#5 Men's Hockey Travels to Mass.-Lowell (Thurs. - 7 p.m.); Plays Host to Vermont (Sun. - 4 p.m.)
GAME NOTES
DURHAM, N.H -- The fifth-ranked University of New Hampshire men's hockey team (7-2-4, 5-1-2 HE) travels to league foe UMass-Lowell (2-10-2, 2-8-0 HE) on Thursday (7 p.m.) at Tsongas Center and will play host to Vermont (1-6-4, 1-5-3 HE) on Sunday (4 p.m) at Whittemore Center. The Wildcats are ranked in the top five for the first time since Nov. 10, 2008.
SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS: UMass.-Lowell enters Thursday's game with a 2-10-2 record and a 2-8-0 mark in Hockey East play.The River Hawks are trying to snap a five-game losing streak, which started with a 2-1 loss to New Hampshire on Nov. 6. UML is coming off back-to-back non-conference home losses to Minnesota State (8-3, 3-2) last weekend. Sophomore forward Riley Wetmore is leading the way offensively with 12 points (6g, 6a) in 14 games. Doug Carr and Marc Boulanger continue to split time in net for the River Hawks. Carr is 2-6-1 with a 3.37 GAA and a .903 save percentage, while Boulanger is 0-4-1 with a 4.25 GAA and a .868 save percentage.
SERIES HISTORY VS. UMASS-LOWELL: The Wildcats lead the all-time series with the River Hawks at 52-30-15 in 97 all-time meetings between the two schools dating back to Dec. 6, 1983.UNH captured a 2-1 win in the teams only meeting this season on Nov. 6 at Tsongas Center. Coach Umile owns a 45-19-10 all-time record against the River Hawks in his coaching career. Phil DeSimone is the active leader in scorer against the River Hawks with six points (1g, 5a) in 10 games. Matt DiGirolamo is 1-1-0 lifetime against UML.
SCORING LEADERS VS. THE RIVER HAWKS:
Player GP G-A-P
Phil DeSimone 10 1-5-6
Mike Sislo 10 3-0-3
Blake Kessel 7 2-1-3
Greg Burke 4 0-3-3
John Henrion 2 1-1-2
Mike Borisenok 4 0-2-2
Matt Campanale 4 1-1-2
Austin Block 4 1-1-2
Dalton Speelman 4 1-1-2
Connor Hardowa 4 0-1-1
Paul Thompson 10 1-0-1
Damon Kipp 6 0-1-1
Stevie Moses 6 1-0-1
Mike Beck 5 0-0-0
Greg Manz 3 0-0-0
Brett Kostolansky 4 0-0-0
Kevin McCarey 3 0-0-0
Scott Pavelski 1 0-0-0
Nick Sorkin 1 0-0-0
Jeff Silengo 1 0-0-0
Goaltending Stats
Player GP/Min GA GAA W-L-T SV SV%
DiGirolamo 2/119:57 9 4.50 1-1-0 51 .850
DiGirolamo Game-by-Game vs. the River Hawks
Date Min Res. Svs. GA Shots
11-14-08 59:57 L 27 8 35
11-6-10 60:00 W 24 1 25
Totals 119:57 1-1-0 51 9 60
LAST TIME THESE TEAMS MET (11/6/10 AT MASS-LOWELL): John Henrion registered a goal and an assist including the game-winner to lift the 10th-ranked men's ice hockey team to a 2-1 win over Massachusetts-Lowell in Hockey East action at Tsongas Center. Dalton Speelman broke the ice at 4:25 of the first as the sophomore scored on a wrister from the left slot. The play was setup on a pin-point right-to-left pass from Henrion, while Matt Campanale was also credited with an assist on the goal. New Hampshire controlled play in the opening frame with an 18-8 shot advantage, but were 0-2 on the power play in the period.UML netted the equalizer with a power play goal at 9:35 of second period. The goal came on the River Hawks second shot of the period. The goal was scored by Matt Ferreira on a shot that hit the goal pipe and bounced in. Shayne Thompson and Chad Ruhwedel assisted on the tally. New Hampshire went back on top with a goal by Henrion that found its way through traffic and under the pads of UML netminder Doug Carr at 13:25 of the second. Greg Burke and Austin Block assisted on the eventual game-winner that came after a New Hampshire offensive flurry. UNH held a 15-4 shot edge in the frame despite three River Hawk power plays. Play was even in a scoreless third period with the River Hawks holding a 13-10 shot edge thanks in large part to 1:38 of 6-4 power play, empty-net play to conclude the contest.DiGirolamo stopped 24 shots including 13 in the final frame. He improves to 4-1-2 overall. Carr, who turned away 41 shots, falls to 2-3-1 on the season. The Wildcats held a commanding 43-25 shot advantage.
