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UNH 2025 Offseason: Where in the World is MS7?

Chuck Murray said:
Probably depends upon whether any of the new donors are attached to him (like apparently TDL) or not. If indeed the influx of new donors/new money IS attached to MS7, he's making a better case for taking Jimmy T's job as "Hockey CEO", and should leave the coaching thingie to others who are better at it.

Interesting timing, to say the least ... what with all the uncertainty still out there with Concord and the USNH budget ... I remember someone telling us private donors could not be relied upon to get projects like this done ... in the famous words of Gomer Pyle USMC, "Surprise, surprise, surprise!!" :LOL: :LOL: :LOL: :LOL:
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Buford, one of these days..... Pow! Right in the kisser!!!!
Are you suggesting that your "brothers from another mother" Joe Faro and Sal Lupoli made the difference?
BTW, if facilities don't really matter much, as you claim, then you must view the $20 million as a waste of dough
 
2013hockeyfan said:
From UNH Athletics marketing email today:
I’m thrilled and humbled to share that – thanks to the support of many generous donors (along with the state and University) – we’ve secured $19.75 million for the Hockey Arena Renovation project ... Explore the latest renderings on the Whittemore Center at Key Auto Group Complex webpage.
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Can someone please post a direct link to these advertised "recent renderings"? ... I've spent the last 1/2 hour navigating around the, IMHO, poorly designed UNH Athletics website and/or the "Whittemore Center at Key Auto Group Complex webpage" and can't for the life of me find them displayed anywhere. I'd like to see what this nearly $20 million is going to buy, but the folks in UNH communications/media sure don't make it easy ...
 
jeteye1717 said:
Can someone please post a direct link to these advertised "recent renderings"? ... I've spent the last 1/2 hour navigating around the, IMHO, poorly designed UNH Athletics website and/or the "Whittemore Center at Key Auto Group Complex webpage" and can't for the life of me find them displayed anywhere. I'd like to see what this nearly $20 million is going to buy, but the folks in UNH communications/media sure don't make it easy ...
Click to expand...
unhwildcats.com

UNH Hockey Renovation Project - University of New Hampshire Athletics

WHITTEMORE CENTER AT KEY AUTO GROUP COMPLEX Since 1995, the Whittemore Center has been the raucous home to the UNH men’s and women’s hockey programs while al...
unhwildcats.com unhwildcats.com
 
jeteye1717 said:
Can someone please post a direct link to these advertised "recent renderings"? ... I've spent the last 1/2 hour navigating around the, IMHO, poorly designed UNH Athletics website and/or the "Whittemore Center at Key Auto Group Complex webpage" and can't for the life of me find them displayed anywhere. I'd like to see what this nearly $20 million is going to buy, but the folks in UNH communications/media sure don't make it easy ...
Click to expand...
A functioning website will require $3.5M more from donors first.
 
Scott said:
unhwildcats.com

UNH Hockey Renovation Project - University of New Hampshire Athletics

WHITTEMORE CENTER AT KEY AUTO GROUP COMPLEX Since 1995, the Whittemore Center has been the raucous home to the UNH men’s and women’s hockey programs while al...
unhwildcats.com unhwildcats.com
Click to expand...
Thanks Scott. Impressive. Looks like TDL has gotten himself a new hockey buddy in Jay McSharry, local Portsmouth restauranteur supreme.

