University of Maine 2024–2025: Freel-ing good

[Fishman'81]

RPI has played the 2nd easiest schedule in college hockey and they are 1 game over .500. Maine has played the 3rd hardest schedule and are 6 games over .500. Maine is a heavy favorite in this one and should sweep RPI despite it being on RPI’s ice.

I expect Berzins to get a start. Time to see what he can do. He looked fine in what time we’ve seen him so far. Would like to get a look at Brian Morse. And it would be great to see Carney, Nobes, Niemo get some ice time. Maybe not all at once on the same night. But would be good to see how they are playing now.

Please, please, please don't..!

We're going to Troy for the weekend, and I'd prefer that Maine skated the best team it has.

The Bears have survived the early-season gauntlet; no reason in the world to take the foot off the gas, and risk a bad loss, undoing the PW money they already have under their belts.

 

[Fishman'81]

That was the worst experience watching a game live for me. Minnesota building was so loud, stuck in an absolute sea of maroon with the worst sinking feeling. I have no idea how I didn’t get in a fight after that game with all the idiots carrying on.

The nc against Denver was bad.

The Gionta 5 goals in 10 minutes or however long was terrible too.

Tonight was a great road game, right up there with good ones!

How 'bout the washout vs. Denver, when Damon had a toenail in the crease? (Actually, it was a quarter inch of his heel, but yeah...)

Looks like we're all set to whine like little girls for the next 4 years. The people have spoken!

 

[StillKIA2]

How 'bout the washout vs. Denver, when Damon had a toenail in the crease? (Actually, it was a quarter inch of his heel, but yeah...)

Looks like we're all set to whine like little girls for the next 4 years. The people have spoken!

I thought it was Hammy’s toe and Damon’s goal?

but players need to play and there’s no way this team is only going to have one injury all season long…let Nicky Niemo play and get some ice time against teams like RPI and Stonehil so they can play well against BU in the playoffs

and Nobes is strong, let him kick some butt as a 7th D man. (against Stonehill)

 

[tylerzx2002]

Please, please, please don't..!

We're going to Troy for the weekend, and I'd prefer that Maine skated the best team it has.

The Bears have survived the early-season gauntlet; no reason in the world to take the foot off the gas, and risk a bad loss, undoing the PW money they already have under their belts.

I wouldn't mess around at RPI, because stacking some road wins is a necessity for this team, but back home against Stonehill I don't hate getting some guys into the lineup.

If Nadeau is still out that offers up one open roster space. Pichette has looked good enough on the fourth line that I'd keep rolling him out with Scholle/Komarov.

The next couple weekends do offer a good chance for Barr to dress an extra forward rather than the extra defenseman he seems to prefer.

 

[DavidNardolillo]

We're going to Troy for the weekend, and I'd prefer that Maine skated the best team it has.

The Bears have survived the early-season gauntlet; no reason in the world to take the foot off the gas, and risk a bad loss, undoing the PW money they already have under their belts.

Barr is a professional and I suspect that he'll approach this weekend the same way he would approach any other, but I'd bet he will want to do well this weekend; he's an RPI alumnus and if you followed the RPI thread the past few years, you'll have seen that many parties were unhappy he was passed over for the RPI job after Seth Appert was fired.

 

[Sparkee]

Barr is a professional and I suspect that he'll approach this weekend the same way he would approach any other, but I'd bet he will want to do well this weekend; he's an RPI alumnus and if you followed the RPI thread the past few years, you'll have seen that many parties were unhappy he was passed over for the RPI job after Seth Appert was fired.

On behalf of all Maine fans(except Drew probably) tell RPI AD, search committee, etc… we say thanks SO much! Barr has been great so far and Maine fans feel like we got our program back.

 

[NorthMike]

Barr is a professional and I suspect that he'll approach this weekend the same way he would approach any other, but I'd bet he will want to do well this weekend; he's an RPI alumnus and if you followed the RPI thread the past few years, you'll have seen that many parties were unhappy he was passed over for the RPI job after Seth Appert was fired.

I think your correct. Barr always says regardless who they play that they put the best team they can on the ice every game.
Players earn or lose a game slot during practice.

 

[Engineers]

On behalf of all Maine fans(except Drew probably) tell RPI AD, search committee, etc… we say thanks SO much! Barr has been great so far and Maine fans feel like we got our program back.

Congratulations to Maine on two easy wins in Troy N.Y.! You guys are welcome!

