Northeastern 2015-16: Hobey Roy Kenobi and the Freshman Force

[NU_Husky]

Re: Northeastern 2015-16: Hobey Roy Kenobi and the Freshman Force

My God, I thought Rawlings graduated. As a Mets fan, I don't which error was worse: that 3rd goal or Daniel Murphy in the 8th inning.

With you there. Tonight was rough.....

[Split-N]

Re: Northeastern 2015-16: Hobey Roy Kenobi and the Freshman Force

...Getting rid of JM won’t matter because the entire thought process and mantra of athletics at NU needs to be blown up and rebuilt from Goalie to AD.

I would agree with this sentiment except for stopping at the AD. The upper reaches of the administration created this debacle in the first place and now perpetuates it. Most are just academic eggheads who, at best, are indifferent to intercollegiate sports and blind to its potential for burnishing an institution's image or, in this case, turning the school into a national laughingstock, at least in certain quarters. Although I suspect certain members of the Board of Trustees may be upset with the current situation, there just aren't enough of them to make a difference.

[McBain75]

Re: Northeastern 2015-16: Hobey Roy Kenobi and the Freshman Force

I just got back from UVM. My thoughts from being at the game yesterday:

The Vermont fans got a laugh when I yelled a minute into the third period "hallelujah! they made it a minute into the period and didn't give up a goal!" The first Vermont goal was at the other end, it seemed like Derick Roy overcommitted, leaving him in a bad position for the second and third chances. Just a calamitous play all around. The second was right in front of us, a horribly weak goal. Third one they were pressing, somehow got it through a crowd. A few years ago Rawlings graduated and no one knew if they had a starter on the team - turns out Witt was good enough. NU went through the same scenario now but it's not playing out well. Derick just isn't playing confident right now, isn't exuding a sense of being in control back there. You hold your breath whenever the puck gets near him at this point. Better goaltending last night and the Huskies get the win, absolutely.

NU clearly outplayed them for long stretches last night. I liked seeing that, that the fire hasn't burned out yet and the team didn't get down easily. Guys that stuck out playing well - Sikura (cycled really well), both Stevens brothers, Fennell (took care of some things nicely). The talent and size of these NU teams is noticeably better than when I was in school around the turn of the century. The passing is crisper, they looked sharp outside of the first minute of play. I did notice that if the defensemen pinched the boards and didn't cut off the puck, it was causing big 2 on 1 problems, really opening things up for UVM.

We found 2 other Huskies fans milling about during the second intermission, so we almost doubled our contingent for the third period. Gutterson is nice, parking was right next door, the fans were friendly. The student section doesn't really do much, and they only have 2 cheers. Some of the Catamounts fans were grumbling about how the school has been talking about building a new arena for too many years now. It's a familiarly sized building, which like most of them that age don't have enough bathrooms for a crowd that size. The absence of a Jumbotron was nice - people had to focus on the game instead of being told what to do by a screen.

My dad said he had no expectations going into this but was impressed by how well they could play and the talent evident. I was down after the recent losses but left somewhat optimistic - the team is still fighting, there's a lot of the season left, they COULD be good...but only as long as they get better goaltending. They're not going to go far without it.

Side note about the program's priorities - I'm a lifelong UB person (University at Buffalo), when Warde Manuel (now the AD at UConn) was the AD here he made it very clear to everyone that there was no reason why the program had to compromise on academics or winning. There was no reason whey they couldn't be good in the classroom AND on the field/court. You don't need to lessen your academic standards to win; you don't have to sacrifice wins in order to get good grades. So even though I'm not familiar with the inner circle talk at NU, I'm not afraid to expect the same out of Northeastern.

[NU_Husky]

Re: Northeastern 2015-16: Hobey Roy Kenobi and the Freshman Force

My God, I thought Rawlings graduated. As a Mets fan, I don't which error was worse: that 3rd goal or Daniel Murphy in the 8th inning. Derick seems like a nice kid...unfortunately I know a lot of nice kids who I wouldn't want playing goalie for us. For JM to not go with Ruck tonight is truly and utterly ridiculous. But hey, we have to make 15 happy right? After all he still hasn't scored.

