Q's UNH hockey preview
Well its fall in New Hampshire and that can only mean one thing. No I am not talking about the infusion of tourist to see a bunch of leaves dying, or the hordes of media to watch the circus that is called the New Hampshire primary. I am of course talking about the start of a new UNH hockey season. With practices starting on Oct. 6th with an exhibition game on Oct 12th and the season starting on Oct. 19th at BU. The 2007-08 season on paper should be a very exciting season. After the roller coaster season last year that started with a slow start then a huge rise in the middle of the season that saw them shot up to #1 in the country it ended on a downfall with 2 consecutive losses, in the Hockey East finals and the 1st round of the NCAA tourney. The exceptions going to last year were not so great, they were picked to come in 4th in Hockey East and ended up winning the regular season title. So in the end they ended up meeting and exceeding exceptions. This year is different. Now is the time to move on to the new campaign.
Loses from last year
The first thing that to look at is what is lost from last year. The main thing they lost is some scoring punch. The biggest losses will be Jacob McFlicker, Brett Hemmingway and Trevor Smith. To me the key one of these will be McFlicker. He has been known to bring up his game a notch in the big games, to me he was the emotional leader of the team that will be very hard to replace. Hemmingway and Smith could put the puck in the net, but seemed to do it against lesser competition. It seems to me that they didn’t know always show up and bring that extra effort for the big games. Shawn Vinz is also gone from last years roster. Of course Vinz was a favorite of mine so I am a little biased. But Vinz was key contributor on the penalty kill, and on the 4ht line he seemed to help the freshman bring their game up, he proved to be a good influence on them. Also gone is last years captain Josh Ciocco. Ciocco should some leadership with the team and had a really good last year, to me McFlicker was the real captain of the team. Like Vinz Ciocco added a lot to the penalty kill with his great speed. He also stepped up to the #1 line pretty well when there was injuries. The last member of the 07 class was Chris Murray, he was the only defenseman that the Cats lost. Murray was an average defenseman that I do not think will be to hard to replace. His graduating will open up some more ice time for some of the other defenseman.
Offense
So where will the scoring come from this year? I see the offense being a well balanced attack this year. I see many players with the capitates of getting 30 or more points this year. Of course we can expect Mike Radja, Matt Fornataro and Jerry Pollastrone to put up really good numbers. All 3 really stepped up there game last year and should continue with their scoring touch. Other key returnees who should add scoring and bring their game up a notch are Peter Leblanc, Bobby Butler, Thomas Fortney, Greg Collins and Danny Rossman. Leblanc, Butler and Rossman are entering their sophomore campaign and should great promise last year. They were integrated slowly into the line up. All shared time on the 4th line. As the season progressed all 3 raised their game up. Butler really improved over the course of the year, and showed he should be one of the top scores on the team over the next 3 season. Fortney and Collins are entering their Junior year. Both will not but up huge numbers, but add with the little things, both play a good fore check and pass the puck pretty well. Fortney is probably the best face off man on the team. The incoming class up front is probably one of the best in recent history for the Cats. Of course it is highlighted by James VanRiemsdyk (JVR), he was the second over all pick in last summers NHL draft. The consensus is that he will be in Durham for no more then 2 years. I think he will come in and have an impact. He will add some size, 6’3”, which will be very helpful. He also showed he can score, with the US under 18 team last year he put really good numbers against college teams and in international play. Of course he will probably be loss for the series at North Dakota right after Christmas, as he will be more then likely playing for the US in the under 18 world championship. Another key addition will be Phil Desimone, who was the USHL player of the year putting up 70 points in 56 games. He has shown to be a good set up man who will play well with either Radja or JVR. Some other freshman who might contribute this year are Mike Sislo and Paul Thompson. They might not get a lot of playing time early in the year but as the season progress they will have the opportunity to work themselves into the line up. There will be much more competition for playing time this year, which in my opinion will be a big plus. I think that was lacking last year and hurt the team. Other players who could fight for some time are Dan Dries, Dan Vranek, Greg Manz, and when he is healthy Paul Thompson.
Defense
This years defense should be pretty deep. Last year there were only 7 defenseman which made it hard on the top 6, gave little time for them to rest and made them have to avoid injuries at all cost. There are no stand out stars on the blue line, but there is depth and quality. There are 5 returnees with 4 who were regulars last year. The top 4 this year will be Jamie Fritch, Craig Switzer, Kevin Kapstad, and Brad Flashins. Of those 4 I believe Kapstad has the capabilities of having a break out year. Sophomore Nick Krates has a good chance of making the top 6 defenseman this year, only getting time in one game last week Krates did not have an opportunity to show what he can do. He will battle freshman Matt Campanale for playing time, another Freshman Mike Beck comes into the season injuries and might see any ice time this year, if he does come back healthy he will add depth on the blue line, and give some guys a chance to rest later in the season on those 2 game weekends. I would like to see the defense play a little more physical this year. There were time when they played against a big team that they would be pushed around some, this was evident over the last month of the year. This defensive bunch might not have a lot of all stars but are pretty equal in the top 6 which is a positive and will help match the depth on the front line.
