University of New Hampshire Athletics
University of New Hampshire
Colorado College
#17 Wildcats To Host Colorado College On Oct. 20-21
10/18/2017 4:53:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
2017-2018 New Hampshire Men's Hockey
October 20-21, 2017
#17 New Hampshire (4-0-0, 2-0-0 HEA) vs.
Colorado College (3-1-0, 0-0-0 NCHC); 7:00 p.m.
Whittemore Center; Durham, N.H.
Friday: Tickets | ESPN3 | Audio | Stats
Saturday: Tickets | ESPN3 | Audio | Stats
What You Need To Know:
- The No. 17 University of New Hampshire men's hockey team will host Colorado College on Friday and Saturday, October 20-21, at the Whittemore Center at 7:00 p.m. Both games will be shown live on ESPN3.
- Saturday will be "Real 'Cats Wear Pink" presented by Medtronic. There will be a pink socks giveaway for breast cancer awareness. Tickets can be purchased at the Whittemore Center Box Office, online at UNHWildcats.com or by calling 603-862-4000.
- The Wildcats are a perfect 4-0-0 this season with a two-game sweep of a home-and-home series versus No. 5 UMass Lowell and a two-game sweep of Colgate.
- The Wildcats are off to their best start to a season in five years when they were also 4-0-0 in 2012-2013.
- The Tigers are 3-1-0 as they went 1-1-0 at Vermont and 2-0-0 versus Alaska Anchorage.
- The Wildcats are ranked No. 17 in the most recent USCHO.com Division I Poll announced on Monday, Oct. 16. UNH moves up three spots from No. 20 last week.
- The Wildcats are third in the nation with 4.25 goals scored per game, while the Tigers are tied for 10th with 3.25 goals per game. New Hampshire is tied for sixth nationally in scoring defense with 1.75 goals allowed per game, while CC is tied for 16th with 2.25 goals allowed per game.
- UNH is 14-6-1 all-time versus Colorado College, including a 5-2-0 record in Durham. The Tigers won last year's meeting by a 4-3 score on Oct. 22, 2016, in Durham.
All Home Games On ESPN3: Every home UNH men's hockey game will be streamed live on ESPN3 allowing fans to follow the Wildcats on any device through Watch ESPN.
Up Next: After the Colorado College series, the Wildcats will play at Vermont on October 28 at 7:05 p.m. for a Hockey East contest.
Next Home Game: After playing at Vermont (Oct. 28) and at UMass (Nov. 4), the Wildcats will return to the Whittemore Center on Friday, Nov. 10, to take on UMass Lowell at 7:00 p.m. The first pin of a four-pin series to commemorate Coach Umile's final season will be a giveaway at the game. Tickets can be purchased at the Whittemore Center Box Office, online at UNHWildcats.com or by calling 603-862-4000.
The Matchup: UNH is third in the nation with 4.25 goals scored per game, while the Tigers are tied for 10th with 3.25 goals per game. New Hampshire is tied for sixth nationally in scoring defense with 1.75 goals allowed per game, while CC is tied for 16th with 2.25 goals allowed per game. The Wildcats are eighth with a .267 power play percentage, while the Tigers are 36th with a .143 percentage. The Wildcats are 26th with a .842 penalty kill percentage and the Tigers are tied for 38th with a .750 percentage.
Series History vs. CC: The Wildcats are 14-6-1 all-time versus the Tigers. UNH is also 5-2-0 versus CC in games played in Durham. The Tigers won last year's meeting by a 4-3 score on Oct. 22, 2016, in Durham. The Wildcats were 10-0-1 versus the Tigers over the last 11 games entering last year's contest.
Nationally Ranked: UNH is ranked No. 17 in the most recent USCHO.com Division I Poll announced on Monday, Oct. 16. The Wildcats move up three spots from last week when they were No. 20. Go here to see the poll.
Strong Offense & Defense: UNH is ranked third in the nation with 4.25 goals scored per game. The Wildcats have found the back of net 17 times over the first four games. UNH has already had 11 different goal scorers with 15 players with at least one point. The Wildcats have also been outstanding defensively as they are ranked sixth nationally and first in Hockey East with 1.75 goals allowed per game. UNH shutout Colgate, 5-0, on Oct. 13, and only allowed one goal versus No. 5 UMass Lowell on Oct. 7 as the Wildcats won 3-1.
McNicholas Named Player of the Week: Senior forward Michael McNicholas (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) was named the Hockey East Player of the Week for his performance in the Wildcats' two-game sweep of Colgate on Oct. 13-14. This is the first time in his career that McNicholas has earned a Hockey East Weekly honor. McNicholas recorded five points with one goal and four assists. He posted two assists on Friday in the 5-0 victory, while he had one goal and two assists on Saturday in the 5-3 win. His five points are tied for first on the team. McNicholas has 18 goals and 43 assists for 61 career points.
