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University of New Hampshire Athletics
Junior goalie Mike Robinson held his ground agaisnt No. 2 UMass on Sunday.
11/14/2019 1:29:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey, UNH Insider
DURHAM, N.H. – The University of New Hampshire men's hockey team takes an impressive three-game win streak - and a new addition to the roster - into one of the most fun and difficult places to play in college hockey this weekend.
The Wildcats are headed to Orono to face their bitter rivals – the Maine Black Bears – on Friday and Saturday nights in Alfond Arena, where the fans are loud and raucous and close to the action.
"They're always pretty crazy up there, especially when we come into town," said UNH goalie Mike Robinson, a junior from Bedford, N.H. who has allowed one goal on 56 shots over his last two games.
"It's probably my second favorite place to play in Hockey East other than the Whitt," said sophomore forward Angus Crookshank. "UNH vs. Maine is a pretty historic rivalry in all of college hockey, so we've got to expect a loud crowd up there and hopefully we can do our best to keep them quiet."
The teams will face off on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. and meet for a rematch Saturday night at 7 in a game that will be shown on NESN-Plus.
They are the only two games between UNH and Maine scheduled for this regular season – they are part of the Border Battle campaign presented by Buffalo Wild Wings - and they give the Wildcats a two-game break from what has been a nice November at the Whittemore Center thus far.
UNH has won its three straight at home, bookended by a 1-0 overtime win over No. 15 Boston College on Nov. 1 and a 3-1 victory over No. 2 Massachusetts last Sunday.
The Wildcats return home for a pair of games against Michigan next weekend. The Wolverines are in for games on Friday, Nov. 22 and Saturday, Nov. 23. Game time is 7 p.m. each night.
Group and individual game tickets – including a flexible, six-ticket mini-plan – are available for all home games by CLICKING HERE or by calling 603-862-4000. Tickets start at $9.
That UNH and Maine are both off to fast starts to the season adds even more fuel to this weekend's series.
The Wildcats also should get a lift from Saturday's collegiate debut of Filip Engaras, a sophomore forward out of Sweden. Engaras practiced with the team all last season, but due to an NCAA ruling regarding a professional team he played for back home, was not allowed to dress for games and has had to sit out nine more games this year.
Engaras is eligible to play as of Saturday night and will be in the lineup.
"I think it's a tremendous show of his character as a young man," said UNH coach Mike Souza. "He could have left. He could have gone back to Sweden and played. He had fallen in love with UNH and I think his heart was here. But to be healthy and to sit out a whole year, plus an additional nine games, is a lot on a young person. . . . To not be able to play is hard. Happy that's behind him."
Souza and the Wildcats praise Engaras, a 6-foot and 190-pound center, as a two-way player for his attention to both offense and defense.
"I think he's one of the hardest guys to play against in practice, personally," Crookshank said. "He's gifted offensively. He does a great job offensively scoring goals and getting to the dirty areas. He's a specimen, on and off the ice. He's big, he's strong, but he can move. He can move really well. For example, if you cut back on him, he does a very good job of staying with you, containing you, but he'll also use his physicality against you, knock you off the puck. It's tough to play against him."
Souza's noted it remains to be seen what Engaras will contribute offensively.
"But he's a player, if you understand the game, you'll have a real appreciation for the way he plays both sides of the puck," the coach said.
UNH and Maine go into the weekend tied in the early Hockey East standings for third place with Boston College with six points. UMass Lowell leads the league with a 4-0-2 record for 10 points and second-place Providence is at 3-2-1 for seven points.
The Wildcats are 5-2-1 overall and the Black Bears are 5-3-2 and both are knocking on the door of the national rankings. Each received votes in the USCHO Top 20 poll this week.
The teams split a three-game set down the middle last year. They tied 4-4 at the Alfond on Jan. 21. UNH beat Maine, 3-2 in overtime, on Feb. 1 at the Whittemore Center. Maine won the next night at the Whitt, 5-3.
Robinson, with the wins over BC and UMass, has lowered his goals against average to 1.96 per game, which is fourth-best in Hockey East. His .918 save percentage is tied for seventh in the league. He was a third-round pick of the San Jose Sharks in the 2015 NHL entry draft.
Maine junior Jeremy Swayman, a fourth-round pick of the Boston Bruins in 2017, has a 2.09 gaa and his .942 save percentage is second-best in the league.
HOME AGAIN
WILDCAT NOTES
Allen Lessels
@UNHInsider
Allen.Lessels@unh.edu
The Wildcats are headed to Orono to face their bitter rivals – the Maine Black Bears – on Friday and Saturday nights in Alfond Arena, where the fans are loud and raucous and close to the action.
"They're always pretty crazy up there, especially when we come into town," said UNH goalie Mike Robinson, a junior from Bedford, N.H. who has allowed one goal on 56 shots over his last two games.
"It's probably my second favorite place to play in Hockey East other than the Whitt," said sophomore forward Angus Crookshank. "UNH vs. Maine is a pretty historic rivalry in all of college hockey, so we've got to expect a loud crowd up there and hopefully we can do our best to keep them quiet."
