What's new
USCHO Fan Forum

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

  • The USCHO Fan Forum has migrated to a new plaform, xenForo. Most of the function of the forum should work in familiar ways. Please note that you can switch between light and dark modes by clicking on the gear icon in the upper right of the main menu bar. We are hoping that this new platform will prove to be faster and more reliable. Please feel free to explore its features.

UNH 2025 Offseason: Where in the World is MS7?

Freshman Connor MacPherson will play for Nanaimo in the BCHL next season. And he will return for the 2026-2027 season, Per UNH Hockey Blog. This could possibly free up some $$ for another Dman?
Good. The kind of shuffle Mike needs to continue to make. And I'd be mildly surprised if he returns. Just sayin'...
 
Some NH/UNH hockey news breaking:

-Another CHLer, Cam MacDonald, is transferring from USports Acadia to play at UNH, per UNH Hockey Blog

-The QMJHL to Manchester seems to be gaining serious steam with Portland also targeted to get a team

-Not news per se but it seems incoming recruit Jacob Newcombe is a cancer survivor, pretty badass
 
Some NH/UNH hockey news breaking:

-Another CHLer, Cam MacDonald, is transferring from USports Acadia to play at UNH, per UNH Hockey Blog

Interesting. I suppose this explains MacPherson's move back to the BCHL as much as his need for development...

MacDonald was a high-end, high-scoring prospect and a BC commit before heading to the QMJHL. His junior numbers never backed up his midget production, but he did have a solid freshman season (27 points in 29 games) with Acadia.


LeClerc - Oliver - Gagnon
Newcomb
- Ring - Cronin
Winters - Lavins - Turner
R. MacPherson - C. MacDonald - Siedem
Skrastins
--
Walsh - Bradshaw - DeTurris

There are a lot of interchangeable pieces now, so my lines theories could end up well off the mark (MacDonald, for example, could easily land further up the line-up). I'm not sure who, if anyone, can pop 20 - but it wouldn't surprise me to see ANY of the top 12 forwards scoring 10+ goals...

UNH's entire season will come down to the answer to one question. How will CHL players translate to the NCAA level?

That's now EIGHT key, late additions (including transfers Cronin & Chauvette). If the CHLers end up making a significant and immediate impact, then the Wildcats could end up being a darn good team. If the MJ imports need the same adjustment as typical freshmen, than UNH remains notably inexperienced and undermanned. I'm definitely intrigued...

A balanced attack and keeping pucks out of their own net. That's their path to success.
 
Last edited:
-Not news per se but it seems incoming recruit Jacob Newcombe is a cancer survivor, pretty badass
My favorite part of his cancer journey is that his return game post-treatment happened to be the perfect game- Cape Breton Eagles' Hockey Fights Cancer night, against Chicoutimi, his former team for 2 seasons. That's the sort of storybook stuff you rarely see. Also a very cute story about a 5-year-old Eagles superfan Avery Pynn who set up a lemonade stand in support of his favorite Eagles player's cancer battle, raising $670. Absolutely a badass. Nice benefit of pursuing high-level athletics is the regular health evals required at training camps which can catch serious issues like Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma early.
 
Sounds like MS7 and his assistants have been busy!

How looks the blue line for this coming season?

The defense will ask an awful lot of five newcomers and three who have played secondary to tertiary roles in their career to date. Could use another anchor in the top four...

DeAngelis - Conn
Fitzgerald - Carr
Player - DeHaro
--
Philbrick - Hahn


In goal, we hope that Whale & Chauvette push each other, bringing the best out of both...

Whale / Chauvette
--
Seguin-Lescarbeau
 
The defense will ask an awful lot of five newcomers and three who have played secondary to tertiary roles in their career to date. Could use another anchor in the top four...

DeAngelis - Conn
Fitzgerald - Carr
Player - DeHaro
--
Philbrick - Hahn


In goal, we hope that Whale & Chauvette push each other, bringing the best out of both...

Whale / Chauvette
--
Seguin-Lescarbeau
Many of us thought before last season that with so many returning for a fifth year that the blue line would be a strength. And I thought that Whale would be another Hellsten given a poster’s comments on the Alaska Anchorage thread. So, I believed 20 wins were imminently plausible.

For this upcoming season it appears that the forward lines will be a strength, on paper anyway. But I am hoping to be pleasantly surprised by the blue line and goaltender additions.
 
Many of us thought before last season that with so many returning for a fifth year that the blue line would be a strength. And I thought that Whale would be another Hellsten given a poster’s comments on the Alaska Anchorage thread. So, I believed 20 wins were imminently plausible.

For this upcoming season it appears that the forward lines will be a strength, on paper anyway. But I am hoping to be pleasantly surprised by the blue line and goaltender additions.
The problem will be if the D can't get the puck out of the zone, then strength up front will not matter. You can't "flick" the puck like a punt and think offense will happen. The common denominator is MS7 and that is the barrier to success.

But he secured a 22-year-old freshman, so we have that going for us. Freshman buy at Libby's?
 
NH Beanpot would be....UNH, Dartmouth, St. As, SNHU?

I think another idea that's been thrown around for a "Public Beanpot" of sorts would be great. UNH, UVM, UMaine, UMass at Verizon Center.
Losing a tournament to D3 schools would be awful. And it cannot be at SNHU arena. They made a mess of the regionals.
 
6'4 defender Reid Conn was one of the most efficient defenders in all of the USHL last year and our analytics team believes his project-able numbers will make him a good fit at the collegiate level of performance ... This is from the Scouting news from this past year very positive news.
 
Losing a tournament to D3 schools would be awful. And it cannot be at SNHU arena. They made a mess of the regionals.
Has to be at SNHU, that's the whole concept, critical mass in a central neutral location. Otherwise, it all dies after UNH and Dartmouth host.

There hasn't been a steady hockey tenant in the building since the Coast Monarchs left a few years ago. Some discussion earlier on here about a possible Q league team, not sure they'd be able to effectively use the big building, but even if they land and don't use the SNHU Arena, the crew working the arena at that alternate location could be available in advance to work out the kinks. I'm not sure if anyone really thought that through this time, hadn't been an issue in the past. The arena never had the amount of problems while hosting past NCAA Regionals. I was there two Springs ago, no such issues, at all.

The "D-3 issue" (I believe SNHU is technically D-2?) only concerns me if there are restrictions or prohibitions to prevent stuff like that, but two solutions are to start the event with other nearby D-1's (Merrimack and Bentley) to span three leagues, and minimize interleague match-ups, and give the smaller locals time to build to D-1 if that's in the cards. And if they want in from the start, then match the D-3/D-2 schools in the first round, and let the Finals/consolation games be the D-1 participants' respective allowed "exhibition" game for the season. And if one of the D-1's loses to the minnows, then is that such a bad thing for hockey in NH in the big picture?? No one far beyond our borders will even care or pay attention, and if the "worst" happens, doesn't that provide juice for one of those minnows to upgrade to Atlantic Hockey (D-1)?? Plus, everyone loves an underdog story. Bentley vs. BC at that arena not too long ago was not all that far from the mismatch some of us automatically assume it would be with UNH/DC vs. SNHU/St. A's, and the Falcons had 60+% of the arena pulling for them to do the "impossible". What better to prime the pump for the long-term viability for one/both of the biggies to lose once in awhile???

And (just sayin') if a certain D-1 program still has a crappy recent history with a floundering HC, what better tool could you hand an AD to solve that problem??

All due respect, big picture, sometimes you gotta break some eggs to cook up a hearty meal. Honestly, do we have a lot to lose at this point?? Really???
 
Back
Top