I'm sure with the supernova financial trajectory in the Seacoast NH region, there are probably several other notable donors in the mix. :)

Tough day for potty, no doubt lighting candles at his local church, praying MS7 turns it around, but only AFTER the project is complete. :LOL::LOL:
 
Potluck said:
Buford, one of these days..... Pow! Right in the kisser!!!!
Are you suggesting that your "brothers from another mother" Joe Faro and Sal Lupoli made the difference?
BTW, if facilities don't really matter much, as you claim, then you must view the $20 million as a waste of dough
Click to expand...
Oh, my delusional pal potty ... moving the goalposts, as the foundations for your prior argument get washed out in a torrent of private fundraising ... :LOL::LOL:

We now know at least TDL and Jay McSharry (UNH alum, local restaurateur supreme) are leading the private fundraising efforts. And having raised a large piece of the $20M now dedicated to the arena upgrade project, who knows who else is on the list of prominent donors?? Maybe Faro? Maybe Lupoli, who has some final big regulatory hurdles left coming up for his Hampton Beach Casino megaproject?? Anyone from around here (obviously not potty) understands how the Seacoast has transformed financially over the last generation plus when The Whitt was originally built, with the biggest change being the upgrade of Pease from a mere Air Force base to a private biotech campus with many other large regional/national concerns as tenants, an operational public airport and an ANG wing. The most recent changes have seen a steady outmigration of folks from the south and (down)east who object to over-taxation and some of the social issues.

To round back on your farcically tilted revised position ... no, my position isn't that improved facilities are "a waste of dough" in and of itself. It IS delusional to think improved facilities alone will turn the tide, if substandard coaching is still in charge, though. If I were to turn the tables on your argument, then with the huge investment in facilities, Coach Souza will be transformed into a coaching genius, and smash not only Umile's records, but challenge for the York/Parker level in the Hockey East pantheon of all time greats. You understand, my logically challenged Ma$$hole-ian, this is the opposite side of your (new) argument.

As an aside ... I sure am glad those folks up in Concord didn't follow your panic-stricken lead, and reform the local tax codes lolololol ... :LOL:🤪:LOL:🤪🤪
 
Sparkee said:
A functioning website will require $3.5M more from donors first.
Click to expand...
Website seems to be functioning well enough, at least well enough for New Hampshirites like Scotty and myself to figure it out. We can send picture charts up your way to allow you guys to figure the Internet thingie out. I know, you folks just coming to terms with indoor plumbin' and 'lectricity stuff since the turn of the century, so we'll be happy to allow you a few more years to catch up on the real cutting edge stuff, Sparkee! 🤪

Seriously though ... I remember a lot of UMaine-iacs saying how much they would welcome the UMaine-UNH thing becoming more relevant, like it was back in the old days. You'd think you folks would be happy for us (and yourselves?) today, no?? Or was that just a lot of insincere faux empathy??? Sparkee, this is not aimed at you BTW, you've always been quite open about Maine uber alles, and that's fine, but others come on here offering comfort etc. ... happy or bummed?

The easy answer should be "happy" as MS7 is still part of the total UNH experience, and as long as it's Barr v. Souza, UNH has a lot more catching up to do ... :(
 
Chuck Murray said:
Website seems to be functioning well enough, at least well enough for New Hampshirites like Scotty and myself to figure it out. We can send picture charts up your way to allow you guys to figure the Internet thingie out. I know, you folks just coming to terms with indoor plumbin' and 'lectricity stuff since the turn of the century, so we'll be happy to allow you a few more years to catch up on the real cutting edge stuff, Sparkee! 🤪

Seriously though ... I remember a lot of UMaine-iacs saying how much they would welcome the UMaine-UNH thing becoming more relevant, like it was back in the old days. You'd think you folks would be happy for us (and yourselves?) today, no?? Or was that just a lot of insincere faux empathy??? Sparkee, this is not aimed at you BTW, you've always been quite open about Maine uber alles, and that's fine, but others come on here offering comfort etc. ... happy or bummed?

The easy answer should be "happy" as MS7 is still part of the total UNH experience, and as long as it's Barr v. Souza, UNH has a lot more catching up to do ... :(
Click to expand...
My fellow Mainahs were showing you comfort huh?

Something like Clarkson Griswald?

“Can I refill your eggnog for you? Get you something to eat? Drive you out to the middle of nowhere, leave you for dead?"
 
