UMaine Black Bears, 2nd verse same as the first 2016-2017

[UncleRay]

Re: UMaine Black Bears, 2nd verse same as the first 2016-2017

Maine has a very good locker room and training facility. No need for an upgrade.
Visiting team locker room is nasty.

I don't believe the locker room was really the point

As usual, Wally's right. I'm not looking for million dollar checks from two dozen players. But is the U involving them on any substantive level?

[UncleRay]

Re: UMaine Black Bears, 2nd verse same as the first 2016-2017

I've held DU season tickets for over forty years and the program is in great health at present.

Forty years? Just how ancient are you anyway, you old goat? I've been thinking of you these past few days. Weeks. So glad to see Monty doing well in a new home where he's appreciated. Enjoy it. He's a class act. I might even have to pick up a DU hat if he sticks around. Got one you can spare for a cheapskate?

[A Shot and a Goal]

Re: UMaine Black Bears, 2nd verse same as the first 2016-2017

Forty years? Just how ancient are you anyway, you old goat? I've been thinking of you these past few days. Weeks. So glad to see Monty doing well in a new home where he's appreciated. Enjoy it. He's a class act. I might even have to pick up a DU hat if he sticks around. Got one you can spare for a cheapskate?

Hey Ray, Just from my having made a few posts on this board recently, you gotta invite a few posters over to your place for some margaritas. Group morale in this thread seems lower than the Colorado Avs last place finish.

And I agree completely about Monty...class act from the word go. He interviewed with Calgary last summer before staying put. He says he'd leave for the NHL only if the right job comes along. He and his wife have two very young sons and love living in Highlands Ranch [nice suburb twenty minutes south of the DU campus]. As far as I'm concerned based on his work here the past four years I hope he stays here for the rest of his coaching career. Hey maybe Montgomery will get Maine to come out here for a non-conference series if he sticks with DU.

Geez, let me see....an extra hat for a cheapskate. Hmmm....what size do you wear? Pinhead if I remember correctly. Hope all is well in your neck of the woods. And yes, I've been in full celebratory mood for a few days. Public tribute tomorrow night at Magness Arena for the team. Should be fun.

[rufus]

Re: UMaine Black Bears, 2nd verse same as the first 2016-2017

Hard to complain very much about a .910 save percentage after what we have seen in recent times. He was inconsistent though. I think the hope is that Swayman is the goalie Maine has been missing all these years.

Which doesn't even put you among the top 30 tenders in the country.

[NorthMike]

CHN article: Monty and the Gray Ghost

Get well soon Grant.

Talk about coaching though Grant is outstanding. Back in the TW years with Grant I was at the Alfond one day watching part of a practice. Grant was showing the team some technical improvement to a common skating move. He held the whole teams 100% attention. I recall being pretty impressed with how much interest the plyers had.

My kids were also playing youth hockey around that time and we used to randomly see Grant in the rink watching. No telling what he was looking at or thinking.

[NorthMike]

From twitter:
Jeff Cox @JeffCoxSports
Look for volunteer goaltending coach and former Black Bear star Alfie Michaud to replace Jay Leach as full-time assistant at Maine.

It sounds like the players like Michaud, so maybe not a bad move. Begs the question whos going to coach goalies, a pretty high priority. Interesting move.

[NorthMike]

Hey Ray, Just from my having made a few posts on this board recently, you gotta invite a few posters over to your place for some margaritas. Group morale in this thread seems lower than the Colorado Avs last place fi

Needed Therapy

[UncleRay]

Re: UMaine Black Bears, 2nd verse same as the first 2016-2017

Hey Ray, Just from my having made a few posts on this board recently, you gotta invite a few posters over to your place for some margaritas. Group morale in this thread seems lower than the Colorado Avs last place finish.

There's not enough tequila north of the Rio Grande. At any rate, somebody would then complain about not having the right hipster beer. There's no pleasing this group. A NC would only bring up the cries of how it should have happened X number of years ago.

[BoSox3066]

It sounds like the players like Michaud, so maybe not a bad move. Begs the question whos going to coach goalies, a pretty high priority. Interesting move.

He can still work with the goalies. I actually love the idea of having one of the FT assistants having a goalie background, rather than the volly/skype model.

[NorthMike]

He can still work with the goalies. I actually love the idea of having one of the FT assistants having a goalie background, rather than the volly/skype model.

Good point, i hadnt thought of it that way.

