UNH Wildcats 2012-2013 Postseason Thread

[C-H-C]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2012-2013 Postseason Thread

It goes without saying that no Division I head coach would instruct his players to go out and target the head of an opposing player. Did Coach Gwozdecky say to his players something like "Downing and Goumas are killing us. Someone's got to slow them down."? Possibly.

 

[NCAA watcher]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2012-2013 Postseason Thread

It goes without saying that no Division I head coach would instruct his players to go out and target the head of an opposing player. Did Coach Gwozdecky say to his players something like "Downing and Goumas are killing us. Someone's got to slow them down."? Possibly.

I deleted my post because I figured it wasn't worth it. But in response, you're speculating, and even that speculation is laced with innuendo. Are you saying he encouraged illegal hits couched in "proper" speak, or are you simply saying that that he did what 100% of hockey coaches might do, which is to say that good players on the other team need to be contained? It's a thin reed you're hanging onto there. Especially when Downing's injury had little to do with a headshot, and was merely a legal check.

 

[C-H-C]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2012-2013 Postseason Thread

I deleted my post because I figured it wasn't worth it. But in response, you're speculating, and even that speculation is laced with innuendo. Are you saying he encouraged illegal hits couched in "proper" speak, or are you simply saying that that he did what 100% of hockey coaches might do, which is to say that good players on the other team need to be contained? It's a thin reed you're hanging onto there. Especially when Downing's injury had little to do with a headshot, and was merely a legal check.

For Denver to win, they needed to slow down and contain Downing and Goumas. I assume that Coach Gwozdecky instructed his players to do so within the rules. It could be argued that the Paul Phillips' hit to Downing was his attempt to contain a player who was blowing by him into the low slot. As for Shore's hit on Goumas, it occurred at the redline. It's not obvious why Shore chose to "contain" Goumas at that location and at that juncture in the game.

 

[Greg Ambrose]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2012-2013 Postseason Thread

For Denver to win, they needed to slow down and contain Downing and Goumas. I assume that Coach Gwozdecky instructed his players to do so within the rules. It could be argued that the Paul Phillips' hit to Downing was his attempt to contain a player who was blowing by him into the low slot. As for Shore's hit on Goumas, it occurred at the redline. It's not obvious why Shore chose to "contain" Goumas at that location and at that juncture in the game.

I have nothing to say about Downing's injury because I didn't see it. But I saw the shot that Goumas took. He and Shore were trailing the play. And while I can't deny the possibility that Goumas might have engaged in a little stick work prior, Shore, who was bigger, popped him pretty good in the head. My immediate reaction was "cheap shot." How it turned out that they reviewed the tape to make the call, was it the linesman informing the ref, or Umile have to take a time out in order for them to review, I don't know. But I do know that justice was served. As to whether the shot was premeditated, again I don't know. But well coached teams don't have players going around and giving head shots in open ice to opponents. One of my BU friends said that DU gooned it up back in October when the teams played in Denver. I don't know that to be true either but it has seemed to me over the decades I have watched college hockey that the WCHA has always had a subset of players who seem to operate on the edge. This season I watched several North Dakota games and in some of them there were all out scrums that, if allowed to escalate, would have resulted in NHL style brawls. Not something often seen in Hockey East games.

The Goumas hit, and the Downing injury as well, were very disturbing to me because, intentionally or not, the loss of those two players basically robbed UNH of any chance they had of defeating Lowell the next night.

 

[e.cat]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2012-2013 Postseason Thread

"UNHHockey Notes: NCAA Northeast Regional and Costly Concussions"

Good piece Mike. Regarding whether Gwoz told his players to, I'll say, pay attention to Downing and Goumas, he would be remiss not to mention it. Having said that, competitive players wouldn't have to be told to pay attention to them. I've seen it first hand, even when my boys played at young ages. There's no question in my mind that the University of Denver players played Downing and Goumas heavy. Was there an intent to injure? I can't say with any certainty. It's unfortunate what happened stealing UNH's chances against Lowell. I'm excited about next season though because I think UNH will be good.

Regarding UNH captains; Knodel gets my vote. I had a chance to speak with him at a Friends event later in the year and liked him very much. He was humble and polite. Seems like a quiet leader. JMHO

 

[chickod]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2012-2013 Postseason Thread

One of my BU friends said that DU gooned it up back in October when the teams played in Denver.

