University of New Hampshire Athletics
David Fessenden has led the Wildcats to three straight wins.
Insider Report: Here Come the River Hawks
1/19/2023 1:15:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey, UNH Insider
'Cats Put 3-Game Streak on Line; Stick it to Stigma Games on Saturday
DURHAM, N.H. – The University of New Hampshire men's hockey team, looking for a season's best third straight win last Sunday afternoon in Amherst, Mass., ran into a little early trouble.
No. 17 ranked Massachusetts was all over the Wildcats to start the game. David Fessenden, UNH's 6-foot-6 and 230-pound senior goalie, helped take care of that.
"That was huge in the first period," said sophomore defenseman Alex Gagne. "He really bailed us out with a couple of saves."
Fessenden stopped all 13 shots he saw in the first period and had 27 saves for the game and the Wildcats picked up not only that third consecutive victory but their second win on a row over a ranked Hockey East team.
UNH gets right back at it this weekend with a similar challenge: Up against a ranked Hockey East rival.
The Wildcats play at No. 19 UMass Lowell on Friday night at 7:15. The teams face off again on Saturday night at 7 at the Whittemore Center.
Saturday's game caps off a Stick it to Stigma doubleheader for the Wildcat hockey programs.
The UNH women's hockey team has traditionally played a Stick it to Stigma game to promote mental health awareness and suicide prevention and this year the men are joining in the campaign.
The Wildcat women will open the doubleheader with a 2 p.m. game against Boston University with free admission. The women begin the weekend with a game Friday at 4 against No. 15 Boston College, also at the Whitt.
Saturday's Stick it to Stigma games are co-hosted by local nonprofit organizations Connor's Club Foundation and The Benny Fund. Jersey raffles, photo opportunities, information tables and youth hockey games during intermissions will be among the featured activities.
Tickets for UNH hockey may be purchased at UNHWildcats.com/Tickets or by calling the ticket office at (603) 862-4000.
Fessenden has been in goal for each of the last three wins with 35 saves and his first UNH shutout in a 2-0 win over No. 11 Providence, 23 saves in a 4-1 win over Sacred Heart and the UMass victory.
"I thought he's made all the saves that he's had to make and then maybe a couple that he shouldn't have made," said UNH coach Mike Souza. "I think of one the other night where they had a play on the back door and he dove across the crease and the game stays 0-0."
Souza also likes the way the Wildcats have been defending in front of Fessenden.
"If you go Providence, Sacred Heart and UMass, I thought we did a good job managing the middle of the rink and keeping stuff to the outside," Souza said. "And when called upon, David's responded big-time."
Fessenden, from Parker, Colo., joined the Wildcats last season as a transfer after two years at the University of Alabama-Huntsville. He's benefited this season, Souza has said, from the off-season work he did with UNH strength & conditioning coach Will Morey.
Fessenden has lowered his goals against average to 2.53 goals per game and upped his save percentage to .914 in the recent stretch.
The Wildcats are down to their last 10 games of the season and three of their next four are against the River Hawks. They are 7-16-1 overall and 2-11-1 in Hockey East.
UMass Lowell is 12-9-1 overall and 6-5-1 in Hockey East and is coming off a split at Maine, winning 2-1 and losing 5-3.
Grad student goalie Gustavs Davis Grigals is new to the River Hawks after playing four seasons at Alaska Fairbanks and has a 1.96 goals against average and .929 save percentage.
Cy LeClerc, a freshman forward out of Brentwood, N.H., continues to lead the Wildcats in scoring. He had the first goal last week against UMass and has a goal in each of the last three wins and has 11 goals and six assists for 17 points for the season.
His 11 goals are tied for second in Hockey East and tied for first among freshmen.
Freshman defenseman Damien Carfagna and sophomore forward Will Margel had assists on the LeClerc goal.
Margel took the place of junior Nick Cafarelli on a line with LeClerc and sophomore Liam Devlin. Cafarelli was injured late in practice the day before the UMass game and Souza said during a media conference Wednesday that he will be out for the season. Cafarelli was having his best season as a Wildcat with three goals and eight assists for 11 points.
