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UNH- How Far West Do We Go?

HockeyRef said:
That was a succinct and heartfelt letter. I have always wanted Mike Souza to succeed...you hit on the one thing that is so evident that cares about the program and yes is up against the obstacles that many in college sports are facing today. Wish that I had seen him in his player days!
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With all due respect, the days of the "open letter" to Coach Souza have well passed now. I know the poster means well, but the tone is far too patronizing for a guy who has consistently put himself and his personal needs ahead of the program for the better part of the last decade. Here's my "open letter" to Coach:

To the entitled bastard who is somehow still in charge of UNH Hockey:

You were once a pretty good player on some very good UNH teams. Somehow, you parlayed that and a mediocre career as a D-1 assistant coach into a plum appointment as the successor to Dick Umile, the greatest coach in UNH Hockey history. Right now, as a glorified squatter sitting in a position you were never qualified to hold, and having selfishly run things into the ground over the last decade, it's time to move on. Have you no shame? Pack up and move on.

(signed) Your Conscience

Ref, you really didn't miss all that much as far as Souza the player is concerned. First two seasons, a solid 3rd line winger, then much like how he landed the head coaching gig 15 or so years later, this 3rd round NHL draft pick ended up on the left wing with a Hobey winning center in his apex season, and a future Hobey finalist on the opposite wing. Both of those undrafted players would go on to make it to the NHL, and would take the team to within an OT goal of a national title in '99. The Final may have been his best game in a UNH uniform, although he also assisted Mark Mowers on an OT SHG GWG the year before to get UNH into a FF appearance. His senior year as captain was OK, but your team bowed out in the opening round of the NCAA tourney. Niagara, anyone??

If you remark to yourself that, "Wow, that seems to be a pretty harsh look at a playing career that deserves more appreciation" ... well, you're probably right. But this is what happens when you trade on your prior role in a great run of highly competitive teams to get a job above your true station, and cling to it like it's a birthright, despite it becoming increasingly obvious that you either aren't qualified for the job, or have underestimated the demands of the job, or both.

Mike Souza is no Dick Umile. Mike Souza is no Charlie Holt (Snives I'll let you dig deeper). Mike Souza is no Bob Kullen, either. All three of those guys started their coaching careers in a very substandard Snively Arena, and two of them never coached a game in the Whitt. It's not the fault of anyone except one guy - Mike Souza. Please leave ... and hopefully after a few years and a revival of the UNH Hockey program under a qualified new head coach, we'll forget how bad of a coach you've been, and can hopefully go back to remembering your on-ice contributions more fondly. Deal??
 
Whalers said:
Can we please stop with the we need to renovate before we can succeed drivel and bureaucratic speak about acceptance rates. Rip off the band-aid, remove the coach. Give me a young, hungry coach with a sack, some energy and desire to rise above. Let him bring some excitement to the Whitt, a bright future story to tell and let him get to work. Success (or better than we have now) will follow, I guarantee it. If you want to swim in the pool and then complain about shrinkage being your dating problem, that is an EXCUSE, and pathetic.

When UNH made it to Anaheim in 99, applications to UNH rose 30%+. That translates into a lot more asses in the Paul School or Kingsbury seats, AND in the Whitt's seats, so more revenue to UNH on both fronts. See how some enthusiasm works? ALL OF US need to stop the excuses, a turnaround can be done and done quickly. I see it in Sales and in companies all the time. MS7 is a farmer, we need a hunter!
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Winner winner, chicken dinner. No more excuses, it's been done before, it can be done again. UNH Hockey just needs a new leader to light the way ...
 
Chuck Murray said:
With all due respect, the days of the "open letter" to Coach Souza have well passed now. I know the poster means well, but the tone is far too patronizing for a guy who has consistently put himself and his personal needs ahead of the program for the better part of the last decade. Here's my "open letter" to Coach:

To the entitled bastard who is somehow still in charge of UNH Hockey:

You were once a pretty good player on some very good UNH teams. Somehow, you parlayed that and a mediocre career as a D-1 assistant coach into a plum appointment as the successor to Dick Umile, the greatest coach in UNH Hockey history. Right now, as a glorified squatter sitting in a position you were never qualified to hold, and having selfishly run things into the ground over the last decade, it's time to move on. Have you no shame? Pack up and move on.

