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UNH Hockey: Treading Water or Trending Upward
- Thread starter Dan
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HockeyRef
Well-known member
Re: UNH Hockey: Treading Water or Trending Upward
BVR was a great UNH student-athlete. I don't think we should be inferring things from stuff that wasn't said or included in the article. No quote regarding the coaching staff tells me nothing as we don't know what questions were asked, how they were asked or what the author decided to focus on or omit...
He graduated early and wanted to compete in the NCAA Tournament and get a Masters. Who can blame him. He probably doesn't leave if the UNH Program is in better shape. That frustrates me regarding the UNH Program, not BVR...
Additionally, it wouldn't surprise me if it happened again this year and I wont kick that athlete out the door either. The Wildcats got the better of him today, great win - but NU's still 11th in the country and in very good position for a Tournament berth. Good luck to them and BVR from this corner...
BVR was a great UNH student-athlete. I don't think we should be inferring things from stuff that wasn't said or included in the article. No quote regarding the coaching staff tells me nothing as we don't know what questions were asked, how they were asked or what the author decided to focus on or omit...
He graduated early and wanted to compete in the NCAA Tournament and get a Masters. Who can blame him. He probably doesn't leave if the UNH Program is in better shape. That frustrates me regarding the UNH Program, not BVR...
Additionally, it wouldn't surprise me if it happened again this year and I wont kick that athlete out the door either. The Wildcats got the better of him today, great win - but NU's still 11th in the country and in very good position for a Tournament berth. Good luck to them and BVR from this corner...
He can take his Beanpot and shove it where the sun don't shine!
Chuck Murray
WIS & Effingwoods Hockey Almanac
Re: UNH Hockey: Treading Water or Trending Upward
Fair point, and one I've admitted to in the past. Sitting him doesn't make sense, and I didn't see tonight's game, but I did see the Yale game last weekend, and he looked bored out there. And it's not just the "he's so talented he makes it look easy" thing, I get that. There are times he's trying to make difficult plays that didn't appear the least bit necessary (watch the Yale tape, he cuts out in front of Taylor from behind his own goal twice, when easier exit options were there), so I'm guessing Norbert may have seen similar stuff out there tonight.
The kid clearly has huge talent, and has had it since Day One. But it's possibly also instructive to remember that Wisconsin let him decommit a few years ago when they were faced with a glut of other defensemen in the pipeline. Maybe they got that wrong … or maybe there's just something in his DNA that they ID'ed and decided to take a pass on, and *possibly* some of that shows itself once in awhile when this immensely talented kid makes totally avoidable errors, or looks less invested in the game sometimes?
Maybe it's just a rough spot, and who knows what might be going on elsewhere in his life. Heck, today we all learned that Baby van Bandwagon wasn't exactly all-in at UNH last season …
″(Transferring) was a little bit on my mind during the (season) last year,” van Riemsdyk said. “I wasn’t necessarily happy with the way things were going.
I'm confident Gildon will rediscover his top form (and focus?) over the coming weeks, but I'm equally confident he'll be playing pro hockey somewhere before his older teammates graduate. C'est la vie.
Fair point, and one I've admitted to in the past. Sitting him doesn't make sense, and I didn't see tonight's game, but I did see the Yale game last weekend, and he looked bored out there. And it's not just the "he's so talented he makes it look easy" thing, I get that. There are times he's trying to make difficult plays that didn't appear the least bit necessary (watch the Yale tape, he cuts out in front of Taylor from behind his own goal twice, when easier exit options were there), so I'm guessing Norbert may have seen similar stuff out there tonight.
The kid clearly has huge talent, and has had it since Day One. But it's possibly also instructive to remember that Wisconsin let him decommit a few years ago when they were faced with a glut of other defensemen in the pipeline. Maybe they got that wrong … or maybe there's just something in his DNA that they ID'ed and decided to take a pass on, and *possibly* some of that shows itself once in awhile when this immensely talented kid makes totally avoidable errors, or looks less invested in the game sometimes?
