Game Day: Men's Hockey Plays Host to Mass.-Lowell (Fri - 7pm - WBIN); Travels to #16 Boston U. (Sat. 7pm)
Game Notes | Interactive Blog
DURHAM, N.H. -- The University of New Hampshire men's hockey team looks to build on its six-game unbeaten streak with Hockey East games against UMass.-Lowell and Boston U. The Wildcats plays host to Mass.-Lowell on Friday night (7 p.m.) on WBIN-TV and will travel to #16 Boston University on Saturday (7 p.m.) at Agganis Arena.
Scouting the River Hawks: UMass.-Lowell enters Friday's game as the Hockey East Team of the Week with a 5-3-0 record and a 3-2-0 mark in Hockey East. The River Hawks swept Maine with scores of 5-3 and 4-3 with a 5-for-13 (38.5%) showing on the power play. This is the first three-game wining streak by the RIver Hawks since Nov. 13-21, 2009. UML is led offensively by Matt Ferreira, who has 10 points on five goals and five assists. In net for the River Hawks is Doug Carr posting a 4-1-0 record with a 2.20 GAA and a .913 save percentage. Brian Robbins is 1-2-0 in three games with a 3.92 GAA and a .852 save percentage.
Series History with UMass.-Lowell: The Wildcats lead the all-time series with the River Hawks at 54-30-15 in 99 all-time meetings between the two schools dating back to Dec. 6, 1983.UNH swept the 2010-11 season series. Coach Umile owns a 47-19-10 all-time record against the River Hawks in his coaching career. John Henrion is the active leader in scoring against the River Hawks with four points (2g, 2a) in four games. Matt DiGirolamo is 3-1-0 lifetime against UML with a shutout.
SCORING LEADERS VS. THE RIVER HAWKS:
Player GP G-A-P
John Henrion 4 2-2-4
Mike Borisenok 6 0-3-3
Brett Kostolansky 6 1-2-3
Greg Burke 5 0-3-3
Austin Block 6 1-1-2
Dalton Speelman 6 1-1-2
Stevie Moses 8 2-0-2
Jeff Silengo 3 0-2-2
Connor Hardowa 6 0-2-2
Damon Kipp 8 0-1-1
Matt Di Girolamo 3 0-1-1
Kevin McCarey 4 0-0-0
Nick Sorkin 3 0-0-0
Scott Pavelski 1 0-0-0
Kevin Goumas 2 0-0-0
Goaltending Stats
Player GP/Min GA GAA W-L-T SV SV%
Di Girolamo 4/239:57 11 2.75 3-1-0 105 .905
Di Girolamo 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
12-2-10 60:00 W 25 0 25
1-7-11 60:00 W 29 2 31
Totals 239:57 3-1-0 105 11 116
Last Time These Teams Met (1/7/11): Paul Thompson scored three goals and set up another to lead UNH to a 5-2 Hockey East victory against UMass-Lowell at the Whittemore Center. It was Thompson's second hat trick of the season third career and the four points matched his season high. Brett Kostolansky matched his personal best of two assists and UNH's other goal scorers were Blake Kessel and John Henrion. Matt DiGirolamo made 29 saves while UML counterpart T.J. Massie stopped 19 shots in his first action of the season.
Scouting the Terriers: Boston University enters Saturday's game with a 4-4-1 record and a 3-3-1 record in Hockey East. In the Terriers last outing they rolled past Boston College for a 5-0 win. The last time New Hampshire met the Terriers was on Nov. 8 when they downed UNH, 5-0. Leading BU offensively is sophomore Matt Nieto, who has 12 points on seven goals with five assists. In goal for BU is senior Kieran Millan with a record of 3-4-1, 3.11 GAA and a .904 save percentage. Backing up Millan is senior Grant Rollheiser who has seen action in two games this season earning a 1-0-0 record and a 3.61 GAA, .894 save percentage.
Series History vs. Boston U.: Boston University leads the all-time series with UNH, 98-45-19 in 162 all-time meetings between the two schools dating back to Feb. 5, 1925. BU won the first meeitng of the year 5-0 in the season opener in Boston on Oct. 9. Coach Umile owns a 26-34-9 all-time record against Boston University. The Wildcats have enjoyed success at Agganis Arena with a 5-3-3 mark all time at Jack Parker Rink. Senior Damon Kipp is the active leading career Wildcat scorer against BU with five points (2g,3a) , while senior goaltender Matt Di Girolamo is 1-3-0 against the Terriers, with a 2.58 GAA and a .893 save percentage in three games.
