MEN'S HOCKEY TRAVELS TO MASS.-LOWELL (SUN - ESPNU)

Game Notes
THE MATCHUPS: The University of New Hampshire men’s hockey team enters a pivotal two-game Hockey East weekend beginning with a home matchup against No. 16 Boston College on Friday night at Whittemore Center. The game will be broadcast live on NESN with a puck drop slated for 7:05 p.m. The Wildcats will hit the road on Sunday for a nationally televised ESPNU game with eighth-ranked UMass.-Lowell. Puck drop is 5 p.m. at Tsongas Arena in Lowell, Mass.

SCOUTING THE EAGLES: No. 16 Boston College enter this weekend’s matchup with New Hampshire 2-2-0 overall with a 1-2-0 mark in Hockey East. Most recently, the Eagles split a home-and-home series with Merrimack with each team successfully defending its home-ice. In Friday night’s 4-3 win it was freshman netminder Patrick Milner mading 15 saves to earn a win. His start snapped a string of 83-straight starts from junior John Muse. Muse was back in net for Saturday’s 5-3 loss at Merrimack. A balanced Eagle offensive attack is led by junior forward Brian Gibbons, who has five points in four games with a pair of goals and three assists, while Ben Smith and Joe Whitney each have four points. Muse is 1-2-0 in net with a 3.69 GAA and a .842 save percentage. Milner is 1-0-0 with a 3.02 GAA and a .833 save percentage.

SERIES HISTORY VS. BOSTON COLLEGE: The Wildcats hold the advantage in the all-time series with the Eagles 62-58-10 in 130 all-time meetings dating back to Feb. 6, 1937. New Hampshire went 2-1-0 in the regular season series with BC, but dropped a pair of Hockey East quarterfinal games at Whittemore Center. UNH has won five of the last six games in the regular season, while BC has won seven-straight in the Hockey East playoffs against the Wildcats. Coach Umile owns a 38-22-9 all-time record against BC and the Wildcats own a 13-15-6 all-time record at Conte Forum and a 16-5-0 all-time record at the Whittemore Center.The ‘Cats have won 13 of the last 17 meetings at Towse Rink. Bobby Butler and Mike Sislo are the active leading scorers against the Eagles with eight points. Brian Foster  is 2-3-0 with a 2.64 GAA and a .909 save percentage, while Matt DiGirolamo is 0-1-0 in his only start against the Eagles.

SCORING LEADERS VS. THE EAGLES:
Player    GP    G-A-P   
Bobby Butler    12    5-3-8
Mike Sislo    8    3-5-8
Peter LeBlanc    12    1-2-3
Phil DeSimone    9    3-0-3
Paul Thompson    9    0-2-2
Nick Krates    9    0-3-3
Blake Kessel    5    1-1-2
Stevie Moses    4    1-0-1
Matt Campanale    5    0-0-0
Damon Kipp    4    0-0-0
Mike Beck    1    0-0-0
Kevin McCarey    1    0-0-0

Goaltending Stats
Player    GP/Min    GA    GAA    W-L-T    SV    SV%
Foster    5/296:33    13    2.64    2-3-0    131    .909
DiGirolamo    1/58:47    7    7.15    0-1-0    29    .805

Foster Game-by-Game vs. the Eagles
Date        Min    Res.    Svs.    GA    Shots
3-3-07        59:44    L    24    4    28
2-20-09        59:43    W    33    2    35
2-21-09        59:49    W    28    1    29
3-13-09        58:13    L    24    5    29
3-14-09        59:04    L    22    1    23
Totals        296:33    2-3-0    131    13    144

DiGirolamo Game-by-Game vs. the Eagles
Date        Min    Res.    Svs.    GA    Shots
11-15-08        58:47    L    29    7    36
Totals        58:47    0-1-0    29    7    36

LAST TIME THESE TEAMS MET (March 14, 2009) HE QUARTERFINALS: John Muse stopped all 31 shots he faced, including 15 in the third period, to lift Boston College to a 1-0 victory at the Whittemore Center. BC, which prevailed 5-3 in the first game of the series, won the best-of-three Hockey East quarterfinal series, 2-0, to advanced to the semifinals, where they were defeated by eventual HE and national champion Boston University.

SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS: The No.8 UMass-Lowell River Hawks enter this weekend’s action 4-2-0 overall with a 2-1-0 mark in Hockey East.UML will play at Vermont on Friday night before it entertains UNH on Sunday. The River Hawks are coming off a split of a home-and-home series with Boston University where each team won on the road. Mass-Lowell dropped the opening night, 5-4, on an overtime power play goal by Colby Cohen. The second night in Boston, the River Hawks earned a 3-2 win. Kory Falite and David Vallorani paced the UML offense with six points apiece, while four others have five points. Carter Hutton has played four games in net with a 2-2-0 record, 2.48 GAA and .900 save percentage. Nevin Hamilton is 2-0-0 with a 2.50 GAA nd a .911 save percentage.

SERIES HISTORY VS. UMASS-LOWELL: The Wildcats lead the all-time series with the River Hawks at 50-29-14 in 93 all-time meetings between the two schools dating back to Dec. 6, 1983.UNH went 2-1-0 against the River Hawks a year ago by virtue of the sweep of a home-and-home series in early December. Overall, the Wildcats are 7-3-1 in their last 11 against the River Hawks.Coach Umile owns a 43-18-9 all-time record against the River Hawks in his 20-year coaching career. Phil DeSimone, Peter LeBlanc and Bobby Butler all have five points against UML, while Brian Foster is 3-0-1 in three career meetings with the River Hawks. He owns a 0.98 GAA, .965 save percentage and a pair shutouts against UML.

SCORING LEADERS VS. THE RIVER HAWKS:
Player    GP    G-A-P
Phil DeSimone    6    0-5-5
Peter LeBlanc    9    2-3-5
Bobby Butler    9    1-4-5
Nick Krates    6    0-1-1
Paul Thompson    6    1-0-1
Mike Sislo    6    1-0-1
Blake Kessel    3    1-0-1
Kevin McCarey    1    0-0-0
Mike Beck    1    0-0-0
Damon Kipp    2    0-0-0
Stevie Moses    2    0-0-0

Goaltending Stats
Player    GP/Min    GA    GAA    W-L-T    SV    SV%
Foster    4/244:57    4    0.98    3-0-1    109    .965
DiGirolamo    1/59:57    8    8.00    0-1-0    27    .771

DiGirolamo Game-by-Game vs. the River Hawks
Date        Min    Res.    Svs.    GA    Shots
11-14-08        59:57    L    27    8    35
Totals        59:57    0-1-0    27    8    35

Foster Game-by-Game vs. the River Hawks
Date        Min    Res.    Svs.    GA    Shots
11-18-06        60:00    W    26    0    26
11-9-07        65:00    T    39    2    41
12-5-08        59:57    W    29    0    29
12-6-08        60:00    W    15    2    17
Totals        244:57    3-0-1    109    4    113

LAST TIME THESE TEAMS MEET (DEC. 6, 2008): Blake Kessel broke a 2-2 tie with 1:50 remaining in the game and Bobby Butler recorded two assists in a 3-2 victory against Massachusetts-Lowell in Hockey East action at the Whittemore Center. The win completed a pivotal home-and-home sweep of  the River Hawks – the Wildcats were 2-0 road victors at Lowell on Dec. 5.

‘CATS PLAY A PAIR OF TELEVISION GAMES THIS WEEKEND: The Wildcats will play a pair of television Hockey East games this weekend when they play host to Boston College Friday night (7 p.m.) live on NESN and at UMass Lowell Sunday afternoon (5 p.m.) live on ESPNU. Tom Caron and Bob Norton will call all the action live from Whittemore Center on Friday, while Clay Matvick and Barry Melrose will handle the call from Tsongas Arena on Sunday.

FOSTER POSTS CAREER-HIGH 47 SAVES: Brian Foster turned away a career-high 47 shots of Friday night against Wisconsin.

