UNH At The Starting Gate....

[Carmine Scarpaglia]

Re: UNH At The Starting Gate....

If they don't win (see the 09 postseason... had two games to win the Cup vs PIT and lost both), it is hard to say they had bad season if they accomplished much along the way.

I think this is where you get off track. I feel like you're implying some people would say team X had a "bad season" if they won the regular season and failed in the playoffs. That would be absolutely stupid to say and I would hope we could all agree on this. And I don't see many people say that to be honest. Even at BC, where anything short of a national title is considered somewhat of a failure, everyone still knows that is not true. Having the highest of standards and then holding the team to them every single season is just not realistic.

Of course, it's a big gap between "you win a regular season crown and you are the best"... especially when you find the quote you mentioned at the end of your last post so intriguing.

 

[unhpuckfan2001]

Re: UNH At The Starting Gate....

Observations from last night:

Greg Burke likely out for the rest of the season, with an as-of-yet undiagnosed upper body injury. They're still not sure if he'll need surgery, but best-case scenario is that he's out for 3-4 weeks, which puts us at the basic end of the season. It leaves the coaching staff with a decision: find a replacement, or rotate? If McCarey keeps up his level of play from last night, I say leave him on the fourth line. I think he played very well, especially when you consider he was playing with new line mates. Fought hard.

Last night, the thing I was most encouraged by (and there were lots of things -- hustle, grit, a little physical play) was that UNH seemed to WIN more face-offs than they lost. I don't know the official number, it was just a trend the wife and I noticed. UNH controlled the puck a lot more last night, continued from the end of the game Friday night -- and a lot of this was based off winning the face-offs. UNH also won lots of races to loose pucks, or fought and won them in the corner.

As much as I like watching big ole Connor Hardowa play center, the team needs him at defense. He's calm, steady -- there were a couple instances last night where the puck was sitting in/near the crease and he calmly played it away.

Thank the hockey gods that for the most part, Kessell is a relatively smart defensemen. His knowledge of his position allows him to play angles, anticipate passes, and work forwards off the puck. His nose for when to pinch and play offense also serves him well . . . but get him out into space, and he is obviously not healthy. He couldn't skate with even the slower of NU's skater's Saturday night (the balcony gave a very good view of this), and he definitely is short-striding his right foot, especially skating backwards. He's still playing well, and it's a credit to his grit and intelligence. Hope he can stay where's he at, health-wise, for the rest of the year.

It's been said before, but Matt Digiralamo has been such a pleasant surprise. A nice, polite, humble kid who has back boned this UNH team splendidly all year.

I like the mentality: UNH does not want to have the Reg. Season title on the line Saturday night. Coach U and the boys stated very clearly they want to celebrate it Friday night in Boston, and let Saturday be a looser, more relaxed game where all they're playing for is a PWR boost. Also, they know they could finish as low as third still with BU four points behind (and holding the tie-break), so expect them to come out flying Friday @ Conte Forum.

Okay, my thesis is over.

 

[Malts18]

Re: UNH At The Starting Gate....

I think this is where you get off track. I feel like you're implying some people would say team X had a "bad season" if they won the regular season and failed in the playoffs. That would be absolutely stupid to say and I would hope we could all agree on this. And I don't see many people say that to be honest. Even at BC, where anything short of a national title is considered somewhat of a failure, everyone still knows that is not true. Having the highest of standards and then holding the team to them every single season is just not realistic.

Of course, it's a big gap between "you win a regular season crown and you are the best"... especially when you find the quote you mentioned at the end of your last post so intriguing.

If BC wins the H.E. regular season, but does not win the HE tourney or the NCAA tourney, will you consider the season a "bad one"? Maybe you are realistic enough to realize it is not a bad one, but there are plenty of BC'ers who will think so, I fear. When expectations are high (Yankees, Red Sox, Red Wings) year after year, it can make people downplay the importance of achievements along the way.

Yes, at the end all we will remember is the winner in the HE tourney and in the NCAAs. Until UNH wins a NC, I do think there are a decent amount of ppl out there that will consider anything short of that, in most any season, a "bad season" or a "failure" --- sad as that is.

And, with regard to your quote that I do find intriguing.... the playoffs are a different game and I do think there is something to "having something left in the tank" and being ready to play. Jerry York is the master at preparing his team to maximize the probability that his team does well in the playoffs (both HE tourney and NCAAs). They play with confidence and are ready in all facets come the postseason. Kudos to him and his program.

