Insider Report: Work to Do Before NU Visits Feb. 22 and 23

DURHAM, N.H. – So now they wait. And work.

The University of New Hampshire men's hockey team posted its second Hockey East weekend split in a row at Vermont on Friday and Saturday and now gets nearly a two-week break from game action.

Sophomore goalie Mike Robinson stopped 29 shots and the Wildcats made an early goal from sophomore forward Patrick Grasso stand in a 1-0 win Friday night at Gutterson Fieldhouse before dropping a 4-1 decision in Saturday night's rematch.

The Wildcats have next weekend off and then play a pair of home games against Northeastern at the Whittemore Center on Friday, Feb. 22 and Saturday, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. each night to begin a sprint to the finish line of the regular season.

Friday, Feb. 22 is '80s Night at the Whitt and as part of Fan Appreciation Friday the fifth set of player trading cards will be given to the first 1,000 fans. Saturday night is Star Wars Night. The first 500 fans will receive blue light sabers and Star Wars Troopers will be in attendance for photos. Hot dogs will be $1 at concession stands both nights.

Information on group and individual tickets for all UNH home games is available by CLICKING HERE or by calling 603-862-4000.

The Wildcats are down to just five games left in the regular season, all of them against two of the best teams in the league. Three are against Northeastern. The other two are against UMass Lowell.

The Wildcats are 11-10-8 overall. Their 7-7-5 record in Hockey East has them tied with Northeastern for fifth place in the standings, smack in the middle of a pack of teams fighting for playoff position.

"All in all, we're still in a good spot," said UNH coach Mike Souza on Sunday, disappointed in Saturday night's result though not his team's effort. "The break probably comes at a good time for us. We can hit the reset button and work on the things we need to work on. We need to use our time wisely in not only preparation but also to get some rest for guys who have bumps and bruises."

Among the points of emphasis will be generating more offense, including on the power play.

The Wildcats have scored three goals in their last three games. After having steady success on special teams that led to power play and penalty killing numbers that were among the best in the league and nation, the special teams have been off a bit the past two weeks.

UNH did not score in seven power play chances against Vermont over two nights after not scoring in five chances against Maine.

"I thought the special teams, particularly the power play, was out of synch," Souza said. Saturday we had an opportunity five-on-three to at least make the score even and we didn't execute. That's on me. I have to do a better job coaching it."

It's not only about scoring goals while up a man.

"When I evaluate the power play, there are times when you do a great job and you're a threat on it and you may not score," Souza said. "That's not what you're looking for, but you can live with it. I don't think we've been dangerous or been a threat on it our last four games. You always want to give credit where credit is due and Vermont and Maine did a real good job against us. But we need to find ways to generate more offense."

The Wildcats got away with scoring just one goal on Friday night, thanks to Robinson. His saves included one on a penalty shot in the third period.

It was the first penalty shot against the Wildcats since Danny Tirone also stopped one on Jan. 21, 2017 at Notre Dame.

"Michael was excellent on Friday night," Souza said. "He really gave us a chance to win. When you only score two goals on a weekend, you're not going to beat many teams."

Friday night's shutout for Robinson was his fourth in a span of 12 starts. His four shutouts for the season is tied for second best in Hockey East with UMass Lowell junior Tyler Wall and Merrimack senior Craig Pantaro. Providence senior Hayden Hawkey leads the league with six shutouts.

The two points for the win lifted UNH into the tie for fifth place.

The Wildcats will wait to see how the standings shuffle around them before they play again. They have played one more game than five teams in the league and two more than the other five.

For the moment, UNH is within three points of second-place Boston College and one of fourth-place Providence.

Boston University is in seventh place, a point behind the Wildcats and Maine is two points back in eighth.

For the first time this year, only the top eight teams in the league will make the playoffs and three teams will be left out.

Vermont is in ninth place, five points behind Maine and seven behind UNH. UConn is another two points behind that and Merrimack is two points further back.

HOME AGAIN

Three of UNH's last five games are at the Whittemore Center.
The Wildcats play Northeastern at home on Friday, Feb. 22 and Saturday, Feb. 23. Both games are at 7 p.m.
The final regular season home game is Friday, March 1 vs. UMass Lowell at 7 p.m.
The remaining road games are at UMass Lowell on Saturday, March 2 and at Northeastern on Friday, March 8.
Individual and group tickets for UNH home games are available by calling 603-862-4000 or at www.unhwildcats.com.
UNH is hosting the 2019 NCAA Men's Hockey Northeast Regional at the SNHU Arena in Manchester, N.H., on Friday and Saturday, March 29-30.

WILDCAT NOTES

Grasso's goal on Friday was his third game-winning goal of the year to lead the team.
He has seven goals total.
Grasso scored 20 goals as a freshman during the 2016-17 season.
He led the team in game-winners that year with five.
Grasso missed most of last year with an injury.
Junior forward Liam Blackburn leads the Wildcats in scoring with 10 goals and 14 assists for 24 points.
UNH forward Angus Crookshank is tied for fourth third among Hockey East freshmen in scoring with nine goals and 13 assists for 22 points.
The Wildcats are third in the league on the power play (20.4 percent).
They are fourth in penalty kill (84.7).
Ara Nazarian leads the Wildcats with a career-high 12 goals.
Sophomore defenseman Benton Maass is fourth in the league in blocked shots with 48.
Junior defenseman Anthony Wyse is ninth in blocked shots with 41.

OFFICIAL UNH GEAR:

Check out UNHShop.com for the latest in official UNH Wildcats' merchandise.

Allen Lessels
@UNHInsider
Allen.Lessels@unh.edu

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Liam Blackburn

Angus Crookshank

Patrick Grasso

Benton Maass

Ara Nazarian

Mike Robinson

Danny Tirone

Anthony Wyse

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