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UNH At The Starting Gate....

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Re: UNH At The Starting Gate....

They started the game with Speelman up front on PP1 with Desimone back on the point with Kessel. By the end of the game, Kosto was back with Kessel and Phil upfront.
 
Re: UNH At The Starting Gate....

I understand the forward at the point PP concept, but dislike it. He is not used to playing there, pucks more often escape the zone and the short handed break is more common. I recall last weekend that the defensive pairings were changed around in 5 x 5 situations.
 
Re: UNH At The Starting Gate....

RockTheWhit said:
They started the game with Speelman up front on PP1 with Desimone back on the point with Kessel. By the end of the game, Kosto was back with Kessel and Phil upfront.
Click to expand...

George, are you around next weekend for the Maine series??
 
Re: UNH At The Starting Gate....

Darius said:
I understand the forward at the point PP concept, but dislike it.
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I could not agree with you more. The idea of a forward as the other D on the PP is way more harmful than it helps... can't count the # of times I have seen teams get burned by this-- including UNH. I remember when Umile used to put Justin Akins back on the D during the PP and it would just make me cringe because we got absolutely nothing out of it offensively and defensively he was like a fish out of water on the shorthanded counter (as most forwards would be). Just have never understood this tactic.

If you do this, your forward had better be one hell of a defensive forward, and, if he is, then my hunch is that he is not all that great of a playmaker. So why even bother?
 
Re: UNH At The Starting Gate....

Malts18 said:
George, are you around next weekend for the Maine series??
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Yessir. Should be an awesome weekend. Let me know when you guys plan on getting to Durham and what your plans are. My #'s the same and I'll be around and ready to put down some beers and wings :D.
 
Re: UNH At The Starting Gate....

Hey all...

Sort of taking a shot in the dark, but UNH changed the way they release tickets to the public and I didn't know that. I am looking for a ticket to the game next Saturday. Ill take any ticket I can get. Its for a friend.

Thanks!
 
Re: UNH At The Starting Gate....

unhpuckfan2001 said:
Hey all...

Sort of taking a shot in the dark, but UNH changed the way they release tickets to the public and I didn't know that. I am looking for a ticket to the game next Saturday. Ill take any ticket I can get. Its for a friend.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Ticketmaster has singles for both nights
 
Re: UNH At The Starting Gate....

RockTheWhit said:
Yessir. Should be an awesome weekend. Let me know when you guys plan on getting to Durham and what your plans are. My #'s the same and I'll be around and ready to put down some beers and wings :D.
Click to expand...

Well... we get in at all diff times on Thursday, but not sure where we will be that night.... Toby gets in around 6:00 at Logan and then takes the bus up to Portsmouth. We might well not be to downtown until around 10p or so.. but I will call you and let you know. Friday we are totally open, I think. Again, better I call you as we go. As you well know.. our group is far from the most organized thing going. But, yeah.. bank on beers, wings, hockey and all of the usual.... CAN'T WAIT, buddy!!!
 
Re: UNH At The Starting Gate....

Really solid game by the Cats tonight. Once they got their legs under them (about 5:00 into the 2nd), it was katy bar the door... hide the women and children as the Cats were all about pounding the Friars. That is EXACTLY what you are meant to do to lesser teams. POUND THEM. The SOG won't tell the story in this one.... or for the weekend, for that matter. UNH was not taking any prisoners and demanded the W. That is key headed to a huge series vs arch-rivals from the north.

Ready to go next weekend.... prepare for war, boys.... time to take down Maine twice.
 
Re: UNH At The Starting Gate....

SPCSMAN said:
I thought they were talking about us putting 4 forwards with one D-Man on the Power Play. Different look...similar dismal production.
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Well, 2 for 6 ain't bad -- that's 33%, and we are in 2nd place in HE in the PP column:

Power Play Totals PP %
1 Boston College 22/92 23.9
2 New Hampshire 16/76 21.1
3 Merrimack 16/93 17.2
4 Northeastern 17/101 16.8
5 UMass Lowell 14/86 16.3
6 Maine 13/94 13.8
7 Massachusetts 10/74 13.5
8 Vermont 9/78 11.5
9 Boston University 10/101 9.9
10 Providence 6/80 7.5

(Sorry for the formatting)

This has been UNH's best Power Play effectiveness in YEARS.
 
