#8 MEN'S HOCKEY ENTERTAINS UMASS THIS WEEKEND (FRI & SAT - 7 P.M.)
GAME NOTES
DURHAM, N.H. -- The eighth-ranked University of New Hampshire men's hockey team returns home to the friendly confines of the Whittemore Center for a two-game home series with Hockey East foe Massachusetts. The teams will play Friday and Satruday, Nov. 12-13 (7 p.m.). UNH is looking to build on its six-game unbeaten streak and move up in the Hockey East standings.
SCOUTING THE MINUTEMEN: UMass enters the weekend with a 0-5-2 overall record and a 0-2-2 mark in Hockey East. Most recently, the Minutemen suffered a 5-2 setback against Army on Friday night and defeated the Sweden Under-20 team 5-1 in an exhibition on Saturday night. Offensively, sophomore defenseman Darren Rowe (5-1-6) and freshman Michael Pereira (4-2-6) are the team's leading scorers with six points apiece. In net, play has been split between senior Paul Dainton and freshman Jeff Teglia. Dainton is 0-3-1 with a .382 GAA and a .881 save percentage, while Teglia is 0-2-1 with a 3.49 GAA and a .890 save percentage.
SERIES HISTORY VS. MASSACHUSETTS: UNH has a 77-18-7 lifetime record vs. Massachusetts in 102 all-time meetings dating back to Feb. 13, 1926. UNH captured last year's season series 2-1-0 including a 7-2 win at Whittemore Center on Jan. 9, 2010. UNH is 7-1-2 in the last 10 meetings with the Minutemen. Coach Umile owns a 38-10-6 all-time record against UMass in his coaching career. Senior Mike Sislo and Junior Blake Kessel are the active scoring leaders against the Minutemen with six points apiece. Junior netminder Matt DiGirolamo has never faced UMass in his career.
SCORING LEADERS VS. THE MINUTEMEN:
Player GP G-A-P
Mike Sislo 11 3-3-6
Blake Kessel 6 1-5-6
Paul Thompson 6 2-3-5
Stevie Moses 6 2-1-3
Brett Kostolansky 3 0-2-2
Greg Burke 2 0-2-2
Kevin McCarey 3 1-1-2
Phil DeSimone 11 0-2-2
Mike Beck 4 0-1-1
Damon Kipp 6 0-0-0
Mike Borisenok 5 0-0-0
Greg Manz 4 0-0-0
Matt Campanale 4 0-0-0
Austin Block 2 0-0-0
Connor Hardowa 2 0-0-0
John Henrion 2 0-0-0
Scott Pavelski 2 0-0-0
Dalton Speelman 1 0-0-0
Goaltending Stats vs. Massachusetts
Player GP/Min GA GAA W-L-T SV SV%
no active netminders with experience against UMass
LAST TIME THESE TEAMS MET (1/9/10 VS. MASSACHUSETTS): Paul Thompson and Bobby Butler both recorded two goals and two assists to propel the UNH to a 7-2 victory against 16th-ranked Massachusetts in Hockey East action at the Whittemore Center.The four points was, at the time, a career high for Butler, whose two goals equaled his personal best. For Thompson, the two assists tied a career high. Blake Kessel, who matched his personal best of three points with a goal and two assists, and Peter LeBlanc (two assists) also recorded multiple points for the Wildcats. Brian Foster turned away 26 of 28 shots for the 'Cats.
LAST TIME OUT (11/6/10 AT MASS.-LOWELL): John Henrion registered a goal and an assist including the game-winner to lift UNH to Saturday night's 2-1 win over Massachusetts-Lowell in Hockey East action at Tsongas Center. Dalton Speelman potted the game's first goal, while Matt DiGirolamo stopped 24 shots including 13 in the final frame. He improves to 4-1-2 overall.
WE'RE STREAKING: The Wildcats own the nation's third longest unbeaten streak with a six-game streak at 4-0-2.
Team Streak W-L-T
Boston Univ. 8 6-0-2
Union 7 4-0-3
UNH 6 4-0-2
SOPHOMORIC BEHAVIOR: UNH's line of John Henrion, Dalton Speelman and Austin Block. Accounted for all four goals over the weekend for the Wildcats.
