UNH 2024/2025 Goldberg Edition

[UNHHockey16]

I was reading the Union Leader article today about UNH's weekend losses when I noticed the line "The Wildcats, who were 18th in the PairWise as of Sunday morning, have lost six of their last seven games — all within Hockey East". We have played 9 Hockey East Games since the new year and have lost 8 of 9. Not sure why the Union Leader decided to leave out two games and make it sound like things aren't as bad as they seem.

 

[Dan]

I was reading the Union Leader article today about UNH's weekend losses when I noticed the line "The Wildcats, who were 18th in the PairWise as of Sunday morning, have lost six of their last seven games — all within Hockey East". We have played 9 Hockey East Games since the new year and have lost 8 of 9. Not sure why the Union Leader decided to leave out two games and make it sound like things aren't as bad as they seem.

They’ve also led/tied at the end of two in six of the same seven - and blown all but one opportunity…

 

[SHADRACK]

They’ve also led/tied at the end of two in six of the same seven - and blown all but one opportunity…

Because he always shortens his bench and relies on the unreliable!

 

[Crazy4UNHhockey]

We fire Souza yet?

 

[norbert]

Well yes, they do happen. And it's going to be because Maine will look past UNH

There is zero change they steal a game this weekend. Special teams is struggling, Whale can't play Friday and a loss Friday adds tons of pressure Saturday.

 

[Potluck]

Watched the Beanpots goalies at BC and BU last night and then thought about Whale. Sneaky significant recruiting mistake by Souza and Co.

 

[2013hockeyfan]

This is probably blasphemous, but in this day of budget cuts and scrimping every penny that they can get their hands on, perhaps UNH should consider cutting ties with Hockey East and go back to the ECAC.

Hockey East was the "new kid on the block" in the '80s and '90s and UNH caught a wave at just the right time, with a brand new arena and coaching staff that could sell the school to just about anyone.

Sadly, in the the 2020's, those days are long gone. Hockey East has grown to a point where membership is mostly private, well-endowned institiutions and a couple of state institutions with very large athletic budgets (UConn). UNH's arena has continued to age. Budget cuts lead to the hiring of underpaid coaches who do the best that they can with the tools and resources that they are given. It's simple - UNH simply can no longer compete in the modern Hockey East world.

Moving back to the ECAC would still keep many older rivalries that UNH enjoyed back in the '70's and keep them very competitive in the recruiting arena. There are plenty of schools within a few hours drive of Durham, and UNH could still play against the Hockey East schools in their OOC schedule.

Or you can just call me crazy.

Hockey East is more than half state schools and UNH has larger athletics budget than 3 out of 6 of them (UVM/UML/Maine)

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[JB]

Hockey East is more than half state schools and UNH has larger athletics budget than 3 out of 6 of them (UVM/UML/Maine)

​

Honest Question:

How much of the larger athletics budgets at Umass and Uconn are going to Football (Bowl Subdivision level) and Basket Ball (A10 and Big East)?

Would be interesting to see a break down of the 6 state schools and how they spend their Athletics budgets:

UVM - $21.2M
UML - $22.2M
UMaine - $24.2M
UNH - $31.2
UMA - $43.8M
UConn - $92.5M

Right now UNH is not getting much bang for those extra $7-10M bucks.

NOTE: all pulled from https://www.collegefactual.com/ I don't know if this data is correct or what year it is from, but at least it is from a consistent source. That means it is likely directionally accurate.

What is bother some about the "college factual" data is all these programs are basically breaking even income vs expense. That could be because the data is crap or it could be the way the universities report all the money going into athletics: gate, concessions, mandatory athletics fees, etc., etc. are considered "income" to the program rather than splitting out the "subsidies" like the mandatory athletics fee from the true income.

The most extreme case of this is Uconn. Basketball, 15 players income $24M and expense $24M. Football, 103 players, income $18M and expense $18M.

NOTE 2: UMaine significantly benefits from the Alfond Foundation and I don't know how this money is accounted. I am guessing gifts like the rink renovation money are in "CAPEX' and this is reporting "OPEX".

 

[HockeyRef]

There is zero change they steal a game this weekend. Special teams is struggling, Whale can't play Friday and a loss Friday adds tons of pressure Saturday.

Wish there was a sarcasm emoji...

 

[HockeyRef]

Watched the Beanpots goalies at BC and BU last night and then thought about Whale. Sneaky significant recruiting mistake by Souza and Co.

Not sure what you mean by this..given the fact that BOTH goalies bolted getting Whale was most likely the best we could do..(correct me if I'm not interpreting your post right). I'm not sure I'd use the term 'recruited"..they pretty much had no choice.
Obviously tho? You can't win big games without a big time goalie and that will never change...

 

[JB]

As I poke around College Factual - I can answer my own question.

Men's Ice Hockey:
Umaine - $2.2M
UVM - $2.3M
UNH - $2.4M
UConn - $3.13M
UML - $3.15M
Umass - $3.7M

 

[JB]

From the this is interesting department

Football
UVM - No Football
UML - No Football
UMaine - $4.5M
UNH - $4.7M
UMA - $10.7M
UConn - $18.4M

 

[Dan]

I don't believe Whale was a recruiting mistake. The mistake was how they filled the goaltending situation behind him...

Helleston was a work-horse last season, playing 78% of UNH's games (28) and minutes (1675). At this point in the season he had only played in 70% of Wildcat games.

