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

[HockeyRef]

I'll drive up to Effingham in April to your favorite pub to buy you a drink or two if the situation hasn't changed. I'll even let you play Ted Nugent on the jukebox.

....followed by Kid Rock.

 

[NCAA watcher]

But if I'm right, it'll be all U2

 

[Chuck Murray]

Hey Chuck on the 'dismount' comment I was referring to how Scotty B saw the writing on the wall kind of thing, and got out of there....assuming he wanted the HC position and was told it wasn't gonna happen (isn't that what went down? I cannot remember and am too busy watching D1 Field Hockey semis to look it up haha). I hear you tho...alot of us keep coming back for more because we love the games and keep hoping things will get better?!? Right?

I know it's probably hard for a lot of folks to believe, but I am an optimist at heart. My bar for "quitting" is super high - after all, I didn't quit on the (not-so-)Fabulous Football Giants of the '70's, the "Dead Wings" of the '70's and early '80's, or the 'Cats in the early days of Hockey East (or my English soccer team Wolverhampton, which has been up and down the four divisions of the Football League so often, they need an elevator). The lower the lows, the higher the highs. So I'm here as a fan for the duration, and as a poster so long as Luce doesn't win it all.

BTW when referencing "Scotty B" I'll remind you that for 99.9% of hockey fans, "Scotty B" is NOT Scott Borek ... ;-)

 

[Dan]

Re: the student athletes.

Recruiting has been far from perfect - and the staff has quite simply NOT brought enough talent to UNH - but a different coaching staff would have this roster around or at .500 with a chance to compete in the middle of HE...

This defense should be a strength and it should not be so difficult to manufacture some offense. Two goals at UVM is the staff’s fault. Period.

There was no evidence Souza could coach or recruit at the DI level before he was handed a high end job. There was no evidence Stewart could coach or recruit before he was handed an assistant position. Giuliano’s track record didn’t even exist...

it may we’ll be the least accomplished coaching staff in the sport. And the results reflect that. Shame on every UNH coach or administrator involved in the process - because it was SO obvious and predictable the moment these decisions were made. It was labeled as nothing more than ‘constant negativity’, when it was as easy as guessing yellow and blue make green...

My holiday plans would normally involve coming home to catch a game. I won’t be able to dismount the program - but I’m not going to a game or spending/donating a cent until someone at UNH shows me they care about the absolute cratering of this program, or the student athletes left to suffer through...

I have a free ESPN+ account through my work and I doubt I’ll tune in often if at all to even stream a game.

That will be ‘my’ protest - I don’t need to email the AD to tell her the sky is blue. She obviously ‘knows’ and she either has the fortitude to act or she doesn’t...

 

[HockeyRef]

I know it's probably hard for a lot of folks to believe, but I am an optimist at heart. My bar for "quitting" is super high - after all, I didn't quit on the (not-so-)Fabulous Football Giants of the '70's, the "Dead Wings" of the '70's and early '80's, or the 'Cats in the early days of Hockey East (or my English soccer team Wolverhampton, which has been up and down the four divisions of the Football League so often, they need an elevator). The lower the lows, the higher the highs. So I'm here as a fan for the duration, and as a poster so long as Luce doesn't win it all.

BTW when referencing "Scotty B" I'll remind you that for 99.9% of hockey fans, "Scotty B" is NOT Scott Borek ... ;-)

Oh, ok, do educate then...so that in the future, I'll only call him Scott.

 

[Chuck Murray]

I'll drive up to Effingwoods in April to your favorite pub to buy you a drink or two if the situation hasn't changed. I'll even let you play Ted Nugent on the jukebox.

Please don't try to find me in Effingham, 'Watcher. That would be a fool's errand. But the rest of the deal works for me. Not a super big fan of Ted Nugent the musician (my little brother listened to him shred constantly though), although I suspect he and Kid Rock got the name drops for other reasons, right guys?? Not a big fan of U2 either, musically or otherwise, but if it means the UNH Hockey situation has markedly changed (not just an assistant coach sacrificed to the hockey gods), I'll get onstage and sing Bono karaoke 'til midnight. And we'd have to bring Snives, since whatever drinks you're buying me IF things sadly do remain status quo will just get passed down to the next barstool for several of my accrued IOU's from trivia contests of yore.

But definitely save yourself the trip to Effingham, and program your onboard Alexa for this elegant slice of Americana ...

