10TH-RANKED MEN'S HOCKEY ENTERS HOME-AND-HOME SERIES WITH NORTHEASTERN
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DURHAM, N.H. -- The 10th-ranked University of New
Hampshire men's hockey team enters into a pivotal home-and-home
series with Hockey East foe Northeastern University this week. The
teams will play Friday night at Matthews Arena before concluding
the series on Saturday night at Whittemore Center.
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES: Northeastern enters the weekend
16-13-1 overall with an 11-11-1 record good for 23 points and fifth
place in Hockey East. The Huskies have been one of the hottest
teams of late winning five-straight games before a 7-1 setback at
Boston College on Sunday. Overall, NU has won seven of its last
nine and turned a 4-9-1 league mark into an 11-11-1 and into the
hunt for home-ice advantage in the Hockey East tournament.
The Huskies will conclude the season with home-and-home series
against UNH and BU. A well-balanced offensive attack for
Northeastern is led by Wade MacLeod, who has 28 points (13g, 15a),
while three others have 20-plus points. Freshman netminder Chris
Rawlings is beginning to come into his own after early struggles.
The goalie is 15-11-1 with a 2.70 GAA and a .917 save
percentage.
SERIES HISTORY VS. NORTHEASTERN: UNH owns an
85-57-11 all-time record against Northeastern in 153 meetings in
the series history between the two teams.The Wildcats won this
year’s only meeting 4-2 on Oct. 23, 2009, while the teams
went 1-1-1 a year ago. Coach Umile owns a 40-15-9 record
all-time against Northeastern. Senior forward Bobby Butler (2g, 7a)
is the Wildcats’ leading career scorer vs. NU. Senior
netminder Brian Foster is 2-1-0 against Northeastern, while Matt
DiGirolamo is 0-0-1 with a 1.85 GAA all time against the
Huskies.
SCORING LEADERS VS. THE HUSKIES:
Player GP
G-A-P
Bobby Butler 8 2-7-9
Peter LeBlanc 10 3-5-8
Phil DeSimone 7 1-3-4
Blake Kessel 4 0-4-4
Paul Thompson 6 2-1-3
Steve Moses 4 0-2-2
Mike Sislo 7 2-0-2
Dalton Speelman 1 2-0-2
Matt Campanale 3 0-1-1
Nick Krates 6 0-0-0
Damon Kipp 3 0-0-0
Mike Borisenok 2 0-0-0
Austin Block 1 0-0-0
Kevin McCarey 1 0-0-0
Greg Burke 1 0-0-0
John Henrion 1 0-0-0
Mike Beck 1 0-0-0
Connor Hardowa 1 0-0-0
Goaltending Stats
Player GP/Min
GA GAA W-L-T
SV SV%
Foster 3/179:12
7 2.34 2-1-0
74 .913
DiGirolamo 1/64:51
2 1.85 0-0-1
22 .916
DiGirolamo Game-by-Game vs. the Huskies
Date Min
Res. Svs. GA
Shots
11/1/08
64:51 T 22
2 24
Totals
64:51 0-0-1
22 2 24
Foster Game-by-Game vs. the Huskies
Date Min
Res. Svs. GA
Shots
10/31/08
60:00 W 27
2 29
11/22/08
59:16 L 33
3 36
12/23/09
59:56 W 14
2 16
Totals
179:12 2-1-0
74 7 81
LAST TIME THESE TEAMS MET (Oct. 23, 2009): Bobby Butler
and Blake Kessel each tallied three points, while freshman Dalton
Speelman potted his first two career goals, as UNH defeated
Northeastern University, 4-2. Brian Foster made 14 saves for the
Wildcats, while Rawlings stopped 30 shots for the Huskies, who were
outshot 34-16.
NEW HAMPSHIRE FIRST TO PUNCH ITS TICKET TO HOCKEY EAST
POSTSEASON; 22ND-STRAIGHT APPEARANCE: UNH clinched a
playoff spot for the 22nd-straight season. The Wildcats have
advanced to the postseason in Hockey East every year since
1989.