(signed) Your Conscience

Ref, you really didn't miss all that much as far as Souza the player is concerned. First two seasons, a solid 3rd line winger, then much like how he landed the head coaching gig 15 or so years later, this 3rd round NHL draft pick ended up on the left wing with a Hobey winning center in his apex season, and a future Hobey finalist on the opposite wing. Both of those undrafted players would go on to make it to the NHL, and would take the team to within an OT goal of a national title in '99. The Final may have been his best game in a UNH uniform, although he also assisted Mark Mowers on an OT SHG GWG the year before to get UNH into a FF appearance. His senior year as captain was OK, but your team bowed out in the opening round of the NCAA tourney. Niagara, anyone??

If you remark to yourself that, "Wow, that seems to be a pretty harsh look at a playing career that deserves more appreciation" ... well, you're probably right. But this is what happens when you trade on your prior role in a great run of highly competitive teams to get a job above your true station, and cling to it like it's a birthright, despite it becoming increasingly obvious that you either aren't qualified for the job, or have underestimated the demands of the job, or both.

Mike Souza is no Dick Umile. Mike Souza is no Charlie Holt (Snives I'll let you dig deeper). Mike Souza is no Bob Kullen, either. All three of those guys started their coaching careers in a very substandard Snively Arena, and two of them never coached a game in the Whitt. It's not the fault of anyone except one guy - Mike Souza. Please leave ... and hopefully after a few years and a revival of the UNH Hockey program under a qualified new head coach, we'll forget how bad of a coach you've been, and can hopefully go back to remembering your on-ice contributions more fondly.
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Ok, I will take the bait. Rube Bjorkman was UNH men’s hockey head coach 1964/65-1967/68. Most of his first season, he coached his team at a variety of off-campus rinks while Snively Arena was being built, opening on 23 February 1965. Over his four years as head coach at UNH, Rube recruited some of the best who ever played at UNH by traveling to Quebec, Ontario, Minnesota, and other far away places, leaving Charlie Holt the groundwork for great UNH teams in the late 1970s.

Mike Souza is sadly no Rube Bjorkman as a coach, but he was a better player than Rube, Charlie, Bob Kullen, and Dick Umile, although the latter was a pretty dang good player, too.
 
Snively65 said:
Why do you and others think that the AD might be leaving? There have not been any compliance infractions, have there?

Last year a skier on the UNH ski team won a national championship in giant slalom.

So, no, I do not think that the AD is leaving UNH.
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I only bring it up because another poster mentioned (a number of pages back) that her contract is up at the end of this fiscal year. Others mentioned this job may just be a “stepping stone” for her to larger things, so perhaps she has something lined up at a larger institution?

Thank for you mentioning the skier - I forgot about that one! Another is Ruth White on CC/track, who was a second team all American last year and I believe AE track athlete of the year.

Still… I don’t think the resume is super impressive, and perhaps going in a different direction would benefit the school…
 
FlagUp17 said:
Still… I don’t think the resume is super impressive, and perhaps going in a different direction would benefit the school…
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Though she has worked in athletic departments for the vast majority of her career, remember she did so as a Compliance and Title IX administrator. This makes sense as an attorney but doesn't necessarily qualify her to be an expert in managing performance of the teams under her remit.

Also, she doesn't need to be impressive to the fans, just her boss who signs the contract.
 
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Blake Cash UNH recruit for 2027 or 2028 is having a great first year at Cushing . In 33 games has 17 goals [leads team] and 14 assists a small crafty player who is from Hampton NH. I also found out Brian Yandle has 2 kids on the team. Colin seems to be the one to watch plays defense and has 13 points as a sophmore. Brian also has a 14 year old son that plays for the Boston Jr Terriers.
 