 

[Engineers]

Barr is a professional and I suspect that he'll approach this weekend the same way he would approach any other, but I'd bet he will want to do well this weekend; he's an RPI alumnus and if you followed the RPI thread the past few years, you'll have seen that many parties were unhappy he was passed over for the RPI job after Seth Appert was fired.

many people are still unhappy. Rightfully so the past 8 years under Dave smith has been a nightmare. Very little success while Barr is excelling at maine. Needless to say rpi made a stupid decision

 

[AMC]

I don't know if anyone is an advanced stats geek, but CHN has introduced a metric they call "CHIP" that is supposed to be like baseball's "WAR" or "Wins Above Replacement" stat. Kind of an all encompassing look at player value. I don't know how much stock to put into it, but always interesting having another data point.

It has Brandon Holt as the 3rd most valuable skater in college hockey and Harrison Scott 7th. Boija is the third most valuable goalie.

 

[DavidNardolillo]

On behalf of all Maine fans(except Drew probably) tell RPI AD, search committee, etc… we say thanks SO much! Barr has been great so far and Maine fans feel like we got our program back.

Don't forget to thank the other schools that passed on Ben Barr after RPI hired Dave Smith in 2017. Barr was a candidate in a few other searches after that.

That said, the institutional support for hockey at RPI really wasn't there under the prior president and RPI shut down its program during COVID. Whether Barr could have found success in that environment was debated ad nauseum on the RPI threads.

IN any event, looking forward to caching one of the games this weekend! Should be a real test for RPI. Safe travels to Maine fans coming to Troy.

 

[Fishman'81]

I thought it was Hammy’s toe and Damon's goal?

Sounds right, come to think of it...

Wasn't that the same season that Maine stunned a very good Harvard team in the Albany regional, coming back down 3 goals in the 3rd? Frankie Doyle was amazing in relief of Jimmy in that one. (And I *seem* to recall Hammy scored the GWG in that game.)

Aside from the NC wins, that was my favorite Maine game ever. We met a Harvard professor who made the trip that night. Sat right next to us. Very nice guy, wearing his crimson jacket over a tweed sportcoat. Never showed any outward emotion when Harvard was building its seemingly insurmountable lead, just kept commenting on how talented Maine was. But you could tell he was completely geeked... Then Maine started to swarm.

The 5th and deciding Maine goal came late, and the poor guy never made any excuses, but he looked like his dog just died. (Hockey will do that to you, won't it?)

I'm happy to say that my young bride and I both gave him a hug after that kick in the yarbles, and wished him a safe trip back to Cambridge, but he likely tossed a bit in bed that night.

 

[OronoKO]

Hockey's a funny game. I wouldn't be counting on anything at this stage. If Nadeau is back, the choices probably come down to Callefiore or Pichette up front and Dalton or Lesakowski on D.

 

[tylerzx2002]

Sounds right, come to think of it...

Wasn't that the same season that Maine stunned a very good Harvard team in the Albany regional, coming back down 3 goals in the 3rd? Frankie Doyle was amazing in relief of Jimmy in that one. (And I *seem* to recall Hammy scored the GWG in that game.)

Aside from the NC wins, that was my favorite Maine game ever. We met a Harvard professor who made the trip that night. Sat right next to us. Very nice guy, wearing his crimson jacket over a tweed sportcoat. Never showed any outward emotion when Harvard was building its seemingly insurmountable lead, just kept commenting on how talented Maine was. But you could tell he was completely geeked... Then Maine started to swarm.

The 5th and deciding Maine goal came late, and the poor guy never made any excuses, but he looked like his dog just died. (Hockey will do that to you, won't it?)

I'm happy to say that my young bride and I both gave him a hug after that kick in the yarbles, and wished him a safe trip back to Cambridge, but he likely tossed a bit in bed that night.

That 03/04 team played nine straight one-goal games to close out that season, including that Harvard comeback. Shame they couldn't finish the job.

 

[Sparkee]

Sounds right, come to think of it...

Wasn't that the same season that Maine stunned a very good Harvard team in the Albany regional, coming back down 3 goals in the 3rd? Frankie Doyle was amazing in relief of Jimmy in that one. (And I *seem* to recall Hammy scored the GWG in that game.)

Aside from the NC wins, that was my favorite Maine game ever. We met a Harvard professor who made the trip that night. Sat right next to us. Very nice guy, wearing his crimson jacket over a tweed sportcoat. Never showed any outward emotion when Harvard was building its seemingly insurmountable lead, just kept commenting on how talented Maine was. But you could tell he was completely geeked... Then Maine started to swarm.

