UNH Men’s Hockey 22-23: the start of something new, or more of the same?

[HockeyRef]

Competing with and results are different. HR I love your enthusiasm but this team has nothing. Quality shots don’t exist. Killed tonight by 2 goals on the penalty kill, one by your captain on a stupid play.

watched the football ball game at Libby’s and that was just as bad. Poor timeout usage and a fumble off a snap. Dr Rich is gonna be Dr Poor if this doesn’t get fixed.

Not sure that my post was overly enthusiastic and Chase is not my Captain..unless you are using the word "your" in general terms...

We are all frustrated and it bothers me that the team gets nothing from the HC in the terms of in game coaching but he said thats how he was going to handle things from day one...

And geeze Rossi go gloat somewhere else. We get it your team is stacked blah blah blah.

 

[Chuck Murray]

Another lost weekend, yeesh ... and on top of that, Tyler Muszelik is looking very much like the second coming of Ty Taylor (remember him??) in the early stages of his UNH career. Yours truly pegged him as the only realistic shot at UNH doing anything this season other than being in a crap battle with UVM to see which team is the worst. And he's not exactly started in a promising way. Just as Taylor was highly touted before he got here, and was supposed to force Mike Robinson to a lesser role ... now Muszelik is failing, and Fessenden is playing more often that he could ever have hoped in his wildest Alabama-Huntsville transfer portal dreams.

Let's face it folks, this is a disaster, and it shows no signs of abating anytime soon ...

 

[Chuck Murray]

Just a P.S. to HR on the "HockeyTown USA" comment ... my earlier post referenced Kasabuski Rink, which was a covered open air rink that later came under the oversight of the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC), and existed well before HockeyTown USA was built in the early '70's on Route One not too far away. As older posters on here know, "MDC Rinks" proliferated in the Greater Boston area in the early Orr/Big Bad B's Era. It's where a young Richie Umile et als would have played a lot of their local hockey - when they ironically weren't playing at Boston Arena, which used to be a frequent HS venue - and it's tucked away near the Saugus entrance to Breakheart Reservation, near the Saugus/Melrose line.

By the time HockeyTown USA was built (1972), Umile had long ago left for UNH, and had even moved on from Durham. There apparently was a smaller original version built nearby in ( ... wait for it) Melrose that Richie probably played a lot of hockey in back in the '60's. Until reading the HT-USA link below, I didn't even know the original rink existed!

Kasabuski Rink shines with $6.5 million in renovations (wickedlocal.com)

The History of Hockeytown (hockeytownsaugus.com)

Me and my pals played a ton of competitive street hockey on the upper level of HockeyTown USA back in the day.

Hard to believe the place just turned 50, as you can imagine, that makes yours truly feel very old ... :*-(

 

[Robert Balin]

OMG...UNH fans living in the past NU is a top 25 National University now and if you don't understand why NU has 7 or 8 NHL draft picks now you don't understand the modern landscape of hockey...the days of UNH being a top spot for players are long over. **** Harvard now has the most draft picks and BTW Dick U was the best you ever had

I'm sure no one give's a **** what you think,but in reality your spot on.

 

[OnePack]

I'm sure no one give's a **** what you think,but in reality your spot on.

rossi is just bored because no one posts on our boards anymore. UNH might suck but at least y’all have fans. The whit Saturday almost had 2x Friday’s attendance. Need to right the ship before that fades.

 

[Snively65]

rossi is just bored because no one posts on our boards anymore. UNH might suck but at least y’all have fans. The whit Saturday almost had 2x Friday’s attendance. Need to right the ship before that fades.

Maybe more fans attending this season because of the excitement around a 10-ft narrower sheet?

Meanwhile, looking ahead to next weekend at Gutterson, where we are 5-5-4 in our last 14 games and will be embroiled in a cat fight for sole control of the HEA basement.

Then the following weekend we will be visiting Hart Arena (where?) for the first time ever in an attempt to pad our win total. Looks like double digit wins will be a real challenge this season. Trivia question: for a beer at Libby’s, when did we last manage only a single digit win total in a season?

Edit: not counting the Covid year, of course. Need to use Rocky and Bullwinkle’s “Way Back Machine.”

 

[HockeyRef]

[1996QUOTE=Snively65;n3766519]

Maybe more fans attending this season because of the excitement around a 10-ft narrower sheet?

Meanwhile, looking ahead to next weekend at Gutterson, where we are 5-5-4 in our last 14 games and will be embroiled in a cat fight for sole control of the HEA basement.

Then the following weekend we will be visiting Hart Arena (where?) for the first time ever in an attempt to pad our win total. Looks like double digit wins will be a real challenge this season. Trivia question: for a beer at Libby’s, when did we last manage only a single digit win total in a season?