Maybe it's just a rough spot, and who knows what might be going on elsewhere in his life. Heck, today we all learned that Baby van Bandwagon wasn't exactly all-in at UNH last season …
″(Transferring) was a little bit on my mind during the (season) last year,” van Riemsdyk said. “I wasn’t necessarily happy with the way things were going.
I'm confident Gildon will rediscover his top form (and focus?) over the coming weeks, but I'm equally confident he'll be playing pro hockey somewhere before his older teammates graduate. C'est la vie.
he'll be playing pro hockey somewhere before his older teammates graduate. C'est la vie.
Of this I have little doubt.
Thiessen'sBetter
New member
Re: UNH Hockey: Treading Water or Trending Upward
If it makes you feel any better, he's been far and away the worst player who's regularly in the line-up for NU this year. The collegiate Brett Ritchie.
If it makes you feel any better, he's been far and away the worst player who's regularly in the line-up for NU this year. The collegiate Brett Ritchie.
Blackburn also 13-4 in FOWL; better than Patrice Bergeron on a good night! FOW way underrated.
UNH now 22nd in PWR, tied with Bemidji and Army with 38 points.
HockeyRef
Well-known member
Blackburn also 13-4 in FOWL; better than Patrice Bergeron on a good night! FOW way underrated.
UNH now 22nd in PWR, tied with Bemidji and Army with 38 points.
See FO's matter!! Despite our early 3rd period malaise I think the 'Cats played very well tonight. Nice to get those 2 points and a bump in the PWR. Thrilled for MacKinnon... Another huge series next week (and beyond) Build on this one go 'Cats!!
I could care less about the Beanpot. Never have, never will. To me, it was viewed from afar, as an excuse for the Boston kids to party and get drunk. My animus is more about vR jumping ship than anything else. Can you blame us for that?e.cat
About your Beanpot suggestion: Your jealousy is showing.Try to take comfort from your victory over NU. It may be a while until you earn another!
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HockeyRef
Well-known member
Re: UNH Hockey: Treading Water or Trending Upward
Sunday morning musings....I see we are in a tie for 7th place in the HE standings with the win over NU last night. I know there is a ton of hockey left; anything can happen. Every point counts. Hope the MC loss early on doesn't come back to bite us. That all said...anyone got a read on how many games in hand do we have on teams like Maine, UConn? I'd say it's neck and neck but am too lazy to do the work. No matter; every.game.counts. Cool thing about last night is Souza said they had to do better with puck possession and that's what they did. Maybe I'm dreaming but thought that last night UNH seemed the most prepared as I've seen them this year. Go 'Cats!
Sunday morning musings....I see we are in a tie for 7th place in the HE standings with the win over NU last night. I know there is a ton of hockey left; anything can happen. Every point counts. Hope the MC loss early on doesn't come back to bite us. That all said...anyone got a read on how many games in hand do we have on teams like Maine, UConn? I'd say it's neck and neck but am too lazy to do the work. No matter; every.game.counts. Cool thing about last night is Souza said they had to do better with puck possession and that's what they did. Maybe I'm dreaming but thought that last night UNH seemed the most prepared as I've seen them this year. Go 'Cats!
The criticism isn’t about not connection on every pass. It’s on taking a penalty in back to back games early in a power play. Its about repeatedly turning the puck over on your own blue line trying to break out of the zone leading to odd man breaks.
He’s a good hockey player and might be doing too much but in the 3 last home games he has regressed. Compared to last year it is definitely a different player
BvR isn't a bad player. I think he has really good hockey sense. The problem is he is s--l--o--w. It makes him look really bad, because he just can't keep up with the pace of play.
His hockey sense makes him a fairly good defensive forward. Only problem is he needs to hang high in the offensive zone or the play just gets away from him.
I am not upset he jumped ship. Particularly on the big ice he had very limited impact.
