And then there were 8
Well its been awhile since I have posted anything about the UNH hockey team. Well all is good in Wildcat country. With 8 games left in the regular season UNH has a 5 point lead over Boston College. The Cats have won their last 9 straight Hockey East games to take the lead in conference. The Cats are also #3 in the country in the power rankings, which help decide the seeding for the NCAA tournament.
So what makes this team better then last years team that won Hockey East. Well last years team start off hot, and started to fizzle in late Jan. This years team start off inconstant but has really started to play their best hockey as the season as gone along. It was not until mid Jan. that the team had its lines set. The first part of the season there was a lot of mixing up the lines to try to find something that clicked. But starting with the 2 games in North Dakota things started to slowly come together. Freshman Danny Dries was moved to the first line, and has really started to click with Radja and Fornataro. After missing 5 games, while playing for the USA in the Junior World Championships, James Van Reinsdyke has really fit in well on the 2nd line with Bobby Butler and Jerry Pollastrone. The third line has been pretty much together all year with Thomas Fortney, Greg Collins and Mike Sislo making up a strong defensive checking line. Peter Lablanc has been moved to the 4th line, but it has not discouraged him as he has played well in that role along side Paul Thompson and Phil Desimone. Greg Manz, Danny Vranek, and Danny Rossman have stepped into the line up when needed and have added a spark, with Vranek getting first career goal in the first game and Manz getting a goal stepping in when Lablanc had to sit out for a 1 game suspension. All of this had lead to a very deep offense that on any night can get scoring from anywhere. On defense the team has really started to step it up the last month. With some very inconsistent play early in the season, I and many other fans really worried about the defense. But they have proved me wrong. Greg Switzer comes to mine as one I and others criticized early in the year. But he has really turned it up. The others on the blue line have really stepped into their role. Joe Charlebois has turned into a very solid hitting defenseman. Kevin Kapstad has all add a lot of physical play recently and shown a good knack at finding the back of the net. Brad Flashins has turned into one of the top scorers from the blue line in Hockey East. Jamie Fritsch and Nick Krates have played solid D to fill out a very good defensive core.
In nets there is only one word that needs to be said, Regan! Kevin Regan has been one of the best goalies in the country the last 6 weeks, and is playing better and better every game. In the last month he has become the all time UNH leader in saves and wins. Now that he has those records he has been a man possessed. He seems ready for a good playoff push this year.
So what can we expect in the last 8 regular season games? Well the next 2 weekend bring in 2 huge series, both are home and home series. First up will be Providence who sit in 3rd right now 6 games behind UNH. These will be 2 tough games for the Cats, but will be a great test to see how they match up against a very solid team. A sweep of the 2 games would be great for the Cats, but a split would be good to. The Friars need both games. A sweep by Providence wouldn’t be the end of the world, but would not be good for the momentum they have right now. The weekend after is 2 games against BC. Depending on what happens next week, that could be the weekend that helps decides who wins Hockey East, but can’t look past Providence next weekend. I am sure the boys aren’t looking further then Friday night down in Rhode Island. With 8 games left before the playoffs the Cats are in better shape this year then they were last year, and the last couple of years. Unlike previous years the Cats are playing their best hockey at the right time. The Freshman have really stepped it up and have been playing great, lead by JVR and Dries. The upperclassmen have also played better every game. Mike Radja has stepped up and shown to be one of the better scores in the country. This years defense is one of the better defenses they have had in a couple of years. Of course Kevin Regan has shown to be one of, if not the, best goalies in UNH history, and the country this year. The Hockey East playoffs will be very tough this year, as its has been shown many times this year any Hockey East team can beat another. Then will come the NCAA playoffs, and they will be very tough. Right now Michigan and Miami (Ohio) are probably the 2 best teams in the country, also have some great teams from the WCHA, lead by North Dakota and Colorado College. Who ever they match up against will be tough. But this years team has shown they are not afraid of anyone, and are not afraid to work hard to get what they want. This years team has shown to be a very blue collar working team that might not win pretty, but will fight to win.
