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UNH Wildcats - 2011 Playoff Quest

Re: UNH Wildcats - 2011 Playoff Quest

If someone had told me that BC would be playing golf this spring before UNH, I'd have been shocked. But it's a good thing, and I don't think there's anyone more pleased than I.

Whatever they did today defensively, more of the same tomorrow night.
 
Re: UNH Wildcats - 2011 Playoff Quest

redhawkman10 said:
Hey guys just want to say congrats on the victory. Best game plan anyone has had against us all year. I haven't seen Miami this disoriented all year. Miami's star players looked timid and lost at times. Miele was a non factor and that surprises me a little but UNH did a great job bottling up the middle of the ice and capitalizing on the chances given to them. Goaltending came up big when need.

Good luck the rest of the way, definantly a win that was earned.
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a mirror of 4 years ago. UNH doesn't win doing anything fancy. this is how they have to play tomorrow as well.
 
Re: UNH Wildcats - 2011 Playoff Quest

First off, great sportsmanship Redhawkman....while I love my UNH, if there is any team that deserves the NC it's you guys....good luck! Just got back from ManchVegas and had a great time obviously....but as is my custom, it's the journey that made today so great! The UNH Alumni and fans gathering at Margarita's followed by the Verizon full of knowledgable, eager fans of college hockey sporting their respective colours...during the game, obviously there is only focus on the action but too enjoy former teammates and fellow UNHer's getting together because of the SEASON UNH has already had! If more fun and notoriety are to follow, I'm all for it and will be there to celebrate, but if today was as far as the ride went, it would've been enough....a NC title would be great just to shut up some outsiders, and a few limited insiders, but once again this year's season has been a success already.....Go you Wildcats! Defense like that will take us for 3 more wins!
 
Re: UNH Wildcats - 2011 Playoff Quest

Tough break for Merrimack on the OT goal. Regardless, they had a great season and their NCAA experience will help them next year.

Not much to add beyond what you all saw in person or on TV.
I sure remember that 7-3 drubbing UNH experienced at the hands of Notre Dame in Colorado Springs in 2008. Would like to see the seniors and the rest of the team erase that particular memory.

Ironically, being the "away" team and not having the last line change may have helped UNH tonight. Coach Blasi played his 4th line fairly regularly which meant that we saw more of Sorkin-Block-McCarey than usual. Made for a more balanced attack and the first line wasn't wiped out by the third period.

One down - another opportunity tomorrow night.
 
Re: UNH Wildcats - 2011 Playoff Quest

Wow - Michigan beats Colorado College 2-1. Last night CC looked like world-beaters.
 
Re: UNH Wildcats - 2011 Playoff Quest

redhawkman10 said:
Hey guys just want to say congrats on the victory. Best game plan anyone has had against us all year. I haven't seen Miami this disoriented all year. Miami's star players looked timid and lost at times. Miele was a non factor and that surprises me a little but UNH did a great job bottling up the middle of the ice and capitalizing on the chances given to them. Goaltending came up big when need.

Good luck the rest of the way, definantly a win that was earned.
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Very classy post. We don't see much of that up our way. Cheers.
 
Re: UNH Wildcats - 2011 Playoff Quest

Need to get a ticket, bet there are 3000 Mack fans wanting to unload for tomorrow's game
 
Re: UNH Wildcats - 2011 Playoff Quest

Nifty16 said:
well deserved accolades!! And to think how many of us had huge questions about Digi before the season, include myself in that. I am very happy to wrong on that. Matty had more then proven himself!!
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Coach Lassonde is largely responsible for teaching these young goalies and bringing them along at the right pace. His consecutive string of outstanding goaltenders is impressive. Having a goalie coach as one of the assistant coaches pays dividends (just ask UMaine fans whose young goalies have struggled without one).
 
