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

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HockeyRef said:
What a goal by McAvoy!! These late night games are
killers! Is it Friday yet?!?

Would have been great to see JvR get a goal out of the box...
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Nice dangle and GWG by McAvoy, but I agree that it would have been a much cooler ending if JvR had been able to complete his out-of-the-box breakaway rush with the game winner and atone for his stupid tripping penalty.

If JvR is in the lineup tonight, he will tie Rod Langway for UNH alums for the lead with 994 NHL games. Langway also played in 52 WHA games. Warren Foegele needs two more games to tie Bob Miller for 11th with 404 NHL games.
 
I can't stop thinking about this weekend series. I'm trying to stay cautiously optimistic but with everything that's on the line, I can't help but get excited. Hoping for the best but expecting the worse. Does anyone know anything about Amherst's style of play and what they like to do? I know they're a young group of players but that's about it. I'd imagine they're not the 21' group that won it all.
 
Ferrrao1994 said:
I can't stop thinking about this weekend series. I'm trying to stay cautiously optimistic but with everything that's on the line, I can't help but get excited. Hoping for the best but expecting the worse. Does anyone know anything about Amherst's style of play and what they like to do? I know they're a young group of players but that's about it. I'd imagine they're not the 21' group that won it all.
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Cale Makar’s younger bro junior forward Taylor, Avs #220 overall draft pick in 2021, has struggled.
 
Snively65 said:
Cale Makar’s younger bro junior forward Taylor, Avs #220 overall draft pick in 2021, has struggled.
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Not struggling in any way, shape or form is Scott Morrow, another wished-for-but-failed UNH legacy recruiting target, who is tied for the team lead in overall scoring as he winds down his junior year, after two really good previous seasons for the Minutemen. Can only imagine his impact on a pretty good UNH D-crew if Morrow was leading the top pairing. Not an understatement to think he could have been the difference in UNH being a bubble team for the NCAA's, or a virtual shoe-in like UMaine this season. He's a 2nd round pick by Carolina, who do not want for blue line talent, so he could be a four year D-1 player. Probably one of Ben Barr's last, most notable recruits while at Amherst. The embodiment of the damage that's been caused to the UNH program by the current staff's reputation as not being able to develop top talent for NHL careers ...

... as with Scotty B's victory two weekends ago, another potential painful reminder of the fallout caused in the aftermath of the Umile Era, and I for one would not be shocked to see Scotty M taking his turn in administering further "kill shot(s)" to the guy his dad deemed not up to the task in considering a legacy hitch in Durham. Just something to watch.

In other news ... after the Slapshot discussion on here the other day, looks like the actor who played "Doctor Hook" is off to renew his rivalry with Reg Dunlop in the afterlife. Did not realize D'Amato was also the homebound Green Beret in the wedding reception scene in The Deer Hunter which was a pretty memorable scene in a very good movie ...

Paul D’Amato Dead: ‘Slap Shot’ Actor Was 76 – The Hollywood Reporter
 
Ferrrao1994 said:
I can't stop thinking about this weekend series. I'm trying to stay cautiously optimistic but with everything that's on the line, I can't help but get excited. Hoping for the best but expecting the worse. Does anyone know anything about Amherst's style of play and what they like to do? I know they're a young group of players but that's about it. I'd imagine they're not the 21' group that won it all.
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Kind of comes down to what game the 'Cats bring from the get go. Just like every other game. I can usually tell how the nights gonna go in the first 5 minutes. Can't blame you for feeling the way you do..even after that stellar weekend you just can't help yourself.

Kind of a defense mechanism if you know what I mean!
As for Umass Chuck covered one of their more prolific players in Morrow. (Wish he played for us but ..) Not real sure on the rest of them.

Both teams have alot on the line...both need to sweep I believe UMass more than us as far as NCAA goes (Snively correct me if I'm wrong here). HE points too of course.

Not to look ahead of this weekend but don't need to remind who is next up...so we need all the points we can grab.

I'm expecting close games...and a split weekend.

Go 'Cats!
 
