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  • Re: UNH Wildcats 2019 Offseason - How Much Progress Did We Really Make This Past Seas

    Originally posted by Dan View Post
    No he is not - as evidenced below. Fortunately the evidence remains easily accessible...
    I do stand corrected then on the longevity of the "senior checking line" getting significant PP time. Apologies to Snively65 for missing that. Otherwise, '32's point of the SCL being tactically matched up against the opposition's top lines was accurate. I think we can all agree that strategy was ill-founded.

    If Dan didn't post the UNH PP combination of the SCL backed by Dawson and Furgele, I'd have forgotten that it ever happened. Funny how your mind can sometimes block out really bad things. It looked awful when it was happening, and now in retrospect it looks even worse. Modern day equivalent would be something like Sato/Cefalu/Sacco with Hickey and Verrier on the points. Ugh. Again, apologies '65.

    Originally posted by chickod View Post
    And how DUMB is this Blues team? Provoking a team going home for Game 7 by a slash, two cross checks and a punch in the face in the last minute. The cheap thuggery just doesn't stop with this team. What an ugly series.
    I'm not sure if you've noticed this yet, chickod, but the home teams are 2-4-0 in this series so far.

    The dumbest thing the B's can do is play the Blues at their physical-first game tomorrow night. The Blues were arguably smart to lay that stuff down at the end as a calling card for Game 7, when it couldn't possibly hurt them (they'd lost already). If the B's are thinking about the last minute of Game 6 at the start of Game 7, I'd be really worried if I were a B's fan.

    What really WAS dumb in St. Louis though was the ownership and the local media somehow putting something out there with premature congrats to the "champion" Blues. Talk about self-inflicted damage. I'd hate to be the idiot in the SLB organization responsible for that eff-up. Whether it's creating motivation for your opponent, or just bad karma for your guys … ugh, what a stupid JV thing to do. Berube will probably hunt down the person(s) responsible for some deserved corporal punishment after the series if the Blues blow it. Classic "We have met the enemy, and they is us" stuff …

    Also … interesting how the turning point in Game 6 was arguably when O'Reilly put his team down two players on the PK when he flipped the puck up over the glass in his own zone, right before the Marchand PPG that gave the B's the lead. The same O'Reilly who was being spoken of as the Conn Smythe leader in the clubhouse. Oops.

    If the officiating crew is going to swallow their whistles in true Game 7 tradition … I believe the Blues have outscored the B's 12-10 so far at 5 on 5 (excluding PP/SH/EN goals).

    I always said the winner was going to win it on the road, so I'm glued to the Blues in 7.

    2019 - The Year No One Really Wanted to Win the Cup

    * All the top seeds pretty much bow out in the first round
    * The B's doing their best to lose a Cup to the Blues that was theirs to win
    * The Blues then returning the favor, when it was finally within their reach
    * Game 7 goes into double OT before an obscure player scores a fluke goal
    * Nothing gets done at work Thursday in the Hub O' the Universe and at the Gateway to the West
    Last edited by Chuck Murray; 06-11-2019, 06:50 PM.
    Sworn Enemy of the Perpetually Offended
    Montreal Expos Forever ...

    Comment


    • Originally posted by Chuck Murray View Post
      I do stand corrected then on the longevity of the "senior checking line" getting significant PP time. Apologies to Snively65 for missing that. Otherwise, '32's point of the SCL being tactically matched up against the opposition's top lines was accurate. I think we can all agree that strategy was ill-founded.

      If Dan didn't post the UNH PP combination of the SCL backed by Dawson and Furgele, I'd have forgotten that it ever happened. Funny how your mind can sometimes block out really bad things. It looked awful when it was happening, and now in retrospect it looks even worse. Modern day equivalent would be something like Sato/Cefalu/Sacco with Hickey and Verrier on the points. Ugh. Again, apologies '65.



      I'm not sure if you've noticed this yet, chickod, but the home teams are 2-4-0 in this series so far.

