MEN'S HOCKEY ENTERTAINS PAIR OF NATIONALLY-RANKED LEAGUE FOES (FRI. #14 MASS-LOWELL - 7 P.M. -- SAT. #16 UMASS - 7 P.M.)
GAME
NOTES
THE MATCHUP: The University of New Hampshire men’s
hockey team returns to action with a pair Hockey East home games
against nationally-ranked foes. The Wildcats open the weekend on
Friday night (7 p.m.) against No. 14 UMass-Lowell and Saturday
night against 16th-ranked Massachusetts (7 p.m.).
SCOUTING THE NO. 14 RIVER HAWKS: The No. 14 UMass-Lowell
River Hawks enter the weekend series 11-7-1 overall with a 5-4-1
record in Hockey East good for fifth place overall with 11 points.
After an 8-2-1 start, UML has lost five of the last eight games
including two of the last three. Most recently, the River Hawks
were defeated by Northeastern, 2-1, in the finals of the Ledyard
Bank Classic at Dartmouth College. UML’s well-balanced
offensive attack features nine players with double digit scoring.
Nick Schaus is the team’s leading scorer with 19 points with
four goals and 15 assists. Kory Falite is the team’s leading
goal scorer with 10 goals. Senior netminders Carter Hutton and
Nevin Hamilton continue to split time in net for the River Hawks.
Hutton is 6-5-0 with a 1.92 GAA and a .934 save percentage and
three shutouts. Hamilton is 5-2-1 with a .911 saver percentage and
a 2.61 GAA.
SERIES HISTORY VS. UMASS-LOWELL: The Wildcats lead the
all-time series with the River Hawks at 51-30-14 in 95 all-time
meetings between the two schools dating back to Dec. 6, 1983.UNH
and UML are 1-1-0 this season with the rubber match set for Friday.
The River Hawks used a four-goal third period to capture a 6-4 win
at Tsongas Arena on Nov. 8, while it was Blake Kessel’s
third-period goal that lifted UNH to a 2-1 win on Dec. 4 at
Whittemore Center. Coach Umile owns a 44-19-9 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 3-1-1 in six career meetings
with the River Hawks. He owns a 1.80 GAA, .932 save percentage and
a pair shutouts against UML.
SCORING LEADERS VS. THE RIVER HAWKS:
Player GP G-A-P
Phil DeSimone 8 0-5-5
Peter LeBlanc 11 2-3-5
Bobby Butler 11 1-4-5
Mike Sislo 8 3-0-3
Blake Kessel 5 2-0-2
Austin Block 2 1-0-1
Connor Hardowa 2 0-1-1
Nick Krates 6 0-1-1
Dalton Speelman 2 0-1-1
Paul Thompson 8 1-0-1
Damon Kipp 4 0-1-1
Stevie Moses 4 1-0-1
Greg Burke 2 0-1-1
Mike Borisenok 2 0-1-1
Mike Beck 3 0-0-0
Greg Manz 2 0-0-0
Scott Pavelski 1 0-0-0
Brett Kostolansky 2 0-0-0
Matt Campanale 2 0-0-0
Kevin McCarey 2 0-0-0
Goaltending Stats
Player GP/Min
GA GAA W-L-T
SV SV%
Foster 6/364:57
11 1.80 4-1-1
137 .932
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
11-8-09
60:00 L 28
6 34
12-4-09
60:00 W 29
1 30
Totals
364:57 4-1-1
166 11 177
LAST TIME THESE TEAMS MET (Dec. 4, 2009): Blake Kessel
broke a 1-1 third period tie to lift UNH to a 2-1 victory against
eighth-ranked University of Massachusetts-Lowell. Wildcats’
goaltender Brian Foster finished with 29 saves, including 10 in the
third period. UML counterpart Carter Hutton stopped 32 shots,
including 11 in the second stanza and 12 in the third. Following a
scoreless first period, both teams netted a second-period goal. The
Wildcats opened the period on the power play and took advantage of