Potluck said:
Are you suggesting that your "brothers from another mother" Joe Faro and Sal Lupoli made the difference?
Click to expand...
Just a quick postscript, following up on the idea floated on here previously by a few posters (potty included) as to Lupoli's status as a Northeastern alum, and thus his disinterest in all things New Hampshire (including UNH and its developing arena refurbishment) ... well, I cannot confirm he was a significant private contributor to the UNH project - maybe he was, maybe he wasn't?? - but on Page 4 of this weekend's Union Leader in Kevin Landrigan's weekly opus on all things NH politics, a certain "Salvatore Lupoli, founder of the Sal's Pizza chain, and his wife Kathleen, together gave (Gov. Kelly) Ayotte $30,000" towards her 2028 re-election campaign. $15,000 per person is apparently the maximum allowed per donor, per campaign.

So much for the fallacy that Lupoli isn't deeply invested in New Hampshire. :LOL::cool::LOL::cool::LOL:

Considering his business empire started at a single Sal's Pizza location in Salem NH, and now includes about a 1/2 mile stretch of Hampton Beach where he's in the late approval stages of a $600+M mixed-use beachfront development, that argument holds as much water as potty's argument that you cannot rely on private investments to improve your D-1 hockey program. FWIW ... Lupoli has owned homes in several NH towns, including Windham NH (where Joe Faro currently resides BTW), and his first permanent Sal's location in Salem was at the corner of Broadway (Rte. 28) and Main St. (Exit 2 off of Interstate 93). More on that shortly.

When I worked in that area for over a decade, lunch visits to that location - plus his initial "Salvatore's Restaurant" in Lawrence's "Riverwalk" complex - were routine stops for our team. The Salem NH location no longer exists, though, levelled as part of an overall beautification project near the town's old railroad depot. Next door to the depot, what might you find? Tuscan Kitchen at 67 Main St., Faro's first Tuscan location ... and down the street, along Broadway, you find Faro's "Tuscan Village" megaproject, which ends at its northern border of ... "Broadway and Main" (see above). So yeah, Faro and Lupoli are paisan. (y)

Two great Americans, both with similar roots and nearly identical career trajectories. Both well on their way to joining the billionaire's club (if not already there), and many, many others following in their wake. Rick Cohen of C&S Wholesale Grocers (Penn Wharton grad, now living in Keene) just had his name put on buildings at Keene State, putting the lie to the idea that money can only go towards your alma mater. All here in NH. And it's only getting better ... :):)
 
Oh Buford, your life long quest to live off the wealth of others without ever reaching into your own pocket is astonishing and, I suppose, what you meant when you referred to it as “our way of life”. Outside Effingwoods, it’s called being a deadbeat and free loader. It’s actually disturbing that you are apparently stalking on Faro and Lupoli, but perhaps dealing with wackos is part of being wealthy.

In any event, UMass is prepared to spend $400k to $600k in nil on hockey players for the ‘26-‘27 season. First rate facilities are now standard. The NIL era is upon us. BC, UMass, UConn, Providence, BU, Maine almost certainly have their guns loaded. Any ideas? Do you think Faro and Lupoli will give UNH a big payroll?
 
Scott said:
unhwildcats.com

UNH Hockey Renovation Project - University of New Hampshire Athletics

WHITTEMORE CENTER AT KEY AUTO GROUP COMPLEX Since 1995, the Whittemore Center has been the raucous home to the UNH men’s and women’s hockey programs while al...
unhwildcats.com unhwildcats.com
Click to expand...
Scott - many thanks for this! Maybe I was/am just dense, but it shouldn't have been this hard to find this page/link; why is there nothing pointing to it from the main unhwildcats.com home page? No link under "trending" either, no link (unless it's buried) in the menu list, no easy way to navigate to the "sports" sub-category where I see it now resides; it's almost as it they don't want casual browsers (or even those specifically looking for it) to find it. Bottom Line to me - epic fail ...

