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

[acs64]

I have no doubt that the Mildcats will win one, maybe two, against those nasty Black Bears. Always happens, always will. Go Cats, get a real coach

 

[HockeyRef]

Aw what the heck. Looks like the two best chances for a W are already taken, so I'll make a super bold bid counting on the Yukon Huskies to leave their game on the "Ice Bus" and we beat them at home regulation. The stunned pups leave the 'Whitt with their tails between their legs after our 'Cats embarrass them with a shutout Feb. 11, 2024.

 

[Snively65]

I have no doubt that the Mildcats will win one, maybe two, against those nasty Black Bears. Always happens, always will. Go Cats, get a real coach

As Lanny said almost 20 years ago, “I would rather be stabbed in Lowell than a Black Bear in Maine.” He also said “Either the courses [in senior year] are getting harder or I am getting stupider.”

 

[Chuck Murray]

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As Lanny said almost 20 years ago, “I would rather be stabbed in Lowell than a Black Bear in Maine.” He also said “Either the courses [in senior year] are getting harder or I am getting stupider.”

Lanny Gare was a hoot, and a pretty darned good player to boot. His uncle Danny was a two-time 50 goal scorer with the Sabres in the '70's, and after being traded to the Dead Wings in the early '80's, he became the answer to a very popular trivia question regarding DRW history, as the preceding DRW team captain before Steve Yzerman went on his NHL record run of twenty (20) years wearing the "C" from 1986 through 2006.

Doing some of the fact-checking on Danny Gare today brought me across one of the guys he was traded for, and the star-crossed career of Dale McCourt. In the early "Dead Wings" Era, it was not at all unusual for Detroit to be picking high up in the NHL Draft, so in the years between '71 and '83, the Wings had the following Top Four draft picks:

1971: Marcel Dionne (#2 overall)
1977: Dale McCourt (#1)
1979: Mike Foligno (#3)
1983: Steve Yzerman (#4)

McCourt would go straight into the NHL, and would score 30 goals in 4 of his first 5 years in the league. After a strong rookie season, the Wings were looking to build on a rare playoffs appearance when they signed free agent goalie Rogie Vachon from the LA Kings. At the time, Vachon was one of the twin pillars of an emerging Kings team, and appeared to be in the prime of his career. Free agency wasn't unrestricted at the time in the NHL though, so compensation was to be paid by the Wings to the Kings, and an arbitrator decided McCourt would be the compensation. He didn't quite see it that way, though, so McCourt challenged the arbitrator's ruling, and sued the NHL and both teams to stay in Detroit. The case lasted in the US courts for about a year, after which time the Wings and Kings agreed on alternate compensation by "trading" McCourt's rights back to Detroit - even though he never left to play a single game in LA. As it turned out, Vachon was also allowed to stay too, but probably due to him starting to play like he was "over the hill" (and he was). And although McCourt's case would lead to more unfettered forms of free agency, he was increasingly viewed as a pariah due mostly to his failure to follow NHLPA head Alan Eagleson's wishes to not contest his move to LA. This arguably leaves McCourt as the second-most damaged player by Eagleson of that era, behind Bobby Orr.

McCourt would end up getting traded in early 1981 to Buffalo in the aforementioned Danny Gare trade, with six players in all making the move (including Mike Foligno). For the Wings' old ownership, it was one last big panic move before they sold out to Mike Ilitch just over a year later, and as usual, one Scotty Bowman (new HC of Buffalo that season) would end up with the best player in the trade. As it turned out, five of the six players traded were on the back end of their NHL careers, with only Foligno having lots (and lots) of rubber left on his tires post-trade. I've always wondered what the late stage Dead Wings might have looked like if they'd held onto McCourt and Foligno for another season-plus, as it would have given that Yzerman kid a little bit more young player scoring support, as opposed to back-end guys like Gare, Duguay and Boldirev.

