Games 27 & 28: Northeastern and UML

[Marshmont_63]

Big two game home stand for the Minutemen this weekend. We've already beaten Northeastern earlier this year. Hopefully they don't let either team go 6 for 9 on the PP like BU happened to do this past weekend

[78]

Another home game, another loss. 4-9 at home now and we continue to be the worst third period hockey team I have ever seen. So glad Coach Mick and his system have two years left. 2-0 lead in the second period, 3-2 lead after 2 and they allow 3 goals in the last period to lose 5-3. It was like a shooting gallery for Mastalerz tonight. So sick of this cruel joke being played on all UMass hockey fans.

[tdmass]

I haven't checked this for sure but if hockey games were only 2 periods instead of 3 we might have a 500 record!

[Swampy]

I'm not making excuses for anyone here but the hardest thing to teach young players is how to close out a win. The fact that they're leading after two in a lot of these games tells me that they are at least making progress. Now the coaching staff needs to take the next step and get them to play the third period like they play the first and second. These are all Mick's players so if they can't do that over the next year or two then the experiment is ovah and the new AD can make their first important hire.

[78]

I'm not making excuses for anyone here but the hardest thing to teach young players is how to close out a win. The fact that they're leading after two in a lot of these games tells me that they are at least making progress. Now the coaching staff needs to take the next step and get them to play the third period like they play the first and second. These are all Mick's players so if they can't do that over the next year or two then the experiment is ovah and the new AD can make their first important hire.

I only partially agree. While they have been leading some games after two, the bottom line is the system is what leads to these multi-goal outbursts by the opposition. And, they sometimes have also happened in the first and second period. It saddens me that we have to put up with two more years of this shit. There is some nice talent going to waste on this team, and the best talent is likely going to be out of here if Mick stays. If you have a chance to play for an NHL minor league team, why stay for this crap?

[78]

I almost hate to post this, but the REAL UMass leads the FAKE UMass 3-0 at the end of 2. That's right. You read that right. You heard that right.

[Chris20]

So we should at least keep this one within a couple goals. Moral victory?

[78]

And our long, painful, 9-game, 4-year nightmare mercifully comes to an end. The REAL UMass beats Umass HYPHEN 5-2 in a pleasant surprise. Except for a brief period in the third when the Minutemen took two dumb penalties, the Minutemen dominated the game to move into a tie with UNH for 11th place in Hockey East. Good effort all around. If only they could become consistent.

[Marshmont_63]

And our long, painful, 9-game, 4-year nightmare mercifully comes to an end. The REAL UMass beats Umass HYPHEN 5-2 in a pleasant surprise. Except for a brief period in the third when the Minutemen took two dumb penalties, the Minutemen dominated the game to move into a tie with UNH for 11th place in Hockey East. Good effort all around. If only they could become consistent.

A tie with UNH for now...They're ahead 4-3 over UVM. If that score holds, UNH will be 2 points ahead of us.

[BishopMVP]

I almost hate to post this, but the REAL UMass leads the FAKE UMass 3-0 at the end of 2. That's right. You read that right. You heard that right.

Why? I agree that McCutcheon botched letting Toot go and the coaching search, but this team has very little upper class talent and has looked downright decent since Montour started playing. Sure I wish we were a top 10 team right now but as long as Mich isn't going anywhere for the next year (and given how new our AD will be, it would be dumb to fire him) I hope the team does well and he proves this message board wrong. We have 3 studs in their first year on the team (unless you count Vatrano's brief cameo) who should all be back next year, 3 more top 6 forwards in Lee, Iacobellis and Pigozzi with 2+ years left, at least a couple really good recruits in Keats and Lagesson, and a couple more in Plevy, Chukarov, and most importantly Renyard that I'm hopeful for. I like Troy Power, but he's not exactly Greg Mauldin, and while I'm sure they're great people I don't think we'll really miss the other Seniors. The Junior class consists of 2 players total.

I still have the same questions about this defensive system, and share the disappointment that the hockey experience isn't as good as it was 7-8 years ago, but if we can finish out this season around .500 post-Montour (currently 5-7-1 with 5 games remaining, 4 vs ranked teams) and return him/Vatrano I'm going to be pretty excited to watch the team next year. Yet some posters seem so eager to fire Mich they've already written the obituary, and will be disappointed when the team plays well.

[78]

I almost hate to post this, but the REAL UMass leads the FAKE UMass 3-0 at the end of 2. That's right. You read that right. You heard that right.

Why? I agree that McCutcheon botched letting Toot go and the coaching search, but this team has very little upper class talent and has looked downright decent since Montour started playing. Sure I wish we were a top 10 team right now but as long as Mich isn't going anywhere for the next year (and given how new our AD will be, it would be dumb to fire him) I hope the team does well and he proves this message board wrong. We have 3 studs in their first year on the team (unless you count Vatrano's brief cameo) who should all be back next year, 3 more top 6 forwards in Lee, Iacobellis and Pigozzi with 2+ years left, at least a couple really good recruits in Keats and Lagesson, and a couple more in Plevy, Chukarov, and most importantly Renyard that I'm hopeful for. I like Troy Power, but he's not exactly Greg Mauldin, and while I'm sure they're great people I don't think we'll really miss the other Seniors. The Junior class consists of 2 players total.

I still have the same questions about this defensive system, and share the disappointment that the hockey experience isn't as good as it was 7-8 years ago, but if we can finish out this season around .500 post-Montour (currently 5-7-1 with 5 games remaining, 4 vs ranked teams) and return him/Vatrano I'm going to be pretty excited to watch the team next year. Yet some posters seem so eager to fire Mich they've already written the obituary, and will be disappointed when the team plays well.

You misread my post. The reason why I said I almost hated to post the score after 2 periods is because of how badly the team has performed in the third period this year. Yes they are playing better and I will be the first to come on here and eat crow if Mick gets this thing turned around. I just want them to win and I don't care who is coaching. It's sad to see so few fans in the stands given that hockey was such a big draw. There really is some good talent on this squad. The question is, will Mick's system work?

[Marshmont_63]

What was the attendance for these past two games?

[MajBugman]

2,522 and 2,726

Which has me really confused. I am going to be in the area on 13 Feb so I bought a ticket from Ticketmaster for the UM Lowell game. And there weren't a ton of seats available. Do they hold back a lot of seats for walk-ups?