.png&type=webp)
.png&type=webp)
University of New Hampshire Athletics
Freshman forward Cy LeClerc is a scorer and top faceoff guy for the Wildcats. (China Wong photo)
Photo by: China Wong
Insider Report: Blue Out BU
12/2/2022 10:49:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey, UNH Insider
LeClerc, 'Cats Take On No. 7 Terriers for Two, Starting Friday at Home
DURHAM, N.H. – Down to their last handful of games before getting a couple of weeks off for Christmas, the members of the University of New Hampshire men's hockey team are looking for a little boost before the break.
They've got a tough weekend in front of them with a home-and-home series against No. 7-ranked Boston University and the Wildcats are excited about the challenge.
The teams meet Friday night at 7 in the Whittemore Center for a Blue Out BU contest, presented by Until. The game is on NESN+ and 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.
Saturday at 6 p.m., UNH and BU go at it again for a rematch in the Agganis Arena in Boston on ESPN+.
UNH plays a pair of home games against Arizona State next Friday and Saturday, Dec. 9 and 10, to close out its pre-Christmas schedule.
The Wildcats plan to take the same approach against BU that they took a couple of weeks ago when No. 15 Massachusetts came to town.
They came out flying against the Minutemen and grabbed a 2-0 first-period lead over the visitors while outshooting them 20-5. UNH was not able to hold the lead and fell, 4-2, in the game.
This time, they'd like to get off to a similar start and fashion a different outcome, said senior captain Chase Stevenson.
"That was definitely our best period of the season," Stevenson said. "This week I think we have the same mentality we did going into UMass, just knowing BU is an awesome team and they've had a lot of success lately. They're super-skilled, super-fast. I think it's kind of exciting for our group. We know they're going to be a great team and for us to knock off a great team like that would get some attention."
BU is 8-4-0 overall and 5-3-0 in Hockey East.
UNH is 3-11-1 overall and still looking for its first league win.
The Wildcats are coming off a 3-2 loss in overtime at Holy Cross last Saturday.
Cy LeClerc, a freshman forward out of Brentwood, N.H., has scored a power play goal in each of the last two games and is second in the team in scoring with five goals and three assists for eight points. Sophomore defenseman Colton Huard leads in points with a goal and eight assists for nine points.
LeClerc has also become a go-to guy on faceoffs and one of the best in Hockey East at it.
"He was like that in juniors and watching him in midgets," said UNH coach Mike Souza. "First of all, you watch him in puck battles, he's not the fastest guy, but he's really strong. He has a low center of gravity and he's got unbelievable hand-eye coordination. He's got great anticipation and he gets low on faceoffs."
LeClerc, 5-foot-9 and 175 pounds, has taken nearly 90 more faceoffs any other Wildcat,
He's won 144 faceoffs and lost 103 of them through the season and his success rate of 58 percent places him sixth in the league among players who have taken more than 100 faceoffs.
Stevenson takes faceoffs at times and has gone against LeClerc in practice.
"He gets low on the faceoff dot and it's hard to go against someone who's that low," Stevenson said. "And really being a centerman is all about compete and he's a kid who competes hard and that shows up in his scoring and faceoff percentages. Hopefully he can keep it up because if you start with the puck, that's a good place for us to be."
This weekend's games put the Wildcats at the halfway mark of the 24-game Hockey East portion of their schedule. They will also be at the midway point of their 34 regular season games.
After the games against Arizona State at the Whittemore Center next weekend, the Wildcats break for the holidays.
The schedule resumes with games at Union on Friday, Dec. 30 and Saturday, Dec. 31.
UNH's next Hockey East game after this weekend is at Providence College on Friday, Jan. 6.
They've got a tough weekend in front of them with a home-and-home series against No. 7-ranked Boston University and the Wildcats are excited about the challenge.
The teams meet Friday night at 7 in the Whittemore Center for a Blue Out BU contest, presented by Until. The game is on NESN+ and 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.
Saturday at 6 p.m., UNH and BU go at it again for a rematch in the Agganis Arena in Boston on ESPN+.
UNH plays a pair of home games against Arizona State next Friday and Saturday, Dec. 9 and 10, to close out its pre-Christmas schedule.
The Wildcats plan to take the same approach against BU that they took a couple of weeks ago when No. 15 Massachusetts came to town.
They came out flying against the Minutemen and grabbed a 2-0 first-period lead over the visitors while outshooting them 20-5. UNH was not able to hold the lead and fell, 4-2, in the game.
This time, they'd like to get off to a similar start and fashion a different outcome, said senior captain Chase Stevenson.
"That was definitely our best period of the season," Stevenson said. "This week I think we have the same mentality we did going into UMass, just knowing BU is an awesome team and they've had a lot of success lately. They're super-skilled, super-fast. I think it's kind of exciting for our group. We know they're going to be a great team and for us to knock off a great team like that would get some attention."
BU is 8-4-0 overall and 5-3-0 in Hockey East.
UNH is 3-11-1 overall and still looking for its first league win.
The Wildcats are coming off a 3-2 loss in overtime at Holy Cross last Saturday.
Cy LeClerc, a freshman forward out of Brentwood, N.H., has scored a power play goal in each of the last two games and is second in the team in scoring with five goals and three assists for eight points. Sophomore defenseman Colton Huard leads in points with a goal and eight assists for nine points.
LeClerc has also become a go-to guy on faceoffs and one of the best in Hockey East at it.
"He was like that in juniors and watching him in midgets," said UNH coach Mike Souza. "First of all, you watch him in puck battles, he's not the fastest guy, but he's really strong. He has a low center of gravity and he's got unbelievable hand-eye coordination. He's got great anticipation and he gets low on faceoffs."
LeClerc, 5-foot-9 and 175 pounds, has taken nearly 90 more faceoffs any other Wildcat,
He's won 144 faceoffs and lost 103 of them through the season and his success rate of 58 percent places him sixth in the league among players who have taken more than 100 faceoffs.
Stevenson takes faceoffs at times and has gone against LeClerc in practice.
"He gets low on the faceoff dot and it's hard to go against someone who's that low," Stevenson said. "And really being a centerman is all about compete and he's a kid who competes hard and that shows up in his scoring and faceoff percentages. Hopefully he can keep it up because if you start with the puck, that's a good place for us to be."
This weekend's games put the Wildcats at the halfway mark of the 24-game Hockey East portion of their schedule. They will also be at the midway point of their 34 regular season games.
After the games against Arizona State at the Whittemore Center next weekend, the Wildcats break for the holidays.
The schedule resumes with games at Union on Friday, Dec. 30 and Saturday, Dec. 31.
UNH's next Hockey East game after this weekend is at Providence College on Friday, Jan. 6.
Players Mentioned
D
/ Men's Ice Hockey
F
/ Men's Ice Hockey
F
/ Men's Ice HockeyUNH Men's Hockey vs UMass Lowell Highlights 11-8-25
Sunday, November 09
UNH Men's Hockey vs Vermont Highlights 11-1-25
Sunday, November 02
UNH Men's Hockey vs Vermont Highlights 10-31-25
Saturday, November 01
UNH Men's Hockey vs LIU Highlights 10-24-25
Saturday, October 25