FOSTER IMPRESSIVE AGAINST RIVER HAWKS: Brian Foster is 3-0-1 all time in four career starts against the River Hawks. He has 109 saves, a 0.98 GAA, a .965 save percentage and a pair of shutouts.
 
LEBLANC POTS FIRST GOAL OF THE SEASON, FIRST SHORT-HANDED GOAL FOR NEW HAMPSHIRE: Peter LeBlanc potted a short-handed goal on Friday night. It was his first tally of the season and the first shorthanded goal for the Wildcats this season.

MOSES HEATING UP FOR THE WILDCATS: Stevie Moses score UNH’s lone goal on Saturday at Wisconsin. Moses has three goals in the last three games for New Hampshire.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: UNH is in a stretch where it will play nine of the next 12 games on the road before heading into holiday break. They are 0-2-0 through two games in this stretch.

KESSEL NATION’S TOP DEFENSIVE SCORER: Blake Kessel has 10 points in six games this season more points than any other defensman in the nation.

WILDCATS LAST OF THE UNBEATENS IN HOCKEY EAST FOR SECOND-STRAIGHT SEASON: UNH is the last of the unbeaten teams in Hockey East play for the second-consecutive year. The Wildcats are 2-0-0 in league play, while every other team as at least one loss. In 2008-09, the Wildcats went 2-0-2 in Hockey East play in October.

BORISENOK OFF TO A FAST START: Mike Borisenok continues to put up big numbers for the Wildcats. He had just two points as a freshman and has already more than tripled that total with seven points in seven games this season.

SCORING BY CLASS: 2009-10 breakdown of scoring by class.
Class    G-A-P    G-A-P %.
Seniors:    6-9-15    30-26-28
Juniors:    3-7-10    15-21-19
Sophomores:    9-15-24    45-44-44
Freshmen:    2-3-5    10-9-9

WHERE IS UNH RANKED?: Here is a week-by-week look at the ‘Cats in the national polls and the HE standings:
Date     USA TODAY    USCHO     HE
9/28            RV    N/A    t-4th (pre)
10/5            N/A    16    t-4th (pre)
10/12        RV    RV    t-4th (pre)
10/19        RV    RV    N/A
10/26        RV    RV    t-1st
11/2            NR    RV    t-2nd

WILDCAT AWARDS: Here is a list of awards that Wildcat players have won to date this season:
Player    Award                    Date
Dalton Speelman    HE Rookie of the Week                10/26

THE NATIONAL POLLS:
USCHO.com/CSTV Division I Men’s Poll (Nov. 2)
 Rk.  Team           (First Place)    Record    Pts    LW
1     Miami                   (41)           6-1-1       931     1
2     Denver                  (4)           5-2-1       856     2
3     North Dakota                       4-1-1       833     3
4     Michigan                           4-2-0       711     5
5     Cornell                           1-0-0       657     6
6     Yale                    (1)           1-0-0       634     7
7     Boston University                  2-3-0       613     4
8     Mass.-Lowell                       4-2-0       572     9
9     Notre Dame                         4-3-1       552     8
10     Nebraska-Omaha                 4-0-2           430    12
11     Bemidji State                      5-0-1       385    14
12     Colorado College               4-1-1       372    15
13     Alaska                             5-0-1       363    16
14     Princeton                          1-1-0       314    11
15     Vermont                            2-3-0       271    10
16     Boston College                     2-2-0       233    13
17     Michigan State                     6-2-0       231    20
18     Wisconsin                          3-2-1       225    19
19     Massachusetts                      4-1-0       205    17
20     Minnesota-Duluth               5-2-1        92        NR
Others Receiving Votes: Quinnipiac 53, Minnesota 36, Harvard 22, St. Cloud State 21, Providence 18, Northeastern 10, New Hampshire 7, Merrimack 6, Minnesota State 6, Ohio State 1

USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine (Nov. 2)
Rk.    School, Pts. (FPV)        LW     Record    WIP
1    Miami University, 504 (29)    1    6-1-1    5
2    University of North Dakota, 459    2    4-1-1    5
3    University of Denver, 457 (4)    3    5-2-1    5
4    University of Michigan, 389    5    4-2-0    5
5    Boston University, 323        4    2-3-0    5
6    Cornell University, 320        6    1-0-0    5
7    Yale University, 291 (1)        7    1-0-0    5
8    Massachusetts Lowell, 287    8    4-2-0    5
9    University of Notre Dame, 220    11    4-3-1    5
10    Nebraska Omaha, 173        13    4-0-2    4
11    Colorado College, 117        14    4-1-1    2
12    Bemidji State University, 110    15    5-0-1    2
13    Princeton University, 104    9    1-1-0    5
14    University of Alaska, 87        NR    5-0-1    1
15    University of Vermont, 64    10    2-3-0    5
Others receiving votes: Boston College, 46; University of Massachusetts, 42; University of Wisconsin, 42; Michigan State University, 24; University of Minnesota Duluth, 13; Quinnipiac University, 5; St. Cloud State University, 2; University of Minnesota, 1.

Wildcats Among National leaders: Below is a list of where UNH players and team rank nationally.
Individual    Rank    Stats
Points Per Game:   
Blake Kessel    19th    1.67 ppg
Goals Per Game:
Bobby Butler    57th    0.57 gpg
Assists Per Game:
Blake Kessel    9th    1.17 apg
Power Play Goals:
n/a
Short-Handed Goals:
Peter LeBlanc    3rd    1 shg
Game-Winning Goals:
Bobby Butler    20th    1 gwg
Stevie Moses    20th    1 gwg
Defensemen Scoring:
Blake Kessel    4th    1.67 ppg
Freshmen Scoring:
n/a
Goals Against Average:
Brian Foster    67th    3.99 gaa
Save Percentage:
Brian Foster    67th    .875
Winning Percentage:
Brian Foster    54th    .357
Team
Scoring Offense    31st    2.86
Scoring Defense    51st    4.00
Scoring Margin    50th    -1.14
Power Play    38th    15.8
Penalty Kill    23rd    83.3
Combined Special Teams    39th    48.6
Winnning Percentage    43rd    .357

WHERE UNH IS RANKED IN HOCKEY EAST:
    Overall    HE games
Goals/per game     2.86/7th    4.50/1st
GAA     4.00/9th    2.00/1st
Power Play     15.8/7th    30.0/2nd
Penalty Kill     83.3/5th    76.9/7th
Special Teams Net     +1/6th    0/5th
1st Period Scoring     4/9th    2/6th
2nd Period Scoring     13/1st    5/2nd
3rd Period Scoring     3/7th    2/5th
Overtime Scoring    0/NR    0/NR   

UNH HOCKEY ON TELEVISION: UNH will have 13 games broadcast live on TV in 2009-10...NESN will air four games, while three will air on ESPNU, while COX-TV and WABI will each broadcast one.
DATE    GAME    Channel    RES.
Oct. 23     Northeastern    NESN    W, 4-2
oct. 30    at wisconsin    tvw madison/wc    L, 1-4
Oct. 31    at wisconsin    wisc-tv3/wc    L, 1-6
Nov. 6     Boston College    NESN
Nov. 8     AT Mass-Lowell     ESPNU
nov. 21    at boston univ.    nesn
Dec. 6     at Vermont     ESPNU
Dec. 11     at Providence     Cox-TV
Jan. 3     Cornell    ESPNU
jan. 23    at boston univ.    nesn
Feb. 6     at Maine     WABI-TV
Feb. 19     Vermont     NESN
March 5     Boston College    NESN

ALL IN THE FAMILY: UNH sophomore defenseman Blake Kessel is the younger brother of Toronto Maple Leafs forward Phil Kessel, while freshman forward Scott Pavelski is the younger brother of  Joe Pavelski of the San Jose Sharks. Joe and Phil are currently sidelined with injuries that are keeping them out of the lineup of their current teams.