      The dumbest thing the B's can do is play the Blues at their physical-first game tomorrow night. The Blues were arguably smart to lay that stuff down at the end as a calling card for Game 7, when it couldn't possibly hurt them (they'd lost already). If the B's are thinking about the last minute of Game 6 at the start of Game 7, I'd be really worried if I were a B's fan.

      What really WAS dumb in St. Louis though was the ownership and the local media somehow putting something out there with premature congrats to the "champion" Blues. Talk about self-inflicted damage. I'd hate to be the idiot in the SLB organization responsible for that eff-up. Whether it's creating motivation for your opponent, or just bad karma for your guys … ugh, what a stupid JV thing to do. Berube will probably hunt down the person(s) responsible for some deserved corporal punishment after the series if the Blues blow it. Classic "We have met the enemy, and they is us" stuff …

      Also … interesting how the turning point in Game 6 was arguably when O'Reilly put his team down two players on the PK when he flipped the puck up over the glass in his own zone, right before the Marchand PPG that gave the B's the lead. The same O'Reilly who was being spoken of as the Conn Smythe leader in the clubhouse. Oops.

      If the officiating crew is going to swallow their whistles in true Game 7 tradition … I believe the Blues have outscored the B's 12-10 so far at 5 on 5 (excluding PP/SH/EN goals).

      I always said the winner was going to win it on the road, so I'm glued to the Blues in 7.

      2019 - The Year No One Really Wanted to Win the Cup

      * All the top seeds pretty much bow out in the first round
      * The B's doing their best to lose a Cup to the Blues that was theirs to win
      * The Blues then returning the favor, when it was finally within their reach
      * Game 7 goes into double OT before an obscure player scores a fluke goal
      * Nothing gets done at work Thursday in the Hub O' the Universe and at the Gateway to the West
      At my age, I am always delighted to have my memory of events corroborated, so apology accepted, Chuck (and 32?), and thanks again, Dan. :-)

      As far as the officiating in Game 7, my guess is that the refs will be swallowing their whistles and that several Bruins will be seriously injured by head shots from the Blues goons, regardless who wins. The Blues will not care about possible later suspensions by the home office in Toronto, obviously.

      Comment


      • Re: UNH Wildcats 2019 Offseason - How Much Progress Did We Really Make This Past Seas

        Correale, Kelleher and Potarulski were the 1st line on the power play

        Foegle would have been on the second power play with Gaudreault and Vela had he stayed.

        Your boys usually were coming out of the power play to play defense against the other teams first line to give our boys a break.

        Gaudreault got plenty of second power play throughout the year, Smith much less. Nazarian, Vela, McNicholas and others spent as much or more time on power play as the season dragged on.

        Yes they did have some power play time early in the year and some played as all you needed to do is look at the roster that year. Their main roll was lining up against the first line of the other team. Maybe Foegele on first line and Correale, Gaudreault and Smith/Vela would have solved second power play problems. Even Foegele on the left flank of second line would have been much better. Max was a very good two way player.

        Pots line was always first ones out and were out there for most of the power play and the senior line was put out at the end of the power play to play solid defense.

        I guess you were all happy when the senior line was scoring early to make the point that they were on the first power play early on. That ended quickly and thankfully we had great offense from the first line.

        Enjoy the summer.

        Comment


        • Re: UNH Wildcats 2019 Offseason - How Much Progress Did We Really Make This Past Seas

          Originally posted by Snively65 View Post
          As far as the officiating in Game 7, my guess is that the refs will be swallowing their whistles and that several Bruins will be seriously injured by head shots from the Blues goons, regardless who wins. The Blues will not care about possible later suspensions by the home office in Toronto, obviously.
          I believe the same crew that called Game 6 has been given Game 7 tonight.