HockeyRef
Well-known member
Recruit more Swedes, please.
Win over NU right up there with win over BC this season.
Agree! From UNH Insider:Kalle Eriksson and Filip Engaras have two assists each through two periods. Engaras has 2 goals, 4 assists in last 4 games.
Chuck Murray
WIS & Effingwoods Hockey Almanac
Re: UNH Hockey: Treading Water or Trending Upward
… so I'll do the grunt work instead. As you mentioned, UNH is currently tied for 7th at 10 points apiece with UMaine (with two games in hand) and UConn (3 games in hand). BU is currently in 6th place, only 2 points ahead of UNH, and again UNH has one game in hand there. So with a UNH win in that "extra" game, they would be tied for 6th in the league standings at this point. I wouldn't worry so much about the MC loss - or the UMaine losses - as there were some terrific wins against BC, UMA and NU to counter-balance for those. So ultimately, I think UNH is slightly ahead of where they were at this point last season FWIW.
The HE standings are actually incredibly tight, with the exception of UVM, which is looking like it's experiencing their "Sayonra to Sneddon" season at long last - hard to believe it's been 17 seasons of sustained mediocrity up there. Say what you will about our previous HC's "Long Goodbye Tour", but KS hasn't scraped even close to the level of DU's success, and he's still there. I'd check to see if there are any rumblings about his imminent departure … but I can't be bothered. Truth be told, that program hasn't been the same since the infamous "elephant walk" hazing incident about 20 years ago now, prior to Sneddon's hiring. If the best thing you can say about your 17 year tenure is that you've avoided having a season cancelled midway through, it's a low bar up there.
Getting back to my point about the HE standings … UNH plays Providence next weekend, home and away. PC currently leads HE with 16 points, but UNH has 3 games in hand on them as well (UNH actually has games in hand on everyone, except BC and UVM) so in a make-believe world where UNH sweeps next weekend over the Friars, UNH climbs to within 2 points of PC, still with the 3 games in hand. OR if they split, and UNH wins all 3 games in hand over PC, they're even-steven. And it's wins over the likes of NU, BC and UMass this season that at least holds out hope that further wins in some of these games against top-level teams are within reach. Quite a different vibe from the one we've experienced in recent seasons. And that's a good thing.
Next two weekends … home-and-homes with PC and UMass will again shed light on just what kind of team UNH has this season, and if post-season success is a realistic hope or just another pipe dream. Breaking even or close, keeps hope alive. Getting swept probably sheds some of those hopes as premature and unrealistic. Posting a winning record over this stretch … well then, now we might have something going on here.
The two weekends after that, there's a chance to really get something going, with weekend series against cupcake-light UConn and dead-straight cupcake UVM hopefully posing a realistic likelihood of at least 6 points out of 8. Then there is the stretch run, which is a gauntlet of post-Beanpot BU (actually great timing for UNH), UMass Lowell and BC leading into the conference tourney. UNH should be playing against teams with strong post-season histories down the stretch, and I like the way this all sets up for the 'Cats.
I think I was the one who predicted a 4th place RS finish for UNH, and that's still alive (if a slight stretch), but more than anything I'd like to see UNH advance to compete in the HE Semis in Boston. It's something we were fortunate to almost take for granted for the better part of two decades … and like they say, sometimes you don't know how much you miss something until it's gone.
Plenty of reason to not want to get out over our skis with optimism … but MS7 looks to have drawn a clear line under the last three years of the Umile Era at the very least, and realistically that may be the most important thing he and his program have been able to accomplish over the last 12+ months. It's interesting again. Next, we need for it to be compelling again. Make it happen, MS7.
… so I'll do the grunt work instead.
