UNH Class of 2007- Thanks for the Memories!

Well it was a week ago today the season ended for the Cats, so figure it was time to take a look at the 5 graduating seniors (Jacob McFlicker, Brett Hemingway, Josh Ciocco, Shawn Vinz and Chris Murray) McFlicker and Hemingway have got the most press over their four years in Durham, and rightfully so. But all 5 member of the class of 07 played a part in the success of the Cats over their 4 years here. All 5 will be missed, as this is probably one of the most solid classes in awhile. Here is wishing them all the best of luck in the future, and they will always be proud member of Wildcat country. Four of them have already signed on to play pro hockey and have started that next step in their career. SO let take a look at the calls of 07 and my view of them.
Well you have to start with Jacob McFlicker. McFlicker has been a huge fan favorite all 4 years, was a 3 time winner of the fan favorite. McFlicker was never the biggest guy on the ice, but played with the biggest heart. McFlicker is a pure skater and a natural with the puck. He played on the top line his last 2 years. There were times it looked like McFlicker was out on the ice doing magic with the puck. He could slip through the defense and make his way to the net. He was always a joy to watch in a Wildcat uniform. He always gave it is all. He was superb 5 on 5, on the power play and on the penalty kill. McFlicker has always fit in the mold of Steve Savino, Sean Collins and Darren Hayder. Not the biggest, faster guy, but the guy who played the hardest and you always knew what you were going to get. Mc Flicker took a beating this year, as it seemed every team always had one of their top defensemen on him, even with all the physical beating he took he always came back for more. McFlicker has signed on with Springfield of the AHL, proud to say he scored his first professional goal last night. I can see McFlicker having a decent career in the AHL or Europe, and were ever he goes he will be a fan favorite.
Brett Hemingway followed in his brother footstep, Collin Hemmingway, and came to Durham. Brett had a scored touch in his time in a Wildcat uniform. Brett had a knack of finishing some of the nifty plays McFlicker would set up for him. Brett didn’t always get the press as one of the top guys on the team. But he was consistent in his scoring touch. He did start of slow his senior year, but did turn it on to finish with another 30+ points. He did miss the semi and finals of the Hockey East tourney, and he was missed. I have read on some post on USCHO that they thing Hemmingway will be easily replaced. I don’t think he will be, it is not everyday you bring in a 100 career point guy. Brett was a perfect third guy on the top line the last year. This year with McFlicker and Radja, and last year with McFlicker and Winnick. Many people tried to compare him to his brother. Collin was a leader on the teams he was on. Brett did not have to be on this team there were plenty of other leaders to step up, Brett just had to play his game and that is what he did well. Brett signed with Colorado of the NHL and was assigned to Albany of the AHL. I see Brett playing the AHL for awhile, and maybe getting a shot at the NHL in the next couple of year. I would not be surprised to see Brett playing the NHL in the future, might not be a star, but can stick somewhere as a 3rd or 4th line guy.
Next up is the Captain Josh Ciocco. I will come out and admit it that I was surprised when Ciocco was named captain last spring. I though it would go to McFlicker. Ciooco wrote w weekly column for the Portsmouth Herald his junior year. I have to say I was not a big fan of it at times, he did come off as cocky sometime. But Ciooco did prove me wrong as he turned out to be a good captain. Josh led the third line this year, with Thomas Fortney and Greg Collins, that was probably my favorite line to watch this year. It brought a lot of energy to every game and played extremely well. Josh also stepped up the #1 line through out the year with different injuries to all 3 member of the line. This was a good example of the leadership he proved this year. Josh was never afraid to go right after the biggest guy on the other team. I thought along with Radja he was the best penalty killer the Cats had, as he would come out with a lot of energy and make the other team work extremely hard. Next years captain will have some big shoes to fill and will have to bring some leadership to replace Ciooco. Josh has signed on with Wheeling of the ECHL. I see Josh playing in the ECHL, he will bring a lot of energy to any team he is with, and like McFlicker be a fan favorite were ever he goes, and will be outspoken.
The only defensemen to graduate this year was Chris Murray. I was also surprised when he was named an assistant captain last spring. Murray had a very quiet 3 years before his senior year, I actually didn’t realize he was a going to be senior this year till he was named asst. captain. But he did turn it up his senior to be come a force on the blue line for the Cats. He was the 2nd highest point man from the blue line, 1 behind Flashins, and the top goal scoring defensemen. He also lead the team with 5 game winning goals. He also had 4 power play goals. He turned out to be a good quarterback for the power plays. He was named a 2nd team all Hockey East player this year. He stepped up when the team needed him to this year. Murray signed on with Peoria of the AHL. I am not sure were I see Murray’s career taking him. He might end up in the ECHL for a few years. It is hard to judge since he only had the one break out year with the Cats.
This bring us to the last, and my favorite senior, Shawn Vinz. Coming into his senior year Vinz had played 60+ games in a Cats uniform, and had no goals to show for it. Vinz has been mostly a 4th liner his career. His first 3 years he was in and out of the line up, as the 4th line was usually rotated between 4 or 5 guys. This year saw Vinz play in all but 1 game. On November 17th Vinz would get his first career goal against Lowell. It was a tip in goal, nothing pretty but it was a goal. Vinz would end up getting 4 goals on the year, one a short handed goal. The Cats would go 4-0 in games he scored, as I like to call it the Vinz rule. But Vinz biggest contribution came in leading the 4th line all year. He played mostly with freshman Bobby Butler and Peter Leblanc all year. That lined played very well this year, one of the better 4th lines in a long time for the Cats. You could really see the development of the Freshman on that line, Danny Rossman would also see time on that line. I think Vinz has to be given some credit for their development. Vinz’s contribution might be felt for the next few years. Vinz also played regularly on the penalty kill this year, and played very effective. I have always enjoyed watching Vinz play, if there is one jersey I wanted it is a Vinz jersey. There is a guy who usually sits a couple rows in front of me with one, and I so wanted to get it from him. You can tell he loves to play the game. He never got not being the line up get him down. I do not see Vinz playing professionally, though I would love to see it. I do wish him the best in the future. Here is wishing all the member of the Class of 07 the best of luck in the future, whether it be in hockey or something else. Thanks for the memories.

