Chuck Murray
WIS & Effingwoods Hockey Almanac
Re: UNH Wildcats-The Back Nine and Beyond!
Well, well, what do we have here? It seems the retirement gifts have already begun to arrive in Durham NH, as in channeling their long ago "Champions of December" mojo, your 2017/2018 'Cats kicked off season with a pair of W's against defending Hockey East champions UMass Lowell. Lots of good news to reflect upon, as WIS Productions brings you the next chapter in the final farewell edition of "Umile's Last Stand - The _____ for 600".
"Umile's Last Stand - The Quest for 600"
Coach Umile's current career wins total: 588
Wins Remaining to NRN (Next Round Number): 12
Games Remaining (plus 2 min. MBPBEGAM games): 34
Win Pct. Required to Hit Target: 35.3%
WIS Estimated Likelihood of Success: 75%
2017/2018 Cupcake Conversion Ratio (CCR): 0/0 (0.0%)
When the schedule details were originally released, and we saw that UMass Lowell was one of the several HE schools against whom UNH had an extra game scheduled (I've already forgotten which school left to make this a necessity?
), it felt kind of harsh on the Wildcats, especially considering last season's ignominious ending. But upon closer inspection, the invisible hand of Joey "Peaches" Bertagna could be seen behind the scheme, as all three games were scheduled for before the Thanksgiving holiday. No doubt Coach Bazin was in on the scheme, as given the choice between dropping early season league and PWR points to a top of the league rival OR a MBPGEGAM middle of the road opponent ... well, that seems like a pretty easy one to answer. But not satisfied with the road upset against Coach Bazin's boys, Coach Umile's UNH squad got greedy and completed the double with a determined effort on Saturday evening to finish up a season-opening sweep that has grabbed his program some much-needed national attention. Not only do the wins take a significant (and surprising) chunk out of Coach's inexorable march towards the NRN, but also catapulted his 'Cats to a #20 ranking. That's nosebleed territory for the recent years of stumbling .500 mediocrity his program has experienced ... but then again, it IS still early October, and (pardon the pun from the offseason threads) par for the course for a coach and program noted for their traditional fast starts, and crushing season-ending crashes. But this is a new year, and make no mistake, we here at WIS are rooting for Coach Umile to do way more than reach the vaunted NRN.
Looking at the big picture ... as we did last season, the WIS panel of experts projected in the preseason that Coach Umile's Wildcats would amass at least 10 wins in the opening 19 game stretch of the season through completion of the Ledyard Bank Classic after the break and before we turn the calendar into 2018. Although we almost exactly nailed Saturday's home win, UNH's win on Friday at Lowell puts the 'Cats ahead of even those optimistic projections, and builds more optimism that the NRN will be a fait accompli earlier than anticipated. And while Colgate and their own NRN-seeking coach will come to Durham with an unbeaten record (over the likes of Niagara and Merrimack), make no mistake ... these are two very winnable games, and this begins the first of two stretches during the '17 segment of this season that's stocked with cupcakes. The four game "Halloween Homestand", and a winnable road game up at The Gut gives Coach Umile a real opportunity to get a foothold into the season before a challenging November schedule arrives.
It all just looks so ... well, easy. Of course, that's when overconfidence could become an issue, which seems unlikely, especially with the (formerly Red) Raiders from upstate NY on the doorstep, and off to a good start of their own. Just feeling one "W" in my bones for this coming weekend's action, but willing to be surprised with another sweep.
Predictions:
Friday: @ UNH 5 Colgate 2
Saturday: @ UNH 3 Colgate 3
NEXT CUPCAKES ON THE SHELF: 10/20/17 & 10/21/17 vs. Colorado College
2018/2019 (AND BEYOND) RECRUITING UPDATE: No decommits this week, as we still await some clarity on why the Japanese kid isn't listed on the roster, but was spotted hanging around The Whitt for the exhibition game against the X-Men. But with the newfound national ranking, and the advent of beer sales at The Whitt ... one would think it's time for Souza and Stu to put away the golf clubs for the season, and get back out onto the road to start hunting blue-chippahs. WIS correspondents have been trying to reach out to former UNH commit G Drew Commesso to see if he's now reconsidering his decommit, but our calls have not been returned. Yet.