WILDCATS PICKED THIRD IN HOCKEY EAST POLL: UNH was picked to finish tied for fourth in the Hockey East preseason Coaches’ Poll, which was announced on Sept. 30 at the league’s annual media day at Legends Restaurant at the TD Garden.
2009-10 Hockey East Men’s Preseason Coaches Poll
Rk.    Team (FPV)            Pts
1. Boston University (6)         84
2. UMass-Lowell (2)         79
3. Boston College (2)         76
4. New Hampshire         59
Vermont             59
6. Northeastern             57
7. Massachusetts             47
8. Maine             32
9. Providence             24
10. Merrimack             23

THE DICK UMILE ERA: Dick Umile, a five-time Hockey East Coach of the Year, enters his 20th season as the head coach of the UNH Wildcats. He earned his fourth Leonard Fowle New England Coach of the Year award following the 2007-08 season. After signing a long-term contract in 2008, Umile will conclude his coaching career at his alma mater. During his time spent at UNH, Umile has molded UNH hockey into one of the top programs in all of Division I hockey, guiding the Wildcats to four Frozen Four appearances, 15 NCAA tournament appearances and 19 Hockey East championship tournament showings in his 19-year career in Durham.  In addition, Umile has posted 17 20-victory campaigns over the span of 19 seasons, including a current streak of 13 20-win seasons. Umile is now the winningest coach in the history of UNH hockey with 444 career victories. He surpassed legendary coach Charlie Holt on Feb. 16, 2005 in a 6-1 victory at Merrimack at Thom Lawler Arena in North Andover, Mass. Umile ranks fourth among active NCAA coaches with a .652 winning percentage and on the active victories list his 444 victories ranks eighth among NCAA coaches. He has been named Coach of the Year a total of 10 times in his career, including New England honors four times. Umile’s five Hockey East Coach of the Year Awards is an all-time league best.Last season, Umile directed the Wildcats to a 20-13-5 mark as they captured their eighth-consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament. Umile guided the Wildcats to 20+ wins in 13 straight years, the second longest streak in the nation and five seasons more than its closest competition; no other team in Hockey East has an active streak longer than one season. After struggling through a 1-5-2 stretch in November, New Hampshire went 14-4-2 to close out the regular season and claimed third place in the league and home-ice in the Hockey East quarterfinals for a Hockey East-best 13th straight season. The crowning moment of the 2008-09 season was the Wildcats’ goal with 0.1 seconds remaining to tie and eventually win 6-5 in overtime in their NCAA Northeast Regional opening-round game against perennial power North Dakota in front of UNH faithful at Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester.

DICK UMILE INDUCTED INTO NEW HAMPSHIRE LEGENDS OF HOCKEY: Head Coach Dick Umile was among a group of seven Hall of Fame inductees for the New Hampshire Legends of Hockey for 2009. In addition, former Wildcat assistant coach and longtime voice of the team Bob Norton will also be inducted.  The ceremony was held on 10/11 at C.R. Sparks in Bedford, N.H.

THE PROGRAM’S HISTORY:  UNH has appeared in the NCAA Tournament 19 times in the 82-year history of the program, including the nation’s second best streak at eight-straight appearances. UNH has appeared in the Frozen Four seven times, including national championship game appearances against Maine in 1999 and Minnesota in 2003. UNH earned Hockey East Tournament titles in 2002 and 2003 and regular-season championships in 1997, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2007 and 2008. The Wildcats won the ECAC regular-season title in 1974 and the tournament championship in 1979. UNH has posted 30 seasons with 20-plus wins, including the last 13 consecutive seasons.

‘CATS SELECTED IN THE NHL DRAFT: Five current UNH players have been selected in the National Hockey League draft...Greg Burke (Washington), Phil DeSimone (Washington), Brian Foster (Florida), Blake Kessel (N.Y. Islanders) and Peter LeBlanc (Chicago) have all been taken.

