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  • Re: UNH 2018 Offseason- Out with the old , in with the semi new?

    Originally posted by NCAA watcher View Post
    Bravo. This was my exact thought when I saw the responses to someone making a good point about supply and demand. Blaming people and kids when there is a far deeper problem continues the consistent theme that there is no problem, that the problem lies elsewhere with gimmicky fixes.

    There is a deep rot. Those close to the decision makers and the decision makers continue to live in the past, thinking the team has earned some right of respect, and the problem is with those who don't see that. The program needs urgent care, not the mentality we see at all levels:

    1.UNH is a privilege, we just need to find the right recruits recognize how lucky they are to play here
    2.There is no need to be aggressive, we are a blue chip, not a dot com.
    3.The fans will return, and those who point out truths are just bad fans
    4.Those pesky kids. If only they would change we could get more attendance and excitement
    5.Don't worry, turnaround is just around the corner, trust us.

    Where the hell is the second assistant? I understand the curveball of Mark White, but was there no plan B, or C, or wherever we are after getting turned down? Three months ago:


    Mike Lowry: Do you have a rough timeline on when your replacement will be identified and selected?

    Head Coach Souza: We've been thinking about this for three years and there's some people in mind. Probably sooner rather than later, to be honest, I don't want to get into too much right now, but sooner rather than later. I think it's integral to our push forward in terms of recruiting to have someone in place as soon as we can.


    integral apparently is a relative term. USHL teams area all conducting their tryout camps this past week, and in a couple of weeks the USA festival starts.

    You were in last place in the conference. Show some urgency!
    The lack of any apparent sense of urgency is something I've been harping on for years now. Never, ever forget what those first two letters of BS35+6 stand for. The post-MW pause should surprise no one. Just the latest Alfred E. Neuman moment at UNH Hockey. Not to belabor the point of the silly summer thread last season, but this is just "par for the course" at UNH these days, sadly. As 'Watcher puts it, the rot has set in, and it has set in deeply. At least we won't have Dick Nixon Umile to kick around anymore …
    Sworn Enemy of the Perpetually Offended
    Montreal Expos Forever ...

    Comment


    • Re: UNH 2018 Offseason- Out with the old , in with the semi new?

      Ladies and Gents

      Mike Souza is the real deal and I hope he hires a defensive coach soon. He is great with the young men recruited before he was here and after as well. He will get the best out of our players and they love him as a coach. I ask for optimism and our recruits and existing players are very good. Grasso is back this year, the freshmen line of 2 years ago will be the junior line this year. Our two goalies are exceptional, our top 5 defensemen are among the best we have had at UNH, and the new recruits on offense should be very good. Don't we all want to be in the top tier in hockey east and in the national rankings? You are all correct that attendance is down and as Greg said it is down everywhere. BU is always loaded but they are half full for most of their games. Northeastern is lucky to get 1500-2000 to games. Maine fans are the most loyal on earth and they do not spend their entire day blasting the coaches, players and administration.

      I wrote that it did not matter if the students were not here for 3 January games. You are right that we are not as good as we were in the glory days as Women's hockey is not as good as their glory days. I am not blaming students for turnout at all as there seems to be little interest in any sport on campus. They do not show up for basketball or football either and hockey is certainly still the number 1 sport with students at UNH. I am happy to hear that Journey 34 is still coming to games and it is and was admirable to donate tickets to youth groups. Please do not bash me for being a truth teller about modern day students. They show up for homecoming to get drunk as they never go into the stadium and if there are giveaways they come for the first 10 minutes for other games. I feel bad for our football team as they never have more than 4000-5000 in the stadium for any game. I do hope we get better this year and thanks to all for your continued interest in our hockey team.

      Comment


      • Re: UNH 2018 Offseason- Out with the old , in with the semi new?

        Originally posted by UNH1932 View Post
        Mike Souza is the real deal and I hope he hires a defensive coach soon. He is great with the young men recruited before he was here and after as well. He will get the best out of our players and they love him as a coach. I ask for optimism and our recruits and existing players are very good. Grasso is back this year, the freshmen line of 2 years ago will be the junior line this year. Our two goalies are exceptional, our top 5 defensemen are among the best we have had at UNH, and the new recruits on offense should be very good.
        I feel like I've read this same post at the start of the past three seasons. They peter our once the season starts. This one sure is early.