‘CATS CLINCH HOME-ICE FOR LEAGUE-BEST 14TH-STRAIGHT
SEASON:New Hampshire became the first in Hockey East to
clinch home-ice advantage for the Hockey East quarterfinals. The
Wildcats have hosted the quarterfinals for a league-best
14-straight seasons and have not had to travel for the first round
of the post season since 1995-96.
HOCKEY EAST TAKE NOTICE; NOT IN OUR HOUSE: UNH remains
unbeaten against Hockey East foe (8-0-3) at Whittemore Center this
season. The ‘Cats last Hockey East loss at Whittemore Center
was Jan. 25, 2009 a 3-1 loss to BU; they are 13-0-3 since that loss
in league games at the Whitt.
UNH ENSURES A TOP THREE FINISH FOR FOURTH-STRAIGHT
SEASON: UNH has enough points to ensure a top three finish
for a fourth-consecutive season. UNH finished third in 2008-09 and
captured back-to-back regular season titles in 2006-07 and
2007-08.
‘CATS IN FIRST PLACE FOR PAST THREE MONTHS; TWO POINT LEAD
HEADING INTO THIS WEEK:UNH expanded its first-place lead
to four-points over second-place Boston College and six points over
third-place Maine. However, BC's win on Tuesday night cut that lead
to two although UNH has a game in hand. The Wildcats have held its
position in first place in Hockey East since Nov. 23, 2009.
THE BUTLER CONTINUES TO DO IT: Bobby Butler continues to
put up eye-popping numbers with six goals in the last three goals.
He becomes the first player since Trevor Smith did so in 2006-07.
Butler has 24 goals (2nd nationally) and 20 assists (10th
nationally) and is fourth in the nation in scoring 1.47 ppg.
WILDCATS CAPTURE FIFTH SEASON SERIES OF 2009-10: UNH
captured the season series 2-0-1 against Vermont. The Wildcats have
won five season series, tied one and lost one with two still
remaining in Hockey East play.
DESIMONE STREAKING; LEAGUE-BEST 12-GAME STREAK: Junior
Phil DeSimone continues to be red hot for UNH with a league-best
12-game scoring streak with 16 points (6g, 10a) during that
span.
BUTLER MOVING INTO ELITE HOCKEY EAST COMPANY: Bobby
Butler’s 38 points in league play is the most since Chris
Collins (brother of former Wildcat Greg Collins) had 39 points in
2005-06. The last player to post 40 points in league play was Ben
Eaves (42) in 2002-03. Butler is the first player to have 20 goals
in league play since Colin Hemingway had 23 goals in 2001-02.
30-POINTS IN HOCKEY EAST: For the sixth-straight season
UNH has 30-plus points in Hockey East play including all five since
Vermont joined the league and the regular season conference
schedule was expanded. They are the only team in Hockey East to
accomplish this feat.
‘CATS CRACK TOP 10 IN NATIONAL POLLS: For the first
time this season, UNH is ranked in the top 10 in this week’s
USA Today Poll marking the first time its appeared in the top 10
since the 2008-09 season.
TURNING TWO: UNH has scored at least two goals in
every game since the start of November (23 games), after being held
to one goal three times in October (all losses).
100 GOALS FOR ‘CATS: With Friday
night’s 5-goal output, UNH surpassed the 100 goal mark. New
Hampshire has scored 100-plus goals in every season since
1964-65.
THREE OVERTIME WINS: UNH has won three overtime games in
its last eight games. It marks the first time since 1999-2000 the
team won three overtime games in a season. UNH is 3-1-5 in overtime
this season.
TO THIS POINT LAST YEAR: A comparison through 30 games
between this season and last season.