He's absolutely correct (I wrote a previous post about this but don't have time to "reference" it right now). The game was actually in December (29th)- it was the first game back after break. The interesting thing about that game is that it started BU's second-half "slide." By February, we were all complaining about the "lack of discipline" on BU and their seeming complete inability to refrain from unnecessary penalties, especially after the whistle. But (and, of course, hindsight is 20/20) I remember screaming at the TV when watching Escobedo and Goonan just seemingly incessantly taking "shots" at Denver players, usually around the net after the play had been blown dead. Because they had a history of this, I think we all just assumed that it was another example of their lack of restraint. But after watching the game in Manchester, I went back and looked at it in a different light. Of course players develop reputations, but perhaps, in this case, they were instigated into retaliatory hits. I do remember that the Denver d-men were "unusually" aggressive after the whistle in "clearing out" the crease, even in situations where the BU forwards were not threatening the goaltender. I also recall that Denver seems to have a history of doing this. So my inclination is to agree that the hit on Goumas was a cheap shot.

 

[WildShawn]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2012-2013 Postseason Thread

I also remember the UNH/DU game in November when DU (the 3rd most penalized team in the country?) had something like 8 power plays before UNH got one in the third period.. Watching the game on their awesome web video (take notes UNH), I didn't see anything goon-ish, but the homer officiating was ridiculous (and apparently not un-common there)

 

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2012-2013 Postseason Thread

I have to admit, I find it kind of refreshing the amount of transparency the UMaine program has displayed recently, not only with the well-known terms of their former head coach's contract, but also with the motivations behind his dismissal yesterday, and the mechanism for the funding of his buyout (although it is amusing to see the buyout described as an "investment" by the AD). All to dismiss a guy six years removed from a six-year run where his team went to the FF four times, and lost twice in the Finals.

Coach Umile had an identical stretch ten (10) years ago, and while his teams have posted an overall better record (and a few RS titles) in his time since then than Coach Whitehead did in his recent seasons in Orono, he has been away from the top of the NCAA elite for a LONG time now (and I know many would argue he was never there).

I'm sure most of us have heard rumours of the so-called "lifetime contract" Coach Umile works under. I used to think that was a complete fairy tale, but thinking back, the last time I can recall any discussion over Coach Umile's contract status at UNH was sometime in the late '90's/early '00's when there was lots of discussion/speculation over whether he might be lured to take the UMass-Amherst coaching job. That's about a dozen years ago, if not longer. There have certainly been some highs and a fair share of lows since then, and I know once in awhile we read in the media that Coach Umile is one of the top-paid State of NH employees, but I can't ever remember any discussion or disclosure on the length of his contract. And AD Marty Scarano is rarely drawn into anything more than passing, superficial comments on Coach Umile's status for public consumption.

To be clear, I am not advocating for Coach Umile's dismissal. If i was, I would have posted these comments under the "other" thread. But if you read some of the statements and press releases surrounding UMaine's job action in the last 24 hours, the amount of information out there for public consumption is pretty amazing - especially in contrast to what is out there about the UNH men's hockey program. Which leads me to raise the following questions:

* Does anyone outside of the UNH AD's office know the length of Coach Umile's current contract?
* Assuming that answer is officially "no" ... is that a good thing OR a bad thing for the program?

And finally, with so many HE programs in various stages of transition in recent seasons (UML, PC, UMA and NU), in the coming season (BU and UMaine) and beyond (BC?), and with the addition of two new conference members in the next two seasons ... is UNH best served by sticking with its current coach during this transitional period in the league OR would now be an ideal time to at least begin planning for the next chapter of the program's history?

Regardless, with the departures of Coaches Parker and Whitehead in recent weeks/days, you gotta think these may be more nervous times than usual for Messrs. Scarano and Umile. Back in the days of the "Big Four" much was taken for granted. Nowadays, the times they are a changing. Who has the vision at UNH to enable men's hockey to:

* re-establish the program as regular participants in the latter stages of the HE Tourney;
* return the program to a lavel where Frozen Four appearances are not considered "upsets";
* take the program to that one last step, which barely eluded them during their apex seasons?

As I said in the UMaine thread ... fortune favors the brave. From an outsider's standpoint, it is hard not to see only complacency on the surface of things at Durham. Change for change's sake is rarely a good thing, and I'll be the first to admit UNH fans seem to have a "bird in the hand" scenario with how things are currently set up. Win lots of your RS games, take an RS title every few seasons, and qualify for the NCAA's - even sometimes when teams that finish ahead of you in the RS or beat you in the HE tourney don't qualify. But as has been the case in Orono, there has been an erosion (or collapse?) in the season ticket base in recent years, and revenues are likely WAY down too.

