UNH Hockey 2023 Off Season Thread Turn and Face the Strange

[Chuck Murray]

Do you have any understanding of the state of local journalism in the United States right now?

Yes, nothing short of abysmal. Or, an opportunity to those who know what they're doing to succeed on their own terms.

Just read Hall's piece on UNH Hockey ... worthless, really no insight, multiple excuses for MS7 to riff on "We must do better". But at the end, he sets his own target as playing in the HE Semifinals. Or ... maybe it was a target already set for him by the new AD?? Not a single mention of the fact that Souza is entering the final year of his contract, which given the article he just penned on Herrion, is just a cop out OR lazy journalism.

Open Letter to Alex Hall - next time you want to crank out a feature sports article, check in here for some helpful suggestions on some difficult questions you can ask in the process to, you know, actually do journalism?

As far as some of the pushback on my earlier comments about our former captain ... I would be genuinely curious to see how many other players who were designated as Captains of their D-1 team entered the transfer portal?

 

[Felger]

Yes, nothing short of abysmal. Or, an opportunity to those who know what they're doing to succeed on their own terms.

Just read Hall's piece on UNH Hockey ... worthless, really no insight, multiple excuses for MS7 to riff on "We must do better". But at the end, he sets his own target as playing in the HE Semifinals. Or ... maybe it was a target already set for him by the new AD?? Not a single mention of the fact that Souza is entering the final year of his contract, which given the article he just penned on Herrion, is just a cop out OR lazy journalism.

Open Letter to Alex Hall - next time you want to crank out a feature sports article, check in here for some helpful suggestions on some difficult questions you can ask in the process to, you know, actually do journalism?

As far as some of the pushback on my earlier comments about our former captain ... I would be genuinely curious to see how many other players who were designated as Captains of their D-1 team entered the transfer portal?

The irony is Coach Herrion got his team to the conference semifinals but that didn't save his job.

Chuck, given your previous investigations regarding officiating assignments/The Heights, I am surprised you haven't weighed in on the obvious conflict of interest this past weekend between the league office and a team in the finals of the tourney.

 

[Chuck Murray]

The irony is Coach Herrion got his team to the conference semifinals but that didn't save his job.

Chuck, given your previous investigations regarding officiating assignments/The Heights, I am surprised you haven't weighed in on the obvious conflict of interest this past weekend between the league office and a team in the finals of the tourney.

I'm sure Nigel was on his best behavior. Didn't watch the game, but I understand his better half's favored program didn't exactly fare well with the zebras. If nothing else, let some other schools feel the pro-Hub bias, no?

Maybe Nige will round up a half-dozen UNH/UML/MC alums and add them to the officiating rotation next year?

 

[Felger]

I'm sure Nigel was on his best behavior. Didn't watch the game, but I understand his better half's favored program didn't exactly fare well with the zebras. If nothing else, let some other schools feel the pro-Hub bias, no?

Maybe Nige will round up a half-dozen UNH/UML/MC alums and add them to the officiating rotation next year?

I just wondered if the much discussed protocol violations made for interesting pillow talk in Amesbury.

 

[Darius]

Yes, nothing short of abysmal. Or, an opportunity to those who know what they're doing to succeed on their own terms.

Just read Hall's piece on UNH Hockey ... worthless, really no insight, multiple excuses for MS7 to riff on "We must do better". But at the end, he sets his own target as playing in the HE Semifinals. Or ... maybe it was a target already set for him by the new AD?? Not a single mention of the fact that Souza is entering the final year of his contract, which given the article he just penned on Herrion, is just a cop out OR lazy journalism.

Open Letter to Alex Hall - next time you want to crank out a feature sports article, check in here for some helpful suggestions on some difficult questions you can ask in the process to, you know, actually do journalism?

As far as some of the pushback on my earlier comments about our former captain ... I would be genuinely curious to see how many other players who were designated as Captains of their D-1 team entered the transfer portal?