 

[HockeyRef]

Please note: HR is not suggesting fans leave the program by the "dismount" comment. I repeat: HR is not suggesting fans leave the program. Just seems that when something is just not working, then, you need to change course. More to the coaching piece...and the fact that when this is apparent to some who are/were in the program be it coaching OR playing....they realize that, and move on to what seems to be working much better for them. There is no other program I'm interested in following so UNH is just stuck with me....haha

Also seems to me when Dan speaks of coaches made me understand (once again) that in most instances, the HC wants someone around them to help them better the situation, to see things you aren't seeing, maybe connect with a player you're not connecting with, etc. NOT someone who you feel in your head that is 'lesser' and won't 'eclipse' what you have done....or geeze rock the boat from time to time that cannot happen when ego is in control, or selfishness. So maybe, just maybe, the weakest link is chosen to ensure that. Which , is a freaking disaster in the making. Again, ego is a terrible thing, most of the time...you see it everywhere.

 

[Felger]

it may well be the least accomplished coaching staff in the sport. And the results reflect that.

I.e. it lost to a team last night that took THREE Too Many Players on the Ice penalties in the same game.

 

[HockeyRef]

And in other unsurprising news, the UNH Men's soccer are the America East Champs with a 2-0 win over UAlbany. Not sure how they will fare going forward but good on them! Like you Snively I'm not a big soccer fan of sorts (man, the whining haha) but, these guys put their money where their feet are, ha!

 

[Chuck Murray]

Oh, ok, do educate then...so that in the future, I'll only call him Scott.

Ask and ye shall receive ...

 

[HockeyRef]

Ask and ye shall receive ...

lol should have known better....

 

[norbert]

I hear this 100%. I also feel like a 'bad fan' of sorts with my own comments, but I honestly think we care alot about the SA's and want the best for them. The more I think about that, how it seems decisions were made regardless of the actual facts of the matter, the more pizzed off I become about it. I thought what a long bus ride home that must have been last night (or today; no idea when they left Burlington). We do not generally 'call out the players' here and think we know they are most likely doing the best they can. And I believe there will be a lot of growth for this team (hopefully). But if nothing changes, nothing changes.

Were there any positives for the weekend? For one I think Fessenden had a decent weekend for the most part, Kristaps S got his first NCAA goal, our PK held up as it usually does. As for the 'new offense' welp not so much. Oh and Merrimack tops Hockey East right now, and as Chuck likes to say "let that sink in" but, they've been working towards improving that program one player at a time, have an obvious buy in from the players, so, there you go. Hard to say how it will all shake up but, this is the current reality. Isn't this all we are basically asking for? Ego..it's a terrible thing.

You are not a bad fan, this is just a bad team with poor coaching and recruiting. You can't really blame the players, bad players play bad. it is the reality that we are in and unfortunately the decline from Umile has become a cliff.

Fes having a decent weekend, no offense, isn't a positive. he gave up 4 goals against an also crappy D1 team that apparently is 1 tick better.

My positive from the weekend, maybe this pushes a change for next year. The recruits are coming in so its a several year project but maybe AD Rich see this as the time to say, thanks but no thanks for the future.

 

[HockeyRef]

You are not a bad fan, this is just a bad team with poor coaching and recruiting. You can't really blame the players, bad players play bad. it is the reality that we are in and unfortunately the decline from Umile has become a cliff.

Fes having a decent weekend, no offense, isn't a positive. he gave up 4 goals against an also crappy D1 team that apparently is 1 tick better.

My positive from the weekend, maybe this pushes a change for next year. The recruits are coming in so its a several year project but maybe AD Rich see this as the time to say, thanks but no thanks for the future.

No offense taken on the Fess stuff. I get your point. And I really still can't be surprised we didn't get a W up there. I knew he's start the next night and wonder if Tyler M gets out there Tuesday? Instead of 'bad fan' I think I am more pragmatic (and what's a bad fan anyway? a good one? Not going to be blind to what's going on not my style) Anyhoo, maybe see you Tuesday. Not sure if Jim T still works with Harvard; we played stellar defense under him as I recall. And like you pointed out, our PK is doing well.

For anyone who possibly cares UAlbany FH was defeated by Penn State today in a tight 1-0 qtr final so 2 Great Dane teams went down today! (see how I tied UNH into that,

 

[Snively65]

Three part trivia quiz. Could be a while before I have a chance to collect by beer trivia quiz winnings at Libby’s, so here is a chance for anyone to collect these beers from Chuck in my stead. Or, Chuck may win back these beers himself.

1. Regardless whether we break our record of only 5 wins set in the 1985/86 season, name the other six teams that joined UNH to form the HEA that season.

2. Who was our last Cats goalie before Fessenden this past weekend to record an assist and in what season?

3. Back before goalies and/or their pads became enormous, goal scoring was more prolific. For example, in the 1985/86 season, despite only 5 wins, UNH scored 121 goals in 37 games with four double-digit goal scorers. Liam Devlin, with 4 goals, is on pace to be our only double digit goal scorer this season. Not counting the Covid-shortened 2020/21 season, UNH has been limited to only one double-digit goal scorer just once in the past 50 years. Who was that goal scorer and in which season?