Cat's review 07- The end of the Vinz Era

Well I figured I would wait a few days after the season ended up for the Cats before I wrote my season end review. Of course the season didn’t end the way any Cat player, coach or fan wanted it to, a heartbreaking 2-1 loss in the first round of the NCAA playoffs. But the season was in my opinion far from a failure. Many people are looking at the end of the season and seeing it being a failure. But when you look back at the beginning of the season and what was expected for the season, I see it as a success. The Cats were picked 4th in the pre-season Hockey East coaches poll. Many people thought they would be fighting for a home ice slot in the Hockey East playoffs. In the national poll they had them at #10. Due have to give the voter in the USCHO poll credit, they had 3 of the Frozen Four participants in the top 6 (BC #1, Michigan State #5, North Dakota #6, with all getting first place votes) they had Maine at #11. So how did the Cats get from that to the Hockey East regular season title, and many weeks at #1 in the country during the season? Well lets begin the journey.
Well the season started back in October with 3 exhibition games at home. The started off with a bad loss to St. Francis Xavier from Canada. Things looked like it was going to be a tough and long year. The Cats did rebound in their 2nd exhibition game, a 7-1 win over the US Under 18 team, led by future Cat James Van Reinsdyke (JVR). Things were stating to look up. The Cats first 2 regular season games would be on the road in the tough home of national power Colorado College. The Cats would come out with 2 impressive wins. The Freshman Bobby Butler would get the first goal of the season. The Cats would come home on a rocky mountain high. That high would not last long. The Cats home opener was also their Hockey East opener, against UMass, they would lose that game 3-2. Two days later the Cats would face off against Yale. That would be a very heartbreaking, controversial loss in OT. A game with a questionable waved off goal, and a goal that should have never happened as the ref never blew the whistle when Mr. Regan clearly had the puck covered. Thus the Cats ended October at a disappointing 2-2.
That disappointing October would lead the Cats into an amazing November and December. It started off with a home game against Northeastern. The Cats would find themselves ties 3-3 after the 2nd period. Then Cats exploded for 3 goals in the third, and played some great that hockey that would last until after Christmas. The Cats would go on incredible 12 game unbeaten streak. Some of the highlights of that streak would include, a fabulous 8-2 win on a Sunday afternoon against Maine up at the Alfond the Blackbears were undefeated and #1 in the country at that time, a 6-3 win at BC. During the streak we got to see the first 2 games in net by freshman Brian Foster, those 2 games would be 2 shut wins by the Cats, a 4-0 win at home against Lowell and a 2-0 win at home against St. Lawrence. There was also the 5-0 shut out by Mr. Regan at home against Merrimack. Also during this streak we would see the first 2 career goals by senior Shawn “the man” Vinz. The first coming on come on Sat Nov 18 against Lowell, Fosters first shut out. Vinz next goal would be a shorthanded blast from right inside the blue line in Regan’s 5-0 shut out over Merrimack. The streak would come to end in the Cats first game after their 3 week Christmas break, a 5-2 win in a Christmas tournament in Florida. The would rebound with a win against Western Michigan the next night, though the Cats would lose the service of top goal score Mike Radja for 4 week in this game. The Cats would end 2006 at 14-3-1. Also during this time there would be the emergence of the SPF line (Trevor Smith, Jerry Pollostrone, and Matt Forntadaro) Trevor Smith would be one of the most dominate players in the country from November to the end of January. His name would be mentioned as a Hobey Baker candidate.
January would turn out to be another well played month for the Cats. The Cats would go 5-1 during the cold wintry month. At the end of the month the Cats had clawed their way to the #1 ranking in the country. The only loss would be a 3-0 loss at UMass, this is not the last we would hear from them. That would be their first road loss of the season, they started the season 10-0 on the road. Some of the highlights of the month would be the 2 game sweep at the #1 defensive team in the country Vermont to begin the month. The first game would be a extremely well played 7-1 victory that drove the top goalie in the country, Fallon, out of the game in the first period. The Cats would also have a dominant 5-1 victory over UMass at the Whitt. The Cats ended January 19-4-1, and well established in first place in Hockey East. The Cats would be one of the top ranked offensively and defensively ranked team in the country at this point.
So now comes February and Marc to finish the regular season, the toughest part of the schedule for the Cats. Of the last 10 games to end the regular season 6 would be against Maine, BU and BC. The Cats would end the last 10 games 4-5-1. Something they would not be happy about. The highlights would be a great 2-1 victory over Maine at the Whitt. The Cats in my opinion didn’t play bad in this stretch, except for one game I will mention. The Cats would clinch the Hockey East regular season title with a couple week to go in the regular season. There was a natural let down as the Cats played hard all season to earn the title. The let down was seen over the last 3 weeks. The last weekends the first would be against BU. The Cats would lose a 4-2 hard fought game at the Whitt, BU would end up with 2 empty netters at the end of the game. The next night in Boston the Cats would jump out to a 3-0 lead, then the wheels came off, and the Terriers would come back to a well deserved 3-3 tie. The next weekend in Providence would be the low point of the season for the Cats, a humiliating 7-1 loss at the hands of the Friars. As irony would have it BU would lose that night and clinch the regular season title for the Cats. The Cats would end their regular season with a home and home series with BC. At this point the Cats did not have much to play for. The Eagles would come out with 2 victories, thought the Cats gave them a fight in both games. The Eagles came in fighting for the #2 spot in Hockey East. The Eagles would be in middle of an extremely hot stretch. The Eagles would end up 1 point behind the Cats in the standings. The Cats would end the regular season at 23-9-2, and 18-7-2 in Hockey East.
The Cats would enter the tournament on some what of a down note. Many is Wildcat country would be a little worried going into the post season. The Cats would face off the #8 seed Providence in the first round of the Hockey East playoffs, the same Providence team that spanked the Cats a few weeks earlier. Well there was no need to worry as the Cats, lead by Mr. Regan, would sweep the 2 game series with 2 shut out ( 4-0, 6-0) The Cats played great in those 2 games. From there it was on the Fleet Center for the Hockey East semi finals against UMass, the team that had played them very hard all season. Mother Nature in her wisdom would dump a foot of snow on New England that day and keep many of the faithful Cat fans away from Boston. This might have been one of the best games of the year, a thrilling 3-2 victory in double overtime. Bobby Butler would score the winner, after Danny Rossman would score his first career goal in the third to tie the game up. Brett Hemingway would miss this game due to a sickness, he would also miss the Hockey East championship game the next night, as a good number of the team was sick. This game would not go the Cats way, as BC would once again beat them 5-2. The Cats came out playing well in that game. But the team would be slowed down and BC took it to the Cats. The Cats would play hard the last 10 minutes, but it was not enough to overcome the red hot Eagles. The Cats would earn a #1 seed in the NCAA regional in Manchester, #4 over all in the tourney. The Cats would face off against Miami-Ohio. The Cats played a very good game, but would come up on the wrong side of the score sheet, a very tough 2-1 loss. The Cat outplayed Miami most of the game, but just could not get the puck past the Redhawks netminder. The winning goal for Miami would come off the deflection off one of the Cats skate. The highlight of the game would be a spectacular shorthanded goal from Mike Radja. The season would end with the Cats playing hard till the final whistle.
The Cats did meet and exceed the exceptions I had at the beginning of the season. The Cats offense turned out to be one of the best in the country and the defense played solid all year and be one of the top rated defenses at the end of the season. Some really great surprises developed over the season for me. The first being the play of the SPF line, Trevor Smith showed some real spark and scoring touch. Jerry Pollastrone showed he can play well with the puck and has some great wheels. Matt Forntadaro got over his sophomore slump and played like up to the potential he showed his freshman year. Bobby Butler really showed some promise his freshman year, he should really step up next year. Thomas Fortney really played well, became the best face off man the Cats had, and played some great defense. Mike Radja really jumped up, and took the place of Daniel Winnick, who left after his junior year. The devoplement of the guys on the blue line, Kevin Kapstad and Brad Flashians really stepped it up this year. I will have a post later on looking forward to next year, and a look back at the graduating Seniors.
So some of the highlights of the season for me. Wish I had seen the 8-2 win in Maine. Seeing Shawn Vinz get on the scoring sheet was great to see, he really earned it, though I saw the first goal on TV, but was there for his shorthander. Seeing Brian Foster get 2 shut outs in his first 2 starts. The best 2 games of the year to me were the 2-1 victory over Maine at the Whitt, the 12 game unbeaten streak, the 7-1 victory at Vermont and the 3-2 2OT win in the Hockey East Semi’s.
So to me it was a good year for the cats, not the outcome we all wanted, but the Cats played hard the entire year, and played with class, for that I am proud of them, and proud to say I am a Cats fans, and our time will come!!