Goaltending
There is no question in net for the Cats. The cats return a top notch tandem between the pipes. Coming back are Senior Kevin Regan, one of the top goalies in the country the last 2 years. Regan will be the #1 goalie for the year having proven himself extremely capable last year of handling that duty as he had many outstanding games and helped steal some games for the Cats that could have gone in the lost column. The only question is how much time will sophomore Brian Foster see this year. Foster started off the season very hot with a couple of shut outs. Foster did have a few hiccups later in the year, one while coming into the game in the second in that awful game at Providence. Foster should see more game time this year, this will not only help him improve but give Regan more time to rest and save himself for the last push at the end of the year. Foster has pedigree to be a #1 goalie, he was one of the toped recruited goalies when he came and was a 5th round draft pick of Florida. Foster should be using this year to set himself up to be the #1 guy in the net for his final two years in Durham. I could see him getting 10-15 starts this year. With more back to back games this year and less middle of the weeks games, Foster will be needed more this year.
Special Teams
With the added depth this year I think the cats should be outstanding with their special teams. The power play has the potential of being one of the tops in the country. The power play should be let by Mike Radja and should be at least 2 units strong, with the possibility of a good 3 line that can contribute, there is also the possibility of playing 4 forwarders playing on the PP unit. I know this is something Coach Umile normally doesn’t do, but with the depth this year it is an option that should be looked at. The penalty kill units should be pretty solid to. Greg Collins and Thomas Fortney should be a good unit that has the chance of quite a few shorthanded chances. Mike Radja has proven to be a really good penalty killer, he will miss his running mate Ciooco on the PK but I see Pollastone being able to use his great speed to help him on the PK. I would not also be surprised to see JVR get a shot at some PK time.
Expectations
Well if you made it this far you can probably guess my exceptions are pretty high this year for the Cats. There is a really good mixture of returning upperclassmen and a really solid incoming freshman class that will make this team a deep team on offense and the blue line. The proof of how solid this team will come playoff time. The cats should be a solid contender for the regular season title. The shared the preseason coached poll for top spot in Hockey East with BC. BU, Maine and Vermont should also be in the top half of Hockey East. Going into the season I would say UNH has the less amount of question marks. The loss of Cory Schneider will be a tough one to get over for BC and will be relying on two freshman goalie, if they can find a solid #1 they will be extremely tough to beat. UNH also has some tough non conference games that will be a really good taste for them for the post season. The cats host Colorado College in Oct for 2 games, and go out to North Dakota right after Christmas. The also host St. Lawrence in January. They games will show what the cats should be able to do come March. So were do I see the Cats at the end of the year. If all goes right, the freshman come and play up to expectations, the sophomore improve over a solid freshman year, and of course the injury bug stays away, there is no reason that this team can further then last couple of year and make a solid run at the frozen four. The expectations should be high for this years team and will be a disappointment if they do not show an improvement in the post season over last years team.
Loses from last year
The first thing that to look at is what is lost from last year. The main thing they lost is some scoring punch. The biggest losses will be Jacob McFlicker, Brett Hemmingway and Trevor Smith. To me the key one of these will be McFlicker. He has been known to bring up his game a notch in the big games, to me he was the emotional leader of the team that will be very hard to replace. Hemmingway and Smith could put the puck in the net, but seemed to do it against lesser competition. It seems to me that they didn’t know always show up and bring that extra effort for the big games. Shawn Vinz is also gone from last years roster. Of course Vinz was a favorite of mine so I am a little biased. But Vinz was key contributor on the penalty kill, and on the 4ht line he seemed to help the freshman bring their game up, he proved to be a good influence on them. Also gone is last years captain Josh Ciocco. Ciocco should some leadership with the team and had a really good last year, to me McFlicker was the real captain of the team. Like Vinz Ciocco added a lot to the penalty kill with his great speed. He also stepped up to the #1 line pretty well when there was injuries. The last member of the 07 class was Chris Murray, he was the only defenseman that the Cats lost. Murray was an average defenseman that I do not think will be to hard to replace. His graduating will open up some more ice time for some of the other defenseman.