        And don't hire a "defensive" coach. Identify your real problem and hire a recruiter. Yes, the execution stinks, but moreso the talent (and overall excitement and about commitment to building something) is the problem we see among the recruits. If you can't even sell that to fans, then how do you expect to send that message to the broader hockey community? You want to know why there was excitement in the 90s-- because McCloskey communicated to Fosters and to recruits that they were going after the best and were building something. Same energy as Walsh when he took over Maine.



        They signaled that they had a plan, and a backup plan. If we don't get Robb Gordon we get Bekar, if we don't get x we do y.

        After three years of planning to find oneself without a critical assistant literally for the first quarter of your season while assistants fly off the shelf to elsewhere, and find yourself without an 8th defenseman in them middle of June, and find yourself with only a few recruits (and the 02s and 03 are gobbled up) to me doesn't scream -- hockey world, take notice.

        Maybe there is real urgency. Please communicate it better and maybe the kids will look up from their tablets and loyal adults will shell out money.

        And more basically, stop complaining that the sport is no longer organic after years of driving it into the arms of corporations. You think high ticket prices and sponsoring fish tosses and commercials everywhere so its a pro sport is what made Snively and the early days of the Whit? Open doors for free so the kids start talking about it with the peers.
        The Souza record:
        15-16 10th place
        16-17 10th place
        17-18 11th place
        18-19 8th place
        19-20 9th place
        20-21 10th place
        21-22 9th place
        22-23 10th place

        Comment


        • Re: UNH 2018 Offseason- Out with the old , in with the semi new?

          Oops, apologies, I was confusing identities of UNHJourney34 and UNH1932. Then, there is BS35+6 to add further to my confusion.

          Anyway, here is some OOC PWR analysis. Last season, which ended with 10 wins, we began with a PWR of 35 and our OOC opponents average PWR began at 43.5 (for 10 games), giving us a +8.5 in PWR for those OOC opponents. This season we begin with a PWR of 52 and our OOC opponents average PWR begins at 33.4 (again for 10 games), giving us a -18.6 in PWR for these OOC opponents. But, I am still optimist that we will win at least 2 more games than we won last season. :-)
          Last edited by Snively65; 06-12-2018, 07:52 AM.

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          • Re: UNH 2018 Offseason- Out with the old , in with the semi new?

            Originally posted by UNH1932 View Post
            Maine fans are the most loyal on earth and they do not spend their entire day blasting the coaches, players and administration.
            Hahahahaha, good one … oh, wait, you're serious, aren't you?

            Guess you missed a few seasons' worth of threads on here, '32. Yeah, the UMaine-iacs were pretty mellow this past season, but guess what? It's because they won a few more games than usual, and arguably may have turned a corner. Their program preceded ours down into the HE basement by a few years, and I'm sure if you stepped into your USCHO "way-back machine", you would be regaled with our neighbors to the north "bashing" (and rightly so) their admin, the coaching staff and the players with all-out gleeful (?) abandon.

            I don't want to speak on behalf of others who have a voice to do so on their own, but I think it's safe to say that Coach Souza would make most of this noise disappear if it looked like there was some sense of urgency, and an ambitious plan to sell to his recruits and to fans of the program. And if the results (like UMaine's last season) began to turn back upwards, the guy would be an absolute hero, circa his predecessor in the early '90's. Then we can get back to worrying about issues with "winning the big one". Right now, we can't even claim to be able to sniff the big one. The guy who turns this around, like it or not, will first need to resurrect the program, and when we can again claim to compete for hardware, this all becomes a much happier place.
            Sworn Enemy of the Perpetually Offended
            Montreal Expos Forever ...

            Comment


            • Originally posted by Snively65 View Post
              Eight bids so far, current bid $11; 6+ days remaining in auction. Thanks for the heads up, KaMiGo.
              Now 19 bids with current bid at $30; 5+ hours to go.