[BassAle]

Re: UMaine Black Bears, 2nd verse same as the first 2016-2017

I still can't believe Jimmy is at Denver and not Maine. Obviously Denver is a better place to be professionally -- more resources, higher pay, and inheriting a program in much better shape than Maine. However, I always thought if I saw him as a D1 head coach, it would be at Maine. Maine's current situation really makes me sick. I gave up my season tickets after last season, and at this point I don't miss going to the games. Unless Maine gets super lucky with its next hire, I think they are a perennial basement dweller. Even with a good coach, I don't see Maine ever becoming much more than a middle of the pack team with an occasional visit to the NCAAs. It just doesn't put in the resources required to compete at the top anymore.


I think that Jimmy would have been bringing in better talent than Red, and would have gotten more out of the talent he had. I don't think Maine would be championship even with Jimmy, but I bet we'd be a lot better off than we are now. What could have been...

[Great Day for Hockey]

CHN article: Monty and the Gray Ghost

Get well soon Grant.

Good story, but sad to hear about coach's health. I was concerned a little bit about his health. Coach Standbrook was back in Madison about a month ago as part of a 40th anniversary celebration for the Badgers 1977 national title team. He didn't look the best but at the time I just chalked it up to the fact that he's almost 80. I loved the part in the article about him coaching from the hospital bed. In his thirty years spent at Wisconsin and Maine he helped coach/recruit teams that won 5 NC in 9 title game appearances. I would guess he also recruited many of the seniors on Wisconsin's 1990 NC team as well. Throw in two championships with Dubuque in the USHL and that is quite the impressive list of accomplishments. Thanks for making it back to Madison one more time coach and as stated above get well soon.

[Dan]

Re: UMaine Black Bears, 2nd verse same as the first 2016-2017

I still can't believe Jimmy is at Denver and not Maine. Obviously Denver is a better place to be professionally -- more resources, higher pay, and inheriting a program in much better shape than Maine. However, I always thought if I saw him as a D1 head coach, it would be at Maine. Maine's current situation really makes me sick. I gave up my season tickets after last season, and at this point I don't miss going to the games. Unless Maine gets super lucky with its next hire, I think they are a perennial basement dweller. Even with a good coach, I don't see Maine ever becoming much more than a middle of the pack team with an occasional visit to the NCAAs. It just doesn't put in the resources required to compete at the top anymore.


I think that Jimmy would have been bringing in better talent than Red, and would have gotten more out of the talent he had. I don't think Maine would be championship even with Jimmy, but I bet we'd be a lot better off than we are now. What could have been...

Once you start bringing in better talent and maximizing said talent, those resources start to appear out of nowhere...

Not to pour fuel on the fire, but as a UNH fan living in Denver and attending nearly all of DU's home games the past two seasons - here is the real secret to DU's success. They come to play EVERY night. I'm sure Montgomery would take exception to certain performances, but that would be nitpicking on most occasions. They play hard, they execute and they show-up. Always. To me, more than anything else, that tells me a lot about his coaching ability...

[BBDiehard14]

Re: UMaine Black Bears, 2nd verse same as the first 2016-2017

Once you start bringing in better talent and maximizing said talent, those resources start to appear out of nowhere...

Not to pour fuel on the fire, but as a UNH fan living in Denver and attending nearly all of DU's home games the past two seasons - here is the real secret to DU's success. They come to play EVERY night. I'm sure Montgomery would take exception to certain performances, but that would be nitpicking on most occasions. They play hard, they execute and they show-up. Always. To me, more than anything else, that tells me a lot about his coaching ability...

Jim has a lot of Coach Walsh in him. He has the same type of fire. He also rides referees much like SW did!

[Sean Pickett]

Re: UMaine Black Bears, 2nd verse same as the first 2016-2017

Hard to complain very much about a .910 save percentage after what we have seen in recent times. He was inconsistent though. I think the hope is that Swayman is the goalie Maine has been missing all these years.

Which doesn't even put you among the top 30 tenders in the country.

McGovern's save percentage for games he started was 0.911, which was above this season's mean save percentage of 0.908, but below the mean save percentage for the previous five seasons, making him close too an average DI goalie. However, just having an above average save percentage is not enough for post season success, as none of the top six goalies in save percentage made the NCAA tournament and 4 with save percentages lower than McGovern made the NCAAs.

As for consistency, he started 28 games and 16 of them (57.1%) were quality starts (a save percentage equal or higher than the mean average), 36th out of 73 starting goalies (see the NCAA Goalie Starts, Quality Starts and Really Bad Starts thread for more information). He also had 3 (10.7%) really bad starts (a save percentage below 85.0%), 24th out of 73 starting goalies. His quality starts to really bad starts ratio was 5.3 to 1, 27th out of 73. So, overall he was an average goalie this past season. In Hockey East he was 8th out of 14 starting goalies in save percentage, 9th out of 14 in quality starts percentage, but only 13th out of 14 in winning percentage. Average in Hockey East is not what you need from your goalie.

Sean