I agree on about all points although I don't think it would be imperative to avoid UNH. They've always played them tough and have done well in Durham in the playoffs in the past.

The key is to pick a goalie between Hutton and Hamilton and make him "the Man" for the playoffs (may mean each get a game next weekend in Maine). Can't keep the rotation going once the games get more meaningful. My guess would be that Hutton should get the nod...

WOW! I think you just set the record for fasted comment to a post. I swear, I'd just hit the submit button, took 5-minutes to reformat the picture, and bang...your comment was there. You need to get a life, my friend...LOL!

I realize they've played UNH tough, but this is the wrong time to get the Wildcats. When the Hawks faced them earlier in the year, UNH was still finding itself. I told you in the pre-season to watch this Cats team...every 4 years of so, Umile puts a legit title contender together...this is that year.

You're right on in your comment about goalies. I'd spoken to Coach Mac about this same issue a couple of weeks ago on my radio show and he wnated to pick one and move on. I got the impression Hutton would be that guy, but then he suffered a minor injury in practice and missed a game. Do not be surprised if he plays again tonight and gets the bulk of the work from here on out.

What can I say? The timing of my daughter's nap allowing my Saturday afternoon web surfing was just timed perfectly with your posting!

I'm still not totally sold on the Wildcats... I still think their defense and goalie are suspect and their offense seems to take entire games off (granted not for a while). Catch them when you're goalie is hot and you can get them frustrated (similar to last weekend in Lowell- that team from Vermont is not as good as the Hawks but their goalie stood on his head both nights). UNH knows they are in the national tourney so I can see them being upset in the HE tourney. Then again I think Lowell still has a shot at 5th or 6th anyway...

Are the celtics going to win the nba championship?

They just might, Junkie. And if you'd actually post this in one of the numberous basketball tidbits we have here, you might even get a few others to answer your question...LOL

BTW...Kevin Regan leads Hockey East in Goals Against Average and Save Percentage...very likely going to be the league MVP. Why do you still think UNH's goaltending and defense are suspect?

Mainly because all UNH goalies are always overrated. Ayers, Conklin, etc. may put up okay numbers in the regular season but once the games start to count they become the biggest sieves in Hockey East.

Certain schools (Maine, BC, normally BU) seem to always have a solid goaltender or two. UNH is always a "high flying" team that plays little to no defense and has little to no quality goaltending.

I can think of at least 5 goalies in HE that are far better than Regan (Fallon at UVM, Muse at BC, Sims at PC, Thiessen at NU, and Bishop at Maine) and I think even the UML tandem is at least AS good as Regan if not better. He may win the MVP but I just don't see him as a fantastic player. I sure hope the Bruins are not counting on much from him. Sigalet had a much better college career than Regan has had. All of this, of course, is IMO.

DB, not sure why you're so down on the UNH goalies. Both Conklin and Ayers were both good enough to win Hockey East titles and get them to the NCAA title game. Goaltending was not the issue in either one of those contests. Lack of scoring punch was. That's actually been the case for them the last couple of years, too. The offense disappears in the post-season. That's not going to happen as easily this year with VanReymsyk (sp?) there.

As for the HE goalies you think are better, I'd like to know where you get that. I realize stats aren't everything, as quality of team and defense play a big role in that (then again, you say UNH's defense isn't that good, so wouldn't that defeat your argument?). However, Regan buries every single name you mentioned. The only one who comes close is Merrimack's Brathwaite, who you didn't even mention.

I know you know your hockey, as evidenced by your NHL picks last year. But this discussion, I'm not sure about. Is it that Flyers collapse that has you dizzy? Or are you not a Broad Street Bullies fan?

Bingo- the problem with the UNH goalies (and the team in general) is that they cannot win the "Big One". Oh sure, they can get there. But once there they can never seal the deal while their HE brethren (Maine, BC, BU) HAVE done so - and all fairly recently...

I think that if you plugged any of the goalies I mentioned into UNH's net they would do as well or better than Regan but I'll bet if you put Regan into the nets of one of the others he would not do as well. Fallon and Bishop, particularly, are better because not only do they play their angles well but they are also both HUGE and take up a whole lot of space in the net.

Maybe UNH and Regan will make me eat my words but they have a long history of failures on the national stage that make me doubt it. I'm sure a good team from the west/midwest is lurking to put an end to their season as has always been the case for them.

I am a hockey fan, first and foremost. I do follow the Flyers as well as a bunch of other teams including the B's. I just like to watch good hockey in the NHL- especially since I know it will be an awfully long time before we have another good playoff run on the ice on Causeway Street... Hockey is actually one of the few pro sports I can watch where I don't really have a rooting interest (except for fantasy hockey, of course) and just watch the game for what it is. Used to be able to do it with baseball but now can't watch any non-Red Sox game- about the same with the NBA - I can watch the C's but don't care about anyone else...

Wow...that's a pretty high standard you set, choking in big games. Yes, they've made two title games and lost both, but they've made two title games. Those teams you mentioned only have one title in the last 20 years or so, and have each been beaten by a western team in the finals during same time frame in which UNH was.

As for the other goalies you talk about...which one is an NHL draft pick again?