          Totally agree with your last point, Snively65. Actually, that point arguably works for/against both teams tonight. Game Sevens haven't been a frequent occurrence in Stanley Cup Finals over the past 10 years, and during that stretch, even in those games, both teams at the time had reasonable expectations of returning to the SCF in the near future. In 2009, when the Penguins beat DRW in 7 games, at the time there was no reason to believe both teams (who'd also played in the '08 Finals, albeit with a different outcome) wouldn't be back at or near the top in future seasons. Ditto in 2011 when the B's beat Vancouver, and both teams still had most of their stars at or near their primes. In the end, some of those teams got back, some didn't.

          This year, with all due respect to my B's-following pals on the boards here .. there is a scent of desperation in the air for both teams tonight. And even while I'd be the first to concede that the Blues look and feel more like the one-shot wonders who are having that moment in the sun (win or lose), and will never be back to this level with this same core group again ... this can be said as well for the B's, whose core is aging (Chara, Rask, Bergeron ... heck, Marchand just turned 31 himself), and overall the talent level past them doesn't stack up favorably to a lot of Eastern teams who bowed out back in April. Game 7 always comes with huge intensity, but this time, with both teams' chances of returning to this level not being great, there will be desperation too. And no one on EITHER team is likely to be too concerned about going over the line - at least less so for suspensions to be served next season, but more so for potential 5 minute majors that could prove pivotal one way or the other.

          FWIW ... both teams are at the bottom of their respective lists for success in the SCF's. If the B's win tonight, they'll have 7 Cups in 20 attempts, or a .350 percentage, worst among the Original Six, but closing in on the Rangers' .364 (4 out of 11). And the Blues will be the only expansion era team to make four (4) winless trips to the Finals, if they lose (the Canucks are also 0-3 in the SCF). A Blues' win, and they match the Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars at 1-3.
          Sworn Enemy of the Perpetually Offended
          Montreal Expos Forever ...

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          • Re: UNH Wildcats 2019 Offseason - How Much Progress Did We Really Make This Past Seas

            Originally posted by UNH1932 View Post
            Correale, Kelleher and Potarulski were the 1st line on the power play

            Foegle would have been on the second power play with Gaudreault and Vela had he stayed.

            Your boys usually were coming out of the power play to play defense against the other teams first line to give our boys a break.

            Gaudreault got plenty of second power play throughout the year, Smith much less. Nazarian, Vela, McNicholas and others spent as much or more time on power play as the season dragged on.

            Yes they did have some power play time early in the year and some played as all you needed to do is look at the roster that year. Their main roll was lining up against the first line of the other team. Maybe Foegele on first line and Correale, Gaudreault and Smith/Vela would have solved second power play problems. Even Foegele on the left flank of second line would have been much better. Max was a very good two way player.

            Pots line was always first ones out and were out there for most of the power play and the senior line was put out at the end of the power play to play solid defense.

            I guess you were all happy when the senior line was scoring early to make the point that they were on the first power play early on. That ended quickly and thankfully we had great offense from the first line.

            Enjoy the summer.
            The facts are the facts. Your attempts to revise history in an effort to defend these coaching decisions and players in hindsight, actually does them little service. There is a reason why everyone was up in arms the first half of the 2015-16 season. There is a reason why the speculation around Foegele's departure was what it was. Regardless of what 'would' have happened, he wasn't on the PP or in the top-six early and that played a major role in his departure. A quick review of the evidence backs up everyone else's recollection and disproves your recent assertions. The fact is the senior trio played major PP minutes early in the season and up to MacDonald's injury, at which point his spot was turned over to a revolving door of players (and, yes, Smith's minutes also declined at that point - but he certainly remained in the mix). It was what it was...

            Meanwhile, In your recount of events, the trio barely played on the PP - only to mop up the final few seconds and then match-up with the opponents' top-line...?? Yet, for the season, UNH's PPG totals were as follows...