Abysmal is not a bad word. However, it is on the rebound. It is not the fault of poor or lazy journalists. Declining advertising revenue, industry consolidation (often to non-local financially driven entities) and resulting news room cutbacks are the problem. Many local papers have downsized departments like sports and politics to one reporter or maybe none. Look at a local paper and note how much if it is from the AP news wire. There are plenty of journalists who know what they are doing and want to be paid for it while spending a reasonable amount of work day hours doing it. Many would love to specialize and develop sources (and have the expense accounts to do so) that provide feedback on and off the record. They simply don't have the time given the breadth of what they must cover. As a result they are forced to rely on press releases and maintain friendly "Mother may I?" or "you get final approval of your self-promoting puff piece" relationships with people at the organizations they are reporting on. Local journalism is slowly making a comeback thanks to many dedicated professionals. Community involvement is critical. We should all be reading, paying for delivery and/or on-line subscriptions to our local news sources.

 

[HockeyRef]

Abysmal is not a bad word. However, it is on the rebound. It is not the fault of poor or lazy journalists. Declining advertising revenue, industry consolidation (often to non-local financially driven entities) and resulting news room cutbacks are the problem. Many local papers have downsized departments like sports and politics to one reporter or maybe none. Look at a local paper and note how much if it is from the AP news wire. There are plenty of journalists who know what they are doing and want to be paid for it while spending a reasonable amount of work day hours doing it. Many would love to specialize and develop sources (and have the expense accounts to do so) that provide feedback on and off the record. They simply don't have the time given the breadth of what they must cover. As a result they are forced to rely on press releases and maintain friendly "Mother may I?" or "you get final approval of your self-promoting puff piece" relationships with people at the organizations they are reporting on. Local journalism is slowly making a comeback thanks to many dedicated professionals. Community involvement is critical. We should all be reading, paying for delivery and/or on-line subscriptions to our local news sources.

My daughter could certainly relate and would appreciate your comments as she has been a journo since her 2014 graduation from UNH. She has worked for 4 newspapers...1 online and now has just started a new job with Maine Public Radio. We are so proud of her as she's won a few awards for her work with the Concord Monitor.

I was not expecting the UL's article to delve into the Souza contract or his won/loss record. The article...while somewhat of a 'puff' piece served its purpose I guess. Now...if Souza is not renewed next March I'd expect an article more like what we saw with Herrion...IMHO.

 

[Dan]

Miami goalie Ludvig Persson is transferring after three seasons in Oxford. He posted a .925 save percentage as a freshman to earn 2nd-Team All-League accolades and All-Rookie honors. His save percentage has dropped behind a struggling team the last two seasons, but in 2021-22 he set a school single-season save record (2,451 saves in 80 starts). He was the NCHC Goalie of the Week seven times over the last three seasons...

https://miamiredhawks.com/sports/mens-ice-hockey/roster/ludvig-persson/7951

 

[acs64]

Not trolling here, but since I was out of the loop, what was Josh Ciocco's cause of death? Has it been determined? 38 years old is kinda young to say the least.

Nobody knows or nobody cares to say ??

 

[Darius]

Nobody knows or nobody cares to say ??

Best I can tell, the information was never released.

I had a relative, older than Josh, but still young who went to bed one night and never woke up. Heart attack having shown no previous indications. I have heard similar stories with an aneurysm being the cause. In every conversation I had with people who knew Josh just a little, it was speculated that it was something like that. Just one of those tragic things.

 

[Chuck Murray]

I was not expecting the UL's article to delve into the Souza contract or his won/loss record. The article...while somewhat of a 'puff' piece served its purpose I guess. Now...if Souza is not renewed next March I'd expect an article more like what we saw with Herrion...IMHO.

Not picking on you 'Ref, but using some of your assumptions to play a little "devil's advocate" for the sake of discussion ...

* You said you were "not expecting" an in-depth article on MS7's situation. Why not? The U-L pays Hall, we pay the U-L;
* You said the article "served its purpose, I guess". What purpose? Space filler?? Even you seem to question it;
* Did you think the article with Herrion was terribly revealing ... or did it just get one side of the story?

Questions that Alex Hall could and should have asked in doing today's puff-piece on Coach Souza:

* Coach, this is the end of your 8th season behind the bench, and your 5th season in charge at UNH. You have yet to coach a winning team, and you've yet to take a team to Boston for the conference tourney. Some say you are in over your head. How would you answer them?

* Coach, you mentioned earlier in our discussion that you want your team to be playing in Boston this time next year. Why hasn't that happened yet, and what are you doing or planning to do differently to accomplish that goal?

