UNH Wildcats 2017/2018 - Umile's Last Stand - The Grand Finale

[chickod]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2017/2018 - Umile's Last Stand - The Grand Finale

I know why it happened, but it is still mind boggling.

Enlighten us. Seriously. Because after reading this all year, it seems to me the players are getting off rather lightly. I mean, do they "resent" the fact that all the attention has been on the Quest? Do they not like the coach? Because it seems to me they might want to put out a little extra effort to be a part of something special. Regardless of very recent history, 600 wins is a tremendous accomplishment and it's almost unbelievable that now they have to go to postseason to get 14 total wins in his last year. I'm just asking because I haven't seen many games so are they THAT BAD or is it lack of effort, indifference, no motivation? It just seems baffling to me.

I know it's a tired cliche but the coaches aren't out there playing.

 

[HockeyRef]

Enlighten us. Seriously. Because after reading this all year, it seems to me the players are getting off rather lightly. I mean, do they "resent" the fact that all the attention has been on the Quest? Do they not like the coach? Because it seems to me they might want to put out a little extra effort to be a part of something special. Regardless of very recent history, 600 wins is a tremendous accomplishment and it's almost unbelievable that now they have to go to postseason to get 14 total wins in his last year. I'm just asking because I haven't seen many games so are they THAT BAD or is it lack of effort, indifference, no motivation? It just seems baffling to me.

I know it's a tired cliche but the coaches aren't out there playing.

All of what you said are these Wildcats. Plain and simple. No way this team even with their limitations, should be where they are. You need grit and heart and a sense of team to pull out the close ones, to hold leads. Sorry this has not been evident and I don't think it's entirely a lack of ability. JMHO

EDIT: I doubt they aren't winning to spite DU and his NRN....that would be too easy an explanation

 

[Dan]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2017/2018 - Umile's Last Stand - The Grand Finale

Enlighten us. Seriously. Because after reading this all year, it seems to me the players are getting off rather lightly. I mean, do they "resent" the fact that all the attention has been on the Quest? Do they not like the coach? Because it seems to me they might want to put out a little extra effort to be a part of something special. Regardless of very recent history, 600 wins is a tremendous accomplishment and it's almost unbelievable that now they have to go to postseason to get 14 total wins in his last year. I'm just asking because I haven't seen many games so are they THAT BAD or is it lack of effort, indifference, no motivation? It just seems baffling to me.

I know it's a tired cliche but the coaches aren't out there playing.

I don't know why people keep ignoring me when I discuss the lack of ability on the roster. They're NOT good. They're doing the best they can - but the recruiters have butchered the program and its not an exaggeration.

UNH has ONE, All-HE caliber talent - Gildon. There are three 'good' players on the roster in my opinion - Blackburn, Grasso (hurt) and Maass. I count two 'above-average' talents - McNicholas and Kelleher. The rest of the team is average to below average, with many (to borrow a baseball term) below replacement level. Its not a lack of effort. Its not something missing from the first month of the season. They're a very bad hockey team as they have proven since late October (FOUR MONTHS).

Its not a mystery. Its a lack of talent and it is entirely the coaches' faults. The recruiting has been terrible and the head guy hasn't paid any attention to recruiting for over a decade. Why would you expect the team to be better is a more interesting question. I mean we can pretend that with a little effort they should be better - but if you're not talented, hard work doesn't help you a whole lot. We can pretend that they just need to tap into what they did during their 5-0-0 start, but that was a complete fluke (combined with good fortune*). That start was a sample size of FIVE games. They've played 27 games since and gone 5-16-6 in that stretch. Its time to trust the larger sample size and stop living in fantasy land...

* If Lowell wasn't a mess the first few weeks and Colgate showed up at the Whitt with Colton Point - UNH is sitting on 7 wins right now, maybe 6...

 

[HockeyRef]

I don't know why people keep ignoring me when I discuss the lack of ability on the roster. They're NOT good. They're doing the best they can - but the recruiters have butchered the program and its not an exaggeration.

UNH has ONE, All-HE caliber talent - Gildon. There are three 'good' players on the roster in my opinion - Blackburn, Grasso (hurt) and Maass. I count two 'above-average' talents - McNicholas and Kelleher. The rest of the team is average to below average, with many (to borrow a baseball term) below replacement level. Its not a lack of effort. Its not something missing from the first month of the season. They're a very bad hockey team as they have proven since late October (FOUR MONTHS).