SCORING LEADERS VS. THE TERRIERS:
Player GP G-A-P
Damon Kipp 10 2-3-5
John Henrion 7 2-0-2
Mike Borisenok 8 1-2-3
Stevie Moses 11 0-2-2
Brett Kostolansky 8 1-1-2
Connor Hardowa 7 0-1-1
Dalton Speelman 8 0-1-1
Greg Burke 2 1-0-1
Kevin McCarey 6 0-0-0
Austin Block 8 0-0-0
Jeff Silengo 4 0-0-0
Kevin Goumas 4 0-0-0
Grayson Downing 1 0-0-0
Scott Pavelski 1 0-0-0
Eric Knodel 1 0-0-0
Justin Agosta 1 0-0-0
Trevor van Riemsdyk 1 0-0-0
Goaltending Stats
Player GP/Min GA GAA W-L-T SV SV%
Di Girolamo 5/245:09 12 2.94 1-3-0 99 .892
Di Girolamo's Game-by-Game vs. the Terriers
Date Min Res. Svs. GA Shots
1-23-09 8:57 ND 1 0 1
11-19-10 59:58 W 20 2 22
11-20-10 58:03 L 24 4 28
1-22-11 58:55 L 22 2 24
10-8-11 59:16 L 32 4 36
Total 245:09 1-3-0 99 12 111
Last Time These Teams Met (10/8/11): Senior netminder Matt Di Girolamo stopped 32 shots including double figures in all three periods, but UNH dropped the season opener, 5-0, with Boston University at Agganis Arena. BU netminder Kieran Millan turned aside all 35 shots he faced including 18 in the second period to earn the shutout. Overall, BU held a 37-35 shot edge thanks to a 14-6 edge in the final period.
Last Time Out (11/12/11 at Vermont): Stevie Moses registered a goal and two assists to lift the University of New Hampshire men's hockey team to a 4-4 tie with the University of Vermont on Saturday night at Gutterson Fieldhouse. New Hampshire scored a pair of second period goals to erase a 3-1 deficit and with the game tied at 3-3, UNH took the lead on a Moses unassisted goal at 8:36 of the third. UVM was trying to break out of the zone when Moses stole the puck and beat Madore with a nifty move and wrister. The Catamounts scored the game-tying goal with 1:20 left in regulation as H.T. Lenz scored his second of the night with an extra attacker in place of UVM netminder Rob Madore. Sabastian Stalberg and Anders Franzon assisted on the goal that made it 4-4. Matt Di Girolamo stopped 25 shots including 12 in the first period and moves to 4-3-1, while Madore turned away 36 to move to 1-3-1.
Streaking 'Cats: UNH extended its unbeaten streak to six games with a 4-4 tie with Vermont on Saturday night in Burlington. The Wildcats hold the second-longest unbeaten streak in Hockey East and the fifth-longest streak in the nation.
Current Active Unbeaten Streaks
Merrimack 8- 0- 1 9
Minnesota Duluth 6- 0- 2 8
Notre Dame 6- 0- 2 8
Ohio State 6- 0- 1 7
New Hampshire 4- 0- 2 6
UNH Continues Recent Success Against Vermont: The Wildcats are 11-2-3 in the regular season dating back to 2006-07 and have only lost five times in the last 33 meetings overall.
New Hampshire 7-0-1 in Last Eight vs. UML at the Whitt: UNH is 7-0-1 in its last eight home games against UMass.-Lowell with its last home loss to the River Hawks on Nov. 19, 2005.
Early November to Remember: UNH is 2-0-1 in the month of November. The 'Cats have outscored opponents 14-9 in the month.Last year, UNH went 5-1-2 in November.
Streakin' Sorkin: Sophomore Nick Sorkin extended his point scoring streak to eight games with an assist on Saturday night. He has a point in every game UNH has scored this season with 12 points on five goals and seven assists in that span.
Game G-A-P
10-15 vs. BC 1-0-1
10-21 at SCSU 1-1-2
10-22 at SCSU 2-0-2
10-28 vs. Union 0-1-1
10-29 vs. Northeastern 0-1-1
11-4 vs. UMass 0-2-2
11-5 vs. Maine 1-1-2
11-12 at Vermont 0-1-1
Record - 4-2-2 5-7-12
Home-Sweet-Home: The Wildcats, who played four of the first five games on the road, returned home to the friendly confines of the Whittemore Center and rattled off four straight wins. New Hampshire looks to make it five-straight home wins on Friday against Mass.-Lowell.
100th Meeting: Friday night's game with Mass.-Lowell will be the 100th all-time meeting between the two teams. UNH holds a 54-30-15 edge in the series.