Whale, meanwhile, has started all 26 games (100%) and played 1487 of the team's 1569 minutes (95%). I'm not surprised he's less sharp than he was earlier in the season. DiMatteo didn't look unplayable to me during the US NTDP exhibition, but apparently he has convinced his coaches of that fact in practice. Whale would benefit from a running mate deemed, at least occasionally, playable, IMO...

Goaltending stats also remain a huge sign of whats happening in front of the crease. Whale has not been good of late - but he's also been the victim, all season, of coverage breakdowns and dangerous turnovers. Another example: Tyler Muszelik is saving 4% more pucks and allowing a full goal per game less this season than last.

Despite the experience and familiarity, UNH's defense may not be as vaunted as advertised. At best, they're getting worn down too - with the coaches asking Gagne, Reid, Huard and Jensen to cover nearly 100 of the 120 available defensive minutes per game. Either way, they just aren't playing as well as they did last season. One or two in particular (joined in productive disappointment by several forwards, to be fair)...

 

[Dan]

It's this. I know BC is stacked but I watched Friday's game and I honestly don't know of a single player on UNH that would crack the entire defensive corps or the top 3 lines at BC. It was shocking. Usually they have one good player or so. But no one stood out to me and I've seen several UNH games.

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I am shocked no one has discussed the laughably bad decision by Souza to challenge for a major when a UNH player was basically falling down and accidentally collided with a BC player's elbow. It was one of the quickest reviews I've ever seen.

Ryan Conmy would be the 4th best forward at BC, chasing Ryan Leonard for the team lead in goals if playing with either Gabe Perreault or James Hagens on a nightly basis...

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At what point in the game was the review you mentioned? I missed the start - but thought UNH could/should have taken a flyer on challenging Ryan Leonard's late penalty for CTH. It would have been borderline, but could have potentially given UNH a five-minute power play with just over five minutes to play (worth the risk in a normal situation).

As far as I can tell, Souza never challenged that late call (if he had lost a second challenge UNH would have been penalized themselves). Did he fail to challenge late because he wasted a chance early...? Frustrating if so...

 

[Potluck]

As I poke around College Factual - I can answer my own question.

Men's Ice Hockey:
Umaine - $2.2M
UVM - $2.3M
UNH - $2.4M
UConn - $3.13M
UML - $3.15M
Umass - $3.7M

UMaine has the Alfond Foundation, so that puts it far ahead of UNH. UNH and UVM similar budgets with similar results. You can bet BU, Northeastern, Providence, and BC budgets exceed UMass. So UNH has anywhere from 25% to 50% less funding than the other state schools in Hockey East and inferior facilities. When people scream "fire Souza", they are ordering UNH to find a coach that can overcome huge competitive disadvantages against the competition. Assuming these numbers are correct, they explain a lot. UNH is not serious about hockey anymore.

 

[Scott]

UMaine has the Alfond Foundation, so that puts it far ahead of UNH. UNH and UVM similar budgets with similar results. You can bet BU, Northeastern, Providence, and BC budgets exceed UMass. So UNH has anywhere from 25% to 50% less funding than the other state schools in Hockey East and inferior facilities. When people scream "fire Souza", they are ordering UNH to find a coach that can overcome huge competitive disadvantages against the competition. Assuming these numbers are correct, they explain a lot. UNH is not serious about hockey anymore.

Current UNH Athletic budget numbers could be reduced even further if Concord gets its way.

 

[TheGrouchyCat]

From the this is interesting department

Football
UVM - No Football
UML - No Football
UMaine - $4.5M
UNH - $4.7M
UMA - $10.7M
UConn - $18.4M

I've been saying for years that UNH should scrap the football program like BU did years ago to concentrate on hockey. No need to build a new "soccer facility" by using the existing field.

 

[Potluck]

Grouchy: I love college football but 1AA or subdivision football is nothing but a loss leader. It generated little interest from the public and costs a great deal of money. About 20 years ago I recall reading that 1AA football makes the least economic sense of all college sports offerings. UVM was smart. I think UNH should abolish football and use much of the money saved on student recreational sports. Adding to student life makes the school more desirable. I can't imagine any kids ever applied to UNH due to their love of UNH football.

 

[HockeyRef]

Current UNH Athletic budget numbers could be reduced even further if Concord gets its way.

Could be? You can count on it...

 

[Snively65]

This is probably blasphemous, but in this day of budget cuts and scrimping every penny that they can get their hands on, perhaps UNH should consider cutting ties with Hockey East and go back to the ECAC.

Hockey East was the "new kid on the block" in the '80s and '90s and UNH caught a wave at just the right time, with a brand new arena and coaching staff that could sell the school to just about anyone.

Sadly, in the the 2020's, those days are long gone. Hockey East has grown to a point where membership is mostly private, well-endowned institiutions and a couple of state institutions with very large athletic budgets (UConn). UNH's arena has continued to age. Budget cuts lead to the hiring of underpaid coaches who do the best that they can with the tools and resources that they are given. It's simple - UNH simply can no longer compete in the modern Hockey East world.

Moving back to the ECAC would still keep many older rivalries that UNH enjoyed back in the '70's and keep them very competitive in the recruiting arena. There are plenty of schools within a few hours drive of Durham, and UNH could still play against the Hockey East schools in their OOC schedule.

Or you can just call me crazy.

Why would the EZAC take back UNH? The EZAC already has an even number of teams with “travel partners” that seems to work well for them. I think that Atlantic Hockey might be more appropriate conference for UNH, and they could use two additional teams assuming that AIC terminates their hockey program.