University of New Hampshire Athletics
Colton Huard scored his first goal of the season last weekend. (China Wong photo)
Photo by: China Wong
Insider Report: Hot Shot
11/4/2022 4:49:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey, UNH Insider
Huard, 'Cats Play at No. 16 Northeastern on Friday, Host Huskies on Saturday
DURHAM, N.H. – Colton Huard, then a freshman, burst onto the University of New Hampshire men's hockey scene last season by scoring nearly half of the goals scored by the team's defensemen.
He scored his first of half a dozen goals for the year (the defensemen had 13 total) on the first weekend of November in a game at Northeastern.
Friday night, Huard and the Wildcats return to the scene of his inaugural goal.
UNH and No. 16 Northeastern open a two-game set at Matthews Arena on Friday night at 7 p.m. The game is on NESN+ and ESPN+.
The teams then play a rematch Saturday night at 7 at the Whittemore Center in Durham in a game presented by AKLU on ESPN+.
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.
Coach Mike Souza and his staff have been encouraging Huard to unleash his big shot – the coach calls it one of the best in the league and all of college hockey – more often and he scored his first goal of the season last Friday against Providence in a 2-2 tie at the Whit that Souza felt should have been a win.
The Wildcats scored what they felt was a goal in the closing seconds of regulation. Officials ruled the puck did not make it into the net.
Huard scored on a first period power play with assists to sophomore forwards Robert Cronin and Liam Devlin to give UNH a 2-0 lead.
"He scored that one on a wrist shot," Souza said. "His wrist shot is as hard as a lot of guys' slap shot."
Huard has been paired up with freshman defenseman Damien Carfagna and the unit has been a good match, the coach said.
Carfagna scored his first goal as a Wildcat in a 3-1 loss to Providence on Saturday. Huard and forward Nick Cafarelli had assists on the play. Carfagna has two goals and two assists.
Besides urging Huard to shoot more, Souza talked to him and other defensemen about making shorter, less risky passes to keep the puck moving.
The coach liked how Huard and the defense overall played in the Providence series after a couple of tough outings against Boston College and Merrimack.
"I thought our defense moved the puck well and I thought Colton had his best weekend of the year,' Souza said. "Just efficiency with his movements with the puck. I thought we were good on our forechecking and that stems in large part from the 'D' helping the forwards."
Souza also praised the play of goaltenders freshman Tyler Muszelik, who had 24 saves on Friday, and senior David Fessenden, who had 30 on Saturday.
"I thought the goaltending was really solid," he said. "Those guys gave us a chance to win both nights. It was definitely a step in the right direction for those two units. Certainly it was a point of emphasis for some of the defensemen to be more efficient with their movement of the puck, which they were."
Huard finished tied for fourth on the team in scoring with six goals and 10 assists for 16 points last year. The six goals were second-best among freshmen defensemen in Hockey East.
At 6-foot-3 and 200-pounder out of Foothill Ranch, Calif., Huard's goal is to keep improving all aspects of his game.
"I'm just focusing on shutting down defensively and then, as much as I can, getting up the ice and joining the rush," he said. "Then in the offensive zone, moving around and creating time and space for my teammates and myself to create scoring opportunities."
This year he has five assists to go with the goal for six points, one point behind Devlin, who leads the team at 4-3-7.
Game notes
The Wildcats take a 3-4-1 overall record and 0-4-1 mark in Hockey East into the weekend.
Northeastern is 4-2-2 overall and 3-2-1 in the league. The Huskies are coming off a weekend at Maine where they tied the Black Bears, 2-2, last Friday night and won 4-1 on Saturday.
Goaltender Devon Levi has a 1.68 goals against average and .945 save percentage for the Huskies.
He scored his first of half a dozen goals for the year (the defensemen had 13 total) on the first weekend of November in a game at Northeastern.
Friday night, Huard and the Wildcats return to the scene of his inaugural goal.
UNH and No. 16 Northeastern open a two-game set at Matthews Arena on Friday night at 7 p.m. The game is on NESN+ and ESPN+.
The teams then play a rematch Saturday night at 7 at the Whittemore Center in Durham in a game presented by AKLU on ESPN+.
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.
Coach Mike Souza and his staff have been encouraging Huard to unleash his big shot – the coach calls it one of the best in the league and all of college hockey – more often and he scored his first goal of the season last Friday against Providence in a 2-2 tie at the Whit that Souza felt should have been a win.
The Wildcats scored what they felt was a goal in the closing seconds of regulation. Officials ruled the puck did not make it into the net.
Huard scored on a first period power play with assists to sophomore forwards Robert Cronin and Liam Devlin to give UNH a 2-0 lead.
"He scored that one on a wrist shot," Souza said. "His wrist shot is as hard as a lot of guys' slap shot."
Huard has been paired up with freshman defenseman Damien Carfagna and the unit has been a good match, the coach said.
Carfagna scored his first goal as a Wildcat in a 3-1 loss to Providence on Saturday. Huard and forward Nick Cafarelli had assists on the play. Carfagna has two goals and two assists.
Besides urging Huard to shoot more, Souza talked to him and other defensemen about making shorter, less risky passes to keep the puck moving.
The coach liked how Huard and the defense overall played in the Providence series after a couple of tough outings against Boston College and Merrimack.
"I thought our defense moved the puck well and I thought Colton had his best weekend of the year,' Souza said. "Just efficiency with his movements with the puck. I thought we were good on our forechecking and that stems in large part from the 'D' helping the forwards."
Souza also praised the play of goaltenders freshman Tyler Muszelik, who had 24 saves on Friday, and senior David Fessenden, who had 30 on Saturday.
"I thought the goaltending was really solid," he said. "Those guys gave us a chance to win both nights. It was definitely a step in the right direction for those two units. Certainly it was a point of emphasis for some of the defensemen to be more efficient with their movement of the puck, which they were."
Huard finished tied for fourth on the team in scoring with six goals and 10 assists for 16 points last year. The six goals were second-best among freshmen defensemen in Hockey East.
At 6-foot-3 and 200-pounder out of Foothill Ranch, Calif., Huard's goal is to keep improving all aspects of his game.
"I'm just focusing on shutting down defensively and then, as much as I can, getting up the ice and joining the rush," he said. "Then in the offensive zone, moving around and creating time and space for my teammates and myself to create scoring opportunities."
This year he has five assists to go with the goal for six points, one point behind Devlin, who leads the team at 4-3-7.
Game notes
The Wildcats take a 3-4-1 overall record and 0-4-1 mark in Hockey East into the weekend.
Northeastern is 4-2-2 overall and 3-2-1 in the league. The Huskies are coming off a weekend at Maine where they tied the Black Bears, 2-2, last Friday night and won 4-1 on Saturday.
Goaltender Devon Levi has a 1.68 goals against average and .945 save percentage for the Huskies.
Sunday, March 08
Tuesday, March 03
Tuesday, February 24
Sunday, February 22