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

[HockeyRef]

Snively65;n3852460]

“No idea how many games in hand” we have? Seriously, HR?

We are 3 points behind UMassywassy, and we have 3 games in hand.

We are 4 points behind Yukon, and we have 5 games in hand.

We are 5 points behind PC, and we have 3 games in hand.

We are 6 points behind Maine, and we have 2 games in hand.

Need to sweep the next two weekends to stay in the hunt, nothing less.

[/QUOTE]

Haha I leave the logistics up to you my good man! Figures
you would have your finger on the pulse of the points!

Thanks for the update..! Would be amazing if we could do that (sweep next 2 weekends) -it's a tall order but possible.

 

[HockeyRef]

Simply geography, with just one town of separation, Melrose (Umile).

....remember MS7 saying you could find a great hockey player in your own backyard...which he has, see LeClerc, Cy and Gagne, Alex...

 

[Dan]

Fair question. I’ll-founded assumptions on the part of Dan I think.

I wasn't the one who made that connection.

However, I'd guess it was made based on the tight-knit hockey community in this suburban region of Massachusetts. An area that has seen a ton of networking/connections/loyalty in regards to player and coach matriculation at UNH. Its a region oft-referenced with UNH historically (Umile recruiting pre-McCloskey, Umile coaching hires, Souza early recruiting, etc). A relationship driven region, if you will...

 

[d.gerry]

....remember MS7 saying you could find a great hockey player in your own backyard...which he has, see LeClerc, Cy and Gagne, Alex...

Not to argue your point here, but looking through the lens of D-I hockey these two guys fall into the "Good" category not "Great", IMO.

Edit: don't get me wrong, I am very happy he was able to bring these guys in, they've definitely got skills and vastly improved our compete level. Just need more of them along with a couple of highly touted recruits who can enhance their game.

 

[RENCEB]

I wasn't the one who made that connection.

However, I'd guess it was made based on the tight-knit hockey community in this suburban region of Massachusetts. An area that has seen a ton of networking/connections/loyalty in regards to player and coach matriculation at UNH. Its a region oft-referenced with UNH historically (Umile recruiting pre-McCloskey, Umile coaching hires, Souza early recruiting, etc). A relationship driven region, if you will...

Original suggestion about the connection was from NCAA Watcher. I knew it wasn't you.

Wildcats certainly reaped the benefit of those relationships back in the day with Sean Collins and Steve Saviano out of Reading. Withe Umile (Melrose) and the late Chris Serino (Saugus), UNH had strong connections on the North Shore. Coulda, woulda, shoulda had Vecchione too.

 

[Snively65]

Original suggestion about the connection was from NCAA Watcher. I knew it wasn't you.

Wildcats certainly reaped the benefit of those relationships back in the day with Sean Collins and Steve Saviano out of Reading. Withe Umile (Melrose) and the late Chris Serino (Saugus), UNH had strong connections on the North Shore. Coulda, woulda, shoulda had Vecchione too.

A few lower tier Cats from the North Shore included Jeff Wyer, Joe Sacco, and Ryan Verrier from Reading, Jerry Pollastrone from Reveah, Brendan Fitzgerald from North Reading, and next season Jack Sadowski from Arlington.

 

[HockeyRef]

Not to argue your point here, but looking through the lens of D-I hockey these two guys fall into the "Good" category not "Great", IMO.

Edit: don't get me wrong, I am very happy he was able to bring these guys in, they've definitely got skills and vastly improved our compete level. Just need more of them along with a couple of highly touted recruits who can enhance their game.

You mean like a Poturalski/Crookshank/Kelleher kind of player...that would be nice.

 

[d.gerry]

You mean like a Poturalski/Crookshank/Kelleher kind of player...that would be nice.

Not even, expect MAYBE T. Kelleher. Those three guys fall between the Good and Great, lets say Very Good, and sure I'll take all of them we can get! But, we need to land a player or two in the "Great" category like Krog (one can dream!), Mowers, Haydar, Gare, Hemmingway, Sean Collins.

