UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part One) - Return of the "Champions of December"??

[Greg Ambrose]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part One) - Return of the "Champions of December"??

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part One) - Return of the "Champions of December"??

Not sure who on the board were there last night but I was. Here's my take. UNH came fast out of the gate getting two before most were even settled in. It took about a half a period before Merrimack started to get the territorial edge, which they held for most of the night. Getting two goals (on four shots) from Poturalski was great but he was also a minus 2. His giveaway in front of his own net led to Merrimack's second goal. I watched him as he skated back to the bench after that goof and noticed that Umile talked to him immediately. A little tidbit for those who think the coach is never engaged. The biggest problem I saw for UNH was their inability to get the puck out of the zone. They had a lot of sticks on pucks, a good thing, but this really never lead to smooth breakouts. I will also say that Clark was steady. He stopped the pucks he needed to, he steered the action away from his net as much as possible, and he stayed on is feet. Novel concepts all. Merrimack was undefeated, they had beaten BU the night before, so for UNH to take advantage of their opportunities and get the win is very encouraging. UNH is not a great team, at least not right now, so winning winnable games like this one is important. If they had done that right along they might be undefeated!

Two complaints about the rink - the place was an iceberg, colder inside than it was outside. And, could the decibel level be any higher? It had to be 130, more akin to an Iggy Pop show (saw him years ago and my ears rang for two days after) than a college hockey game. I can take the "music" college arenas play, but I should not have my body assaulted at the same time. I'm sending a note to the commish on this. If he can ban Black Betty, he can get places like Merrimack to tone it down a bit.

 

[Darius]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part One) - Return of the "Champions of December"??

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part One) - Return of the "Champions of December"??

Everyone seems to be assuming that it was on ice issues that prompted his departure. I too was wondering if academics might be involved.

Let me emphasize that I have no information that academics were involved at all.

But I could imagine where if he might be looking at being ineligible for the second semester and the OHL is calling, that he decides to take off.

He wasn't on the Hockey East All Academic team last year, so he was at least sub 3.0 gpa. NCAA rules on academic eligibility say that you must meet institution gpa requirements for graduation, which is cumulative gpa of at least 2.0 at UNH.

IDK... It just doesn't seem out of the realm of possibility that this was a factor.

Nor was coat instead of sweater wearing last night Eiserman. I too have no information that academics (or anything else) were involved at all.

 

[HockeyRef]

Not sure who on the board were there last night but I was. Here's my take. UNH came fast out of the gate getting two before most were even settled in. It took about a half a period before Merrimack started to get the territorial edge, which they held for most of the night. Getting two goals (on four shots) from Poturalski was great but he was also a minus 2. His giveaway in front of his own net led to Merrimack's second goal. I watched him as he skated back to the bench after that goof and noticed that Umile talked to him immediately. A little tidbit for those who think the coach is never engaged. The biggest problem I saw for UNH was their inability to get the puck out of the zone. They had a lot of sticks on pucks, a good thing, but this really never lead to smooth breakouts. I will also say that Clark was steady. He stopped the pucks he needed to, he steered the action away from his net as much as possible, and he stayed on is feet. Novel concepts all. Merrimack was undefeated, they had beaten BU the night before, so for UNH to take advantage of their opportunities and get the win is very encouraging. UNH is not a great team, at least not right now, so winning winnable games like this one is important. If they had done that right along they might be undefeated!

Two complaints about the rink - the place was an iceberg, colder inside than it was outside. And, could the decibel level be any higher? It had to be 130, more akin to an Iggy Pop show (saw him years ago and my ears rang for two days after) than a college hockey game. I can take the "music" college arenas play, but I should not have my body assaulted at the same time. I'm sending a note to the commish on this. If he can ban Black Betty, he can get places like Merrimack to tone it down a bit.

Thanks for this overview Greg. Would totally agree we struggled getting out of the zone and maintaining puck possession was a challenge at times to be sure. And yes...way too loud at that rink!!! Felt bad for Pots on that turnover which led to that point blank shot on AC. Saw a lot of asst coach involvement too with white board chats from Stewart when players came off the ice. Gotta clean up the D zone..its glaring.

