Insider Hockey Report: Grasso, 'Cats Eye Rebound

Junior forward Patrick Grasso scored three goals last weekend.

2/6/2020 6:25:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey, UNH Insider

Souza's Team Takes on Vermont in Friday, Saturday Homestand

By: Allen Lessels

DURHAM, N.H. – Patrick Grasso scored the first University of New Hampshire goals in Friday and Saturday games last weekend against the University of Connecticut.

Unfortunately for the Wildcats, those early goals by the junior forward were among a limited number of highlights in the series versus the Huskies. UNH dropped both games by identical 7-4 scores and now looks to regroup and reset in a weekend series against Vermont in the Whittemore Center.

The teams meet Friday and Saturday nights at 7 p.m.

The first 1,000 fans Friday night will receive the fifth set of team trading cards and the game also marks Heart Health Awareness Night. Saturday is "'80s' Night" and fans will receive a UNH fanny pack.

Tickets are available by CLICKING HERE or by calling 603-862-4000. Group and individual game tickets are available for all UNH home games. Tickets start at $9.

Grasso had three goals total last weekend, staking UNH to a 2-1 lead with a second first-period goal on Saturday. It was his third time this year with a pair of goals in a game and he's second on the team with 11 goals to the 12 of sophomore forward Angus Crookshank.

"I can't say enough good things about Patrick," said UNH coach Mike Souza. "He works at his game all the time. He takes care of his body away from the ice. He comes down here and he works on shooting the puck and watching video."

Exhibit A: Grasso's second goal Saturday.

"That was an incredibly-skilled play," Souza said. "He knocks the puck out of the air. Settles it down. Shoots it in the net. Stuff he works on all the time."

Wednesday was an off day for the Wildcats, but Grasso was out working with the team's goalies, getting in extra practice time.

"It's no coincidence," Souza said. "I told the whole team (about that goal). Guys, this is a skilled play that you can work on. He's here all the time working on his game. He's not the fastest guy, but he's quick. His mind is fast. He's got great hockey sense."

Souza loves Grasso's compete level, too.

"Sometimes the smaller guys don't get enough credit for being competitive because they're not going to knock a guy over with a body check or whatever," Souza said. "But I love his compete at the puck. His compete at the puck's been outstanding this year. Happy to see the puck's starting to go in for him."

At 5-foot-7, Grasso and senior forward Justin Fregona are the two shortest players on the team.

Grasso had three goals in the first 16 games of the season and has eight in the last 10. He had at least one goal in four straight games starting in late December.

Grasso burst onto the Hockey East scene with 20 goals and 13 assists as a freshman in the 2016-17 season. He dealt with injuries the next couple of seasons and was limited to 12 games – he still had two goals and eight assists for 10 points – his sophomore year.

He got that year of eligibility back and thus is only a junior eligibility-wise.

Grasso's goal against Vermont is to help the Wildcats bounce back from a rough weekend.

"The message in the room is kind of getting back to our game, trying to find that swagger again," Grasso said. "Obviously it was a tough weekend last weekend, but good teams put it behind them and that's what we're trying to do."

The Wildcats have been a resilient group for the most part. This is the second time this season and first since November that they have lost consecutive games.

"I think it's something coaches really try to ingrain in us, is to be able to hit that reset button whether it's one shift or a period or a game," Grasso said. "It's something we've taken some pride in this year and hopefully something we can continue to do moving forward. . . . It's just a confidence thing. I don't think it took too much of a hit. Obviously, it was an eye opener for us."

The Wildcats, said Souza and Grasso, will have their eyes open for Vermont, a team that is last in the league standings, but has played a number of close games.

"Let's be honest," Souza said. "It's not like we're that far in front of them in terms of the standings. It's not like we're in first place. The irony of that is there's five points separating ninth and first, which is a good thing. But we've got to take care of our own business this week. That's been our message all week. There's more focus on us playing to our identity, our standards, this week than there has been all year."

The Wildcats have eight games remining and go into the weekend in ninth place in the league standings. Only the top eight teams will make the Hockey East tournament.

The good news is UNH is only two points behind seventh-place Northeastern. In addition, the Wildcats are three points behind UMass Lowell, Providence, Connecticut and Maine who are all tied for fourth place. Boston University is only a point ahead of that in third and Boston College and Massachusetts are tied for first, one more point away.

"We talk about mental toughness all the time," Souza said. "If there was ever a test of mental toughness for all the teams in the league, it's this year. I'm sure there are a lot of coaches feeling the same way. They're feeling pretty good one night and not so good the next night."

HOME AGAIN

Season, group and individual tickets for all UNH home games are available at www.unhwildcats.com or by calling 603-862-4000.
Tickets start at $9.
Friday and Saturday's games are on NESNplus.
UNH's next three games are at home.
The Wildcats have five home games, and eight regular season games, remaining.
Boston University is at the Whitt on Friday, Feb. 14.
UNH plays UMass Lowell at home on Saturday, Feb. 29.
The final regular season home game is Saturday, March 7 against Boston College.

WILDCAT NOTES

UNH will be without junior forward Charlie Kelleher this weekend.
He was injured early in last Saturday's game.
Junior forward Kohei Sato will also miss the weekend's games.
He's competing with Team Japan in a pre-Olympic qualification round tournament in Slovenia.
Freshman forward Chase Stevenson is out with an injury.
Vermont coach Kevin Sneddon announced Wednesday that he was retiring from college hockey coaching at the end of the season.
The Catamounts lost to Boston University last Friday, 4-2.
The game was tied 2-2 with less than four minutes to go.
The Terriers took the lead and then added an empty net goal.
Junior Tyler Harmon made 34 saves in a 1-0 Vermont loss at Rensselaer on Saturday.
It was his second start of the season.
Senior Stefano Lekkas has a .910 save percentage and goals against average of 2.94.
The Catamounts are 3-18-4 overall and 0-13-2 in Hockey East.
UNH won two of three games against Vermont last season.
The Wildcats are fourth in the league in power play at 22.8 percent.
The Wildcats are 10^th in penalty kill at 76.8.
Charlie Kelleher leads UNH with six goals and 17 assists for 23 points.
He and teammate Angus Crookshank are tied with 12 other players for the league lead in game-winning goals with three.
Junior goalie Mike Robinson has a 7-9-2 record with a 2.61 gaa.
He has a .900 save percentage.
UNH sophomore goalie Ty Taylor has a 6-2-0 record with a 2.97 goals against average.
Junior Max Gildon is fourth among defensemen in the league in scoring with six goals and 16 assists for 22 points.
Sophomore defenseman Ryan Verrier is seventh in Hockey East with 37 blocked shots.
Crookshank is third in the league in faceoff percentage at 61.5 percent.