The 5th and deciding Maine goal came late, and the poor guy never made any excuses, but he looked like his dog just died. (Hockey will do that to you, won't it?)

I'm happy to say that my young bride and I both gave him a hug after that kick in the yarbles, and wished him a safe trip back to Cambridge, but he likely tossed a bit in bed that night.

I remember that game well. It was unreal. I might be forgetting the circumstances… but didn’t we have to wait an unusually long time because BU went into multiple overtime’s with Cornell? DiPietro standing on his head.

 

[Sparkee]

Don't forget to thank the other schools that passed on Ben Barr after RPI hired Dave Smith in 2017. Barr was a candidate in a few other searches after that.

That said, the institutional support for hockey at RPI really wasn't there under the prior president and RPI shut down its program during COVID. Whether Barr could have found success in that environment was debated ad nauseum on the RPI threads.

IN any event, looking forward to caching one of the games this weekend! Should be a real test for RPI. Safe travels to Maine fans coming to Troy.

I didn’t really follow who passed on Barr. Which other schools did?

I think UMass won the national championship when Barr was an assistant and Maine hired him right after that. Jimmy Montgomery was on search committee for Maine and had a heavy recommendation due in part to his days of coaching alongside Barr at RPI when Barr was a volunteer assistant.

He is hired through 2028 by Maine. I heard from someone in the know that his wife and young family like it in Orono(greater Bangor).

I would have liked to go to Troy, but one of my kids is coming home to visit from college. So we are maximizing home time with him. I will watch on tv though. Hope for some good hockey, best of luck Engineers. I am an engineer, so have a lot of respect for your school. Worked with a few RPI grads over the years.

 

[amkirby10]

I didn’t really follow who passed on Barr. Which other schools did?

I think there were several, but I pretty distinctly remember it being reported that the finalists for the Vermont job after they got rid of Kevin Sneddon were Barr and Jerry Keefe, who now coaches at Northeastern. Then UVM hired Todd Woodcroft seemingly out of nowhere.

 

[Fishman'81]

I remember that game well. It was unreal. I might be forgetting the circumstances… but didn’t we have to wait an unusually long time because BU went into multiple overtime’s with Cornell? DiPietro standing on his head.

That one was in Worcester.

BU and another red team went on for almost 4 hours. I think it was St. Lawrence. They had a great goalie back then as well, at least on that night. That game was finally decided in the 4th OT.

We were nearly out of gas as spectators, then Ricky let one in, and we were relieved that we could finally see our guys play after nearly 5 hours. Felt like sitting for a root canal.

Cakewalk for Maine after that. Bye-bye Michigan, and to on the FF.

(Of course, I might have that wrong after sooo many Maine games over the years, but I don't think so.)

 

[Sparkee]

That one was in Worcester.

BU and another red team went on for almost 4 hours. I think it was St. Lawrence. They had a great goalie back then as well, at least on that night. That game was finally decided in the 4th OT.

We were nearly out of gas as spectators, then Ricky let one in, and we were relieved that we could finally see our guys play after nearly 5 hours. Felt like sitting for a root canal.

Cakewalk for Maine after that. Bye-bye Michigan, and to on the FF.

(Of course, I might have that wrong after sooo many Maine games over the years, but I don't think so.)

That sounds right, or good enough. I remember us Mainers cheering “somebody score a goal! Somebody score a goal!”. I loved the days where they had 12 teams at a regional.

The game where Steve Kariya went nuts and had 5 assists against Clarkson was a good memory. I’m hoping this Maine team this year can give us some good memories.

 

[Fishman'81]

That sounds right, or good enough. I remember us Mainers cheering “somebody score a goal! Somebody score a goal!”. I loved the days where they had 12 teams at a regional.

The game where Steve Kariya went nuts and had 5 assists against Clarkson was a good memory. I’m hoping this Maine team this year can give us some good memories.

Those were the days when a Clarkson (or any other ECAC team that "won" that conference) received an automatic bye in the 12 team field.

Anyway, Maine steamrolled them, after having to play a game to get there.

CU pulled its goalie with a lot of time left- maybe 5+ minutes- and the final was 7-2, IIRC. And Steve Kariya was all over the ice that day, as you said. Actually talked to him before that game, in the elevator of the hotel that we were all staying at. He was shockingly small in person, but a giant on the ice.

The PW makes a hell of a lot more sense than THAT silliness ever did. Used to drive me crazy.