 

[e.cat]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part One) - Return of the "Champions of December"??

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part One) - Return of the "Champions of December"??

Ya! Watching that goal go down made my short - tenure-as-a-fan night! ''Cats came out literally flying last night no slow start for us! Looking at the stats this morning it's obvious Mack had more puck possession and yes UNH lost the SOG but we scored when we had to and it gave us the needed confidence. Actually looking into going next weekend but then I came to my senses. (The few I have left)

Were you there last night e.cat?

No I wasn't there but I watched on ESPN3. Our SOG were more effective than their SOG I guess!

POTS slapper on the PP was indeed sweet

 

[freak]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part One) - Return of the "Champions of December"??

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part One) - Return of the "Champions of December"??

I'm sending a note to the commish on this. If he can ban Black Betty, he can get places like Merrimack to tone it down a bit.

If he banned Black Betty, Marty was the only one paying attention. Every other rink in Hockey East continued to play it when it was banned at the Whitt.

The banning was a UNH thing. The black student group had a long running complaint over the song. Also the rumor was that the catalyst for the ban was when the US womens national team played the Hockey East All Stars at the Whitt. Their coach, Ben Smith, allegedly said that the national team would never play at UNH again if the song remained, and that no UNH player would make the team.

It was after that game that Marty banned the song, with his infamous quote that UNH wouldn't play a song that was "theoretically racist."

 

[freak]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part One) - Return of the "Champions of December"??

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part One) - Return of the "Champions of December"??

Nor was coat instead of sweater wearing last night Eiserman. I too have no information that academics (or anything else) were involved at all.

I only mention that because it means that Foegele's gpa was at least sub 3.0, which means that it's theoretically plausible that academics might be a reason to split one month into the season.

My only point was that for a kid with options, the prospect of being ineligible might make him decide to leave early. Eiserman may not have the same options.

Then again, if there is any truth to what HockeyRef overheard about suspensions, perhaps Foegele was involved as well.

It just doesn't seem to me that it was obviously the on ice stuff (3rd line, no pp, etc).

 

[Scott]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part One) - Return of the "Champions of December"??

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part One) - Return of the "Champions of December"??

It was after that game that Marty banned the song, with his infamous quote that UNH wouldn't play a song that was "theoretically racist."

Even though the original Black Betty tune was recorded in 1934 by blues musician James "Iron Head" Baker.

 

[freak]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part One) - Return of the "Champions of December"??

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part One) - Return of the "Champions of December"??

Even though the original Black Betty tune was recorded in 1934 by blues musician James "Iron Head" Baker.

Don't you know that just using the word "black" is racist?

 

[freak]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part One) - Return of the "Champions of December"??

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part One) - Return of the "Champions of December"??

Timeline on Black Betty banning, with the earliest mention of the ban that I've found so far.

December 11, 2005

http://www.cstv.com/sports/w-hockey/stories/121105aab.html

Angela Ruggiero (Harper Woods, Mich.) scored twice as the U.S. Women's National Team defeated the Hockey East All-Stars 5-2 at the Whittemore Center today.

January 31, 2006

http://www.aim.org/don-irvine-blog/theorectical-racism/

According to the school paper, The New Hampshire Athletic Director Marty Scarano told them that someone “more significant” raised the issue that the song is “theoretically racist” but declined to identify that someone.

 

[UNH1932]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part One) - Return of the "Champions of December"??

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part One) - Return of the "Champions of December"??

Spot on reporting Greg. Great job last week as well. Metallica is like a Springsteen Acoustic show compared to Merrimack Rink. It is always tough at Merrimack as they slash, hold and interfere all night every night at their home arena. Refs called more than usual and I was pleasantly surprised. Great that we scored first or it would have been a much longer night. It appears we may be better than most fans were lead to believe. Thanks again for your honest appraisal as we are mostly on the same page in assessing our team. I was a bit surprised with the ice cleaners attire given the religious nature of the institution. I understand it is the norm at NHL arenas.