* Coach, it seems public knowledge at this point that you are entering the final year of your contract. Your colleague Bill Herrion coached a few recent winning seasons, and played in the AE semis just last week - the equivalent of your "Boston" goal. He ended up getting non-renewed, so do you think getting to Boston next March should get you an extension?

* In talking with Coach Herrion last week, he mentioned there was a "disappointing lack of communication" from the new AD Allison Rich. Can you share your insight and thoughts into AD Rich's communications with you over the last 10 months? How does she differ from AD Scarano?

* In the past, you had voiced concerns about the facilities at The Whitt and on campus for your program. Last summer, UNH granted you your wish to have your team skate on an NHL regulation size sheet, instead of the original Olympic sized sheet where Coach Umile enjoyed so much success in the past. How do you reconcile your team's 10th place finish this season with the school having met your desire for a smaller sheet?

* What would you say has been the biggest impediment(s) to your ability to match Coach Umile's success, even towards the tail end of his career before you arrived, when he may not have been contending nationally, but still had pretty decent teams?

* What would you say your overall recruiting strategy is, and how is it shared between you, Glenn and Jeff? Is Ty involved? And if not, as the only one of you four with any real NHL pedigree ... why not?

* Do you think it was a mistake not to round out your coaching staff with a more experienced assistant coach? Did you, even for a moment, consider giving Coach McCloskey - your old AC when you were a player here - a call to see if he would be interested in returning? Or did the former AD tell you this would be out of the question, so don't bother?

* Do you have any regular communications these days with Coach Umile? If so, what do you guys talk about? If not - why not? He was the guy who went to bat for you, right?

* Your former boss at UConn once threw shade on you and Coach Umile, describing him as your "uncle" when you were considering taking the understudy-to-HC proposal here in Durham. Do you speak regularly with Luce anymore? Was that his idea of a joke, or is he just a lousy POS?

* What do you consider your biggest accomplishment in your years behind the bench at UNH, and why?

* What would you say to AD Rich next season when discussing your future at UNH? Do you deserve an extension? If so, on what basis? Can you see why others may come to a different conclusion?

* What have you learned about yourself in the last 8 years back at your alma mater? Would you do anything differently?

* If one of your players were to approach you in 20 years and inquire about whether they should consider pursuing a coaching career further at UNH, what would you tell them about the pros and cons?

* Attendance is down by about 40-50% from the days when you played here. To what do you attribute that drop-off? Is it boring hockey? Is it the lack of a winning program? Is it down to shortcomings with the overall marketing of the program by UNH? Wouldn't you agree that having a full house benefits your guys, like it did in the UMaine series this year? If so, then why aren't you - as Head Coach - doing more to sell your program to its fanbase?

* We certainly hope for and wish you all the best for the '23/'24 season Mike, and hopefully we can have another discussion like this next year at the Frozen Four in St. Paul. But if you do fall short, and the new AD acts like she did with Coach Herrion, what do you think the future has in store for Mike Souza, UNH Class of 2000?

That took me all of 15-20 minutes to put together. I can see a few "no comments" or shrugs along the way from MS7, but all in all, it asks a lot of questions many of us would love to hear answers to. And if some of them might seem accusatory, hey, doesn't that come with the territory in a job where winning is part of the equation?

If MS7 happens to be reading this ... send me an IM and let's talk before you go on vacation ...

 

[acs64]

Best I can tell, the information was never released.

I had a relative, older than Josh, but still young who went to bed one night and never woke up. Heart attack having shown no previous indications. I have heard similar stories with an aneurysm being the cause. In every conversation I had with people who knew Josh just a little, it was speculated that it was something like that. Just one of those tragic things.

Maybe it was the vaccine. Happening a lot to young folks, but don't call me a conspiracy theorist, thats taboo.

 

[Chuck Murray]

Nobody knows or nobody cares to say??

I'm sure people close to the family know, and they likely do not care to say so at the family's request?

Let's say it was a medical condition like Darius outlined ... one would think something might be done along the lines of soliciting donations to the charity most closely aligned with the fatal condition that claimed him WAY too early.

Not having seen that, I've come to my own conclusions, and concede it's not my place to speculate further.

But in the absence of details, it's only human to speculate; it's not like he was older, like Coach Gendron.

