#13/15 Wildcats on the Road at RPI Wednesday

2017-2018 New Hampshire Men's Hockey
December 6, 2017; 7:00 p.m.
#13/15 New Hampshire (8-5-1, 4-4-1 HEA) vs.
Rensselaer (3-10-3, 2-5-1 ECAC)
Houston Field House (4,800); Troy, N.Y.

Series Records:
With RPI: UNH leads 25-24-0
At Houston Field House: RPI leads 15-7-0
Last Meeting: UNH 5, RPI 0 (11/22/2016; Durham, N.H.)
Last RPI Win: RPI 4, UNH 3 (11/24/2015; Troy, N.Y.)
First Meeting: RPI 10, UNH 1 (2/7/1964; Troy, N.Y.)
Current Series Win Streak: UNH, one game

What You Need To Know:

The No. 13/15 University of New Hampshire men's hockey team (8-5-1, 4-4-1 HEA) will travel to Troy, N.Y., to take on Rensselaer (3-10-3, 2-5-1 ECAC) at the Houston Field House on Wednesday, Dec. 6 at 7:00 p.m.
This is the sixth straight season these two teams have played. UNH is 2-3-0 versus the Engineers over the last five games. Last year, the Wildcats won 5-0 at the Whittemore Center on Nov. 22.
UNH leads the all-time series, 25-24-0, and are 7-15-0 versus RPI at the Houston Field House.
UNH is currently tied for sixth place in the Hockey East standings with nine points, while RPI is tied for 10th in the ECAC with five points.
Last week, the Wildcats went 1-1-0 in a home-and-home series versus No. 9 Providence. UNH lost on the road, 5-2, and won at home, 1-0. The Engineers defeated Yale, 2-1, and lost to Brown, 5-4.
UNH has outscored its opposition, 41-30, so far this season and have posted four shutouts, while the Engineers have been outscored by their opponents, 53-38.
The Wildcats are fourth in the nation in scoring defense out of 60 teams with 2.14 goals allowed per game, while RPI is 48th with 3.31 goals allowed per contest. UNH is 26th nationally in scoring offense with 2.93 goals scored per game, while the Engineers are tied for 52nd with 2.38 goals per game.
The Wildcats are off to their best start to a season in five years when they were 11-1-2 in 2012-2013.
The Wildcats are ranked No. 13 in the latest USCHO.com Division I Poll, and are No. 15 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine College Hockey Poll.

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: The Wildcats will return to the Whittemore Center on Saturday, Dec. 9, to take on Army West Point at 7:00 p.m. The game will be "Salute to Service" night. The following afternoon, Sunday, Dec. 10 at 4:00 p.m., the Wildcats host Merrimack for Star Wars Night and another Dick Umile commemorative pin giveaway. Tickets can be purchased at the Whittemore Center Box Office, online at UNHWildcats.com or by calling 603-862-4000.

MOVEMBER: Every member of the UNH men's hockey team participated in Movember. The team raised $2,747.00 for men's health. To donate go to: https://us.movember.com/team/2246870.

The Matchup: The Wildcats are ranked fourth in the nation in scoring defense out of 60 teams with 2.14 goals allowed per game, while RPI is 48th with 3.31 goals allowed per contest. UNH is also first in Hockey East in scoring defense. UNH is 26th nationally in scoring offense with 2.93 goals scored per game, while the Engineers are tied for 52nd with 2.38 goals per game. UNH is 29th nationally with a .190 power play percentage, while RPI is 54th with a .132 percentage. The Wildcats are third in the country and first in Hockey East with a .908 penalty kill percentage, while RPI is 40th with a .794 percentage.

Nationally Ranked: The Wildcats are ranked No. 13 in the latest USCHO.com Division I Poll as UNH was also No. 13 in this poll last week. UNH is No. 15 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine College Hockey Poll after also being ranked No. 14 last week.

#1 Ranked Defense In Hockey East: The Wildcats have been outstanding defensively as they are ranked first in Hockey East and are fourth in the nation with 2.14 goals allowed per game. The Wildcats are also first in the league and third nationally with a .908 penalty kill percentage.

Strong Offense: The Wildcats have outscored its opponents by a 41-30 margin so far this season for the second best scoring margin in the conference. UNH is fifth in Hockey East with 2.93 goals scored per game. UNH has already had 16 different goal scorers with 19 players with at least one point.

Tirone Named Defensive Player Of The Week: Senior goaltender Danny Tirone (Trumbull, Conn.) was named the Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week for the second week in a row for his performance in the home-and-home series versus No. 9 Providence. This is the sixth time in his career that Tirone has earned Defensive Player of the Week accolades and the third time this season. Tirone posted his fourth shutout of the season with 24 saves as the Wildcats defeated Providence, 4-1. He is now 8-5-1 on the season. His .932 save percentage is second in Hockey East and his 2.12 goals against average is ranked third. His four shutouts lead Hockey East and are tied for second in the nation. Tirone is second all-time at UNH with 3,100 career saves as he is only the second UNH goalie to ever post 3,000 saves. Kevin Regan (2005-2008) is first with 3,235 saves. Tirone has played in 106 career games, which is second all-time in program history for a goalie. Regan holds the record with 112 games. Tirone's 46 career wins are seventh, and his 2.78 goals against average is seventh and his .914 save percentage is tied for fifth.

Holding Onto The Lead: The Wildcats are 6-1-0 this season when leading after the first period. UNH is 8-0-1 when leading after the second period.

Number 91: The 2017-2018 season is the 91st year of men's hockey at UNH. The program has a record of 1,230-927-149.

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 593-357-109 all-time record at UNH. The 594 wins are third among active Division I coaches.

Series Versus RPI: This will be the 50th meeting between these two teams. UNH leads the all-time series, 25-24-0. Last year, the Wildcats won by a 5-0 score on Nov. 22 at the Whittemore Center. Head coach Dick Umile has a 10-7-0 record versus RPI. The Wildcats are 7-15-0 at the Houston Field House. UNH is 2-3-0 versus the Engineers over the last five games, while the Wildcats are 4-6-0 versus RPI over the last 10 games.

Boyd First Career Game-Winner: Senior Richard Boyd (Delray Beach, Fla.) netted his first collegiate game-winner when he scored the lone goal of the game in the 1-0 victory versus No. 9 Providence on Dec. 2. He has three goals and six assists for nine career points. He has played in 68 games.

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.

Wildcats Drafted by NHL Teams: Five current Wildcats are NHL draft picks. Senior Shane Eiserman (Ottawa-2014, Round #4, Pick #100), junior Marcus Vela (San Jose-2015, Round #7, Pick #190), and freshmen Benton Maass (Washington, 2017, Round #6, #182), Max Gildon (Florida-2017, Round #3, #66) and Mike Robinson (San Jose-2015, Round #3, #86) 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.

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.

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.

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Richard Boyd

Dylan Chanter

Shane Eiserman

Max Gildon

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Benton Maass

Chris Miller

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Mike Robinson

Danny Tirone

Marcus Vela

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