UNH Men's Hockey 2022 Off Season Thread- Goodbye Lake Whitt!

[wildcatdc]

Contracts run with UNH fiscal year (6/30). I would expect a name in the late May/early June timeframe. I’m also pretty sure that the admin knows the criticality of the hire here, with only one program currently operating with a speck of relevance. There are some voices in the mix that concern me (I.e., what should be prioritized), but I hope that program success and national relevance remain top of list.

 

[J.D.]

Hypothetical...if Greg Brown brought in a new staff would you want Souza making a play for Ayers? Maybe it could be an Albie/Pandolfo situation *smiley face*

 

[Chuck Murray]

Hypothetical...if Greg Brown brought in a new staff would you want Souza making a play for Ayers? Maybe it could be an Albie/Pandolfo situation *smiley face*

Souza would be smart (in terms of self-preservation) to look at someone/anyone to mix things up and get someone in who can boost his program's flat-lining recruiting profile. Might buy him an extra year or two if he can show some real progress over the next 12 months.

Otherwise, with the same staff (and him) doing the same old things, the same results will follow, and he'll be out of a job by this time next year. Souza might also be thinking about what has happened at BU over the last 12 months (as you pointed out), and it's a danger when you are in a susceptible position to bring in someone who is arguably more accomplished than you are.

PREDICTION: MS7 will remain loyal to Stewart and Guiliano, and will replace them only if they take the step first to leave of their own volition (JG more likely to do so than GS). Nothing will change.

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If I were Ayers and I was approached specifically by MS7, though ... I'd say "thanks, but no thanks", especially if Ayers harbors any ambitions to be a HC someday, and even more so to HC at UNH. Ayers' next job IF he stays in D-1 has to be as a HC; staying put as an assistant at BC doesn't hurt his profile, but leaving BC to work elsewhere as a D-1 assistant starts to pigeonhole him as a career assistant. Not that there's anything wrong with that; see Standbrook, Grant.

But if you're Ayers and you see the current state of your alma mater's program, there is NO way you're sitting there thinking "Yeah, all they need is me to go there as an AC to solve their problems". Ayers would have to be thinking, "There's no way I could do worse than Souza, there's a new AD on the way, I'll keep my powder dry, and I know I'll be on a HC short list when the inevitable happens".

PREDICTION: MS7 gets the gate next Spring. Ayers will get an interview to be the HC. THEN and only then will we find out what the new AD's philosophy will be for the Hockey program. If the feedback I've gotten on Nigel proves true, then Ayers has a legitimate shot at being the next UNH HC. BUT if the AD is someone who is an outsider, though, Ayers will have to knock it out of the park at the interview stage to get that job. I liked Ayers as a player, a lot in fact. He backstopped the two best teams in UNH postseason history. He gave a crap when things jumped the rails in Buffalo, so there is some real passion under his calm exterior. But he is unproven as a HC, and an outsider new UNH AD will probably feel pressure not to repeat the mistake his predecessor made by hiring an unproven alum as HC to succeed Umile.

For all of these reasons, I suspect in ten years' time, we UNH fans will look back at the "Ayers to UNH HC" thing as one of those "what if?" propositions, not unlike Brian McCloskey, Scotty Borek, and Jim Tortorella. Ayers will either become a BC lifer or get a shot somewhere else in D-1 hockey as an HC. I wish the guy nothing but the best at whatever he does, he was always a class act.

 

[Felger]

Souza would be smart (in terms of self-preservation) to look at someone/anyone to mix things up and get someone in who can boost his program's flat-lining recruiting profile. Might buy him an extra year or two if he can show some real progress over the next 12 months.

Otherwise, with the same staff (and him) doing the same old things, the same results will follow, and he'll be out of a job by this time next year. Souza might also be thinking about what has happened at BU over the last 12 months (as you pointed out), and it's a danger when you are in a susceptible position to bring in someone who is arguably more accomplished than you are.

PREDICTION: MS7 will remain loyal to Stewart and Guiliano, and will replace them only if they take the step first to leave of their own volition (JG more likely to do so than GS). Nothing will change.

----------

If I were Ayers and I was approached specifically by MS7, though ... I'd say "thanks, but no thanks", especially if Ayers harbors any ambitions to be a HC someday, and even more so to HC at UNH. Ayers' next job IF he stays in D-1 has to be as a HC; staying put as an assistant at BC doesn't hurt his profile, but leaving BC to work elsewhere as a D-1 assistant starts to pigeonhole him as a career assistant. Not that there's anything wrong with that; see Standbrook, Grant.

But if you're Ayers and you see the current state of your alma mater's program, there is NO way you're sitting there thinking "Yeah, all they need is me to go there as an AC to solve their problems". Ayers would have to be thinking, "There's no way I could do worse than Souza, there's a new AD on the way, I'll keep my powder dry, and I know I'll be on a HC short list when the inevitable happens".