Sophomore Line 2009-10 compared to 2010-11
Name 2009-10 G-A-P 2010-11 G-A-P thru 7 games
Speelman 3-4-7 4-3-7
Henrion 3-1-4 4-3-7
Block 1-2-3 1-3-4
Totals 7-7-14 9-9-18
TWO'S ENOUGH: UNH scored just two goals in each of its two wins over the weekend marking the first time since Oct. 17 & 19, 2008 New Hampshire scored two goals or less in back-to-back wins. UNH posted a 1-0 win over RPI and 2-1 win over Boston Univ. that weekend.
HOME-SWEET-HOME: UNH will play five of the next six games at the Whittemore Center and six of the next nine before holiday break at home.
THE DIGI FILE:
DIGIROLAMO TABBED AS INSIDE COLLEGE HOCKEY'S NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Junior goaltender Matt DiGirolamo was named the Inside College Hockey Player of the Week. The announcement was made Monday by Inside College Hockey. DiGirolamo is the first UNH player to win this award since Mike Sislo did so on Dec. 16, 2008. DiGirolamo stopped 55 of 57 shots over the weekend, leading UNH to a pair of 2-1 wins over BC and UML. DiGirolamo made 31 saves Friday against the Eagles and 24 Saturday at Lowell as he posted a 1.00 GAA and .965 save percentage.
DIGIROLAMO NAMED HOCKEY EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Matt DiGirolamo was named Hockey East Athletic Republic Player of the Week. DiGirolamo, who collected HE's Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 16, becomes the first UNH player of earn the league's top honors since Bobby Butler did so Feb. 15, 2009.
DIGIROLAMO DURING UNH'S SIX-GAME UNBEATEN STREAK: During UNH's unbeaten streak, Matt DiGirolamo is 4-0-2 with a 2.27 GAA and a .930 save percentage and wins over three nationally-ranked programs. He's allowed just six even-strength goals in those six games.
Opponent Results GA E.S. GA Saves
at #3 Miami W, 6-3 3 3 35
vs. #3 Michigan T, 3-3 3 0 27
at Northeastern T, 2-2 2 1 37
at #14 Cornell W, 7-4 3 1 31
at #4 BC W, 2-1 1 1 31
at Mass.-Lowell W, 2-1 1 0 24
Totals 4-0-2 14 6 186
'CATS GARNER HOCKEY EAST'S TEAM OF THE WEEK: UNH was tabbed as Hockey East's team of the week. New Hampshire earns this honor for the first time since its origination at the start of the 2010-11 season. UNH extended its unbeaten streak to six games (4-0-2) with back-to-back 2-1 wins over BC and UML. The Wildcats own the nation's third-longest unbeaten streak with a lone loss in the season opener at Miami as its only blemish.
LAST TEN AGAINST THE MINUTEMEN: UNH is 7-1-3 in the last 10 games against the Minutement. In those 10 games, UNH has outscored UMass 39-22 with three or more goals on eight occasions.
SCORING BY CLASS: 2010-11 breakdown of scoring by class.
Class G-A-P G-A-P %.
Seniors: 8-9-17 32-24-27
Juniors: 7-11-18 28-24-29
Sophomores: 10-17-27 40-46-44
Freshmen: 0-0-0 0-0-0
TO THIS POINT LAST YEAR: A comparison through seven games between this season and last season.
09-10 10-11
Record 2-4-1 4-1-2
HE Record 2-0-0 2-0-1
Goals scored 20 25
Goals scored/PG 2.86 3.57
Goals Allowed 28 20
Goals Allowed/PG 4.00 2.86
Shots 226 221
Shots Allowed 184 225
Power Play 15.8% 17.9%
(6-38) (5-28)
Penalty Kill 83.3% 75.9%
(30-36) (22-29)
Top 3 Scorers Kessel Speelman
3-7-10 4-3-7
Butler Henrion
4-4-8 4-3-7
Borisenok two tied
3-4-7 six points
'CATS OPENED WITH FIVE OF SIX AGAINST TOP-15 OPPONENTS AND SIX OF SEVEN ON THE ROAD: New Hampshire completed perhaps the most difficult early schedule in collegiate hockey. The 'Cats played five of its first six games against top-15 opponents with six of its first seven games on the road.