07-08 08-09
09-10
Record 21-7-2
16-9-5 15-10-5
HE Record 17-4-2
12-7-4 14-5-4
Goals scored 105
91 104
Goals scored/PG 3.50
3.03 3.47
Goals Allowed 72
85
97
Goals Allowed/PG 2.40
2.83 3.23
Shots 922
998 996
Shots Allowed 887
888 920
Power Play 19.4%
13.3% 16.9%
(28-144)
(22-165) (22-130)
Penalty Kill 87.2%
82.9% 78.9%
(136-156)
(131-158) (97-123)
Top 3 Scorers Fornataro van
Riemsdyk Butler
13-26-39
10-21-34
24-20-44
Radja
Butler
Thompson
18-20-38
7-17-24
15-17-32
van Riemsdyk
Sislo
Kessel
11-14-25
17-6-23
6-25-31
T-B-D LINE, A DETERMINED SUCCESS:Since its
formation on Nov. 14, 2009, the Wildcat TBD line (Thompson, Butler,
DeSimone) have posted 39 goals, 45 assists for 84 points in 20
games (4.20 ppg) and guided UNH to a 13-4-3 record over span.
Since the T-B-D line was formed
Player Goals
Assists
Points PPG
Butler 17 15
32 1.60
DeSimone 9
17
26 1.30
Thompson 13
13
26 1.30
Totals 39 (1.95) 45
(2.25) 84
4.20
UNH’S OFFENSE 10TH NATIONALLY: New
Hampshire’s offense ranks 10th in the country at 3.47 gpg
including 15 games (50%) with four or more goals.
40-POINT SCORERS SINCE 2000: Bobby Butler surpassed the
40-point mark with four games remaining in the regular season.
There have been 23 players to record 40 points since 2000 with
Darren Haydar topping the list with 76 points in 2001-02.
Player G-A-P
Year
Bobby Butler 24-20-44
2009-10
James van Riemsdyk 17-23-40
2008-09
Matt Fornataro 18-28-46
2007-08
Mike Radja 19-24-43
2007-08
Trevor Smith 21-22-43
2006-07
Matt Fornataro 13-27-40
2006-07
Jacob Micflikier 16-26-42
2005-06
Brett Hemingway 19-22-41
2005-06
Daniel Winnik 15-26-41
2005-06
Sean Collins 19-37-56
2004-05
Preston Callander 25-29-54
2004-05
Jacob Micfliker 20-24-44
2004-05
Daniel Winnik 18-22-40
2004-05
Steve Saviano 27-22-49
2003-04
Sean Collins 16-26-42
2003-04
Justin Aikins 10-31-41
2003-04
Lanny Gare 22-29-51
2002-03
Colin Hemingway 22-25-47
2002-03
Darren Haydar 31-45-76
2001-02
Colin Hemingway 33-33-66
2001-02
Sean Collins 20-25-45
2001-02
Lanny Gare 9-31-40 2001-02
Darren Haydar 18-23-41
2000-01
20/20 for Butler: Bobby Butler becomes the first player
since Trevor Smith (2006-07) to post 20 goals and 20 assists in the
same season.
USCHO.com’s PAIRWISE RANKINGS (Feb. 22):
