UNH Wildcats Official Wait til Next Year...14/15 thread

[Snively65]

Here we go 'Cats!!! Nice 5-2 win opening round! Fun with the b2b PP goals (and a third PP goal)! Finish it tomorrow night!

And, we dominated in SOG, right, e.cat? :-)

[HockeyRef]

And, we dominated in SOG, right, e.cat? :-)

Yup 33-21! Six straight and one win from .500! Clawin' our way up!

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH Wildcats Official Wait til Next Year...14/15 thread

OK well then, where do we start ... first things first, UNH extends its late season winning streak to six (6) straight against overmatched UConn, in a game where UNH jumped on top early and was never seriously threatened. At 4-0 midway through the second period, after two quick PPG's, a blowout seemed to be in the cards. UNH really didn't do a whole lot wrong for the first 30 minutes, and UConn didn't do a whole lot right. So it seemed like UNH dialed things down at that point, and played more cautiously, knowing that there is at least one more meeting with this opponent over the weekend. Even when UConn had cut the lead in half 4-2 with plenty of time left in the 3rd period, it never really felt like they were capable of making it all the way back. Interestingly, Coach Umile called an uncharacteristic time out about a minute before the 2nd UConn goal, as UNH seemed to be a little TOO cautious in their play. Oops.

UConn's only chance to make this a series is to try to grind UNH out of its game tomorrow, but even if they do that, I'm not sure they have the firepower to pull it off? And if UNH plays the way they did in the first 30 minutes of tonight's game, they can outgrind UConn. UNH played a very honest, hard-working game, and did not shy away from the physical stuff either. That's historically been a point of weakness in the past at this time of the season, so it's encouraging to see the 'Cats more than willing to bang a little bit. Downing even put one of the UConn players head over heels into the UNH bench midway into the first period.

Best player on the ice by a wide margin was Pesce, and after that I was thoroughly impressed with Poturalski, who reminds me a little bit of Krog as a frosh (we can only hope that pattern continues the next few seasons!). Not so impressed with Foegele, who seemed to make a million mistakes in his own end, and never really flashed anything at the other end. Eiserman is Eiserman, and not Yzerman, so we'll see how he develops next season and beyond. Boyd surprised me in a good way, Furgele in a not-so-good way, and any team that relies on Harry Quast to play 15-20 minutes is going to have a ceiling on what they can accomplish. I like that Cleland's first instinct at the opposing blue line is to step up instead of step back (the latter being another historical UNH d-man characteristic), and he made the right decision pretty much every time. It's clear his presence on the first pairing with Pesce is not an accident.

Tonight was my first extended chance to observe Salvaggio and McNicholas, who played on the 4th line with Jamie Hill, and I thought they did a really tidy job as the 4th line. Keep it basic, with good effort and good discipline, got some quality minutes and kept things fresh for the top two lines. I like the edge the munchkins (Willows and Kelleher) bring with their games, and while a guy like Willows would probably only been a 3rd liner in the good old days, it was exactly that kind of player UNH could have used back then to get some positive energy out of the lower lines. And Kelleher is already better than Willows, so that's another bright spot for the future.

Reality check ... this was only UConn, and based on their second half form, they are not the 9th best team in HE - they are the worst, and UNH is fortunate to have avoided UMaine (regardless of how UMaine fares against UVM this weekend). UNH should be able to take care of this tomorrow night. Hopefully it's only me (and NOT them) who is thinking that when UNH takes the ice tomorrow, or this is the kind of series UNH has always managed to make tougher than it really should be. A win tomorrow night gets UNH to the .500 mark, and who would have ever seen that happening back in December? Major kudos to Coach Umile for not giving up on the season and just going with the kids (although that IS still happening anyway). The move to 100% Tirone really cannot be questioned any more by folks like me. Technique-wise, the kid is a mess (and a lefty!) but he gets the job done, and the team plays better and wins. And that's the bottom line, isn't it? If Pesce sticks around for his senior season, it's hard not to be excited about UNH's prospects for next season.

Serious question: does anyone know if the playoff brackets "re-seed" after the first round? Ultimately, with Merrimack up a game on NU and UMass into double OT (at least) with the idiots from South Bend CC, it's *possible* UNH could get out of this round as the 7th or maybe even 6th best team in the HE quarters. So ... is a date with BU written in stone if UNH advances, or might they slide up and get a BC, Lowell or PC instead IF things fall their way? This brave new world of "everyone qualifies" tournaments confuses me.