            Poturalski - 8
            Correale - 8
            Cleland - 4
            Kelleher - 3
            ---
            Gaudreault - 3
            McNicholas - 3
            Smith - 2
            Vela - 2
            Dawson - 2
            Nazarian - 1
            Salvaggio - 1
            Foegele - 0

            So in your scenario - despite extremely modest PP minutes they scored five PPGs and were the top alternative options to the first line. So the decision should have been to play them MORE often on the PP, no? Reality is that is not what happened, they were among the top secondary-PP scorers because they received the largest portions of the remaining PP time. They got more than their share of chances and started the season as PP1 (until moving to PP2 when the TK/AP line left no doubt about the PP minutes they deserved). They didn't produce and UNH was forced to eventually mix in alternatives late in the first half.

            You are right about one thing. Gaudreault was a very solid player for UNH. He's often caught up in this conversation based on the line's performance as a whole. He was a strong and physical skater, who skated hard, was responsible and boasted a great wrist shot and release. He, and UNH, would have been much better served playing with Foegele and McNicholas from the get go. An increase in depth scoring pushes UNH closer to .500 that season (at the very least). He's the kind of player who is remembered as a great piece on a winning team. Unfortunately, thats not the situation he was placed into by the coaching staff...

            To be honest, this is the first I'm hearing of this line playing as a supposed checking line against top opposing units (as opposed to simply being given top-six minutes). I never remember hearing that explanation in 2015-16. However, I'll accept this explanation since I know you are close to the program. Regardless, I'm not sure that it reflects well on the coaching staff that they'd ever arrive at that strategy. It doesn't suit the games of Smith or MacDonald whatsoever - they never would have earned this assignment had they not been seniors...

            Whatever the thought process it certainly didn't play out successfully - the senior line struggled immediately and finished a combined -38 in 93 man-games. None of those struggles affected their ice-time (or their PP time) very much and that was what many took issue with at the time. Despite not producing they continued to get those match-ups and continued to play on the PP deep into the season. Its one thing to give them first crack, it was another entirely to be so slow to change course...

            Thats the truth, end of story. You cannot re-write history. If you'd prefer to just drop it, I'd be happy to do so. Its ancient history and doesn't need to be dredged up again and again. UNH Hockey has moved on and none of what happened in 2015-16 should be affecting the program any longer, but don't try to tell us the sky is green - we all lived that season, and only a mere 3.5 years ago...
            Last edited by Dan; 06-12-2019, 10:21 AM.
            Live Free or Die!!
            Miami University '03

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            • Originally posted by Snively65 View Post
              At my age, I am always delighted to have my memory of events corroborated, so apology accepted, Chuck (and 32?), and thanks again, Dan. :-)

              As far as the officiating in Game 7, my guess is that the refs will be swallowing their whistles and that several Bruins will be seriously injured by head shots from the Blues goons, regardless who wins. The Blues will not care about possible later suspensions by the home office in Toronto, obviously.
              Nothing more annoying than refs influencing the outcome of a game!
              GI Bs
              UNH Hockey: You can check out any time you like but you can never leave!

              Comment


              • Originally posted by Chuck Murray View Post

                FWIW ... both teams are at the bottom of their respective lists for success in the SCF's. If the B's win tonight, they'll have 7 Cups in 20 attempts, or a .350 percentage, worst among the Original Six, but closing in on the Rangers' .364 (4 out of 11). And the Blues will be the only expansion era team to make four (4) winless trips to the Finals, if they lose (the Canucks are also 0-3 in the SCF). A Blues' win, and they match the Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars at 1-3.
                FWIW? It’s worth about exactly zero. Zilch. Nada. Goose egg. Couldn’t be more meaningless, kinda like the statement “the Cup is theirs to lose”.

                Take those two statements and $1.29 into a Dunkin and you’re still only coming out with a small coffee, black.

                Go B’s. 😎
                Signature line intentionally left blank.

                Comment


                • Re: UNH Wildcats 2019 Offseason - How Much Progress Did We Really Make This Past Seas

                  Not the start I expected from the Bruins but in no way am pinning this on Rask. 'Blues just doing their effective stymie thing and all the stuff that held up the Bruins all series are happening to them tonight. Which, is so typical if you ask me; whatever you don't fix...Binnington brilliant esp in the first. 20 to go...and if the Blues win hats off to 'em. And I'd have to agree Chuck, and that is, the Bruins prob won't have this chance again.....

