Benton Maass scores game-winning goal as UNH earns first win with Mike Souza as head coach.
DURHAM, N.H. – With the Wildcats trailing 2-0 after two periods, UNH scored three straight goals which included the overtime game-winner by sophomore Benton Maass (Elk River, Minn.) as the University of New Hampshire men's hockey team defeated Vermont, 3-2, on Saturday night in the home-opener at the Whittemore Center. This victory was Mike Souza's first career win as the head coach of UNH. With the win, the Wildcats start the Hockey East season with a 1-0-0 record, while the Catamounts begin with a 0-1-0 mark. Sophomore goaltender Mike Robinson (Bedford, N.H.) also earned his first career victory.
The Wildcats will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 3 at 7:00 p.m. when they take on No. 16 UMass at the Whittemore Center. You can buy tickets by calling the Whittemore Center Box Office at (603) 862-4000 or by visiting UNHWildcats.com.
Score: New Hampshire 3, Vermont 2 (OT) Records: New Hampshire (1-3-1, 1-0-0 HEA), Vermont (1-2-0, 0-1-0 HEA) Location: Durham, N.H. (Whittemore Arena) Date: Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018 Time: 7:00 p.m. Attendance: 4,422 Coach Mike Souza in the locker room after earning his first win as the head coach at UNH.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Vermont opened up the scoring 13:07 into the first period when Alex Esposito sent the puck flying into the upper glove side of the net off of a Wildcat turnover caused by Liam Coughlin.
With 20 seconds left in the first period, Vermont's Joey Cipollone knocked the puck in the stick-side off of a rebound from Jake Massie's shot, making the score 2-0 in favor of Vermont going into the second period.
After the first period, UNH and Vermont recorded seven shots each, while the Catamounts went 0-1 on the power play.
Fourteen minutes into the second period the score remained 2-0 as the Wildcats were able to hold off any power-play opportunities by the Catamounts.
One minute later the Catamounts went on their second power-play of the night and Vermont's Matt Alvaro took a shot that ricocheted off of the pipe, but the Wildcats were able to keep the score at 2-0.
At the end of the second period, the Wildcats had outshot the Catamounts 9-8, while Vermont went 0-2 on the power play.
At 3:50 of the third period the Wildcats got on the board as sophomore Patrick Grasso (Ankeny, Iowa) sent a pass from behind the net to freshman Jackson Pierson (Zionsville, Ind.) who buried a one-timer into the back of the net from right outside the circle.
Five minutes later the Wildcats tied it up 2-2 on the power play as junior Liam Blackburn (Prince George, British Columbia) sent a pass to senior Marcus Vela (Burnaby, British Columbia) in the slot, who fired it past goaltender Stefanos Lekkas.
The score remained 2-2 as the clock ran out, forcing the game into overtime.
Just 1:40 into overtime sophomore Charlie Kelleher (Longmeadow, Mass.) sent a pass across the ice to sophomore Benton Maass (Elk River, Minn.), who blasted a one-timer into the back of the net, giving the Wildcats the overtime victory.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
UNH outshot Vermont by a 31-21 margin.
Robinson made 19 saves, while Lekkas recorded 28.
The Wildcats went 1-3 on the power play and the Catamounts went 0-2.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
Maass' overtime goal was his first game-winning-goal of his collegiate career.
Robinson posted his first collegiate victory in net.
Pierson scored his second collegiate goal during his home debut.
Pierson tallied two points which marks his first collegiate multi-point game.
Kelleher posted two assists on the night as he is on a three-game point streak with five assists.
Freshman Angus Crookshank (North Vancouver, British Columbia) recorded an assist as he is also on a three-game point streak with one goal one assist for three points.
UNH leads the all-time series versus Vermont, 79-26-10.
The Wildcats are now 46-34-10 all-time in home openers and 15-6-3 in home openers at the Whittemore Center.
This is the Wildcats' first overtime win since March 15, 2015 when they defeated Providence in the Hockey quarterfinals.
The last Whittemore Center overtime win was a 2-1 victory on October 28, 2011 against Union.
STAY CONNECTED:
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OFFICIAL UNH GEAR:
Check out UNHShop.com for the latest in official UNH Wildcats' merchandise.
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