Re: UNH Wildcats 2012-2013 Season Thread
As an old-timer myself, great history in this post. But, I still like the idea of Wyer getting a start in the second game at the Ledyard tournament at the end of December.
I wouldn't be too surprised to see this happen. I also wouldn't be too surprised to see UNH stumble a little bit coming out of the gates after winter break, as that has been another fairly consistent trademark of past UNH teams. I'd take 2 out of 3 between the Ledyard Classic and RPI leading into the BC home-and-home.
My guess is that BC will remain #1 in the polls on Monday, even with the extra loss, as they have one more PWR point.
Suspect you're right ... regardless, I hope that's the case, as there's no need to worry about being atop a meaningless poll at this stage of the season.
If the team has established anything at this point, it's that what's happened over the last two months is not a fluke. They are not eking out a string of shaky, narrow wins - not that there's anything wrong with a few of those (which have been in the mix; @ Denver, first NU game, second BU win). And considering that it's been done with pretty much the same cast of characters from last season's disappointing team (bar perhaps Pesce and a healthy Speelman), you gotta give a ton of credit to Coaches Umile, Tortorella and Borek.
Something has changed, and in a VERY positive direction. Defensemen are making better decisions, d-zone coverage is a lot tighter and more disciplined, forwards are helping out more, yet it does not look to be impacting the transition play out of the zone a bit, as evidenced by the big uptick in scoring. It used to drive me absolutely crazy how often UNH defensemen would be sprawled across the ice on their bellies in last-ditch "snow angel" defensive posture, and nowadays I can't remember seeing it more than once or twice in the half-dozen games I've seen so far this season.
Obviously, there's still a long way to go, and ALL of the really important games have yet to be played. But it's been awhile since I've been this enthused about the team's prospects for the Spring. Let's hope the team stays healthy, with Burke getting back into the line-up soon (I thought his physical presence was missed this past weekend). A win this Thursday against BU would be a great way to finish the pre-break "half" and create more space between the top two teams in HEA and the rest of the chasing pack for those final two home-ice slots. Hard to believe it'll be 10 years this Spring since the back-to-back UNH HEA tourney wins ...
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