 

[sterlippo1]

Re: UNH At The Starting Gate....

If I had a ticket to the game, I'd take you up on the offer -- if I can come up with one, then I'll need a bit more information than "in MM". (How can I tell one turned-up collar from another? )

MM last row , i narrowed it down for ya, i said that

And if you're going to be at the game on Saturday, let me know --I'll probably be there as well (my ticket isn't assured at this point, but I'm hopeful.) I'd love to be proven wrong -- but am willing to concede the point to you, as can't recall any of your posts that would qualify as described.

perhaps you should read some of my posts.................but not sure what you mean by "your posts that would qualify as described"

Hey, in all honesty, most college hockey fans -- of whatever team they root for -- and whom I've met face-to-face are pretty decent to me, and I hope I'm the same with them. I attended a UNH-BC game at BC a few years ago, and sat next to a rather obnoxious, slightly inebriated BC fan (who arrived late and left early,) but who nevertheless was a lot of fun to sit next to. (However, there's also another one I had the misfortune to meet at the Garden during the HE championship a few years ago, whose face, and whose complete lack of grace, I will never forget. Considering his age -- I'll bet he was in his late 50's -- he ought to have been better mannered.)

don't we all have fans like this? perhaps UNH less as i have always been complementary to the UNH fanbase . again, maybe read some of my posts on your own threads

There are relatively few BC posters on this board, and I suspect that some have several usernames and alter egos (with a certain one whom I'll refer to as "BennyBraggadoccio" claiming multiple Italian or French personalities) so there are probably even fewer than would be thought. I regret using generalities, but most are indeed insufferable and arrogant. They aren't always, and I often enjoy their comments, especially when their wit is in evidence. I doubt such arrogance was displayed before BC's recent success in the NCAA's, when BC was a backwater team for several years -- but who knows?

"but most are indeed insufferable and arrogant" you know this as a fact or is it another generality?

This isn't to say that the UNH fanbase, or any other group of fans, isn't without similar characters. Maybe it's just my milquetoast mantra, but people should be gracious in defeat, and even more so in victory. In between, there's plenty of room for the winking allegation, the witty reposte, and the brilliant analysis of the game we all seem to have a love/hate relationship with

finally a common sense approach. thank you for responding to my post, i hope i wasn't too insufferable or arrogant for your tastes

 

[goblue]

Re: UNH At The Starting Gate....

...
finally a common sense approach. thank you for responding to my post, i hope i wasn't too insufferable or arrogant for your tastes

HEY, EVERYBODY!!! CHECK IT OUT!!! A BC FAN WHO CARES WHAT OTHERS THINK!!!

(Hey, just kidding. It's all good, right? )

Good luck to BC next weekend. It should be a fun couple of games.

 

[Greg Ambrose]

Re: UNH At The Starting Gate....

Re: Comparison of the Red Wings multiple Stanley Cups with myriad championships (4) won by BC. Chastising Malts on this is ridiculous. When the Red Wings, or any other NHL team, win the Stanley Cup, how many games do they have to win to hoist the Cup? In the current format it is 12, in four series played every other night over the better part of two months. How many games does the college hockey champion have to win in tournament play? Currently it is 4, (used to be 3, and before that 2) played back-to-back one weekend, then two weeks later two games with a day off in between. What the NHL champ does every year is based on talent willing out. What BU did two year ago . . . gee there might have been some luck involved, don't you think?

 

[Greg Ambrose]

Re: UNH At The Starting Gate....

Observations from last night:

Greg Burke likely out for the rest of the season, with an as-of-yet undiagnosed upper body injury. They're still not sure if he'll need surgery, but best-case scenario is that he's out for 3-4 weeks, which puts us at the basic end of the season. It leaves the coaching staff with a decision: find a replacement, or rotate? If McCarey keeps up his level of play from last night, I say leave him on the fourth line. I think he played very well, especially when you consider he was playing with new line mates. Fought hard.

Last night, the thing I was most encouraged by (and there were lots of things -- hustle, grit, a little physical play) was that UNH seemed to WIN more face-offs than they lost. I don't know the official number, it was just a trend the wife and I noticed. UNH controlled the puck a lot more last night, continued from the end of the game Friday night -- and a lot of this was based off winning the face-offs. UNH also won lots of races to loose pucks, or fought and won them in the corner.

As much as I like watching big ole Connor Hardowa play center, the team needs him at defense. He's calm, steady -- there were a couple instances last night where the puck was sitting in/near the crease and he calmly played it away.