PREDICTION: MS7 gets the gate next Spring. Ayers will get an interview to be the HC. THEN and only then will we find out what the new AD's philosophy will be for the Hockey program. If the feedback I've gotten on Nigel proves true, then Ayers has a legitimate shot at being the next UNH HC. BUT if the AD is someone who is an outsider, though, Ayers will have to knock it out of the park at the interview stage to get that job. I liked Ayers as a player, a lot in fact. He backstopped the two best teams in UNH postseason history. He gave a crap when things jumped the rails in Buffalo, so there is some real passion under his calm exterior. But he is unproven as a HC, and an outsider new UNH AD will probably feel pressure not to repeat the mistake his predecessor made by hiring an unproven alum as HC to succeed Umile.

For all of these reasons, I suspect in ten years' time, we UNH fans will look back at the "Ayers to UNH HC" thing as one of those "what if?" propositions, not unlike Brian McCloskey, Scotty Borek, and Jim Tortorella. Ayers will either become a BC lifer or get a shot somewhere else in D-1 hockey as an HC. I wish the guy nothing but the best at whatever he does, he was always a class act.

So you know for sure that the new AD will be a man? And that men's hockey will be a priority?

 

[Chuck Murray]

So you know for sure that the new AD will be a man? And that men's hockey will be a priority?

In times like these, there are no certainties Felgie, so yeah, I get it.

But my sources still think the job is Nigel's to lose, Nigel identifies as a man, and is married to a "birthing person", who is the current deputy AD at Merrimack.

Maybe Ms. Nigel is actually the UNH frontrunner? Have I offended anyone yet?? ;-)

As far as priorities go, all I can go with is that Men's Hockey has historically been the biggest revenue generating sport at UNH, so if I take a "follow the money" approach, it should be a priority? Men's Hoops is undoubtedly the biggest opportunity for growth, and in some distant future universe where success in Hoops stokes some dormant interest in and around the UNH community, with roughly the same number of home dates (combined with a move back across the street to The Whitt), then Hoops might push Hockey for the top revenue producer? Football could sell out the new stadium but not really push Hockey due to the limited number of home dates. If Soccer can continue to build interest, which we saw was very real last Fall, their revenue will outstrip Football shortly (if it hasn't already?), and their expenses should be way less than Football.

All in all, there are more eyes on Men's Hockey because of the prominence of HEA, so that (combined with past & projected future revenues) should make Hockey THE priority in the real world.

In the woke bubble that is modern day academia, though, anything is possible I suppose ...

 

[Darius]

Have I offended anyone yet?? ;-)

You mean today, right? ;-)

So you know for sure that the new AD will be a man? And that men's hockey will be a priority?

A non cisgender POC would fit nicely with the U's commitment to "building and nurturing an environment of inclusive excellence where all students, faculty, and staff can thrive".

Great point. I'm hopeful all teams remain D-I programs.

 

[Chuck Murray]

A non cisgender POC would fit nicely with the U's commitment to "building and nurturing an environment of inclusive excellence where all students, faculty, and staff can thrive".

I'd prefer UNH hires the most qualified candidate, regardless of race or sex/gender. Silly me, right?

 

[Felger]

Seriously, I wasn't really trying to stir the pot. Was just musing that the world has changed alot in many ways since Judy Ray passed the job off to Marty Scarano. Just wondering if (and not necessarily assuming that) the next AD will have similar goals/objectives as those in the past.

 

[NCAA watcher]

Nice job by Jay. I liked the message. I also thought he did a good job balancing the need for change without completely dissing on Albie.

compare 2016, and how not to be the "new face of change" even though you were part of the old regime.

Look, I understand Souza is in a bad position. First, he has two more years working under a boss he clearly, clearly loves, who got him the job. It's not his job or position to be Walsh -- the new Sherif who can call a spade a spade, set standards and send a "shape up or ship out" message.

Yet, that is exactly the message that needs to be sent to recruits. Excellence, not effort. Yet, Souza either can't or won't say it because it would be a criticism of Umile. As a result, the interview focuses on selling a program because "UNH is a neat school that I really love, and Dick is a great guy" -- moments after telling the interviewer nobody remembers or cares about 99 or even the 2000s -- doesn't give an indication of how Souza is aggressively recruiting. And the results suggest not a lot of aggressive recruiting is going on. He can be as loyal and as supportive of the current players --'come on guys, work harder, study harder, I'm in your camp" -- but that is not going to do anything to improve the team next year.