Edit: not counting the Covid year, of course. Need to use Rocky and Bullwinkle’s “Way Back Machine.”[/QUOTE]

Should really let the veterans answer this as I doubt they used the Rocky/Bullwinkle technique since they know this off the top of their heads, but, I'm gonna say the 1985/86 season in the 'modern era'...1932 season...1996 Looking at that archive its fascinating. wow...imagine winning 14 straight (1996) I think our last decent streak (we did win 5 straight last season) was the 2015 season where we rattled off I believe 8 or 9 straight eventually losing to sucks to BU in the semi's/last trip to the Garden...

I'd meet you for a beer anytime Snively regardless of any contest (smiley face). Actually the weekend after we play the hippie 'Cats we are hosting Harvard (who's 4-0 right now, is Jim Tortorella still coaching with them?) and then UMassy...I want to go to Hart to see us play Holy Cross Thanksgiving weekend but, too much travel given what we are up to..First time in my fandom am not making the trek to UVM for a variety of reasons; not based on the teams current performance just getting costly to go up there for 2 nights etc. The 3 hr. ride has lost its appeal too (having just kind of done that with the Clarkson trip-which seems so long ago already).

Was kind of surprised to see NU go with Devan Levi last night but then I came to my senses realizing that they knew that UNH would bring a better game of sorts and those HE points are too important to let a back up blow it (which I somehow doubt that would have happened) Chuck I get why you are feeling the way you are regarding Tyler M but I'm not ready to throw in the towel yet. I have big expectations as well on him and hope he comes around as I truly believe he is capable. The last thing we need is for him to transfer out. (I did not say that out loud)

Nice article about Colton Huard in today's UL...

 

[d.gerry]

I'm sure no one give's a **** what you think,but in reality your spot on.

No, he’s not really spot on. Look at this forum, of course we understand the “modern landscape” of college hockey and UNH’s place in it, that’s what has us so pissed off! Whether or not the coaching staff and administration has a clue is another question.

 

[Ryecheers]

rossi is just bored because no one posts on our boards anymore. UNH might suck but at least y’all have fans. The whit Saturday almost had 2x Friday’s attendance. Need to right the ship before that fades.

OnePack has a couple of good points here: Rossi is a fair weather fan whose shows up in October, vanishes in March and spends the season alternately whining about the team and boasting about his investment business. He is not bored, rather, he is a bore. Posters like him may have something to do with the fact that The better NU plays, the fewer posters seem to post. UNH, OTOH, has better and more interesting posters than their team deserves. You guys have Some really talented and inventive writers.

Your team deserves credit for the efforts they made, especially in the third period last night. They never quit and earned quite a few grade A chances. They cannot be taken as lightly as their record might suggest. Good luck.

 

[e.cat]

OMG...UNH fans living in the past NU is a top 25 National University now and if you don't understand why NU has 7 or 8 NHL draft picks now you don't understand the modern landscape of hockey...the days of UNH being a top spot for players are long over. **** Harvard now has the most draft picks and BTW Dick U was the best you ever had

I don’t know how any university could be a top 25 without a football team! Please expound on your take of the “modern landscape of hockey.” Asking for a friend but I am genuinely interested.

 

[Darius]

OMG...UNH fans living in the past NU is a top 25 National University now and if you don't understand why NU has 7 or 8 NHL draft picks now you don't understand the modern landscape of hockey...the days of UNH being a top spot for players are long over. **** Harvard now has the most draft picks and BTW Dick U was the best you ever had

The hockey team or the school over all? Serious question.

 

[Darius]

Felt UNH had a decent compete level tonight but goal scoring is necessary. I'm growing concerned about how the team is coping and hope they can find some positives this coming weekend with those other 'Cats or hippies as Snively calls them.

Can't play any worse up there than last season...right? Come on UNH...turn the corner.

Season by season we have fewer and fewer players who can do this. It trickled done to one for a few years and now maybe none. 'cats are a young team, it is early in the season, there is time for the younger players to improve. Barring a massive transformation, that's all we can hope and root for this season.

 

[Darius]

I don’t know how any university could be a top 25 without a football team! Please expound on your take of the “modern landscape of hockey.” Asking for a friend but I am genuinely interested.

Right? reminds me of:

"You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline - it helps if you have some kind of football team, or some nuclear weapons, but in the very least you need a beer."
- Frank Zappa

 

[Chuck Murray]

I don't know how any university could be a top 25 without a football team! Please expound on your take of the “modern landscape of hockey.” Asking for a friend but I am genuinely interested.