So what makes this team better then last years team that won Hockey East. Well last years team start off hot, and started to fizzle in late Jan. This years team start off inconstant but has really started to play their best hockey as the season as gone along. It was not until mid Jan. that the team had its lines set. The first part of the season there was a lot of mixing up the lines to try to find something that clicked. But starting with the 2 games in North Dakota things started to slowly come together. Freshman Danny Dries was moved to the first line, and has really started to click with Radja and Fornataro. After missing 5 games, while playing for the USA in the Junior World Championships, James Van Reinsdyke has really fit in well on the 2nd line with Bobby Butler and Jerry Pollastrone. The third line has been pretty much together all year with Thomas Fortney, Greg Collins and Mike Sislo making up a strong defensive checking line. Peter Lablanc has been moved to the 4th line, but it has not discouraged him as he has played well in that role along side Paul Thompson and Phil Desimone. Greg Manz, Danny Vranek, and Danny Rossman have stepped into the line up when needed and have added a spark, with Vranek getting first career goal in the first game and Manz getting a goal stepping in when Lablanc had to sit out for a 1 game suspension. All of this had lead to a very deep offense that on any night can get scoring from anywhere. On defense the team has really started to step it up the last month. With some very inconsistent play early in the season, I and many other fans really worried about the defense. But they have proved me wrong. Greg Switzer comes to mine as one I and others criticized early in the year. But he has really turned it up. The others on the blue line have really stepped into their role. Joe Charlebois has turned into a very solid hitting defenseman. Kevin Kapstad has all add a lot of physical play recently and shown a good knack at finding the back of the net. Brad Flashins has turned into one of the top scorers from the blue line in Hockey East. Jamie Fritsch and Nick Krates have played solid D to fill out a very good defensive core.
In nets there is only one word that needs to be said, Regan! Kevin Regan has been one of the best goalies in the country the last 6 weeks, and is playing better and better every game. In the last month he has become the all time UNH leader in saves and wins. Now that he has those records he has been a man possessed. He seems ready for a good playoff push this year.
So what can we expect in the last 8 regular season games? Well the next 2 weekend bring in 2 huge series, both are home and home series. First up will be Providence who sit in 3rd right now 6 games behind UNH. These will be 2 tough games for the Cats, but will be a great test to see how they match up against a very solid team. A sweep of the 2 games would be great for the Cats, but a split would be good to. The Friars need both games. A sweep by Providence wouldn’t be the end of the world, but would not be good for the momentum they have right now. The weekend after is 2 games against BC. Depending on what happens next week, that could be the weekend that helps decides who wins Hockey East, but can’t look past Providence next weekend. I am sure the boys aren’t looking further then Friday night down in Rhode Island. With 8 games left before the playoffs the Cats are in better shape this year then they were last year, and the last couple of years. Unlike previous years the Cats are playing their best hockey at the right time. The Freshman have really stepped it up and have been playing great, lead by JVR and Dries. The upperclassmen have also played better every game. Mike Radja has stepped up and shown to be one of the better scores in the country. This years defense is one of the better defenses they have had in a couple of years. Of course Kevin Regan has shown to be one of, if not the, best goalies in UNH history, and the country this year. The Hockey East playoffs will be very tough this year, as its has been shown many times this year any Hockey East team can beat another. Then will come the NCAA playoffs, and they will be very tough. Right now Michigan and Miami (Ohio) are probably the 2 best teams in the country, also have some great teams from the WCHA, lead by North Dakota and Colorado College. Who ever they match up against will be tough. But this years team has shown they are not afraid of anyone, and are not afraid to work hard to get what they want. This years team has shown to be a very blue collar working team that might not win pretty, but will fight to win.
posted by Qman16 at 7:13 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home