UNH- How Far West Do We Go?

[TheGrouchyCat]

I'm about to turn on the NESN broadcast of the Hockey East semis. This was a frequent destination for our program when Dick Umile was the head coach.

It was a routine long weekend/take Friday off decision ... and it's one we haven't been able to make for over a decade (at least with UNH involved).

Is anyone else besides me chafed that what used to be a semi-routine event is now a Haley's Comet-like mythic occurrence?!?

Was working on the 59th floor of the JH Tower at the time. Would take the Orange Line after lunch and would begin the annual weekend of debauchery with a motley bunch of drunken wildcat fans.

Miss those days, but my liver doesn't

 

[TheGrouchyCat]

Is this the crap they are teaching at Paul School these days? Fly on the wall in Fluffer's Theory of Business 101 at UNH Paul School - "What tagline should we place on the CEO Steering Group Recommendation Report cover?"

1) Educating young minds to create tomorrow's mediocre middle management.
2) Molding future Good Employees.
3) Municipal Employees - The Path to Good Starts Here!
3) Merits of changing our name - Paul Univ School of Statistics & Economics. "PUSSE - Where Middle Managers dont think with a little head."

The irony of most professors at business school is they've never left a college campus.

My BIL is a professor of International Business who has never conducted any business Internationally. I once was asked to speak to his MBA students and the very first thing I said was, "The book teaches theory. Here's the reality."

Thinking about it, I should have just shown them this clip from Back to School

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

youtu.be

 

[FlagUp17]

Merrimack May be ruining someone’s at large bid to the NCAAs by Sunday.

If they pull it off, it is nothing short of remarkable. Having beat the 1, 2 and either 3/4 seed to win HE.

Somewhere in Hamilton, NY a special advisor to the AD is probably chuckling, reminiscing on how he helped choose MS7 over a more worthy assistant to lead his mens hockey program…

Still got some time on the clock, but congrats to Borek and his crew for getting this far.

 

[JB]

Borek needs to be careful that black polo buttoned to the top looks like a turtle neck if you look quick

 

[TheGrouchyCat]

Merrimack May be ruining someone’s at large bid to the NCAAs by Sunday.

If they pull it off, it is nothing short of remarkable. Having beat the 1, 2 and either 3/4 seed to win HE.

Somewhere in Hamilton, NY a special advisor to the AD is probably chuckling, reminiscing on how he helped choose MS7 over a more worthy assistant to lead his mens hockey program…

Still got some time on the clock, but congrats to Borek and his crew for getting this far.

Must be their Taj Mahal of a locker room and superior training facilities. More likely it's the Dunks in the lobby.

Could be the jumbotron, too. Oh wait.

Or, the coach. Why wasn't he on the radar of UNH?

 

[JB]

I mean Borek was smart enough to go with a 3rd assistant over a Director of Hockey operations.

He also compensates for his bald and grey with 2 30 somethings and a 20 something for his coaches. (Relating to recruits and now players is always a plus)

 

[FlagUp17]

The argument from the naysayers:

“He got lucky - Merrimack fans should go out and get their Powerball tickets tonight!”

Not that the AD is attending (or even watching) this weekend. But c’mon - if this doesn’t show you the power of superior coaching with similar/lower resources than ourselves, well I don’t know what will…

 

[HockeyRef]

SCOTTY B IS GOING TO THE 'SHIPPPPPPPPP!!

 

[FlagUp17]

I mean Borek was smart enough to go with a 3rd assistant over a Director of Hockey operations.

He also compensates for his bald and grey with 2 30 somethings and a 20 something for his coaches. (Relating to recruits and now players is always a plus)

That’s one thing I’ll be curious to follow as we progress through the off-season. Does UNH go with a third assistant? Or perhaps move on from one of Stewie/Guiliano? I imagine Souza would try and go with a “safe” pick, knowing he’s in a contract year, and he doesn’t want someone usurping him at the helm.

I also wouldn’t be surprised if there are no changes, and he runs with the same crew he has been working with.

 

[JB]

Not sure I trust College Factuals but it is the one place you can get some of this information, and it is good for comparisons.

Merrimack Hockey - $2.47M
UNH - $2.43M

Now there is no way UNH should be spending less than Merrimack in hockey. Even just $40k less is bad based on the two schools and the UNH's Athletic department is $31M vs Merrimack at $26M and they both have football.

Facility - ++UNH
AD Department Depth - +UNH (thinks things like Azuma performance center, more staff in strength and conditioning and athletic training)
Budget - +MC (sad)
Coaching - +++ MC ( they own UNH, finish ahead, have a plan on ice, etc etc)

 

[JB]

That’s one thing I’ll be curious to follow as we progress through the off-season. Does UNH go with a third assistant? Or perhaps move on from one of Stewie/Guiliano? I imagine Souza would try and go with a “safe” pick, knowing he’s in a contract year, and he doesn’t want someone usurping him at the helm.

I also wouldn’t be surprised if there are no changes, and he runs with the same crew he has been working with.

If I had to guess MS7 is rolling it all back out the same. Too much self awareness and work to do something different.

