The shutout is fitting - as despite the six spot against - a lack of offense held UNH back for the second season in a row. UNH scored 12 goals in its final nine games (28.5 periods) of the season and four of those came in yesterday's double OT outing...
They scored more than one goal in just three of their last nine - and finished the season with 90 goals. Just two more than last season - raising their GPG from 2.44 to just 2.50...
Improved 5x5 goal prevention turning the team from a -21 into a -9 and is probably the reason a lot of those ties and OT wins went their way - but you need to score goals if you really want to succeed in a season...
The light at the end of that struggle tunnel could come next season. If BVR, Blackburn and Grasso (4th year) continue to develop, as expected, and also see the patented UNH senior bump of old they could give UNH one very productive second-line.
The first line - at least to start the season - should be a junior Charlie Kelleher, along with the two best pure offensive players UNH has had since TK and AP, in Crookshank and Pierson. It's not out of the question that these two lines pump in 60-70+ goals themselves - with a couple of 20-goal scorers potentially emerging.
The depth lines - now skating with experience - should be able to skate and check, chipping in enough. MacAdams, Esposito, Sacco, Fregona and Cippolone (as well as the FR Stevenson) should give UNH a better bottom-six than they've had in a while and shouldn't be asked to play roles above their pay-grade as similar players have had to do in recent years. The F group could be, top-to-bottom, the best group since Dowing and Goumas took them to the NCAAs (though they'll do that with little reinforcement - so development over the summer is crucial)...
The goaltending - as discussed - should be very good. Sturdy. They'll give the team a chance every night they play well, at the very least, regardless of how PT shakes out. If they can step up to that next level, individuallly or as a pair, all the better...
The D could make the difference in what we see for results next season. I still think Gildon is gone - probably sooner than later - and that will have a big effect on the both the defense/puck-moving and (obviously) the offense. More so than some may wish to admit. Boyd is also gone and he has played pretty well for UNH in a limited role the last two years - he's been one of the few, if not the only UNH player to finish as a plus in each of the last two years and a fixture on the second-PP...
If Wyse leaves it would leave a huge hole - costing them their best (expected) returning blue liner and moving everyone up a notch. Either way, Maass needs to be the two-way, major impact defender he was early in his FR year...
I've long looked at this as the best UNH season on the horizon - if Wyse returns I think they are in the mix to finish upper-middle of the pack and perhaps host a first round series. They'll finally have the mix of talent and experience to do so...
The next question is, if they do that, can it last. If so, the recruiting still needs to pick up in both consistency and impact. Stutzle and Margel are potential studs, but Stutzle, at least, is a short timer - the rest of the forwards are question marks for me until they move up the junior ranks and prove their ability (I would have liked to have seen more pure dominance of the lower levels in the east from many - a la Margel). Ardanaz should have a Marks-type floor but he's the only D-man left in the pipeline.
As bad as Miami has been, their new recruiters have the program leading the country in recruits invited to the USNTDP tryouts with five prospects. There's enough positivity (real or perceived) around this season, and heading into next year, for UNH that this level of aggression and over-achievement on the recruiting trail should be the number one-goal for the summer...
They should start with Brendan Budy, former DU freshman and current Tri-Cities forward - reuniting him with Crookshank...