Tirone Posts Shutout: Senior goaltender Danny Tirone (Trumbull, Conn.) was outstanding in net as he made 46 saves on 49 shots and posted his first shutout of the season as he went 2-0-0 on the week with two victories versus Colgate on Oct. 13-14. He recorded a 1.51 goals against average and a .939 save percentage. He posted his seventh career shutout in the 5-0 win on Friday with 23 saves, while he also made 23 saves on Saturday as the Wildcats won 5-3. The previous week he was named the Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week for his performance versus No. 5 UMass Lowell. This was the fourth time in his career that Tirone had earned Defensive Player of the Week accolades (3/7/2016, 2/1/2016 & 1/19/2015). It was his fifth overall Hockey East weekly award as he received Player of the Week honors on March 6, 2017. Tirone made 52 saves on 56 shots for a .929 save percentage and 2.00 goals against average versus UMass Lowell. Tirone recorded 20 saves on Friday in the 4-3 victory on the road, while he posted 32 saves on Saturday, including 15 in the third period to secure the 3-1 win.
Kelleher Posts Five Points Versus Colgate: Freshman forward Charlie Kelleher (Longmeadow, Mass.) posted his first five collegiate points with one goal and four assists as the Wildcats swept a two-game series versus Colgate on Oct. 13-14. He had one goal and two assists on Friday in the 5-0 victory, while he recorded two assists on Saturday in the 5-3 win. His 1.25 points per game are tied for fourth in the nation by rookies.
Eiserman With Two Game-Winners: Senior Shane Eiserman (Newburyport, Mass.) is tied for first in the nation with two game-winning goals. Last week, he netted the game winner in the 5-3 victory versus Colgate on Oct. 14, while he scored the game winner with just 13.4 seconds remaining in the third period to break a 3-3 tie to give the Wildcats a 4-3 season-opening win at No. 5 UMass Lowell on Oct. 6. Eiserman now has three career game winners. He is tied for first on the team with three goals this season, while he is tied for fourth with four points. He has 15 goals and 30 assists for 45 career points.
Maass With Five Points: Freshman defenseman Benton Maass (Elk River, Minn.) leads the team with five assists, while he is tied for first with five points. His 1.25 points per game are tied for fourth in the nation by rookies, while he is tied for ninth in assists per game. He is also tied for eighth in the nation in points per game by a defenseman. Go here to read a feature story on Maass on SB Nation.
Gildon Scores First Two Collegiate Goals: Freshman Max Gildon (Plano, Texas) netted his first two collegiate goals as the Wildcats defeated Colgate, 5-0, on Oct. 13. He also has one assist for three points this season.
Number 91: The 2017-2018 season is the 91st year of men's hockey at UNH. The program has a record of 1,226-922-148.
Umile in 28th & Final Season At UNH: UNH head coach Dick Umile is the second longest tenured coach at their current institution as he is now in his 28th season with the 'Cats. Rick Gotkin (Mercyhurst) is going into his 30th season. Umile has a 590-355-108 all-time record at UNH. The 590 wins are third among active Division I coaches.
Chanter Named Captain: Senior defenseman Dylan Chanter (Armstrong, British Columbia) is the team captain for the 2017-2018 season. Chanter played in 37 games a year ago as a key member of the defense.
Tirone Second All-Time: Senior assistant captain Danny Tirone (Trumbull, Conn.) is second all-time at UNH with 2,803 career saves. Kevin Regan (2005-2008) is first with 3,235 saves. Tirone's 1,137 saves last year led the nation and was third all-time at UNH.
Granite State Connection: Four Wildcats are from the Granite State; junior Chris Miller of Windham, sophomore Nick Nonis of Hampton Falls, sophomore Joe Lazzaro of Hampstead and freshman Mike Robinson of Bedford.
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).
Wildcats Drafted by NHL Teams: Five current Wildcats are NHL draft picks. Senior Shane Eiserman (Ottawa), junior Marcus Vela (San Jose), and freshmen Benton Maass (Washington), Max Gildon (Florida) and Mike Robinson (San Jose) have all been drafted by NHL organizations.
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. Goaltenders coach Brian Foster ('10) was an All-American at UNH. Assistant AD for Hockey Operations Colin Shank ('05) is also a graduate of UNH.
Tickets for the 2017-2018 Season: All fans can purchase tickets at the Whittemore Center Box Office, online at UNHWildcats.com or by calling 603-862-4000. UNH students can get their free tickets by signing up online here.
Stay Connected: There are numerous ways to stay connected with the UNH men's hockey team. Follow the Wildcats on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