Offense
So where will the scoring come from this year? I see the offense being a well balanced attack this year. I see many players with the capitates of getting 30 or more points this year. Of course we can expect Mike Radja, Matt Fornataro and Jerry Pollastrone to put up really good numbers. All 3 really stepped up there game last year and should continue with their scoring touch. Other key returnees who should add scoring and bring their game up a notch are Peter Leblanc, Bobby Butler, Thomas Fortney, Greg Collins and Danny Rossman. Leblanc, Butler and Rossman are entering their sophomore campaign and should great promise last year. They were integrated slowly into the line up. All shared time on the 4th line. As the season progressed all 3 raised their game up. Butler really improved over the course of the year, and showed he should be one of the top scores on the team over the next 3 season. Fortney and Collins are entering their Junior year. Both will not but up huge numbers, but add with the little things, both play a good fore check and pass the puck pretty well. Fortney is probably the best face off man on the team. The incoming class up front is probably one of the best in recent history for the Cats. Of course it is highlighted by James VanRiemsdyk (JVR), he was the second over all pick in last summers NHL draft. The consensus is that he will be in Durham for no more then 2 years. I think he will come in and have an impact. He will add some size, 6’3”, which will be very helpful. He also showed he can score, with the US under 18 team last year he put really good numbers against college teams and in international play. Of course he will probably be loss for the series at North Dakota right after Christmas, as he will be more then likely playing for the US in the under 18 world championship. Another key addition will be Phil Desimone, who was the USHL player of the year putting up 70 points in 56 games. He has shown to be a good set up man who will play well with either Radja or JVR. Some other freshman who might contribute this year are Mike Sislo and Paul Thompson. They might not get a lot of playing time early in the year but as the season progress they will have the opportunity to work themselves into the line up. There will be much more competition for playing time this year, which in my opinion will be a big plus. I think that was lacking last year and hurt the team. Other players who could fight for some time are Dan Dries, Dan Vranek, Greg Manz, and when he is healthy Paul Thompson.
Defense
This years defense should be pretty deep. Last year there were only 7 defenseman which made it hard on the top 6, gave little time for them to rest and made them have to avoid injuries at all cost. There are no stand out stars on the blue line, but there is depth and quality. There are 5 returnees with 4 who were regulars last year. The top 4 this year will be Jamie Fritch, Craig Switzer, Kevin Kapstad, and Brad Flashins. Of those 4 I believe Kapstad has the capabilities of having a break out year. Sophomore Nick Krates has a good chance of making the top 6 defenseman this year, only getting time in one game last week Krates did not have an opportunity to show what he can do. He will battle freshman Matt Campanale for playing time, another Freshman Mike Beck comes into the season injuries and might see any ice time this year, if he does come back healthy he will add depth on the blue line, and give some guys a chance to rest later in the season on those 2 game weekends. I would like to see the defense play a little more physical this year. There were time when they played against a big team that they would be pushed around some, this was evident over the last month of the year. This defensive bunch might not have a lot of all stars but are pretty equal in the top 6 which is a positive and will help match the depth on the front line.
Goaltending
There is no question in net for the Cats. The cats return a top notch tandem between the pipes. Coming back are Senior Kevin Regan, one of the top goalies in the country the last 2 years. Regan will be the #1 goalie for the year having proven himself extremely capable last year of handling that duty as he had many outstanding games and helped steal some games for the Cats that could have gone in the lost column. The only question is how much time will sophomore Brian Foster see this year. Foster started off the season very hot with a couple of shut outs. Foster did have a few hiccups later in the year, one while coming into the game in the second in that awful game at Providence. Foster should see more game time this year, this will not only help him improve but give Regan more time to rest and save himself for the last push at the end of the year. Foster has pedigree to be a #1 goalie, he was one of the toped recruited goalies when he came and was a 5th round draft pick of Florida. Foster should be using this year to set himself up to be the #1 guy in the net for his final two years in Durham. I could see him getting 10-15 starts this year. With more back to back games this year and less middle of the weeks games, Foster will be needed more this year.
Special Teams
With the added depth this year I think the cats should be outstanding with their special teams. The power play has the potential of being one of the tops in the country. The power play should be let by Mike Radja and should be at least 2 units strong, with the possibility of a good 3 line that can contribute, there is also the possibility of playing 4 forwarders playing on the PP unit. I know this is something Coach Umile normally doesn’t do, but with the depth this year it is an option that should be looked at. The penalty kill units should be pretty solid to. Greg Collins and Thomas Fortney should be a good unit that has the chance of quite a few shorthanded chances. Mike Radja has proven to be a really good penalty killer, he will miss his running mate Ciooco on the PK but I see Pollastone being able to use his great speed to help him on the PK. I would not also be surprised to see JVR get a shot at some PK time.
Expectations
Well if you made it this far you can probably guess my exceptions are pretty high this year for the Cats. There is a really good mixture of returning upperclassmen and a really solid incoming freshman class that will make this team a deep team on offense and the blue line. The proof of how solid this team will come playoff time. The cats should be a solid contender for the regular season title. The shared the preseason coached poll for top spot in Hockey East with BC. BU, Maine and Vermont should also be in the top half of Hockey East. Going into the season I would say UNH has the less amount of question marks. The loss of Cory Schneider will be a tough one to get over for BC and will be relying on two freshman goalie, if they can find a solid #1 they will be extremely tough to beat. UNH also has some tough non conference games that will be a really good taste for them for the post season. The cats host Colorado College in Oct for 2 games, and go out to North Dakota right after Christmas. The also host St. Lawrence in January. They games will show what the cats should be able to do come March. So were do I see the Cats at the end of the year. If all goes right, the freshman come and play up to expectations, the sophomore improve over a solid freshman year, and of course the injury bug stays away, there is no reason that this team can further then last couple of year and make a solid run at the frozen four. The expectations should be high for this years team and will be a disappointment if they do not show an improvement in the post season over last years team.
posted by Qman16 at 8:53 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home