UNH Update
Well its been a couple of weeks since I did a blog entry about the UNH hockey team. The last time I wrote was after an ugly lost at home to Northeastern. Since then the Cats have been up and down. They are 2-1-1 since then. They had another ugly home lost to Northeastern, a tie to Lowell, a good home win against Boston College, and a overtime win at Providence. The tie against Lowell was a hard fought game that Lowell was able to pull the tie out with some great goaltending by Lowell goalie Carter Hutton. The Cats came out flying but got bogged in the second and third, and were lucky to walk out with a point. The next night was a 5-2 home win against BC, have to say I did not get to see any of this game, but did read the Cats did play a solid all around game. Then another lost to Northeastern last Friday night, that was just an ugly game for the Cats, who came out good, but after the first 10 minutes it was pretty much all the Huskies, the low life would be the short handed goal scored by NU in the last minute of the 2nd period. The Cats did bounce back with a solid 5-4 OT winner down in Providence last Saturday. I did listen to this game on the radio and did like what I hear. Except for a few break downs in the 3rd this game would have been a walk for the Cats. Coach Umile did change up the lines for the first time this year for this game. The big winner was the new line of James Van Reinsdykde- Thomas Fortney- Paul Thompson. This new line counted for all 5 of the goals with Thompson having a hand in all of them (3 goals, 2 assist)
So what can we make of the Cats after 9 games? Well to me this is not a team that found its identity yet. The team has had game were it offense was totally clicking, and games were the defense was really on. But there has been no consistence in either one of these fields. The new changes in the lines has really seemed to added some energy to some of the guys. Have to say so far the unsung hero and MVP of the team would be Freshman Paul Thompson, this kid has come in with little fanfare and had added some energy to the team, and he has greatly deserved his move up from the 4th line to play with Fortney and JVR. Thompson is turning into a fan favorite very quickly. I have read many people complain about JVR’s play, and call him lazy. I don’t see it that way, he does skate around effortlessly which can look lazy. I would like to see him play with a little more of the chip on his shoulder that he did in the first 2 weeks. When he does that he is by far the best player on the ice, and seems to fire up his teammates. I am hoping Fortney and Thompson help him bring that back. Now need some of the other forwards to step there game up. Radja needs to start going to the net the way he was last year. Lablanc has played well this year, but Pollastrone had not skated as hard as he did last year, but have a feeling that will change very soon. Another freshman who has proven something to me is Dan Dries, he has shown to be a solid player and will be a grinder in years to come, he came in with even less fanfare then Thompson, and has earned his spot in the line up. On the blue line Craig Switzer is still playing below were he should be. He has made way to many mental errors that a senior should make. Brad Flashians has really stepped up his play so far and with Thompson is probably one of the most valuable guys on the ice. The rest of the defense has been inconsistent so far, with some of the guys having great games, and some bad games. In net Regan has been all right, but he has shown that as the year goes along he gets stronger, so really have no worry there. Brian Foster has played a few games and been a solid back up, and will get more time as the year goes along. The main concern for the Cats right now has to be the power play, or lack of power play. They have down right awful on the PP so far. They have not been able to find the right combo on the PP so far. On the penalty kill they have been pretty solid, they have probably 3 of the best penalty killers in hockey east with Fortney, Greg Collins, and Radja. With the inconsistency the Cats have had this year, they are still only 2 points out of first in a very odd year in Hockey East, with a game in hand. Hockey East will go right down to the wire this year, and who knows what it will look like in March, who would have thought that Maine would lose 4 in a raw, 2 at home to Providence and 2 down at Merrimack. Is there a reason to panic? Hell no, take a look at last years team that was the hottest team in the country at this time, and stumbled down the stretch. I think it will take a few more weeks for the team to find its identity. January will be a telling month for the Cats. With 6 out of the 7 games that month being Hockey East games, will show what the Cats are made of going down the stretch and into the playoffs. If taking time to establish what this team is leads to a long playoff run, then I will take some losses in November. I still believe that this can be the case and this team has the talent to do just that. After all no one has Michigan State being one of the top teams last November, and they turned out just fine.
So what can we make of the Cats after 9 games? Well to me this is not a team that found its identity yet. The team has had game were it offense was totally clicking, and games were the defense was really on. But there has been no consistence in either one of these fields. The new changes in the lines has really seemed to added some energy to some of the guys. Have to say so far the unsung hero and MVP of the team would be Freshman Paul Thompson, this kid has come in with little fanfare and had added some energy to the team, and he has greatly deserved his move up from the 4th line to play with Fortney and JVR. Thompson is turning into a fan favorite very quickly. I have read many people complain about JVR’s play, and call him lazy. I don’t see it that way, he does skate around effortlessly which can look lazy. I would like to see him play with a little more of the chip on his shoulder that he did in the first 2 weeks. When he does that he is by far the best player on the ice, and seems to fire up his teammates. I am hoping Fortney and Thompson help him bring that back. Now need some of the other forwards to step there game up. Radja needs to start going to the net the way he was last year. Lablanc has played well this year, but Pollastrone had not skated as hard as he did last year, but have a feeling that will change very soon. Another freshman who has proven something to me is Dan Dries, he has shown to be a solid player and will be a grinder in years to come, he came in with even less fanfare then Thompson, and has earned his spot in the line up. On the blue line Craig Switzer is still playing below were he should be. He has made way to many mental errors that a senior should make. Brad Flashians has really stepped up his play so far and with Thompson is probably one of the most valuable guys on the ice. The rest of the defense has been inconsistent so far, with some of the guys having great games, and some bad games. In net Regan has been all right, but he has shown that as the year goes along he gets stronger, so really have no worry there. Brian Foster has played a few games and been a solid back up, and will get more time as the year goes along. The main concern for the Cats right now has to be the power play, or lack of power play. They have down right awful on the PP so far. They have not been able to find the right combo on the PP so far. On the penalty kill they have been pretty solid, they have probably 3 of the best penalty killers in hockey east with Fortney, Greg Collins, and Radja. With the inconsistency the Cats have had this year, they are still only 2 points out of first in a very odd year in Hockey East, with a game in hand. Hockey East will go right down to the wire this year, and who knows what it will look like in March, who would have thought that Maine would lose 4 in a raw, 2 at home to Providence and 2 down at Merrimack. Is there a reason to panic? Hell no, take a look at last years team that was the hottest team in the country at this time, and stumbled down the stretch. I think it will take a few more weeks for the team to find its identity. January will be a telling month for the Cats. With 6 out of the 7 games that month being Hockey East games, will show what the Cats are made of going down the stretch and into the playoffs. If taking time to establish what this team is leads to a long playoff run, then I will take some losses in November. I still believe that this can be the case and this team has the talent to do just that. After all no one has Michigan State being one of the top teams last November, and they turned out just fine.
posted by Qman16 at 8:41 PM
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