Its not a mystery. Its a lack of talent and it is entirely the coaches' faults. The recruiting has been terrible and the head guy hasn't paid any attention to recruiting for over a decade. Why would you expect the team to be better is a more interesting question. I mean we can pretend that with a little effort they should be better - but if you're not talented, hard work doesn't help you a whole lot. We can pretend that they just need to tap into what they did during their 5-0-0 start, but that was a complete fluke (combined with good fortune). That start was a sample size of FIVE games. They've played 27 games since and gone 5-16-6 in that stretch. Its time to trust the larger sample size and stop living in fantasy land...

I'd add Wyse to your list of players amd concur wholeheartedly with your assessment.

 

[Dan]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2017/2018 - Umile's Last Stand - The Grand Finale

I'd add Wyse to your list of players amd concur wholeheartedly with your assessment.

Yes, youre right. I was thinking that even as I posted - Wyse is probably at least above average (maybe even good), but that still leaves a roster seven players better than average and then the rest. Seven is not going to get you many wins...

 

[Dan]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2017/2018 - Umile's Last Stand - The Grand Finale

Pessimism: 9-22-3 (5-17-2 - 595 career wins
Prediction: 12-18-4 (7-14-3) - 598 career wins
Optimism: 17-14-3 (10-12-2) - 603 career wins (The symbolism would almost make it all worth it!

Yup, saw it coming...

 

[chickod]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2017/2018 - Umile's Last Stand - The Grand Finale

I don't know why people keep ignoring me when I discuss the lack of ability on the roster. They're NOT good.

Well, excuse the cynicism but you have to understand my perspective. I just watched (again) "my" team blow a two-goal lead with 14 minutes left in the 3rd period and lose in OT to UConn. This is a team that purportedly has had the "best" recruiting class in the country going on three years now (read: "most" talent). In a league with a lot of parity this year (read: mediocre), I have seen "lesser" teams put forth good efforts and beat "better" teams multiple times. So although I respect your opinion and obviously you know a he** of a lot more about UNH hockey than I, it's just astonishing to me how it can go south this quickly. After watching my team lose to "inferior" teams at least eight times this year (according to the "experts"), it seems as though the Wildcats would occasionally win "some" of these close games.

Obviously you're all frustrated too. I was just trying to ascertain if there was something "else" that those of us who are not close to the program don't know about. Or have you just hit the "tipping point" where the poor recruiting has finally caught up and there are simply no elite (for lack of a better word) players left?

 

[HockeyRef]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2017/2018 - Umile's Last Stand - The Grand Finale

Hey folks what were your thoughts on Robinson? Considering this was his second start I thought he played well enough given the competition.

 

[NCAA watcher]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2017/2018 - Umile's Last Stand - The Grand Finale

The team has been told for three years
1.they have a lame duck coach invested only in paychecks and personal accomplishments
2.there is no meritocracy system in picking the new coach, a kid with 4 years of low level D1 experience and no urgency upon coming aboard
3.the ad doesn't care, and is willing to lie to them about an upward trajectory and everything is fine

Combine those with Dan's undeniable point about talent, and you have a lack of common purpose.

Co-coach Lassonde will not accept this crap

 

[Dan]

Obviously, you're all frustrated too. I was just trying to ascertain if there was something "else" that those of us who are not close to the program don't know about. Or have you just hit the "tipping point" where the poor recruiting has finally caught up and there are simply no elite (for lack of a better word) players left?

I apologize for the frustration, but yes - the recruiting has reached the cliff and fallen off. The decline has been gradual starting when McCloskey left, accelerating after the transcript/email issues and UNH is now at a point where the only thing remotely close to an elite talent is a true freshman defensemen.

They have second and more-so third liners playing on the top lines and pairs and AHA players filling their bottom six/pair. They have very little skill and possession ability at all. When other teams turn it up they're always chasing pucks. That's why they blow leads. They don't have the talent to effort up and take over a game. They are simply very bad right now.

I know you don't like you're coaches coaching ability and recruiting strategy - but you have so much talent and as they get experience and continue to take in talent you're going to find yourself in the mix for national titles more often than not. Probably four out of every five years or more, with the occasional clunker a la this year. Last season you guys were up in arms and yet you lost in OT of a regional final to the national runner up.

In the mix - that's all you can ask for in this era of parity across college hockey. UNH is years away from sniffing the mix. If you guys want to dump Quinn I'd hire him at UNH in a heartbeat...

 

[Dan]

The team has been told for three years
1.they have a lame duck coach invested only in paychecks and personal accomplishments
2.there us no meritocracy system in picking the new coach, a kid with 4 years of low level D1 experience and no urgency upon coming aboard
3.the ad doesn't care, and is willing to lie to them about an upward trajectory

Combine those with Dan's undeniable point about talent, and you have a lack of common purpose.