              Comment


              • Re: UNH 2018 Offseason- Out with the old , in with the semi new?

                On the topic of Assistant Coaches, do you think we could ever get Coach McCloskey or Coach Lassonde back in Durham. Was McCloskey banished from UNH by Mr Scarano after his "altercation" with a female student athlete while the head women's hockey coach or would he even want to come back. What about Lassonde? He is up the street at Dartmouth and has been for a few years after his short stint in Denver. Are these guys looking for head coaching jobs? Lassonde replacing Gaudette? Or are they happy and content with being life long assistants? Would be awesome to bring back something that worked! Or are we still looking to move in a new direction. If i was Souza, which I am not by any means, and you can call me crazy but I would fire off some cold calls to guys like Nathan Martz, Lanny Gare, Mike Radja, Derek Bekar, Brett Hemingway, Christian Bragnalo, Darren Haydar and see if I can pull in some help with my coaching staff. I'm sure some of these guys can coach and I am sure some of these guys want to help restore the program to where it was when they were there. Give them a call. Worse comes to worse they laugh at you. Christ Robbie Barker, Tim Walsh, Mick Mounsey either live in state or are coaching down the street at high schools building successful programs or coaching summer camps. You even have Greg Collins up in NY coaching at his dads rink! Bring him in to coach!

                Sorry for the rant but they need to bring someone in! Who knows. Souza could be our version of coach Belichick and he could be announcing someone later today.

                As for season tickets and student attendance, I had season tickets from 01 - '10 until I moved to Vail, Colorado in fact I didn't miss a home game during that time. I am excited to attend the 2 games this fall in Colorado Springs at the Broadmoor World Arena this fall! When I come home to NH I attend any game I can. Even as a student from 06 -10 there was a complete drop in the energy in the building. I have a sweet VHS from the 1st White out the Whit and we have had nothing of that magnitude in terms of crowd energy from what '03? Leaders on campus need to find a way to bring that energy back! This past year UNH had the largest incoming freshman class in the history of UNH and we probably saw the smallest turnout of students. We need energy. We need talent. Students connect with that. They connect with electrifying players like Sean Collins, Saviano, Haydar, Krog. Not Shane Eiserman. Even JVR in his shortened stay was a disappointment from an energy standpoint. Until we see a season or two with energy and winning the students wont come back. It took a few seasons to fill the Whit back in the early 90s. We are at the same spot now as we were then. Fans are more likely to go when they have fun. If there is no energy they are more likely to stay home and watch netflix. Bring back the energy and the fans will come back!

                Comment


                • Originally posted by NCAA watcher View Post
                  I feel like I've read this same post at the start of the past three seasons. They peter our once the season starts. This one sure is early.


                  And don't hire a "defensive" coach. Identify your real problem and hire a recruiter. Yes, the execution stinks, but moreso the talent (and overall excitement and about commitment to building something) is the problem we see among the recruits. If you can't even sell that to fans, then how do you expect to send that message to the broader hockey community? You want to know why there was excitement in the 90s-- because McCloskey communicated to Fosters and to recruits that they were going after the best and were building something. Same energy as Walsh when he took over Maine.



                  They signaled that they had a plan, and a backup plan. If we don't get Robb Gordon we get Bekar, if we don't get x we do y.

                  After three years of planning to find oneself without a critical assistant literally for the first quarter of your season while assistants fly off the shelf to elsewhere, and find yourself without an 8th defenseman in them middle of June, and find yourself with only a few recruits (and the 02s and 03 are gobbled up) to me doesn't scream -- hockey world, take notice.

                  Maybe there is real urgency. Please communicate it better and maybe the kids will look up from their tablets and loyal adults will shell out money.

                  And more basically, stop complaining that the sport is no longer organic after years of driving it into the arms of corporations. You think high ticket prices and sponsoring fish tosses and commercials everywhere so its a pro sport is what made Snively and the early days of the Whit? Open doors for free so the kids start talking about it with the peers.
                  Why not get both? A "recruiter" and "defensive" coach.
                  UNH Hockey: You can check out any time you like but you can never leave!

