UConn vs. UNH (1/25 @ XL Center, 1/26 @ Whittemore Center)

[zls44]

I wasn't there yesterday, but did watch the 2-2 tie on Friday night. It was not pretty hockey. I thought that UNH must be pretty bad not to dominate our boys.

I saw some nice sparks (Payusov, El Mir, etc.) but while I like their enthusiasm, the Huskies seem ... well ... they seem unskilled. Simple things like passing to the stick (not the skates). And, I guess, not falling over. Hockey 101.

UNH scores to go up 1-0.

Ensuing face-off, UConn wins the draw and passes it back to Newpower. He is skating slowly back into his own zone and just falls down on his own. Just falls over!

UNH 2-on-1, 2-0 UNH.

 

[SubbaBub]

The degree to which they recruit internationally, as we've been made to understand, is partially based on how poor the facilities are causing an inability to get the really good New England talent.

I hate that argument for a lot of reasons. It just sounds lazy.

You must have forgotten how you made your decision on which school to attend and where top prospects come from. A dilapidated barn not fit for a beer league and a lack of facilities falls just behind the quality of the coeds. Then toss in that unlike football and basketball most schools supporting top level hockey are outstanding academic institutions. We have the right coach, he's not been given what was promised to his program. I'd be more concerned about him leaving after a decent season than him being fired.

Quinnipiac has what on UConn? Oh, a really nice arena.

 

[The Viking]

Who was the guy who makes preseason predictions based on teams losing scorers, etc? Didn't he have UConn picked dead last in the HE?
Prophetic - almost.
This whole thing about how we can't recruit because of our facilities - wasn't our last class ranked in the top 5 or higher based on whatever metrics you want to use? This season sucks but to me next season is the real issue here. It's one thing to bring in quality recruits - but can you coach them up? I don't mind being patient and dealing with the freshman issues that might arise but next year there really should be an uptick in performance.

 

[dbmill]

Who was the guy who makes preseason predictions based on teams losing scorers, etc? Didn't he have UConn picked dead last in the HE?
Prophetic - almost.
This whole thing about how we can't recruit because of our facilities - wasn't our last class ranked in the top 5 or higher based on whatever metrics you want to use? This season sucks but to me next season is the real issue here. It's one thing to bring in quality recruits - but can you coach them up? I don't mind being patient and dealing with the freshman issues that might arise but next year there really should be an uptick in performance.

I was hoping that we would see some improvement in this young team in the second half of the season. So far, no soap.

 

[freescooter]

The degree to which they recruit internationally, as we've been made to understand, is partially based on how poor the facilities are causing an inability to get the really good New England talent.

I hate that argument for a lot of reasons. It just sounds lazy.

That is simply nonsense. They struggle to get New England talent because they are 15th in line behind BC, BU, Providence, etc etc etc. And those clubs recruit in Europe too! Inplayed in a golf tourney last summer and one of our group was a HEA coach of a team that often struggles. He was telling me how hard it is to even get guys to answer your calls until they are sure BC or BU is not interested. He didn’t mean just BC and BU but a group of blue bloods. Any new program has the same problem. That’s why Pecknold built QU with mostly Canadians who were about to age out of juniors. They used to joke about how he didn’t need scholarships because his players qualified for Social Security.