I'll probably babble later this weekend about how things look off the ice at UNH, which at least for me was far less optimistic than what I saw ON the ice tonight. I mean, it's hardly the first time a half-full house was present for the first round home HE playoff games, so that's less of the issue. It's what's happening (or to be precise, what's NOT happening) in the seats with the chairbacks that screams out the gradual decay and erosion of the UNH fanbase. Which is truly too bad, because this year's team is an enjoyable team to watch, yet no one out there seems to have gotten the message. Again ... I'm going to leave it until the offseason, but it's hard not to be very impressed with what Coach Umile has done with this team this season ... and likewise, it only amplifies (at least to me) that other folks around this program simply aren't pulling their weight. Hint: XXXV+I(I).

FWIW - when leaving the arena for the walk back over the tracks to the lot, the tone among the fans was really upbeat, and talk was about how much fun they had at the game. That's a message that needs to permeate beyond a 10-15 mile radius around Durham (a/k/a "Boomtown on the Oyster River" with all of the downtown construction ). And that's NOT Coach Umile's job. JMHO.

[Darius]

Re: UNH Wildcats Official Wait til Next Year...14/15 thread

2015 Hockey East Men's Tournament

Friday - Sunday, March 6-8: Best-of-Three Opening Round Play on Campus
(#5 hosts #12, #6 hosts #11, #7 hosts #10, #8 hosts #9)

Friday - Sunday, March 13-15: Best-of-Three Quarterfinal Round Play on Campus
(Schools #1 - #4 host four opening round winners,
highest vs. lowest, etc.)

Friday, March 20 at TD Garden: Semifinal Games

Saturday, March 21 at TD Garden: Championship Final

http://www.hockeyeastonline.com/men/tourney/index.php

[chickod]

Re: UNH Wildcats Official Wait til Next Year...14/15 thread

Serious question: does anyone know if the playoff brackets "re-seed" after the first round?

Yes.

[HawkStar12]

OK well then, where do we start ... first things first, UNH extends its late season winning streak to six (6) straight against overmatched UConn, in a game where UNH jumped on top early and was never seriously threatened. At 4-0 midway through the second period, after two quick PPG's, a blowout seemed to be in the cards. UNH really didn't do a whole lot wrong for the first 30 minutes, and UConn didn't do a whole lot right. So it seemed like UNH dialed things down at that point, and played more cautiously, knowing that there is at least one more meeting with this opponent over the weekend. Even when UConn had cut the lead in half 4-2 with plenty of time left in the 3rd period, it never really felt like they were capable of making it all the way back. Interestingly, Coach Umile called an uncharacteristic time out about a minute before the 2nd UConn goal, as UNH seemed to be a little TOO cautious in their play. Oops.

UConn's only chance to make this a series is to try to grind UNH out of its game tomorrow, but even if they do that, I'm not sure they have the firepower to pull it off? And if UNH plays the way they did in the first 30 minutes of tonight's game, they can outgrind UConn. UNH played a very honest, hard-working game, and did not shy away from the physical stuff either. That's historically been a point of weakness in the past at this time of the season, so it's encouraging to see the 'Cats more than willing to bang a little bit. Downing even put one of the UConn players head over heels into the UNH bench midway into the first period.

Best player on the ice by a wide margin was Pesce, and after that I was thoroughly impressed with Poturalski, who reminds me a little bit of Krog as a frosh (we can only hope that pattern continues the next few seasons!). Not so impressed with Foegele, who seemed to make a million mistakes in his own end, and never really flashed anything at the other end. Eiserman is Eiserman, and not Yzerman, so we'll see how he develops next season and beyond. Boyd surprised me in a good way, Furgele in a not-so-good way, and any team that relies on Harry Quast to play 15-20 minutes is going to have a ceiling on what they can accomplish. I like that Cleland's first instinct at the opposing blue line is to step up instead of step back (the latter being another historical UNH d-man characteristic), and he made the right decision pretty much every time. It's clear his presence on the first pairing with Pesce is not an accident.

Tonight was my first extended chance to observe Salvaggio and McNicholas, who played on the 4th line with Jamie Hill, and I thought they did a really tidy job as the 4th line. Keep it basic, with good effort and good discipline, got some quality minutes and kept things fresh for the top two lines. I like the edge the munchkins (Willows and Kelleher) bring with their games, and while a guy like Willows would probably only been a 3rd liner in the good old days, it was exactly that kind of player UNH could have used back then to get some positive energy out of the lower lines. And Kelleher is already better than Willows, so that's another bright spot for the future.