Q’s View on Iraq

Well now that the UNH hockey season is over, what will I talk about? Well I have steered away from political stuff, though I am very interested in the subject. So here is my first post dealing with politics. Want to talk about the passing of the supplementary budget passed by the Senate for the war in Iraq. Of course this is the bill that has in a Sept 08 withdrawal from Iraq. I find this stipulation very disturbing. I will be up front and admit I do support the war in Iraq. I do not think putting a deadline on withdrawal right now is rational. I also find the Democrats to very hypercritical on this whole matter.
First I kept hearing how the President needs to change strategy. Well he did with the surge by adding more troops, something most Democrats called for last summer, and to focus more resources on controlling Baghdad and Anbar province. This was strategy that has the backing of Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, the head of troops in Iraq. The Senate approved Petraeus to be the head of troops 81-0, after the President announced the surge strategy. So they oppose the strategy, then turn around and but a man who fully supports the strategy and thinks it is key to victory in charge. So how do you think we can win? The Democrats fought the surge from the beginning, so want a new strategy but don’t want a new one? I was listening to Senator Reid last night saying the President wants more of the statues quo, seems like he missed the news about the new surge strategy. He has also missed that there has been some success with the surge. The violence in Baghdad has gone down, and the street are safer. It is a victory? No its not, but it is step in the right direction, and should be given time to see how much it can succeed.
So now to this bill. First I find the timing of the “deadline” curious. Sept 08? If the Democrats want us out so fast, why not an immediate withdrawal? Why not cut off funding? Hard to miss that it is right before the 08 presidential election. Seems like the Democrats want to make this a very political issue. I also find all of the stuff added into this budget very outrageous. This should be a straight up budget for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. But there has been tons of stuff added to this budget, obviously to gain the support t get it passed. Some of the add-ons are Renew an income subsidy program for some small dairy farmers; give $24 million to sugar beet growers in the Red River Valley for losses from flooding and $20 million to combat Mormon crickets, Provide $74 million for peanut storage and $25 million for spinach growers, and $100 million for the 08 Democrat and Republican conventions.
I believe it is important for the US to be successful in Iraq. So what is success? Well success is a decline in violence in the streets, a well trained Iraqi Army, a strong nationalized government. Are we there yet? Of course not. Will setting a deadline for withdrawal get us there? NO! I have no problem with setting milestones to reach, I actually encourage that. I wish the President and Democrats would sit down and set some milestones. Such as x number of Iraqi brigades fully trained means the withdrawal of x number of Americans. This is the path to success, actual talking and making tough decisions. Right now all we have is name calling back and forth. I will give the President credit he has changed his strategy in Iraq and it seems to have some success so far. The only plan I see from the Democrats is to get out with no plan to succeed. I know there are some logic Democrats who want to succeed. It just seems their voice has been silenced. Here is hoping that something can be worked out and all of the bickering back and forth can be over with and we can have a real discussion about Iraq. The sooner this down and path to success an be worked out the sooner we can be successful, and then the sooner we can get our brave men and women home. The more time we spend having both side one up each other the longer we will be there. So please smarten up and have an actual discussion and not a power fight.

NCAA Hockey Tourney- Day 3- And then there were 4, but no 1!!

The Frozen Four is all set. We add North Dakota and Boston College to the mix. Boston College Boston College won a 4-0 Northeast final over Miami-Ohio. This was scoreless game going into the 2nd, with Miami controlling most of the play. As faith would have it BC would score on its first quality chance in the 2nd and turn the momentum their way. Miami did loss one of its top forwards early in the game due to a hitting from behind call that was deemed a 5 minute major with a game DQ. That goal seemed to take the life out of Miami. Miami showed me a lot this weekend, they belong there. This game was closer then the score. BC will face North Dakota in the late game of the Frozen Four semi finals. North Dakota won a great 3-2 OT game against Minnesota. This was a rematch of the WCHA that also went to OT, with Minnesota taking that one. This game was 1-1 early in the game. Both teams had some good chances through out the rest of the first and the entire second. It would not be until the third till North Dakota took an advantage of a power play. The Sioux would get a 5 minute major against them, but would kill it off. But Minnesota would take advantage of a power play later in the third to tie the game up. This would bring us to OT. The Sioux would control most of the play in the OT. The would end the game with a wrap around goal, to bring the Sioux to the Frozen Four for the third straight year.
So the Frozen Four is set. We have Michigan State- Maine at 4, and BC- North Dakota at 7. We have 3, #3 seeds and a #2 seed. My first instinct says North Dakota is the team to beat. I know many people are in love with BC right now. But after seeing their last 3 games, I still believe they are very beatable. To me ND is the best all around team. But I would not count the other 3 teams. Maine has Bishop who can steal a game, a steeler power play and the experience of being there last year. Michigan State showed me a lot this weekend, they play good D, have depth and Lerg is playing well in net. BC does have depth, the experience of being in the final game last year, and Schneider is very solid in net. So over all have 4 teams that can win it. Should be a very god Frozen Four, Now just have to wait two weeks. WHY????

NCAA Hockey Tourney- Day 2- The last half dozen standing!!

Well day 2 didn’t go as Cats fans would have hoped for. The UNH-Miami game was a good game, with the Redhawks pulling out the 2-1 win, though UNH did out play them most of the game, but sometimes the bounces don’t go your way. The Redhawks will play the red hot BC Eagles. The Eagles beat St. Lawrence 4-1. I stayed for 2 periods of that game, thought the Saints played with the Eagles and at times controlled the pace of the game. I have seen BC twice in the last week, and still think they are very beatable. This team is bound to hit a ref who will not cave into them and call the late hits, holding the stick, and the dives the Eagles do. Hopefully the Redhawks can come out and control the pace of the game and use their physical presence to take out the Eagles. Did get home in time to see the last half of the Maine-UMass regional final. Looks like Big Ben was the missing element for Maine as they finally beat UMass, after 4 straight losses, 3-1. Maine’s power play was the difference in that region. So now Maine is off to the Frozen Four in St. Louis. There they will met up with a very tough Michigan State team. Michigan State took out the #1 seed Norte Dame last night in a tight 2-1 game. I have seen both MSU games this tourney, and have been really impressed with them. They have depth and play a good defensive game. The might midget in net had played huge for them. So in one frozen four game will have Big Ben vs. The mighty midget. Should be a good game, and low scoring I think. I didn’t get to see any of the Western regional first round games. But once again Minnesota didn’t really come out to play in the first round. Last year they lost to Holy Cross, in probably the biggest upset in NCAA hockey history. You would think that they would come out to prove something this year. With the #1 seed overall playing Air Force, they would come out with both guns blazing. But once again the Gophers were down in the third, they were down 3-1 early in the third. But unlike last year the Gophers did pull out the victory with a tight 4-3 game, with Air Force getting some chances with the goalie pulled for a 6-5 at the end of the game. The Gophers will face their WCHA nemesis North Dakota. The Sioux won a wild 8-5 game over Michigan. The Sioux known for their defensive style of play, but not last night. With what sounds like a very entertaining game the Sioux’s offensive exploded and scored 5 power play goals. I am really looking forward to watching that Minnesota- North Dakota game tonight.

UNH-Miami- Ohio. Playoff game #5, that’s all folks!!

