Hockey Takes On ECAC Rivals At The Whitt

The UNH men's hockey team took the first step toward getting the season off to a fast start, rallying for a 7-3 win over American International College last Saturday night at the Whittemore Center.

The challenge ramps up this weekend with a pair of home games against undefeated teams out of the ECAC. The Wildcats take on St. Lawrence on Friday night at 7 and Clarkson on Saturday night at the same time.

As part of Breast Cancer Awareness Weekend, presented by Medtronic Advanced Energy in Portsmouth, N.H., fans can purchase select end-zone tickets at half-price – while supplies last-- for both Friday night's 7 p.m. game against St. Lawrence and Saturday's 7 p.m. game against Clarkson. The special ticket offer is available by calling 603-862-4000, extension 5.

The athletics department is also offering half-season ticket packages for the 2015-16 season. Fans can choose their own custom-made, nine-game packages, and prices start at under $200 a seat. More information is available by calling 603-862-4000, extension 5.

"Everyone's excited," said senior center Kyle Smith when asked about the weekend series. "It's a big opportunity to get those two wins and make some noise nationally going into Hockey East next weekend. It's a big opportunity for us. St. Lawrence is a ranked team. Getting a win from them and then moving on to Clarkson would be huge."

AIC plays in the Atlantic Hockey Association. St. Lawrence, ranked No. 19 in the USCHO poll this week, and Clarkson each knocked off the same AHA teams last weekend and enter this weekend at 2-0-0. St. Lawrence beat Niagara, 5-2, and RIT, 5-1. Clarkson beat RIT, 6-0, and Niagara, 4-1.

"We're going to see skill this weekend," said UNH coach Dick Umile. "We're going to see size. We're going to see physical teams. There's no doubt in my mind with St. Lawrence. I know how they're going to play. They've always played this way and they've played well here before. This is going to be a real test for us starting with Friday night's game."

St. Lawrence has won the last three games against UNH, two of them in the Whittemore Center. Last time out, the Saints knocked off the Wildcats 2-1 in overtime in the Whitt on Jan. 2, 2011.

Umile said he plans to keep intact a couple of forward lines from last weekend and will likely tweak the other two.

Sophomore Andrew Poturalski will stay between junior Tyler Kelleher and senior Dan Correale. That group combined for four goals. Kelleher with two goals and two assists and Poturalski with a goal and three assists each had four points. Correale had a goal and an assist.

Umile said his senior unit of Smith centering for Collin MacDonald and Maxim Gaudreault will also be back together. Gaudreault had a goal against AIC.

Umile wasn't happy with his team's defensive play against AIC, especially in the early stages of the game, and that was a point of emphasis in practice this week.

"They didn't get a whole lot of offense," Umile said. "It wasn't like we were being hemmed in. But it was the simple little things, the detail that we talked about controlling. Things that we can control, I didn't think we did as well as we could have. That being faceoffs, that being blocking shots, picking up the right guy in the backcheck. They got better as the game went on, but I don't want to get into this habit of trying to come from behind."

Junior Matias Cleland anchored the defense against AIC.

"Cleland's a warrior," Umile said. "He's going to be a warrior the whole season. He'll play a lot of minutes. I thought he played well. We've just got to get (Cameron) Marks, (Dylan) Maller and (Harry) Quast and those guys to play consistent and they will. They'll get better as we continue to play."

Cleland was teamed with sophomore John Furgele in the opener.

Sophomore Danny Tirone got the win in net against AIC. He gave up one goal in each period and finished with 26 saves.

"He was a little shaky on the first goal and for that matter on the second," Umile said. "He settled in after that. He handled the puck a lot better after the first five minutes or so."

Tirone will likely start against St. Lawrence.

"I expect Tirone will start Friday night and I think we'll take it from there," Umile said.

The Wildcats have won their last four games against Clarkson.

UNH beat the Golden Knights, 4-1, in their season opener in the IceBreaker Tournament in Minnesota on Oct. 11, 2013.

Kelleher and Correale each had a goal and Smith had two assists in that game.

After this weekend, the Wildcats hit the road for their next six games. They are at Massachusetts on Oct. 23 for their Hockey East opener and move on to a game at Union on Oct. 24. They go to Merrimack for a game on Oct. 31 and then play a pair at Michigan State on Nov. 6 and 7. UNH closes out the roadtrip with a game at Merrimack on Nov. 14.

The Wildcats return home to play Massachusetts on Nov. 20 and play Boston College, also at home, on Nov. 21.

XXX

A number of the donors and dignitaries who made the new HD videoboard possible will be recognized for their contributions in an on-ice ceremony during the first intermission on Saturday. . . . The UNH marching band will take part in its annual on-ice performance during the first intermission on Friday night.

Allen Lessels
@UNHInsider
Allen.Lessels@unh.edu

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Players Mentioned

Matias Cleland

Dan Correale

John Furgele

Maxim Gaudreault

Tyler Kelleher

Collin MacDonald

Andrew Poturalski

Kyle Smith

Danny Tirone

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

University of New Hampshire Athletics