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

[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"??

Give credit to Clarkson, they bounced back after a tough loss to Mc the night before. Having said that UNH looks very sloppy. Agree with others Tirone not playing well right now and I thought Clark should have gotten the start last night. The team D in front of Tirone not helping him much though. Playing from behind all the time is not a winning formula. Going out on the road might actually help this team right now. Hope so anyway!

Seemed to help the Bruins last night....Anyway...you are right. We cannot expect to win games coming from behind. It's a nice thing to be able to do, once in awhile, but with our daunting schedule just isn't gonna work and I would suspect/expect, the team knows that too. Giving Clarky the start last night might have been a good thing, I mean, what the heck. Onto Umass..and the Dutchmen.

'Watcher: rather than copy your post I will just say it does gives me some perspective. I do believe this team has talent and am more inclined to follow Snively's ideas that next year will be a better year. That being said heck the season is still young and while I don't think we have it in us to crack the top 16 we will win some games. Now I know not to wait and watch for the recruits I keep seeing from other teams perhaps. Our pipeline was filled with the 10 who are now sophomores and Nonis/BvR/Robinson/Kelleher (along with other talented kids I read from Mike's blog) join our ranks.

Your poem/song made me think of my own teaching career...oh my. Well, not quite...but give me 3 years when I turn 60 or on some Friday afternoons when I wonder if I can indeed return Monday...

 

[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"??

I would not read too much into two early season one-goal losses. I think we were picked for 6th in the coaches poll, and 8th in the media poll. These losses mean nothing, other than as to the hunt for 600. UNH should be able to get near .500 this season and next, which would get Coach Umile the magical 600th win before he hits age 70. PWR is not going to be an issue, as we will only make the NCAAs by winning the HE tourney.

This is what the next three years will be like. There is little immediate help coming in those three years, as the recruiting is completed for Umile's tenure, save for one additional D next year to make up for the loss of our impact recruits (Masonius, Ryczek). With the market picked clean, it is unlikely that the new recruit would impact the remaining Umile era.

So, being optimistic, this is all about a massive rebuild starting in 2019. Hard to tell how our "organized transition" is working, as everything is quiet (other than the decommitments of the quality recruits). There have been 86 Hockey East recruits since our last pickup. (Good to see PC, after getting quality recruits, is starting the Borek volume model, picking up 7 kids since June, including from his "vaunted" Mid-Atlantic pipeline.) The positive side of me is pleased UNH is not just brining in a lot of recruits for 2019 and beyond. Whether that means they will get "quality" by being selective waits to be seen. I anxiously await the first announcement of the Head-Coach-In-Waiting era. The positive side of me also is pleased that Marty Scarano agreed to a plan that made the men's program's transition work better than his transition for the womens team.

http://board.uscho.com/showthread.p...-Beyond-2015&p=6168421&viewfull=1#post6168421

I started swearing to my god
And on my mother's grave
That I would love you to the end of time
I swore I would love you to the end of time

So now I'm praying for the end of time
To hurry up and arrive
'Cause if I gotta spend another minute with you
I don't think that I can really survive
I'll never break my promise or forget my vow
But God only knows what I can do right now
I'm praying for the end of time
It's all I can do (ooh, ooh)
I'm praying for the end of time
So I can end my time with you

[Boy:]
It was long ago and it was far away,
And it was so much better than it is today.

You originally had me with the Putin/Medvedev reference ... but (edit) looks like you got cold feet.

Politics, clever ripostes aimed at the head coach and BS35+3, and "Paradise by the Dashboard Light".

Tour De Force. Magnificent. 9 out of 10, one point held back for the edit (and missing asterisk).

 

[ClOuD 9]

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 ECAC actually has a rule that barring violation of rink rules (which vary - swearing, yelling KNIGHTS during the anthem, other decorum issues) opposing bands must be allowed to play if they wish. Advance notice is sometimes requested or "required" depending on which arena manager you talk to, but ultimately they do have to allow it. The rumor is that the rule was instituted way back in the 60s and 70s when SLU routinely prohibited the Clarkson band from playing at Appleton. It became a rules issue at some point, and the league mandated it. It's my understanding that the band did give UNH advance notice of their intent, because when I met with the CU band director at Merrimack on Friday, they had already been told they wouldn't be allowed to play. I don't know when that was communicated, but either way it's crap. Bands of any size, from either team, always add to the atmosphere and unique experience that is college hockey, and limiting that for any reason other than blatant rule-breaking or obscenity is ridiculous.