 

[Darius]

Not even, expect MAYBE T. Kelleher. Those three guys fall between the Good and Great, lets say Very Good, and sure I'll take all of them we can get! But, we need to land a player or two in the "Great" category like Krog (one can dream!), Mowers, Haydar, Gare, Hemmingway, Sean Collins.

Coach Umile said more than once that landing Eric Boguniecki opened the gates.

 

[Chuck Murray]

Coach Umile said more than once that landing Eric Boguniecki opened the gates.

Bogey was - still is, actually - DA MAN!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Snively65]

Bogey was - still is, actually - DA MAN!!!!!!!!!!!

Still wishing that Bogey had been given more consideration for head coach at his alma mater, but apparently not Paisan? After assistant coaching for the AHA Bridgeport Sound Tigers between July 2011 and July 2021(2022?), nearby where he was born in New Haven, Bogey became a Pro Scout for the Phoenix Coyotes in July 2022. Someone here needs to update his Wikipedia page to include some text about his four years at UNH (only his stat lines are provided, 1993/94-1996/97, summed at 142 games, 78 goals, 95 assists, 173 points, 232 pen mins). For starters, Bogey scored the last goal at Snively Arena on 12 March 1994, a breakaway GWG at 10:28 in 2OT vs BC (6-5 win) that several of us here saw in person.

 

[Snively65]

Not even, expect MAYBE T. Kelleher. Those three guys fall between the Good and Great, let’s say Very Good, and sure I'll take all of them we can get! But, we need to land a player or two in the "Great" category like Krog (one can dream!), Mowers, Haydar, Gare, Hemmingway, Sean Collins.

Sadly, HR has not been a Cats fan long enough to have seen any great players skate for UNH, which might be considered a blessing or a curse.

 

[d.gerry]

Coach Umile said more than once that landing Eric Boguniecki opened the gates.

What a fun player to watch. Typically the smallest guy on the ice, but always one of the hardest working and NEVER backed down. Probably be included in the "Great" category, but most definitely in the "Very Good". I'll never forget being down at Providence witnessing the end of game handshake brawl. Bogey was right in the middle of it. Saw Mrs. Boguniecki outside the arena after, she was fired up (I think she might of jumped in if needed)!

 

[Chuck Murray]

Still wishing that Bogey had been given more consideration for head coach at his alma mater, but apparently not Paisan? After assistant coaching for the AHA Bridgeport Sound Tigers between July 2011 and July 2021(2022?), nearby where he was born in New Haven, Bogey became a Pro Scout for the Phoenix Coyotes in July 2022. Someone here needs to update his Wikipedia page to include some text about his four years at UNH (only his stat lines are provided, 1993/94-1996/97, summed at 142 games, 78 goals, 95 assists, 173 points, 232 pen mins). For starters, Bogey scored the last goal at Snively Arena on 12 March 1994, a breakaway GWG at 10:28 in 2OT vs BC (6-5 win) that several of us here saw in person.

One of those in attendance, right here, and it was the first UNH game for our eldest (4 years old at the time) who was fast asleep in Mom's arms well before Bogey lit the lamp for the Snively curtain call. We've had some discussions about this in the past, but I'm relatively certain that goal was assisted by fellow UNH frosh d-man Tim Murray. NESN was there for live coverage, and so Bob Norton got to see his son's only UNH career goal in that one too, which deflected in off his posterior. I'd love to see the footage from that game once more before I go. You'd think someone would have posted it for posterity's sake on YouTube at some point, but after literally years of the "Bogey goal" being part of the lead in/run out on live NESN Hockey East coverage, it's pretty much disappeared from the face of the Earth.