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HockeyRef said:
Kind of comes down to what game the 'Cats bring from the get go. Just like every other game. I can usually tell how the nights gonna go in the first 5 minutes. Can't blame you for feeling the way you do..even after that stellar weekend you just can't help yourself.

Kind of a defense mechanism if you know what I mean!
As for Umass Chuck covered one of their more prolific players in Morrow. (Wish he played for us but ..) Not real sure on the rest of them.

Both teams have alot on the line...both need to sweep I believe UMass more than us as far as NCAA goes (Snively correct me if I'm wrong here). HE points too of course.

Not to look ahead of this weekend but don't need to remind who is next up...so we need all the points we can grab.

I'm expecting a close game...and a split weekend.

Go 'Cats!
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Both of us need to sweep the other for any shot at the NCAA’s, but we need the sweep more as we are two slots below Flagship in the PWR, as the Minutemen have two fewer losses (two more ties) than we have. After this weekend, both teams still have a home-and-home series against UMass-Bazin (obviously both teams need to sweep Bazin), and UMass-Flagship visits Orono for two whereas we have a home-and-home series with BC. As noted earlier, unless either St Clown or W Michigan loses some games, neither Flagship nor UNH gets into the NCAA’s without a win or two against Maine or BC or reaches the Garden in the HEA tourney. So, in sum, I think that we need to sweep UMass-Flagship and UMass-Bazin, win the MBPBEGAM game, and win the next HEA tourney round game likely against the Black Bears in Orono or the Friars in Providence, so go 22-14-1.
 
Snively65 said:
Both of us need to sweep the other for any shot at the NCAA's, but we need the sweep more as we are two slots below Flagship in the PWR, as the Minutemen have two fewer losses (two more ties) than we have. After this weekend, both teams still have a home-and-home series against UMass-Bazin (obviously both teams need to sweep Bazin), and UMass-Flagship visits Orono for two whereas we have a home-and-home series with BC. As noted earlier, unless either St Clown or W Michigan loses some games, neither Flagship nor UNH gets into the NCAA's without a win or two against Maine or BC or reaches the Garden in the HEA tourney. So, in sum, I think that we need to sweep UMass-Flagship and UMass-Bazin, win the MBPBEGAM game, and win the next HEA tourney round game likely against the Black Bears in Orono or the Friars in Providence, so go 22-14-1.
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If UNH finishes the regular season at 5th place or higher, there is no MBPBEGAM game to be won. How things play out this weekend will have a huge say on whether 5th is more likely (sweep), possible (split), or realistically out of reach (anything less than a split). Getting to 4th and then playing that quarterfinal at home is something we should all root for.

There are way too many moving pieces on the possibility of an NCAA bid, and you've outlined two key ones. But I do agree with you, both teams ideally need a sweep over the other this weekend, although I will stick to my (latest) guns and state that a 4-1-1 finish, and a quarterfinal win to get to Boston (probably over Providence, maybe UMaine?) probably does just enough to get them into Nationals. Anything less than 4-1-1 likely forces UNH to at least either advance to the HE Finals, OR more likely to outright win the HEA Tourney. Of course, upsets in other conference tourneys elsewhere screw with the rest of the "bubble teams". Back in the day, being a perennial contender always seemed to help UNH out on close calls. Carried forward to today, and that's far less reassuring for UNH.

Definitely not a time or place for the faint of heart. But that's what makes it so much fun. Tonight beckons ...
 
Having meaningful games with realistic hope at this point in the season is refreshing and positive. Hopefully we still have that going for us in two weeks. Go 'cats. Beat UMass!
 
Oh, right you are, Chuck, if we sweep UMass-Flagship and UMass-Bazin, as we must, we miss out on the MBPBEGAM game. Agreed on all the moving parts in other conferences, and now I see that Colorado College is just as vulnerable to getting bumped as St Clown and W Michigan. Still thinking that we might squeak into the NCAA’s with a 4-2-0 in remaining six games if the two losses are to BC, as long as we get to the Garden.
 
Darius said:
Having meaningful games with realistic hope at this point in the season is refreshing and positive. Hopefully we still have that going for us in two weeks. Go 'cats. Beat UMass!
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Best record at this point since 2012/2013 season, which seems so lonnnnngggg ago.
 
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