University of New Hampshire Athletics
University of New Hampshire
Northeastern
Wildcats Face Northeastern at Frozen Fenway (Jan. 14, 5 p.m.)
1/10/2017 3:43:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
Northeastern University (7-10-4, 1-8-2 HEA) at University of New Hampshire (11-8-2, 6-2-1 HEA)
Saturday, January 14, 2017 - Fenway Park - 5 PM
TV: NESN
What to Know...
- The University of New Hampshire is coming off a 7-4 win at Brown University on Sunday, Jan. 8.
- Senior forward Tyler Kelleher had five assists in the game, making him the nation's leading scorer with 40 points on 14 goals and 26 assists.
- His five points also now have him tied with head coach Dick Umile on the all-time scoring list at 31st with 144 points.
- Junior forward Michael McNicholas tallied a career-high four points in the game with two goals and two assists while classmate Jason Salvaggio matched a career mark with two goals.
- Senior captain and defenseman Matias Cleland issued four assists in the game, helping him earn Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week.
- The power play unit for UNH was 4-for-5 and converted on the first four chances it had. During the first four, UNH scored each goal under one minute into the power play, using only 1:43 total out of eight minutes.
- Thursday's meeting between New Hampshire and Northeastern is the 174th meeting all-time with the Wildcats holding a 96-62-15 advantage.
- Dick Umile owns a record of 50-20-13 against NU while at the Whittemore Center, UNH is 26-5-5 against the Huskies since its opening.
- The Huskies are coming off a 4-3 loss at Vermont on Saturday, Jan. 7. They currently sit in a tie for tenth place in Hockey East with a record of 1-7-2 and an overall mark of 7-9-4.
- The two teams go at it again on Saturday, Jan. 14 at Frozen Fenway at 5 p.m.
- It is the first outdoor game for UNH since playing in Frozen Fenway on Jan. 7, 2012.
- The following weekend, UNH travels out to South Bend, Ind. to take on the University of Notre Dame.
- UNH returns home on Friday, Jan. 27 for the first of two home games against Providence College at 7 p.m.
Frozen Fenway: For the first time since Jan. 7, 2012, UNH will play an outdoor game when they take on Northeastern at Fenway Park on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 5 PM.
He is Number 1: Tyler Kelleher is the nation's leading scorer with 40 points on 14 goals and 26 assists in just 20 games.
Powerful Power Play: In Sunday's 7-4 win over Brown (Jan. 8), the Wildcats went 4-for-5 on power plays and converted the first four consecutively. It was the first time UNH had four ppgs in a game since Feb. 23, 2008 against Boston College (4-for-8).
Helping out Five Times: Tyler Kelleher had five assists in Sunday's 7-4 win at Brown (Jan. 8). He was the first 'Cat to tally five assists since Nick Sorkin did on Nov. 26, 2011.
Tied: Kelleher's five points tied him with head coach Dick Umile on the all-time scoring list at 31st with 144 points. Kelleher is just three assists away from 100 for his career.
Offensive Defenseman: Senior captain Matias Cleland was named the Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, Jan. 9 for his four-assist performance against Brown on Jan. 8. The four points were a career high. He is second in the nation in assists among all skaters with 23.
What a Warrior: Senior forward Tyler Kelleher was named the Warrior Hockey Player of the Month for December by Hockey East. He had six goals and five assists during the month with three two-goal games.
Five is Fine: Senior forward Tyler Kelleher recorded a career-high five points against the University of Massachusetts on Friday, Nov. 22 with one goal and four assists. He was the first 'Cat to record five points in a game since Kevin Goumas on Nov. 24, 2012.
Rookie of the Month: Freshman forward Patrick Grasso was named the HCA National Rookie of the Month as well as the HE Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Month on Wednesday, Nov. 2. He was awarded the league Rookie of the Month accolade again on Thursday, Dec. 1.
Four-on-Four: Patrick Grasso scored four times on four shots against Merrimack in the 6-2 win on Saturday, Oct. 29. He was the first Wildcat to score four goals in a game since Steve Moses in 2012. He netted three goals in the first period in the span of 3:56.
Grasso's National Ranking (Updated 1/9):
Among Freshmen All Players Totals
Goals T-1st T-16th 12 goals
Points T-3rd T-27th 22 points
Power Play Goals T-1st T-5th 7 goals
Power Play Points 1st T-6th 14 points
Hat Tricks T-1st T-5th 1 hat trick
350 and Counting: Head coach Dick Umile recorded his 350th Hockey East win in the 6-2 triumph over Merrimack (Oct. 29). His league record is 353-190-89. He has the most wins among active HE coaches and is second all-time to Jack Parker (BU; 421).
Longevity: Umile is the third longest tenured coach at their current institution as he is entering his 27th season with the 'Cats. Red Berenson (Michigan) is going into his 33rd season while Rick Gotkin (Mercyhurst) is going into his 29th season.
'C' is for Captain, and Cleland: Senior blueliner Matias Cleland was elected captain by his teammates and is the first Wildcat to be a lone captain with no assistants since James Richmond in 1986-87.
Wildcat Blue Genes: The incoming freshman class has many NHL ties. Brendan van Riemsdyk is the youngest brother of James van Riemsdyk ('09) and Trevor van Riemsdyk ('14), both of whom play in the NHL. Joe Sacco is the son of Boston Bruins assistant coach Joe Sacco, who played 738 games in the NHL. Patrick Grasso is the nephew of Joe Mullen, who won three Stanley Cups. He is currently an assistant coach with the Philadelphia Flyers. Nick Nonis is the son of Dave Nonis, who was a two-year captain at Maine and the former General Manager of the Vancouver Canucks (2004-08) and the Toronto Maple Leafs (2013-15) and is currently the consultant to the GM for Anaheim.
Wildcats Through and Through: Head coach Dick Umile ('72) and associate head coaches Glenn Stewart ('94) and Mike Souza ('00) are all graduates and former players of UNH. Assistant AD for Hockey Operations Colin Shank ('05) is also a graduate of UNH.
Three Coaches, 402 Points: Umile, Stewart and Souza are each members of the Century Club for the men's hockey program. Souza tallied 156 points (66g, 90a), Umile 144 points (60g, 84a) and Stewart notched 102 points (51g, 51a).
Where Kelleher Ranks in his Career Nationally (Updated 1/9):
Points:
1. Mike Vecchione - Union College - 152
2. Tyler Kelleher - UNH - 144
3. Justin Kloos - Minnesota - 129
4. Max French - Bentley - 125
5. Austin Ortega - Omaha - 123
Assists:
1. Tyler Kelleher - UNH - 97
2. Mike Vecchione - Union - 92
3. Justin Kloos - Minnesota - 75
Alexander Kerfoot - Harvard - 75
5. Justin Danforth - Sacred Heart - 73
Points Per Game (Min. 100 games)
1. Mike Vecchione - Union College - 1.15 (132 games played)
2. Tyler Kelleher - UNH - 1.08 (133 games played)
3. Max French - Bentley University - 1.05 (119 games played)
4. C.J. Smith - UMass Lowell - 0.99 (101 games played)
5. Justin Kloos - Minnesota - 0.96 (135 games played)
Wildcats Drafted by NHL Teams: Junior Shane Eiserman and sophomore Marcus Vela have both been drafted by NHL organizations. Eiserman was taken by the Ottawa Senators in the fourth round of the 2014 draft as the 100th overall pick. Vela was picked in the seventh round of the 2015 draft as the 190th pick.
Granite State Connection: Three Wildcats hail from the Granite State; Chris Miller of Windham, Nick Nonis of Hampton Falls and Joe Lazzaro of Hampstead.