Well the Cats lost 2-1 in the first round of the NCAA tourney today. They fought to the very last whistle. This was a hard fought game were the team that had the more physical style won out in the end. The Cats did play a good game I though. Miami controlled the first 10 minutes and got an early goal, that I am sure Mr. Regan would like back. That came on the Redhawks very first shot of the game. After about the 10 minute mark the Cats started to control the play and had some golden chances but Miami stoned them. Have to give Miami all sorts of credit. They did not let the Cats set up anything down low and cut those passing lanes. The forced the Cats to take shots from outside and let up very few rebounds. Miami would get a 2-0 lead early in third on a power play on a goal that was thrown to the front of the net and looks like it went off someone’s skate. That is why it is never bad to throw the puck on net kids. The Cats did not quit though, they continued to play hard and keep the pressure on. They finally broke through late in the third on a beautiful short handed goal by Radja. That seemed to give the Cats even more life as the continued to keep on some good pressure, but in the end just couldn’t get another pass Zatkoff in net for Miami. The Cats have nothing to ashamed of today. They left everything on the ice today. I am not at all disappointed in the way they played today, just wanted them to play hard, and see what happens. Have to give Miami all sorts of credit, they made the plays when they had to. I wish them luck against BC Sunday. For life I cant root for BC, seems like I keep finding all the pain in the butt BC fans, had more BC kids sitting behind me today, and once again if I had talked liked that when I was their age, I would have got back handed by my father, the father with them was encouraging them. I did find it appropriate that McFlicker was the last guy off the ice today, he always left on the ice all four years. I will have a review of the season later on, and a look forward to 08.Thanks for a great year Cats!!!

NCAA tourney- Day 1- Let the fun begin!!!

The first day of the NCAA hockey tourney is in the books, we have 4 teams out of the running for the trophy (Clarkson, St. Cloud, BU, and UAH) so we have a #1, 2 #2, and a #4 seed gone. There were 2 overtime games, one going to 2 overtimes, and one going scoreless into overtime. I got to see 2 of the games. The first game I watched was the Maine-St. Cloud game. This game was totally dominated by Maine, 4-1 win. St. Cloud did score first on a very weak goal. At that time I thought it was going to be a long night for Maine, as Ben Bishop, who hasn’t played in a month due to a groin injury, seemed to go down very slow to stop the shot. I was watching with a couple Maine fans, after that goal I was talking to one of them and we both questioned Bishops health. Well we were wrong, that would be the only goal he would let in. Maine would turn around and get 2 pretty weak goals themselves off of St. Cloud goal Booby Goepfert, a Hobey Baker finalist. The Black Bear would score on their first 2 power plays, and there would be no looking back from their. Main’s special teams would be the story of this game, not only their power play but their penalty kill was superb, they would kill all 9 power plays for St. Cloud. Both of these teams came into the tourney on very negative notes. St. Cloud loss both games last weekend in the WCHA tourney. Maine had lost 4 straight games 2 at the end of the regular season and 2 in the first weekend of the Hockey East tourney. Maine was by far the one who bounced back the best. It looks like having Big Ben back in net was a confidence booster for the Black Bear.
Maine lost all 4 of the games to UMass, all at Umass. So as luck has it these 2 teams will met again Saturday night with a trip to the frozen four on the line. UMass playing in their first ever NCAA tourney pulled out a 1-0 overtime win against #1 seed Clarkson. I do wish I had got see this game, dam them for starting the game at 2:30. From what I read and heard this was a very good game going back and forth, with UMass controlling the first period, Clarkson controlling the second , and a back and forth 3rd and OT. Both goalies came up with some huge saves. So this sets up an all Hockey East regional final. Can UMass beat Maine 5 times in a row? Will the return of Bishop be the missing link for Maine to get past the Minutemen? This should be a very interesting game. Maine does have the experience in the tourney, but UMass has the confidence that they can beat Maine. Not sure how much of this game I will get to see, but it should be one hell of a barn burner.
As we have an Hockey East final in the East region, we have an All CCHA Final in the Midwest. The first came should have been a cake walk, not even a close game. Had the #1 team in the polls and #2 seed in the tourney, playing a team what was well below 500 for the year in the weakest league in the country, had to come from behind in every game of the CHA tourney to win the automatic bid. Anyone looking at this would think Norte Dame would have their way with Alabama Huntsville (UAH) , but they would wrong. As UAH would bring the Fighting Irish to double overtime, with Norte Dame pulling out a 3-2 win. Of course I didn’t get to see this game either, sounds like a good game to me. Did get to see the other game in that bracket, BU-Michigan State. Like the Maine- St. Cloud game, the higher seed, BU, got the first goal, then the lower seed got all of the rest. Michigan State would skate to a 5-1 win. This game was all Spartans. BU played very undisciplined hockey. They would take 2, 5 minute major and just played sloppy and stupid. They end with 2 total stinkers this game and their Hockey East semi final lost to BC. BU should what they were a team lacking scoring all year, relied to much on John Curry . BU is some serious trouble next year with Curry, and no scoring. So what about the all CCHA regional final? I will have to go with Michigan State. They really impressed me last night. Their goalie, Lerg also known by yours truly as the mighty midget. Really impressed me last night as did Tim Crowder for them. He looked really good to me.
I will be in Manchester for the Northeast regional first round games. UNH-Miami Ohio at 1, followed by BC- St. Lawrence. Depending on what happens and how long these games go depends on what other games I will see.
Here is hoping for a Cats win today, and they move on to play Sunday!!!GO CATS!!!

UNH-Miami (Ohio) NCAA Preview

Well we have come to the real part of the season, the NCAA playoffs. The last 6 months have all lead up to this. The Cats earned the #1 seed in the Northeast bracket of the tourney. They also get luck of playing in their own backyard in Manchester, thanks to hosting the regional. The Cats do come into the tourney coming off a lost in the Hockey East Championship game, 5-2. They also have had a bad case of the flu going through the team. It kept Brett Hemingway out last weekend, and is still questionable for this weekend. Here is hoping the team is healthy for the weekend
So what can we except out of the Redhawks of Miami? Well Miami is limping into the playoffs losing their last 3 games, including a 2 game sweep at the hands of the 8th seed in the CCHA playoffs, Lake Superior State. The Redhawks season in part was like the Cats, started off very hot, and cooled off towards the end of the season. But UNH did manage to get some of there momentum back with 2 solid wins against Providence and a hard fought 2OT game in Boston against UMass. The Redhawks have 5 players with double digit goals this year, and a lot of experience on the blue line. This is similar to the Cats. They also have a Hobey Baker finalist in Nathan Davis. Davis season mirrors Trevor Smith, a hot start and cooling off in the second half. The Hawks also have 2 very capable goalies in Jeff Zatkoff (2.24 GAA,.918 SV%) and junior Charlie Effinger (2.67 GAA,.896 SV%). As of Thursday night Coach Blasi has not named a starter yet, though the smart money is on Zatkoff. From what I have read it seems like the Hawks play an aggressive offensive style game. This style could play well for the Cats, as it can lead odd man rushes then the Cats have seen in a while. UMass and BC were probably polar opposites of this. This sounds a lot like the style Maine has played this year, and I think the Cats matched up well in that series. The Hawks have the #2 rated penalty kill in the country. So the Cats will have to patient on the power play, and hopefully be able to take advantage of any they might get. The Hawks did take a lot of penalties in their NCAA tourney game against BC last year, a 5-0 loss. But this team is more experience and more discipline. I have heard people say that the Hawks have played more discipline in the 2nd half of the year and taken less penalties, again like the Cats.
So it looks like we got 2 pretty evenly matched teams. So how do the Cats gets past the Hawks and move on to play Sunday? I think the Cats depth will be an advantage for them. If the first 2 lines are healthy that will be a huge boost for the Cats. Also the third line played really well last weekend, a healthy inspired 3 lines along with some quality play from the 4th line will go along way. The defense will have to play aggressive and try to slow down the Hawks offense. The Cats will have to limit the turnovers that were costly last Saturday night. I have no doubt Regan will have another Mr. Regan game. I think last Saturday nights game will only motivate him more. Overall I think the Cats can win this game, but they can not take Miami lightly, they are a dangerous team that can also win this game. If both teams come out with their A games, I would have to give the advantage to the Cats. So here is hoping we see the Cats Sunday afternoon.
GO CATS!!!