                  Comment


                  • Re: UNH 2018 Offseason- Out with the old , in with the semi new?

                    Originally posted by e.cat View Post
                    Why not get both? A "recruiter" and "defensive" coach.
                    I know this may have been rhetorical, but in my experience, recruiters are young, hungry and agressive and spend most of the time of the road. On-ice coaches are experienced crusty guys like Tortorella, the guys Umile hired, to the detriment of recruiting.

                    Yes, you occasionally find both in the same guy, but most of the time you have to choose.
                    The Souza record:
                    15-16 10th place
                    16-17 10th place
                    17-18 11th place
                    18-19 8th place
                    19-20 9th place
                    20-21 10th place
                    21-22 9th place
                    22-23 10th place

                    Comment


                    • Re: UNH 2018 Offseason- Out with the old , in with the semi new?

                      Originally posted by NCAA watcher View Post
                      I know this may have been rhetorical, but in my experience, recruiters are young, hungry and agressive and spend most of the time of the road. On-ice coaches are experienced crusty guys like Tortorella, the guys Umile hired, to the detriment of recruiting.

                      Yes, you occasionally find both in the same guy, but most of the time you have to choose.
                      Agree on the Tortorella hire for sure. Also agree it would be great to get a young hungry recruiter. Just think it would be helpful if that guy was a former D-man. How hard could it be to find someone like that? They have to be out there.
                      UNH Hockey: You can check out any time you like but you can never leave!

                      Comment


                      • Re: UNH 2018 Offseason- Out with the old , in with the semi new?

                        Originally posted by NCAA watcher View Post
                        I feel like I've read this same post at the start of the past three seasons. They peter our once the season starts. This one sure is early.
                        Yes, we've been force fed this optimism - and the idea that Souza is the real deal as both a coach and recruiter - every year since Souza's arrival as HC in waiting and lead-recruiter, following a 19-19-2 season in 2014-15. Since then the program has turned out the following records...

                        2015-16 - 11-20-6 (4-12-6)
                        2016-17 - 15-20-5 (7-11-4)
                        2017-18 - 10-20-6 (5-14-5)

                        When is the real deal going to lead to real results...?? And apparently if you're not brimming with optimism after 36 wins in three seasons, you remain a bad fan...

                        ---

                        UNH still needs a recruiter - Not necessarily a defensive minded coach. Though, I'm afraid that Souza (who has long been touted, in spite of his actual track record, as a future recruiting ace) fancies himself as the guy to buy the groceries. That's why he was brought in and that's how he was sold. I'm not sure it matters that he didn't have much success prior to coming to UNH nor that his recruiting production at UNH has been a mixed bag at best...

                        I think we are living in the past when we point to team defense as the problem last season - and as one that needs to be addressed primarily this season. UNH was middle of the pack in goals against last season, despite an offense that still struggled mightily to possess the puck and with lesser goaltending than I expect them to have this year. Their PK was also amongst the nations best. The defensive step-forward indicates just how important it is for UNH to find and recruit talent across the roster. They added some backend talent and things improved! They need a new point person in order to get that done. See Watcher's posts about McCloskey at UNH to find the glaring difference in approach then and now...

                        Even the slight up-tick in recruiting that we feel we've seen, is still a cause for concern - 75% of the top talent on defense is still at UNH only as a result of the 'its late, someone else didn't want you and we're the only ones with money left' recruiting strategy. That strategy just won't be effective long term. There has been very little top talent landed in the F ranks (offense was the problem last season and will be the problem this season), most notably when one looks down the road to future classes. This has to change ASAP if UNH has designs on significantly improving its lot in HE...

                        So, I hope they spent the last 3 years and 15 weeks brainstorming on recruiters and not just defensive minded coaches...

                        ---

                        UNH should be marginally better next season - 15 wins sounds about right. They'll upgrade the goaltending situation with either goalie (or both) in my opinion. The defense should improve, with further development from Wyse, Gildon and Maass and the recent pick-up of McKinnon (the future of the defense depends on how long Gildon sticks around - if they have to replace their entire top three in - or prior to - a couple of years, they're right back at square one with little in the cupboard #recruiterneeded).