Moses on a Roll: Stevie Moses registered a goal and two assists on Saturday night at Vermont. The senior is riding a four-game point scoring streak with seven points on three goals and four assist in that span.
Game G-A-P
10-29 vs. Northeastern 1-0-1
11-4 vs. UMass 1-1-2
11-5 vs. Maine 0-1-1
11-12 at Vermont 1-2-3
Record - 3-0-1 3-4-7
Powerful Power Play: UNH's power play has scored a goal in each of the past four games and is operating at 21.6 percent.
Power Play/Shorthand Last Four Games
Team PP for PP against
10-29 vs. NU 1-2 0-4
11-4 vs. UMass 1-2 1-3
11-5 vs. Maine 1-3 0-3
11-12 at UVM 1-2 1-6
Totals 4-9 (.444) 2-16 (.125)
Protecting the Lead: The Wildcats improved to 4-0-0 when leading after two periods thanks to a three-goal second period.
Di Gi's Back: After struggling out of the gate in 2011-12, senior netminder Matt Di Girolamo has been lights out during UNH's four-game winning streak.
Game GA Saves Result
10-28 vs. Union 1 37 W
10-29 vs. Northeastern 2 15 W
11-4 vs. UMass 3 29 W
11-5 vs. Maine 2 31 W
11-12 at Vermont 4 25 T
Record - 4-0-1 (2.36 GAA) 12 137 (.919)
SCORING BY CLASS: 2011-12 breakdown of scoring by class.
Class G-A-P G-A-P %.
Seniors: 10-13-23 33-25-28
Juniors: 9-12-21 30-23-26
Sophomores: 8-16-24 27-31-29
Freshmen: 3-11-14 10-21-17
All in the Family: Junior forward Scott Pavelski is the younger brother of Joe Pavelski of the San Jose Sharks while freshman defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk is the younger brother of former wildcat and current Philadelphia flyer James van Riemsdyk. Freshman forward Jay Camper is the brother of Miami standout Carter Camper, while Associate Head Coach Jim Tortorella is the brother of Rangers head coach John Tortorella.
'Cats Selected in the NHL Draft: Two current UNH players have been selected in the National Hockey League draft. Greg Burke (Washington) and Eric Knodel (Toronto) have all been drafted.
Wildcats Among National Leaders (Thru 11/15): Below is a list of where UNH players and team rank nationally.
Individual Rank Stats Points Per Game:
Nick Sorkin 33rd 1.20 ppg
Goals Per Game:
Nick Sorkin 46th 0.50 gpg
Power Play Goals:
Nick Sorkin 6th 4 ppg
Short Handed Goals:
Nick Sorkin 5th 1 shg
Game Winning Goals:
Kevin Goumas 41st 1 gwg
Kevin McCarey 41st 1 gwg
Brett Kosotlansky 41st 1 shg
Nick Sorkin 41st 1 shg
Team
Scoring Offense 25th 3.00
Scoring Defense 52nd 3.60
Scoring Margin 40th -0.60
Power Play 20th 21.6
Penalty Kill 40th 78.9
Combined Special Teams 27th 50.7
Among the League Leaders (Thru 11/15): Where some of the Wildcats rank in Hockey East.