Happy Birthday to the greatest Pro Athlete of all time!

Well today is March 20, it the birthday of the greatest and most dominant pro athlete of all time. A man who 30 years after his retirement still is the best that ever played his game. That man is the one and only Bobby Orr. Orr’s was cut way to short due to multiple knee injuries. The great Gordie Howe had to say this about Orr’s early retirement Losing Bobby, was the greatest test blow the National Hockey League has ever suffered." Also sadly Orr didn't retire as a member of the Boston Bruins. He ended with the Chicago Blackhwaks. This is due to his good for nothing agent Alan Eagelson. It would be found out year later that Eagelson lied to Orr and many others about his dealing. Eagelson would be the first, and only, person to be kicked out of a professional hall of fame, and would end up in jail. So what made Orr so great? To this day Orr is the only defensemen to lead the NHL in scoring, This is the equivalent of a catcher winning the triple crown in baseball. He is a 3 time league MVP, 2 time Stanley Cup MVP, an 8 time Norris trophy winner as best defensemen in the NHL, he was the 1970 Sports Illustrated sportsmen of the year, The Boston Globe names him the greatest athlete in Boston history ahead of Bill Russell and Ted Williams. Orr was an incredible +124 in 1970-72, which is unheard of. Orr was the first rushing defensemen who could carry the puck from his own end to the other end with out being touched, then rush back to play some incredible defense. He was not afraid to hit, be hit, or even fight. If there is one athlete wish I has seen that I haven't, it would be with out a doubt Bobby Orr. I never got to see him play, but still know how great he is. I have the famous picture of Orr scoring the game winner in game 4 of the Stanley Cup in 1970, the one were is flying through the air. Orr is the type of athlete that doesn't come once a life time, but once a century. It will be a long time before the NHL or any league sees the likes of Orr. Orr made hockey huge in New England, and his effect is still seen today. So happy birthday Bobby, here is to many more

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame- 2007

I am sitting here watching the Rock and Hall of Fame inductions for 2007. Only going to comment on the 2 artist I am really familiar with, as I grew up with both of them. Van Halen and R.E.M
First have to talk about Van Halen. It is a dam shame they all weren’t there to get there due honor. I know there has been a ton of infighting between all the member of the bands. Also Eddie Van Halen is in rehab, here is wishing him the best of luck with that and hope he gets himself all right. Still they only ones there were Michael Anthony and Sammy Hager. Would have liked to seen Alex Van Halen and David Lee Roth there to. To me the original line up with Roth will always be Van Halen to me, sorry Kristi. Not saying I don’t love the line up with Sammy in it, have seen Sammy 5 times and is one hell of performer. But I started to listen to Van Halen with the DLR as the front man, and they truly were rock and roll to me. They put out some amazing records with 1984, Van Halen, Van Halen 2, and Women and Children First. How can anyone not listen to Running with the Devil and say that one of one the most kick ass songs ever!! I know a lot of people criticize Eddie for being a prick, which he is. But there is no doubt the man is a true guitar genius. He is one of the greatest rock guitarist of all time, there is no doubt in my mind about that. Alex is also one hell of a drummer. Who can not love the incredible bass rift of Michael Anthony, his rift are what makes Running with the Devil such a great song. They have had 2 totally different front man, and 2 great front man. DRL was the showman and Sammy was the laid back type. I do wish I got the chance to see VH with DLR in their heyday. Hopefully someday they can all get along, and get be able to get their honor together. I would have loved to seen them all perform at the inductions. A couple of songs with DLR and a couple with Sammy. But sadly that didn’t happen. Sammy and Michael did perform together, they did a great job, but it wasn’t the same. Velvet Revolver inducted them and performed a couple of their songs. I thought this would be really good. But I was very wrong. I was sad on how bad they were.
Have to say I was never a huge REM fan, do enjoy their music, but never a die hard fan. But looking back at their music, it is easy to see why they are in the Hall of Fame. They have but together one great body of work. They have been very influential on many artist over the last 25 years. Has it been 25 years since Radio Free Europe came out, man do I feel old! Their perform ace was really great do, also had Eddie Veder perform with them, have to say that was a great choice. He sounded like he had always been part of the band.
Have to congratulate all the inductees, all very well deserving.

Northeast Regional- Can the Cats scratch their way through?

Well the NCAA tourney has been announced. The regional in Manchester work out this way. UNH does end up with the #1 seed, BC# gets #2, St. Lawrence gets #3, and Miami- Ohio gets the #4. So we have on Saturday UNH-Miami at 1, and BC-St. Lawrence at 4:30. Will be honest knowing nothing about Miami does scare me. I have seen all the other team in the region play this year. I am sure coach Umile has a good sense on what it will take to beat them. My first concern is to make sure everyone is healthy and focused. I am sure they will not be looking past Miami. I know Miami has lost a couple games in a row going into the tourney, but that might be a motivation for them. I will say UNH should be the favorite to move on. I think BC should beat St. Lawernece, I did see St. Lawrence back in Dec and didn’t come out of that game thinking they were that great. But that was a few months ago, and never know BC might be looking past them. But I see a UNH-BC final in the region. Lets hope the outcome is better then it was in Boston.

Some other thoughts on the NCAA brackets. Love to see that Denver bracket with Minnesota, Michigan and North Dakota. That will be one hell of a battle in the Rockies. Maine got very lucky with their draw, first of all not sure how they got the #3 seed in Rochester. Overall a good tourney with a lot of teams with the capability of winning the whole thing. My early feeling is that North Dakota will take it. Their heartbreaking lost in the WCHA finals last night, on a kind of fluky goal by Blake Wheeler might be the motivation they need. But my heart will be pulling for the cats!!
GO CATS

UNH-BC-Hockey East Championship- Playoff Game #4

Well the Hockey East part of the season is over, and now its on to the big dance. The Cats ended that part of the season on a down note, losing in the championship game 5-2 to a very hot BC team. The Cats did come out flying and had some golden opportunities early in the first, Schneider made some great save for BC and UNH missed some open nets. This did come back to bit them in the behind. After about the first 5- 7 minutes with getting one of those grade A chances in the back of the net it seemed the energy went out of the Cats. Not sure how much the flu bug effected the team, heard most of the team has it. The first 2 lines seemed to play flat all weekend, with Hemmingway out again Saturday night. The third line I though played really well, especially Butler. He seemed to be everywhere all night, was glad to see him get another goal. Though I am a little upset he wasn’t named to the all tourney team. He was the best player, except for Regan, on the ice for the Cats all weekend. The second line seemed to be a step behind all night, especially Smith. Here is hoping everyone is 100% healthy next weekend. The 3rd goal were Regan got caught out of the net was ugly, but it seemed liked Regan though he had to carry the team at that point. It is hard to criticize him at that point with everything else he has done, without him they would have not been there. Have to give my congratulations to BC, they played a solid game and deserve the championship. Was impressed with Schneider in net. Though still think Boyle is the most overrated player I have seen.
So what is next? Well it looks like the Cats have held on to the #1 seed in their bracket for the NCAA. So looks like they will be playing the early game next Saturday in Manchester. Have Wisconsin to thank for that, they beat St. Cloud in the WCHA consolation game. We will find out this afternoon who they will play. Right it looks like Miami- Ohio. I have to be honest I know nothing about them this year, and that kind of scares me. But unlike last year I have confidence the Cats can beat anyone IF they come with their A game, and home ice will not hurt them. Also looks like BC will be in our bracket. I am sure the boys will love another shot at them to. We will find out this afternoon how it all works out. I will post something later about the brackets.
GO CATS!!!

