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University of New Hampshire Athletics
University of New Hampshire
Merrimack College
Wildcats Spar with Merrimack in Game Two of HEA Opening Round (7 PM)
3/2/2017 10:39:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
New Hampshire (12-18-5, 7-11-4 HEA) at Merrimack College (15-14-6, 8-8-6 HEA)
Date: Saturday, March 4, 2017 - 7:00 PM
Hockey East Best-of-3 Opening Round (MC Leads - 1-0)
Radio: Mike Murphy (Play-by-Play) // Pete Webster (Analyst) (6:30 PM Pregame Show)
Up Next: Game 3 - Sunday, March 5 at 7:00 PM (if necessary)
What to Know...
- The Wildcats come into the best-of-3 Hockey East Opening Round as the tenth seed, taking on Merrimack College who is the seventh seed.
- Senior forward Tyler Kelleher won the Hockey East scoring title as he finished the league portion of play with 37 points on 14 goals and 23 assists.
- Kelleher is tied for the national lead in points with 59 (22g, 37a). His 37 helpers are tops in the country.
- Head coach Dick Umile has coached the most HEA playoff games (85) among active coaches and the second most in conference history (Jack Parker - 98).
- Umile has the third most playoff wins all-time with 48. Parker tallied 62 while BC head coach Jerry York has 55.
- The Wildcats are 51-41-2 all-time in the Hockey East Playoffs and are 9-3-0 in playoff games against Merrimack.
- The Wildcats won the season series with Merrimack, 1-0-1.
- Freshman Patrick Grasso scored a career-high four goals against the Warriors on Oct. 29.
- Kelleher is the active leading scorer against Merrimack with 16 points on four goals and 12 assists.
- Netminder Danny Tirone is 4-2-2 in his career against Merrimack with one shutout.
- In 2016, the Wildcats and Warriors battled to game three in the Hockey East Opening Round with Merrimack prevailing.
Walter Brown Award Semifinalists: Kelleher and freshman Patrick Grasso were named semifinalists for the 65th annual Walter Brown Award on Monday. It is bestowed to the best American-born college hockey player in New England.
#KelleherforHobey: Senior forward Tyler Kelleher is a candidate for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award, presented annually to the nation's top Division I college hockey player. Vote for Kelleher on the Hobey Baker Facebook page.
The Great Wall of Tirone: Junior netminder Danny Tirone leads Hockey East in saves with 948. He is tied for second in the nation in the category. He has made 40-plus saves in a game three times this season and 12 times in his career.
Milestones: Senior forward Tyler Kelleher notched his 100th career assist in the Feb. 3 loss to Boston College, becoming the 17th Wildcat ever to tally 100 assists. He also tallied his 150th career point against UMass Lowell on Feb. 4, becoming the 25th skater to reach 150 points and the first since Jacob Micflikier in 2007.
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.
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 first in the nation in scoring among defensemen with 34 points.
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 3/1):
Among Freshmen All Players Totals
Goals T-2nd T-26th 17 goals
Points T-10th T-89th 28 points
Power Play Goals 1st T-8th 9 goals
Power Play Points T-1st T-22nd 17 points
Hat Tricks T-1st T-8th 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 355-199-92. 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 in his 27th season with the 'Cats. Red Berenson (Michigan) is in his 33rd season while Rick Gotkin (Mercyhurst) is in 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).
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.