Sending a virtual hug to a fellow masochist fan. LGM. GoNU

[beanstalk]

Re: Northeastern 2015-16: Hobey Roy Kenobi and the Freshman Force

I just got back from UVM. . . . Side note about the program's priorities - I'm a lifelong UB person (University at Buffalo), when Warde Manuel (now the AD at UConn) was the AD here he made it very clear to everyone that there was no reason why the program had to compromise on academics or winning. There was no reason whey they couldn't be good in the classroom AND on the field/court. You don't need to lessen your academic standards to win; you don't have to sacrifice wins in order to get good grades. So even though I'm not familiar with the inner circle talk at NU, I'm not afraid to expect the same out of Northeastern.

Thanks for the great report.

The Warde Manuel parallel is interesting. He did a great job putting UB on the map, in large part by hiring an excellent football coach in Turner Gill - somebody from outside the UB community who starred at Nebraska, a major football power (back then, at least). Northeastern could learn a lesson from that type of hire - if your school does not have a winning tradition, hire a head coach from outside who was part of a winning tradition.

However, his legacy at UConn is not settled yet. Despite winning men's and women's basketball titles during his tenure, UConn was left out of the mix when the Big Five conferences realigned, and they find themselves on the outside looking in. I know that some have expressed a fear on this site that NU could be a victim of the next realignment in hockey - particularly if the AD is blindsided or willingly lets it happen. UConn got caught in a tug of war between quality large football schools and quality small basketball schools, and ended up with neither. Is NU at risk of being left out if it doesn't commit more resources to hockey?

[McBain75]

Re: Northeastern 2015-16: Hobey Roy Kenobi and the Freshman Force

I don't know a ton about the situation at UConn but from what we understood, there was a lot of crap going on there with bad grades and bad behavior (mostly the basketball program?). Warde was an assistant AD at Michigan before UB, and I think was brought on at UConn to get some of those off-court shenanigans under control. No doubt those conference alignment problems are a big issue there. He is held in high regard here because they were able to raise their game on the field AND in the classroom.

After seeing Lowell do so well, and now PC win the national title, to me that means there are no excuses about a program like ours reaching for the top. And it doesn't mean we have to take lesser athletes to keep our academic standards, or lesser classroom performance so they can be good on the ice. Get solid, motivated people who buy into the plan and are held accountable. The facilities are good; the fan base keeps showing up despite every logical reason not to; the school is rising in reputation and quality; the quality of the recruits seems to be going up; no reason to compromise on any of our expectations.

[northeastern]

Re: Northeastern 2015-16: Hobey Roy Kenobi and the Freshman Force

After seeing Lowell do so well, and now PC win the national title, to me that means there are no excuses about a program like ours reaching for the top. And it doesn't mean we have to take lesser athletes to keep our academic standards, or lesser classroom performance so they can be good on the ice. Get solid, motivated people who buy into the plan and are held accountable. The facilities are good; the fan base keeps showing up despite every logical reason not to; the school is rising in reputation and quality; the quality of the recruits seems to be going up; no reason to compromise on any of our expectations.

..all good points.

For NU however (far as Athletics).. from what i've seen.. bunch of politics. Folks trying to hold on to their turf. Keep a paycheck.
Forget the W/L. These guys surround themselves. Friends of the Coach (they comment on here often).. the friends & family plan they're on..
any way you look at it..these dinosaurs do not want to upset the apple cart.

Just too many blockers..!

I thought Madigan might make AD some day & shake things up a bit.. never thought of him as a Head Coach.
No one in the hockey world did.. except our current AD. Therein lies the problem.. the change has to be driven from the top.

[scorer]

Re: Northeastern 2015-16: Hobey Roy Kenobi and the Freshman Force

.. the change has to be driven from the top.

I think the top has spoken and that explains why things are the way they are. Aoun has been here about 9 years; he may be here awhile longer. Roby is probably here until he retires; so status quo there. And, when there a change at the top, I don’t expect that the priority for sports will somehow become a lot more important. I hope that I am wrong.

[McBain75]

Re: Northeastern 2015-16: Hobey Roy Kenobi and the Freshman Force

I agree with you guys that the change has to come from the top. I saw a team on Saturday that played hungry and motivated, even after giving up early goals in the first two periods. The players are trying; I assume Madigan is doing his best because I don't see him as a guy who would give anything less than that for NU; the question in the end therefore is about the desire of the AD and the school. I have relatives and friends here who are Canisius alums who complain how their school has tons of money but an athletics attitude of "we're just happy to be here". With NU it doesn't seem to be an issue of the coaches and players not trying, the issue is at the top - are they seeking to be as competitive as possible, with the best possible people, or are they just "happy to be here."

