University of New Hampshire Athletics
Liam Devlin had a goal in each of UNH's games in last week's sweep at Clarkson and St. Lawrence.
Photo by: Jess Speechley
Insider Report: Sweet Sweep
10/13/2022 4:54:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey, UNH Insider
'Cats Face BC Saturday Night at the Whitt, Look to Build Off Road Trip Success
DURHAM, N.H. – The weekend in upstate New York didn't start out like the University of New Hampshire men's hockey team planned.
It turned out quite nicely in the end, though.
The Wildcats will look to build off last weekend's sweep of Clarkson University and St. Lawrence and ideally put to use some of the early lessons they learned through the rest of the season.
UNH opens Hockey East play and a run of nine league games in a span of 10 contests Saturday night at 7 p.m. in its home opener on the renovated Towse Rink in the Whittemore Center against Boston College at 7 p.m.
Tickets for UNH hockey at the Whittemore Center may be purchased at UNHWildcats.com/Tickets or by calling the ticket office at (603) 862-4000.
After Saturday, UNH plays at Merrimack College on Tuesday at 7 p.m. and then returns home to play Army West Point on Friday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m.
Head coach Mike Souza stressed being mentally and physically tough, especially on the road in a hostile environment, going into the team's opener at No. 17 Clarkson.
Less than five minutes into the game, the Wildcats had taken a couple of penalties and were down two skaters on a five-on-three penalty kill.
"I thought that was a real test of our toughness," Souza said.
The Golden Knights got one goal there and tacked on another to take a 2-0 lead into the third period.
"There was a lot of talk between the second and third periods that we weren't out of the fight," said sophomore forward Liam Devlin. "The mindset was if you didn't think we were going to win the game, stay in the locker room and don't come onto the ice. We were confident with our group and knew we had the ability to come back and win."
That they did.
A couple of newcomers got the offense going.
Cy LeClerc, a freshman out of Brentwood, N.H., scored 1:46 into the third period for 2-1. Ryan Black, a grad student seeking his MBA who transferred in after a standout career at Div. III Babson College, had his first of three weekend assists on the play. Black was a Babson captain and led his team to the NCAA tournament.
Clarkson soon got the lead back to 3-1.
Black and LeClerc then had assists on a UNH power play goal by junior forward Nick Cafarelli and senior forward Chase Stevenson added a goal to tie it at 3-3 and they went to overtime.
Devlin scored on a power play goal with less than a minute to go in OT and the comeback was complete.
"Especially with a young group, those are games that are never easy to win, no matter what," said Harrison Blaisdell, a senior forward and alternate captain. "When you can do it in your first game of the season with a bunch of fresh faces, it kind of sets a standard for the rest of the season."
The Wildcats showed resolve.
"When you do get down a few goals, the game is never over," Blaisdell said. "We have the ability to come back in these games and we have the firepower to do it. Proving that to ourselves was as big as anything going forward."
Saturday night, the Wildcats got goals from a couple of freshmen, forward Morgan Winters and defenseman Damien Carfagna, and a couple of sophomore forwards, Robert Cronin and Devlin again, and knocked off St. Lawrence, 4-1.
Senior David Fessenden (28 saves) on Friday night and freshman Tyler Muszelik (31 saves) on Saturday both played well, Souza said.
It's only one weekend, of course, but it was a nice weekend and showed at least several flashes that hopefully turn into trends.
Last year, the Wildcats scored as many as four goals in a game only five times all last season and they averaged 2.2 goals a game. And they already have half the four road wins they collected last season.
"A lot of young guys stepped up and our leaders stepped up and we had good goaltending," Blaisdell said. "It was one of those solid team weekends. Obviously, there were some flaws there, but we're a new team and we kind of made up for it by working hard and we had a lot of guys who were willing to sacrifice and do the right things."
Game notes
Carfagna and Muszelik earned Hockey East weekly honors for their efforts on opening weekend.
Carfagna, who was tied for the team lead at plus-3 in plus-minus statistics, was named Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week. Muszelik was named Hockey East Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week.
Carfagna played in the United States Hockey League last season and Muszelik was with the U.S. National Under-18 team.
New boards and glass were constructed around Towse Rink during the offseason and the size of the ice sheet was adjusted to 200 feet by 90 feet. It had been Olympic-sized at 200-by-100 feet.
Boston College lost its opener to No. 6 Quinnipiac, 4-0, last Friday at home in Conte Forum.