They desperately need a kickstart. By dint of his allegiance, Souza either does not feel the need for a new start, or can't say it. Either way, he's hamstrung, so the interview is bland, doesn't really reveal the plan to make america great again. I understand he could not really speak his mind about this year, so his answers are "our team will work really hard, last year's games were close and this year we could [get lucky and] win." I won't hold that against him, given the talent level is locked in. But as we see from Shawn Walsh's quote, the key is recruiting, first, second and third. Until they find a message that resonates with recruits (and the results say no), all of the hard work won't matter. And the longer Souza struggles to find that message -- something that is hard enough without being tied to the anchor of a boss who deprives you of the ability to sell the "new sheriff, new excellence" message -- Souza will have lost credibility. You only have a limited window of the "new sheriff" message, and Scarano destroyed that.

 

[Chuck Murray]

They desperately need a kickstart. By dint of his allegiance, Souza either does not feel the need for a new start, or can't say it. Either way, he's hamstrung, so the interview is bland,doesn't really reveal the plan to make america great again. I understand he could not really speak his mind about this year, so his answers are "our team will work really hard, last year's games were close and this year we could [get lucky and] win."

Are you saying that MS7 is a MAGA man, 'watcher? Gosh, I can get behind the guy if so ... ;-)

 

[After the Whistle]

Watcher that was the greatest take on the MS hire. I so remember the disappointment that I felt in reading it. Not his choice as the coach in waiting but what he said. Nothing of significance or to create a feeling of hope, vision or passion. This from a guy who was as passionate a player as I have seen on the past 25 years. (Ayer’s is second on that list although intense is perhaps a better descriptor for him.)
You have matched each of his missteps with the perfect reason he couldn’t say Or do anything different. And I am not so sure will see the change most are hoping for next March. This will be a somewhat better year and hey…….

 

[Umie77]

Best feature of Agganis by far is the vertical height of the seating bowl. I thought I remembered reading somewhere when it was under construction that Jack Parker wanted the effect to be that of the original Boston Garden (higher/narrower) than the new building (wider/shallower?). If that's what they were going for, they nailed it. Best "new" building in HEA by a longshot.

I do love Agganis. Favorite arena in New England. I seem to recall from years ago, that Jack Parker really liked the Marriucci out in MN and wanted something like it, but smaller. I have been to the Marriucci. it is also pretty sweet.

 

[Dan]

I compared Michigan State's hiring of Adam Nightengale to Mike Souza's hire at UNH. Well, here is one stark difference. Mike McMahon reported that MSU had extensive conversations about hiring Albie O'Connell as an assistant coach - a PROVEN elite recruiter with head coaching experience. David Carle, who just won a National Title at Denver has TWO former HC's on his staff...

These are young coaches comfortable enough with themselves to bring in more seasoned assistants, delegate authority, and admit to what they don't know or a skillset they don't (or don't yet) possess. For the good of their career and the program. To me, this is a huge clue that Nightengale may in fact be a GUY.

When Souza had an open position he hired an assistant who had never coached at the college level or recruited a single athlete...

 

[HockeyRef]

I compared Michigan State's hiring of Adam Nightengale to Mike Souza's hire at UNH. Well, here is one stark difference. Mike McMahon reported that MSU had extensive conversations about hiring Albie O'Connell as an assistant coach - a PROVEN elite recruiter with head coaching experience. David Carle, who just won a National Title at Denver has TWO former HC's on his staff...

These are young coaches comfortable enough with themselves to bring in more seasoned assistants, delegate authority, and admit to what they don't know or a skillset they don't (or don't yet) possess. For the good of their career and the program. To me, this is a huge clue that Nightengale may in fact be a GUY.

When Souza had an open position he hired an assistant who had never coached at the college level or recruited a single athlete...

It's just history repeating itself...if I may be that bold....

 

[Chuck Murray]

I compared Michigan State's hiring of Adam Nightengale to Mike Souza's hire at UNH. Well, here is one stark difference. Mike McMahon reported that MSU had extensive conversations about hiring Albie O'Connell as an assistant coach - a PROVEN elite recruiter with head coaching experience. David Carle, who just won a National Title at Denver has TWO former HC's on his staff...

These are young coaches comfortable enough with themselves to bring in more seasoned assistants, delegate authority, and admit to what they don't know or a skillset they don't (or don't yet) possess. For the good of their career and the program. To me, this is a huge clue that Nightengale may in fact be a GUY.

When Souza had an open position he hired an assistant who had never coached at the college level or recruited a single athlete ...

To Dick Umile's credit, even he hired former HC's Scott Borek (LSSU) and Jim Tortorella (Colby), and his assistants earlier in his career were mostly pretty experienced guys, too ...

 

[HockeyRef]

To Dick Umile's credit, even he hired former HC's Scott Borek (LSSU) and Jim Tortorella (Colby), and his assistants earlier in his career were mostly pretty experienced guys, too ...