ECAC does things one way, Hockey East does it another - HE leaves it to the home school to set their own rules; for example some schools won't let our cowbell in, others will. The only time I've seen an opposing band travel for a UNH game in the regular season was the BU game in Manchester which our AD was roundly criticized for (their band and students got lower bowl, ours got balcony). Bands do travel in Hockey East for the tournament, as those games are put on by the league (not the schools) they have to let opposing bands in.
FWIW: If Hockey East wanted to add traveling bands in the regular season I'd support it provided there was some sort of funding mechanism to to offset costs so more than the big name schools would send them, but I can't see many schools willing to regularly spend the money. As it is UNH will only send theirs to the Garden and won't send for first round or quarterfinals, even if we were at a close opponent like Lowell or Merrimack.

 

[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"??

"Although the goal wasn’t Tirone’s fault, there was a bit of concern that he wasn’t feeling at his best. He seemed to recover and play well after that point, but there was certainly some concern."

If only the team would work as hard as the Tirone propaganda machine...

Looks like goodbye honeymoon period, hello sophomore jinx ...

 

[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"??

Only six of UNH's 21 players are negative +/- for the season - four of which are forwards...

Fr, Marcus Vela -1
Sr, Maxim Gaudreault -2
Sr, Colin MacDonald -2
Sr, Kyle Smith -3

And yet, McNicholas sits in the seats because he's not sound enough defensively...

And two of those seniors have letters attached to their jerseys, so they aren't gonna be sitting anytime soon.

To say the aftermath of this past weekend is a HUGE test for the leadership team would be an understatement ...

 

[Greg A]

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"??

Only six of UNH's 21 players are negative +/- for the season - four of which are forwards...

Fr, Marcus Vela -1
Sr, Maxim Gaudreault -2
Sr, Colin MacDonald -2
Sr, Kyle Smith -3

And yet, McNicholas sits in the seats because he's not sound enough defensively...

A few more shaky goals on Tirone, but the highlights make the D look like the biggest culprits tonight. I'm sure Umile will see it the same way and run Tirone back out there next game. He clearly doesn't believe in Clark. I really expected and hoped Clark would play tonight and agree he makes a big difference this weekend had he played. At this point, if Umile didn't see fit to give him a SINGLE start down the stretch last year, wouldn't even split the exhibition game 50/50 and didn't play him tonight after three straight sub-par performances from Tirone, why should we expect to see him after a fourth shaky outing from DT...??

Hope I'm wrong.

For the life of me I cannot understand why Umile has hitched his wagon permanently to Tirone. Ever since Umile began coaching at UNH, stand up, positional goalies have been the norm. I can go all the way back to Jeff Levy, through Sean Matile and Ty Conklin, to the succession of solid goaltenders that UNH had in the aughts - Ayers, Pietrisiak, Foster, and Regan. Every one of these guys did more than stop the puck: their ability to stay on their feet and deflect the puck to defensemen after a save was a big part of why UNH had outstanding defensive stats for several years. DeSmith was somewhat in this same mold, but DiGirolamo and especially Tirone are not. Given the inexperience and inabilities of the defense, it is imperative that you not have a goalie who is scrambling around all the time. I thought Tirone was overrated last year and, based on what I saw in the first three games, my opinion has not changed. I cannot say that Clark is going to make a huge difference, but I thought he played well enough last year to get a better shake than he is getting from the coaching staff. It's not like Umile has not alternated goalies before (Conklin/Matile and Ayers/Carney). He should do it here. One other thing to add is my feeling that the departure of Dave Lassonde a few years ago is having an impact on the goaltending. There are a lot of people who follow UNH Hockey who kind of dismissed Lassonde, but he knew goaltending and did a good job getting the guys that he mostly recruited to adapt to the college game.

As for the forwards, I have no idea why the McDonald and Smith are playing, other than they are seniors. The turnover by McDonald in the zone last night was just horrendous. Turning point in the game.

 

[NCAA watcher]

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"??

