UNH Hockey 2023 Off Season Thread Turn and Face the Strange

[deltabravo62]

The internet is chock-full of finger-pointing, but part of me wants to play devil's advocate and assume the UNH had a definite issue regarding Fessenden's eligibility question.

If not...and if this was indeed "dirty pool" on UNH's part....then this is a huge embarrassment of McCloskey-like proportions to the program . Someone is going to have to take the fall.......

If it's a question of his actual NCAA eligibility to play, then that's a bit different... If it's them trying to work a technicality on his ability to transfer, then it's an embarrassment.

 

[JB]

I wonder if AD Rich realized after the fact that this was a compliance issue, since she is new, and was not here when Fessenden first transferred in, so she thought nothing of the transfer to UMass until it came to her attention that this was a second transfer?? If so, shame on UMass as well if something was not in order, as they should have known of any rules violation as well if they'd done even basic homework on Fessenden's D-1 career?

If it is compliance related it is actually an NCAA / Umass problem not a UNH problem and we are getting a distorted view via Twitter (and we all know that never happens... )

My wife likes to watch Below Deck for a good laugh... there is a line on that show that applies here "don't embarrass yourself and don't embarrass the yacht"

 

[acs64]

Just when you think things couldn't get any worse, and the program's leader couldn't be any more incompetent ...

At the end of the day, isn't this arguably a compliance issue? Is the AD complicit?? If so, are MS7's days numbered???

I think 'messy fessy' is in need of a thorough WIS investigation. There cud be rats lurking below this MS7 (wtf is the 7 btw) rug

 

[Darius]

If it is compliance related it is actually an NCAA / Umass problem not a UNH problem and we are getting a distorted view via Twitter (and we all know that never happens... )

My wife likes to watch Below Deck for a good laugh... there is a line on that show that applies here "don't embarrass yourself and don't embarrass the yacht"

Thank you. Just so I am clear, please correct me if I am wrong, all these posts are about an afterthought in a tweet from a team specific sub site that is part of a network of websites owned by Paramount and now our hockey coach and new AD are being walked out the door? Any chance this has to do with a 25 year old having a terminal case of transferitis?

 

[NCAA watcher]

Thank you. Just so I am clear, please correct me if I am wrong, all these posts are about an afterthought in a tweet from a team specific sub site that is part of a network of websites owned by Paramount and now our hockey coach and new AD are being walked out the door? Any chance this has to do with a 25 year old having a terminal case of transferitis?

Yes, somehow insisting on compliance with an NCAA rule and refusing to grant a waiver of that rule (though that is generally granted as a courtesy) is now a Shawn Walsh sort of NCAA compliance issue.

 

[Darius]

Yes, somehow insisting on compliance with an NCAA rule and refusing to grant a waiver of that rule (though that is generally granted as a courtesy) is now a Shawn Walsh sort of NCAA compliance issue.

Thanks. Back to softball. #WCWS #ESPN

 

[After the Whistle]

Isn’t it possible that an issue or possible issue could have been relayed to the ncaa and we are just now getting info on it?
Let’s not also be chicken little with this.

 

[deltabravo62]

Yes, somehow insisting on compliance with an NCAA rule and refusing to grant a waiver of that rule (though that is generally granted as a courtesy) is now a Shawn Walsh sort of NCAA compliance issue.

Yeah, that whole bit of business is blowing things way out of proportion. I'm just honestly curious what UNH really has to gain here if they are indeed the ones pushing this.

 

[jstadts]

RPI fan here, Wondering if anyone of you folks has heard anything about Playing RPI this coming season?

 

[Chuck Murray]

Yeah, that whole bit of business is blowing things way out of proportion. I'm just honestly curious what UNH really has to gain here if they are indeed the ones pushing this.

Well, someone's pushing it, and regardless of whether or not the NCAA has the final say, there's something to be said about effectively managing the situation. I'm not going to trace back through pages of this off-season thread, but I think it's safe to say that Fessenden's transfer plans have been out in the public domain for at least one month, if not close to two months? We have someone in charge at UNH who was hired specifically touting her prominence in the world of compliance. As in "NCAA compliance". So if you're in charge of your own program, and you have some kid making noises about a second transfer in three seasons (?), and you think that may not be permitted by NCAA rules/regulations, what do you do?

