA.

Once again, he delivered when it mattered most.

Brosmer completed four passes, including a 4-yard checkdown to Darius Taylor with 27 seconds remaining as Minnesota rallied for a 21-17 victory at the Rose Bowl.

 

[Aerman]

Game ball to Whale. They could have lost that one 6-1. The “experienced” D didn’t look it last night. Conmy the only bright spot on player skates. Although, as Ref indicated, plenty of effort from a lot of the boys. I suspect the coaches are perplexed with the twins. Albeit based on a one-each game sample, Ryan is better with Connor on the ice. But they have to break up the fourth line to put both twins out there or sit one of Cronin, Seidem or Turner. (I hope keeping 3, 9 and 10 together is not actually a concern, but …)
Devlin and LeClair have rarely looked good together, I wonder if Cy and the twins might click. With that letter on his sweater I assume we see Sweeney as long as he’s healthy.

 

[e.cat]

(Darius) Taylor’s touchdown with 27 seconds remaining rallies Minnesota to 21-17 victory over UCLA:
https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-ucla-score-fccc592a7726bc6358e08b5d93c164f6

After Brosmer’s 1-yard keeper last week lifted the Golden Gophers to an upset victory over Southern California, the senior quarterback was entrusted to produce another late rally on Saturday against UCLA.

Once again, he delivered when it mattered most.

Brosmer completed four passes, including a 4-yard checkdown to Darius Taylor with 27 seconds remaining as Minnesota rallied for a 21-17 victory at the Rose Bowl.

Yeah with back to back wins over USC and UCLA Brosmer doing UNH proud. I mean Minny. Oh well. You know what I mean. Haha

 

[After the Whistle]

I maybe misinterpreting some of the comments on the twins. It feels like we want our brothers to be like Maine’s brothers. They did have great years in a Canadian league and team that was not particularly the highest level. They then got one year in the BCHL and had a respectable year. No where close to the Nadeau brothers last year. I too wish we would play them together because they obviously have good chemistry.
i had them penciled in with an optimistic 13 goals between them. Sort of replacing the 13 we lost with Sardo and Nick C. We need to get them playing so we will have them playing at a higher level next year.

 

[HockeyRef]

I maybe misinterpreting some of the comments on the twins. It feels like we want our brothers to be like Maine’s brothers. They did have great years in a Canadian league and team that was not particularly the highest level. They then got one year in the BCHL and had a respectable year. No where close to the Nadeau brothers last year. I too wish we would play them together because they obviously have good chemistry.
i had them penciled in with an optimistic 13 goals between them. Sort of replacing the 13 we lost with Sardo and Nick C. We need to get them playing so we will have them playing at a higher level next year.

Good points all around! Would like to say re: MacP
bros it's more because they did have decent jr seasons
so there would be anticipation of carry over. Yes..they
need to play.

Looking forward to seeing them progress. And let them
have their own identities. Hmmm trivia how many brothers have played for UNH at the same time? Or at all?

Was thinking it was the Kelleher bros but they just missed
playing together.

 

[Dan]

I maybe misinterpreting some of the comments on the twins.

Nobody should expect Nadeau-level debuts, but there were forwards in the line-up yesterday that shouldn't be rolled out ahead of either MacPherson on a regular basis. They'll prove their worth in time. No harm in earning it. I'd do this...

Devlin - Ring - LeClerc
Winters - Lavins - Conmy
MacPherson - MacPherson - Turner
Skrastins - Lovett - Cronin
Sweeney

Gagne - Jensen
Fitzgerald - Reid
Player/Linder - Huard

Whale
DiMatteo

 

[Snively65]

Looking forward to seeing them progress. And let them
have their own identities. Hmmm trivia how many brothers have played for UNH at the same time? Or at all?

Was thinking it was the Kelleher bros but they just missed
playing together.

Ditto for the three van Riemsdyk bros, whom missed playing together by three years each, and still would have missed playing together even if JvR and TvR had not left Dodge early.

 

[lindah]

RE: Brothers

Three sets immediately come to mind:

Andy and Quintin Brickley
Scott and Steve Morrow
Patrick and Brian Foley

 

[Aerman]

RE: Brothers

Three sets immediately come to mind:

Andy and Quintin Brickley
Scott and Steve Morrow
Patrick and Brian Foley

Haydar (yes) and Hemingway (maybe) if “played together” means they dressed for the same game. [smiley face redacted by admins, insert angry face in response]

 

[Chuck Murray]

I maybe misinterpreting some of the comments on the twins. It feels like we want our brothers to be like Maine’s brothers. They did have great years in a Canadian league and team that was not particularly the highest level. They then got one year in the BCHL and had a respectable year. No where close to the Nadeau brothers last year. I too wish we would play them together because they obviously have good chemistry.

