Hey Matt, great to see you on here, and my heartfelt condolences to you and your family on the loss of "olddog", who as you know was my USCHO BFF for many a year, both on these boards, and at college hockey rinks literally between here and the Twin Cities. Ernie was not only a collaborator (he would prefer "co-conspirator") on some great USCHO moments, he was the "quiet" half of the WIS operation, and flags at the WIS Estate will remain perpetually at half-staff in his honor. There's not a time when my travels bring me past his (and eventually our) favorite Chinese food hangout when I don't think of him and the great times we shared regarding UNH Hockey, and even the brief one year stretch we worked for the same company, when his long-time employer bought out mine, before I moved on to greener pastures (which he strongly encouraged - and he was proven right).
Your Dad certainly lived a full life, and it was a privilege to be associated with him in the slightest, Matt. He always talked in glowing terms of how proud he was of you, and your accomplishments in the business world (and everywhere else). He was a one-of-a-kind guy (I still remember him raking the roof well into his 60's!), and no one came close as a traveling companion, both for his skills behind the wheel (a true NASCAR wanna-be), and the depth of his endless stories from his time across the world, and from brushing up with the famous and nearly-famous in his media role.
There's a lot of times in recent years that I lament on here about the "lost generation" of UNH diehard fans, and it's guys like Ernie and the rest of his crew of long-time buddies dotted around the arena who aren't there anymore that I have in mind when lamenting on the state of UNH Hockey. Things really have changed since you left, and there will be times when you probably think you're "Matt van Winkle" when you return to a half-empty, re-sized, and sanitized/super-quiet Whitt, and think back to the good ol' days. I hope we see them come around again someday ...
