University of New Hampshire Athletics
University of New Hampshire
Providence
Wildcats Look to Bounce Back against No. 19 Providence Saturday (7 PM) (ESPN3)
1/25/2017 2:31:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
Saturday's game is 'Shirt Off Your Back Night'
No. 19 Providence College (13-8-4, 5-6-2 HEA) at New Hampshire (11-10-4, 6-4-3 HEA) - Buy Tickets
Date: Saturday, January 28, 2017 - 7:00 PM
ESPN3: Dan Parkhurst (Play-by-Play), Pete Webster (Analyst)
Radio: Mike Murphy (Play-by-Play) // Nate Bridges (Analyst) (6:30 PM Pregame Show)
Giveaway: I Believe in UNH knit pom hat
Promotion: Shirt off your Back Night - During the game, fans will have the opportunity to bid on replica team warmup jerseys worn by the Wildcats as part of Shirt Off Your Back Night, with all proceeds benefiting the UNH men's hockey program. Winners will stick around after the game and claim their jerseys directly from the players, who will also pose for photos on the ice.
What to Know...
- The Wildcats are coming off a 0-1-1 weekend at No. 14 Notre Dame with a 2-2 draw on Friday, Jan. 20 and a 3-0 loss on Saturday, Jan. 21.
- Junior netminder Danny Tirone made 87 saves in two games, including a season-high 47 on Friday.
- Junior Jason Salvaggio had two points for UNH on Friday with a goal and an assist while freshman Patrick Grasso scored a goal. Both lead the team in goals with 15.
- Friday's meeting will be the 163rd between the two programs with UNH holding a 89-58-15 advantage in the all-time series.
- Since January of 2013, the two teams have met 16 times with Providence. Ten of those games have been decided by one goal while four have been decided by two goals.
- At the Whitttemore Center, UNH is 30-5-2 against the Friars.
- The Friars come into the weekend with a record of 12-8-4 overall and 4-6-2 in league play. They are coming off a sweep of UMass Lowell in a home-and-home series.
- Senior forward Tyler Kelleher is just two assists shy of 100 for his career and five points away from 150. He would be just the 17th skater in program history to get 100 assists and the 25th to obtain 150 points.
- The Wildcats are averaging the least amount of penalty minutes per game out of all 60 teams, averaging just 9.3 per game.
- After this weekend, the Wildcats return home to host Boston College on Friday, Feb. 3 at 7 p.m.
Milestone Watch: Senior forward Tyler Kelleher is closing in on 100 assists for his career (98) and 150 points in his career (145). He would be the 17th Wildcat to ever dish out 100 assists and the 25th 'Cat to tally 150 points.
Kelleher's Success: Kelleher is in a four-way tie for the most points in the nation with 41 (14g, 27a). The players he is tied with are Zach Aston-Reese (Northeastern - 22g, 19a), Mike Vecchione (Union - 18g, 23a) and Spencer Foo (Union - 16g, 25a).
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). UNH scored each goal under one minute into the power play, using only 1:43 total out of eight minutes.
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.
You Have Passed: With Kelleher's assist in the Jan. 20 game at Notre Dame, he is now one point ahead of head coach Dick Umile on the all-time scoring list at UNH. He has 145 points on 47 goals and 98 assists in 137 games played.
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 fourth in the nation in assists among all skaters with 24.
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 1/25):
Among Freshmen All Players Totals
Goals 1st T-9th 15 goals
Points 3rd T-29th 25 points
Power Play Goals 1st T-5th 8 goals
Power Play Points 1st T-7th 15 points
Hat Tricks T-1st T-6th 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 354-191-91. 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 1/25):
Points:
1. Mike Vecchione - Union College - 154
2. Tyler Kelleher - UNH - 145
3. Justin Kloos - Minnesota - 134
4. Max French - Bentley - 127
5. Austin Ortega - Omaha - 126
Zach Aston-Reese - Northeastern - 126
Assists:
1. Tyler Kelleher - UNH - 98
2. Mike Vecchione - Union - 94
3. Justin Kloos - Minnesota - 78
4. Alexander Kerfoot - Harvard - 76
Justin Danforth - Sacred Heart - 76
Points Per Game (Min. 100 games)
1. Mike Vecchione - Union College - 1.14 (135 games played)
2. Tyler Kelleher - UNH - 1.06 (137 games played)
3. Max French - Bentley University - 1.03 (123 games played)
4. Alexander Kerfoot - Harvard - 1.00 (104 games played)
5. C.J. Smith - UMass Lowell - 0.98 (104 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.
