UNH Hockey 2023-2024 Season Thread - End Of The Cellar-Dweller Era??

[HockeyRef]

Anyone surprised the 'Whitt wasn't a 'sell out'? I mean, it was a Wednesday night but heard from a ticket guy that only 3900 tickets were sold...of course
if UML were having a better season maybe more of their fans would have come perhaps just thinking out loud. No big deal...

 

[HockeyRef]

Ref - thanks for the welcome. And think we see things very similarly. By no means am I looking at the program through rose colored glasses, but I have genuinely enjoyed watching this team play (I wish in person) this season. I just try to keep everything in perspective. This team has exceeded most expectations this season. HE is loaded but our guys are right in the mix.

Yes they have! I think we have a shot Saturday if they can bring their game and can handle the in house pressure. It has been nice to see so many W's at home for sure...

 

[BlueLine Bob]

Anyone surprised the 'Whitt wasn't a 'sell out'? I mean, it was a Wednesday night but heard from a ticket guy that only 3900 tickets were sold...of course
if UML were having a better season maybe more of their fans would have come perhaps just thinking out loud. No big deal...

Not really surprised. Wednesday night when the kids are leaving for spring break is tough. Northeastern only drew 1,200. UConn about 2,000. I still like when the first round was a 3 game series - either Thursday through Saturday or Friday through Sunday

 

[d.gerry]

Not really surprised. Wednesday night when the kids are leaving for spring break is tough. Northeastern only drew 1,200. UConn about 2,000. I still like when the first round was a 3 game series - either Thursday through Saturday or Friday through Sunday

This MBPBEGAM format is just silly, and really there is no need for it. I agree, bring back the best of 3 quarterfinal series, I always enjoyed that start to the playoff run.

 

[HockeyRef]

Not really surprised. Wednesday night when the kids are leaving for spring break is tough. Northeastern only drew 1,200. UConn about 2,000. I still like when the first round was a 3 game series - either Thursday through Saturday or Friday through Sunday

We did have a decent student section going...like I said not really a big deal I really shouldn't read any Maine social media hahaha

Agree HE should go back to the traditional playoff format..but if they did we wouldnt have been in
many post season games in the past few seasons..

 

[e.cat]

UNH got the dub as predicted.

Teams should be rewarded for their RS records and not have to endure a MBPBEGAM game. I do not like the old best of three quarters though. It should be one and done throughout the tourney.

Onto Maine. Should be interesting. Hellsten could be the difference maker in this one. We'll see.

 

[OvahInDovah]

A win is a win, but that was not exactly confidence inspiring. Sloppy, lack of urgency. Great teams put that game away; something New Hampshire never did. I hope it was a bit of looking past UML, because if they play like that up in Orono Saturday night...

 

[HockeyRef]

A win is a win, but that was not exactly confidence inspiring. Sloppy, lack of urgency. Great teams put that game away; something New Hampshire never did. I hope it was a bit of looking past UML, because if they play like that up in Orono Saturday night...

Lack of urgency that is exactly how it seemed. Didn't get any better as the game went on..if UML had tied the game can only wonder about how OT would have gone. Game belongs to Jakob Hellsten who rose to the occasion once again.

Speaking of Hellsten 5 shutouts this season...second only to Ty Conklin in program history for goals against..who knew he would turn out to be such a gift...(From UNH notes)

Urgency...desperation...are they the same thing? UNH has their backs against the wall how will they respond?

Got to take it right to them...from the get go.

 

[Chuck Murray]

JB, yes I suspect we were not watching the same game. You're talking about all of Lowell's "Grade A" chances ... and I'm counting those shots on my thumbs. Agree that I would have liked to see a better forecheck, and I'm guessing that's probably what Norm focused on after last weekend. But I watched this live on the tube (NESN), start to finish, and I never for a second thought Lowell was on the verge of breaking through. Even on the few odd mans they managed, the kids on the puck looked like they were indecisive and slowed down instead of speeding up. Honestly, the only thing that spooked me was when LeClerc missed the open net, was stuffed on the rebound, and then UNH iced it at the end with 3 seconds left. THAT would have been SO UNH ... ;-)

Urgency...desperation...are they the same thing? UNH has their backs against the wall how will they respond?

Both teams will be playing with urgency to win, and to earn a long-awaited trip to Boston and the HEA semis.

Only one of the two teams will be desperate to win, knowing a loss ends their season (and possibly Coach's career).

The only thing that'll disappoint me more than UNH losing to UMaine Saturday, would be MS7 getting a multi-year extension.