UNH- UMass- Playoff game 3- The Butler did it!!!

Well thanks to mother nature and her sick sense of humor I couldn’t make the trip down to Boston for the Hockey East semi-finals. Did start the trip down, but once I hit Hampton the roads were awful and saw a truck and a few cars off the road, so decided to turn around. But did get the see one hell of a game on TV. The Cats pulled out a 2 OT win 3-2. What a game! Brett Hemmingway was out of the game due to a stomach bug, this would actually work out for the Cats. Danny Rossman was inserted into the line up onto the 4th lie, with Bobby Butler moved to the 3rd line with Josh Ciocco put on the first line. As the norm Kevin Regan stood on his head, another 40+ save night, just another day at the office for Mr. Regan! The 3rd and 4th line came up HUGE last night. The third line had 2 goals (Collins, and Butler) and the 4th line had the other goal (Rossman) The Cats did come out flying in the first period, they were peppering Quick with shots. Collins was the first to break through with a hard fought goal, a great crashing the net goal. Have to say the second line skated hard in the first period and got some good chances , but Quick came up with some great saves for the Minutemen. The Minutemen tied the game up with a fluke goal that went off Flashians skate and past Regan. The Minutemen took the 2-1 lead early in the second on a defensive break down that lead to a Minutemen open in front of the net. Then stepped up Danny Rossman scoring his first collegiate goal late in the second. Until that point the Minutemen carried the play in the 2nd. After that goal the momentum switched to the Cats. The third period went back and forth with both goalies coming up huge. The first OT started with the Minutemen carried the play. Then the swings started to go back and forth, with Quick and Regan making some highlight reel saves, seemed all came with in a 90 second span. Then the Butler stepped up early in period #5 to put the Cats into the Hockey East finals. On a beautiful poke check by Collins to get the puck to Butler, he put a soft shot past Quick. Looks like the lack of speed might of confused Quick. Have to say was really impressed in the way the 3rd and 4th line played all night. Have to give the Minutemen a ton of credit, they played a great game and really used their trap to slow down the Cats for some long stretched of time. Of course made some spectacular saves for UMass. For the Cats being down one of their top scores I think they played well, in a match up that might not be in their favor. Hopefully they will be healthier in the Hockey East finals. I have heard that quite a few guys are under the weather.
So the Cats move on to play BC, who beat BU 5-2 in the other semi-finals. BC pretty much handled BU. BC is one of the hottest teams in the country right now, including 2 victories over UNH a few weeks ago. For the Cats to win the championship they will have to be on their A game all night, and have all 4 lines and all the D to step up, and of course have Regan play Regan hockey. At this point it is an uphill battle for the Cats. But not one they cant win. They have capability to beat BC. No matter what happens we know we will see the Cats in Manchester next weekend. Though a win tonight will give them a #1 seed there. So here is hoping for another good effort by the Cats and another W
GO CAT!!!!

RIP Brad Delp

The world lost one of the great rock voices this week. Brad Delp the lead singer of Boston was found dead in his NH home. He died due to a suicide, as he said he was a “ lonely soul” It got me to thinking a little on little we really know the people we think we know. I have heard Delp on the morning radio show I listen to everyday. He is in studio every year to promote his other band Beatle Juice, a Beatles cover band. They do a show every year in Portsmouth to benefit a women shelter. He has always impressed me when he was on, he seems like a genuine nice guy. Everything I have heard about him back that up. So why would someone who is a genuine good guy take his own life? I guess that is something we will ever really have an answer for. To me it is a very tragic and sad thing. Many people will criticize Delp for the suicide, but who are we to judge when we do not know the full details. Sometimes people seem happy and carefree on the outside and aren’t always on the inside. I do wish the best for his family and fiancé.
So what did the world lose? To me a try vocalist. Listening to the all the Boston songs on the radio since last Friday it is not hard to appreciate the range and vocal talent he had. I have always appreciated Boston growing up, my brother use to listen to them guess that rubbed off on me. Even after almost 30 years those Boston songs do hold up. Someday they will be appreciated for what they were and get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Rest in Peace Brad. It is true only the good doe young!!

UNH-UMass preview Semi-Finals!

So Friday is the Hockey East semi-finals. Have in the first game UNH-UMass and followed by BC-BU in the 2nd game. Of course I am more interested in the UNH-UMass game. The Cats got to decide which game they play, one of the perks of winning the regular season title. UNH did get back on track in the quarterfinals with 2 shut wins over Providence. UMass is coming off 2 straight weekend of home games against Maine, 4 straight wins. So how is this game going to go? Well after my predication of a tight series with Providence not sure how well I can be trusted, but I will take a shot at it. Well UMass has a very stingy defense that will play a trap style and try to hold the Cats up in the neutral zone. UNH has had some luck with breaking the trap this year, Vermont plays the same type and UNH was 3-0 against them this year. Of course Mass has had success against UNH this year to, going 2-1 against the Cats. The first victory for the Minutemen was back in Oct and the other victory was in Amherst, the only shut out against UNH this year. In that game McFlicker and Ciocoo were both out for that game and Foster was in net for the Cats. UNH did win the middle game of the series at the Whitt, 5-1. UNH does have a better record on NHL size rinks. Both UNH and UMass play on larger ice surface. Though the smaller ice surface might help Mass slow down UNH’s offense in the neutral zone. I think the key for UNH, like is has been most of the year is to score the first goal. I think this will help them control the tempo of the game and open more offense for them. Of course that is easier said then done. Mass has a very tough goalie in Quick. He is one of the top goalies in the country. Of course UNH has one of the tops in Regan to, who I believe has been very much under appreciated nationally this year. So defensively I think UNH can match Mass defense, and goaltending. The advantage of offense goes to Unh that is very deep and have 3 line that can score. I do believe UNH needs to take advantage of any power play chances they get, and of course stay out of the box themselves. I think UNH has the capability to use their high power offense and take pretty low scoring game, I don’t see more then 5 goals combined in the game. My gut is telling me McFlicker will step up and have a big game. I think UNH will be extremely focused and will remember that 3-0 that Mass put on them in their last game. I also think they will be reminded of last year 9-2 loss in the Semi’s to BU.
In the second game, will make this short and sweet see BC taking that game, BU is not playing well and BC is, and has a lot more offense then BU. Of course weather depending if I stay for that game. Suppose to be snowing all night. At least I will be there for the UNH game, and here hoping for a return trip back down to Boston on Saturday night.
GO CATS!!!

Welcome to the party UAH!