Co-coach Lassonde will not accept this crap

There is no meritocracy in filling out the line-up card either. So perhaps some players aren't encouraged to work at max effort all the time after all. Since it doesn't get them any extra looks...

 

[chickod]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2017/2018 - Umile's Last Stand - The Grand Finale

I apologize for the frustration, but yes - the recruiting has reached the cliff and fallen off. The decline has been gradual starting when McCloskey left, accelerating after the transcript/email issues and UNH is now at a point

No problem at all. I only asked because I figured you'd know.

Trust me, this is not the place to start a discussion about DQ...

 

[Dan]

Hey folks what were your thoughts on Robinson? Considering this was his second start I thought he played well enough given the competition.

He's the best goalie in the roster - I'd imagine it's the last start he sees all year...

 

[Dan]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2017/2018 - Umile's Last Stand - The Grand Finale

UNH now ranks 48th in the PWR with its 10-16-6 record against the 40th ranked strength of schedule. The only non-Atlantic/WCHA team to play an easier schedule has been Yale (41). They have not only been bad - they have been bad against very bad opponents...

 

[deltabravo62]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2017/2018 - Umile's Last Stand - The Grand Finale

What I worry about more than anything right now are early departures after this year, not saying it is a guarantee that any of the drafted players get a contract dangled out in front of them after the season they have had. If any of them do, is there anything that would keep them from running as fast as they can?

 

[Greg Ambrose]

Enlighten us. Seriously. Because after reading this all year, it seems to me the players are getting off rather lightly. I mean, do they "resent" the fact that all the attention has been on the Quest? Do they not like the coach? Because it seems to me they might want to put out a little extra effort to be a part of something special. Regardless of very recent history, 600 wins is a tremendous accomplishment and it's almost unbelievable that now they have to go to postseason to get 14 total wins in his last year. I'm just asking because I haven't seen many games so are they THAT BAD or is it lack of effort, indifference, no motivation? It just seems baffling to me.

I know it's a tired cliche but the coaches aren't out there playing.

Can you get your arms around the fact that most of the guys on the roster sucked? I refuse to start listing the pluses and minuses of each player, but the fact that they lost so many one goal games, had so many ties, and had so many games where they took the lead then coughed it up is an indictment, first and foremost on the coaches. They are the ones who recruited a bunch of guys who, bottom line, were not Division 1 quality. I was at the UConn game a few weeks ago when UNH coughed up a two goal lead and wound up losing by two in regulation. That performance should be a one off, a once in a season brain fart. But, here we are, two nights ago and the same thing happened. It’s easy to say,,this is on the players. But, in reality, it’s on the coaches because they are the ones who recruited a bunch of guys who are not capable of being competitive in Division 1 hockey. The sad thing is that, if UNH had any kind of talent, they could have compiled a gaudy record because HE stunk this year.

I will also say this. As bad as Charlie Holt’s last year was, and it was really bad, his team at least was competing in a much more difficult environment. There were no Bentleys, Browns, and Armys on their schedule that year. It was all Hockey East and WCHA. If this year’s team had faced that type of schedule, they may not have won a game.

 

[chickod]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2017/2018 - Umile's Last Stand - The Grand Finale

Can you get your arms around the fact that most of the guys on the roster sucked?

Got it. Well, I hope the incoming regime turns things around.

 

[Greg Ambrose]

The team has been told for three years
1.they have a lame duck coach invested only in paychecks and personal accomplishments
2.there is no meritocracy system in picking the new coach, a kid with 4 years of low level D1 experience and no urgency upon coming aboard
3.the ad doesn't care, and is willing to lie to them about an upward trajectory and everything is fine

Combine those with Dan's undeniable point about talent, and you have a lack of common purpose.

Co-coach Lassonde will not accept this crap

Why would Dave Lassonde want to come back to this? He left because of the Gaudreau fiasco, a lack of institutional support. It’s much worse now. Don’t get me wrong. I’d love for Dave to come back. At least we would have competent goaltending and a decent penalty kill. But I don’t see it, contrary to the rumors I heard.

 

[Ray Dorn]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2017/2018 - Umile's Last Stand - The Grand Finale

UNH has to start landing elite (NHL potential) hockey players in the recruiting process if they ever want to be a top program.

But I have to ask why would any NHL drafted player choice UNH to continue their hockey development and get a college education?

 

[BlackI]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2017/2018 - Umile's Last Stand - The Grand Finale

Got it. Well, I hope the incoming regime turns things around.

Great comments from someone that is not vested and profits on bad advice.