Winning cures all ills. Winning solves all problems. Winning isn't everything ... it's the only thing (Saturday anyway) ...

 

[Chuck Murray]

As an aside to our readers ... while searching for some good Lombardi content, I came across this video, which portrays the history of what was potentially the most meaningless game(s) ever arranged in the history of pro sports (NFL to boot) ... enjoy!!

 

[goblue]

Tom Fortney is a NH-based orthopedic surgeon these days. Good for him!

https://nhoc.com/doctor_bios/fortney/

 

[Snively65]

UNH got the dub as predicted.

Onto Maine. Should be interesting. Hellsten could be the difference maker in this one. We'll see.

I think that Hellsten WAS the difference maker LAST NIGHT as no way that we would have won that game with Muszelik in net. There was continuous chaos in front of Hellsten through extended parts of the third, and not just during a two-minute PK. If UNH were looking ahead to Orono, that was nearly a huge mistake.

I did notice last night that we had a bigger guy in front of the UML net during most of the eight minutes of our power plays, but it seemed to me that our passes were not crisp and accurate enough for one-timers, and the Ospreys blocked a lot of our shots. We were nearly 11 below our season average 30 SOG per game, which you also must have noticed, e.cat. I thought that throughout the game we spent way too much time looking for passing seams instead of shooting (shoot the dang puck!), although our d-men did pick up six of our 19 SOG.

But, I give credit to Bazin, too, for getting his team up and not rolling over again in what turned out to be the last game of their season, and for some the last game of their college careers. I agree with all the comments of concern about Orono on Saturday night if we play like we did last night. We need to play in Orono like we did in our weekend sweep against the Black Bears at the Whitt.

Hellsten is now third in Div 1 with a 1.93 GAA thanks to shut outs in these last three games, admittedly against a bad team, but other HEA goalies got to play against UMass-Bazin earlier in the season, too. Hellsten’s 0.914 SV% earns him only a tie for 24th now, but without him in net this season we may have had trouble reaching even 15 wins, which would have meant UNH coaching career over for MS7. So, good job by MS7 in grabbing Hellsten from the portal, and hoping that Hellsten stays for senior year, being closer to home than he was in North Dakota and all.

 

[OvahInDovah]

Got to take it right to them...from the get go.

Agreed. Getting the first goal would definitely help in taking the crowd out of it. I know Maine is currently on Spring Break, so maybe the student section won't be so bad.

I feel like that the 12/1 game up there really changed with the late goal (4 seconds, IIRC) left in the first. Need to be a lot tighter than they were last night.

 

[Snively65]

Tom Fortney is a NH-based orthopedic surgeon these days. Good for him!

https://nhoc.com/doctor_bios/fortney/

Super way cool! Thanks for posting, goblue. Do we have any other hockey alums who have gone on to become orthopedic surgeons? Or earn any kind of MD?

Tom Fortney’s career goal must have been in the Manchvegas semi’s in 2009 when he tied the game 5-5 against Nodak with one second remaining in regulation, before Peter LeBlanc won in OT. Then we lost 2-1 to BU the next day depriving us of yet another FF appearance. Dem were da days.

 

[JB]

JB, yes I suspect we were not watching the same game. You're talking about all of Lowell's "Grade A" chances ... and I'm counting those shots on my thumbs.

Hmmm... I watched it live from my normal spot up high in the corner. I didn't get the benefit of replays etc. you got on NESN.

Wondering if those of us in attendance have that different impression because we were in building. I will note that over on the Maine thread more than one of them hopes they see last nights UNH team not the mid February one they got the last time. Their impressions seem more aligned with mine.

 

[Mildcat]

Can anyone tell me how the unbalanced schedule in Hockey East works? Each team plays 4 teams 3x and the other 6 teams 2x. This season, UNH had the pleasure of extra games against BU, BC, Maine and Northeastern. The previous two seasons, UNH had extra games against Providence, Lowell, UConn and UVM.

 

[Ferrrao1994]

Maine is the best matchup we could of gotten in this quarterfinal, yes Alfond is a tough place to play, but we would have no shot if we were to play at BC, BU or Providence. I think Souza has found a new formula which has clearly worked since we've only given up 1 goal in 4 games. Maine has been a team reeling and hasn't been the same team since the start of the season (Umaine fans agree with this statement) and might be a little bit more comfortable because they've already clinched an NCAA tourney birth. But truthfully I think we matchup against Maine very well.