I should probably clarify as I always do that I personally think Jeff and Stewy are good people and appreciate the job they are doing. Think our D looks great but that power play...anyway...on selecting a coach / assistance coach especially to help you build a program that might have more, how do I say it, experience? than one and being able to let go of the EGO piece of it has to be challenging ....for some people. Kudos to the coaches that Dan mentions that picked up strong, experienced bound people and well, I mean, look at the results. Of course none of us knows the dynamics of the 3 UNH coaches and I am not in the position to criticize the work having no background to do so.

Oh crap, we all know things could have been....and should have been...different. Can't change that. So I am pretty much over all of that and continue to...hope for the best. Steeling myself for the AD selection...

 

[Chuck Murray]

I should probably clarify as I always do that I personally think Jeff and Stewy are good people and appreciate the job they are doing. Think our D looks great but that power play...anyway...on selecting a coach / assistance coach especially to help you build a program that might have more, how do I say it, experience? than one and being able to let go of the EGO piece of it has to be challenging ....for some people. Kudos to the coaches that Dan mentions that picked up strong, experienced bound people and well, I mean, look at the results. Of course none of us knows the dynamics of the 3 UNH coaches and I am not in the position to criticize the work having no background to do so.

Oh crap, we all know things could have been....and should have been...different. Can't change that. So I am pretty much over all of that and continue to...hope for the best. Steeling myself for the AD selection...

Like you said ... look at the results. Kind of speak for themselves, you don't need specialized knowledge to comment on their work, especially if you can see things are amiss at even a very basic level (i.e. making the same mistakes over and over, not being able to put together an effective power play, etc.). Souza was arguably already an example of the "Peter Principle" at his previous station in life, with little if anything to show for his stints at Brown and UConn, but his connections (and their misplaced belief in him) got him his current position. He'll never get another shot at this level ever again, unless he produces a miraculous turnaround this coming season. Of this he seems blissfully unaware ... so I guess, ignorance IS bliss.

 

[NCAA watcher]

Congratulations to the UNH seniors who achieved academic honors

ATHLETIC DIRECTOR'S AWARD FOR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
The Athletic Director's Award for Academic Excellence was first presented in 2010 and is given to the female and male senior student-athlete with the highest cumulate grade point average.

The 2022 recipients are Cate Wardinski (Burke, Va.) of the swimming & diving team and Drew Hickey (New Canaan, Conn.) of the men's ice hockey team.

Both Wildcats are two-time inductees into Chi Alpha Sigma, the National College Athlete Honor Society – juniors and seniors with a cumulative GPA of 3.50 or higher with good moral character.

Wardinski will graduate with a bachelor of science degree in Marine, Estuarine and Freshwater Biology. She was voted to the America East All-Academic Team all three years of eligibility (2020, 2021, 2022) and made the America East Commissioner's Honor Roll every year. Wardinski received the Elite 18 Award at the 2022 America East championships for holding the highest cumulative GPA of 3.97.

Hickey will graduate with a dual degree in Political Science and Justice Studies. He has made the Hockey East All-Academic Team every year and was also named a 2020-21 Krampade All-American Scholar by the American Hockey Coaches Association. Hickey has also been inducted into Phi Betta Kappa – the oldest and very selective academic honor society in the U.S. – and Pi Sigma Alpha, which is a National Political Science Honor Society.

Also deserving of recognition are National Collegiate Athletic Honor Society members
The members must achieve a cumulative grade-point average of 3.5 or higher and be of good moral character.
[TABLE="border: 0, cellpadding: 0, cellspacing: 0"]
[TR]
[TD]Chase[/TD]
[TD]Stevenson[/TD]
[TD]Men' s Ice Hockey[/TD]
[TD]Junior[/TD]
[TD]Finance[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
[TABLE="border: 0, cellpadding: 0, cellspacing: 0"]
[TR]
[TD]Will[/TD]
[TD]MacKinnon[/TD]
[TD]Men's Ice Hockey[/TD]
[TD]Senior[/TD]
[TD]Finance[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
[TABLE="border: 0, cellpadding: 0, cellspacing: 0"]
[TR]
[TD]Ryan[/TD]
[TD]Verrier[/TD]
[TD]Men's Ice Hockey[/TD]
[TD]Senior[/TD]
[TD]Finance[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
[TABLE="border: 0, cellpadding: 0, cellspacing: 0"]
[TR]
[TD]Drew[/TD]
[TD]Hickey[/TD]
[TD]Men's Ice Hockey[/TD]
[TD]Senior[/TD]
[TD]Political Science, Justice Studies[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

 

[Felger]

Steeling myself for the AD selection...

https://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2022/05/12_Between-the-Lines-Wrapping.php

"Michigan State


This is another case of a school with an athletic director for which hockey is not his area of expertise, running a cursory search that may have missed some good candidates."

 

[wildcatdc]

I can’t go into a lot of detail, but suffice it to say the process has been extremely far-reaching and thorough. For that reason, the timeline may stretch just a little bit.

Oh, and Chuck, you may really want to consider new sources.