their skater advantage by scoring a goal at 1:40. Hutton stopped
the initial shot from the right point by Damon Kipp as well as the
rebound opportunity in front by Stevie Moses. Mike Sislo corralled
the puck off that rebound, however, and scored from the left
doorstep into the open near side of the net.Mass-Lowell leveled the
score, 1-1, at 16:54 of the second period. Kory Falite exited the
penalty box at 16:36, won a battle for the puck on the boards in
the neutral zone and passed the puck to Campbell, who sent a return
pass along the left boards to Falite. He carried the puck deep
along the dashers and fired a shot that caromed off Foster’s
right leg pad and the left post before crossing the goal line for
the tying goal. New Hampshire regained the lead at 6:47 of the
third period. Greg Burke collected a centering pass from Mike
Borisenok in the slot and, with his back to the net, dropped the
puck towards the right circle. Kessel, who had charged from the
blue line, was alone on the right doorstep and lifted the puck into
the open near side. The River Hawks called time out with 1:16
remaining and pulled Hutton in favor of an extra skater with 61
seconds to play. UML could not sustain possession, however, and
Bobby Butler cleared the puck to the neutral zone with 45 seconds
on the clock. The visitors reentered the offensive zone moments
later and Foster denied Campbell, who maneuvered from the right
corner along the goal line to the right post.
SCOUTING THE NO. 16 MINUTEMEN: No. 16 UMass enters this
weekend’s series 11-7-0 overall with a 6-5-0 record and 12
league points good for fourth place. The Minutemen are losers of
two straight and five of the last seven after a 9-2-0 start. Most
recently, the Minutemen lost at Boston University, 7-3, on Jan. 2.
UMass is led by the nation’s leading scorer James Marcou.
Marcou has 32 points on five goals and 27 assists, while Casey
Wellman has 16 goals and 11 assists for 27 points on the season.
Junior netminder Paul Dainton has played 16 of 18 games for UMass
and holds a 9-7-0 record with a .911 save percentage and a 2.88
GAA. The Minutemen are idle until Saturday night’s game with
New Hampshire
SERIES HISTORY VS. MASSACHUSETTS: UNH has a 76-18-7
lifetime record vs. Massachusetts in 101 all-time meetings dating
back to Feb. 13, 1926. UNH captured last year’s season series
1-0-2 with all three games going into overtime. This year, the
teams are 1-1-0 with the rubber game set for Saturday night. In the
two previous games out in Amherst, UMass scored an extra-attacker
goal with 11 seconds remaining to tie it and went on to win, 4-3,
in overtime the first time these teams met on Nov. 13, but the
Wildcats bounced back with a 4-2 win the next night. Coach Umile
owns a 37-10-6 all-time record against UMass in his 20-year
coaching career. The Wildcats have won seven of the last 11
meetings. Senior Bobby Butler is the active scoring leader against
the Minutemen with 12 points on eight goals and four assists.
Senior netminder Brian Foster owns a 2-3-2 career mark against the
Minutemen in seven career starts with a 2.49 GAA and a .926 save
percentage.
