University of New Hampshire Athletics
University of New Hampshire
University of Massachusetts Lowell
Wildcats Host No. 6 UMass Lowell Friday (6 PM) (ASN/NESN)
1/4/2017 2:31:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
No. 6/6 UMass Lowell (13-5-3, 6-3-1 HEA) at University of New Hampshire (9-7-2, 5-1-1 HEA)
Friday, January 6, 2017 - 6:05 PM | TV: American Sports Network / NESN
Tom Caron (Play-by-Play) // Billy Jaffe (Analyst)
Promotion: Youth Night - Kids Admitted at Group Rate - $9 // Youth Jersey Raffle // Pregame Autograph Session on Concourse
What to Know...
- The University of New Hampshire and UMass Lowell River Hawks face each other for the first time this season on Friday, Jan. 6 at 6:05 p.m.
- The Wildcats are coming off a 6-4 win over the University of Maine on Friday, Dec. 30 at SNHU Arena in Manchester, N.H.
- Senior forward Tyler Kelleher and junior forward Jason Salvaggio each had four points in the game, both registering two goals and two assists.
- Kelleher was named the Hockey East Player of the Month for December on Wednesday after recording 11 points in just four games (6g, 5a). He is just five points behind head coach Dick Umile on the UNH all-time scoring list with 139 (47g, 92a). Umile finished his Wildcat career with 144 points (60g, 84a) in just three seasons.
- The Wildcats are off to their best start in Hockey East play (5-1-1) since 2012-13 and currently rank third in the league.
- Head coach Dick Umile has a career record of 580-340-105 as he is in his 27th year at the helm of the Wildcats. He has the most Hockey East play wins among active head coaches with 353, second all-time to Jack Parker (421).
- Friday's game between UNH and UML will be the 114th meeting between the two sides in the all-time series, dating back to Dec. 6, 1983.
- The Wildcats hold a 59-39-15 record over the River Hawks and won the most recent meeting on Feb. 6, 2016 by a score of 3-2.
- Sophomore Ara Nazarian scored twice in the game while junior goalie Danny Tirone made 43 saves in the game.
- The River Hawks are coming off a 5-1 win over Rensselaer on Tuesday, Jan. 3 on the road. Five different UML skaters tallied a goal in the game while netminder Tyler Wall made 32 saves, including 16 in the third period.
- New Hampshire travels to Brown University on Saturday, Jan. 7 for a 7 p.m. game.
December Success: Since Dec. 31, 2014 when UNH beat Omaha 6-2, the Wildcats are 8-1-1 in the month of December.
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.
Kelleher's November: Senior forward Tyler Kelleher was the nation's highest scoring player in the month of November with 15 points. He had four goals and a nation leading 11 assists. He is currently second in the country in points with 31 on 12 goals and a nation leading 19 assists.
Cleland's Offense: Senior captain Matias Cleland is tied for fifth in the nation in assists with 19. He has had at least one point in all but three games this season and has 20 total points.
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 1/4):
Among Freshmen All Players Totals
Goals 1st T-17th 11 goals
Points T-4th T-32nd 20 points
Power Play Goals 1st T-5th 6 goals
Power Play Points T-1st T-5th 13 points
Hat Tricks T-1st T-5th 1 hat trick
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 7:30 PM.
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 353-189-89. 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.
Two Shutouts for Tirone: Junior netminder Danny Tirone made 25 saves in the win over RPI on Nov. 22 for his second shutout of the season. His first came when he made 14 saves against Mercyhurst (Nov. 5). He now has five shutouts in his career.
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.
Welcome to Wildcat Country: UNH added eight freshmen in the off-season: Liam Blackburn (F), Justin Fregona (F), Patrick Grasso (F), Joe Lazzaro (G), Nick Nonis (D), Joe Sacco (F), Brendan van Riemsdyk (F), and Anthony Wyse (D).
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 1/4):
Points:
1. Mike Vecchione - Union College - 150
2. Tyler Kelleher - UNH - 139
3. Justin Kloos - Minnesota - 129
4. Max French - Bentley - 122
5. Austin Ortega - Omaha - 119
Assists:
1. Tyler Kelleher - UNH - 92
2. Mike Vecchione - Union - 90
3. Justin Kloos - Minnesota - 75
5. Alexander Kerfoot - Harvard - 73
Justin Danforth - Sacred Heart - 73
Points Per Game (Min. 100 games)
1. Mike Vecchione - Union College - 1.15 (131 games played)
2. Tyler Kelleher - UNH - 1.06 (131 games played)
3. Max French - Bentley University - 1.04 (117 games played)
4. C.J. Smith - UMass Lowell - 0.99 (100 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.
