UNH- How Far West Do We Go?

[Robert Balin]

Checking in on a former player.Alex Gagne is having a better than expected first year in the AHL. Gagne was drafted bye Tampa Bay and never signed. and signed with Colorado. He plays for the Colorado Eagles in the AHL. In 57 games he's 1-12-13 +15. His team is in 2nd place with a 36-16-5 record. He's become a very reliable physical defender and is being mentored by veteran Keaton Middleton. I always thought he had potential and good luck to him.

 

[JB]

https://x.com/mikemcmahonchn/status/2033595297251651658?s=46&t=pPratvtWStE4lAmbwtvSdg

For those of you that want to know what ails UNH hockey, open this link. McMahon is a very good reporter. He spoke to the agents and “advisors” that place the most promising recruits in programs. UNHs poor facilities are a strong indication the university is not committed to hockey. That’s a killer.

I’ve been saying this for years because I’ve been told to precise same thing from D1 assistants at other schools.

Who do you trust more? Buford and Elwood or a deeply connected college hockey reporter that actually did the work?

GREAT!

Please share from your insider access to D1 assistants at other schools how Lawler is better than UNH's facilities? ...

 

[TheGrouchyCat]

Checking in on a former player.Alex Gagne is having a better than expected first year in the AHL. Gagne was drafted bye Tampa Bay and never signed. and signed with Colorado. He plays for the Colorado Eagles in the AHL. In 57 games he's 1-12-13 +15. His team is in 2nd place with a 36-16-5 record. He's become a very reliable physical defender and is being mentored by veteran Keaton Middleton. I always thought he had potential and good luck to him.

You can't coach size.

 

[Chuck Murray]

https://x.com/mikemcmahonchn/status/2033595297251651658?s=46&t=pPratvtWStE4lAmbwtvSdg

For those of you that want to know what ails UNH hockey, open this link. McMahon is a very good reporter. He spoke to the agents and “advisors” that place the most promising recruits in programs. UNHs poor facilities are a strong indication the university is not committed to hockey. That’s a killer.

I’ve been saying this for years because I’ve been told to precise same thing from D1 assistants at other schools.

Who do you trust more? Buford and Elwood or a deeply connected college hockey reporter that actually did the work?

I'm glad you pointed that out, potty. The debate earlier this month got roughly 1.6K-1.7K impressions for both MM and myself apiece, and the exchange ended when I challenged Mike on his "you can choose to believe otherwise" quip regarding his purported insight into the true reasons UNH doesn't have a seat at the table in the agents/advisors community. I'll let the learned readers on this thread (and on Mike's page as well) decide if it makes sense that a school that once had the likes of (in the last generation) Dick Umile, Brian McCloskey, Dave Lassonde, Scotty Borek and Jim Tortorella dealing with the same facilities shortages (if not even worse?) and yet getting a steady stream of above-average recruits, now isn't getting that same level of on-ice talent because of something other than a shortage of quality coaching with no track record of developing talent ... because their state-of-the-art Azumah fitness center is all the way across the street?!?

I mean, you're welcome to jump in and respond on McMahon's behalf as his proxy if you'd like? But it's funny to see you citing someone "deeply connected" when instead of actually, y'know, writing something sourced and detailed and insightful for a change to further the debate to actually back up his purported point, he just pulls it all in and drops the debate then and there without further engaging. Then he has toadies like you to try to clean up afterwards and do his dirty work lol.

For what it's worth ... I did write back to MM via e-mail (along with several other college hockey media folks) to challenge one (all?) of them to put together an actual investigative journalism piece about the fall and rise of Scotty B over the last decade, and to publish it while the tourney is ongoing - preferably while Merrimack is still in play - and to do a comparison of the fortunes of Borek's previous (UNH) and current programs, and why UNH finds itself in the morass, while a blackballed former assistant is now sitting atop the Hockey East world with less resources than his "pleading poormouth" competition at UNH?!?

I sent out those e-mails last evening. It's basically a challenge to see if these self-proclaimed media mavens are really journalists, or just sycophants for the league(s) and the folks running the league's programs that offer them inside access in return for kid gloves treatment in the closely held D-1 hockey "media".

I would welcome it if someone actually wrote up something even borderline critical of the last decade-plus at UNH that isn't focused on some missing asset(s).

 

[Whalers]

You certainly aren’t. God good, what a horrible pitch. Great team building, huh? So is ice fishing. Hard to imagine how your reference to the gymnastics team won’t get verbal commitments on the spot.

FYI, once you say “across the street” you lose the recruit who has options. Every time.

Reminds me of a conversation with a lady friend at UNH, who happened to be on the gymnastics team. She called on the Campus phone (remember those?) to let me know that her roommate was gone for the weekend and she wanted to try a new routine on the pommel horse. I asked where these Floor Exercises would take place and when she said - "across the street". I said "God Good, what a horrible pitch. Lose my number". CLICK!!

Said no college age male athlete, EVER!

 

[HockeyRef]

Very little. Merrimack is an 8th place team that went on a once every 30 year run to win the league tourney. Merrimack ordinarily is a bottom tier HE team. It’s a great 2 week story but that’s likely all it is.

It’s titillating stuff for Buford, Meathead Elwood and the other low hockey IQ crowd, but most know better.

If UNH actually is modeling itself on Merrimack Hockey then that’s it for UNH.

Considering MC has been to the HE finals AND the NCAA's within the past 2 seasons speaks to the program's planning and coaching? UNH...11 seasons since the Garden...13 since NCAA's...just sayin'.
One can argue that MC benefits from the portal (good for them) and has some kind of rev-share also speaks to the success of the program. And gee they seem to have our number don't they?
Now they have a HE title plus a trip to a Regional which can only help their recruitment. We have....well a ton of tradition but sadly not in recent years.

Hopefully that will change..

 

[Chuck Murray]

Reminds me of a conversation with a lady friend at UNH, who happened to be on the gymnastics team. She called on the Campus phone (remember those?) to let me know that her roommate was gone for the weekend and she wanted to try a new routine on the pommel horse. I asked where these Floor Exercises would take place and when she said - "across the street". I said "God Good, what a horrible pitch. Lose my number". CLICK!!

Said no college age male athlete, EVER!

potty never does stop proving to us on here that he is the quintessential beta male ...