                  Ps...Bruins playing like, well, you know.

                  Pss..Congrats to the 'Blues, you def deserved it. My work here is officially done. aLso just have to add: Told my hubby that if the Bruins didn’t get it together it would be 4-1...true story.
                  Last edited by HockeyRef; 06-12-2019, 10:05 PM.
                  Here we go 'Cats!!

                  Comment


                  • Originally posted by HockeyRef View Post
                    Not the start I expected from the Bruins but in no way am pinning this on Rask. 'Blues just doing their effective stymie thing and all the stuff that held up the Bruins all series are happening to them tonight. Which, is so typical if you ask me; whatever you don't fix...Binnington brilliant esp in the first. 20 to go...and if the Blues win hats off to 'em. And I'd have to agree Chuck, and that is, the Bruins prob won't have this chance again.....

                    Ps...Bruins playing like, well, you know.
                    I do not think that Rask has been stellar tonight, but Binningtin has.

                    Chuck will be able to use this game as Exhibit A for every future SOG argument.

                    Edit: I am relieved that this game was not decided by the refs.

                    And, nice to see Matt Gryzlyk get one. I do not see why this Bruins team cannot be relevant again next season. Just about everyone will be back, and healthy.
                    Last edited by Snively65; 06-12-2019, 09:41 PM.

                    Comment


                    • Originally posted by Snively65 View Post
                      I do not think that Rask has been stellar tonight, but Binningtin has.

                      Chuck will be able to use this game as Exhibit A for every future SOG argument.

                      Edit: I am relieved that this game was not decided by the refs.

                      And, nice to see Matt Gryzlyk get one. I do not see why this Bruins team cannot be relevant again next season. Just about everyone will be back, and healthy.
                      Love your optimism and while Rask wasn’t on his best game neither were any of them truth be told...Was glad Gryzlyk scores especially considering what he’s been through this series. Anyway got anschool year to finish enjoy the summer!!
                      Here we go 'Cats!!

                      Comment


                      • Re: UNH Wildcats 2019 Offseason - How Much Progress Did We Really Make This Past Seas

                        Back to UNH hockey...schedule. I see NU fans have their schedule so that means that the HE schedule is out? If that's the case schedule has been or is very close to being formalized (speculation). We know a lot of variables already just curious if the rest is carved in stone yet...

                        With very little digging I see that: (and in addition to what's been posted here already)

                        BC: Nov 1 (away) March 6-7 Home and Home
                        BU: Oct 26 Home
                        NU: Away, Dec Plus Friendship 4 games
                        Last edited by HockeyRef; 06-13-2019, 12:21 PM.
                        Here we go 'Cats!!

                        Comment


                        • Re: UNH Wildcats 2019 Offseason - How Much Progress Did We Really Make This Past Seas

                          Regardless of rooting interests and predictions, hopefully we can all agree that this year's SCF provided lots of entertainment, drama and storylines. It will be interesting to see if there are any attempted "copycats" out there trying to mimic the Blues' reliance on the heavy game. I heard or read someone saying this was two years in a row - and I'm not sure I'm ready to put the Blues in the same company as the Capitals, but I do see an LA Kings' blueprint - but while the overall trend has been away from physical play, it's interesting any time a team bucks the trend and has success like this.

                          Honest question to the B's fans ... there was heavy booing of Commish Bettman in the midst of the post-game ceremonies. I know he usually gets razzed a certain amount any time he shows up to hand out the Cup, but this seemed pretty loud. Is there something specifically bad in the Bettman-B's history beyond "the usual"? It sounded to me more like Pats' fans screaming at Goodell (understandable). Just curious. Anyway ...