[northeastern]

Re: Northeastern 2015-16: Hobey Roy Kenobi and the Freshman Force

I agree with you guys that the change has to come from the top. I saw a team on Saturday that played hungry and motivated, even after giving up early goals in the first two periods. The players are trying; I assume Madigan is doing his best because I don't see him as a guy who would give anything less than that for NU; the question in the end therefore is about the desire of the AD and the school. I have relatives and friends here who are Canisius alums who complain how their school has tons of money but an athletics attitude of "we're just happy to be here". With NU it doesn't seem to be an issue of the coaches and players not trying, the issue is at the top - are they seeking to be as competitive as possible, with the best possible people, or are they just "happy to be here."

https://youtu.be/y6Sxv-sUYtM

[Huskies01]

Re: Northeastern 2015-16: Hobey Roy Kenobi and the Freshman Force

Who cares about the AD. Enough. Get someone behind the bench who can teach the defense a breakout and how to knock the puck off the glass and out of the zone. Who can teach a PK and a PP in the same year, not have one do well and the other suck. Have someone who can teach something and have it stick for an entire season, not have different problems rotate in and out all year long. With JM behind the bench its like they spend weeks plugging one hole, just for another three to pop up because they cannot focus on it.

Here has been his coaching brilliance to date, get Kevin Roy out there as much as possible and let him cheat on defense. (which i am fine with) Cant wait to see what he does next year.

Coach whiteboard can go too.

[Happy Husky]

Re: Northeastern 2015-16: Hobey Roy Kenobi and the Freshman Force

After seeing Lowell do so well, and now PC win the national title, to me that means there are no excuses about a program like ours reaching for the top. And it doesn't mean we have to take lesser athletes to keep our academic standards, or lesser classroom performance so they can be good on the ice. Get solid, motivated people who buy into the plan and are held accountable. The facilities are good; the fan base keeps showing up despite every logical reason not to; the school is rising in reputation and quality; the quality of the recruits seems to be going up; no reason to compromise on any of our expectations.

Great quote with alot of of truth behind it,Im hoping some of the other wise folks here tackle this!

Just one thought Grzelcyk is back,the only chance we have of a good weekend here with BU is overconfidence on their part and maybe NU can "get lucky" and steal one.Miracles can happens lets hope Ruck "stands on his head" and we get some points out of our big guns #GoNU

[brassbonanza]

Re: Northeastern 2015-16: Hobey Roy Kenobi and the Freshman Force

Great quote with alot of of truth behind it,Im hoping some of the other wise folks here tackle this!

Just one thought Grzelcyk is back,the only chance we have of a good weekend here with BU is overconfidence on their part and maybe NU can "get lucky" and steal one.Miracles can happens lets hope Ruck "stands on his head" and we get some points out of our big guns #GoNU

Overconfidence? You have a shot against us for sure, maybe even more than that - we've had weak goaltending lately. But your chances have nothing to do with BU being overconfident after two terrible performances and one shaky one last week.

[Happy Husky]

Re: Northeastern 2015-16: Hobey Roy Kenobi and the Freshman Force

Overconfidence? You have a shot against us for sure, maybe even more than that - we've had weak goaltending lately. But your chances have nothing to do with BU being overconfident after two terrible performances and one shaky one last week.

You called it on the two losses that I wasnt aware of,I had been at the UConn game two weeks ago,and to me,as an NU fan,BU looked loaded and that without Grzelyk,so I'm making an assumption based on that,I guessing both of us would agree our teams are due for a win(s) at this point,with NU's prior record,I'm looking for anything to hang my hopes on,because it's been a rough stretch comparatively for a very long time.

The bottom line is this,and maybe it just personal for me,but next to the Bruins-Habs rivalry,this is my favorite and I am very excited to see them match up this weekend! May the best team win! #GoNU

[northeastern]

Re: Northeastern 2015-16: Hobey Roy Kenobi and the Freshman Force

can we just hold on to a lead this season?..

life under Madigan .. always one sandwich short of a picnic..