SCORING LEADERS VS. THE MINUTEMEN:
Player GP G-A-P
Bobby Butler 14 8-4-12
Mike Sislo 10 3-3-6
Peter LeBlanc 14 3-2-5
Nick Krates 8 0-1-1
Brian Foster 6 0-1-1
Blake Kessel 5 0-3-3
Paul Thompson 5 0-1-1
Stevie Moses 5 1-1-2
Brett Kostolansky 2 0-1-1
Greg Burke 1 0-1-1
Kevin McCarey 2 0-1-1
Phil DeSimone 10 0-1-1
Mike Beck 3 0-1-1
Damon Kipp 5 0-0-0
Mike Borisenok 4 0-0-0
Greg Manz 3 0-0-0
Matt Campanale 3 0-0-0
Austin Block 2 0-0-0
Connor Hardowa 2 0-0-0
John Henrion 2 0-0-0
Scott Pavelski 1 0-0-0
Goaltending Stats vs. Massachusetts
Player GP/Min
GA GAA
W-L-T SV SV%
Foster 7/433:41
18 2.49
2-3-2 226 .926
Foster Game-by-Game vs. the Minutemen
Date Min
Res. Svs. GA
Shots
1-20-07 60:00
L 35 3 38
12-8-07 60:00
L 27 4 31
10-24-08 65:00
T 38 1 39
1-9-09
65:00 T 31
2 33
1-10-09 61:36
W 35 2 37
11-13-09 62:05
L 27 4 31
11-14-09 60:00
W 33 2 35
Totals
433:41 2-3-2
226 18 244
LAST TIME THESE TEAMS MET (Nov. 14, 2009): Bobby Butler
scored a pair of goals, while Peter LeBlanc added a goal and an
assist to lift UNH to a 4-2 win over No. 10 Massachusetts at
Mullins Center. In addition to Butler and LeBlanc, Blake Kessel
handed out a pair of assists, while Brian Foster stopped 33 shots
en route to the win including 18 in the middle frame. In an
even-played first period, UNH’s Butler struck first breaking
the scoreless deadlock at 16:29 of the first period. Butler, who is
first in Hockey East with nine goals, received a nifty between the
legs pass from Phil DeSimone in front of the UMass net and slid the
puck past Paul Dainton for a 1-0 advantage. The Wildcats held a
slim 8-7 shot advantage in the period. The Minutemen tied it at
4:37 of the second as Will Ortiz scored on a delayed-penalty
extra-skater opportunity. Justin Braun was credited with an assist
on the equalizer. New Hampshire responded just under a minute later
as LeBlanc scored on a shifty forehand to backhand move that allow
him to beat Dainton glove-side and made it 2-1 at 5:21 of the
second. Kessel, who kept the puck in the offensive zone, was
credited with the assist. The Wildcats extended its lead to 3-1 as
Butler scored his second of the night at 13:47 of second. Mike Beck
collected a cross-ice pass from Kessel and fired it on net, the
long rebound bounced to a crashing Butler for the eventual
game-winning tally. UMass cut it to 3-2 with a 4-on-4 goal at 18:25
of the second as Martin Nolet scored with assists from James Marcou
and Michael Lecomte. The Minutemen outshot the Wildcats 20-4 in the
middle frame. The Wildcats extended the lead to 4-2 as Mike Sislo
scored at 11:59 of the third. LeBlanc collected a pass for Stevie
Moses in the neutral zone and carried it into the offensive end
along the left side and made a cross ice pass to Sislo, who slipped
it between Dainton’s pad and the right post.
PAIR OF RUBBER MATCHES SET FOR THIS WEEKEND: UNH will
conclude its first two Hockey East series of the year as it plays
the rubber match of a pair of series this weekend. UML and UNH are
1-1-0 with both teams winning on its home ice, while UMass and the
Wildcats are 1-1-0 with a weekend split of a two game series at
UMass.
SCORING BY CLASS: 2009-10 breakdown of scoring by
class.
Class G-A-P G-A-P %.
Seniors: 20-20-40 34-20-25
Juniors: 20-30-50 34-30-31
Sophomores: 14-37-51
24-37-32
Freshmen: 5-13-18 8-13-11
FOSTER NAMED HOCKEY EAST GOALIE OF THE MONTH:
Brian Foster was named Hockey East Goalie of the Month for
December. Foster earns this honor for the third time in his career
and first since February, 2009. Foster won Hockey East Defensive
Player of the Week on Dec. 7 and helped lift the Wildcats to a pair
of wins against nationally-ranked Hockey East foes stopping 57 of
60 shots that weekend. He posted an impressive .950 save percentage
and a 1.50 save percentage. Foster stopped 29 shots on Friday
allowing just one goal in a win against eighth-ranked Mass.-Lowell.
In Sunday’s 5-2 win over #19 Vermont, Foster turned away 28
shots and surrendered just a pair of power play goals under tough
road conditions at Gutterson Fieldhouse.
UNBEATEN STREAK COMES TO AN END AFTER 50 DAYS: Sunday
afternoon’s 5-2 loss to Cornell snapped a four-game winning
streak and seven-game unbeaten streak. A streak which spanned 50
days going back to an overtime loss at UMass on Nov. 13.
