UNH- How Far West Do We Go?

[acs64]

I did not know SteveF passed away, Never met the man but he was occasionally hilarious. Must have been pretty young, anyone know cause of death?

 

[Nick Papagiorgio]

A few things here,

SteveF is alive and well and yes he handled the last installments of HE Rookie of the Weak, I think something recently was linked around here going back into the archives; just absurdly funny and he had the best writing on this topic. In the early days, we all would scour box scores for weekly submissions and coordinate back and forth and make the decisions and put in some clever remarks as a rough draft that someone would finish. Eventually the torch was passed to him as we all got busy with kids. At some point, the blog, which was also legendary, was created and it was posted there along with extremely elementary photoshops of the "winners" on a milk carton. The blog was interesting and went beyond hockey to troll other hillbilly fanbases that we shared a conference with (think West Virginia) and it was just wild what kinds of people would find it and leave comments, the most memorable of which I cannot even post for risk of being banned. The Milk-Carton photoshop was inspired by THE legendary photoshop on this board, the beach ball Mike Ayers photo from the 2003 Frozen Four (I still remember poor Chuck in the arena after that game). Who knew we'd end up with Ayers on our staff choking away championships here with a modern-day ginger version of Dick Umile guiding the Eagles to April and March disappointment.

Steve is a legend and one of the funniest guys you'll ever meet, going to games with him are some of my all-time favorite memories.

Maybe we need to bring it back.

edit - come on guys, Steve is fine, please delete this BS about him being gone. JFC

 

[norbert]

It's had to train a chimp to juggle.... What's obvious about you is your ignorance. And I'm being VERY kind.

Ummm, property taxes? Private colleges don't pay them. NH residents complain about property taxes all day every day. Of course, they complain about paying for anything. Harvard, MIT, BC, BU, Northeastern and the Boston hospitals pay no property taxes for some of the most valuable property in the country. You do understand that means others assume the lost revenue through other forms of taxation? Oops, you're Elwood, you wouldn't.

The fact that you don't understand how taxes work at all says so much about your "way of life" in the woods with Buford.

It is not 100% accurate that nonprofits don't pay property taxes. Depending on the use of a property, it may not be 100% excluded from property taxes.

And these colleges and hospitals that don't pay taxes, pay PILOTS. In 2024 there was millions paid to the City of Boston from these nonprofits

https://www.boston.gov/sites/default/files/file/2025/04/FY24%20PILOT%20Recap%20Metrics%20-%20Final%204-29-25_0.pdf

 

[2013hockeyfan]

The idea that UNH should consider leaving Hockey East, no matter how much they struggle, is outrageous. Would be a massive unforced error.

 

[Potluck]

Not all properties of a hospital are tax exempt. Not all taxes of a church are exempt from taxes depending on use but I’m sure Potty will try and argue the opposite being the smartest in the room.

It is not 100% accurate that nonprofits don't pay property taxes. Depending on the use of a property, it may not be 100% excluded from property taxes.

And these colleges and hospitals that don't pay taxes, pay PILOTS. In 2024 there was millions paid to the City of Boston from these nonprofits

https://www.boston.gov/sites/default/files/file/2025/04/FY24%20PILOT%20Recap%20Metrics%20-%20Final%204-29-25_0.pdf

Meathead, stop digging. The PILOT program is it's own outrage and purely voluntary. It's a joke and typically only results in the municipalities recovering a tiny fraction of what's lost is property taxes.

 

[Felger]

Seems this convo comes up almost on a yearly basis and the interesting part is nothing changes.

Less than two weeks until Groundhog Day!

 

[Potluck]

The idea that UNH should consider leaving Hockey East, no matter how much they struggle, is outrageous. Would be a massive unforced error.

Revenue generating college sports is undergoing massive changes. Hockey is, too. Between the transfer portal, NIL, and the new OHL recruiting rules, the difference between the wealthy and not so wealthy schools will grow greater over time. UNH is certainly the type of school that tries to take action too late. After all, change and staying ahead of the game requires vision, ambition and investment - three things NH doesn't understand or respect.

Nevertheless, a complete assessment of the hockey program, the future of D1 hockey, and HE would be smart. If UNH is headed in the wrong direction, which we all agree is the case, change is necessary. I think UNH's future, pretty clearly, is in a league with competitive but less ambitious, less expensive (most importantly) and not nationally competitive programs.

I'm thinking UNH, Sacred Heart, RPI, St Lawrence, Colgate, UVM, Bentley, Holy Cross and perhaps Merrimack. That's a solid league. Fewer scholarships, less traveling less pressure to improve/maintain faciliities.

UMass Lowell and UMass travel in tandem (see state legislature) and UMass has first rate funding and facilities. UMaine and UConn are well funded, have good facilities and are very ambitious. UNH no longer is a fit with them. Let's not even consider comparing UNH to BC, BU, NU and Providence from the standpoint of funding, facilities and ambition.

That leaves, UNH, UVM and Merrimack as excellent candidates to break off into another league that is less expensive and less ambitious. They have less in common with the other 8 teams as time goes on.

 

[Snively65]

A few things here,

SteveF is alive and well and yes he handled the last installments of HE Rookie of the Weak, I think something recently was linked around here going back into the archives; just absurdly funny and he had the best writing on this topic. In the early days, we all would scour box scores for weekly submissions and coordinate back and forth and make the decisions and put in some clever remarks as a rough draft that someone would finish. Eventually the torch was passed to him as we all got busy with kids. At some point, the blog, which was also legendary, was created and it was posted there along with extremely elementary photoshops of the "winners" on a milk carton. The blog was interesting and went beyond hockey to troll other hillbilly fanbases that we shared a conference with (think West Virginia) and it was just wild what kinds of people would find it and leave comments, the most memorable of which I cannot even post for risk of being banned. The Milk-Carton photoshop was inspired by THE legendary photoshop on this board, the beach ball Mike Ayers photo from the 2003 Frozen Four (I still remember poor Chuck in the arena after that game). Who knew we'd end up with Ayers on our staff choking away championships here with a modern-day ginger version of Dick Umile guiding the Eagles to April and March disappointment.

Steve is a legend and one of the funniest guys you'll ever meet, going to games with him are some of my all-time favorite memories.

Maybe we need to bring it back.

edit - come on guys, Steve is fine, please delete this BS about him being gone. JFC

Great to learn that SteveF is alive and well. Brings to mind the classic 1897 Mark Twain quote “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.”

 

[norbert]

Meathead, stop digging. The PILOT program is it's own outrage and purely voluntary. It's a joke and typically only results in the municipalities recovering a tiny fraction of what's lost is property taxes.

You are saying these places are flush with cash because they don't pay taxes, but there is an expense. Also there are locations that pay property taxes. The only thing I am digging is your grave.