Re: UNH Wildcats - 2011 Playoff Quest

C-H-C said:
Coach Lassonde is largely responsible for teaching these young goalies and bringing them along at the right pace. His consecutive string of outstanding goaltenders is impressive. Having a goalie coach as one of the assistant coaches pays dividends (just ask UMaine fans whose young goalies have struggled without one).
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That is so true, he has had over a decade of outstanding goalies and always goes about his way with out an attention, hard to imagine where they would be with out his teaching these guys, great point about Maine, once Standbrooke was gone thier goaltending has gone right down.
 
Re: UNH Wildcats - 2011 Playoff Quest

So what is everyones thoughts about Notre Dame? As we saw tonight know they will not quit and can give the Cats one hell of battle. They do have some size and can skate. Did seem to me they turned the puck over quite a bit and seemed out postion in some of their passes. Think the CAts will need to come out with the same effort as tonight, will need to do something on the powerplay and bury the chances if they get the breakways. But liked the way they played tonight and if they play like that Sunday they have a shot, and that is all you can ask for this time of year, there are 50 other schools who would like to have that shot.
 
Re: UNH Wildcats - 2011 Playoff Quest

IrishWildcat said:
Just to ease the tensions: No, my head did not LITERALLY explode when I saw this pairing come out, but I did stare in disbelief for a few minutes, and I'm still trying to comprehend it.

I shall say this, my loyalty first lies with UNH. Never should THAT be questioned in terms of hockey. That being said, I wish both teams the best of luck.
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IrishWildcat said:
...I'm just going to write to make this thing as meaningful as it can be. The notion that UNH and Notre Dame are meeting in an athletic competition is quite meaningful to me, therefore, I feel compelled to make this milestone post feel more important than it actually is.

Growing up, I was introduced to Notre Dame atheltics through a very odd source: baton twirling. My sister was a baton twirler, and the National Championships of baton twirling are always held at Notre Dame's Joyce Center. My friend John was a fan of Notre Dame because of this, and I figured I'd hop on the wagon as well. My Dad was a Boston College fan, but I really had no emotional connection to BC. Notre Dame was a bit more meaningful. I'd eventually visit the campus, sneak into the legendary football stadium, see Touchdown Jesus, the whole shoot & Match. Whenever I see a ND hockey game on CSTV, or basketball game on whatever network they happen to be on, I always say to myself "Hey, I was there!" It has something of an idyllic place in my mind and heart. Something of a magical place where good stuff happens every now & again. That is why I have "Irish" as the first part of my user name. The Irish were the first team in my mind first when I thought of college sports (mostly their football team, but I did keep an eye on their other teams as well).

The University of New Hampshire was something I'd never really had that great of an association with. I'd known of its existence, but only because it was THAT school. The one everyone in high school would go to, the one that I thought anyone could get into. If I ended up going there, it didn't really say much about myself. Why go there when I could go to UMass, or UVM, or Bryant College? (I'd never considered UMaine or Uconn. UMaine because I didn't want to go to Maine, and UConn because my sister went there. I got sick of following in her footsteps) So I arrived in Durham a rather unhappy fellow, and I actually wanted to transfer to Notre Dame. However, they didn't accept business school transfers, so I had to "settle" for being a UNH undergrad. Along the way, I made several friends (I made this post in the Senior Night thread, so I'll keep this brief) and ahd some great experiences along the way. I've learned to love the UNH community, and now...2 months from graduation, I feel sad that I'm going to leave. And now I've become a Wildcat for life. Though the Irish came first, I'm now a Wildcat. Thus, why it comes second.

I wish the best of luck to the Irish, but I'm a Wildcat first. And Irish second.
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Malts18 said:
Very cool.... And, not to make you feel sentimental before you even leave or anything, but you will love the university all the more even after you leave. Why do you think guys like me, Richard, CHC, CBG, Darci, and everyone else here (way too many to mention everyone) post here on the board, come back to the games, and are such huge fans of the hockey programs? Yes, we do love the sport and the teams--- God knows that's true--- but we love the school more than anything. It keeps us coming back. It keeps us remembering the days of yesteryear. And it keeps us young.... more than anything else. Hard to believe but it has been 18 yrs this June since I graduated. Time flies, Mike. Truly it does. UNH hockey unites us and brings us back and lets us celebrate the school and the teams that play for the students, faculty, and alumni alike.