Dan- Thanks for your MSU scouting as I trust they will play like Lowell and Merrimack and we definitely need to ready ourselves for the trap that will be a regular strategy of most Hockey East teams at present.

I hope some of you are making the trip to MSU. Last Year at Michigan, parents, Darcy, the Gowers and a group of alumni living in the area were the only UNH fans I saw at the arena. I hope the weather holds out for some golf with old friends that live in the Lansing area. Someone asked where UNH seats are. I got mine from UNH ticket office and I am in section F (it is near the goal line).

I want to be clear that none of the hockey players are in imminent danger of academic probation. Warren Foegele is a very good student as are most of players on our team. NCAA rules are fairly lenient and with grade inflation, you really have to be a pretty bad student to sit a semester. There are no suspensions that are related to academics at present that I am aware of. There are players that sit out a game every now and again for breaking team rules, but that happens on every team at mostly every school.

I hope the Whit starts filling up when we come back for the road trip.

 

[C-H-C]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part One) - Return of the "Champions of December"??

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part One) - Return of the "Champions of December"??

"UNH Captain's Corner: UNH Beats Undefeated Merrimack College 4-2"

 

[Dan]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part One) - Return of the "Champions of December"??

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part One) - Return of the "Champions of December"??

Dan- Thanks for your MSU scouting as I trust they will play like Lowell and Merrimack and we definitely need to ready ourselves for the trap that will be a regular strategy of most Hockey East teams at present.

MSU will collapse and place an emphasis on defending, but I think they do fancy themselves a little more skilled than they actually are. I don't think you'll see as much of the clutch and grab or stick action that you noticed on Saturday night at Merrimack (Give credit to the warriors - they are physical, they play hard and they are much improved but there are no Rejean Stringers or Kris Porters on that team). MSU does have a couple of dangerous forwards - Steinglen & MacEachern are talented and the freshman Appleton was solid (Ferrantino did not play and I am not sure if he has returned or not).

But, as a group UNH should be able to contain them. Denver dominated possession against the Spartans. The key will be UNH's commitment to getting to the dirty areas - you really have to screen Hildebrand to have success. He's really good...

 

[ClOuD 9]

I hope some of you are making the trip to MSU. Last Year at Michigan, parents, Darcy, the Gowers and a group of alumni living in the area were the only UNH fans I saw at the arena. I hope the weather holds out for some golf with old friends that live in the Lansing area. Someone asked where UNH seats are. I got mine from UNH ticket office and I am in section F (it is near the goal line).

Decided to check flights for ****s and giggles and JetBlue has a round trip direct to Detroit (2 hour flight) for $208 out of Logan on Thursday and Friday morning, Delta has direct from $218, and American & United have several Boston -> Detroit with +/- 1 hour layovers from $195 round trip on both days. Flights from Manchester or to Lansing run several hundred dollars more.
Appears to be about an hour and a half drive to East Lansing from DTW. Quite a few affordable hotels around MSU as well ($65 a night and up).
Thanks for the response on the section, Oct 30th was the last day to pick up tickets from UNH so have to go through Ticketmaster and would prefer to sit in friendly territory.

 

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part One) - Return of the "Champions of December"??

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part One) - Return of the "Champions of December"??

MSU will collapse and place an emphasis on defending, but I think they do fancy themselves a little more skilled than they actually are. I don't think you'll see as much of the clutch and grab or stick action that you noticed on Saturday night at Merrimack (Give credit to the warriors - they are physical, they play hard and they are much improved but there are no Rejean Stringers or Kris Porters on that team). MSU does have a couple of dangerous forwards - Steinglen & MacEachern are talented and the freshman Appleton was solid (Ferrantino did not play and I am not sure if he has returned or not).

But, as a group UNH should be able to contain them. Denver dominated possession against the Spartans. The key will be UNH's commitment to getting to the dirty areas - you really have to screen Hildebrand to have success. He's really good...