Date Opponent Results
10/8 at #3 Miami L, 3-6
10/9 at #3 Miami W, 6-3
10/16 vs. #3 Michigan T, 3-3
10/22 at Northeastern T, 2-2
10/29 at #14 Cornell W, 7-4
11/5 at #4 Boston College W, 2-1
11/6 at Mass.-Lowell W, 2-1
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
9/27 8th N/P 3rd (pre)
10/4 N/P 10th 3rd (pre)
10/11 9th 9th 4th
10/18 7th 7th 6th
10/25 10th 10th 7th
11/1 10th 10th 9th
11/8 8th 9th 4th
THE NATIONAL POLLS:
USCHO.com/CBS College Sports Division I Men's Poll (Nov. 8)
Rk. Team (First Place) Record Pts LW
1 Boston Univ. (31) 6-0-2 955 3
2 Minn.-Duluth (11) 7-1-2 867 2
3 Yale (5) 4-0-0 863 5
4 Miami (2) 5-2-3 842 1
5 Maine 4-1-3 771 7
6 Neb.-Omaha (1) 7-1-0 717 8
7 Boston College 5-3-0 706 4
8 Michigan 5-2-3 675 6
9 New Hampshire 4-1-2 634 10
10 North Dakota 5-4-1 547 9
11 Notre Dame 6-2-1 461 11
12 Union 6-1-3 421 15
13 Wisconsin 6-2-2 406 15
14 Alaska 6-3-1 399 14
15 Denver 4-4-2 302 13
16 Michigan State 3-2-3 214 12
17 Western Michigan 6-2-2 154 NR
18 Rensselaer 4-2-3 145 18
19 Minnesota 5-4-1 141 17
20 Ferris State 5-3-2 132 NR
Others Receiving Votes: Cornell 30, Robert Morris 30, St. Cloud State 26, Colorado College 22, Michigan Tech 16, Quinnipiac 11, Merrimack 7, Clarkson 2, Dartmouth 2, Harvard 1, Niagara 1
USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine (Nov. 8)
Rk. School, Pts. (FPV) Record Last Weeks
1. Boston University, 489 (23) 6-0-2 3 6
2. Minnesota Duluth, 444 (5) 7-1-2 2 6
3. Miami, 424 (3) 5-2-3 1 6
4. Yale, 423 (2) 4-0-0 6 6
5. Maine, 323 4-1-3 7 6
6. Boston College, 320 (1) 5-3-0 4 6
7. Nebraska Omaha, 297 7-1-0 8 4
8. New Hampshire, 282 4-1-2 10 6
9. Michigan, 278 5-2-3 5 6
10. North Dakota, 232 5-4-1 9 6
11. Notre Dame, 155 6-2-1 11 3
12. Union College, 124 6-1-3 14 3
13. Alaska, 105 6-3-1 15 5
14. Wisconsin, 77 6-2-2 NR 4
15. Denver, 56 4-4-2 13 6
Others receiving votes: Michigan State University, 13; Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 13; Western Michigan University, 8; Ferris State University, 2; University of Minnesota, 2; Cornell University, 1; Robert Morris University, 1; St. Cloud State University, 1.
Wildcats Among National leaders: Below is a list of where UNH players and team rank nationally.
Individual Rank Stats
Points Per Game:
Dalton Speelman 71st 1.00 ppg
John Henrion 71st 1.00 ppg
Goals Per Game:
Stevie Moses 39th 0.59 gpg
Dalton Speelman 39th 0.59 gpg
John Henrion 39th 0.59 gpg
Assists Per Game:
Blake Kessel 60th 0.71 apg
Power Play Goals:
Paul Thompson 8th 3 ppg
Short-Handed Goals:
Dalton Speelman 4th 1 shg
Stevie Moses 4th 1 shg
Game-Winning Goal:
Damon Kipp 16th 1 gwg
Mike Sislo 16th 1 gwg
Dalton Speelman 16th 1 gwg
John Henrion 16th 1 gwg
Defensemen Scoring:
Blake Kessel 27th 0.71 ppg
Connor Hardowa 27th 0.71 ppg
Goals Against Average:
Matt DiGirolamo 37th 2.66 gaa
Save Percentage:
Matt DiGirolamo 23rd .921
Winning Percentage:
Matt DiGirolamo 15th .714
Team
Scoring Offense 13th 3.57
Scoring Defense 27th 2.86
Scoring Margin 17th 0.71
Penalty Minutes 42nd 11.4
Power Play 25th 17.9
Penalty Kill 47th 75.9
Combined Special Teams 39th 47.4
Winnning Percentage 8th .714
Among the League Leaders: Where some of the Wildcats rank in Hockey East.