SCOUTING THE CATAMOUNTS: Vermont enters Sunday's game with New Hampshire with a 1-6-4 overall mark and a 1-5-3 mark in Hockey East. The Catamounts are trying to snap a three-game unbeaten streak. UVM's only win was a 5-3 win over Boston College on Nov. 13, 2010. Last weekend, the Catamounts tied Northeastern 2-2 on Nov. 26 and lost to Boston College 6-0 on Nov. 28. Vermont is led offensively by Wahsontiio Stacey, who has seven points in 11 games with six goals and an assist. In net, junior Rob Madore is 1-6-4 with a 3.06 GAA and a .899 save percentage.
SERIES HISTORY VS. VERMONT: The Wildcats own the advantage in the all-time series vs. Vermont at 68-16-4 in 88 all-time meetings dating back to Dec. 14, 1963. UNH is 10-2-3 against the Catamounts since they became a member of Hockey East during the 2005-06 season. This year, the Wildcats won regular season series 2-0-1 with a 5-2 win up in Burlington, a 5-4 overtime win and a 3-3 overtime tie in the last two meetings (both at Whittemore Center). Coach Umile in his 20-year coaching career has registered a 24-6-3 mark against Vermont in 32 meetings. Overall, the Wildcats are 18-3-3 in the last 24 meetings with Vermont. Captain Peter LeBlanc is the leading active scorer against Vermont with 14 points in 12 games, while Brian Foster is 4-1-1 in seven all-time appearances against UVM.
SCORING LEADERS VS. THE CATAMOUNTS:
Player GP G-A-P
Paul Thompson 12 2-8-10
Phil DeSimone 12 1-7-8
Blake Kessel 9 4-3-7
Mike Sislo 12 3-4-7
Stevie Moses 9 0-6-6
Damon Kipp 9 2-2-4
Matt Campanale 10 1-2-3
Greg Manz 9 2-0-2
Greg Burke 6 2-0-2
Mike Borisenok 6 1-1-2
Austin Block 1 0-1-1
Dalton Speelman 6 0-1-1
Brett Kostolansky 3 0-1-1
Mike Beck 5 0-0-0
John Henrion 4 0-0-0
Connor Hardowa 5 0-0-0
Kevin McCarey 5 0-0-0
Scott Pavelski 2 0-0-0
Goaltending Stats
Player GP/Min GA GAA W-L-T SV SV%
no goalies with experience against UVM
LAST TIME THESE TEAMS MET (March 14, 2010): Jay Anctil scored at 15:52 of overtime to lift the Vermont men's ice hockey team to a 1-0 victory against in the decisive Game 3 of the Hockey East quarterfinals at the Whittemore Center. UNH goaltender Brian Foster finished with a career-high 50 saves, including nine in the extra session. He stopped 11 shots in the first period, followed by 14 and 16 in the subsequent periods of regulation.