Just looking at MSU' results to date ... their only wins are against a bad UMaine team, and against a mediocre Lake State team that's beaten them twice already, despite losing a pair (I think?) to Alabama Huntsville recently. Plus MSU had this past weekend off. UNH should be good for at least a split, and could snag 3 or even all 4 points. I expect Coach Umile will split the weekend with Tirone and Clark, and it will be interesting to see if the line-up changes from last night stick, or if he goes back to some of the inactive players?

The radio silence emanating from UmileWorld over Foegele's departure is deafening. We have one very respected poster assuring us that Foegele is a dedicated and committed teammate, and another poster with apparent insight into the academic side assuring us his grades were OK, and academic suspension was not on the horizon. If WF had a legit reason for (pardon the bluntness) quitting midseason on his teammates, I'm sure Coach Umile - even if disappointed with the player's decision - would be giving him some sort of cover. He isn't. Has Coach even been questioned on this? And if not - why not??

I guess the next logical question - with WF unexpectedly departing - is, would this now open up a roster slot for a player who might be willing to accelerate his arrival at Durham by a semester (a la Tirone last year), and if so, who might that player be? Is there an edge to bringing in a player early by six months and "wasting" a semester/half-season of eligibility, as opposed to depending upon the players on campus right now, and allowing that acceleration candidate to wait until September? And with an unexpectedly open roster slot, which would otherwise have been spoken for through at least WF's junior year ... what are Souza and/or Stewart going to do about it now???

Say what you will about the Downeast Dark Prince (RIP) ... but it was in situations like these where he could always turn to Standbrook, and know that he would have an ace up his recruiting sleeve. And some of those guys could even pass admissions and weren't on parole. Still patiently waiting for the Souza/Stewart recruiting juggernaut to start showing us their stuff ... and now might be a really good time for someone to pull a rabbit out of their hat. JMHO.

 

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part One) - Return of the "Champions of December"??

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part One) - Return of the "Champions of December"??

"UNH Captain's Corner: UNH Beats Undefeated Merrimack College 4-2"

Lowry: I'd be remiss if I didn't ask about defenseman Rich Boyd playing forward last night (maybe for the first time in his life) and the "healthy scratch" of some notable players?

MacDonald: Boyder really stepped up for us last night. The kid did it all, scored a goal on his first shift at forward, played the point on a power play unit, and then dropped back to defense later in the game. Some adjustments were made to the line up for reasons I won’t comment on, but it opened up some opportunity for certain players, and I think they all did a great job.

Lowry: Finally, would you comment on the departure of Warren Foegele** from the team and university to play major junior hockey in Kingston, Ontario?

MacDonald: I wish Warren nothing but the best with his hockey career and his future.

** This evening, Foegele posted an assist in his first game with the Kingston Frontenacs of the Ontario Hockey League.

Kudos Mike for asking the tough questions - even if he really didn't answer. Which likely tells its own story.

 

[Dan]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part One) - Return of the "Champions of December"??

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part One) - Return of the "Champions of December"??

I guess the next logical question - with WF unexpectedly departing - is, would this now open up a roster slot for a player who might be willing to accelerate his arrival at Durham by a semester (a la Tirone last year), and if so, who might that player be? Is there an edge to bringing in a player early by six months and "wasting" a semester/half-season of eligibility, as opposed to depending upon the players on campus right now, and allowing that acceleration candidate to wait until September?

Doubtful - Tirone came in last year because UNH essentially had ONLY Clark in the crease. The player to bring in would be Blackburn, but I'd be shocked if they made a move - they'll still have four F's in the seats every night. Its more likely that Foegel's departure gets Hill into the line-up most every night with Miller/McNicholas filling the 12th forward spot (along with Eiserman's return to his regular role) and Cefalu, Kalinowski, and Bourque in reserve. Miller will probably continue to get the nod (over McNicholas) in the near future, with three points in three games and his playing on the PK on Saturday...

 

[freak]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part One) - Return of the "Champions of December"??

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part One) - Return of the "Champions of December"??