Reality check ... this was only UConn, and based on their second half form, they are not the 9th best team in HE - they are the worst, and UNH is fortunate to have avoided UMaine (regardless of how UMaine fares against UVM this weekend). UNH should be able to take care of this tomorrow night. Hopefully it's only me (and NOT them) who is thinking that when UNH takes the ice tomorrow, or this is the kind of series UNH has always managed to make tougher than it really should be. A win tomorrow night gets UNH to the .500 mark, and who would have ever seen that happening back in December? Major kudos to Coach Umile for not giving up on the season and just going with the kids (although that IS still happening anyway). The move to 100% Tirone really cannot be questioned any more by folks like me. Technique-wise, the kid is a mess (and a lefty!) but he gets the job done, and the team plays better and wins. And that's the bottom line, isn't it? If Pesce sticks around for his senior season, it's hard not to be excited about UNH's prospects for next season.

Serious question: does anyone know if the playoff brackets "re-seed" after the first round? Ultimately, with Merrimack up a game on NU and UMass into double OT (at least) with the idiots from South Bend CC, it's *possible* UNH could get out of this round as the 7th or maybe even 6th best team in the HE quarters. So ... is a date with BU written in stone if UNH advances, or might they slide up and get a BC, Lowell or PC instead IF things fall their way? This brave new world of "everyone qualifies" tournaments confuses me.

I'll probably babble later this weekend about how things look off the ice at UNH, which at least for me was far less optimistic than what I saw ON the ice tonight. I mean, it's hardly the first time a half-full house was present for the first round home HE playoff games, so that's less of the issue. It's what's happening (or to be precise, what's NOT happening) in the seats with the chairbacks that screams out the gradual decay and erosion of the UNH fanbase. Which is truly too bad, because this year's team is an enjoyable team to watch, yet no one out there seems to have gotten the message. Again ... I'm going to leave it until the offseason, but it's hard not to be very impressed with what Coach Umile has done with this team this season ... and likewise, it only amplifies (at least to me) that other folks around this program simply aren't pulling their weight. Hint: XXXV+I(I).

FWIW - when leaving the arena for the walk back over the tracks to the lot, the tone among the fans was really upbeat, and talk was about how much fun they had at the game. That's a message that needs to permeate beyond a 10-15 mile radius around Durham (a/k/a "Boomtown on the Oyster River" with all of the downtown construction ). And that's NOT Coach Umile's job. JMHO.

Hope your on oxygen after this post. Don't fool yourself, take away the power play goals and power play shots and it's a pretty even game. One point from your novel is correct, Uconn does not have the firepower (10 scholarships to UNH's 18), however if they don't penalize themselves, they'll attack the puck equal to any team in this league. UNH is a solid 8th place team, but no more than that.

[e.cat]

Re: UNH Wildcats Official Wait til Next Year...14/15 thread

And, we dominated in SOG, right, e.cat? :-)

Yet again Snively65

Hey Ref, I'll be there tonight and look for ya to say hey! Maybe by the team picture.

[Snively65]

Yet again Snively65.

At least it was the person who replied to Chuck's post, and not Chuck, who pointed out that UNH was no better than UConn if you take away our PP. But, to that, I say special teams are a huge part of the game, and I am pleased that UNH got their PP mojo working last night. My other team Bentley had a fantastic PP over the first two thirds of the season, but as their PP has gone south so has their winning percentage.

Thanks to Chickod for the confirmation that UNH is not necessarily locked into a meeting with BU should we dispatch UConn this weekend. But, on the other hand, like Chuck hoping that we would be playing Maine this weekend, which I did not want to happen, I do think that an opportunity to block BU's route to the Garden would be a worthy objective.

[e.cat]

Re: UNH Wildcats Official Wait til Next Year...14/15 thread

At least it was the person who replied to Chuck's post, and not Chuck, who pointed out that UNH was no better than UConn if you take away our PP. But, to that, I say special teams are a huge part of the game, and I am pleased that UNH got their PP mojo working last night. My other team Bentley had a fantastic PP over the first two thirds of the season, but as their PP has gone south so has their winning percentage.

Thanks to Chickod for the confirmation that UNH is not necessarily locked into a meeting with BU should we dispatch UConn this weekend. But, on the other hand, like Chuck hoping that we would be playing Maine this weekend, which I did not want to happen, I do think that an opportunity to block BU's route to the Garden would be a worthy objective.

DITTO(fixed!) on all accounts 65 especially the part about special teams being critical this time of year.

[Snively65]

Re: UNH Wildcats Official Wait til Next Year...14/15 thread

And, in follow up to the possible reseedings for the next round, what an amazing 5OT by UMass over the HEA poseurs late last night. :-)

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH Wildcats Official Wait til Next Year...14/15 thread

Hope your on oxygen after this post. Don't fool yourself, take away the power play goals and power play shots and it's a pretty even game. One point from your novel is correct, Uconn does not have the firepower (10 scholarships to UNH's 18), however if they don't penalize themselves, they'll attack the puck equal to any team in this league. UNH is a solid 8th place team, but no more than that.

