UNH Wildcats 2014 Post-Season Thread: "Maybe Dick" Hunts the Great White Whale

[Nick Papagiorgio]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2014 Post-Season Thread: "Maybe Dick" Hunts the Great White Whale

Wasn't Dries told to leave. Pretty sure he got kicked off the team for his off ice actions.

Don't sell him short, he did a lot of dumb things on the ice too.

My favorite was throwing his broken stick at Nick Petrecki at the Garden at the end of overtime and getting away with it and 5 seconds later hooking Petrecki's leg and flipping him off his feet for a penalty that led to the PPG BC scored in double (or triple?) OT.

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2014 Post-Season Thread: "Maybe Dick" Hunts the Great White Whale

Don't sell him short, he did a lot of dumb things on the ice too.

My favorite was throwing his broken stick at Nick Petrecki at the Garden at the end of overtime and getting away with it and 5 seconds later hooking Petrecki's leg and flipping him off his feet for a penalty that led to the PPG BC scored in double (or triple?) OT.

Yup, that was him. Adorable little creature.

[Aerman]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2014 Post-Season Thread: "Maybe Dick" Hunts the Great White Whale

Triple

[Dan]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2014 Post-Season Thread: "Maybe Dick" Hunts the Great White Whale

Don't sell him short, he did a lot of dumb things on the ice too.

My favorite was throwing his broken stick at Nick Petrecki at the Garden at the end of overtime and getting away with it and 5 seconds later hooking Petrecki's leg and flipping him off his feet for a penalty that led to the PPG BC scored in double (or triple?) OT.

Yeah - that happened shortly after Dries did NOT draw a penalty on this play in front of the BC net...

http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/p...21072/-1/rss02

[UNHhockey29]

Don't sell him short, he did a lot of dumb things on the ice too.

No arguments there

[Darius]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2014 Post-Season Thread: "Maybe Dick" Hunts the Great White Whale

Not sure if the club discussion was on this or the Marty thread, but..

The Other Wildcats - Student-Athletes on UNH’s 30 Sport Club Teams Play with Heart, and Win:

http://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/2014/05/other-wildcats

[Snively65]

Not sure if the club discussion was on this or the Marty thread, but..

The Other Wildcats - Student-Athletes on UNH’s 30 Sport Club Teams Play with Heart, and Win:

http://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/2014/05/other-wildcats

Good to have on both threads; great article! Thanks for posting.

[C-H-C]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2014 Post-Season Thread: "Maybe Dick" Hunts the Great White Whale

Justin Agosta:

“It came up late and everything kind of fell into place. Quinnipiac is about 55 or 60 minutes from home, compared to about five hours. I haven’t lived at home in about eight or nine years and family can come see me play. I still have family that hasn’t seen me play. It’s going to be good. Some days I’ll get home for dinner.

It was a great four years. I’m definitely going to miss it. I love coach Umile. We had a great meeting and it got emotional at the end. He understood my thinking and knew I wanted to move on. He knew I wanted a fresh start.”

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2014 Post-Season Thread: "Maybe Dick" Hunts the Great White Whale

All very nice and sweet. I'll apologize here in advance for not quite buying the "my uncle found a loophole late in the process" thing, though. Just a wee bit too serendipitous for a cynical old codger like me. But if that's the cover story, and he and Coach Umile left on good terms, then hey ho, life goes on, and the rebuild just gets a little steeper a little sooner.

[JB]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2014 Post-Season Thread: "Maybe Dick" Hunts the Great White Whale

All very nice and sweet. I'll apologize here in advance for not quite buying the "my uncle found a loophole late in the process" thing, though. Just a wee bit too serendipitous for a cynical old codger like me. But if that's the cover story, and he and Coach Umile left on good terms, then hey ho, life goes on, and the rebuild just gets a little steeper a little sooner.

Was "rebuild just gets a little steeper a little sooner" the plan? If you are going to need to rebuild is Agosta enough to make it less painful? Or is it better to get another "promising" Fr. in and playing time and take your lumps early next year?

Playing time will tell if a pile of Fr. get lots of ice time early...

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2014 Post-Season Thread: "Maybe Dick" Hunts the Great White Whale

Was "rebuild just gets a little steeper a little sooner" the plan? If you are going to need to rebuild is Agosta enough to make it less painful? Or is it better to get another "promising" Fr. in and playing time and take your lumps early next year?

Playing time will tell if a pile of Fr. get lots of ice time early...

Having Agosta for the upcoming season would have been a significant-but-temporary boost to the backline. The fact Quinnipiac wants him for that one single year speaks volumes, doesn't it? But overall, it would have been a temporary patch, and likely deprived a new player of valuable PT. Ultimately, I guess the question is whether that extra time invested in his *replacement* pans out with a good reliable player who gives the program some strong years OR if that player craps out early and leaves a hole that doesn't quite get filled.

One early indicator I'm looking at to judge Coach Umile's trust in the frosh is to see how much PT Harry Quast gets to start the season, and whether he can maintain it throughout the season OR if he ends up getting bypassed. Two frosh defensemen leapfrogged him last season, so you gotta think this will be a make or break Fall 2014 for Quast. Late bloomer or career spare part? We'll know soon enough.