FOSTER STELLAR IN LOSING EFFORT: Brian Foster stopped 38
shots including 18 in the second period. Foster kept the Wildcats
tied after two periods despite a 33-15 shot advantage for Cornell
through two periods.
CAREER DAY FOR CAMPANALE: Junior Matt Campanale tallied a
goal and an assist factoring in both UNH goals on Sunday. It was
the junior’s first collegiate goal.
A RARE HOME LOSS: Sunday’s loss was just the second
home loss of the season and the first since the home opener on Oct.
16, 2009.UNH is 4-2-2 at home and will continue its span of
three-straight games at the Whitt when it plays host to
UMass-Lowell on Friday night and UMass on Saturday night.
‘CATS UNBEATEN IN LAST SEVEN LEAGUE GAMES: The
Wildcats are 6-0-1 in their last seven games against Hockey East
foes and still sit in first place in Hockey East with an 8-2-2
mark.
HAPPY RETURNS: Sunday’s game marked the return of
seniors Nick Krates and Brian Foster. Foster had missed the last
game with a knee injury, while Krates had missed 10-straight and 11
of 13 with a high-ankle injury.
MOSES HEATING UP FOR WILDCATS: Sophomore forward Stevie
Moses has six assists in the last four games for New Hampshire.
OLYMPIANS 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. Both pros were
selected to honor Team USA in the 2010 Olympics.
FORMER WILDCAT van RIEMSDYK CARRIES ON UNH’S TRADITION IN
NHL’S OUTDOOR GAMES: Former Wildcat James van
Riemsdyk played in the New Year’s day NHL Winter Classic at
Fenway Park. UNH is the only program in college hockey with a
representatives in all four outdoor games. Former Wildcat netminder
Ty Conklin played in the previous three outdoor games.
ROAD WARRIORS: After dropping the first five road
decisions, UNH is 4-0-1 in the last five road games. UNH played 10
of its 17 first-half games on the road, but will open the second
half of the season with three-straight home games at Whittemore
Center, where they are 4-1-2.
HOME-AWAY-HOME; GAMES IN BUNCHES IN THE SECOND-HALF OF THE
SEASON: The Wildcats will play three-straight at home and
one at Verizon Wireless Arena to start, then they will played five
of the next six on the road, before ending with five of the final
seven games at home.
Jan. 3-16 - 3 home games, 1 neutral site games
Jan. 22- Feb. 6 - 5 road games, 1 home game
Feb. 12 - March 6 - 5 home games, 2 road games
DECADE TO REMEMBER FOR ‘CATS: The Wildcats
finished the 2000’s with a 233-113-51 record, a .650 win
percentage, eight NCAA appearances and 10 20-win seasons during
this stretch. Only UNH and Michigan had 10-straight seasons of
20-plus wins in the 2000’s.
‘CATS SECOND TO NONE IN THE SECOND: UNH has scored
a league-best 32 second-period goals and have scored three or more
goals in the second period on seven occasions. New Hampshire has
combined to scored just 28 goals in the first and third period.
PROTECTING THE LEAD: UNH is 4-0-0 when leading after one
period and 6-0-0 when leading after two periods.
BUTLER APPROACHING 100 CAREER POINTS: Senior Bobby Butler
has 92 (45g, 47a) career points and is fasting approaching the
Wildcats Century Club. Butler looks to become the 67th member of
this prestigious group and the first since Mike Radja and Matt
Fornataro did so in the same game at Boston University on Jan. 26,
2008.