Side note, my fiance is a UMaine alumni and she was in the pep band and went to the games but didn't really know much about the sport. I've shown her the ropes this year and explaining hockey to her and she loves it. I grew up in Newmarket and started going to UNH games in the early 2000's. We've made it an effort as a family to now go to a UNH vs. UMaine game once a year. We went to the White out the Whit game on that Saturday and we annihilated them. She was a great sport about it though and we have plans to watch the game on TV on Saturday. We have a baby on the way so I'll do my best to make sure he's a wildcat haha. Anyway lets get back on track..


There's something to be said about a wounded tiger theory or should I say Wildcat. We have more desperation to win this game on Saturday and most certainly our backs are against the wall not just for the team but the coach as well. But truthfully, I think they turned a corner after the BC series, while they didn't win, you can say it was a moral victory being toe-to-toe with the most talented team in the country. You need hot goaltending and we have one of the best goaltenders in the country in Hellsten who is most definitely better than Maine's goalie. Having that series sweep back in February was a huge confidence builder, we can absolutely beat the Black Bears. Souza is going to have to look at film and make adjustments because if they play a little sloppy like they did last night, Maine is finishing those chances. I said this before the tourney started, the path to Boston is right there and we have a golden opportunity in front of us. Jumping up to 16th in the Pwr we are right on the bubble and going to Boston is essential if we want to make it to the NCAA tourney.

I will say that no matter what happens, we can all agree that we have been so impressed this year with the jump this team has made. No one expected 20 wins. Yeah there were some bad losses in there, but I think now a culture has been established. The program has been dogwater for so long the team is learning how to win again. I promise that next year there wont be losses to West Point, or Merrimack *Puke* Really excited with the direction this program is going and the future is bright. I saw that there was a point to meet up for a forum lunch and I think that is a fantastic idea. Or at the very least meet at future games. As always GOOOO CATS!!!!!!!

 

[After the Whistle]

Ref, you comment on attendance last night was spot on. It was at best, typical. I believe I have been to every playoff game at the Whitt and remember being so surprised at the early ones when we were the team”everyone wants” and being so surprised at the attendance. 35/4000 seemed to be the norm.
Mid week is certainly a factor as was student breaks but as noted it really feel off. Perhaps it is just the casual, not as emotionally involved, who don’t appear, but it remains a mystery. Perhaps it just shows what a niche sport it is.
thoughts on game are hard to dispute but I did see a much more aggressive and focused UML.
They were able to get behind us in our zone which really threw us off.
Still a fun year that may continue if the Cats have their A game.

 

[grooverider]

Maine is the best matchup we could of gotten in this quarterfinal, yes Alfond is a tough place to play, but we would have no shot if we were to play at BC, BU or Providence. I think Souza has found a new formula which has clearly worked since we've only given up 1 goal in 4 games. Maine has been a team reeling and hasn't been the same team since the start of the season (Umaine fans agree with this statement) and might be a little bit more comfortable because they've already clinched an NCAA tourney birth. But truthfully I think we matchup against Maine very well.

I'm not sure us (Maine fans..but I'll speak for myself) agree entirely with this statement. They had a rough patch for sure. But I will tell you for certain, something clicked for them in the UMass series. They were back to being relentless, forechecking, and playmaking.. they needed to get out of their old heads. I think UNH's physicality is a bonus for them against Maine as they will need to slow down their neutral zone entries. If they keep it simple and play the body the hope would be a low scoring affair. However your special teams have been awful lately, do you really expect that to flip on a coin on the road? But let's be real, this is Orono, not Durham, and I can tell you for a fact this will be the most hostile crowd UNH has experienced all year and the crowd can absolutely get into your players heads.

 

[d.gerry]

I'm not sure us (Maine fans..but I'll speak for myself) agree entirely with this statement. They had a rough patch for sure. But I will tell you for certain, something clicked for them in the UMass series. They were back to being relentless, forechecking, and playmaking.. they needed to get out of their old heads. I think UNH's physicality is a bonus for them against Maine as they will need to slow down their neutral zone entries. If they keep it simple and play the body the hope would be a low scoring affair. However your special teams have been awful lately, do you really expect that to flip on a coin on the road? But let's be real, this is Orono, not Durham, and I can tell you for a fact this will be the most hostile crowd UNH has experienced all year and the crowd can absolutely get into your players heads.

Well, after this post, UNH should pack it up and call it a season! Seriously though, I tend to agree with your sentiments here. Sure, Maine went through a rough patch, but it does appear they found their groove (pun intended!) in the final season series. We beat you twice down here, so you know a bit of sweet revenge is on the Black Bear's minds (when it really counts). I never look forward to a trip up to the Alfond, probably one of the toughest places to by in the country when the fans are amp'd up. I would definitely take a trip down to Schneider over Orono.