Looks like goodbye honeymoon period, hello sophomore jinx ...

I would not judge the players based on three games. Anyway, this is not a player issue, and they should get our encouragement to do the best they can. Each must know his part. This is an admin issue. The men who hold high places. Must be the ones who start To mold a new reality. Instead, we have three more years of Running to Stand Still. And that may be Bad. We've gotta do something about where we're going.

 

[Felger]

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"??

For the life of me I cannot understand why Umile has hitched his wagon permanently to Tirone. Ever since Umile began coaching at UNH, stand up, positional goalies have been the norm. I can go all the way back to Jeff Levy, through Sean Matile and Ty Conklin, to the succession of solid goaltenders that UNH had in the aughts - Ayers, Pietrisiak, Foster, and Regan. Every one of these guys did more than stop the puck: their ability to stay on their feet and deflect the puck to defensemen after a save was a big part of why UNH had outstanding defensive stats for several years. DeSmith was somewhat in this same mold, but DiGirolamo and especially Tirone are not. Given the inexperience and inabilities of the defense, it is imperative that you not have a goalie who is scrambling around all the time. I thought Tirone was overrated last year and, based on what I saw in the first three games, my opinion has not changed. I cannot say that Clark is going to make a huge difference, but I thought he played well enough last year to get a better shake than he is getting from the coaching staff. It's not like Umile has not alternated goalies before (Conklin/Matile and Ayers/Carney). He should do it here. One other thing to add is my feeling that the departure of Dave Lassonde a few years ago is having an impact on the goaltending. There are a lot of people who follow UNH Hockey who kind of dismissed Lassonde, but he knew goaltending and did a good job getting the guys that he mostly recruited to adapt to the college game.

As for the forwards, I have no idea why the McDonald and Smith are playing, other than they are seniors. The turnover by McDonald in the zone last night was just horrendous. Turning point in the game.

+1000

Thought of that this morning. There is no one on the coaching staff that fills the role Lassonde used to fill

 

[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"??

For the life of me I cannot understand why Umile has hitched his wagon permanently to Tirone. Ever since Umile began coaching at UNH, stand up, positional goalies have been the norm. I can go all the way back to Jeff Levy, through Sean Matile and Ty Conklin, to the succession of solid goaltenders that UNH had in the aughts - Ayers, Pietrisiak, Foster, and Regan. Every one of these guys did more than stop the puck: their ability to stay on their feet and deflect the puck to defensemen after a save was a big part of why UNH had outstanding defensive stats for several years. DeSmith was somewhat in this same mold, but DiGirolamo and especially Tirone are not. Given the inexperience and inabilities of the defense, it is imperative that you not have a goalie who is scrambling around all the time. I thought Tirone was overrated last year and, based on what I saw in the first three games, my opinion has not changed. I cannot say that Clark is going to make a huge difference, but I thought he played well enough last year to get a better shake than he is getting from the coaching staff. It's not like Umile has not alternated goalies before (Conklin/Matile and Ayers/Carney). He should do it here. One other thing to add is my feeling that the departure of Dave Lassonde a few years ago is having an impact on the goaltending. There are a lot of people who follow UNH Hockey who kind of dismissed Lassonde, but he knew goaltending and did a good job getting the guys that he mostly recruited to adapt to the college game.

As for the forwards, I have no idea why the McDonald and Smith are playing, other than they are seniors. The turnover by McDonald in the zone last night was just horrendous. Turning point in the game.

Agree totally on how DT seems to cut across Coach Umile's long standing preferences, and I suspect you are right on the money when it comes to some of this being due to the absence of Coach Lassonde. I can totally understand becoming enamored of a kid who comes a half-semester earlier than planned to bail you out in a pinch, and presides over a huge turnaround that saved a season that otherwise was headed right into the toilet. I can even understand giving that kid the benefit of the doubt for a few games early the following season ... but right now it looks like Coach is planning to stick with DT all the way, force Clark out, and go back to his old format when Robinson arrives next season - which is basically staggering your two top goalies two years apart to even out the succession planning.

But with both DT and Coach Umile likely on board for 3 more seasons apiece, it seems now like they're joined at the hip for the long run together. I thought it was kinda weird how Clark got dropped like a hot potato last season, but at least you could understand based on the results. But now with the results not following any longer ...