Player All Games HE Games
Points Dalton Speelman15th (7 pts.) 11th (4 pts)
John Henrion 15th (7 pts.) 11th (4 pts)
Goals Stevie Moses 8th (4 g) n/a
Dalton Speelman8th (4 g) 5th (3 g)
John Henrion 8th (4 g) 11th (2 g)
Assists Blake Kessel 11th (5 a) 51st (1 a)
PP Points Paul Thompson 9th (3 pts.) 22nd (1 pt)
Blake Kessel 9th (3 pts.) 22nd (1 pt)
PP Goals Paul Thompson 1st (3 ppg) 7th (1 ppg)
Mike Sislo 13th (1 ppg) n/a
Austin Block 13th (1 ppg) n/a
SH Points Four Tied 2nd (1 shp) n/a
SH Goals Dalton Speelman 1st (1 shg) n/a
Stevie Moses 1st (1 shg) n/a
GW Goals four tied 2nd (1gwg) 2nd (1 gwg)
Def. Scoring Blake Kessel 5th (5 pts) 19th (1 pt)
Connor Hardowa 5th (5 pts) 6th (2 pts)
GAA Matt DiGirolamo 8th (2.66) 1st (1.30)
Save % Matt DiGirolamo 6th (.921) 1st (.958)
Win % Matt DiGirolamo 3rd (.714) 1st (.833)
Saves Matt DiGirolamo 2nd (221) 8th (92)
Minutes Matt DiGirolamo 3rd (429:22) 9th (184:40)
Wins Matt DiGirolamo 1st (4) 4th (2)
WHERE UNH IS RANKED IN HOCKEY EAST:
Overall HE games
Goals/per game 3.57/2nd 2.00/6th
GAA 2.86/7th 1.33/1st
Power Play 17.9/2nd 12.5/7th
Penalty Kill 75.9/9th 87.5/4tht
Special Teams Net -2/6th -1/17th
1st Period Scoring 5/7th 3/6th
2nd Period Scoring 12/1st 1/8th
3rd Period Scoring 8/5th 2/7th
Overtime Scoring 0/3rd 0/3rd
UNH HOCKEY ON TELEVISION: UNH will have nine games broadcast live on TV in 2010-11. NESN will air five games, three will air on CBS College Sports, while one will air locally on ONN (Ohio).
DATE GAME Channel RES.
Oct. 8 at Miami CBS-College Sports L, 3-6
Oct. 9 at Miami ONN (OHIO) W, 6-3
Nov. 19 Boston U. NESN
Dec. 10 at Maine CBS-College Sports
Jan. 22 Boston U. NESN
Feb. 4 Maine NESN
Feb. 5 Maine NESN
Feb. 18 at Vermont CBS-College Sports
March 4 at Boston College NESN
ALL IN THE FAMILY: UNH junior defenseman Blake Kessel is the younger brother of Toronto Maple Leafs forward Phil Kessel, while sophomore forward Scott Pavelski is the younger brother of Joe Pavelski of the San Jose Sharks.
SISLO TABBED CAPTAIN; CAMPANALE WILL SERVE AS ALTERNATE CAPTAIN: Mike Sislo was named the 106th captain in the history of the UNH hockey program for the 2010-11 season. Matt Campanale was named the alternate captain for the upcoming season.Sislo finished a well-balanced junior campaign with 29 points on 14 goals and 15 assists. He is one of two players with 68 points (36g, 32a) to lead all returners coming into the upcoming season, while his 36 goals is tops among all returners. Sislo scored 22 of his 29 points in Hockey East play, scored four times on the power play and twice short-handed. In the season prior, Sislo was the team's leading goal scorer with 19 goals that season, while also tallying 12 assists. Campanale was a leader on a young Wildcat defense in 2009-10, playing on both the first and second defensive pair throughout the season. He played in all 39 games for New Hampshire this year, posting 12 points on three goals and nine assists.