(1) Pull the kid, his family and/or representative(s) aside, and tell them on the QT "I think this may be a problem?"
(2) Pull in the kid's coach, discuss all this with him, and let him be the bad guy to bring the bad news, again on the QT OR
(3) Hire the new hoops coach, kick back and relax, get an early start on the vacation plans, and let water run its course?!?

Don't we expect AD's to, y'know, manage crap like this, and keep it out of the headlines, or Twitter, or whatever???

p.s. to acs64's question ... MS7 reflects his number as a player. Ask Alfie, I'm sure he'll remember ... ;-)

 

[Snively65]

RPI fan here, Wondering if anyone of you folks has heard anything about Playing RPI this coming season?

We are mushrooms, as we only learn about our schedule through other teams releasing their schedules. So far, we only know about a two-game visit in Rochester during late November and a home and home with UMass-Flagship in February. So, please let us know if you hear anything that involves us.

 

[acs64]

p.s. to acs64's question ... MS7 reflects his number as a player. Ask Alfie, I'm sure he'll remember ... ;-)

Alfie? ...hmmm..Alfie somebody........ What ta heck was this guys last name? Cant think of it. Dam Alzheimers of mine.....chit I know the guy from somewhere. WAIT , WAIT...just came to me..... Michaud!!! Alfie Michaud !! Goaltender I think for UMaine back in 99 was it? Won some important game I believe. ;>)

 

[HockeyRef]

Well, someone's pushing it, and regardless of whether or not the NCAA has the final say, there's something to be said about effectively managing the situation. I'm not going to trace back through pages of this off-season thread, but I think it's safe to say that Fessenden's transfer plans have been out in the public domain for at least one month, if not close to two months? We have someone in charge at UNH who was hired specifically touting her prominence in the world of compliance. As in "NCAA compliance". So if you're in charge of your own program, and you have some kid making noises about a second transfer in three seasons (?), and you think that may not be permitted by NCAA rules/regulations, what do you do?

(1) Pull the kid, his family and/or representative(s) aside, and tell them on the QT "I think this may be a problem?"
(2) Pull in the kid's coach, discuss all this with him, and let him be the bad guy to bring the bad news, again on the QT OR
(3) Hire the new hoops coach, kick back and relax, get an early start on the vacation plans, and let water run its course?!?

Don't we expect AD's to, y'know, manage crap like this, and keep it out of the headlines, or Twitter, or whatever???

p.s. to acs64's question ... MS7 reflects his number as a player. Ask Alfie, I'm sure he'll remember ... ;-)

Ask Ryan Bamford...UMass AD...

Not sure its exactly fair to throw this all on UNH. I've heard via some decent sources this issue is m ore on UMass' end of things, and that UNH had/has been
helpful in Fessie's desires to transfer. If there's a situation where, due to his transfer history, rules wise as Watcher has put out, well, seems to me the school that was to
receive this player is at fault for not dealing with all of that appropriately.

I don't think we will know the exact nature of the story, at least, not at the moment, but even with my blue colored glasses on...I'm not so quick to sink Ms. Rich/MS7 on this one....ATW...agree,
but some people just love to find anything, something...to dig with even when they don't know all the facts particularly when they aren't happy with a given situation that doesn't fit
their perspective narrative (think this is human nature to be honest...).

If anyone with any real substance knows otherwise, let them post it here...

 

[JB]

If it is compliance related it is actually an NCAA / Umass problem not a UNH problem and we are getting a distorted view via Twitter (and we all know that never happens... )

Quoting myself since only Darius seemed to get this the first time.... I tried to make the important part stand out.

All of this chatter about UNH being the problem is from a post from a most definitely biased location and source (Fight Massachusetts @FightMA247) that would not want to blame UMass for the problem.

I think there is a very high probability the issue is not a UNH issue.

 

[Snively65]

Maybe MS7 will come back stronger than ever from this snafu, the way that Scotty Borek did after his email recruiting snafu a decade ago, which coincidentally was about the same time that UNH took another deep swirl in its downward ice hockey spiral, clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere.

 

[NCAA watcher]

Well, someone's pushing it, and regardless of whether or not the NCAA has the final say, there's something to be said about effectively managing the situation. ..Don't we expect AD's to, y'know, manage crap like this, and keep it out of the headlines, or Twitter, or whatever???

Quick to judge, quick to anger
Slow to understand

Looks like the MacPherson twins are heading to the powerhouse Penticton Vees team, which has provided UNH Joey Laleggia......well, almost.

https://www.pentictonvees.ca/vees-land-commitment-from-macpherson-twins

 

[jstadts]

RPI fan here, Wondering if anyone of you folks has heard anything about Playing RPI this coming season?