 

[NCAA watcher]

A sneak peak at 23-24.

Jr.Devlin------------So.Leclerc----------Jr.Cronin
Sr.Cafarelli----------So.Winters---------So.Skaraskins
So.Sardarian-------Fr.Ring--------------Fr.Comey
So.Dunlap----------Fr.Turner-----------Fr.Seidem
Jr.Margel------------Sr.Gendron--------Fr.Walsh
Jr.Sweeney---------

Jr.Gagne----------------Sr.Reid
So.Carfagna------------Jr.Huard
Fr.Fitzgerald -----------Sr.Jenson
Jr.Babbage-------------Jr.Devita
So.Penney

So.Muszelik------------Fr.Baliotti------Sr.Forman

 

[e.cat]

Please don't try to find me in Effingham, 'Watcher. That would be a fool's errand. But the rest of the deal works for me. Not a super big fan of Ted Nugent the musician (my little brother listened to him shred constantly though), although I suspect he and Kid Rock got the name drops for other reasons, right guys?? Not a big fan of U2 either, musically or otherwise, but if it means the UNH Hockey situation has markedly changed (not just an assistant coach sacrificed to the hockey gods), I'll get onstage and sing Bono karaoke 'til midnight. And we'd have to bring Snives, since whatever drinks you're buying me IF things sadly do remain status quo will just get passed down to the next barstool for several of my accrued IOU's from trivia contests of yore.

But definitely save yourself the trip to Effingham, and program your onboard Alexa for this elegant slice of Americana ...

I didn’t know you liked chick flicks Chuck JK that clip is hilarious! Let’s call it New England red neck comedy. Love it!

 

[Chuck Murray]

Three part trivia quiz. Could be a while before I have a chance to collect by beer trivia quiz winnings at Libby’s, so here is a chance for anyone to collect these beers from Chuck in my stead. Or, Chuck may win back these beers himself.

1. Regardless whether we break our record of only 5 wins set in the 1985/86 season, name the other six teams that joined UNH to form the HEA that season.

Boston College
Boston University
U-Lowell
U-Maine
Northeastern
Providence

2. Who was our last Cats goalie before Fessenden this past weekend to record an assist and in what season?

2016/2017 season, Dan Tirone was the last UNH goalie to record an assist before Fessenden. He was also the last 'Cats goalie I could describe with a straight face as "slightly above average".

3. Back before goalies and/or their pads became enormous, goal scoring was more prolific. For example, in the 1985/86 season, despite only 5 wins, UNH scored 121 goals in 37 games with four double-digit goal scorers. Liam Devlin, with 4 goals, is on pace to be our only double digit goal scorer this season. Not counting the Covid-shortened 2020/21 season, UNH has been limited to only one double-digit goal scorer just once in the past 50 years. Who was that goal scorer and in which season?

2017/2018 season, Liam Blackburn with a whopping eleven (11) goals.

Hopefully I've at least chipped into my owed bar tab with you Snives. Or we can all just get drunk on our own dimes??

 

[Chuck Murray]

I didn’t know you liked chick flicks Chuck JK that clip is hilarious! Let’s call it New England red neck comedy. Love it!

Such a shame that series never got made beyond the handful of sketches that remain on-line, e.cat. I can pretty much name each and every location they used for shooting those bits. Although I noticed the "sports bar" (also a bowling alley in real life) got a new paint job recently. Wasn't that long ago, you could find a few stray drinking-age UNH players in that establishment on off-nights, as it's pretty close to Durham.

Juston McKinney is a hoot though, no one does NH comedy better, here's a new bit with a hilarious TB12 reference ...

 

[e.cat]

Such a shame that series never got made beyond the handful of sketches that remain on-line, e.cat. I can pretty much name each and every location they used for shooting those bits. Although I noticed the "sports bar" (also a bowling alley in real life) got a new paint job recently. Wasn't that long ago, you could find a few stray drinking-age UNH players in that establishment on off-nights, as it's pretty close to Durham.

Juston McKinney is a hoot though, no one does NH comedy better, here's a new bit with a hilarious TB12 reference ...

Nailed it. My life to the T Chuck except my super ball buster wife is from Watertown, MA. LOL

 

[Snively65]

Boston College
Boston University
U-Lowell
U-Maine
Northeastern
Providence



2016/2017 season, Dan Tirone was the last UNH goalie to record an assist before Fessenden. He was also the last 'Cats goalie I could describe with a straight face as "slightly above average".



2017/2018 season, Liam Blackburn with a whopping eleven (11) goals.

Hopefully I've at least chipped into my owed bar tab with you Snives. Or we can all just get drunk on our own dimes??

Perfect three for three. You gotta admit with this historic season in the making, the possibility of the only two players to be sole double-digit goal scorers in their respective seasons are both named Liam. What are the chances of that?