I suspect this is the ranking source he is referring to (which if you read closely you will find they're actually #35 on this list - I won't spoil who stands at #36, but it's another former commuter school in the Greater Boston area), but I did look at the listing of majors by preference, and it certainly seems less "woke" than most of its competitors - so they've got that going for them at least! My late uncle also used to be a "Dean" of one of their satellite night school campuses down in the so-called "Hub O' The Universe", I worked several summers on the grounds crew for the main campus, and I was there at the Garden for "Wayne Turner Magic" at the 1980 Beanpot, so all in all I do have a soft spot for the place ...

Top 25 Colleges | Northeastern University

As to Huard ... it's always a fun day when Effingwoods ends up on the front page of HR's *beloved* Union Leader ...

 

[d.gerry]

Season by season we have fewer and fewer players who can do this. It trickled done to one for a few years and now maybe none. 'cats are a young team, it is early in the season, there is time for the younger players to improve. Barring a massive transformation, that's all we can hope and root for this season.

Your right, this has been THE ongoing issue for years now, no goal scorers. When we play good teams, like NU this weekend and BC last, our top players become invisible out there. This is not an indictment of the players, as we know they are giving it their all, but the disparity in talent is all too evident.

 

[Felger]

If I had a college aged daughter I would want her to date a UNH hockey player. No chance of those guys scoring....

 

[Chuck Murray]

LOL Felgie, line of the month (so far). Anyway, back to hockey ...

Your right, this has been THE ongoing issue for years now, no goal scorers. When we play good teams, like NU this weekend and BC last, our top players become invisible out there. This is not an indictment of the players, as we know they are giving it their all, but the disparity in talent is all too evident.

This is a very good point, and one that was coincidentally touched upon last evening by another D-1 head coach, who was suitably withering with his own guys and their inability to "pull the trigger" and make the kind of plays that separates winners from losers. No pseudo-coaching babble on "puck luck" or other enabling BS. He knows he is getting the effort, but he's making it clear that effort alone isn't enough in this business.

Not that any of us ever thought for a second that Blue Skies would break character, but what a shame we didn't go for this guy last Spring when he was available ...

 

[Felger]

LOL Felgie, line of the month (so far). Anyway, back to hockey ...



This is a very good point, and one that was coincidentally touched upon last evening by another D-1 head coach, who was suitably withering with his own guys and their inability to "pull the trigger" and make the kind of plays that separates winners from losers. No pseudo-coaching babble on "puck luck" or other enabling BS. He knows he is getting the effort, but he's making it clear that effort alone isn't enough in this business.

Not that any of us ever thought for a second that Blue Skies would break character, but what a shame we didn't go for this guy last Spring when he was available ...

If I'm not mistaken I believe the H2H scoreboard now reads Coach Cav 4, Coach Barr 0....

That said Maine has been impressive the past couple of weekends and I expect them to go on a pretty good run soon. And perhaps one reason Barr holds his players to a higher standard is that he knows the players he recruited actually have talent and expects performance to reflect that.

 

[deltabravo62]

Season by season we have fewer and fewer players who can do this. It trickled done to one for a few years and now maybe none. 'cats are a young team, it is early in the season, there is time for the younger players to improve. Barring a massive transformation, that's all we can hope and root for this season.

The disheartening part of this is the number of good freshman scorers we get in the door whose best season is their first and they tail off. In the early days of MS7 it could be seen as an outflow of delveloped talent (think Patrick Grasso after losing Kelleher/McNicholas) and as time went on and the talent level dropped overall it became even more obvious that the systems and coaching just are not producing. To whatever level rach of those items combine to the problem, all roads point back to the man (and his men) at the top of the chain. He is not going to change his methods, so does anyone have the cajones to change him? My bet is no, not during this year, not after this year, I say we are stuck with him

 

[e.cat]

I suspect this is the ranking source he is referring to (which if you read closely you will find they're actually #35 on this list - I won't spoil who stands at #36, but it's another former commuter school in the Greater Boston area), but I did look at the listing of majors by preference, and it certainly seems less "woke" than most of its competitors - so they've got that going for them at least! My late uncle also used to be a "Dean" of one of their satellite night school campuses down in the so-called "Hub O' The Universe", I worked several summers on the grounds crew for the main campus, and I was there at the Garden for "Wayne Turner Magic" at the 1980 Beanpot, so all in all I do have a soft spot for the place ...

Top 25 Colleges | Northeastern University

As to Huard ... it's always a fun day when Effingwoods ends up on the front page of HR's *beloved* Union Leader ...

My father-in-law(RIP) has an engineering degree from Northeastern and an accounting degree from your beloved Bentley. So yes I have a soft spot for the place as well