Tha hardest part of making a decision like a successor plan isn't usually moving on from the incumbent, but rather to determine who that successor should be.

Does UNH have a plan? And if not, then should we not be focusing our concerns in this area not on Coach Umile, but rather on AD Scarano going forward???

 

[all bear]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2012-2013 Postseason Thread

Good and insightful post Chuck. In my euphoria with recent developments at Maine, I can only wonder how long it will be before someone gets real brave at UNH and shakes things up a bit. Change is good.

 

[zoofer]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2012-2013 Postseason Thread

Hey CM, did you go out and sell all your stocks and bonds back 2 years ago, even though the market is at an all time high now? Just cause some in the neighborhood do something should everyone? I'm glad you feel comfortable expressing your concerns here....is there somewhere I can visit to see how people feel you do at your job? Yea it comes with the job and Umile knows this better than anyone. Posing the thought is fine, but when you consider it in context with all your recent posts, somehow IMHO you should have used the other thread you speak of.....but that doesn't have the same audience does it?

 

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2012-2013 Postseason Thread

I think I just heard the sound of jet engines "wooshing" over your head there, zoofer. Please read a little more carefully ...

* I have not advocated for Coach Umile's dismissal. You know, that BOLD part in my post??

* I have been "posing the thought" of successor planning for at least two (2) years now, maybe longer, dating back to an "Open Letter to Coach Umile" thread on this forum. You can look it up if you'd like to. You can find all the "context" you would like in there. The next time I call for Coach's dismissal will be the first BTW;

* Yes, I'm sure Coach Umile knows AND accepts that this kind of speculation comes with the territory of his high profile position; and ...

* ... no, I've held onto my investments through these last few rocky years, and it's kind of worked out better than I'd expected (so far anyway).

SO ... I take it you are in favor of contunuing along the current path with the status quo, no changes or adjustments to the program, no apparent plan in place for when Coach Umile finally tires of his dream job (FWIW I wound't step down anytime soon if I were Coach), and let's just "let the chips fall where they may" when that time comes, right?

If that's your assessment, then OK fine and no arguments from me. Just want to make sure I have your position in the proper context.

 

[JB]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2012-2013 Postseason Thread

From where I sit I don't see evidence of two critical actions by the AD.

1) Continuous improvement. The AD should be asking Umile to highlight where things went wrong and what is going to be done to improve. Why was there a .500 stretch after new year’s? Goal scoring was down is what we heard via media – really is that the problem or was it playing behind. How are we going to prevent that in the future? What system change?

Demand plans to force a forward looking program improvement. How is the power play going to improve? How do we stop Providence from scoring on our PK? etc. The AD doesn't need to know the answers but needs to be sure the questions are asked, action plans put in place and then the plans completed.

We have spent too many years of the current crap PP (even though the numbers were better this year - luck!) for this continuous improvement to be going on.

2) Succession Planning. If this was happening I think a young coach would be on the staff. I have heard Tortorella talk and he is newer technology thinking. He helped put together better video review that would be more palatable to today’s mobile device player. I am not sure I would consider him the long term successor.


I don't think the grass is green on the other side of the fence and I have long warned the "other thread" be careful what you wish for, however not having a succession plan is foolish. Maybe that plan exists and UNH is carefully monitoring some current assistant coach alums, but I would think an in house young candidate would be a good idea.

 

[zoofer]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2012-2013 Postseason Thread

Touche' CM, nice retort....I try not to air too much over the air waves about what I would like to see happen at UNH....but I have said publicly that we should have an Admission Director who has a clue as to what UNH is and can be. If we add a few of the players that would've come to UNH, we may have had that extra goal or bounce by now! My other problem is the NH State House who doesn't seem to realize that a University to be proud of costs money, not HALF of the proposed budget!! I would love to see any of the final 16 teams hockey budgets....wanna bet where UNH sits? Am I happy CM, no....but I try as I've said before to be sure and enjoy the journey! For a reason...

 

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2012-2013 Postseason Thread

Hey JB - how's this for evidence that "continuous improvement" and "succession planning" is clearly at the forefront of Marty Scarano's agenda. Just arrived shortly after noontime today from UNH Athletics (I'm sure others on this thread got it too) ... wow, you really can't make this stuff up.