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Chuck Murray said:
With all due respect, the days of the "open letter" to Coach Souza have well passed now. I know the poster means well, but the tone is far too patronizing for a guy who has consistently put himself and his personal needs ahead of the program for the better part of the last decade. Here's my "open letter" to Coach:

To the entitled bastard who is somehow still in charge of UNH Hockey:

You were once a pretty good player on some very good UNH teams. Somehow, you parlayed that and a mediocre career as a D-1 assistant coach into a plum appointment as the successor to Dick Umile, the greatest coach in UNH Hockey history. Right now, as a glorified squatter sitting in a position you were never qualified to hold, and having selfishly run things into the ground over the last decade, it's time to move on. Have you no shame? Pack up and move on.

(signed) Your Conscience

Ref, you really didn't miss all that much as far as Souza the player is concerned. First two seasons, a solid 3rd line winger, then much like how he landed the head coaching gig 15 or so years later, this 3rd round NHL draft pick ended up on the left wing with a Hobey winning center in his apex season, and a future Hobey finalist on the opposite wing. Both of those undrafted players would go on to make it to the NHL, and would take the team to within an OT goal of a national title in '99. The Final may have been his best game in a UNH uniform, although he also assisted Mark Mowers on an OT SHG GWG the year before to get UNH into a FF appearance. His senior year as captain was OK, but your team bowed out in the opening round of the NCAA tourney. Niagara, anyone??

If you remark to yourself that, "Wow, that seems to be a pretty harsh look at a playing career that deserves more appreciation" ... well, you're probably right. But this is what happens when you trade on your prior role in a great run of highly competitive teams to get a job above your true station, and cling to it like it's a birthright, despite it becoming increasingly obvious that you either aren't qualified for the job, or have underestimated the demands of the job, or both.

Mike Souza is no Dick Umile. Mike Souza is no Charlie Holt (Snives I'll let you dig deeper). Mike Souza is no Bob Kullen, either. All three of those guys started their coaching careers in a very substandard Snively Arena, and two of them never coached a game in the Whitt. It's not the fault of anyone except one guy - Mike Souza. Please leave ... and hopefully after a few years and a revival of the UNH Hockey program under a qualified new head coach, we'll forget how bad of a coach you've been, and can hopefully go back to remembering your on-ice contributions more fondly. Deal??
Click to expand...
A classless rant from the bowl hair cut, single tooth Hillbilly! Gooooooooo, Buford!

Those out there who are civilized, don't attend family reunions looking for sexual conquests, eat with utensils, and can chew instead of suck on solid foods, unlike Buford, recognize how sick Buford really is and how little he has in his life to attack Souza in such a vicious, personal manner. Souza is a hockey coach. Full stop.

As for accuracy, Buford, of course, knows very little. in 1999, Ron Mason, legendary coach at Michigan State, called UNH a one line team after Mich State lost to UNH in the national semifinal. Mason called the Krog, Haydar, Souza line the best in college hockey. Souza jumped DIRECTLY from playing public school hockey Wakefield High School in Mass and played every game of his 4 year career at UNH. Souza was the consummate team player; he was highly productive, a great leader and a total winner.

To say anything other than Souza was an outstanding college player is dumb. But were are talking about Buford......
 
Potluck said:
To say anything other than Souza was an outstanding college player is dumb. But were are talking about Buford......
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With 156 career points, he was an outstanding player.

His status as a player doesn't protect him from justified criticism for his failures as a coach, however.

By all accounts, he is a good man and a devoted father and husband who fiercely loyal to UNH. That doesn't mean he is the right man for the job now or in the future. He's had more than enough rope to proverbially hang himself and, he has done just that over the course of eight years.

The excuses no longer matter. He's cried wolf for far too long about the root causes of his team's underachieving record. He's lost credibility
 
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2013hockeyfan said:
The next post in this thread was Chuck calling him an "entitled bastard" LOL
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Buford and his game of knuckleheads (Norbert a/k/a Meathead, Emily the Flunky, The Dumb Cat and Elwood a/k/a JB really are fools. They think UNH hockey is theirs and all others are know nothings. It's humorous and pretty sick. They've got no idea how little respect that coaches and players have for them.
 
TheGrouchyCat said:
With 156 career points, he was an outstanding player.

His status as a player doesn't protect him from justified criticism for his failures as a coach, however.

By all accounts, he is a good man and a devoted father and husband who fiercely loyal to UNH. That doesn't mean he is the right man for the job now or in the future. He's had more than enough rope to proverbially hang himself and, he has done just that over the course of eight years.