Thanks, The mushroom treatment is common in Troy also. Keep the faith.

 

[Chuck Murray]

Ask Ryan Bamford...UMass AD...

Not sure its exactly fair to throw this all on UNH. I've heard via some decent sources this issue is more on UMass' end of things, and that UNH had/has been
helpful in Fessie's desires to transfer. If there's a situation where, due to his transfer history, rules wise as Watcher has put out, well, seems to me the school that was to
receive this player is at fault for not dealing with all of that appropriately.

I don't think we will know the exact nature of the story, at least, not at the moment, but even with my blue colored glasses on...I'm not so quick to sink Ms. Rich/MS7 on this one....ATW...agree,
but some people just love to find anything, something...to dig with even when they don't know all the facts particularly when they aren't happy with a given situation that doesn't fit
their perspective narrative (think this is human nature to be honest...).

If anyone with any real substance knows otherwise, let them post it here...

For what it's worth, I think I was the first one on this thread to point back in the direction of UMass as complicit.

The whole thing seems to be a totally avoidable mess that UNH has somehow allowed itself to get sucked into.

You never used to see guys like Jerry York (or currently Norm Bazin) get caught up in this stupid crap.

You gotta think there is a reason why this happens here, and doesn't happen there.

Details ... as in, sweating the details. AD Rich's purported strong suit. Just sayin' ...

 

[Snively65]

For what it's worth, I think I was the first one on this thread to point back in the direction of UMass as complicit.

The whole thing seems to be a totally avoidable mess that UNH has somehow allowed itself to get sucked into.

You never used to see guys like Jerry York (or currently Norm Bazin) get caught up in this stupid crap.

You gotta think there is a reason why this happens here, and doesn't happen there.

Details ... as in, sweating the details. AD Rich's purported strong suit. Just sayin' ...

Agree that a compliance specialist AD should have been more involved in tracking the Fessenden departure from the get go. Going to the Wayback Machine, in post #150 on this thread, I wondered whether Fessenden could enter the portal given that he had already transferred once, which did not generate further comment until Dan noted in post #226 that Fessenden had entered the portal with a “do not contact” clause, presumably indicating as Dan noted that Fessenden had his destination already planned. Chuck commented further about Fessenden in post #247, then Nifty in post #256 on March 23rd noted that Fessenden was heading to UMass-Flagship. UMass-Flagship will be competing with UNH and UVM for the HEA basement this coming season, so probably appropriate that two of these three teams may get their wrists slapped by the NCAA, or at least look like the losah teams that they are. And what a drop off for Flagship in such a short time.

 

[Chuck Murray]

Agree that a compliance specialist AD should have been more involved in tracking the Fessenden departure from the get go. Going to the Wayback Machine, in post #150 on this thread, I wondered whether Fessenden could enter the portal given that he had already transferred once, which did not generate further comment until Dan noted in post #226 that Fessenden had entered the portal with a “do not contact” clause, presumably indicating as Dan noted that Fessenden had his destination already planned. Chuck commented further about Fessenden in post #247, then Nifty in post #256 on March 23rd noted that Fessenden was heading to UMass-Flagship. UMass-Flagship will be competing with UNH and UVM for the HEA basement this coming season, so probably appropriate that two of these three teams may get their wrists slapped by the NCAA, or at least look like the losah teams that they are. And what a drop off for Flagship in such a short time.

Well, they certainly made the best of a generational talent (Makar), and it's not like a St. Louis or Kariya or Makar walks into a D-1 program on a regular basis. But my money is on Ben Barr, who IIRC was pretty much responsible for most of the rest of the Minutewagon's recruiting, and their subsequent transformation into a D-1 powerhouse. In retrospect, I probably gave Coach Carvel too much credit, as we'd already seen the same phenomenon at Union and Providence when Barr started shopping for their groceries, and neither of those programs has been the same since he left (only Providence has remained a consistently above .500 program post-Barr).

I get the gnawing feeling that this is the season where Ben Barr takes UMaine north of .500 for a good long run at or near the top of Hockey East. And here we are in Durham, already poised for Season 3 of MS7 vs. Barr, and if you folks think the last couple of years has been painful for UNH Hockey, just wait 'til UMaine has a five or so year head start on competing regularly in games that mean something.

If you guys think I'm cranky now ... well, in the memorable words of the boys from Bachman Turner Overdrive ...