LAST TIME OUT (11/27/10 VS. MERRIMACK): Matt DiGirolamo recorded a career-high 41 saves and Paul Thompson tallied a goal and an assist to lift the sixth-ranked men's hockey team to Saturday night's 2-1 Hockey East victory against 18th-ranked Merrimack College at the Whittemore Center. Following two scoreless periods of play, the Warriors capitalized on a power play to take a 1-0 lead at 4:12 of the third period. Joe Cucci won possession in the left corner and moved the puck to Stephane Da Costa in the lower-left circle. Da Costa quickly threw the puck to the top of the crease and Chris Barton redirected a shot into the net. That lead was short-lived, however, as UNH rallied to tie the score at 7:15 on a goal by Damon Kipp, whose shot from the right circle found the upper-right corner of the cage. Thompson, with the pass from the slot to Kipp, and Mike Beck set up the goal.New Hampshire took a 2-1 lead at 11:53 when Thompson scored his seventh goal of the season. Mike Sislo led a rush down the left side of the slot and dropped a pass diagonally back to Thompson, whose shot from the inner-right circle beat Merrimack goalie Joe Cannata (25 saves). Matt Campanale was also credited with an assist.
DECEMBERS TO REMEMBER: UNH has won seven-straight games in December including a perfect 6-0 over the last two seasons. New Hampshire's last loss in December came on Dec. 28, 2007 at North Dakota.
Year Record GF/GA
2009-10 3-0-0 11-6
2008-09 3-0-0 14-10
TOP LINE PRODUCING: UNH's top line of Phil DeSimone, Paul Thompson and Mike Sislo have combined for 10 goals, 25 assists and 35 points over the last six games. The group is averaging 1.67 gpg and 5.8 ppg.
Date Thompson Sislo DeSimone
11/12 UMass 0-2-2 1-1-2 1-1-2
11/13 UMass 0-3-3 1-0-1 0-2-2
11/19 BU 2-1-3 0-1-1 1-2-3
11/20 @BU 1-1-2 0-2-2 0-1-1
11/23 Brown 0-1-1 2-2-4 0-3-3
11/27 Merr. 1-1-2 0-1-1 0-0-0
Totals 4-9-13 4-7-11 2-9-11
'CATS EXTENDS WHITTEMORE CENTER UNBEATEN STREAK TO 23 AGAINST HOCKEY EAST FOE: With a 2-1 win over Merrimack, UNH is 17-0-7 in the last 24 Hockey East contests at Whittemore Center. New Hampshire's last home league loss came on Jan. 24, 2009 against BU.
THOMPSON FIRST IN HOCKEY EAST IN SCORING; LINEMATES RIGHT BEHIND: Paul Thompson ranks first in Hockey East in scoring with 18 points, while his linemates Phil DeSimone (17 pts) and Mike Sislo (16 pts) rank second and fifth, respectively.
DIGI TURNS ASIDE CAREER-HIGH 41 AGAINST MERRIMACK: Matt DiGirolamo stopped a career-high 41 shots including 33 shots in the final two periods against the Warriors. In eight league starts, DiGirolamo has a 1.73 GAA and a .941 save percentage with two goals or fewer allowed in six games.
THOMPSON; SISLO STREAKING: Paul Thompson and Mike Sislo are riding season-long six game scoring streaks.
DeSIMONE FIRST IN HOCKEY EAST IN ASSISTS: Phil DeSimone has a league-best 13 assists this season.
1ST IN 2ND AND 3RD: UNH ranks first in Hockey East in second and third period scoring. The 'Cats have a league-best 20 goals in the second and 14 tallies in the third.
DiGIROLAMO LOGGING THE MINUTES: Matt DiGirolamo has a notched a league-best 795:54 of time between the pipes for New Hampshire.
'CATS OFF TO BEST START SINCE 2006-07: UNH is off to its best start since the 2006-07 season when the 'Cats were 10-2-1 over the first 13 games.
Year Record (Pct.) Final Record
2010-11 7-2-4 (.692) ---
2009-10 4-6-3 (.423) 18-14-7
2008-09 5-5-3 (.507) 20-13-5
2007-08 8-4-1 (.653) 25-10-3
2006-07 10-2-1 (.807) 26-11-2
SCORING BY CLASS: 2010-11 breakdown of scoring by class.