 

[Darius]

Merrimack's Borek Opens Up About Losing Josh Ciocco
The Ups and Downs, the Bond that Goes Back 20 Years, and the Emotions of Getting Through This Season:

https://www.collegehockeynews.com/ne...k-Opens-Up.php

 

[Chuck Murray]

Maybe it was the vaccine. Happening a lot to young folks, but don't call me a conspiracy theorist, thats taboo.

Not going to get any accusations from me. Based on Darius' article on the recent Borek interview (very good read BTW), it sounds like Ciocco had some weird medical condition that almost got him a few years earlier. I suspect that might be it, but I'm still not sure, and wonder why there is all the secrecy still? Not my call, but ...

As to the vaccine being a possibility ... remember the 5 minutes a couple of years ago when Marvelous Marvin Hagler's death was attributed to the vaccine, by way of his old enemy Thomas "Hit Man" Hearns? And baseball's Henry Aaron as well? A lot of evil things were going on during that time in our recent history, and the media's all-out blitz to shut the Hit Man's account down was one of the worst. I can't claim any insight into the Aaron thing, but I did have the honor of meeting Hearns once for a short chat, and found him to be a soft-spoken, true gentleman who kept his fighting in the ring. He and Hagler were close after their retirements, and Hearns was heartbroken when Hagler passed, only making the "mistake" of telling the truth, which went against the MSM's prevailing narrative. The cause of Hagler's death remains undetermined, even if armies of so-called "fact-checkers" took up arms to squash Hearns' account - one which, to his credit, TH has never backed away from.

So yeah, I guess anything's possible, acs64. Any lingering naievete I had approaching 60 is now entirely gone, sadly ...

 

[acs64]

Merrimack's Borek Opens Up About Losing Josh Ciocco
The Ups and Downs, the Bond that Goes Back 20 Years, and the Emotions of Getting Through This Season:

https://www.collegehockeynews.com/ne...k-Opens-Up.php

Thanks for that...an interesting read. Sounds like a very intense guy. 38 years old, man that's young.

 

[acs64]

Not going to get any accusations from me. Based on Darius' article on the recent Borek interview (very good read BTW), it sounds like Ciocco had some weird medical condition that almost got him a few years earlier. I suspect that might be it, but I'm still not sure, and wonder why there is all the secrecy still? Not my call, but ...

As to the vaccine being a possibility ... remember the 5 minutes a couple of years ago when Marvelous Marvin Hagler's death was attributed to the vaccine, by way of his old enemy Thomas "Hit Man" Hearns? And baseball's Henry Aaron as well? A lot of evil things were going on during that time in our recent history, and the media's all-out blitz to shut the Hit Man's account down was one of the worst. I can't claim any insight into the Aaron thing, but I did have the honor of meeting Hearns once for a short chat, and found him to be a soft-spoken, true gentleman who kept his fighting in the ring. He and Hagler were close after their retirements, and Hearns was heartbroken when Hagler passed, only making the "mistake" of telling the truth, which went against the MSM's prevailing narrative. The cause of Hagler's death remains undetermined, even if armies of so-called "fact-checkers" took up arms to squash Hearns' account - one which, to his credit, TH has never backed away from.

So yeah, I guess anything's possible, acs64. Any lingering naievete I had approaching 60 is now entirely gone, sadly ...

I hear ya on that last statement. An open and inquisitive mind nowadays is a must. Lot of trust has been lost over the last few years when you see the chit that's been going on with no accountability. Certainly not the American way of doing things that I remember.

 

[zoofer]

To the professionally distracted journalist Murray….awesome questions! Just not sure MS7 will ever answer them, but I’d love to hear him try!

 

[NCAA watcher]

A great interview from SB on Josh, and his passion for recruiting. I wouldn't necessarily call him intense, because he had a fun side, but he was engaging. Love hearing about how close he came on two occasions to not making it to UNH. A bonus was hearing that Dick Umile actually used to go out on the road during the summer to recruit players in 2003. The tidbit about Josh housing Borek during the Providence stint was poignant.

To reinforce C-H-C's correct comment that exit interviews are this week to we may have a better idea about the portal now. I wouldn't expect top end movement, maybe another Devita sort of movement (still scratching my head about his move to UNH from a steady gig at Ferris State, when UNH already had 6 established defensemen).