Agree with the perceived incoming optimism about the MacPhersons ... seemed a little over the top "wishful thinking" the last couple of years (more than the usual anyway), and now that the rubber is meeting the road, it's likely we'll see a more realistic take on what they each have to offer at this level. It might not be the worst thing for the program if the brothers make UNH a four year destination, and if so, this season was always likely to be a developmental year behind a lot of upperclassmen talent. Finally, at the risk of sounding like the proverbial broken record, let's not forget the Nadeaus were receiving daily coaching from a guy who has developed some great prospects into NHL regulars, as opposed to a guy who has struggled to get his players to develop at an AHL level over the last decade. If that's gonna change, it had better start changing soon; reputations get difficult to shed after awhile, and sadly there's a good chance Coach Souza has already passed that milepost in his career.

 

[Chuck Murray]

Haydar (yes) and Hemingway (maybe) if “played together” means they dressed for the same game. [smiley face redacted by admins, insert angry face in response]

The Hemingway brothers missed each other at UNH by a few months, as Colin finished his career in April '03 (FF loss to Minnesota), and Brett was on campus for the start of the next season in October '03.

Both have been retired from hockey for over a decade now. Things that make you feel very, very old ...

 

[Snively65]

Haydar (yes) and Hemingway (maybe) if “played together” means they dressed for the same game. [smiley face redacted by admins, insert angry face in response]

Chuck clarified non-overlap of the Hemingway bros at UNH, but I am trying to recall why Jeff Haydar left UNH after only his 2000/2001 season when, like his brother Darren, he played all 39 games, but unlike his brother scored only 13 points (4th line?) vs 41 points (1st line?). The next year, Darren’s fourth at UNH, Jeff played his only post-college season with the CHL Odessa Jackalopes.

 

[bakchk20]

Nobody should expect Nadeau-level debuts, but there were forwards in the line-up yesterday that shouldn't be rolled out ahead of either MacPherson on a regular basis. They'll prove their worth in time. No harm in earning it. I'd do this...

Devlin - Ring - LeClerc
Winters - Lavins - Conmy
MacPherson - MacPherson - Turner
Skrastins - Lovett - Cronin
Sweeney

Gagne - Jensen
Fitzgerald - Reid
Player/Linder - Huard

Whale
DiMatteo

Well, to extend Dans truth one step farther, here’s one way - with numbers - to comp MacPhersons to Nadeau bros, plus a look at a few other contemporary UNH/BCHL recruits…

BCHL 2022-23 Regular Season
Bradly Nadeau - #1; 113 Pts; 2.09 Pt/G; College scoring = 19/46 (1yr)
Josh Nadeau - #2; 110 Pts; 2.04 Pt/G; College scoring = 18/46 (1+yr; still at Maine)

BCHL 2023-24 Regular Season
Connor MacPherson - #35; 42 Pts; 0.78 Pt/G
Ryan MacPherson - #50; 38 Pts; 0.70 Pt/G

BCHL 2015-16, Liam Blackburn - #11; 74 Pts; 1.28 Pt/G. College scoring = 35g/81pts
BCHL 2015-16, Justin Fregona - #38; 49 Pts; 0.96 Pt/G; College scoring = 5g/12pts
BCHL 2017-18, Angus Crookshank - #43; 45 Pts; 1.07 Pt/G; College scoring = 35g/63pts (3yrs)
BCHL 2018-19, Chase Stevenson - #29; 53 Pts, 0.93 Pt/G; College scoring = 24g/39pts (5yrs)
BCHL 2018-19, Harrison Blaisdell - #19; 58 Pts, 1.14 Pt/G; College scoring = 16g/42pts (5yrs)
BCHL 2019-20, Nick Cafarelli - #49; 40 Pts; 0.95 Pt/G; College scoring = 13g/35pts

Bottom line: Our Macpherson twins are not the Nadeaus, as Dan stated, not even in the same ballpark.

They are not impact players. They are kinda typical UNH/BCHL recruits.

The twinsy thing is cute human interest story but means absolutely nothing on the ice.

So, my take is that the highest upside is that one or both eventually develop up to the Blackburn/Crookshank level.

Combined O/U on 2024-25 production; 8g/20pts. Any takers?

 

[Dan]

Chuck clarified non-overlap of the Hemingway bros at UNH, but I am trying to recall why Jeff Haydar left UNH after only his 2000/2001 season when, like his brother Darren, he played all 39 games, but unlike his brother scored only 13 points (4th line?) vs 41 points (1st line?). The next year, Darren’s fourth at UNH, Jeff played his only post-college season with the CHL Odessa Jackalopes.

Jeff was the older Haydar. He transferred into UNH from a Canadian school for his final season of college hockey...

 

[Snively65]

Jeff was the older Haydar. He transferred into UNH from a Canadian school for his final season of college hockey...

Thanks, Dan.

As for lindah’s three UNH bro pairs, two full seasons separated Andy and Quinton Brickley’s time at UNH, but Patrick and Brian Foley overlapped one year in 2003/04 and Scott and Steve Morrow overlapped three years, 1988/89-1990/91.