Well, well, what do we have here? It seems the retirement gifts have already begun to arrive in Durham NH, as in channeling their long ago "Champions of December" mojo, your 2017/2018 'Cats kicked off season with a pair of W's against defending Hockey East champions UMass Lowell. Lots of good news to reflect upon, as WIS Productions brings you the next chapter in the final farewell edition of "Umile's Last Stand - The _____ for 600".
"Umile's Last Stand - The Quest for 600"
Coach Umile's current career wins total: 588
Wins Remaining to NRN (Next Round Number): 12
Games Remaining (plus 2 min. MBPBEGAM games): 34
Win Pct. Required to Hit Target: 35.3%
WIS Estimated Likelihood of Success: 75%
2017/2018 Cupcake Conversion Ratio (CCR): 0/0 (0.0%)
When the schedule details were originally released, and we saw that UMass Lowell was one of the several HE schools against whom UNH had an extra game scheduled (I've already forgotten which school left to make this a necessity?
), it felt kind of harsh on the Wildcats, especially considering last season's ignominious ending. But upon closer inspection, the invisible hand of Joey "Peaches" Bertagna could be seen behind the scheme, as all three games were scheduled for before the Thanksgiving holiday. No doubt Coach Bazin was in on the scheme, as given the choice between dropping early season league and PWR points to a top of the league rival OR a MBPGEGAM middle of the road opponent ... well, that seems like a pretty easy one to answer. But not satisfied with the road upset against Coach Bazin's boys, Coach Umile's UNH squad got greedy and completed the double with a determined effort on Saturday evening to finish up a season-opening sweep that has grabbed his program some much-needed national attention. Not only do the wins take a significant (and surprising) chunk out of Coach's inexorable march towards the NRN, but also catapulted his 'Cats to a #20 ranking. That's nosebleed territory for the recent years of stumbling .500 mediocrity his program has experienced ... but then again, it IS still early October, and (pardon the pun from the offseason threads) par for the course for a coach and program noted for their traditional fast starts, and crushing season-ending crashes. But this is a new year, and make no mistake, we here at WIS are rooting for Coach Umile to do way more than reach the vaunted NRN.Looking at the big picture ... as we did last season, the WIS panel of experts projected in the preseason that Coach Umile's Wildcats would amass at least 10 wins in the opening 19 game stretch of the season through completion of the Ledyard Bank Classic after the break and before we turn the calendar into 2018. Although we almost exactly nailed Saturday's home win, UNH's win on Friday at Lowell puts the 'Cats ahead of even those optimistic projections, and builds more optimism that the NRN will be a fait accompli earlier than anticipated. And while Colgate and their own NRN-seeking coach will come to Durham with an unbeaten record (over the likes of Niagara and Merrimack), make no mistake ... these are two very winnable games, and this begins the first of two stretches during the '17 segment of this season that's stocked with cupcakes. The four game "Halloween Homestand", and a winnable road game up at The Gut gives Coach Umile a real opportunity to get a foothold into the season before a challenging November schedule arrives.
It all just looks so ... well, easy. Of course, that's when overconfidence could become an issue, which seems unlikely, especially with the (formerly Red) Raiders from upstate NY on the doorstep, and off to a good start of their own. Just feeling one "W" in my bones for this coming weekend's action, but willing to be surprised with another sweep.
Predictions:
Friday: @ UNH 5 Colgate 2
Saturday: @ UNH 3 Colgate 3
NEXT CUPCAKES ON THE SHELF: 10/20/17 & 10/21/17 vs. Colorado College
2018/2019 (AND BEYOND) RECRUITING UPDATE: No decommits this week, as we still await some clarity on why the Japanese kid isn't listed on the roster, but was spotted hanging around The Whitt for the exhibition game against the X-Men. But with the newfound national ranking, and the advent of beer sales at The Whitt ... one would think it's time for Souza and Stu to put away the golf clubs for the season, and get back out onto the road to start hunting blue-chippahs. WIS correspondents have been trying to reach out to former UNH commit G Drew Commesso to see if he's now reconsidering his decommit, but our calls have not been returned. Yet.
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Go 'Cats!!!