Player All Games HE Games
Points Nick Sorkin 7th (12 pts) 16th (7 pts)
Stevie Moses 13th (11 pts) 11th (8 pts)
Dalton Speelman 48th (6 pts) 41st (5 pts)
Goals Nick Sorkin 10th (5 g) 33rd (2 g)
Mike Borisenok 30th (3 g) 16th (3 g)
Stevie Moses 20th (4 g) 16th (3 g)
Assists Nick Sorkin 8th (7 a) 11th (5 a)
Stevie Moses 8th (7 a) 11th (5 a)
Casey Thrush 39th (4 a) 39th (3 a)
Austin Block 39th (4 a) 39th (3 a)
Grayson Downing 39th (4 a) 95th (1 a)
Kevin Goumas 64th (3 a) 39th (3 a)
PP Points Nick Sorkin 9th (5 pts) 17th (3 pts)
Stevie Moses 9th (5 pts) 3rd (4 pts)
Grayson Downing 27th (3 pts) 61st (1 pt)
PP Goals Nick Sorkin 2nd (4 ppg) 7th (2 ppg)
John Henrion 21st (1 ppg) n/a
Stevie Moses 21st (1 ppg) 13th(1 ppg)
SH Points Stevie Moses 8th (1 shp) n/a
Nick Sorkin 8th (1 shp) n/a
SH Goals Nick Sorkin 2nd (1 shg) n/a
Game Winning Goals
Kevin Goumas 9th (1 gwg) n/a
Kevin McCarey 9th (1 gwg) 5th (1 g)
Def. Scoring Damon Kipp 12th (5 pts) 13th (3 pts) Eric Knodel 15th (4 pts) 34th (1 pt)
Freshman Scor. Grayson Downing 6th (6.00 pts) 9th (3.00 pts)
Casey Thrush 11th (4.00 pts) 9th (3.00 pts)
T. van Riemsdyk 13th (3.00 pts) 14th (2.00 pts)
GAA Matt Di Girolamo 10th (3.51) 10th (3.49)
Save% Matt Di Girolamo 9th (.881) 9th (.874)
Saves Matt Di Girolamo 5th (222) 7th (166)
Minutes Matt Di Girolamo 4th (513:24) 4th (412:53)
Where UNH is Ranked in Hockey East (Thru 11/15):
Overall HE games
Goals/per game 3.00/7th 2.86/8th
GAA 3.60/8th 3.57/8th
Power Play 21.6/5th 23.8/4th
Penalty Kill 78.9/5th 84.6/5th
Special Teams Net 0/6th 0/6th
1st Period Scoring 11/3rd 8/4th
2nd Period Scoring 10/4th 8/3rd
3rd Period Scoring 8/7th 4/7th
Overtime Scoring 1/2nd n/a
UNH to Play Rival Maine at Fenway Park: The University of New Hampshire will make history Jan. 7, 2012, when the Wildcats face off against longtime nemesis University of Maine at Fenway Park as part of a Hockey East doubleheader that was announced Aug. 25 at the venerable ballpark, which is home to the Boston Red Sox of MLB. The event has been dubbed Frozen Fenway 2012 and Hockey Day in New England. The 111th meeting in the series between UNH and Maine - the 'Cats swept last year's season series - is the second game of a doubleheader at 7:30 p.m. and will be preceded by a matchup between the University of Vermont and the University of Massachusetts at 4 p.m. The doubleheader will be broadcast live in high-definition on NESN.
UNH, Verizon Wireless Arena Awarded 2013 NCAA Northeast Men's Hockey Regional: The NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Committee announced Oct. 5 that the University of New Hampshire and Verizon Wireless Arena have been awarded the 2013 NCAA Division I men's hockey Northeast Regional. Game dates and times have not been finalized, but will be held between March 29-31. 2013 will mark the fifth time UNH and Verizon Wireless Arena have hosted this event, all since 2004. Last season, UNH advanced to the regional finals against with a 3-1 win over top-seeded Miami at the NCAA Northeast Regional in Manchester. New Hampshire also hosted in 2007 and 2009. In addition to the Northeast Regional, the East Regional will be held at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, R.I. and hosted by Brown University, the Midwest Regional will be held at the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio and hosted by Bowling Green State University and the West Regional will be held at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich. and be hosted by the University of Michigan.
Wildcats Tabbed Third in Hockey East Preseason Poll: The University of New Hampshire men's hockey team was picked to finish third in the Hockey East Preseason Coaches' Poll, which was announced Sept. 27 at the league's annual media day at Legends Restaurant at the TD Garden. The Wildcats garnered 72 points in the poll, which was good enough for a third place preseason standing. UNH was picked third last season and finished second in the league's regular-season standings. New Hampshire has finished in the top three in Hockey East each of the last five seasons, including three regular-season titles in that span.
2011-2012 Hockey East Preseason Coaches Poll
Rk. Team (FPV) Pts
1. Boston College (7) 88
2. Boston University (3) 83
3. New Hampshire 72
4. Maine 64
5. Merrimack 61
6. Vermont 44
7. Massachusetts 42
8. Northeastern 33
9. UMass-Lowell 27
10. Providence 26
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 12th 12th 3rd (pre)
10/3 NP NP 3rd (pre)
10/10 RV 15th 6th
10/17 NR RV 8th
10/24 NR NR 8th
10/31 NR NR 7th
11/7 NR RV 4th
11/14 NR RV 4th
THE NATIONAL POLLS:
USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's Hockey Poll (Nov. 14)
Rk. Team, Points (FPV) Last Poll Record Weeks
1 University of Minnesota, 489 (27) 5 9-1-0 5
1 University of Minnesota, 489 (14) 1 10-2-0 6
2 Merrimack College, 474 (20) 4 8-0-1 6
3 Boston College, 440 2 9-3-0 7
4 University of Notre Dame, 376 7 7-2-2 7
5 Colorado College, 360 3 5-2-0 7
6 Ferris State University, 331 8 9-2-1 4
7 University of Michigan, 284 5 7-3-2 7
8 Minnesota Duluth, 261 13 7-3-2 7
9 Yale University, 247 10 4-1-1 7
10 Western Michigan Univ., 214 6 6-3-3 7
11 University of Denver, 194 12 4-3-2 7
12 Union College, 108 9 5-3-3 7
13 Lake Superior State Univ., 94 11 8-3-1 3
T-14 Ohio State University, 52 NR 8-3-1 1
T-14 Michigan Tech University, 52 NR 6-3-1 1
Others receiving votes: Boston University, 50; Colgate University, 17; Cornell University, 13; University of Nebraska Omaha, 9; Miami University, 6; Northern Michigan University, 3; Providence College, 3, Dartmouth College, 1; Michigan State University, 1; UMass Lowell, 1.