-----------------

DURHAM, N.H. – University of New Hampshire Athletic Director Marty Scarano and the men’s and women’s ice hockey coaches will speak at a lunch Wednesday, May 1, 2013, from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club in North Naples, Fla. The event is hosted by the UNH Athletics Development office.

Meet men’s hockey coach Dick Umile, ’72, and women’s hockey coach Brian McCloskey. They will be joined by Scarano to provide an update on athletics at UNH. Scarano has held the position of Athletic Director since ‘00. A buffet lunch will be served for $20 per person and reservations are required by April 24. Go to: www.UNHwildcats.com/flaevent to register, or, call Amy Sheehan at (603) 862-8641.

The men’s hockey team finished the 2012-13 season with an overall record of 20-12-7 and a Hockey East record of 13-8-6. New Hampshire reached the NCAAs for the 11th time in the last 12 years and advanced to the Regional Finals for the fourth time in the previous five seasons. The team is also the only program in the nation with postseason wins in four of the past five years. New Hampshire earned the top spot in the national rankings in December of 2012.

The women’s hockey team finished its season with an overall record of 14-16-4 and a Hockey East conference record of 10-8-3. The Wildcats were ultimately ousted from the Hockey East tournament after fifth-seeded Providence topped the fourth-seeded ‘Cats, 5-4 in overtime at the Whittemore Center.

-----------------

Listen, it's not for me to begrudge the boys a little free time to unwind in the offseason, with a cozy junket to the sunny beaches of Florida to schmooze with the vast and ever-influential UNH alumni base down there. I'm sure the boys will be making it a productive trip, chasing a few blue-chip recruits from the Sunshine State while they're in the neighborhood and all. But if I felt even the slightest bit bad about rolling out the "complacency" word earlier, I'm now totally over it.

UNH Hockey - Heck, Four Outta Five Ain't Bad!!

 

[sonar]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2012-2013 Postseason Thread

But if I felt even the slightest bit bad about rolling out the "complacency" word earlier, I'm now totally over it.

I think your "complacency" diagnosis is on target. I specially think that is the case when I look up the synonyms for complacent and find descriptors such as .... "self-satisfaction, smugness, and self-righteousness."

 

[JB]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2012-2013 Postseason Thread

Re Naples

Annual coaches convention is in Naples every year, so the coaches are there anyway. It is where the NCAA coaches decide on recommended changes to rules, pwr criteria etc. So what you got was poorly written publicity from atheletic dept.

 

[Snively65]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2012-2013 Postseason Thread

'Dey will be multi-tasking in 'de Naples? I 'tink it was 'de #1 ranking in December 'dat killed 'dem 'dis year.

 

[JB]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2012-2013 Postseason Thread

Also why would you bother this year?

Sure the coaches are there anyway - maybe Marty goes every year. However still seems a silly place to have a UNH focused lunch.

 

[zoofer]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2012-2013 Postseason Thread

JB, you nailed it by saying that they're there for the meetings and to get the Alumni activated.......it probably wouldn't hurt if they had one of these for the local Alumni. If all of us active participants here would pass along a major sponsor to the UNH hockey programs, we would be in better shape. Where 26% of the BC Alum give back, UNH gets 1%!! A new video, 4-sided scoreboard costs about $1.5 million.....anyone know Adam Sandler, who wore his UNH Hockey T-shirt in 1 of his movies that earned him about 8 million!

 

[Darius]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2012-2013 Postseason Thread

...we should have an Admission Director who has a clue as to what UNH is and can be. If we add a few of the players that would've come to UNH, we may have had that extra goal or bounce by now! My other problem is the NH State House who doesn't seem to realize that a University to be proud of costs money, not HALF of the proposed budget!! I would love to see any of the final 16 teams hockey budgets....wanna bet where UNH sits? Am I happy CM, no....but I try as I've said before to be sure and enjoy the journey! For a reason...

Amen. I question whether Admissions needs to get a clue or if their admissions policy for athletes is right where the University wants it. We will likely never know.

Don't even get me started on the NH State House. NH has some elected officials that look down on those with formal education. If we aren't going to make road and bridge maintenance a priority we don't need engineers, do we?


As for Naples, what do y'all want? it sounds like a cost effective way to engage with relatively wealthy alumni who might contribute to the program or maybe foster relationships with those already contributing. I've often wondered how many reading this board contribute, even in a small way such as being "Friends" members.