Greg Brown, a former BC great and longtime assistant coach, returned to the Eagles during the summer as their new head coach, replacing the legendary Jerry York.
Mike Ayers, a UNH All American goalie, is a BC associate head coach and in his 10th season with the program.
It turned out quite nicely in the end, though.
The Wildcats will look to build off last weekend's sweep of Clarkson University and St. Lawrence and ideally put to use some of the early lessons they learned through the rest of the season.
UNH opens Hockey East play and a run of nine league games in a span of 10 contests Saturday night at 7 p.m. in its home opener on the renovated Towse Rink in the Whittemore Center against Boston College at 7 p.m.
Tickets for UNH hockey at the Whittemore Center may be purchased at UNHWildcats.com/Tickets or by calling the ticket office at (603) 862-4000.
After Saturday, UNH plays at Merrimack College on Tuesday at 7 p.m. and then returns home to play Army West Point on Friday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m.
Head coach Mike Souza stressed being mentally and physically tough, especially on the road in a hostile environment, going into the team's opener at No. 17 Clarkson.
Less than five minutes into the game, the Wildcats had taken a couple of penalties and were down two skaters on a five-on-three penalty kill.
"I thought that was a real test of our toughness," Souza said.
The Golden Knights got one goal there and tacked on another to take a 2-0 lead into the third period.
"There was a lot of talk between the second and third periods that we weren't out of the fight," said sophomore forward Liam Devlin. "The mindset was if you didn't think we were going to win the game, stay in the locker room and don't come onto the ice. We were confident with our group and knew we had the ability to come back and win."
That they did.
A couple of newcomers got the offense going.
Cy LeClerc, a freshman out of Brentwood, N.H., scored 1:46 into the third period for 2-1. Ryan Black, a grad student seeking his MBA who transferred in after a standout career at Div. III Babson College, had his first of three weekend assists on the play. Black was a Babson captain and led his team to the NCAA tournament.
Clarkson soon got the lead back to 3-1.
Black and LeClerc then had assists on a UNH power play goal by junior forward Nick Cafarelli and senior forward Chase Stevenson added a goal to tie it at 3-3 and they went to overtime.
Devlin scored on a power play goal with less than a minute to go in OT and the comeback was complete.
"Especially with a young group, those are games that are never easy to win, no matter what," said Harrison Blaisdell, a senior forward and alternate captain. "When you can do it in your first game of the season with a bunch of fresh faces, it kind of sets a standard for the rest of the season."
The Wildcats showed resolve.
"When you do get down a few goals, the game is never over," Blaisdell said. "We have the ability to come back in these games and we have the firepower to do it. Proving that to ourselves was as big as anything going forward."
Saturday night, the Wildcats got goals from a couple of freshmen, forward Morgan Winters and defenseman Damien Carfagna, and a couple of sophomore forwards, Robert Cronin and Devlin again, and knocked off St. Lawrence, 4-1.
Senior David Fessenden (28 saves) on Friday night and freshman Tyler Muszelik (31 saves) on Saturday both played well, Souza said.
It's only one weekend, of course, but it was a nice weekend and showed at least several flashes that hopefully turn into trends.
Last year, the Wildcats scored as many as four goals in a game only five times all last season and they averaged 2.2 goals a game. And they already have half the four road wins they collected last season.
"A lot of young guys stepped up and our leaders stepped up and we had good goaltending," Blaisdell said. "It was one of those solid team weekends. Obviously, there were some flaws there, but we're a new team and we kind of made up for it by working hard and we had a lot of guys who were willing to sacrifice and do the right things."
Game notes
Carfagna and Muszelik earned Hockey East weekly honors for their efforts on opening weekend.
Carfagna, who was tied for the team lead at plus-3 in plus-minus statistics, was named Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week. Muszelik was named Hockey East Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week.
Carfagna played in the United States Hockey League last season and Muszelik was with the U.S. National Under-18 team.
New boards and glass were constructed around Towse Rink during the offseason and the size of the ice sheet was adjusted to 200 feet by 90 feet. It had been Olympic-sized at 200-by-100 feet.
Boston College lost its opener to No. 6 Quinnipiac, 4-0, last Friday at home in Conte Forum.
Greg Brown, a former BC great and longtime assistant coach, returned to the Eagles during the summer as their new head coach, replacing the legendary Jerry York.
Mike Ayers, a UNH All American goalie, is a BC associate head coach and in his 10th season with the program.
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