McCourt would score 20 goals apiece in his final 2 years in the league, and apparently "fell out of love with the NHL" (let's not forget, paychecks were much more modest then) before retiring at age 27 after 7 full NHL seasons. He then went on to play for another 8 years in Switzerland, learned to speak Italian fluently (paisan?) and got his jersey retired there. But it just seems it could/should have been so much more ...

The Dale McCourt Saga: The Beginning Of The End Of Team Loyalty | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors | Bleacher Report

Dale McCourt - Pension Plan Puppets

Dale McCourt Hockey Stats and Profile at hockeydb.com

 

[Snively65]

I remember McCourt and always assumed that he had an early career-ending injury.

As for Lanny, I always like to think that if he had not separated his shoulder in the regionals, he might have been a difference maker in the NC game at HBSC Arena in 2003.

Now I need to go find Colin Hemingway’s “great goal” video clip on YouTube. Wow, what fun those years were to be a Wildcats hockey fan.

 

[Robert Balin]

Sam Court has decommited from UNH. Defenseman playing in AJHL has 48 points in 32 games. I feel more could be coming because of the horrific season their having,any thoughts?

 

[Snively65]

Sam Court has decommited from UNH. Defenseman playing in AJHL has 48 points in 32 games. I feel more could be coming because of the horrific season their having,any thoughts?

On to Schenectady.

But, Coach, whassup with all these de-commits?

On to Schenectady.

 

[Chuck Murray]

Sam Court has decommited from UNH. Defenseman playing in AJHL has 48 points in 32 games. I feel more could be coming because of the horrific season their having, any thoughts?

Yeah, more could be leaving, all depends on the player(s) and why they've committed in the first place. Commesso was the first time it felt obvious (to me, anyway) that someone was leaving because of the program's downward trajectory. I was mildly surprised to see Muszelik stick with his commitment this Fall, but maybe his inconsistent play between the pipes for UNH answers that question, i.e. he may never have been Commesso-level in the first place? But it seems he's still held in high regard in the US amateur universe, so who knows how that's gonna play out in the coming years?

I just hope the new AD appreciates the long-term foundational damage that's being done in the process. Where she came from, Hockey has always been the red-headed stepchild, as Princeton literally has losing all-time records against every other ECAC team currently in that league. To them, Toot Cahoon (.488) and Guy Gadowsky (.491) are the modern-day standard bearers of "success" for that program, so while this may seem catastrophic to us, it may look like a "slow start" to "just another year" to our new AD. And that would be problematic.

In other news ... Dean Dean was in yesterday's UL yammering on about traveling the width and breadth of the state to see how UNH outreach is impacting Granite Stater's lives. Just this once, can you pay attention closer to home, please???

 

[Felger]

Seriously I don't mean this to sound snarky but if the recruiting is bad then de-commits aren't a big deal, right? Seems to me you can't have it both ways. If players recruited are "talent challenged" what difference does it make if they don't arrive or if they leave.

5 UNH players entered the portal after last season. Only 2 are playing Division 1 hockey this season. In Watcher's scenario for the upcoming offseason there would be similar numbers. Two years ago Ty Taylor, the projected Richter candidate when he signed with the 'Cats, entered the portal. No takers, ended up at Hooterville College in the sticks of Canada.

And its not like these guys light it up when they leave town and get "better" coaching. Check out Taylor's numbers. Ryan Black has as many points for UNH as Jackson Pierson does in South Bend. I'm sure Northeastern is thrilled for the six points they got from BVR.

It ain't like when we had to watch Mike Golden score 150 points in his three seasons in Orono after leaving Durham.

I credit Snively for bringing up the brain drain over the past two decades at the assistant coaching positions but it seems nobody wanted to go there.

Flame away.

 

[Chuck Murray]

I remember McCourt and always assumed that he had an early career-ending injury.