Rk Team PCWs
W-L-T Win %
Rk RPI
Rk
1 Denver 24
22-6-4 .7500
2
.5861* 1
2 Miami 23
23-5-6
.7647 1
.5839* 2
3 Wisconsin 22
19-8-4
.6774 5 .5717
3
4t St. Cloud State 20
20-10-4 .6471
8 .5610
4
4t Bemidji State 20
21-7-2
.7333 3 .5529
5
6 Yale 19
18-6-3 .7222
4 .5496 6
7 Boston Coll.
18 19-10-2
.6452 9 .5488
7
8 North Dakota 16
16-11-5 .5781
15t .5468
8
9 UNH
15 15-10-5
.5833 14 .5427
9
10 Michigan St. 13
18-11-5 .6029
13 .5346
13
11 Alaska 12
14-9-9
.5781 15t .5298
17
12t Minn.-Duluth 11
18-13-1 .5781
15t .5380
11
12t Ferris State 11
19-11-4 .6176
12 .5365
12
12t Cornell 11
16-8-3
.6481 7 .5320
14
15t Union 10
18-8-6
.6562 6 .5320
15
15t Maine 10
15-12-3 .5500
21t .5310
16
17 Colorado Coll. 9
17-12-3 .5781
15t .5419
10
18 Vermont 8
13-11-6 .5333
25 .5250
18
19 Boston Univ. 7
14-13-3 .5167
29 .5193
23
20t No. Michigan 6
15-11-8 .5588
19 .5240
21
20t Neb.-Omaha 6
17-13-6 .5556
20 .5245
20
22 Northeastern 4
16-13-1 .5500
21t .5250
19
23 Mass.-Lowell 3
16-14-2 .5312
26 .5188
24
24 Minnesota 2
15-15-2 .5000
32t .5218
22
25 Michigan 0
18-16-1 .5286
28 .5164
25
2,000 SAVES FOR FOSTER: Senior netminder Brian
Foster is just the eighth player in UNH history to register 2,000
career saves.
RNK PLAYER
GAMES
SAVES
1. Kevin
Regan 112
3,235
2. Greg
Moffett 101
2,602
3. Mike
Ayers 101
2,532
4. Greg
Rota 78
2,282
5. Ty
Conklin 93
2,188
6. Todd
Pearson 81
2,178
7. Bruce
Gillies 71
2,140
8. Brian
Foster 75
2,110
KESSEL SECOND NATIONALLY IN DEFENSIVE SCORING: Blake
Kessel ranks second nationally in defensive scoring behind
Wisconsin’s Brendan Smith and his 25 assists is the best
total by a UNH defenseman since Steve O’Brien’s 27
assists and Jayme Filipowicz 30 assists in 1998-99.
20-plus assists for defenseman in single season since
1997-98
Year
Player
Assists
1998-99 Jayme
Filipowicz
30
1997-98 Jayme
Filipowicz
28
1998-99 Steve
O’Brien
27
2009-10 Blake
Kessel
25
2005-06 Brian
Yandle
24
2008-09 Kevin
Kapstad
23
2004-05 Brian
Yandle
22
2001-02 Garrett
Stafford
22
2000-01 Garrett
Stafford
21
T-B-D LINE EXTENDS GOAL SCORING STREAK TO 12 GAMES:
UNH’s top line of Bobby Butler, Paul Thompson and Phil
DeSimone have combined to score at least one goal in each of the
past 12 games for UNH. Overall, the line has 24 goals (2.0
gpg) during this 12-game span and 39 since its formation 20 games
ago (1.9 gpg).
BUTLER REACHES 40 POINTS, 21st-STRAIGHT SEASON WITH 40-POINT
PLAYER: Bobby Butler registered his 40th point and it
marks the 21st-straight season UNH has had a player with at least
40 points. The last time the Wildcats did not have a 40-point
scorer was the 1988-89 season.
THE NATIONAL POLLS:
USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine (Feb. 22)
Rk. School, Pts. (FPV)
LW Record
WIP
1 University of Denver, 504
(28) 2 22-6-4
20
2 Miami University, 480 (6)
1 23-5-6
20
3 University of Wisconsin, 429
3 19-8-4
13
4 Yale University, 392
5 18-6-3
20
5 St. Cloud State University,
387 4 29-10-4
9
6 Bemidji State University,
311 7 21-7-2
17
7 Boston College, 288
9 18-10-2
17
8 University of North Dakota,
279 11
16-11-5 20
9 Cornell University, 200
10 16-8-3
20
10 New Hampshire, 185
13 15-10-5
5
11 Minnesota Duluth, 170
6 18-13-1
14
12 Colorado College, 126
8 17-12-3
17
13 Michigan State University,
122 12
18-11-5 15
14 Ferris State University, 73
14 19-11-4
11
15 Union College, 68
NR 18-8-6
3
Others receiving votes: University of Maine, 29;
University of Alaska, 19; University of Nebraska Omaha, 8;
Rochester Institute of Technology, 6; Northern Michigan University,
3; Sacred Heart University, 1.