Well the fist team to each the NCAA hockey tourney was decided today. The University of Alabama- Huntsville won the CHA tourney today with a thrilling victory over Robert Morris in a 5-4 overtime game. I got to see this game on CSTV this afternoon, and have to say it was a really fun game to watch. Robert Morris grabbed a 4-0 lead in the first period. They scored 3 goals on their first 4 shots and drove the starting goal from the game. But the Chargers of UAH didn’t fold it in and quit. They chipped away and took advantage of some power plays early in the second and cut the lead down to 4-2. The were able to get the score 4-3 by then of the 2nd. All of this set a thrilling back and forth 3rd period. The Chargers were able to tie the game up in the 3rd to force OT, is there anything better then a overtime championship game? The OT was back and forth with both goalies coming up with some huge saves. Robert Morris did get a power play opportunity in the OT, but is was UAH who took advantage and scored the game winner on the short hand. It was a nice goal on a break away with the Chargers going hard to the net. All of this brought UAH to its first every tourney. Have to feel good for UAH coach, Doug Ross, he has been the coach of UAH for 25 years and announced this was his last. This was not his best year with a record of 13-19-3 and had to play in the play in game in the CHA tourney, which they came back from a 3-0 deficit. But his team never gave up and fought hard to earn their way to the dance. I am sure many people will criticize them because of their losing record, but they did earn their way and deserve to be there. As Holy Cross showed us last year anything can happen.
Congrats UAH and best of luck, unless you get UNH in the first roundJ

UNH-Providence- Playoff game 2- Onto the Boston!!!

Well to anyone who was concerned about how the Cats would step up for the playoffs, I am hoping the 2 shut out game sweep of Providence (4-0, 6-0) help make you believe again. I do understand why some people were concerned going into the playoffs. But the Cats did respond to there late season let down with 120 minutes of solid hockey, and neither game was ever in doubt. The 2 shut outs for Regan were nice to see, had a total of 82 saves for the weekend. Though only had to come up with a few big saves, probably had more Friday night as Providence came out and played hard and made some better chances for themselves. Have to give the UNH’s D a lot of credit to. They forced the Friars to take a lot of shots form the out side and really played some tight D in front of the net. Can count the mistakes by the D for both games on 1 hand, they really stepped it up for the series. What can be said about the offense, they didn’t have a lot of shots on net in the 2 games, but have to say a high percentage of them were very quality shots. The moved the puck around good all series and really set up the back door shot by forcing the Friars to play to one side of the ice then hit the good pass to the guy sitting on the back door. Seemed to also have quite a few break outs Friday night, which came from aggressive checking. Also was very impressed with the play along the boards, seemed UNH was winning the battle for the puck along the boards. The scoring was also very balanced as every line scored over the weekend. Was happy to see Fortney get 2 goals Friday night. The thing that probably impressed me the most was the physical play, especially on Friday night. Was happy to see Charblois and Fornataro step up for the teammates. Both got right after 2 Friars players who took a few cheap shoots on the Cats. It did lead to a could of 4 minute power plays, as Gravellese totally missed the Providence penalties, but it showed the Friars, and everyone else, that the Cats would not be pushed around. To me that is huge in playoff hockey. Overall a great 2 games for the Cats, their best 2 games in a couple of month. Not sure who they will play next Friday, but 99% sure it will be the 5pm game. We will find out Saturday or Sunday who they will face, either Vermont, Umass or Maine, at this point have no favor to choice from that bunch.
So here are my 3 stars for the weekend.
1) Regan- 82 saves, 2 shut outs
2) Radja- 5 assist on the 10 goals
3) Fortney- 2 goals, McFlicker- 1 goal and 3 assist

UNH-Providence- Play Off Game 1

Well seems the real UNH team showed up tonight, a solid 4-0 win. A very well balanced team effort tonight. The team came out firing on all cylinders tonight. It seems had to believe Providence out shot the Cats 42- 26. I honestly don’t think Providence had that many shots on net, if they did they were not quality shots. Out of the 26 shots UNH got have to say most were quality shots. I do have to say I was kind of right when I said the second line would step up. The Smith line started tonight which left the McFlicker line to be the #2 line, they had 7 points and plus 9, not a shabby night. Was impressed with the D tonight, they didn’t come in to often on offense like they had been, they played a very discipline game. The were so much hustle going on tonight from the forwards, Collins, Fortney, McFlicker and especially Pollastrone were flying tonight. Pollastrone seemed to flying by everyone tonight. Regan was solid in net tonight, good to see him get the shut out. Didn’t have to make many big saves, been when he had to he did, and let up very few rebounds all night.
So what can we expect Friday night? I believe the team will come out flying again. I believe they will come out with a killer instinct and wanting to put Providence away. Of course Providence will not lie down, I see them trying to get more quality shots and tightening up their defense. If UNH can come out and get an early lead it will make Providence play with some desperation, and might lead to more offensive chances.
Here is hoping for another solid 60 minutes and putting Providence behind up and moving onto the Fleet.

Friday Night Lights Update

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17472507/
Found this great article about Friday Night Lights. I know I posted on here about Friday Night Lights before, still trying to spread the word. Take a look at the article, and watch the show!!

Some of Q's top 10!!

Thought I would throw together a few list, these are not necessarily the best over all, but the Q’s favorites.

Q’s Top 10 TV Shows
1-MASH
2-The West Wing
3-Soap
4-The Simpson’s
5- Arrested Development
6-Sports Night
7-Greg the Bunny
8- Rescue Me
9- Jeopardy
10- Futarama
Q’s Top 10 Movies
1-Grosse Point Blank
2- Gladiator
3- The Jerk
4- Slapshot
5- Spaceballs
6- Office Space
7-Training Day
8- Munich
9- The Royal Tennenbauns
10- TAPS
Q’s Top 10 Music Artist
1-Nirvana
2- Social Distortion
3- Bruce Springsteen
4-Queen
5-Van Halen
6- Led Zeppelin
7- Barenaked Ladies
8-Metalica
9- AC/DC
10- Stevie Wonder
Q’s Top 10 Athletes
1-Bobby Orr
2- Magic Johnson
3- Rick Middelton
4- Rob Woodson
5- Roger Clemens
6- John Olerud
7- Edwin Moses
8- Mario Lemieux
9- Marvin Hagler
10- Mark Mowers

Its Playoff time!! GO CATS!!!!

Well we have reached the most wonderful time of the year, the college hockey playoffs. What has happened since October has no real effect on what is going to happen. Now is the time when we see what a team is made of. So what can we expect from UNH? Well I know there are many people who are down on them right after losing 3 games in a row going into the playoffs, of course that 7-1 debacle in Providence jumps out at everyone. This last weekend they dropped 2 to BC, who is very hot right now. I was not upset with the way they played Friday night, didn’t see the game Saturday night. I am not going to be one of the many people I have seen who are ready to jump of the bandwagon. I still believe this team has the talent and heart to win. I think there was a natural little let down after clinching the regular season title. I look at the way the St. Louis Cardinals ended the baseball season, they played awful at the end of the season and barely made the playoffs, and went on to win the World Series. Every one was saying how bad the Colts played at the end of the NFL season, and ended up winning the Super Bowl. Also Denver faltered down the stretch a couple of season ago, and even losing in the first round of the WCHA playoffs, and went on to win the National Championship. So now is the time to put the hic-cup at the end of the regular season and move on to the real season. So how do I see the series against Providence going? I do believe it will be hard fought series, but in the end I see UNH coming out on top. I believe the 7-1 butt kicking they received at the hands of the Friars will serve as extra motivations for the Cats. I see the D tightening up more then they have been. Here’s hoping Murray and Flashains start to get back to the way they were playing a month ago. I see the Cats coming out firing Thursday night. I see the offense opening more then it has been the last couple of games. Have this feeling the second line will finally start to put the puck in the net again. I see the senior leadership stepping it up this week in practice and leading the team to the Fleet Center next weekend. I am sure the boys are more focused then they have been the last couple of weeks. So here is the Cats taking the 2 games they need this weekend to move on.