 ‘CATS IN THE PROS: Here is a listing of former Wildcats playing professional hockey:
Justin Aikins:  Bossier Shreveport Mudbugs (CHL)
A.J. Bucchino: Amarillo Gorillas (CHL)
Joe Charlebois: Toledo Walleye (ECHL)
Greg Collins: Las Vegas Wranglers (ECHL)
Ty Conklin: St. Louis Blues (NHL)
Matt Dzieduszycki: Hannover Scorpions (DEL)
Matt Fornataro: South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL)
Thomas Fortney:  ESV Buchloe (GER)
Jamie Fritsch: Gwinnett Gladiators (ECHL)
Lanny Gare:  Bad Nauheim EC (GerObL)
Darren Haydar: Lake Erie Monsters (AHL)
Brett Hemingway: Alaska Aces (ECHL)
Colin Hemingway: Alaska Aces (ECHL)
Kevin Kapstad: Riessersee SC (2.GBun)
Jason Krog:  Atlanta Thrashers (NHL)
Nathan Martz: Alleghe HC (Italy)
Jacob Micflikier: Florida Everblades (ECHL)
Mark Mowers: Fribourg-Gotteron (Swiss NL)
Josh Prudden: Las Vegas Wranglers (ECHL)
Mike Radja: TPS Turku (FNL)
Kevin Regan: Reading Royals (ECHL)
Steve Saviano: Vaxjo Lakers (SEL)
Tyler Scott: Allen Americans (CHL)
Trevor Smith: Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL)
Garrett Stafford: Texas Stars (AHL)
Craig Switzer: Las Vegas Wranglers (ECHL)
James van Riemsdyk: Philadelphia Flyers (NHL)
Daniel Winnik: Phoenix Coyotes (NHL)

UNH HOCKEY ON THE RADIO: In the summer of 1999, the University of New Hampshire Athletic Department formed the “UNH Sports Network” — the largest network ever to broadcast UNH sporting events.
    Wildcats Sports Properties has added WGIN-AM 930 (Rochester) and WQSO-FM 96.7 (Portsmouth) as flagship stations on the Wildcat Sports Network, joining WGIR-AM 610 (Manchester), which was added in 2008. All three stations are part of the Clear Channel family and this change will go into effect at the beginning of the 2009-10 season.
    These three aforementioned stations -- along with WUVR-AM 1490 (Lebanon), WNTK-FM 99.7 (New London) and WCNL-AM 1010 (Newport) -- will carry the following: all UNH football & men’s hockey broadcasts and weekly coaches’ shows, a select number of men’s basketball, women’s basketball, and women’s hockey broadcasts, as well as “Wildcat Sports Today”, a three-minute daily update concerning UNH athletics.
    The game can also be heard on the internet at www.UNHWildcats.com through a service from Stretch Internet. Stretch has also partnered with UNH to develop a podcast page for UNH fans to listen to archived broadcasts.
    Dan Parkhurst will be handling the play-by-play for the third straight season, while Pete Webster will once again be doing the color commentating. Webster has been announcing Wildcat hockey for 16 years since the 1993-94 season.

LISTEN LIVE ON THE INTERNET: UNHWildcats.com via Stretch Internet Broadcast will carry all of the UNH men’s ice hockey action again this season...If you can not attend Wildcat hockey, you can still tune into the game from anywhere you can gain access to the internet...Fans can get to the UNH men’s ice hockey broadcast site by going to the men’s hockey schedule page at www.unhwildcats.com.

THE DICK UMILE SHOW ON RADIO: The Coach’s Show featuring UNH men’s hockey head coach Dick Umile and hosted by Mike Murphy begins its 10th season in 2009-10. The Coach’s Show is broadcast Mondays on the Wildcat Sports Network from various locations around the seacoast and features Coach Umile, as well as a student-athlete from the men’s ice hockey team. In front of a live audience, Murphy and his guests talk about the latest news and notes regarding UNH hockey. 

GRANITE STATE CONNECTION: The Wildcat hockey team features three players from New Hampshire with Greg Burke (Lee) Brian Foster (Pembroke) and Paul Thompson (Derry) all hailing from the Granite State.

WATCH ALL THE ACTION WITH THE UNHWILDCATS.TV: UNH and Pack Network have once again partnered to provide online video streaming of UNH’s seven ticketed sports for the upcoming 2009-10 season with UNHwildcats.TV.
    Wildcat fans are encouraged to buy the “Wildcat All-Access Pass” which is an annual subscription for $79.95 that provides all the live coverage of UNH home athletic events. Fans can also purchase home events on a per game basis of $6.95.