                          Originally posted by HockeyRef View Post
                          Not the start I expected from the Bruins but in no way am pinning this on Rask. 'Blues just doing their effective stymie thing and all the stuff that held up the Bruins all series are happening to them tonight. Which, is so typical if you ask me; whatever you don't fix...Binnington brilliant esp in the first. 20 to go...and if the Blues win hats off to 'em. And I'd have to agree Chuck, and that is, the Bruins prob won't have this chance again.....

                          Ps...Bruins playing like, well, you know.

                          Pss..Congrats to the 'Blues, you def deserved it. My work here is officially done. aLso just have to add: Told my hubby that if the Bruins didn’t get it together it would be 4-1...true story.
                          I agree, HR - this one shouldn't be dropped on Rask's doorstep. I'm not sure there's much he could have done on Goals 1, 3 & 4. And Goal 2 - which I agree with Tony Amonte was the back-breaker at the end of the first period - should be laid squarely on the doorstep of Marchand, who was inexplicably looking to get off the ice for a line change in his own end, with less than 10 seconds left in the period. Not sure if that's on him or on his coach, but it was a shocking lack of game awareness at the worst possible time. One goal down after one, that's not ideal but still manageable. Down two felt catastrophic.

                          GM Sweeney will have his work cut out for him, trying to keep this bunch in SC contention. I thought Krejci played well but was underutilized. You can see him not coming back. No one is talking about whether Chara is coming back, so I assume he's planning to come back. He is going to be tough to replace when he retires, even at his current age. Carlo certainly isn't ready yet to take on a first pairing role on a team capable of Cup contention.

                          Originally posted by Snively65 View Post
                          I do not think that Rask has been stellar tonight, but Binningtin has.

                          Chuck will be able to use this game as Exhibit A for every future SOG argument.

                          Edit: I am relieved that this game was not decided by the refs.

                          And, nice to see Matt Gryzlyk get one. I do not see why this Bruins team cannot be relevant again next season. Just about everyone will be back, and healthy.
                          Yeah, the SOG fallacy took another hit last night. My "score first and you can have your lousy SOG's" fared pretty well, too. And that silly "the two goal lead is the most dangerous lead in hockey" took it square in the shorts too. Never has a lead felt more safe than the Blues' two goal lead over the final 40 minutes of last night's game. I was having flashbacks to the '71 SCF and Ken Dryden shutting down the powerful Big Bad Bruins of the Orr Era in the first period. Kind of surprised they didn't give the Conn Smythe to Binnington, or even to Pietrangelo. O'Reilly should be a top Selke candidate though.

                          Originally posted by wildcatdc View Post
                          FWIW? It’s worth about exactly zero. Zilch. Nada. Goose egg. Couldn’t be more meaningless, kinda like the statement “the Cup is theirs to lose”.

                          Take those two statements and $1.29 into a Dunkin and you’re still only coming out with a small coffee, black.

                          Go B’s. 😎
                          The "FWIW" disclaimer pretty much admits it might be a worthless observation to some, 'dc.

                          But the Cup was the B's to lose for over a month, from the day the first round of the playoffs ended, right up through the middle of this SCF series. Plowing through an Eastern field of the Islanders, 'Canes and Blue Jackets was pretty much a given. It's too bad the B's ended up facing the wrong team in the Finals, as it's probably the only one from what was left in the West who was going to give them a run for their money. It was just a bad match-up, but even at that, the B's were the solid favorites and did not close the deal. Don't shoot the messenger.
                          Sworn Enemy of the Perpetually Offended
                          Montreal Expos Forever ...

                          Comment


                          • Originally posted by Chuck Murray View Post
                            Regardless of rooting interests and predictions, hopefully we can all agree that this year's SCF provided lots of entertainment, drama and storylines. It will be interesting to see if there are any attempted "copycats" out there trying to mimic the Blues' reliance on the heavy game. I heard or read someone saying this was two years in a row - and I'm not sure I'm ready to put the Blues in the same company as the Capitals, but I do see an LA Kings' blueprint - but while the overall trend has been away from physical play, it's interesting any time a team bucks the trend and has success like this.