What's in Q's bag, his mail bag!!!

Well I am going to do something a little different in this post, going to answer some emails that come into the Q inbox

Q, I was wondering how can I be as great as you?
Mike, St. Louis MO.

Mike, I have had many people ask this very same question. Being as great as the Q is very hard work, and take great dedication. First you will have to get up extremely early every day to read everything, because we all know the Q knows everything. You will have to be prepared for everyone to want a piece of you, as they know you will have the answer to all their questions. This is only a tip of the iceberg to reach the greatness of Q. But work on this for a few years. After that get back in touch with me, and I will give you the next step on your path to Q-ness. Best of luck Mike, and remember the Q is with you.

Almighty Q, Justin Timberlake claims he is bringing sexy back, could this be true?
Amanda, Anchorage Alaska.

Well Amanda I think everyone has heard Mr. Timberlake make this claim. With all due respect to Timberlake, sexy never left. It has been alive and kicking since the glorious day in December of 1972, when the world was graced with arrival of Q. That is day when sexy was truly born. So to say he is bringing sexy back, means it had gone away, and we all know sexy will always be here as long as the Q is here.

With all this noise all ready about the 08 election, who is the Q leaning towards throwing his support behind?
Loyal Q follower, Syracuse, NY

I have all ready had my campaigns looking for an endorsement from Q, both republicans and democrats. I think all of these campaigns realize just how important an endorsement from Q would be for them. I have explained to everyone who has called the Q thinks it is way to early to be making an endorsement, and the Q has not ruled out a run himself. Really what could be better then Q running the country? We all know if the Q gets in the race, it is game, set, match. So keep an eye out for a possible announcement later this summer.

Almighty Q, how do you stay so humble, while being so great?
Mickey, London UK

Well Mickey it is great getting some questions from across the pond. Well there is a fine line between being great, and acting like you are above everyone. The Q is a every man kind of man. The Q knows how great he is, but he is also man of the people. The Q loves everyone, and of course everyone loves the Q. Keep the faith Mickey

This is my first journey into the world of Q, and have to say I am enjoying the ride so far, so what does the Q stand for?
Big Bill, Santa Fe, NM

First of all Big Bill, welcome to the world of Q, hope you enjoy the ride and remember to keep your hands in the windows at all times. Well the Q stands for one thing, that is Quality, quality is every aspect of life. The followers of Q strive for quality through out their life. But finding the Q, you have taken the first step to quality. Stay of the path to Q-ness, and best of luck Big Bill.

Movies that make the Q go hmmmmmmmmm!!

Well just finished listening to a UNH game on the radio, a 4-2 loss at BC L. Flipping around the TV to see what was on to try to cheer me up and came across Gladiator. This is a movie that if is on I will stop and watch, god only knows how many time I have seen it, but it still peaks my interest. Got me to thinking what movies makes me stop to watch, had a couple on today. So decided to make a list. There is no rhyme or reason to the list its just the Q’s list. So here we go
Gladiator
The Insider- Al Pacino and Russell Crowe in the same movie, WOW!!
Mystery Alaska- A little love for Russell Crowe
Miracle
Miracle on Ice- 1981 version on 1980 Olympics, who can say no to Karl Malden and Steve Gutenberg in the same movie?
Dodgeball
Slapshot- DUH!!!
Spaceballs
The Royal Tennabauns
Any Star War
Rocky- 1, 2 or 4
Smokey and the Bandit- 1, not 2 or 3
Stoker Ace- Not sure why the Burt Reynolds run.
Back to the Future- 1 or 2, not a big fan of 3
Cool Runnings
Canada Bacon
Stripes- Got to love the John Candy run there!! Miss you, you great Canadian
Old School
Caddyshack- 1 not 2.
Funny Farm- a Chevy Chase run
Training Day- Denzel Washington was AMAZING in it!
Taps- Tom Cruise, Sean Penn and Timothy Hutton together when they are young
Mystery Science Theater 3000- The one with movie Mitchell, CLASSIC
Baseketball
Munich
One Day in September- A documentary about Munich
Hosiers
Stalig 17- Great old WW II movie, a drama that lead to Hogan’s Hero some how
The Last Waltz- Great music from The Band
Office Space- CLASSIC!!! I have that fax machine at work

UNH-BC round 2- and there ends the Regular Season

Well a hard fought 4-2 loss tonight. They did play well over all. Just not getting any puck luck. Ciocoo was out tonight and Regan was also given the night off, so didn’t play with a full team all weekend, not an excuse just reality. I am not going to dwell on the last week, not the best timing for a let down, but they do happen. Overall played all right this weekend, can play better though. I said on USCHO nothing is won or lost this weekend for the Cats. The real season begins at practice on Monday. There are things they need to focus on, things they were doing earlier in the year. Need to work on getting the lose pucks in front of the net and getting rebounds in. Sometimes they try to get to fancy and make the extra pass. Also need to get back to the physicality they had earlier in the year. They are trying to steal the puck from people, just need to hit them and out work them along the boards.
I would be lying if I said I am not a little concerned. But I know this team is very capable of getting hot and going on a run. I haven’t been able to say that the last couple of year. At this point can lose a game to anyone, or can go out and win 8 in a row. I would rather have that then last year when I think everyone knew they weren’t going to win anything. This 3 game losing streak take the target off them to, which might not be a bad thing. Here is to hoping the team works hard this week and comes out balls to the wall Thursday night.Keep the faith Cat fans!!!

UNH-BC round 1- Thank you Seniors!!

Well it was Senior night at the Whitt. Was a little downer not to see McFlicker out there for Senior night, at least will get his shot for his last home games next weekend in the playoffs. I am sure this is now how the Seniors wanted to have the night go, a 4-1 loss, 2 of the goals were empty netters in the last minute. So was 2-1 game to until the last minute. So was a close game. UNH did play better then they did last weekend. But seemed to be a step slow tonight, and were off on their passes by an inch all night. This game reminded me a lot of the Maine game in Manchester. I will give BC a lot of credit as they played a really good defensive game. I still think UNH can play a lot better. Schneider did leave a lot of rebounds that UNH could not capitalize on, did not have the winger cutting in towards the net. It also seemed liked any time UNH had a rush in it was at the end of shift when the guys were tired. BC did play a more physical game then the Cats all night, many time the Eagles beat the Cats off the boards for the puck. Also a couple of time UNH were standing still and got hit, if they were actually moving they could have avoided them and kept control of the puck. Overall I would call it a B- game for UNH, still need to find that A game. BC did clinch the #2 seed last night, so they will not have as much to play for tonight. I do think clinching the regular season title has relaxed the Cats some and might have brought their effort down a little. It is a long season and to play up to the pace they did is almost impossible. Tonight is a great time to get that effort back, and I think having McFlicker back will help, he will come out with a purpose tonight. I suppose I do have to say something about the referring last night, I saved it for last in the post because I didn’t want to make I was whining about the ref. But have to say the hooking call on Collins was marginal at best, and not to call the trip on Cicco at the other end during the kill was BS. If you are going to call that ticy-tac stuff early you need to call it all game, just want consistency. Plus got BC do a little more diving? Breath on them heavy and they fall. Also have to say Brian Boyle has to be the most overrated player I have seen. If he was not 6’ 7” he would not have as many points as he does. He has never really impressed me with his hockey talent. Also one little note on Jerry York, I really think he is a classy man who makes it hard to root against him. I looked over during the Senior ceremony and some him paying attention and clapping, thought that was classy of him. The BC fans drive me nuts, but have all the respect in the world for York.