I think even fans of our biggest rivals.... Maine, BC, BU.... would even admit that the passion of UNH fans is amongst the best (not only on the message boards here but for the game and team, in general) in college hockey (let alone Hockey East). You will always be a Wildcat. It is an honor.
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I apologize in advance for the length of the string of quotes, but I felt it necessary to give context to this particular post. This string came about in 2008 when we were matched up with Notre Dame in the first round out in Colorado Springs. I was a senior at UNH at the time, and I found it totally mind-blowing that right as I was about to leave, one of the worst-case scenarios I could have conceived was about to occur. Now, 3 years later, the exact same match-up with a pass to the Frozen Four is at hand, and I couldn't be happier. As the result of a multitude of changes in my personal life (most of which within the past year), I feel that there should be no other team but Notre Dame as an obstacle for us to overcome in order to earn a spot in the Frozen Four, so as to confirm the strength that has grown into my emotional ties to the UNH community.

Now I realize I'm not exactly a perfect person. Hell, no one is, and the world is much better off for it. But I, in particular, have ****ed some people off, shown up to games drunk off my ***, and generally acted like a total ****ing maniac. In some instances, I still do...but it's mostly because I've forgotten how to spell or mistimed when to do something, or even forgotten to show up at a game at all. I bet a lot of people didn't care whether I showed up or not, and today, I can live with that. At any rate, I'll admit I've had multiple moments of poor judgment, and I'm not proud of them, but I won't pretend like they didn't happen. I'm sorry about it, and I'm doing my best now to be a better fan. I realize that you're still a drunken ******* even if you say you love something, or someone.

I truly love UNH, even more now than when I was there. I'm blessed that I'm not only allowed, but required to wear a hat for my work, and I proudly wear my UNH hat in most days. Even though I catch hell due to its resemblance to a Yankee hat, I still wear it. I wear it because I'm proud of what it stands for. I'm proud to be a UNH Alum dammit, and anyone who mocks me for where I went is full of ****. I worked just as hard as them, and I'm proud of what I've become today. Too **** bad if you're so unhappy with your lot in life that you have to make someone else feel like **** for theirs. I've learned a lot in this past year, and I've discovered the key to my true Un-Happiness

I thought that if I went to Notre Dame, I would be able to shut other people up about how they would say how much better they were, and all this other crap that I'd hear that made me feel so insecure about myself. As a result of feeling so bad about myself, I tried all sorts of dumb crap that didn't work out. I tried transferring, I tried going to parties to meet new people who actually might like me, I tried being an RA to meet even MORE people....the list goes on. The point is, I never really liked myself to begin with. I tried to find ways to become a different version of myself, and I figured I'd go with the easiest, softest way. That didn't quite work out as well as I'd hoped either. But today, I don't need any fake validation. Who my friends are, or where I went to school, or what my job is, or what kind of car I drive has NO real sense of validating who I am as a person. It's not like I'M the one skating on the ice out there, so who gives a **** if UNH has won a national title or not?

We might not have the winning history of a lot of programs. We may not have the kindest memories of our past. But you know what? That's why I love UNH...it's just like me. There's a lot of stuff I'm not proud of, but I can't pretend it didn't happen. There's a lot of stuff this school can't exactly say it's proud of, but we can't pretend it didn't happen. But that crap is all in the past, and it's time to leave it exactly where it belongs: in the past. Even if we don't end up winning it all, I'm proud of this team and this school...no freakin' way would I have gone to any other. Today is a new day, and we're playing Notre Dame. Let's win that opening face-off.
 
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