Class G-A-P G-A-P %.
Seniors: 18-36-54 40-51-47
Juniors: 13-17-30 29-51-26
Sophomores: 13-18-31 29-25-27
Freshmen: 1-0-1 2-0-1
TO THIS POINT LAST YEAR: A comparison through 12 games between this season and last season.
09-10 10-11
Record 3-6-2 6-2-4
HE Record 3-2-1 4-1-2
Goals scored 38 43
Goals scored/PG 3.17 3.58
Goals Allowed 46 34
Goals Allowed/PG 3.83 2.83
Shots 341 467
Shots Allowed 385 369
Power Play 17.6% 21.1%
(9-51) (12-57)
Penalty Kill 76.4% 83.0%
(42-55) (39-47)
Top 3 Scorers Butler DeSimone
10-5-15 4-13-17
Kessel Thompson
3-10-13 6-10-16
LeBlanc Sislo
4-7-11 7-8-15
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
11/15 8th 7th 3rd
11/22 6th 6th 3rd
11/29 5th 5th 3rd
THE NATIONAL POLLS:
USCHO.com/CBS College Sports Division I Men's Poll (Nov. 30)
Rk. Team (FPV) Rec. Pts LW
1 Minnesota-Duluth (49) 11-1-2 999 1
2 Boston University (1) 7-1-5 901 2
2 Yale 8-1-0 901 3
4 Nebraska-Omaha 9-2-1 845 4
5 New Hampshire 7-2-4 775 6
6 Miami 9-4-3 731 5
7 North Dakota 9-5-2 689 9
8 Boston College 9-5-0 640 7
9 Maine 6-3-3 598 10
10 Denver 10-4-2 550 12
11 Michigan 8-4-4 546 8
12 Notre Dame 9-4-2 455 11
13 Union 7-2-3 404 13
14 Alaska 8-5-3 324 14
15 Wisconsin 7-6-3 254 16
16 Rensselaer 7-3-3 231 17
17 Minnesota 8-5-1 230 15
18 Merrimack 5-3-4 178 18
19 Western Michigan 7-4-3 124 19
20 Ferris State 7-5-3 75 20
Others Receiving Votes: Dartmouth 21, Brown 15, Robert Morris 8, Clarkson 2, Niagara 2, Colorado College 1, Michigan State 1
USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine (Nov. 30)
Rk. School, Pts. (FPV) Last Record Weeks
1 Minnesota Duluth, 510 (34) 1 11-1-2 9
2 Yale University, 454 3 8-1-0 9
3 Boston University, 448 2 7-1-5 9
4 Nebraska Omaha, 405 4 9-2-1 7
5 New Hampshire, 368 6 7-2-4 9
6 Miami University, 325 5 9-4-3 9
7 North Dakota, 299 10 9-5-2 9
8 Boston College, 256 7 9-5-0 9
9 University of Maine, 233 9 6-3-3 9
10 University of Denver, 195 13 10-4-2 9
11 University of Michigan, 194 8 8-4-4 9
12 University of Notre Dame, 132 11 9-4-2 6
13 Union College, 126 12 7-2-3 6
14 University of Alaska, 70 14 8-5-3 8
15 Rensselaer, 20 NR 7-3-3 1
Others receiving votes: University of Wisconsin, 17; Merrimack College, 13; University of Minnesota, 13; Dartmouth College, 1; Robert Morris University, 1.
Wildcats Among National leaders: Below is a list of where UNH players and team rank nationally.