USCHO.com Division I Men's Hockey Poll (Nov. 14)
Rk. School (FPV) Record Points Lst Wk.
1 Minnesota (20) 10-2-0 963 1
2 Merrimack (25) 8-0-1 949 6
3 Boston College (4) 9-3-0 885 2
4 Notre Dame (1) 7-2-2 794 7
5 Colorado College 5-2-0 734 3
6 Ferris State 9-2-1 725 8
7 Michigan 7-3-2 707 4
8 Minnesota-Duluth 7-3-2 662 10
9 Yale 4-1-1 585 13
10 Western Michigan 6-3-3 565 5
11 Denver 4-3-2 497 12
12 Lake Superior 8-3-1 393 11
13 Union 5-3-3 357 9
14 Ohio State 8-3-1 309 NR
15 Michigan Tech 6-3-1 302 15
16 Boston University 4-4-1 284 16
17 Colgate 6-4-1 147 18
18 Cornell 3-2-0 106 NR
19 Nebraska-Omaha 6-5-1 87 NR
20 Northern Michigan 4-5-3 64 14
Others receiving votes: Michigan State 57, Quinnipiac 56, Providence 51, Massachusetts-Lowell 43, Miami 40, Dartmouth 37, North Dakota 37, Clarkson 26, Wisconsin 16, St. Cloud State 9, New Hampshire 6, Air Force 4, Harvard 3.
UNH Hockey on Television(Subject to change or additional): UNH will have 12 games broadcast live on TV in 2011-12. WBIN-TV will air six games with one game on CBS Sports, WCAX, NESN and Cox, while two will air locally on Charter (Minn.).
DATE GAME Channel RES.
Oct. 21 at St. Cloud Charter L, 5-7
Oct. 22 at St. Cloud Charter T, 3-3 OT
Nov. 12 at Vermont WCAX T, 4-4 OT
Nov.18 Mass.-Lowell WBIN 7 p.m.
Dec. 8 Boston Univ. WBIN 7 p.m.
Jan. 7 vs. Maine (Frozen Fenway) NESN 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 21 Merrimack WBIN 7 p.m.
Jan. 27 at Boston College NESN 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 28 Boston College WBIN 7 p.m.
Feb. 3 Providence CBS Sports 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 10 Northeatern WBIN 7 p.m.
Feb. 11 at Merrimack NESN 7 p.m.
Feb. 17 Vermont WBIN 7 p.m.
NESN FLEX GAMES WILL BE DETERMINED TWO WEEKS OUT
Feb. 18 Vermont at New Hampshire NESN-FLEX 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 25 New Hampshire at UMass NESN-FLEX 3:30 p.m.
Mar. 3 New Hampshire at Maine NESN-FLEX 4 p.m.
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.In 2009, 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 WSMN-AM 1590 (Nashua), WNTK-FM 99.7 (New London) and WASR-AM 1420 (Wolfeboro) -- will carry the following: all UNH football & men's hockey broadcasts, 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 fifth-straight season, while Pete Webster will once again be doing the color commentating. Webster has been announcing Wildcat hockey 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.
WILDCAT AWARDS: Here is a list of awards that Wildcat players have won to date this season:
Player Award Date
Matt Di Girolamo USCHO's Top 10 Goalies #1 9/26
Stevie Moses USCHO's Top 10 Forwards #4 9/30
Matt Di Girolamo HE Defensive Player of the Week 10/31
UNH Wildcats HE Team of the Week 11/7
GRANITE STATE CONNECTION: The Wildcat hockey team features three players from New Hampshire with Greg Burke (Lee), Ryan Randall (Durham) and Casey DeSmith (Rochester) all hailing from the Granite State.
