User Profile

[Chuck Murray]

Sorry for being away a lot recently, folks ... just coming to terms with some fantastic hockey drama surrounding the last few games of the DRW season, which I'll say up front were not for the faint of heart. Three straight come-from-behind wins in must-win situations, including a GTG goal tonight with...

[Chuck Murray]

To further elaborate on SNHU's continued willingness to be open to all kinds of statewide ventures ... looks like the New England Revolution's reserve side will be playing 8 of their 14 home games this season to SNHU's on-campus stadium in Hooksett, as kind of a trial run for what can become a more...

[Chuck Murray]

They have a whole year to go out and address that situation. They've not had as saleable a program as right now for a long, long time. Add the portal to the mix, and there's no reason that they shouldn't be able to address this looming shortcoming comfortably. Or ... will they?!?...

[Chuck Murray]

All credit to Denver ... but yeah, I'm sure hearts are breaking all across New England for BC lol ......

[Chuck Murray]

Ironically, my son-in-law's name is Matt Davis. He and our daughter also expecting our second grandchild too.

Throw in a monumental OT road win for DRW, and it's been an epic 48 hours at the WIS Estate.

NOT so excited about WWIII breaking out on the other side of the world,...

[Chuck Murray]

I dunno 'Ref ... maybe it's me, but I've always gotten the impression that so-called Western teams enjoy an edge with the zebras at this time of the season. Maybe it goes back to the CHDA days, when the West was usually loaded with older, bigger, more physical teams? I watched some of the BC-Michigan...

[Chuck Murray]

I don't think that's changed all that much at NCAA D-1 level over the years. UNH has always been in the latter category, which I prefer as a fan anyway, because I prefer the continuity of seeing a bunch of kids sticking around for 4 years with an evolving set of teammates. Maybe that's down to having...

[Chuck Murray]

Maybe they're testing the waters for their future careers as wanna-be Jerry Maguire types for fellow NCAA players??



"Show me the NIL, Jerry!! Say it!! C'mon Jerry ... I'm counting on you, man!!"...

[Chuck Murray]

The ball appears to be in Carolina's court when it comes to re-signing Pesce, who is still considered a top 4 defender on their depth charts (only 5th highest paid though), and is finishing up a 6 year, $24M deal this summer. He turns 30 later this year, so he couldn't be better positioned to cash in...

[Chuck Murray]

Well, at least as far as the portal is concerned, seems that "no news is good news" (plus Whale) so far ...

[Chuck Murray]

The USHL geographically looks to be a Midwestern US league, so that's gotta be the biggest hurdle? Hooksett currently hosts an NAHL team in a 9 team Eastern Division (assuming Tri-Town Arena). My understanding is that USHL is Tier I, and NAHL is a Tier II league, so whether having an upgraded USHL...

[Chuck Murray]

First, I think hosting a USHL team would be a great move for Manch and its arena. No question about it.

I do want to at least try to disabuse you of the Monarchs' decisions to leave Manchester being "presumably for economic issues". Manchester was at least initially wildly successful...

[Chuck Murray]

I think that's the huge parking facility across the street from WMUR TV-9, and up the street from the minor league ballpark. Serves a lot of purposes, and with continuing growth in downtown Manchester - including a lot of residential and hotel projects - hopefully it SNHU Arena will attract a full-time...

[Chuck Murray]

I think a lot of medium-sized cities in the Northeast/East Coast got hit with losses to AHL and ECHL teams when the NHL's Western Conference teams started to make a concerted effort to have their minor league affiliates closer to the parent clubs. Manchester got hit hard because of their affiliation...

[Chuck Murray]

Yup. They do not lack for ambition. No idea how long their deal is for naming rights on the arena, but it seems to be a statement of intent, and there is a LOT of developable land on and around their Hooksett campus. I wouldn't be shocked if they had a 5,000+ on-campus enrollment a decade or so from...

[Chuck Murray]

They'll no doubt want both guys to practice with the rest of the team a few times before giving them their NHL debuts, and before the playoffs start. Both may stick around as "Black Aces" (or whatever term the 'Canes use for the few extra guys who will be around to practice with them) as long...

[Chuck Murray]

Not sure what "consolidated operations in ManchVegas" means, but at least half of SNHU's campus is in Hooksett.

If there's a college/university in NH with more ambition than SNHU, I'm all ears. I believe they have an on-campus enrollment around 3,000 full-time students, which...

[Chuck Murray]

And UNH wonders why they struggle with the powers that be in Concord.

I mean, it’s not like they played a whole season in Manch when they were building The Whitt. Oh, wait …...

[Chuck Murray]

Just a timely place to remind everyone where UNH was as a statewide presence before the arrival of minor league hockey (The Kings of New Hampshire Hockey) after which the marketing dynamo f/k/a BS+30 sat on his hands and ceded the rest of the state beyond a 10 mile radius of Durham to the Monarchs....

[Chuck Murray]

'Ref, you'll be disappointed to learn Tommy Scarfone (RIT) - legit paisan - will be going to Wisconsin, not UNH. :-(