Are My Concerns About Mike Gabinet Being Validated By UNO Hockey’s Awful Season?

It’s been a tough season for UNO Hockey’s players and fans.  The Mavs started the season slowly, to put it most positively. Frankly, they didn’t even look competitive much of the time. Frankly, the looked unconditioned and weren’t ready to play. As the season went on, playing games seemed to force them into shape and they did play better…but playing against the best teams in college hockey, it didn’t really help.  Since New Years, UNO finished the second half of the season with a 3-14-1 record for UNO’s second worst season in program history.

The worst season?  The 2003-04 season where UNO only won eight games, and frankly, I felt better about UNO’s future after that season than this.  That 2003-04 team featured several impressive freshmen such as future NHL goalie Chris Holt and Hobey Baker finalist Scott Parse.  This season’s UNO team was young, to be sure, but the biggest contributors were the departing seniors, not the young guys. Frankly, how much worse could the season have been if not for senior goaltender Evan Weninger?  Four of UNO’s nine wins came in shutouts by Weninger.

Now he’s gone, along with co-leading scorers Mason Morelli and Fredrik Olafsson.  This likely isn’t a one year blip; in fact, now it’s looking like a major rebuilding process. Some Gabinet supporters have suggested it’s a seven year rebuild.

Frankly, if it’s REALLY a seven year rebuild, that’s a strong indication that Mike Gabinet isn’t the right guy.

The Gabinet defenders throw lots of reasons why it will take that long, but they come off more as excuses than anything. Or just don’t have much of a basis, such as the excuse that Dean Blais stopped recruiting his last few seasons.