Re: UNH Wildcats 2014 Post-Season Thread: "Maybe Dick" Hunts the Great White Whale
Re: UNH Wildcats 2014 Post-Season Thread: "Maybe Dick" Hunts the Great White Whale
If 10 years ago you would have told me that UNH fans would be discussing emulating Lowell in anything relating to hockey, I'd have told you to put the bottle down and call your sponsor. Regardless of your position on the issue, that it's a topic to begin with is surreal to me. After suffering through painful mediocrity at the hands of MacDonald, what Bazin has done is nothing short of miraculous. I, for one, am all for replacing the statue of Kerouac with the likeness of Norm.
Re: UNH Wildcats 2014 Post-Season Thread: "Maybe Dick" Hunts the Great White Whale
Which brings me back to the whole UMass Lowell thing. There are a LOT of similarities between UML and UNH, if you consider that at both schools, D-1 Men's Hockey is the flagship team and primary revenue generator for their respective schools. Both play in arenas that were built within anout a year of each other, and were both seen at that time as landmark developments in their communities. Both programs can look back at a past history led by iconic coaches (Holt at UNH, Riley at UML) who put their programs on the map. And now both programs have an alum who played with the program under their iconic predecessors, and both have now won a pair of HE Tourney titles while in charge of their respective programs. Both programs have now been to the Frozen Four. I won't go into fanbase comparisons at the risk of pandering, other than to say there are plenty of similarities there as well.
I'm not sure if I posted it on this thread or on another one in recent days ... but it will be interesting to see if UMass Lowell becomes the "next UNH", with strong RS performances, some success in the HE tourney, but ultimately coming up short in the D-1's ... OR ... if they become the "next UMaine", which had a slightly longer period of success, won more HE titles, and did manage to get over the hump to win two D-1 tourneys (ironically with one against UNH, the other ... well, we'll omit the obligatory reference to "clouds" for today).
There is every reason to believe UMass Lowell will be a force in HE (and possibly nationally) for the forseeable future. As a UNH fan, I can either be jealous - which I choose not to be - OR I can simply expect that the folks in charge of the UNH program will just have to "up their game" to compete with the best. Why should I begrudge a program like UML any success they might enjoy, so long as they are doing it on the up-and-up ... just because UNH can't or hasn't been able to keep up??
If I take anything out of UML's recent rise to power, it is that if it can happen in Lowell, why not again in Durham?
Good luck to the Riverhawks. I'm kinda sorta rooting for you guys this weekend.
If 10 years ago you would have told me that UNH fans would be discussing emulating Lowell in anything relating to hockey, I'd have told you to put the bottle down and call your sponsor. Regardless of your position on the issue, that it's a topic to begin with is surreal to me. After suffering through painful mediocrity at the hands of MacDonald, what Bazin has done is nothing short of miraculous. I, for one, am all for replacing the statue of Kerouac with the likeness of Norm.
UML is a great story; have tons of respect for what Norm Bazin and Co have put together. They just get the job done. MK...if I have to pick one...guess it would be UML...at any rate it will be some game!
Seriously tho your prediction is pretty interesting...two great teams! Personally I think it's going to come down to A. Goaltending B. Goaltending. C. Can the Eagles deal with those talented lines Bazin has D. Will the Trio of HAG stand up or...
