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UNH Offseason Contract Edition.

FWIIW, I received a generic email likely sent to all alums about an array of athletic events across campus over the next couple of weeks.
 
We are 3 days from being in the third period of Saturday’s exhibition game. I for one am very excited and looking forward to the 24/25 Cats. My initial feeling was a 5-3 win. I looked at their roster and it turned into Aa 4-3 win as we work out the early season kinks. They have a lot of HE transfers who probably didn’t feel they were getting the ice they deserved.
Has anyone seen anything on the Cs and As?
 
Snively65 said:
I thought that captains were named and posted here a while ago but I cannot find them. Would be kinda weird if Alex Gagne were not a captain this season given that he was captain last season, no?
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Gagne is the Captain...was announced at the barbeque...funny I was just coming over here to ask about the A's...guessing Nikolai Jensen might be one...Liam Devlin another??? OMG 2 days to go!!
 
Dan said:
Jakob Hellsten played well and - seemingly won UNH a lot of games last season - but a closer look at the stats reveals a save percentage of just .909 (resulting in a 2.04 GAA) for the Swede. Jared Whale had an identical .909 save percentage (2.67 GAA) on a worse defensive team at UAA...

Wildcat opponents scored 2.50 goals per game overall, while Seawolves opponents netted 3.10 goal per game.

I'm no longer convinced Hellsten was the difference he was perceived to be for UNH in 2023-24. Perhaps the eye-opening stat (and reality) is how disappointing Tyler Muszelik played posting a save percentage of .874, while allowing a 3.38 GAA...

Would it be fair to say Hellsten played up to the team defense, while Muszelik underperformed team defense?

--

The team is experienced and balanced - with the strongest roster they've had in a long while. If Whale can perform to a 2-2.5 GAA I think UNH has its best season of the Souza era. Its what comes next that is so hard to predict (and creates and uncertain future, IMO)...
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Solid thought provoking post. I’m of the opinion Hellsten singlehandedly saved Souza’s job*. I thought he admirably righted the ship after Muszelik’s bad start. I attended a couple road games 3-0 (2ga) loss at Agganis and a 1-0 loss at Conte where he kept UNH in games far longer than they had any business being in. That said, the numbers support your argument. I went back and looked at box scores from last season and Hellsten did not face many shots. He averaged only 20.3 saves a game!

Despite that, I thought Hellsten was great last season. He made a lot of high pressure, difficult, timely saves. I guess I’m only going with my gut here, but I’d be surprised if Whale comes in and is better than Hellsten was. Whale had a few great performances including shutouts vs Wisconsin & Providence but looking at Alaska Anchorage’s opponents in 23-24 I see significantly weaker slate of opponents than UNH faced. Hellsten also started 77% of UNH’s games, so he’s going to need to play most nights. Looking at the 2nd & 3rd stringers makes you hope Whale can make 90% of the starts. They seem worryingly thin behind him.

*We all know UNH would have extended Souza even if they finished 8-9[SUP]th[/SUP] last season.
 
teez said:
I’m of the opinion Hellsten singlehandedly saved Souzas job*.

*We all know UNH would have extended Souza even if they finished 8-9[SUP]th[/SUP] last season.
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I agree. Once the Cats reached double digit wins last season, I knew that Souza would get extended three more years, even if the squeak ball coach got his walking papers. Souza apparently has friends in high places at UNH looking out for him. Souza may not get a “contract for life” like his mentor’s, but he will be around UNH for a long time, even if 20-win seasons are a rarity. Bookmark this post to look up in late March 2027.
 
HockeyRef said:
Gagne is the Captain...was announced at the barbeque...funny I was just coming over here to ask about the A's...guessing Nikolai Jensen might be one...Liam Devlin another??? OMG 2 days to go!!
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Jensen is the only one wearing an "A" this year with Alex captain again.
 
Forgot the most important part, I have 2 extra tickets for Saturday. If someone wants them let me know, they are yours for free.
 
norbert said:
The goalie from The Mighty Ducks. The scene where they have to tape him to the net and fire picks at him?
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Oh, of course! I was wondering if there were a connection to UNH Economics Professor Michael Goldberg who recently hauled in a $4 mil external research grant. But I could not find any hockey connections in Michael Goldberg’s resume.

But, have you no faith in Jared Whale, Norbert?
 
Snively65 said:
Oh, of course! I was wondering if there were a connection to UNH Economics Professor Michael Goldberg who recently hauled in a $4 mil external research grant. But I could not find any hockey connections in Michael Goldberg’s resume.

But, have you no faith in Jared Whale, Norbert?
Click to expand...

I’m very concerned with goaltending
 
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