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
11/9
NR RV t-3rd
11/16 NR
RV t-2nd
11/23 NR
RV t-1st
11/30 NR
RV 1st
12/7
RV 19 1st
12/14 RV
16 1st
12/21 RV
NP 1st
12/28 NP
NP 1st
1/4
RV RV 1st
THE NATIONAL POLLS:
USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine (Jan. 4)
Rk. School, Pts. (FPV)
LW Record
WIP
1 Miami University, 509 (33)
1 13-2-5 13
2 University of Denver, 477
(1) 2 13-5-2
13
3 Colorado College, 409
3 12-5-3
10
4 University of Wisconsin, 377
7 12-5-3 6
5 University of North Dakota,
344 6 10-6-4
13
6 Yale University, 328
8 8-3-3
13
7 Cornell University, 297
4 8-4-2
13
8 Boston College, 265
5 10-5-2
10
9 Michigan State University,
262 13 14-6-2
8
10 Bemidji State University,
227 9 14-4-2
10
11 Quinnipiac University, 157
10 13-4-1 7
12 Ferris State University,
145 11 14-4-2
4
13 Minnesota Duluth, 111
14 12-7-1
7
14 Massachusetts Lowell, 65
12 11-7-1 13
15 St. Cloud State University,
27 NR 10-7-3
2
Others receiving votes: University of Maine, 20;
University of Vermont, 19; University of Massachusetts, 14; Union
College, 8; University of Alaska, 8; University of New
Hampshire, 6; Lake Superior State University, 3;
University of Notre Dame, 2.
USCHO.com Div. I Men’s Poll (Jan. 4)
Rk. Team
(First Place)
Record Pts LW
1
Miami
(45)
13-2-5 995
1
2 Denver ( 5)
13-5-2 952 2
3 Colorado College
12-5-3 848 3
4 Wisconsin
12-5-3 778 7
5 North Dakota
10-6-4 718 6
6 Yale
8-3-3 714 9
7 Boston College
10-5-2 638 5
8 Cornell
8-4-2
627 4
9 Michigan State
14-6-2 605 13
10 Bemidji State
14-4-2 578 10
11 Ferris State
14-4-2 515 11
12 Quinnipiac
13-4-1 481 8
13 Minnesota-Duluth
12-7-1 423 12
14 Mass.-Lowell
11-7-1 276 14
15 St. Cloud State
10-7-3 235 19
16 Massachusetts
11-7-0 192 15
17 Union
10-4-5
184 18
18 Maine
10-7-2
166 NR
19 Vermont
10-6-2
156 NR
20 Alaska
9-5-4
142 17
Others Receiving Votes: New Hampshire 128, Notre
Dame 93,
Lake Superior 30, Minnesota State 14, St. Lawrence 5,
Michigan 4, Northern Michigan 2, Minnesota 1
COLLEGEHOCKEYNEWS.com’s PAIRWISE RANKINGS (Jan.
4):
Rk. Team PC
W-L-T Win %
Rk. RPI Rk.
1 Miami 24
13-2-5 .7750
2 .6028 1
1 Miami 24
13-2-5 .7750
1 .6051 1
2 Denver 23
13-5-2 .7000
5 .5871
2
3 Ferris State 22
14-4-2 .7500
2t .5745*
3
4 Colorado Col. 21
12-5-3 .6750
8t .5695
4
5 Wisconsin 20
12-5-3 .6750
8t .5692
5
6t Bemidji State 18
14-4-2 .7500
2t .5676
6
6t Michigan State 18
14-6-2 .6818
6 .5644
7
8 Boston College 17
10-5-2 .6471
11 .5563*
8
9t Vermont 15
10-6-2 .6111
15t .5538*
9
9t St. Cloud State 15
10-7-3 .5750
21 .5504
10
11 Minn.-Duluth 14
12-7-1 .6250
13 .5502
11
12 North Dakota 13
10-6-4 .6000
19 .5501
12
13t Massachusetts 11
11-7-0 .6111
15t .5386
17
13t Yale 11
8-3-3 .6786
7 .5485
13
15t Union 10
10-4-5 .6579
10 .5403*
15
15t Maine 10
10-7-2 .5789
20 .5414
14
17 Quinnipiac 9
13-4-1 .7500
2t .5398*
16
18t New Hampshire6
8-7-3 .5278 24t
.5380 18
18t Lake Superior 6
12-7-3 .6136
14 .5321
19
20 Mass.-Lowell 5
11-7-1 .6053
18 .5314
20
21 Alaska 4
9-5-4 .6111
15t .5310
21
22t No. Michigan 3
9-8-4 .5238
27 .5282
22
22t Minnesota State 3
11-9-2 .5455
23 .5270
23
24 Cornell 2
8-4-2 .6429
12 .5265
24
25 Notre Dame 0
9-8-5 .5227
28t .5181
25
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
Bobby Butler HE Co-Player of the
Week 11/16
Brian Foster HE Defensive Player of
Week 11/23
Bobby Butler HE Player of the
Month
Nov.