                        The concern remains up front. Grasso is a nice player, but only scored 43 goals and was a -73 in 196 career USHL games and his explosive FR season was primarily a result of PP time alongside Tyler Kelleher. Blackburn is the most likely to lead the team in scoring, IMO, but he is not necessarily a dynamic difference maker either. BVR is pretty much who he is at this point. They'd be a really good second line on a top team. Asking them to carry an offense is asking a lot...

                        Then you have a bunch of pieces, with your next group of offensive talent being in the FR and SO classes (Kelleher, Engaras, Crookshank). By the time these guys are ready to contribute at a high-level on offense, the three juniors are going to be gone. The depth to fill in behind the young players just isn't there right now. Its the offense where the lack of recruiting pay dirt and consistency has really hurt the team the last few years and it will continue to be the problem based on how things stand right now. If they can't get 102 goals (3 GPG) during the regular season, than its going to be a tough season again - and I'm not sure where that many red lights come from...

                        BU, BC, Providence, Lowell, UMass and Maine are better than UNH next year. Northeastern is a wild card to me - they lose a TON. UNH will be in a battle even to make the top-eight and the post-season. They should be better than MC and are probably right in the mix with UConn and UVM.

                        ---

                        As for the crowd conversation - we've had it over and over again and we always hear the same excuses (similar to what we hear in many aspects of the program). Its hard. There is competition. Things are different. Which seems to lead to throwing hands in the air and wondering what can we, little old UNH, possible even do. That is tiresome. If 6,501 never returns, so be it - I'd be thrilled with a legitimate 4,500 rather than a completely fabricated 4,500 at this point. One thing they absolutely need to consider is lowering prices (its ridiculous to hear they haven't) and, quite frankly, if you cant sell them, start giving more away...
                        Last edited by Dan; 06-12-2018, 03:05 PM.
                        Live Free or Die!!
                        Miami University '03

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                        • Originally posted by Snively65 View Post
                          Now 19 bids with current bid at $30; 5+ hours to go.
                          Apparently the 21st bid got it for $55, which is probably cheaper than a new unsigned jersey? Winner must be someone who has the means to pick up the jersey in Milwaukee.

                          Comment


                          • Re: UNH 2018 Offseason- Out with the old , in with the semi new?

                            Originally posted by UNH1932 View Post
                            Flagdude

                            Colgate is two games at Colgate Second week October.
                            UNH @ Colgate October 12 & 13.
                            https://gocolgateraiders.com/schedule.aspx?path=mhock

                            Comment


                            • Re: UNH 2018 Offseason- Out with the old , in with the semi new?

                              Originally posted by e.cat View Post
                              Why not get both? A "recruiter" and "defensive" coach.
                              Once again e.cat, have to say I agree with the need for a defensive mind. Yes give a choice, a recruiter is the winner but as you say, why not both. I feel that in the last 20 years we have the best systems when we had someone who had played behind the blue line. Such as our friend now at Dartmouth, and Torts short but effective stay with us.
                              Still have not heard from the U on season tickets? What's up with that?

                              Comment


                              • Re: UNH 2018 Offseason- Out with the old , in with the semi new?

                                Originally posted by After the Whistle View Post
                                Once again e.cat, have to say I agree with the need for a defensive mind. Yes give a choice, a recruiter is the winner but as you say, why not both. I feel that in the last 20 years we have the best systems when we had someone who had played behind the blue line. Such as our friend now at Dartmouth, and Torts short but effective stay with us.
                                Still have not heard from the U on season tickets? What's up with that?
                                An email went out sometime last week about tickets...And you know me I'm in full agreement about someone who has a clue about defensive systems...recruiting a MUST as well. I'd contact UNH about not getting that renewal email ATW...

                                Hate to complain but like others...I am wondering why we don't have an assistant coach on board by now. Here's hoping...
                                Here we go 'Cats!!

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