Chuck Murray
WIS & Effingwoods Hockey Almanac
OK then - the people have spoken. There's been a lot of discussion in the offseason about medium-term and long-term issues that are currently swirling around the UNH Hockey program, but there is the simple issue of the upcoming 2016/2017 season to get on with. And after what was Coach Umile's worst-ever season over his quarter century at the helm of his alma mater's (former?) flagship program, the stage has been set for the final act of his long-running play way, way off Broadway. Two years are what's left on his (former?) lifetime contract, and the successor-in-waiting is not even at the midway point of his holding pattern. Recruiting has slowed to a crawl, and the Wildcat faithful are searching desperately for a glimmer of hope that the good times of old are on their way back to Durham.
To those folks (myself included), I have some good news ... the good ol' days will be back for the remainder of 2016!
And for us fans of those good ol' days, the other side of the coin is that a mediocre finish over the first 60+ days of 2017 is likely going to be in the cards as well.
Much has been written and debated about Coach Umile's exit strategy, and "The ____ to 600" will be at the forefront of his team's rebound from last year's debacle. The leadership role - something they handled naively and ultimately poorly last season - looks to be in excellent hands this time around. Two healthy goalies in competition for playing time bodes well, and although Tirone might not like playing less than he's been accustomed to over the last season-and-a-half ... the burden of backstopping the team in every game might allow him to play more consistently and progress back to his late 2015 form, after what he'd have to consider a "sophomore slump" season last year.
The defense should be slightly better than last season's crew, as the returning players will have that extra year of experience, and Maller looks to be healthy, which is a solid if unspectacular *addition*. Wyse looks to have some potential, but we're going to have to give him time to adjust, as a second pairing assignment is a pretty big ask in this league, and certainly in this program. But with addition by subtraction of two players who got sizeable ice time last season, this year's crew HAS to be better. If not ... watch out.
Up front, I know there's a lot of excitement about some of the guys and their potential, and hopefully it's for good reason. There doesn't appear to be a whole lot of talent in the pipeline behind them (at least not at this point), so this group could be a "make or break" group that either generates the new excitement that so many of us are waiting to see ... or if they underperform and underachieve, then there will be ramifications that some (myself very much at the fore) have discussed ad nauseum.
I'm predicting a 15 win season (and hoping for more than that) but sadly I don't see the team escaping from the first round of the (obligatory reference) MBPBEGAM HE *playoffs*. I'll check back in after the holidays to see how the team has done, and hopefully they'll have aced the first part of their test. So ... let the games begin!!
To those folks (myself included), I have some good news ... the good ol' days will be back for the remainder of 2016!
And for us fans of those good ol' days, the other side of the coin is that a mediocre finish over the first 60+ days of 2017 is likely going to be in the cards as well.
Much has been written and debated about Coach Umile's exit strategy, and "The ____ to 600" will be at the forefront of his team's rebound from last year's debacle. The leadership role - something they handled naively and ultimately poorly last season - looks to be in excellent hands this time around. Two healthy goalies in competition for playing time bodes well, and although Tirone might not like playing less than he's been accustomed to over the last season-and-a-half ... the burden of backstopping the team in every game might allow him to play more consistently and progress back to his late 2015 form, after what he'd have to consider a "sophomore slump" season last year.
The defense should be slightly better than last season's crew, as the returning players will have that extra year of experience, and Maller looks to be healthy, which is a solid if unspectacular *addition*. Wyse looks to have some potential, but we're going to have to give him time to adjust, as a second pairing assignment is a pretty big ask in this league, and certainly in this program. But with addition by subtraction of two players who got sizeable ice time last season, this year's crew HAS to be better. If not ... watch out.
Up front, I know there's a lot of excitement about some of the guys and their potential, and hopefully it's for good reason. There doesn't appear to be a whole lot of talent in the pipeline behind them (at least not at this point), so this group could be a "make or break" group that either generates the new excitement that so many of us are waiting to see ... or if they underperform and underachieve, then there will be ramifications that some (myself very much at the fore) have discussed ad nauseum.
I'm predicting a 15 win season (and hoping for more than that) but sadly I don't see the team escaping from the first round of the (obligatory reference) MBPBEGAM HE *playoffs*. I'll check back in after the holidays to see how the team has done, and hopefully they'll have aced the first part of their test. So ... let the games begin!!