As for your last point ... the Captain is going to play every game so long as he is healthy and eligible. The only way to manage that then is to limit his role and his minutes. Not that you couldn't see this one coming a mile away ...

 

[Felger]

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 would not judge the players based on three games. Anyway, this is not a player issue, and they should get our encouragement to do the best they can. Each must know his part. This is an admin issue. The men who hold high places. Must be the ones who start To mold a new reality. Instead, we have three more years of Running to Stand Still. And that may be Bad. We've gotta do something about where we're going.

Been attending games since 1971....Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

 

[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"??

I would not judge the players based on three games. Anyway, this is not a player issue, and they should get our encouragement to do the best they can. Each must know his part. This is an admin issue. The men who hold high places. Must be the ones who start To mold a new reality. Instead, we have three more years of Running to Stand Still. And that may be Bad. We've gotta do something about where we're going.

I've gotta start digging back into my old Rush songbook for posts, like back in the day. Bravo.

I'll have what 'watcher's having this morning.

 

[ClOuD 9]

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"??

This is an admin issue. The men who hold high places. Must be the ones who start To mold a new reality.

Hope the new reality is better than the one the women's team is facing, 0-4-0 including home losses to Maine and the mighty Lindenwood (.257 win % in their 4 years as DI) as well as giving Merrimack their first ever DI win yesterday. A new low for a program that has seen a lot of new lows over the last 5 years.

 

[NCAA watcher]

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"??

Well, the source material was actually Plato's Republic

An ideal society consists of three main classes of people—producers (craftsmen, farmers, artisans, etc.), auxiliaries (warriors), and guardians (rulers); a society is just when relations between these three classes are right. Each group must perform its appropriate function, and only that function, and each must be in the right position of power in relation to the others. Rulers must rule, auxiliaries must uphold rulers’ convictions, and producers must limit themselves to exercising whatever skills nature granted them (farming, blacksmithing, painting, etc.) Justice is a principle of specialization: a principle that requires that each person fulfill the societal role to which nature fitted him and not interfere in any other business.

When you have someone appointed to be a ruler instead defer to a warriors as to what he wants to do for his personal benefit, the organization cannot stand.

At the end of Book IV, Plato tries to show that individual justice mirrors political justice. He claims that the soul of every individual has a three part structure analagous to the three classes of a society. There is a rational part of the soul, which seeks after truth and is responsible for our philosophical inclinations; a spirited part of the soul, which desires honor and is responsible for our feelings of anger and indignation; and an appetitive part of the soul, which lusts after all sorts of things, but money most of all (since money must be used to fulfill any other base desire). The just individual can be defined in analogy with the just society; the three parts of his soul achieve the requisite relationships of power and influence in regard to one another. In a just individual, the rational part of the soul rules, the spirited part of the soul supports this rule, and the appetitive part of the soul submits and follows wherever reason leads. Put more plainly: in a just individual, the entire soul aims at fulfilling the desires of the rational part, much as in the just society the entire community aims at fulfilling whatever the rulers will.

When an individual's personal appetite for money and honors overcomes the rational part of what would be best for the whole society, there is not individual justice.

current head coach Dick Umile’s recent three-year contract extension that will take him up to retirement — set the stage for what the program anticipates will be a smooth transition at the top.
... Umile said. “That will be the transition going forward. (Athletic director) Marty (Scarano) makes the decisions. Mike knew that by coming back with us he’d have that opportunity when I retire and my career is over. Obviously, I have three years left before that. I’m excited about it. I’ll finish my career coaching at UNH.”
Umile is going into his 26th season as UNH’s head coach. He has 560 career wins, and is one of four active Division I coaches to have 500-plus victories.
The extension is reportedly worth $248,000 per year. Scarano could not be reached for comment.

compare how Denver reacted when two time NCAA champ Gwozdecky wanted an extension at a huge salary, even though his performance was beginning to slip -- they still made the NCAAs but were not as succesful.

DU is the only Division I hockey team to win 20 games each of the past 12 seasons. However, the Pioneers on Friday lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in the past six years, part of the reason the sources said Gwozdecky was fired. An inability of the school and Gwozdecky to agree on a contract extension also figured into the decision, the sources said.,,,
Gwozdecky was making a base salary of about $221,000, according to school records, after he signed a 12-year contract extension in 2001. He and his agent began working with the school on an extension in 2009.