Thank the hockey gods that for the most part, Kessell is a relatively smart defensemen. His knowledge of his position allows him to play angles, anticipate passes, and work forwards off the puck. His nose for when to pinch and play offense also serves him well . . . but get him out into space, and he is obviously not healthy. He couldn't skate with even the slower of NU's skater's Saturday night (the balcony gave a very good view of this), and he definitely is short-striding his right foot, especially skating backwards. He's still playing well, and it's a credit to his grit and intelligence. Hope he can stay where's he at, health-wise, for the rest of the year.

It's been said before, but Matt Digiralamo has been such a pleasant surprise. A nice, polite, humble kid who has back boned this UNH team splendidly all year.

I like the mentality: UNH does not want to have the Reg. Season title on the line Saturday night. Coach U and the boys stated very clearly they want to celebrate it Friday night in Boston, and let Saturday be a looser, more relaxed game where all they're playing for is a PWR boost. Also, they know they could finish as low as third still with BU four points behind (and holding the tie-break), so expect them to come out flying Friday @ Conte Forum.

Okay, my thesis is over.

Was away this weekend and unfortunately did not see either game (but thanks for those score updates!) My reaction when I saw that Umile broke up the first line? What took him so long. I've been waiting for this for the last two weeks. In fact, when they started the season together, I figured that Umile would break them up by mid-November. Just took them longer to get a bit stale with each other than I thought. Also sorry to hear about Burke, he is definitely a star crossed kid. But he has two years to go, hopefully he'll stay healthy because he does have potential. And agree that McCarey is the logical replacement. A smart defensive hockey player he is. Deserves to play full time.

 

[UNH8]

Re: UNH At The Starting Gate....

And agree that McCarey is the logical replacement. A smart defensive hockey player he is. Deserves to play full time.

This is far from an accurate description of McCarey's game. He has the worst career +/- on the team, and his -2 in limited action this year is worst among the forwards. The #1 goal of any 4th line is to not get scored on. The 4th line got scored on on Saturday. Manz and Pavelski both are more physical and responsible defensively.

 

[unhpuckfan2001]

Re: UNH At The Starting Gate....

This is far from an accurate description of McCarey's game. He has the worst career +/- on the team, and his -2 in limited action this year is worst among the forwards. The #1 goal of any 4th line is to not get scored on. The 4th line got scored on on Saturday. Manz and Pavelski both are more physical and responsible defensively.

Good job, providing the numbers for your opinion.

However, there is more to hockey than just the numbers; I won't say that you're wrong about Manz and Pavelski, but there is something to be said for chemistry on a line. I also don't about right handed / left handed shots, etc. I will say that McCarey played pretty well this weekend, despite the -1. The fourth line wasn't a liability out there, and managed to generate some offense.

It'll be interesting to see what they do with a full week of practices to settle in the lines.

 

[Malts18]

Re: UNH At The Starting Gate....

Re: Comparison of the Red Wings multiple Stanley Cups with myriad championships (4) won by BC. Chastising Malts on this is ridiculous. When the Red Wings, or any other NHL team, win the Stanley Cup, how many games do they have to win to hoist the Cup? In the current format it is 12, in four series played every other night over the better part of two months. How many games does the college hockey champion have to win in tournament play? Currently it is 4, (used to be 3, and before that 2) played back-to-back one weekend, then two weeks later two games with a day off in between. What the NHL champ does every year is based on talent willing out. What BU did two year ago . . . gee there might have been some luck involved, don't you think?

Greg.. in the NHL, it is 16 wins to win the Stanley Cup. 4 series that are each Best of 7 series. So, that even further bolsters your opinion.

 

[WildShawn]

Re: UNH At The Starting Gate....

Greg.. in the NHL, it is 16 wins to win the Stanley Cup. 4 series that are each Best of 7 series. So, that even further bolsters your opinion.

Assuming Greg's a Bruins fan like most of us up here, he can be excused for forgetting how many games it takes to win a Cup

 

[Malts18]

Re: UNH At The Starting Gate....

Assuming Greg's a Bruins fan like most of us up here, he can be excused for forgetting how many games it takes to win a Cup

Cripes!! Never even considered that that was possible... here it is always a race to 16. Sorry, B's fans! (I do root for the B's as my #2 team).

 

[WildShawn]

Re: UNH At The Starting Gate....

Cripes!! Never even considered that that was possible... here it is always a race to 16. Sorry, B's fans! (I do root for the B's as my #2 team).

