Chuck Murray
WIS & Effingwoods Hockey Almanac
OK Felger and 'dc - youze guys had your chance. We need to get a move on with the offseason thread!!
Anyway ... to be brief, it looks like Coach Umile will be entering the 2nd year of his 3 year reduced "lifetime" contract this season, and after a shockingly sparse 11 win season, the "March for 600" is still 29 wins short. Coach-in-waiting Mike Souza has yet to demonstrate his recruiting prowess for his alma mater, and some of us are still waiting for the other shoe to drop in terms of Coach Stewart's future with the program, having been bypassed for the top job a year ago. I still think the dynamics of the incumbent, his would-be successor, and the guy caught in the middle of it all remains one of the most fascinating scenarios as we await the rest of the master plan to unfold.
The team didn't botch their captaincy selection, yet there are still speculative rumblings about the curious absence of any alternate captain designations. The elephant in the room is Tyler Kelleher, the program's most prominent returning player NOT being part of the recognized leadership hierarchy. Only the second most curious decision surrounding the program since last year's botched decision on selecting a captain whose career had been marred by inconsistency and injuries, and (shockingly
) then spending most of his senior year underperforming, and then injured (yet again). Now, if UNH is subsequently going to give an "A" to the likes of Jamie Hill or some BU transfer kid to be named later ... 
The would-be logjam in goal looks to have been postponed until the final season of the Umile regime, but perhaps the most compelling development since the end of the season seems to be the low-key jettisoning of borderline D-1 talents on (Furgele) and off (O'Neill) the current UNH roster. Is this the first emerging sign that Coach Souza is beginning to stamp his authority and/or vision onto the program he is eventually hoping to inherit two summers from now? If so - I'd feel a whole lot better if we saw promising new recruits materializing to fill the slots vacated by these guys (and Kalinowski).
And for those still swooning at the early departure of "Hobey for December" candidate Andrew Poturalski, who lit up the AHL for the grand total of 2G-3A-5 pts. (and a -2) in 16 games in Charlotte ... let's not forget "Pots" was instrumental in an 11 win season in Durham, and his getting punked in OT in Game 2 against powerful Merrimack blew UNH's last best chance to salvage something from an all-too-forgettable season. He was the major benefactor of a weak early schedule, and his thudding return to earth once the schedule got tougher spoke volumes. Hopefully his returning classmates and various underclassmen who will take the ice for UNH this coming season will rise to the challenge where their erstwhile former teammate came up sadly short. If not - I think their paths will cross again in the ECHL in a couple of years.
Direction - or lack thereof - seems to hover over almost every aspect of the UNH Hockey program at this point. Who is *really* in charge, and how much worse might things have to get this coming season to force BS35+4's hand to make an earlier-than-planned decision on the incumbent coach? Does the coach in waiting have to demonstrate some ability to recruit at the upper end of D-1 to warrant his appointment? Is the overlooked assistant still fully committed to his alma mater, or is one eye cast on other opportunities? Does the overlooking of arguably the most talented returning senior from the leadership hierarchy in effect alienate him as a positive force in the room? Which of the returning players or new recruits will step forward to provide rays of light of hope for the future of this clearly wayward program?
It will be interesting to see what next season's schedule looks like, and what that may hold for the "March to 600", which will clearly need to avoid last year's pot-holes and pick up the pace to become a reality. Does the UNH program have enough in the tank to eke out a pair of 15 win seasons to get there? Discuss ...
Anyway ... to be brief, it looks like Coach Umile will be entering the 2nd year of his 3 year reduced "lifetime" contract this season, and after a shockingly sparse 11 win season, the "March for 600" is still 29 wins short. Coach-in-waiting Mike Souza has yet to demonstrate his recruiting prowess for his alma mater, and some of us are still waiting for the other shoe to drop in terms of Coach Stewart's future with the program, having been bypassed for the top job a year ago. I still think the dynamics of the incumbent, his would-be successor, and the guy caught in the middle of it all remains one of the most fascinating scenarios as we await the rest of the master plan to unfold.
The team didn't botch their captaincy selection, yet there are still speculative rumblings about the curious absence of any alternate captain designations. The elephant in the room is Tyler Kelleher, the program's most prominent returning player NOT being part of the recognized leadership hierarchy. Only the second most curious decision surrounding the program since last year's botched decision on selecting a captain whose career had been marred by inconsistency and injuries, and (shockingly
) then spending most of his senior year underperforming, and then injured (yet again). Now, if UNH is subsequently going to give an "A" to the likes of Jamie Hill or some BU transfer kid to be named later ... The would-be logjam in goal looks to have been postponed until the final season of the Umile regime, but perhaps the most compelling development since the end of the season seems to be the low-key jettisoning of borderline D-1 talents on (Furgele) and off (O'Neill) the current UNH roster. Is this the first emerging sign that Coach Souza is beginning to stamp his authority and/or vision onto the program he is eventually hoping to inherit two summers from now? If so - I'd feel a whole lot better if we saw promising new recruits materializing to fill the slots vacated by these guys (and Kalinowski).
And for those still swooning at the early departure of "Hobey for December" candidate Andrew Poturalski, who lit up the AHL for the grand total of 2G-3A-5 pts. (and a -2) in 16 games in Charlotte ... let's not forget "Pots" was instrumental in an 11 win season in Durham, and his getting punked in OT in Game 2 against powerful Merrimack blew UNH's last best chance to salvage something from an all-too-forgettable season. He was the major benefactor of a weak early schedule, and his thudding return to earth once the schedule got tougher spoke volumes. Hopefully his returning classmates and various underclassmen who will take the ice for UNH this coming season will rise to the challenge where their erstwhile former teammate came up sadly short. If not - I think their paths will cross again in the ECHL in a couple of years.
Direction - or lack thereof - seems to hover over almost every aspect of the UNH Hockey program at this point. Who is *really* in charge, and how much worse might things have to get this coming season to force BS35+4's hand to make an earlier-than-planned decision on the incumbent coach? Does the coach in waiting have to demonstrate some ability to recruit at the upper end of D-1 to warrant his appointment? Is the overlooked assistant still fully committed to his alma mater, or is one eye cast on other opportunities? Does the overlooking of arguably the most talented returning senior from the leadership hierarchy in effect alienate him as a positive force in the room? Which of the returning players or new recruits will step forward to provide rays of light of hope for the future of this clearly wayward program?
It will be interesting to see what next season's schedule looks like, and what that may hold for the "March to 600", which will clearly need to avoid last year's pot-holes and pick up the pace to become a reality. Does the UNH program have enough in the tank to eke out a pair of 15 win seasons to get there? Discuss ...
Seriously the question is surely valid which way are we headed after this past season. One thing is for sure the 'Cats have to find the mojo that was so sorely missing in the second half esp at the end. Don't wanna dwell on that and sure don't have any excuses either but that must change. I have seen the term "unfinished business" 'floating around and maybe we have some internal motivation brewing. (And I doubt it centers around the number 600)
At any rate..they were not happy with this past season soooo.....