USCHO.com Div. I Men’s Poll (Feb. 22)
Rk. Team
(First Place)
Record Pts LW
1
Denver
(39)
22- 6-4 988
2
2
Miami
(11)
23- 5-6 957
1
3
Wisconsin
19-
8-4 887
3
4 St. Cloud
State
20-10-4 829 4
5
Yale
18-
6-3 811
5
6 Bemidji State
21-
7-2 700
9
7 Boston
College
18-10-2 668 8
8 North
Dakota
16-11-5 638 11
9
Cornell
16-
8-3 551
10
10
Minnesota-Duluth
18-13-1
499 6
11 New
Hampshire
15-10-5 498
13
12 Michigan
State
18-11-5 452 12
13 Colorado
College
17-12-3
435 7
14 Ferris
State
19-11-4 371 14
15
Union
18-
8-6 368
16
16
Maine
15-12-3 245 15
17
Alaska
14-
9-9 211
20
18
Vermont
13-11-6 95
17
19
Nebraska-Omaha
17-13-6
88 NR
20 Boston
University
14-13-3
73 19
Others Receiving Votes: Northern Michigan 34,
Mass.-Lowell 27, RIT 25, Northeastern 19, Michigan 10,
Massachusetts 7, Sacred Heart 7, Minnesota 4, Colgate 2, St.
Lawrence 1
HERE 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
1/11
RV 20 1st
1/18
RV 16 1st
1/25
12 13 1st
2/1
13 13 1st
2/8
15 15 1st
2/15
13 13 1st
2/22
10 11 1st
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.
Bobby Butler HE Co-Player of the
Week 1/11
Brian Foster HE Defensive Player of
Week 1/11
Paul Thompson Co-MVP Battle for the RiverStone
IX 1/16
Blake Kessel Co-MVP Battle for the RiverStone
IX 1/16
Brian Foster HE Defensive Player of
Week 1/25
Brian Foster HE Goalie of the
Month
Jan.
Bobby Butler Walter Brown
Semifinalists 2/1
Blake Kessel Walter Brown
Semifinalists 2/1
Bobby Butler Frozen Four Skills Challenge
Nom. 2/1
Bobby Butler HE Player of the
Week
2/15
FOSTER CLIMBING UNH RECORD BOOKS: After sitting the wings
behind Wildcat legendary netminder Kevin Regan, Brian Foster is
writing his name in the Wildcat goaltending record book.
Career GAA: 2.85 (5th) Career
Save %: .908 (5th)
Career Games: 77 (9th)
Career Saves: 2,110 (8th)
Career Wins: 37 (9th)
Wildcats Among National leaders: Below is a list of where
UNH players and team rank nationally.
Individual Rank Stats
Points Per Game:
Bobby Butler 4th 1.47 ppg
Blake Kessel 50th 1.07 ppg
Paul Thompson 52nd 1.07
ppg
Goals Per Game:
Bobby Butler 2nd/2nd
0.80 gpg, 24 goals
Paul Thompson 33rd 0.50
gpg
Assists Per Game:
Blake Kessel 11th
0.86 apg
Bobby Butler 47th
0.67 apg
Phil DeSimone
47th 0.67
apg
Power Play Goals:
Bobby Butler 37th 6 ppg
Short-Handed Goals:
Bobby Butler 7th 2 shg
Peter LeBlanc 32nd 1 shg
Phil DeSimone 32nd 1 shg
Paul Thompson 32nd 1 shg
Game-Winning Goal:
Bobby Butler 15th 4 gwg
Defensemen Scoring:
Blake Kessel
2nd/2nd 31pts. /1.07 ppg
Freshmen Scoring:
n/a
Goals Against Average:
Brian Foster 55th 3.11 gaa
Save Percentage:
Brian Foster 49th
.904
Winning Percentage:
Brian Foster 24th .569
Team
Scoring Offense 10th
3.47
Scoring Defense 43rd 3.23
Scoring Margin 23rd 0.23
Penalty Minutes 57th 10.1
Power Play 40th 16.9
Penalty Kill 44th
78.9
Combined Special Teams 50th
47.0
Winnning Percentage 14th
.583
***HOBEY BAKER CANDIDATE BOBBY BUTLER***
UNH ATHLETICS UNVEILS BUTLERFORHOBEY.COM: UNH athletic
department unveils the all-new ButlerforHobey.com. The sleek
interactive site, designed by Pack Network, is geared to raise
awareness and support for men’s hockey senior forward Bobby
Butler in his candidacy for college hockey’s greatest
individual honor, the Hobey Baker Memorial Award, given each year
to college hockey’s top player. Click here to visit
ButlerforHobey.com.