                            Honest question to the B's fans ... there was heavy booing of Commish Bettman in the midst of the post-game ceremonies. I know he usually gets razzed a certain amount any time he shows up to hand out the Cup, but this seemed pretty loud. Is there something specifically bad in the Bettman-B's history beyond "the usual"? It sounded to me more like Pats' fans screaming at Goodell (understandable). Just curious. Anyway ...



                            I agree, HR - this one shouldn't be dropped on Rask's doorstep. I'm not sure there's much he could have done on Goals 1, 3 & 4. And Goal 2 - which I agree with Tony Amonte was the back-breaker at the end of the first period - should be laid squarely on the doorstep of Marchand, who was inexplicably looking to get off the ice for a line change in his own end, with less than 10 seconds left in the period. Not sure if that's on him or on his coach, but it was a shocking lack of game awareness at the worst possible time. One goal down after one, that's not ideal but still manageable. Down two felt catastrophic.

                            GM Sweeney will have his work cut out for him, trying to keep this bunch in SC contention. I thought Krejci played well but was underutilized. You can see him not coming back. No one is talking about whether Chara is coming back, so I assume he's planning to come back. He is going to be tough to replace when he retires, even at his current age. Carlo certainly isn't ready yet to take on a first pairing role on a team capable of Cup contention.



                            Yeah, the SOG fallacy took another hit last night. My "score first and you can have your lousy SOG's" fared pretty well, too. And that silly "the two goal lead is the most dangerous lead in hockey" took it square in the shorts too. Never has a lead felt more safe than the Blues' two goal lead over the final 40 minutes of last night's game. I was having flashbacks to the '71 SCF and Ken Dryden shutting down the powerful Big Bad Bruins of the Orr Era in the first period. Kind of surprised they didn't give the Conn Smythe to Binnington, or even to Pietrangelo. O'Reilly should be a top Selke candidate though.



                            The "FWIW" disclaimer pretty much admits it might be a worthless observation to some, 'dc.

                            But the Cup was the B's to lose for over a month, from the day the first round of the playoffs ended, right up through the middle of this SCF series. Plowing through an Eastern field of the Islanders, 'Canes and Blue Jackets was pretty much a given. It's too bad the B's ended up facing the wrong team in the Finals, as it's probably the only one from what was left in the West who was going to give them a run for their money. It was just a bad match-up, but even at that, the B's were the solid favorites and did not close the deal. Don't shoot the messenger.
                            Dunno about the Bruins fans screaming loudly at Commish Bettman, but my guess is that they were still mad about a couple of calls that should have been 5-minute majors to the Blues earlier in the SCF.

                            But, time to move on. More than enough to keep ourselves preoccupied until October, like assessment of our memories about the senior checking line in the 2015-2016 season. :-)

                            Comment


                            • Re: UNH Wildcats 2019 Offseason - How Much Progress Did We Really Make This Past Seas

                              Originally posted by Snively65 View Post
                              Dunno about the Bruins fans screaming loudly at Commish Bettman, but my guess is that they were still mad about a couple of calls that should have been 5-minute majors to the Blues earlier in the SCF.

                              But, time to move on. More than enough to keep ourselves preoccupied until October, like assessment of our memories about the senior checking line in the 2015-2016 season. :-)
                              No kidding. Who knew the SCL would still be fueling discussions almost four years after the fact, eh?

                              It's like the gift that keeps on giving … or re-gifting … or something ...
                              Sworn Enemy of the Perpetually Offended
                              Montreal Expos Forever ...

                              Comment


                              • Re: UNH Wildcats 2019 Offseason - How Much Progress Did We Really Make This Past Seas

                                Originally posted by Chuck Murray View Post
                                No kidding. Who knew the SCL would still be fueling discussions almost four years after the fact, eh?

                                It's like the gift that keeps on giving … or re-gifting … or something ...
                                At least we are talking about somethin' in my genre Season 7...comin' up!
                                Here we go 'Cats!!

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