To answer HockeyRef's question, I think UNH will be better, but that doesn't necessarily translate into moving up the standings. While some called the February run a mirage like in prior years, I would differ. The prior year's good stretches were always with poorer talent, and just stretches of winning 1-0 low scoring games on chance. One can see that this year the freshmen contributed, and broadened out the scoring. Freshmen are always unreliable, so their inconsistent play after showing that potential was disappointing but not surprising. The big jump is from year 1 to year 2, so Sardarian, Skraskins, Dunlap and Leclerc (though he contributed as a frosh) should be very helpful. How big their jump is, and how consistent they are next year will be the question. Can Leclerc go to 30 points? Can Sardarian/Skraskins/Dunlap get to 15 points?

On the Murray questions to MS7, those are good cross-exam questions, but you can't expect Souza to answer them (was it an actual interview, or email questions?) I'm just happy AD Rich was not involved, so we don't have to debate about the public posturing of "Vote of confidence" that she would have been required to give. Keep her out of it until decision time.

And not to divert from hockey, but since a series of asides have sought to bring their agenda to Josh's death, let me just say: Kudos to those brave enough to follow Dr. Tommy Hearns' long distance diagnosis of Marvin Hagler, and Dr. Robert Kennedy's speculation without any information about a link to the vaccine. I always ask myself, "what would Tommy Hearns do in this situation?" We can't return America to its greatness until we return to listening to these voices rather than the medical professionals who oversaw the actual patient's care (and more broadly, have evaluated the vaccine's safety).

As to the Main Stream Media narrative. If you are following the Fox News lawsuit, they knowingly spread a false narrative just because their audience only wants to hear one narrative. Their evening hosts all admitted presenting outrage at facts they knew were not true. How does it make you feel to be played like that rather than being an independent thinker? And if your response is "both sides," call me when you get the same in the MSM - not just mistakes, but actual intentional falsehoods.

 

[HockeyRef]

Chuck, rather than copy your post regarding the article in the UL...Alittle review: I had messaged Alex Hall and asked if he was planning an 'end of the season' meeting with Souza..his response was 'not at the moment' kind of thing. So I was surprised that one was done and it was just what I 'expected'...an end of the season overview. I am not taking 'credit' that he wrote it at all, to be clear- even my big ego won't go there haha so when it came out it was basically an 'over view of the season' kind of thing.

I highly doubt the UL has a clue about his contract, I mean, who in here knew a thing about it until we got the info from DB62? I didn't expect him to grill Souza with the points you bring up; and honestly? If this kind of article hasn't been written YET given the history of the past 5, heck even longer than that, I don't expect one to be written quite frankly. You do have to wonder why no one in the press have written about the 'fall of UNH hockey'?

College Hockey News surely hasn't, and I can't even find the article that was written years ago after UNH lost their I think, 2009 Regional final that talked about how 'second place is feted in Durham'. THAT...was a great article...Haven't seen anything like it since and can't even find it on a search. That was more of an 'op ed' which, you should/could write with your q's...

I don't think? any stories get written about the past, current state, of this program until a change is made. Makes me think...no one cares out there? Bigger fish to fry? New teams who are doing what UNH used to do, getting the press? Sucks to be non relevant (or irrelevant) doesn't it! Why hasn't Maine had the same type of press (if they have I haven't seen it so Maine fans can post it here if there has been?)

They (media) have moved on from UNH; "there's nothing to see here" kind of thing. At least our state newspaper writes something about them; has the UL EVER come out swinging about a state sports program that has faltered? I dont know; I really didn't read their sports stories until I started
following. Where's Al Pike when you need him, bet he'd be interested in such a story. Nope; its just like they got over it...wake us up when ya got something, k??

If/when there is a change in the HC at 128 Main perhaps all of your points, some of them, will be brought forward but right now? It's not where the media, even the UL (which I need to unsubscribe now that hockey season is over seems to have much interest on. Too much times has past..but what a great story it will make when/if..things change
and UNH hockey is 'back on the map'...

As always...just my .02 on it.

 

[Darius]

not going to get any accusations from me. Based on darius' article on the recent borek interview (very good read btw), it sounds like ciocco had some weird medical condition that almost got him a few years earlier. I suspect that might be it, but i'm still not sure, and wonder why there is all the privacy still? Not my call, but ...

fyp.