As you mentioned, UNH is currently tied for 7th at 10 points apiece with UMaine (with two games in hand) and UConn (3 games in hand). BU is currently in 6th place, only 2 points ahead of UNH, and again UNH has one game in hand there. So with a UNH win in that "extra" game, they would be tied for 6th in the league standings at this point. I wouldn't worry so much about the MC loss - or the UMaine losses - as there were some terrific wins against BC, UMA and NU to counter-balance for those. So ultimately, I think UNH is slightly ahead of where they were at this point last season FWIW.The HE standings are actually incredibly tight, with the exception of UVM, which is looking like it's experiencing their "Sayonra to Sneddon" season at long last - hard to believe it's been 17 seasons of sustained mediocrity up there. Say what you will about our previous HC's "Long Goodbye Tour", but KS hasn't scraped even close to the level of DU's success, and he's still there. I'd check to see if there are any rumblings about his imminent departure … but I can't be bothered. Truth be told, that program hasn't been the same since the infamous "elephant walk" hazing incident about 20 years ago now, prior to Sneddon's hiring. If the best thing you can say about your 17 year tenure is that you've avoided having a season cancelled midway through, it's a low bar up there.
Getting back to my point about the HE standings … UNH plays Providence next weekend, home and away. PC currently leads HE with 16 points, but UNH has 3 games in hand on them as well (UNH actually has games in hand on everyone, except BC and UVM) so in a make-believe world where UNH sweeps next weekend over the Friars, UNH climbs to within 2 points of PC, still with the 3 games in hand. OR if they split, and UNH wins all 3 games in hand over PC, they're even-steven. And it's wins over the likes of NU, BC and UMass this season that at least holds out hope that further wins in some of these games against top-level teams are within reach. Quite a different vibe from the one we've experienced in recent seasons. And that's a good thing.
Next two weekends … home-and-homes with PC and UMass will again shed light on just what kind of team UNH has this season, and if post-season success is a realistic hope or just another pipe dream. Breaking even or close, keeps hope alive. Getting swept probably sheds some of those hopes as premature and unrealistic. Posting a winning record over this stretch … well then, now we might have something going on here.
The two weekends after that, there's a chance to really get something going, with weekend series against cupcake-light UConn and dead-straight cupcake UVM hopefully posing a realistic likelihood of at least 6 points out of 8. Then there is the stretch run, which is a gauntlet of post-Beanpot BU (actually great timing for UNH), UMass Lowell and BC leading into the conference tourney. UNH should be playing against teams with strong post-season histories down the stretch, and I like the way this all sets up for the 'Cats.
I think I was the one who predicted a 4th place RS finish for UNH, and that's still alive (if a slight stretch), but more than anything I'd like to see UNH advance to compete in the HE Semis in Boston. It's something we were fortunate to almost take for granted for the better part of two decades … and like they say, sometimes you don't know how much you miss something until it's gone.
Plenty of reason to not want to get out over our skis with optimism … but MS7 looks to have drawn a clear line under the last three years of the Umile Era at the very least, and realistically that may be the most important thing he and his program have been able to accomplish over the last 12+ months. It's interesting again. Next, we need for it to be compelling again. Make it happen, MS7.
Chuck Murray
WIS & Effingwoods Hockey Almanac
Re: UNH Hockey: Treading Water or Trending Upward
Thanks for sharing; not surprised. I guess Coach Madigan hasn't fallen for the "Do you know who my brothers are?" spiel. Good for him. Karma bit the big, slow oaf in the posterior last night, depriving the putz from taking the same "victory lap" he tried out in Al Pike's article again, this time live in front of former teammates and coaches. Hope MS7 gave him some in the post-game handshake line.
Any chance Madigan would consign the overprivileged brat to the stands for the Beanpot?!?
Thanks for sharing; not surprised. I guess Coach Madigan hasn't fallen for the "Do you know who my brothers are?" spiel. Good for him. Karma bit the big, slow oaf in the posterior last night, depriving the putz from taking the same "victory lap" he tried out in Al Pike's article again, this time live in front of former teammates and coaches. Hope MS7 gave him some in the post-game handshake line.
Any chance Madigan would consign the overprivileged brat to the stands for the Beanpot?!?
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