WILDCATS PICKED THIRD IN HOCKEY EAST POLL: UNH was picked to finish third in the Hockey East Preseason Coaches' Poll, which was announced on Wednesday afternoon at the league's annual media day at Legends Restaurant at the TD Garden. The Wildcats garnered 76 points in the poll, which was good enough for a third place preseason standing. UNH was picked fourth in the preseason and finished in first place in last year's regular season standings.
Rk. Team (FPV) Pts.
1. Boston College (9) 90
2. Maine (1) 80
3. New Hampshire 76
4. Boston University 59
5. Northeastern 54
6. Vermont 53
7. Merrimack 48
8. UMass-Lowell 33
9. Massachusetts 26
10. Providence 21
THE DICK UMILE ERA: Dick Umile, a six-time Hockey East Coach of the Year, enters his 21st season as the head coach of the UNH Wildcats. He passed both Jerry York and Jack Parker in becoming the first coach in league history to six coach of the year honors. 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, 16 NCAA tournament appearances and 20 Hockey East championship tournament showings in his 20-year career in Durham.
In addition, Umile has posted 17 20-victory campaigns over the span of 20 seasons. Umile is now the winningest coach in the history of UNH hockey with 462 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 fifth among active NCAA coaches with a .645 winning percentage and on the active victories list his 462 victories ranks seventh among NCAA coaches. He has been named Coach of the Year a total of 11 times in his career, including New England honors four times and Hockey East Coach of the Year six times Last year, Umile guided the Wildcats, who were picked fourth in the Hockey East Preseason Poll, to their eighth regular season championship including the third in the last four years. The Wildcats led the Hockey East standings for an eye-popping 16-straight weeks, taking over the league lead Nov. 23, 2009 and never relinquishing that position. UNH went unbeaten at home in Hockey East play for the first time since the 1999-00 season and won the regular season series with six of nine league foes. Umile helped guide a team that lost 10 players, including Hockey East All Star and leading scorer James van Riemsdyk, from the 2008-09 squad to its 22nd straight trip to the Hockey East playoffs and home-ice advantage in the quarterfinals for a league-best 14th-straight season. After going just 2-6-2 over its first 10 games, Umile's Wildcats responded with a 10-1-2 mark over the next 13 games, including a 12-game unbeaten streak in Hockey East play. Umile's run in the regular season was capped by a dramatic 3-3 come-from-behind deadlock with Boston College that clinched the league's crown in front of the home fans on Senior Day at the Whittemore Center. The 'Cats earned an at-large bid in the NCAA tournament for the ninth-straight season and captured a convincing 6-2 win over favored Cornell in the opening round, advancing to the regional final for the second-straight season.
'CATS SELECTED IN THE NHL DRAFT: Four current UNH players have been selected in the National Hockey League draft...Greg Burke (Washington), Phil DeSimone (Washington), Blake Kessel (N.Y. Islanders) and Eric Knodel (Toronto) have all been taken.
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 affiliate stations on the Wildcat Sports Network, joining flagship WGIR-AM 610 (Manchester), which was added in 2008. All three stations are part of the Clear Channel family. These three aforementioned stations -- along with WUVR-AM 1490 (Lebanon), WNTK-FM 99.7 (New London), WASR-AM 1420 (Wolfeboro) 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. Dan Parkhurst will be handling the play-by-play for the fourth-straight season, while Pete Webster will once again be doing the color commentating. Webster has been announcing Wildcat hockey since the 1993-94 season.ouncing 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 11th season in 2010-11. The Coach's Show is broadcast Mondays (7 p.m. to 8 p.m.) 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 a pair of players from New Hampshire with Greg Burke (Lee) 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 2010-11 season with UNHwildcats.TV.
Wildcat fans are encouraged to buy the "Wildcat All-Access Pass" which is an annual subscription for $89.95 that provides all the live coverage of UNH home athletic events. Fans can also purchase home events on a per game basis of $7.95.
WILDCAT AWARDS: Here is a list of awards that Wildcat players have won to date this season:
Player Award Date
Blake Kessel INCH Preseason All-America First Team 10/7
Blake Kessel InsideHockey.com's Hobey Watch 10/7
Matt DiGirolamo HE Defensive Player of the Week 10/18
UNH Wildcats HE Team of the Week 11/8
Matt DiGirolamo HE Player of the Week 11/8
Matt DiGirolamo INCH National Player of the Week 11/8