Guys like former poster Greg Ambrose and the other folks who were big wheels at the time with Friends of UNH Hockey did SO much to try to preserve the history of the program - WAY more than anyone formally associated with UNH and/or its Athletics Department ever did - so this is NOT on the Ambroses or Hardenbrooks (sp?) or others who did so much for so little to keep history preserved ... or even the folks at Channel 11 NHPTV like Linda Howe, who probably have reels and reels of game tapes stored somewhere, just waiting for an archivist to plow through it all, and bring this lost history back to life. Personally, as someone nearing retirement age, I'd love to be part of something like this. It would be even nicer if the current UNH staff - two of whom were UNH players in the last century (that '94 HEA Quarter may have been Stewart's last UNH home game?) - realized this history was out there, and could be mined to properly maximize the legacy they are trying to sell to recruits, while providing entertainment and a sense of history and pride to newer fans (HR is a perfect example) who would probably love to see what they missed out on the first time around.

Imagine younger fans of the B's who revere guys like Bergeron, Marchand and Pasternak and the '11 Cup run, but have no sense of how things were with the Neely/Bourque era, or the Orr/Esposito "Big Bad B's" era ... or younger DRW fans who think Dylan Larkin is the bee's knees, but don't know about the Yzerman/Lidstrom dynasty, the "Bruise Brothers" of the 80's, much less Gordie Howe and the Production Line ... this is where we've left younger UNH fans, who only know of decent teams/players a decade ago, but missed out on a ton of great stuff that's barely one (1) generation ago at the turn of the century - WAY more recent than Orr or Neely or even most of Yzerman's playing career. Of course, modern day B's fans and DRW fans DO have ready access to their teams' histories and legacies ... why not UNH??? 100 years' worth of team photos on the back wall, and large portrait-like photos in the lobby are a good start, but a poor substitution for the rest that is out there, and has yet to be mined. That's sad.

Anyway ... ol' Gramps Grumpypants just shooin' the kids off the lawn on this cold winter Friday afternoon ...

 

[Whalers]

The talent on the old "Tapes" (that term in itself ages us) of UNH hockey was truly special and so fun to watch. Defense, goaltending and scouting are so much better today but guys that could put pucks in the net would still be able to put pucks in the net, maybe just fewer, but still more than today's UNH "talent".

Stop yellin at the kids and go to the cafe in the Potus 46 thread.

 

[Snively65]

e.cat, check out the SOG differential at Toscano Family Ice Forum tonight. SOG’s rule!

 

[HockeyRef]

HR is quite pleased with tonight's W...first trip to the Toscano and had a great seat. Hellsten stood up big in the first giving UNH the confidence to take the game over and that is just what they did... Congrats Jakob on the shutout and to every player...great 60 min effort.

Will be a nice ride home for the boys and trust me after going to so many games diwn here this feels so satisfying!

Well done 'Catttsssss

 

[Chuck Murray]

LOLOL ... UConn Hockey ... rising power in Hockey East ... Luce Canaan, highest paid coach in HEA history ... what an absolute con man and fraud, playing in a brand new rink that (at least on TV) looks like it has all the warmth, passion and color of a WW2 concentration camp.

Quick questions: when did UConn start playing their home games in a library?!? Was anyone there???

Well done, MS7 & Company. Let's finish exposing the fraud that is UConn Hockey on Sunday LOLOLOL ...

 

[Snively65]

HR is quite pleased with tonight's W...first trip to the Toscano and had a great seat. Hellsten stood up big in the first giving UNH the confidence to take the game over and that is just what they did... Congrats Jakob on the shutout and to every player...great 60 min effort.

Will be a nice ride home for the boys and trust me after going to so many games diwn here this feels so satisfying!

Well done 'Catttsssss

Three goals in 67 seconds is like the good old days 20+ years ago.

 

[Chuck Murray]

Three goals in 67 seconds is like the good old days 20+ years ago.

Shades of C-H-C even, fifty (50) or so years ago.

Funniest part (to me anyway) was when the NESN crew were talking about how that outburst had "silenced" the home fans. As if the home fans had even been heard for the two periods-plus of game time before those goals LOLOLOL

UConn = Hoops School (and a #1 Hoops school to boot TBF). Now as to Football and Hockey ... not so much ...