Individual Rank Stats
Points Per Game:
Paul Thompson 10th 1.38 ppg
Phil DeSimone 19th 1.31 ppg
Goals Per Game:
Mike Sislo 38th 0.54 gpg
Paul Thompson 38th 0.54 gpg
Assists Per Game:
Phil DeSimone 10th 1.00 apg
Paul Thompson 21st 0.85 apg
Power Play Goals:
Mike Sislo 25th 3 ppg
Paul Thompson 25th 3 ppg
Short-Handed Goals:
Dalton Speelman 15th 1 shg
Stevie Moses 15th 1 shg
Game-Winning Goal:
Mike Sislo 6th 2 gwg
Paul Thompson 6th 2 gwg
Defensemen Scoring:
Blake Kessel 19th 0.77 ppg
Goals Against Average:
Matt DiGirolamo 32nd 2.56 gaa
Save Percentage:
Matt DiGirolamo 24th .917
Winning Percentage:
Matt DiGirolamo 15th .692
Team
Scoring Offense 14th 3.46
Scoring Defense 22nd 2.69
Scoring Margin 12th 0.77
Penalty Minutes 50th 10.5
Power Play 20th 19.7
Penalty Kill 29th 82.0
Combined Special Teams 41st 47.7
Winnning Percentage 6th .692
Among the League Leaders: Where some of the Wildcats rank in Hockey East.
Player All Games HE Games
Points Paul Thompson 1st (18 pts) 2nd (13 pts)
Phil DeSimone 2nd (17 pts) 9th (8 pts)
Mike Sislo 4th (16 pts) 13th (7 pts)
Goals Mike Sislo 4th (7 g) 33rd (2 g)
Paul Thompson 4th (7 g) 3rd (5 g)
John Henrion 13th (5 g) 18th (3 g)
Stevie Moses 13th (5 g) 59th (1 g)
Assists Phil DeSimone 1st (13 a) 7th (6 a)
Paul Thompson 2nd (11 a) 2nd (8 a)
Blake Kessel 10th (8 a) 34th (3 a)
PP Points Paul Thompson 4th (8 pts) 3rd (6 pts)
Mike Sislo 6th (6 pts) 14th (3 pts)
Phil DeSimone 6th (6 pts) 7th (4 pts)
Blake Kessel 6th (6 pts) 14th (3 pts)
PP Goals Paul Thompson 3rd (3 ppg) 15th (1 ppg)
Mike Sislo 3rd (3 ppg) 15th (1 ppg)
Phil DeSimone 11th (2 ppg) 3rd (2 ppg)
SH Points Four Tied 6th (1 shp) n/a
SH Goals Dalton Speelman 5th (1 shg) n/a
Stevie Moses 5th (1 shg) n/a
GW Goals Mike Sislo 1st (2 gwg) 5th (1 gwg)
Paul Thompson 1st (2 gwg) 1st (2 gwg)
Def. Scoring Blake Kessel 2nd (10 pts) 7th (4 pts)
Brett Kostolansky 8th (6 pts) 13th (3 pts)
Connor Hardowa 13th (5 pts) 25th (2 pts)
GAA Matt DiGirolamo 5th (2.56) 2nd (1.73)
Save % Matt DiGirolamo 5th (.917) 3rd (.941)
Win % Matt DiGirolamo 2nd (.692) 2nd (.750)
Saves Matt DiGirolamo 2nd (376) 7th (225)
Minutes Matt DiGirolamo 1st (795:54) 7th (486:52)
Wins Matt DiGirolamo 2nd (7) 2nd (5)
WHERE UNH IS RANKED IN HOCKEY EAST:
Overall HE games
Goals/per game 3.46/2nd 2.62/4th
GAA 2.69/5th 1.75/1st
Power Play 19.7/2nd 19.4/3rd
Penalty Kill 82.0/5th 89.3/3rd
Special Teams Net +2/2nd +2/3rd
1st Period Scoring 11/6th 8/4th
2nd Period Scoring 20/1st 9/3rd
3rd Period Scoring 14/1st 4/10th
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 W, 5-2
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.
WILDCATS PICKED THIRD IN HOCKEY EAST PRESEASON POLL:
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
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
Paul Thompson HE co-Player of the Week 11/2