[Snively65]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2014 Post-Season Thread: "Maybe Dick" Hunts the Great White Whale

Having Agosta for the upcoming season would have been a significant-but-temporary boost to the backline. The fact Quinnipiac wants him for that one single year speaks volumes, doesn't it? But overall, it would have been a temporary patch, and likely deprived a new player of valuable PT. Ultimately, I guess the question is whether that extra time invested in his *replacement* pans out with a good reliable player who gives the program some strong years OR if that player craps out early and leaves a hole that doesn't quite get filled.

One early indicator I'm looking at to judge Coach Umile's trust in the frosh is to see how much PT Harry Quast gets to start the season, and whether he can maintain it throughout the season OR if he ends up getting bypassed. Two frosh defensemen leapfrogged him last season, so you gotta think this will be a make or break Fall 2014 for Quast. Late bloomer or career spare part? We'll know soon enough.

Given the mediocrity of this team the past few years, I say give every freshman a chance to play, from game one, including all five forwards, four d-men, and the incoming goalie. No more red-shirting freshmen, which has not helped much at all recently. Make the upperclass players earn their ice time. I do not care if the team has to tank this coming year, it is time to build something sustainable for the future.

[QUAlum2004]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2014 Post-Season Thread: "Maybe Dick" Hunts the Great White Whale

Having Agosta for the upcoming season would have been a significant-but-temporary boost to the backline. The fact Quinnipiac wants him for that one single year speaks volumes, doesn't it? But overall, it would have been a temporary patch, and likely deprived a new player of valuable PT. Ultimately, I guess the question is whether that extra time invested in his *replacement* pans out with a good reliable player who gives the program some strong years OR if that player craps out early and leaves a hole that doesn't quite get filled.

One early indicator I'm looking at to judge Coach Umile's trust in the frosh is to see how much PT Harry Quast gets to start the season, and whether he can maintain it throughout the season OR if he ends up getting bypassed. Two frosh defensemen leapfrogged him last season, so you gotta think this will be a make or break Fall 2014 for Quast. Late bloomer or career spare part? We'll know soon enough.

They want him because they don't have a lot of senior leaders back there. Its Senior Dan Federico, Junior Alex Barron and 5 Sophomores along with 1 incoming freshman. They needed another veteran on the back end especially with the youth the team will have up front.

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2014 Post-Season Thread: "Maybe Dick" Hunts the Great White Whale

They want him because they don't have a lot of senior leaders back there. Its Senior Dan Federico, Junior Alex Barron and 5 Sophomores along with 1 incoming freshman. They needed another veteran on the back end especially with the youth the team will have up front.

Understood. But compared with UNH, who will return only one (1) junior (Pesce) and two (2) sophs (Cleland and Maller) next season, that makes Quinnipiac's blue line crew look like grizzled vets.

Given the mediocrity of this team the past few years, I say give every freshman a chance to play, from game one, including all five forwards, four d-men, and the incoming goalie. No more red-shirting freshmen, which has not helped much at all recently. Make the upperclass players earn their ice time. I do not care if the team has to tank this coming year, it is time to build something sustainable for the future.

I'm not dismissing that as a viable approach, but it would go against everything Coach Umile has done in the past. And at least up to this stage of his career, Coach has not exactly done anything to dispel the adage, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks". I'm sure the upperclassmen will still have to earn their ice time, but I'd be shocked if they don't get the first shot at earning it early in the season, before Coach turns to some of the lower-rated frosh players. That's up front as well as back on the blue line (see my prior comments on Quast as an indicator of intent).

As far as the incoming frosh goalie ... in addition to DeSmith, I believe Jamie Regan remains in the mix as a junior next season. Clearly he has not been a factor in his first two seasons at Durham, but he rarely gets any mention on these "lloking ahead" posts, and I'd be curious to hear if anyone out there has any insight into whether he will ever be more than a third "spare" goalie at UNH?

[Greg Ambrose]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2014 Post-Season Thread: "Maybe Dick" Hunts the Great White Whale

Understood. But compared with UNH, who will return only one (1) junior (Pesce) and two (2) sophs (Cleland and Maller) next season, that makes Quinnipiac's blue line crew look like grizzled vets.



I'm not dismissing that as a viable approach, but it would go against everything Coach Umile has done in the past. And at least up to this stage of his career, Coach has not exactly done anything to dispel the adage, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks". I'm sure the upperclassmen will still have to earn their ice time, but I'd be shocked if they don't get the first shot at earning it early in the season, before Coach turns to some of the lower-rated frosh players. That's up front as well as back on the blue line (see my prior comments on Quast as an indicator of intent).

As far as the incoming frosh goalie ... in addition to DeSmith, I believe Jamie Regan remains in the mix as a junior next season. Clearly he has not been a factor in his first two seasons at Durham, but he rarely gets any mention on these "lloking ahead" posts, and I'd be curious to hear if anyone out there has any insight into whether he will ever be more than a third "spare" goalie at UNH?

Chuck, every UNH team has had spare parts, guys who never play nor do they deserve to. Without naming names, there are a few on the current roster who fit this profile. That's a problem. If the incoming frosh take away playing time from upperclassmen it means that they are better. Better players filling out your roster is a good thing.