Me too, Snives. As the "Dead Wings" geek in the house, his post-NHL career even caught me off guard yesterday. Obviously, I knew of the trade with Buffalo, and I kind of lost track of him after that. Assumed the same that you did. The whole Vachon compensation thing was a huge deal at the time, and I always appreciated that McCourt wanted to stay with DRW (plus, even the over-the-hill Vachon was a personal hero of mine, and stayed as well - win-win for me!).

As an aside ... the event that cemented my long-term love of DRW took place on December 7th, 1978 when the Wings played the B's at the old Garden. Somehow, I lucked into a single ticket at the corner of the Wings' bench and the runway (in retrospect, probably a last-minute ditched ticket from DRW "friends & family"), and spent a night of "living the dream" of seeing your hockey heroes up close in the middle of a real NHL game. I chatted on and off with Rogie (seated in the runway as that night's back-up to Jimmy Rutherford) as the Wings and B's battled it out, with the hosts eventually winning 6-5. I've always remembered that Errol Thompson scored the hat trick on that occasion, but perhaps fittingly for this discussion, I'd forgotten that McCourt scored in the game as well. I also remember the Polonich-Sims fight, because Polonich had just been involved in a near-fatal stick incident courtesy of Wilf Paiement just over a month earlier, and I was amazed this shrimpy little instigator (let's say Marchand-like without the talent) was so willing to get back into the ring, so quickly afterwards. The stuff that came out of Polonich's mouth before, during and after the fight was frickin' hilarious before-its-time trash talk. It's funny the things you remember 44 years later ...

Detroit Red Wings - Boston Bruins - December 7th, 1978 | NHL.com

I was also stunned to see Paul Woods rack up a -5 in his plus/minus for this game. The guy made a decent career out of being a checking line factor - literally Bob Gainey on the cheap, as the Wings got him out of the Canadiens organization where his progress was blocked by Gainey - and he had just finished his rookie year as a +18 on a net minus team (he would be -26 in '78/'79). Woodsy continues as the DRW radio color commentator to this day, as he is apparently the longest-serving such commentator in the league, with 3,000 games and counting.

Red Wings Q&A: Paul Woods on leaving Montreal, playing in 'Dead Wings' era, working in radio - mlive.com

As for Lanny, I always like to think that if he had not separated his shoulder in the regionals, he might have been a difference maker in the NC game at HBSC Arena in 2003.

Tantalizing possibility for sure. Right up there with "What if Bekar stuck around for the '98/'99 season?"

Now I need to go find Colin Hemingway’s “great goal” video clip on YouTube. Wow, what fun those years were to be a Wildcats hockey fan.

After subjecting everyone to my Dead Wings hobby/fixation - perhaps fitting due to the 'Cats losing profile these days - I'm happy to be able to share this one with you folks. There was a FOH "meet and greet" after this game, and I ribbed Colin a little bit about the goal (as in, "How do you explain that one to Coach if you missed it?") while he was signing autographs for our two girls simultaneously. UNH did a lot of things right back in those days ... enjoy!!

 

[Chuck Murray]

Seriously I don't mean this to sound snarky but if the recruiting is bad then de-commits aren't a big deal, right? Seems to me you can't have it both ways. If players recruited are "talent challenged" what difference does it make if they don't arrive or if they leave.

5 UNH players entered the portal after last season. Only 2 are playing Division 1 hockey this season. In Watcher's scenario for the upcoming offseason there would be similar numbers. Two years ago Ty Taylor, the projected Richter candidate when he signed with the 'Cats, entered the portal. No takers, ended up at Hooterville College in the sticks of Canada.

And its not like these guys light it up when they leave town and get "better" coaching. Check out Taylor's numbers. Ryan Black has as many points for UNH as Jackson Pierson does in South Bend. I'm sure Northeastern is thrilled for the six points they got from BVR.

It ain't like when we had to watch Mike Golden score 150 points in his three seasons in Orono after leaving Durham.

I credit Snively for bringing up the brain drain over the past two decades at the assistant coaching positions but it seems nobody wanted to go there.