"We must now turn our attention toward a new direction for our hockey program with another innovative coach taking the lead for our inaugural season in the newly formed National Collegiate Hockey Conference," Bradley-Doppes said in the release.

The ripping of the bandaid was very painful. But now, two years later, Denver is #5 in the Country with a young dynamic coach.

 

[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"??

Are records kept for early season depth of philosophical analysis? Did we just break it?

 

[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"??

Are records kept for early season depth of philosophical analysis? Did we just break it?

I think so. 'Watcher is clearly already in mid-season form, while my Melville allegories are sinking quickly.

 

[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"??

The only time I've seen an opposing band travel for a UNH game in the regular season was the BU game in Manchester which our AD was roundly criticized for (their band and students got lower bowl, ours got balcony).

Providence has been allowed during the regular season too. Which was annoying because later that same season, PC refused my request to play for the women. I asked Amber if the AD could do anything, given that we'd let their band play for the men, but she said it was totally up to the school.

 

[ClOuD 9]

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"??

Providence has been allowed during the regular season too. Which was annoying because later that same season, PC refused my request to play for the women. I asked Amber if the AD could do anything, given that we'd let their band play for the men, but she said it was totally up to the school.

My memory was that it was a regular season women's game the Friar band came to the Whitt for.

 

[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"??

I've gotta start digging back into my old Rush songbook for posts, like back in the day. Bravo.

I'll have what 'watcher's having this morning.

haha Don't you always?

Sooooo agree that this team needs support!!! Thought it was interesting all of them (don't know if they were told they had to of course) came up stairs last night for the first FOMH gathering of the year when in my short experience just the frosh come for that. They needed encouragement. It's not like they lost 7-2. Yea we wanted the wins or at least...a split. Yea things are not perfect and there are things to work out, and work on. Some things aren't gonna change. Still.... they are the ones on the ice and I will continue to recognize that fact.

My new thought (Darius, I am not a skilled philosopher, lost that ability after children ) but I will say "why look in the rear view mirror when you aren't driving that way"?

I can feel the eye rolling from here...

 

[FireKnight]

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"??

ECAC does things one way, Hockey East does it another - HE leaves it to the home school to set their own rules; for example some schools won't let our cowbell in, others will. The only time I've seen an opposing band travel for a UNH game in the regular season was the BU game in Manchester which our AD was roundly criticized for (their band and students got lower bowl, ours got balcony). Bands do travel in Hockey East for the tournament, as those games are put on by the league (not the schools) they have to let opposing bands in.
FWIW: If Hockey East wanted to add traveling bands in the regular season I'd support it provided there was some sort of funding mechanism to to offset costs so more than the big name schools would send them, but I can't see many schools willing to regularly spend the money. As it is UNH will only send theirs to the Garden and won't send for first round or quarterfinals, even if we were at a close opponent like Lowell or Merrimack.

It's a classless move, especially waiting to the day before, when the band had already traveled to MC for Friday's game.

 

[NCAA watcher]

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"??

Sooooo agree that this team needs support!!! Thought it was interesting all of them (don't know if they were told they had to of course) came up stairs last night for the first FOMH gathering of the year when in my short experience just the frosh come for that. They needed encouragement. It's not like they lost 7-2. Yea we wanted the wins or at least...a split. Yea things are not perfect and there are things to work out, and work on. Some things aren't gonna change. Still.... they are the ones on the ice and I will continue to recognize that fact.

I agree. For all of the complaints about the long-term plan, and the admin's failures, the team has potential to squeak into the top 5 of Hockey East. They have top end kids Poturalski and Kelleher, mid-level potential of Foegele and Vela, and youngsters who have not played up to their potential, but are early in their careers (Eiserman).

For all of my mindset of things are pre-ordained based on paper talent, I am periodically reminded that the games are played by players. The 2004 Sox won the Yankee series in some part by having Curtis Leskanic pitch one and a third innings of shutout baseball during Game 4, the last he would ever throw in the majors. Not what one would predict, plan for, or hope. Yet, he did it. So, let's have the players play their hearts out -- they may not have been the highest recruits, but they can still play.