BUTLER SECOND NATIONALLY IN GOALS, FOURTH IN SCORING:
Bobby Butler ranks second in the nation in goals at 24 and goals
per game at 0.80. In addition, his 1.47 ppg is good for
fourth nationally.
BUTLER’S GOT SKILLS: Bobby Butler is a nominee for
the 2010 NCAA Frozen Four Skills Challenge team. Fans can log onto
http://www.ncaa.com/frozenfourskillschallenge/index.html.
BUTLER ONE OF 16 NOMINEES FOR 2010 HOCKEY HUMANITARIAN:
Bobby Butler was among a group of 18 college hockey players
nominated for the 2010 BNY Mellon Wealth Management Hockey
Humanitarian Award. The award honors college hockey’s finest
citizen, someone who gives back to his or her community. The
finalists will be announced later this month, and the recipient
will be announced at the Frozen Four in Detroit on April 9. For
more on the award, visit hockeyhumanitarian.org.
BUTLER, KESSEL NAMED SEMIFINALISTS FOR WALTER BROWN
AWARD: Bobby Butler and Blake Kessel were named
semifinalists for the 58th annual Walter Brown Award, presented
annually to the best American-born college hockey player in New
England. Butler and Kessel were among a group of 16 semifinalists
selected by the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston, as announced by
president Steve Grogan on Feb. 1. In total 11 players from Hockey
East were selected. The Wildcats have a storied tradition in the
Walter Brown Award history that includes seven former Wildcats that
have earn the Walter Brown Award including Bob Miller (1977), Ralph
Cox (1979), Ty Conklin (2001), Mike Ayers (2003) Steve Saviano
(2004) and most recently Kevin Regan (2008).
Among the League Leaders: Where some of the
Wildcats rank in Hockey East.
Player All
Games HE Games
Points Bobby Butler
2rd (44pts.) 1st(38 pts)
Blake
Kessel 11th (31 pts.) 12th(22 pts.)
Paul
Thompson 9th (32 pts.)
8th(27 pts.)
Phil
DeSimone 13th (29 pts.)
8th(27 pts.)
Goals Bobby
Butler 1st (24 g) 1st (20
g)
Paul
Thompson 6th (15 g) 9th
(10 g)
Assists Blake
Kessel 4th (25
a) 6th
(18 a)
Bobby
Butler 7th (20 a)
6th (18 a)
Phil
DeSimone 7th (20 a) 5th
(19 a)
PP Goals Bobby Butler 9th (6
ppg) 14th (4
ppg)
Mike
Sislo 25th (4
ppg) 14th
(4ppg)
SH Points Bobby Butler 2nd (3
shp) 1st (3 shp)
Paul
Thompson 6th (2 shp) 3rd (2
shp)
GW Goals Bobby Butler 3th (4
gwg) 3rd (3 gwg)
Def. Scoring Blake Kessel 1st
(31 pts) 1st(22 pts)
GAA Brian Foster
10th
(3.11)
5th (2.76)
Save % Brian Foster
7th (.904) 4th (.912)
Win % Brian
Foster 5th
(.569)
2nd (.682)
WHERE UNH IS RANKED IN HOCKEY EAST:
Overall HE games
Goals/per game 3.47/3rd
3.74/1st
GAA 3.23/8th 2.87/2nd
Power Play 16.9/8th
17.0/9th
Penalty Kill 78.9/7th
75.3/10th
Special Teams Net +2/5th
-2/6th
1st Period Scoring
28/4th 24/2nd
2nd Period Scoring
47/1st 35/1st
3rd Period Scoring 26/8th
24/5th
Overtime Scoring
3/1st 3/1st