Flame away.

I'm pretty much in agreement on most of this, and I suspect most of us now agree on the part in bold.

"Hooterville College" lolololololol

 

[NCAA watcher]

Seriously I don't mean this to sound snarky but if the recruiting is bad then de-commits aren't a big deal, right? Seems to me you can't have it both ways. If players recruited are "talent challenged" what difference does it make if they don't arrive or if they leave.

If the recruiting model is not based on recruiting blue chippas, but instead looking for unproven kids who may develop, then you have to hold onto those that do develop. If those that actually develop then move on when they have better options, you only get those that stagnated or never developed.

In UNH's mild defense, "where would we play him?" They have at least six scholarship kids on D next year with the current group, swapping Eriksson's graduation for Brendan Fitzgerald. You also have recruited transfers Babbage and Devita, who have seen minimal time. His sudden burst this year (playing on a stacked team which allows him more freedom) probably moved his ETA up from 2024, and I'm guessing UNH couldn't offer him a scholarship. The decommit coincides with the letter of intent date.

 

[Robert Balin]

If the recruiting model is not based on recruiting blue chippas, but instead looking for unproven kids who may develop, then you have to hold onto those that do develop. If those that actually develop then move on when they have better options, you only get those that stagnated or never developed.

In UNH's mild defense, "where would we play him?" They have at least six scholarship kids on D next year with the current group, swapping Eriksson's graduation for Brendan Fitzgerald. You also have recruited transfers Babbage and Devita, who have seen minimal time. His sudden burst this year (playing on a stacked team which allows him more freedom) probably moved his ETA up from 2024, and I'm guessing UNH couldn't offer him a scholarship. The decommit coincides with the letter of intent date.

Your probably right about the scholarship.i bet it comes back to bite them like the time LaLeggia was defurred 2 times and bolted. [131 pts.] At least they got Conmy to sign his LOI he's having a good first season in USHL 13 goals in 21 games.He's coming in next year instead of 2024.

 

[Chuck Murray]

Your probably right about the scholarship.i bet it comes back to bite them like the time LaLeggia was defurred 2 times and bolted. [131 pts.]

Or of course the unforgettable Mike Vecchione (186 points).

 

[Felger]

I just hope the new AD appreciates the long-term foundational damage that's being done in the process. Where she came from, Hockey has always been the red-headed stepchild, as Princeton literally has losing all-time records against every other ECAC team currently in that league. To them, Toot Cahoon (.488) and Guy Gadowsky (.491) are the modern-day standard bearers of "success" for that program, so while this may seem catastrophic to us, it may look like a "slow start" to "just another year" to our new AD. And that would be problematic.

So Chuck, did Maine beat UNH again with its choice for new AD?

 

[HockeyRef]

Your probably right about the scholarship.i bet it comes back to bite them like the time LaLeggia was defurred 2 times and bolted. [131 pts.] At least they got Conmy to sign his LOI he's having a good first season in USHL 13 goals in 21 games.He's coming in next year instead of 2024.

Heard he wants to come this season but no room on the roster...Brendan Fitzgerald has that spot vacated by Kalle Ericksonn....

 

[Snively65]

Heard he wants to come this season but no room on the roster...Brendan Fitzgerald has that spot vacated by Kalle Ericksonn....

Totally deplorable management of the recruiting and the roster. Sad.

 

[Felger]

Deion Sanders would make room

 

[deltabravo62]

Deion Sanders would make room

Get yourselves in the portal, cause I’m comin, and I’m bringing my luggage with me…

 

[Dan]

Last UNH recruit to make the Canada West Jr. A team was - I believe - Angus Crookshank? Ill let the masses speculate on whether UNH could use a player like that...

Its hardly a one-for-one swap - because UNH could make room for Court by matriculating one less forward (for example), but it's ironic, in an NCAA Watcher kind of way, that Court is from Winnipeg, MB and Fitzgerald is from North Reading, MA...