The teams will face off on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. and meet for a rematch Saturday night at 7 in a game that will be shown on NESN-Plus.
They are the only two games between UNH and Maine scheduled for this regular season – they are part of the Border Battle campaign presented by Buffalo Wild Wings - and they give the Wildcats a two-game break from what has been a nice November at the Whittemore Center thus far.
UNH has won its three straight at home, bookended by a 1-0 overtime win over No. 15 Boston College on Nov. 1 and a 3-1 victory over No. 2 Massachusetts last Sunday.
The Wildcats return home for a pair of games against Michigan next weekend. The Wolverines are in for games on Friday, Nov. 22 and Saturday, Nov. 23. Game time is 7 p.m. each night.
Group and individual game tickets – including a flexible, six-ticket mini-plan – are available for all home games by CLICKING HERE or by calling 603-862-4000. Tickets start at $9.
That UNH and Maine are both off to fast starts to the season adds even more fuel to this weekend's series.
The Wildcats also should get a lift from Saturday's collegiate debut of Filip Engaras, a sophomore forward out of Sweden. Engaras practiced with the team all last season, but due to an NCAA ruling regarding a professional team he played for back home, was not allowed to dress for games and has had to sit out nine more games this year.
Engaras is eligible to play as of Saturday night and will be in the lineup.
"I think it's a tremendous show of his character as a young man," said UNH coach Mike Souza. "He could have left. He could have gone back to Sweden and played. He had fallen in love with UNH and I think his heart was here. But to be healthy and to sit out a whole year, plus an additional nine games, is a lot on a young person. . . . To not be able to play is hard. Happy that's behind him."
Souza and the Wildcats praise Engaras, a 6-foot and 190-pound center, as a two-way player for his attention to both offense and defense.
"I think he's one of the hardest guys to play against in practice, personally," Crookshank said. "He's gifted offensively. He does a great job offensively scoring goals and getting to the dirty areas. He's a specimen, on and off the ice. He's big, he's strong, but he can move. He can move really well. For example, if you cut back on him, he does a very good job of staying with you, containing you, but he'll also use his physicality against you, knock you off the puck. It's tough to play against him."
Souza's noted it remains to be seen what Engaras will contribute offensively.
"But he's a player, if you understand the game, you'll have a real appreciation for the way he plays both sides of the puck," the coach said.
UNH and Maine go into the weekend tied in the early Hockey East standings for third place with Boston College with six points. UMass Lowell leads the league with a 4-0-2 record for 10 points and second-place Providence is at 3-2-1 for seven points.
The Wildcats are 5-2-1 overall and the Black Bears are 5-3-2 and both are knocking on the door of the national rankings. Each received votes in the USCHO Top 20 poll this week.
The teams split a three-game set down the middle last year. They tied 4-4 at the Alfond on Jan. 21. UNH beat Maine, 3-2 in overtime, on Feb. 1 at the Whittemore Center. Maine won the next night at the Whitt, 5-3.
Robinson, with the wins over BC and UMass, has lowered his goals against average to 1.96 per game, which is fourth-best in Hockey East. His .918 save percentage is tied for seventh in the league. He was a third-round pick of the San Jose Sharks in the 2015 NHL entry draft.
Maine junior Jeremy Swayman, a fourth-round pick of the Boston Bruins in 2017, has a 2.09 gaa and his .942 save percentage is second-best in the league.
HOME AGAIN
- The Wildcats have two home games remaining in November.
- Season, group and individual tickets for all UNH home games are available at www.unhwildcats.com or by calling 603-862-4000.
- Group ticket options start at $9.
- A flexible six-ticket mini-plan is available.
- Michigan comes to town for games Friday, Nov. 22 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 23 at 7 p.m.
- The second of the six-set trading card series will be given out at the Friday game.
- The Saturday game is presented by Tuscan Brands and there will be a UNH scarf giveaway.
- Saturday's game also marks November Chill at Carpenter Plaza and there will be food, music and activities outside the Whittemore Center.
- The Wildcats play Northeastern in Belfast, Ireland on Friday, Nov. 29 in the first round of the Friendship Four.
- They play either Colgate or Princeton the next day.
WILDCAT NOTES
- Robinson had 27 saves in the win over UMass.
- Crookshank has three goals and two assists for five points in the last three games.
- Sophomore forward Jackson Pierson has six assists in the last two games.
- UNH has 11 goals in 37 power play chances (29.7 percent) to rank second in Hockey East.
- The Wildcats got their last win at Maine on Dec. 3, 2016 with a 4-3 decision.
- Three of UNH's last five games at Maine have ended in ties.
- Pierson leads the team in scoring with two goals and 11 assists for 13 points.
- His 11 assists are tied for second-best in Hockey East.
- They also match his season total for last year.
- Last year, Pierson had 8-11-19 totals in 32 games.
- Junior Max Gildon is second on the team and second among Hockey East defenseman in scoring at 4-8-12.
- Junior defenseman Benton Maass is tied for fourth in the league with 14 blocked shots.
Allen Lessels
@UNHInsider
Allen.Lessels@unh.edu
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