So you're telling me that, y'know ... besides the penalties and the goals and the 4-0 lead, this was a "pretty even game"?

What planet are you from, and when does your spaceship leave?

I'm under no illusions about UNH's true level in this league right now, and if you think I'm in the camp that puts any value in relevance of SOG's, then you've definitely got the wrong guy. But a 4-0 lead midway into the second period tells its own story ... and it's not one where UConn was even remotely unlucky not to be in the game last night. They got outskated, outskilled and generally outplayed. So "don't fool yourself" - UNH put it in neutral at that point and coasted the rest of the way.

I've seen way too many UNH postseasons to ever take anything for granted (including closing this series out successfully), and I'm sure UConn will come out tonight better prepared to compete deeper into the game than they did last night. A Game 3 on Sunday would not be shocking. One thing UNH has always excelled at in the past has been to drop a clanger just when you think things are smoothly on the right track. I'll even predict tonight's game goes into OT before UNH closes it out. It shouldn't happen; the dominance of UNH's top two lines should carry them into the quarters, where their shortcomings and lack of experience will catch up to them. But make no mistake, there is NO reason THIS UNH team should lose THIS SERIES to THIS UCONN team.

Speaking of OT ... congrats to the UMass Minutemen for their epic 5 OT win over the "have-they-left-yet?" Northern Indiana CC squad, bringing those Midwestern interlopers' time in our hallowed bus league to within a single loss of expulsion. Can you imagine having to go out and play another game tonight, after virtually playing three (3) games last night/this morning?? Short of BC going on a 10 year NCAA probation with national titles of the last decade-plus being expunged (one can dream ), nothing would make me happier than to see the back of the NICC hockey program on its way out of Hockey East. Go you Minutemen!!

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH Wildcats Official Wait til Next Year...14/15 thread

Thanks to Chickod for the confirmation that UNH is not necessarily locked into a meeting with BU should we dispatch UConn this weekend. But, on the other hand, like Chuck hoping that we would be playing Maine this weekend, which I did not want to happen, I do think that an opportunity to block BU's route to the Garden would be a worthy objective.

I have no issue with playing BU, as I'm sure the nauseating Eichel love fest will be in full flower with good 'ol TC mangling "Polutarski" and others in the process. But if UNH advances, I'd LOVE to see them instead facing either BC (just because they're BC) or Providence ('cuz they've been developing into a decent little postseason rivalry the last couple of seasons). Getting a postseason series win AND then a quality quarterfinal opponent in a second series can do nothing but help build this young team's confidence for the future, so it's important at this point that UNH finishes off UConn, and waits to see what next weekend will have in store.

I think we can all agree a UMass-Amherst quarterfinal series at BU works for all of us on SO many different levels.

[HockeyRef]

Re: UNH Wildcats Official Wait til Next Year...14/15 thread

Yet again Snively65

Hey Ref, I'll be there tonight and look for ya to say hey! Maybe by the team picture.

Annnddd I'll be there...secret code word, "Wildcats" I'll hang around up there between the 1st and 2nd....GO 'CATS!!!

[NCAA watcher]

Re: UNH Wildcats Official Wait til Next Year...14/15 thread

Hawkstar does raise an interesting question of why Hockey East allows a team with only 10 scholarships to play in it? If I round up a club team can we be Hockey East's 13th memeber?

[Greg A]

Re: UNH Wildcats Official Wait til Next Year...14/15 thread

Hope your on oxygen after this post. Don't fool yourself, take away the power play goals and power play shots and it's a pretty even game. One point from your novel is correct, Uconn does not have the firepower (10 scholarships to UNH's 18), however if they don't penalize themselves, they'll attack the puck equal to any team in this league. UNH is a solid 8th place team, but no more than that.

Like Chuck, I have no illusions about UNH. They are improving, and have been since the season turned to February. And they might actually be able to take a game in the next round, but that's their ceiling. I do have to chuckle about your comment about "take away the penalties." Penalties are part of the game my friend, usually occurring because the penalized player needs the help of his stick or his arm to stay even with an opponent who is overmatching him. So, in that respect, the penalties are indicator of the relative strengths of the two teams, at least last night. As for tonight, I have too many memories of UNH throwing away home ice advantage in the playoffs to be comfortable. But they get beyond UConn and anything else is gravy. How are expectations have fallen!