The excuses no longer matter. He's cried wolf for far too long about the root causes of his team's underachieving record. He's lost credibility
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You need to re-read Buford's post. It was by in large personal take down of Souza. You unwillingness to note that suggests a tacit approval of Buford's conduct.
 
Chuck Murray said:
Winner winner, chicken dinner. No more excuses, it's been done before, it can be done again. UNH Hockey just needs a new leader to light the way ...
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But but who's gonna replace him? Who's gonna accept a measly 240K (or less, since you're new)? That's all I hear on social media. I say BS to that...there are
plenty of eager coaches out there, maybe some HC's...who would take this job. What an opportunity; new facility coming...sure, the U is facing $$ issues but guess what?
We don't know how many STH's have left...how many would come back if there's a new coach? The best thing I read was 'sure, we might lose every stinking game if/when
we get a new coach, but at least, it would give the fans HOPE that the University cares about the program enough to take a chance on a new comer'. See Barr, Ben and Carvel, Greg on their aspirations coming in, how well they did the first couple of years...to where they are now. Gee, both won the HE...and one has a natty...

'Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies' rings true especially here!!! I'm waiting for the post season story. I HOPE...we get one.

ps Heard from a fellow fan that UNH's former All American defenseman Timmy Burke is a scout for the Sharks...maybe he was instrumental in landing Kyle C
the gig last night as the EBUG. Fun opp for KC...read that he had an exam, then a team meeting, then off to Boston...very cool for him. Thank you for your hard
work and efforts this season KC!
 
Robert Balin said:
Blake Cash UNH recruit for 2027 or 2028 is having a great first year at Cushing . In 33 games has 17 goals [leads team] and 14 assists a small crafty player who is from Hampton NH. I also found out Brian Yandle has 2 kids on the team. Colin seems to be the one to watch plays defense and has 13 points as a sophmore. Brian also has a 14 year old son that plays for the Boston Jr Terriers.
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Thanks for these posts! Gives me HOPE...(see my prior post lol). I think Kevin Goumas went to Cushing? Interesting he didn't go to New Hampton school...there have
been some decent skaters who have made their way to the NCAA's from this area even with these small time programs (don't tell Tim W that at KUA) One is Ben Muthersbaugh, who I taught as a Freshman...he finished up his HS playing
days at Tilton School. Picked up by Union, I believe he has 19 goals/ 36 total points this season, leading all Union scorers. Imagine my surprise when I was at the Union game and he scored..
didn't know he was out there...
 
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Potluck said:
Buford and his game of knuckleheads (Norbert a/k/a Meathead, Emily the Flunky, The Dumb Cat and Elwood a/k/a JB really are fools. They think UNH hockey is theirs and all others are know nothings. It's humorous and pretty sick. They've got no idea how little respect that coaches and players have for them.
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Never said the team was mine. Who is your source that the coaches and players have no respect for us?
 
Reid cashman is the guy to go after. If UNH is serious about hockey then look over to Hanover. The guy is a legit winner! The assistant at qpac is another one to watch. Although he seems settled in with pecknold. Keep away from Eric lang and Corey Schneider
 
HockeyRef said:
Yes our dollars are being stretched very, very thin particularly with education. Maine is fortunate (UMaine and all else I assume?) that they have an fund like the Alfond...which I know very little if anything, about. I read an interview with Mike Souza lamenting that NH/UNH doesn't have such a fund...yet (his words). Not sure where this funding is going to come from but an improvement in the facilities are a start I suppose. Of course, NIL $$$ is an entirely different animal/bridge to cross. Good luck in your quest to repeat as HE champs...
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Harold Alfond owned Dexter Shoe with other brands. He made a ton of money back when shoes were made in the USA , made had shoe shops everywhere when I was a kid. Like most manufacturing in Maine it went away once sold to whoever. The Alfond foundation has tons of money, the Alfond family has tons of money. They give lots to UMaine and I think Colby College and probably to lots of other schools in Maine.
 
I'm curious if Miami Ohio U has NIL money to give to Bball players? Wasnt too long ago they had good hockey program also
 
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