We made it up to 7 last year, baby steps!

 

[Malts18]

Re: UNH At The Starting Gate....

We made it up to 7 last year, baby steps!

Yep.. no doubt... but each level gets harder and harder. It was crushing two yrs ago when the Wings got win #15 in Game 5 of the Cup Final vs Pitt. and then went to Pitt and lost 2-1 and came home for Game 7 and lost again by that same 2-1 score. Brutal. It is never easy to win that thing and it is one grueling competition (just about 2 full months of hockey every other night).

 

[SteveF]

Re: UNH At The Starting Gate....

Re: Comparison of the Red Wings multiple Stanley Cups with myriad championships (4) won by BC. Chastising Malts on this is ridiculous. When the Red Wings, or any other NHL team, win the Stanley Cup, how many games do they have to win to hoist the Cup? In the current format it is 12, in four series played every other night over the better part of two months. How many games does the college hockey champion have to win in tournament play? Currently it is 4, (used to be 3, and before that 2) played back-to-back one weekend, then two weeks later two games with a day off in between. What the NHL champ does every year is based on talent willing out. What BU did two year ago . . . gee there might have been some luck involved, don't you think?

wow 12 whole games? so does that mean you think the nhl season is only 11 games long? because that was malt's point about a trophy that represents more games played is more important.. your little spinorama of 4 vs 12 was arbitrary and did nothing other than prove how much you suck at counting.

 

[ClOuD 9]

Re: UNH At The Starting Gate....

Gee, why don't you tell us that the sky is blue too while you're at it. Of course it matters. It means you're almost 100% assured of an NCAA bid and have the best seed possible for the conference tournament.

This is a team that by most pre-season expectations was going to be #3-#6 in Hockey East at this point of the season and have only an outside shot at an NCAA bid, to win the conference and essentially lock up a national tournament invite would be pretty big - this isn't the '99 or '03 Wildcats.

Yes RS titles are a great accomplishment. But... MAYBE... MAYBE you won it because the other 9 teams have their heads on straight and are saving some energy for the real games? Maybe?!

Timmy's secret plan: rope-a-dope regular season, then when nobody expects it: Tournament Champions

I assume you were quite satisfied and ecstatic at how the NE Patriots did this past season then. I have to say, crowing about a regular season title and minimizing the post season may be the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

Poor comparison for so many reasons - different sample sizes, different league structures, etc.

Regular Season: team (out of 10) that wins the most number of games out of 27
Hockey East Tournament: team (out of 8) that wins the most number of games out of 4 or 5

Tournament gets you the auto-bid, but I'm pretty sure that since it was expanded there has never been a team from one of the big 4 conferences that has won the RS and not made the NCAAs (can anyone confirm?).

 

[unh1982]

This is a team that by most pre-season expectations was going to be #3-#6 in Hockey East at this point of the season and have only an outside shot at an NCAA bid, to win the conference and essentially lock up a national tournament invite would be pretty big - this isn't the '99 or '03 Wildcats.


Timmy's secret plan: rope-a-dope regular season, then when nobody expects it: Tournament Champions


Poor comparison for so many reasons - different sample sizes, different league structures, etc.

Regular Season: team (out of 10) that wins the most number of games out of 27
Hockey East Tournament: team (out of 8) that wins the most number of games out of 4 or 5

Tournament gets you the auto-bid, but I'm pretty sure that since it was expanded there has never been a team from one of the big 4 conferences that has won the RS and not made the NCAAs (can anyone confirm?).

There hasn't been a team but unh was very very close I believe if I can remember 3 or 4 years ago.unh was on bubble

 

[sterlippo1]

Re: UNH At The Starting Gate....

HEY, EVERYBODY!!! CHECK IT OUT!!! A BC FAN WHO CARES WHAT OTHERS THINK!!!

(Hey, just kidding. It's all good, right? )

Good luck to BC next weekend. It should be a fun couple of games.

yes, of course it is and good luck to UNH as well. I am looking forward to my first Whitt experience but would rather not watch a celebration

 

[Jacques "Rabbit" Poriveau]

Re: UNH At The Starting Gate....

16, peut-être?

 

[freak]

Re: UNH At The Starting Gate....

IIRC, when my wife was at UNH, they never cancelled anything for snow, but they did shut-down for a day due to cold. Must be truly awful up there. Be careful kids.

Yup, aka the University of No Holidays. As 29 mentioned, after the professor died, they've cancelled more often.