Re: UNH Wildcats 2014/2015 - Wait 'Til Next Year!!!
That said, I'm in the minority that would like to see them revert the corners back and maintain a full sized Olympic.
I'm with you in what I actually think is the "silent majority" (to borrow an outdated phrase from WAY back). I've always thought the whole ice size argument was a convenient excuse (for some) for the program's post-season failings. I see no reason to change, and what's more important, I see NO desire by the school to change. That money is far better spent elsewhere.
Now that we're ten games into the season, I figured it might be a good time to pull up some of my preseason projections to see how things are playing out so far, in comparison to the preseason outlooks ...
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* In goal ... will Coach Umile split time initially between Clark and Regan? Or will one of those two get most of the games (based on board feedback, the consensus seems to be that Clark will be the lead dog)? If the Clark/Regan combo turns out OK, will Coach Umile leave Tirone in juniors until next season? If the early season combo falters ... is Tirone good enough to take the top job?
* Goalie over/under: (EGOL) playing 0.5 games in goal for UNH this season. I'll take the under.
So far, it's been virtually 100% Clark, and he seems to be holding up well. But the Tirone question is still looming in the background, and it will be interesting to see how that plays out. With Regan's lack of playing time, I'll guess Tirone arrives at the break.
* On defense ... it would seem highly likely that Pesce, Cleland and Maller will be three of the four defensemen who will feature in the top two pairings this season. If that proves to be true ... who will emerge as the 4th player in the top two pairings by midseason? Or will Coach Umile spread his top three d-men with one apiece leading the 3 pairings? If so - who plays with Pesce, who plays on Maller's pairing and who plays on Cleland's pairing??
* Defense over/under: UNH will allow 3.00 goals per game this season. I'll take the over (and hope I'm wrong).
Allowing for some understandable growing pains and lack of consistency, UNH is currently allowing 2.90 GPG. Carving 8 goals out of the Lowell road game, that number could (should) be closer to 2.50. For me, this is the best surprise of the season so far. Marks, Boyd and Furgele seem to be the three favored frosh defensemen (when healthy), while Quast and Randall are not surprisingly the depth guys while Chanter has only gotten into a single game. I can't comment on the pairings 'cuz I've seen too little live action.
* Up front ... who skates on the top line, and who are the centers on all four lines? Where will the goals come from? Which of the frosh will break out early in the season, which will gradually emerge as the season plays out, and which won't get off the start line? Which of the low profile returning players will enjoy their own "breakout" season and start raining goals after a slow start to their UNH careers?
* Offense over/under: UNH will score 3.00 goals per game this season. I'll take the under. If they can get the over, it at least should be a fun and exciting season.
So far, the 'Cats are also scoring 2.90 GPG so while they're under, they seem to be improving, and with the young forward corps still coming to grips with adapting to the D-1 level, there is every reason to believe they may top out over 3.00 by season's end. Goals are pretty well-balanced across the lines, but it doesn't look like there's going to be a 20 goal guy (or maybe not even a 15 goal player) by the end of the season at this rate. Poturalski is the frosh who looks to have gotten out of the blocks early, while Correale, Gaudreault and MacDonald seem to be thriving with more prominent roles this season. McNicholas and Salvaggio are the slow-starting frosh, while Bourque and Hill are not surprisingly at the bottom of the depth chart for returning players up front. Still waiting for the Yzerman genes to kick in, and I suspect Foegele will break out once he scores his first goal. Those two will be keys for how this year's team develops.
Team outlook: UNH will finish in 7th place this coming regular season. I see a slow (start), but hopefully with a tough NC early schedule out of the way by 2015, the team will finish stronger, and could be an interesting outlook for the postseason. I don't see a return trip to the Garden OR to the NCAA's, but hopefully we'll be back to both in 2016.
Team over/under: 5.5 wins before Winter break (ties don't count as even a half-win). I'll take the under.
Team over/under: 6.5th place in the HE regular season, and 0.5 postseason wins.
With seven games left before the break, UNH seems on course to do better than I'd projected. But before getting too giddy about it, they've just lost a game to a previously winless opponent, and will be playing 4 of those 7 games against two very talented teams who have underachieved to date (PC and BC). The RPI game is winnable, but that's arguably the pre-Thanksgiving Day ECAC bugaboo UNH always seems to find a way to lose. The UMaine series is completely winnable, so cue a split. I'll predict a 6-10-1 record at the break, with UNH finding a tie somewhere in the four games with PC and BC, beating RPI 
and splitting with struggling UMaine.
Unfortunately for the short run, I see no reason - yet - for any post-season optimism. I see UNH finishing ahead of NU, UMass Amherst, UConn and UMaine, and vying for the middle of the pack slots between 6th and 8th place with chronically-overrated Notre Dame and with Merrimack, neither of whom has exactly "run the gauntlet" despite softer-than-a-sneaker-full-of ... spit* schedules to date. I'll stick with my 7th place regular season prediction, with an early postseason exit to follow. Anything better, to me, is a happy bonus. 