I want to be clear that none of the hockey players are in imminent danger of academic probation. Warren Foegele is a very good student as are most of players on our team. NCAA rules are fairly lenient and with grade inflation, you really have to be a pretty bad student to sit a semester. There are no suspensions that are related to academics at present that I am aware of.

Good to know.

 

[HockeyRef]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part One) - Return of the "Champions of December"??

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part One) - Return of the "Champions of December"??

"UNH Captain's Corner: UNH Beats Undefeated Merrimack College 4-2"

Awesome highlights esp. the 2nd Pots goal! Onward to MSU...anxiously waiting to see if we get ranked this morning...and being in 2nd in the HE is fun, albeit early! Looking forward to see what DU and co. have in store line up wise out in Lansing. still wanna go hubby doesn't understand.

 

[Greg Ambrose]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part One) - Return of the "Champions of December"??

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part One) - Return of the "Champions of December"??

The radio silence emanating from UmileWorld over Foegele's departure is deafening. We have one very respected poster assuring us that Foegele is a dedicated and committed teammate, and another poster with apparent insight into the academic side assuring us his grades were OK, and academic suspension was not on the horizon. If WF had a legit reason for (pardon the bluntness) quitting midseason on his teammates, I'm sure Coach Umile - even if disappointed with the player's decision - would be giving him some sort of cover. He isn't. Has Coach even been questioned on this? And if not - why not??

I guess the next logical question - with WF unexpectedly departing - is, would this now open up a roster slot for a player who might be willing to accelerate his arrival at Durham by a semester (a la Tirone last year), and if so, who might that player be? Is there an edge to bringing in a player early by six months and "wasting" a semester/half-season of eligibility, as opposed to depending upon the players on campus right now, and allowing that acceleration candidate to wait until September? And with an unexpectedly open roster slot, which would otherwise have been spoken for through at least WF's junior year ... what are Souza and/or Stewart going to do about it now???

Say what you will about the Downeast Dark Prince (RIP) ... but it was in situations like these where he could always turn to Standbrook, and know that he would have an ace up his recruiting sleeve. And some of those guys could even pass admissions and weren't on parole. Still patiently waiting for the Souza/Stewart recruiting juggernaut to start showing us their stuff ... and now might be a really good time for someone to pull a rabbit out of their hat. JMHO.

Chuck, Umile is never going to comment publicly about Foegele's departure. Nothing to gain from it. If he says anything, it will be along the lines of treating his loss as a season ending injury and that there will be others on the roster who will fill his shoes. And if the kid comments, it will be something like deciding what is best for my future. A few years ago BU lost Charlie Coyne mid-season. Coyne is now doing well with Minnesota Wild but back then his comment was that going to school was interfering with his development as a hockey player. Doubt if Foegele will be saying that.

Love the reference to Walshy. You know, he's been gone so long now, his misdeeds are almost forgotten. Those were the days.

 

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part One) - Return of the "Champions of December"??

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part One) - Return of the "Champions of December"??

Chuck, Umile is never going to comment publicly about Foegele's departure. Nothing to gain from it. If he says anything, it will be along the lines of treating his loss as a season ending injury and that there will be others on the roster who will fill his shoes. And if the kid comments, it will be something like deciding what is best for my future. A few years ago BU lost Charlie Coyne mid-season. Coyne is now doing well with Minnesota Wild but back then his comment was that going to school was interfering with his development as a hockey player. Doubt if Foegele will be saying that.

Pretty much agree, Greg. The only caveat to me is, let's say the kid had to return (closer to) home to help deal with a family situation. I'm guessing Coach Umile would say something like "We're disappointed Warren's had to leave, but he's got a lot on his plate now, and he goes with our best wishes for the future." We all have our opinions on Coach's strengths and weaknesses, but I don't think anyone seriously believes Coach would leave one of his players leaving under duress that isn't/wasn't under his control twisting in the wind.

So that effectively rules out that possibility. The academic advisor (?) tells us there are no current or pending academic/eligibility issues in the program. That leaves us with the player just quitting on his teammates (for whatever reason) and resuming his hockey career immediately elsewhere. No extenuating circumstances.

And we turn the page ...