However ... Having finally now seen the new renderings, I have to say these impending upgrades to the locker rooms, player lounges, video room, and weight/training facilities look pretty damn impressive! They remind me of the renderings that accompanied the building of Agganis Arena at BU; ultra-modern amenities that either didn't exist (or were too expensive for frugal NH) when the Whitt was designed/built back in the early/mid-90s. Most of us fans will never see these renovations in person, but if at some future date a Wildcat skater's charlie horse is miraculously cured overnight by a dip in the hydrotherapy cold plunge (stripped of its Notre Dame logo of course), it'll all have been worth it!

An interesting (at least to me) aside ... Perhaps this was announced back when these upgrades were first proposed, but the architects of record for the project - LaVallee|Brensinger - are apparently an affiliate shop of Populous, the globally famous architectural firm (formerly known as HOK Architects) who made their bones back in the early 90s with their groundbreaking design of Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Since then they've designed/built literally 100s of sports stadia and entertainment venues all over the globe [https://populous.com/portfolio/], everything from the Sphere in Las Vegas, Rogers Centre in Toronto, the expanded Grandstand at Churchill Downs, to the new Kop Stand at the Racecourse Grounds, the home pitch of Wrexham AFC [https://populous.com/article/wrexham-afc-unveils-design-of-new-kop-stand]. Populous is the pinnacle of sport architecture, and to think that UNH will soon have at least a sliver of on-campus association with them warms my heart. It's not as showy as Ingalls Rink (aka the Yale Whale) in New Haven, wholly designed by the late Eero Saarinen, but I'll take it :)
 
Chuck Murray said:
Welcome back, Ref! Hate to say it, but Panthers in 5. Better goalie, better defense, better postseason physicality, and they beat those guys last year. Barkov and Tkachuk will keep the dynamic duo under control, and Florida will wear down the rest.

Ironically, Toronto looks to be in the advanced stages of blowing up a team that pushed FLA to Game 7. Granted, Games 5 & 7 were embarrassing blowouts on home ice, but the Leafs are the only ones to have made Florida sweat (so far). Really good veteran TBL and Carolina teams were made to look puny and weak.

With each and every opponent Florida mows down, you gotta think chances of TML GM Brad Treliving actually moving heaven and earth to keep all his current guys on board for one more go at the Holy Grail is increasingly realistic. Wondering if the Toronto fans yet regret booing Mitch Marner off the ice ... 'cuz of all their offseason challenges, convincing MM to stick around after the rash of crap he took (after a fairly decent postseason) might be the trickiest part???
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Well you're probably right. I didn't make it through the 2nd OT and isn't it something Marchy got the GW (plus that shorthanded goal)..sigh.
On another note I see UNH alum Benton Maass will be an asst coach at MI tech next season...
 
I'm thinking of continuing on the regional approach, so Ontario includes OHL, etc.

The hard part is knowing/guessing who is now in the pool before they commit. Amateur leagues used to be self-selecting for NCAA path.
I'm more of an aggregator now, anyway, and there being several groups already doing similar things. Maybe, with my prior passion having been dented by my alma mater's situation, and a new renovation project, hand off the project to someone more invested. Kind of a Dread Pirate Roberts situation. Interested?

I’m more excited about Dorian Soto than some ‘09 recruit UNH has no shot at.
 
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NCAA watcher said:
I'm thinking of continuing on the regional approach, so Ontario includes OHL, etc.

The hard part is knowing/guessing who is now in the pool before they commit. Amateur leagues used to be self-selecting for NCAA path.
I'm more of an aggregator now, anyway, and there being several groups already doing similar things. Maybe, with my prior passion having been dented by my alma mater's situation, and a new renovation project, hand off the project to someone more invested. Kind of a Dread Pirate Roberts situation. Interested?

I’m more excited about Dorian Soto than some ‘09 recruit UNH has no shot at.
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To be honest, I don’t think I have the knowledge, connections, and time to do it justice. I thank you for offering. You really do an incredible job, thank you for your efforts.
 
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