Brian Foster HE Defensive Player of
Week 12/7
Brian Foster HE Goalie of the
Month
Dec.
Wildcats Among National leaders: Below is a list of where
UNH players and team rank nationally.
Individual Rank Stats
Points Per Game:
Bobby Butler 14th 1.33 ppg
Blake Kessel 46th 1.06 ppg
Goals Per Game:
Bobby Butler 9th 0.72 gpg
Paul Thompson 63rd 0.44
gpg
Assists Per Game:
Blake Kessel 22nd 0.76 apg
Bobby Butler 70th 0.61 apg
Power Play Goals:
Bobby Butler 35th 4 ppg
Short-Handed Goals:
Bobby Butler 11th 1 shg
Peter LeBlanc 11th 1 shg
Phil DeSimone 11th 1 shg
Game-Winning Goals:
Bobby Butler 26th 2 gwg
Defensemen Scoring:
Blake Kessel 4th 1.06 ppg
Freshmen Scoring:
n/a
Goals Against Average:
Brian Foster 62nd 3.48 gaa
Save Percentage:
Brian Foster 68th .893
Winning Percentage:
Brian Foster 40th .500
Team
Scoring Offense 15th 3.28
Scoring Defense 48th 3.56
Scoring Margin 37th -0.28
Power Play 45th 15.2
Penalty Kill 49th 76.0
Combined Special Teams 52nd
44.8
Winnning Percentage 24th
.528
WHERE UNH IS RANKED IN HOCKEY EAST:
Overall HE games
Goals/per game 3.28/5th
3.83/1st
GAA 3.56/10th 2.92/4th
Power Play 15.2/10th
19.1/8th
Penalty Kill 76.0/9th
69.4/10th
Special Teams Net -3/8th
-4/7th
1st Period Scoring 10/10th
8/6th
2nd Period Scoring 32/1st
22/1st
3rd Period Scoring 17/7th
16/2nd
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 T, 4-4 (OT)
Nov. 8 AT Mass-Lowell
ESPNU L, 3-6
nov. 21 at boston univ.
nesn T, 3-3 (OT)
Dec. 6 at Vermont
ESPNU W, 5-2
Dec. 11 at Providence
Cox-TV W, 4-3
Jan. 3 Cornell
ESPNU L, 2-5
jan. 23 at boston univ.
nesn
Feb. 6 at Maine WABI-TV
Feb. 19 Vermont NESN
March 5 Boston College
NESN
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.
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: Louisiana IceGators (SPHL)
Joe Charlebois: Toledo Walleye (ECHL)
Greg Collins: Las Vegas Wranglers (ECHL)
Ty Conklin: St. Louis Blues (NHL)
Matt Dzieduszycki: Hannover Scorpions (DEL)
Matt Fornataro: Norfolk Admirals (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: Stockton Thunder (ECHL)
Colin Hemingway: Alaska Aces (ECHL)
Kevin Kapstad: Riessersee SC (2.GBun)
Jason Krog: Chicago Wolves (AHL)/Atlanta Thrashers
(NHL)***
Nathan Martz: Szekeshfehervar Alba Volan HC (Aust)
Jacob Micflikier: Albany River Rats (AHL)
Mark Mowers: Fribourg-Gotteron (Swiss-A)
Josh Prudden: Las Vegas Wranglers (ECHL)
Mike Radja: Syracuse Crunch (AHL)
Kevin Regan: Providence Bruins (AHL)
Steve Saviano: Tappara Tampere (FNL)
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)
*** Spent some time in the NHL during 2009-10
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.