 

[FlagUp17]

I think Chuck alluded to this earlier, but it bears additional mentioning.

Each additional win this year (and really every win MC/Borek gets over UNH for the rest of MS7s tenure) is truly Karma getting the last laugh.

The question becomes, how LONG will Karma be laughing? Especially this year…

 

[Chuck Murray]

Watching on TV, the attendance or the first semi was abysmal. Not surprising for a UMass Amherst-Merrimack game in Boston.

Nigel HAS to be pulling for a BC win in the late semi. Attendance for a Merrimack-UConn HEA Final would be scary low, especially with both UConn Hoops teams progressing as high seeds through the Big Dance. Say what you will about BC a/k/a "Bandwagon Nation", but their alums love a winner, and there aren't too many of those dotted across the BC major sports landscape these days. If it weren't for Luce, I'd be rooting for the Huskies, just to see Nigel & Company handing out freebie tickets at Faneuil Hall and the Seaport District to paper the house at North Station and avoid a 5,000 (plus diehard neutrals) embarrassment.

 

[HockeyRef]

Conmy with the bullet y'all!

 

[FlagUp17]

Looks like there’s gonna be a first time HEA champion this weekend between Merrimack and UConn.

Not sure how it will all work out with NPI, but if UConn wins it’s just 2 HE schools making it to the NCAAs (PU and UConn). If MC wins, I’m not sure if UConn can still squeak in as an at large, as they sit at 13 now and have to take into account the AHA winner, and the ground loss from losing tomorrow.

Certainly an odd year for HE - much greater parity compared to years past. Who would have thought the championship game would be 3 vs 8?

 

[RENCEB]

Watching on TV, the attendance or the first semi was abysmal. Not surprising for a UMass Amherst-Merrimack game in Boston.

Nigel HAS to be pulling for a BC win in the late semi. Attendance for a Merrimack-UConn HEA Final would be scary low, especially with both UConn Hoops teams progressing as high seeds through the Big Dance. Say what you will about BC a/k/a "Bandwagon Nation", but their alums love a winner, and there aren't too many of those dotted across the BC major sports landscape these days. If it weren't for Luce, I'd be rooting for the Huskies, just to see Nigel & Company handing out freebie tickets at Faneuil Hall and the Seaport District to paper the house at North Station and avoid a 5,000 (plus diehard neutrals) embarrassment.

I was there and actually thought Merrimack fans showed up pretty well for a 4:00 game, but UMass fan support was not great. UConn Men's hoop plays tonight and their Women play tomorrow on campus. Not sure how much crossover there is on the fanbase.
But you are correct, there's no danger of this selling out (saying that with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek ;-)

 

[HockeyRef]

Looks like there’s gonna be a first time HEA champion this weekend between Merrimack and UConn.

Not sure how it will all work out with NPI, but if UConn wins it’s just 2 HE schools making it to the NCAAs (PU and UConn). If MC wins, I’m not sure if UConn can still squeak in as an at large, as they sit at 13 now and have to take into account the AHA winner, and the ground loss from losing tomorrow.

Certainly an odd year for HE - much greater parity compared to years past. Who would have thought the championship game would be 3 vs 8?

Which makes it even more frustrating...but anyhoo good for them just goes to show anything can happen.

 

[JB]

Which makes it even more frustrating...but anyhoo good for them just goes to show anything can happen.

I hear you on this one

UNH had the will - see Lavins and LeClerc playing hurt, guys blocking shots and the stretches of the season where they played a hard game

UNH had some.skill - the problem was not have traditional "UNH" scoring talent.

What they didn't have was the strategy. They did what they did all season didn't really change and the league teams knew it. They didn't "manufacture goals" to go with the talent they did have. The weren't setup for the situational little things... 5 forward on the PP there are things the guys on the point need to be coached to do to limit SHG. In essence better coaching in this league might have had UNH in the Championship game, would have taken a strategy of grinding out wins 2-1 with very disciplined play

 

[NCAA watcher]

From the BC thread

Would you rather be BU right now?

Parity is a thing these days.

Well said the landscape of college hockey is vastly different than it was just 5 years ago.

not quite:
15-16 10th place 11-20-6
16-17 10th place 15-20-5
17-18 11th place 10-20-6
18-19 8th place 12-15-9
19-20 9th place 15-15-4
20-21 10th place 6-14-3
21-22 9th place 14-19-1
22-23 10th place 11-21-3
23-24 6th place 20-15-1
24-25 10th place 13-16-6
25-26 10th place 14-20-1

 

[HockeyRef]

I hear you on this one

UNH had the will - see Lavins and LeClerc playing hurt, guys blocking shots and the stretches of the season where they played a hard game

UNH had some.skill - the problem was not have traditional "UNH" scoring talent.

What they didn't have was the strategy. They did what they did all season didn't really change and the league teams knew it. They didn't "manufacture goals" to go with the talent they did have. The weren't setup for the situational little things... 5 forward on the PP there are things the guys on the point need to be coached to do to limit SHG. In essence better coaching in this league might have had UNH in the Championship game, would have taken a strategy of grinding out wins 2-1 with very disciplined play

If nothing changes nothing changes.