Re: UNH At The Starting Gate....

I know unh has embarrassingly lost 2 points in hockey east since mid november, I wonder when the next time pillb will chirp in? 10-3 on the weekend against a team they needed to roll over. Hopefully they can keep it going against maine in a week....
 
Re: UNH At The Starting Gate....

Can anyone explain the 2nd period PP with one point man? Was it simply that we were so dominant we could pull it off or is it a new strategy? Thanks.
 
Re: UNH At The Starting Gate....

Darius said:
Can anyone explain the 2nd period PP with one point man? Was it simply that we were so dominant we could pull it off or is it a new strategy? Thanks.
Click to expand...
From the Concord Monitor:
Speelman was moved to the top power-play unit just this weekend, providing a fourth forward to UNH's potent umbrella setup that has pumped in 22 goals (20 percent) on the man advantage this season.

"I thought he played very well," Umile said. "It just gives us more threat on the other side of the power play. No disrespect to the people (Brett Kostolansky) that were there before, but it just balances the ice on the power play. I thought we could have scored a couple more there."
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Re: UNH At The Starting Gate....

It was good to see a solid game from the Cats last night. The passing was sharp and good hustle. Even a little physical defense for a change. We need more of that.

Sislo seems to have overcome the weak play after the break. DeS still isn't up to his level of play. I used to hate his tendencies to carry the puck deep in the zone, not looking to pass. But with the trouble we sometimes have getting passed mid-ice, I decided having someone who can skate with the puck is a plus. Thompson even looked off last weekend against BU.

Hope they keep it up for Maine next weekend. Four points if very possible if they hustle.

The teams we have problems with are those with puck handlers. Look at the games we lost or almost loss (just take the ECAC games). Those teams all have player who can skate with the puck. UNH's positional defense (not taking the body) is vulnerable to those teams. The players skate around the defense and get open shots. In the past BU was always a challenge because they played that way. Vanek single-handedly beat UNH in the Frozen Four Finals in Buffalo. In recent years the Cats have been much better at stopping those teams. But it takes constant hustle and hard work. When the Cats get lazy or tired, look out.

Maine is not usually know for its offense. Playmaking is not a Whitehead strength. I haven't seen them this year but they seem to take lots of long blasts from the blue line and crash the net. Defense has been their thing but this year they don't seem to be able to hold a lead (e.g. UNH @ Orono this year, BU Friday come from behind win). Good matchup for UNH that has made coming from behind an artform this season.
 
Re: UNH At The Starting Gate....

I know there is a ticket thread, but two tickets I cannot use in section 106. Let me know by email from here if anyone needs two.
 
Re: UNH At The Starting Gate....

There used to be a ticket exchange/sale section on the Friends of UNH Hockey website. You can try there too, but I'm sure you'll get rid of them here quickly.
 
Re: UNH At The Starting Gate....

I did the math earlier, but something happened during the post and the math disappeared (It was good stuff, too!). I'm too lazy to go through it again.

Needless to say, UNH and BC clinched playoff spots last night.
 
Re: UNH At The Starting Gate....

Just doing the quick math, I think that may be slightly inaccurate.

UML cannot catch BC or UNH as their max potential is 22.
UVM's max potential is 29.
PC's max potential is 30.

Obviously, it's a formality, but not mathematical yet.
 
Re: UNH At The Starting Gate....

gdawg said:
The teams we have problems with are those with puck handlers. Look at the games we lost or almost loss (just take the ECAC games). Those teams all have player who can skate with the puck. UNH's positional defense (not taking the body) is vulnerable to those teams. The players skate around the defense and get open shots. In the past BU was always a challenge because they played that way. Vanek single-handedly beat UNH in the Frozen Four Finals in Buffalo. In recent years the Cats have been much better at stopping those teams. But it takes constant hustle and hard work. When the Cats get lazy or tired, look out.
Click to expand...

I am not sure if Vanek is a good example, as UNH played three guys back in that game and still could not stop him. Simply an exceptional talent who took the Gophers to their second NC in a row, I think.
 
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