#13/15 Wildcats to Host Army West Point & Merrimack

Saturday, December 9

Durham, N.H.

7 PM

University of New Hampshire

Army West Point

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Patrick Grasso

Photo by: China Wong

12/8/2017 10:32:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey

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2017-2018 New Hampshire Men's Hockey
December 9, 2017; 7:00 p.m.
#13/15 New Hampshire (9-5-1, 4-4-1 HEA) vs.
Army West Point (7-7-2, 6-7-2 AHC)
Whittemore Center (6,501); Durham, N.H.

December 10, 2017; 4:00 p.m.
#13/15 New Hampshire (9-5-1, 4-4-1 HEA) vs.
Merrimack (2-9-3, 1-6-1 HEA)
Whittemore Center (6,501); Durham, N.H.

What You Need To Know:

The No. 13/15 University of New Hampshire men's hockey team (9-5-1, 4-4-1 HEA) will return to the Whittemore Center on Saturday, Dec. 9, to take on Army West Point (7-7-2, 6-7-2 Atlantic Hockey) at 7:00 p.m. The game will be "Salute to Service Night" presented by Service Credit Union. There will be a Service Credit Union Salute to Service t-shirt giveaway as the first 2,000 fans will receive a t-shirt. The following afternoon, Sunday, Dec. 10 at 4:00 p.m., the Wildcats host Merrimack (2-9-3, 1-6-1 HEA) for Star Wars Night and the second 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.
The Wildcats have won two straight games and three of their last four.
The Wildcats are off to their best start to a season in five years when they were 11-2-2 in 2012-2013.
The last time UNH and Army West Point played was on Jan. 27, 1973. The Wildcats won 7-2 in West Point, N.Y. The Black Knights lead the all-time series 16-14-0. UNH is 3-1-0 versus Army at home.
UNH is currently ranked third in the nation with a .914 penalty kill percentage and Army is fourth with a .889 percentage.
The Wildcats lead the all-time series versus Merrimack, 74-23-11, and are 28-6-3 versus the Warriors at the Whittemore Center. Last year, UNH defeated Merrimack, 2-1, in the three-game Hockey East Opening Round.
UNH is currently tied for sixth place in the Hockey East standings with nine points. Army is tied for fourth in Atlantic Hockey with 14 points. Merrimack is 11th in Hockey East with three points.
On Wednesday, the Wildcats defeated RPI, 6-3. Last week, Army defeated Colgate, 3-1. Merrimack was swept by Northeastern.
UNH has outscored its opposition, 47-33, so far this season and have posted four shutouts. Army has outscored its opponents, 42-40, while Merrimack has been outscored, 48-32.
The Wildcats are seventh in the nation in scoring defense out of 60 teams with 2.20 goals allowed per game, while Army is tied for 12th with 2.50 goals allowed per contest and Merrimack is tied for 52nd with 3.43. UNH is 19th nationally in scoring offense with 3.13 goals scored per game, while the Black Knights are tied for 41st with 2.62 goals per game and Merrimack is 55th with 2.29.
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.

Next Home Game: The Wildcats will return to the Whittemore Center on Saturday, Jan. 6, to take on Brown at 7:00 p.m. The game will be "Youth Hockey Night" and there will be a hockey lace bracelet giveaway. Tickets can be purchased at the Whittemore Center Box Office, online at UNHWildcats.com or by calling 603-862-4000.

Next Up: The Wildcats will compete at the Ledyard Classic on Dec. 29-30 in Hanover, N.H., at Thompson Arena. The Wildcats will take on Dartmouth on Dec. 29 at 7:00 p.m. and Yale on Dec. 30 at 4:00 p.m.

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 seventh in the nation with 2.20 goals allowed per game. The Wildcats are also first in the league and third nationally with a .914 penalty kill percentage.

Strong Offense: The Wildcats have outscored its opponents by a 47-33 margin so far this season for the second best scoring margin in the conference. UNH is second in Hockey East with 3.13 goals scored per game. UNH has already had 16 different goal scorers with 20 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. On Wednesday he made 29 saves as UNH defeated RPI, 6-3. He is now 9-5-1 on the season. His .930 save percentage is second in Hockey East and his 2.18 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 3,129 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 107 career games, which is second all-time in program history for a goalie. Regan holds the record with 112 games. Tirone's 47 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 9-0-1 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 1,231-927-149.

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 595-358-109 all-time record at UNH. The 595 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.

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.