Freshman Kristaps Skrastins scored his second goal of the season for the game-winner against UMass, assisted by freshman Stiven Sardarian.
Gagne scored an empty net goal to finish the scoring.
UNH is off next weekend and plays Merrimack at home on Friday, Feb. 3 and then is at UMass Lowell on Saturday, Feb. 4.
Women's hockey
The women are 8-16-0 overall and 6-11-0 in Hockey East and also have 10 games left in the season.
Boston College brings a 14-8-1 overall record into the Whitt on Friday. UNH lost at BC, 3-1, on Nov. 18 and took the Eagles to overtime and fell 3-2 the next day.
The Wildcats and BU split a pair of games in October. The Terriers won, 2-0, on Oct. 14 in the Whitt. The next day, sophomore forward Kira Juodikis scored her second goal of the game in OT to lift UNH to a 3-2 win.
The Wildcats are in eighth place in Hockey East, two points behind BU in seventh.
Grad student forward Emily Pinto leads UNH in scoring with six goals and 13 assists for 19 points. Juodikis is at 9-7-16.
Senior goalie Nicky Harnett has a 2.23 goals against average and .916 save percentage.
No. 17 ranked Massachusetts was all over the Wildcats to start the game. David Fessenden, UNH's 6-foot-6 and 230-pound senior goalie, helped take care of that.
"That was huge in the first period," said sophomore defenseman Alex Gagne. "He really bailed us out with a couple of saves."
Fessenden stopped all 13 shots he saw in the first period and had 27 saves for the game and the Wildcats picked up not only that third consecutive victory but their second win on a row over a ranked Hockey East team.
UNH gets right back at it this weekend with a similar challenge: Up against a ranked Hockey East rival.
The Wildcats play at No. 19 UMass Lowell on Friday night at 7:15. The teams face off again on Saturday night at 7 at the Whittemore Center.
Saturday's game caps off a Stick it to Stigma doubleheader for the Wildcat hockey programs.
The UNH women's hockey team has traditionally played a Stick it to Stigma game to promote mental health awareness and suicide prevention and this year the men are joining in the campaign.
The Wildcat women will open the doubleheader with a 2 p.m. game against Boston University with free admission. The women begin the weekend with a game Friday at 4 against No. 15 Boston College, also at the Whitt.
Saturday's Stick it to Stigma games are co-hosted by local nonprofit organizations Connor's Club Foundation and The Benny Fund. Jersey raffles, photo opportunities, information tables and youth hockey games during intermissions will be among the featured activities.
Tickets for UNH hockey may be purchased at UNHWildcats.com/Tickets or by calling the ticket office at (603) 862-4000.
Fessenden has been in goal for each of the last three wins with 35 saves and his first UNH shutout in a 2-0 win over No. 11 Providence, 23 saves in a 4-1 win over Sacred Heart and the UMass victory.
"I thought he's made all the saves that he's had to make and then maybe a couple that he shouldn't have made," said UNH coach Mike Souza. "I think of one the other night where they had a play on the back door and he dove across the crease and the game stays 0-0."
Souza also likes the way the Wildcats have been defending in front of Fessenden.
"If you go Providence, Sacred Heart and UMass, I thought we did a good job managing the middle of the rink and keeping stuff to the outside," Souza said. "And when called upon, David's responded big-time."
Fessenden, from Parker, Colo., joined the Wildcats last season as a transfer after two years at the University of Alabama-Huntsville. He's benefited this season, Souza has said, from the off-season work he did with UNH strength & conditioning coach Will Morey.
Fessenden has lowered his goals against average to 2.53 goals per game and upped his save percentage to .914 in the recent stretch.
The Wildcats are down to their last 10 games of the season and three of their next four are against the River Hawks. They are 7-16-1 overall and 2-11-1 in Hockey East.
UMass Lowell is 12-9-1 overall and 6-5-1 in Hockey East and is coming off a split at Maine, winning 2-1 and losing 5-3.
Grad student goalie Gustavs Davis Grigals is new to the River Hawks after playing four seasons at Alaska Fairbanks and has a 1.96 goals against average and .929 save percentage.
Cy LeClerc, a freshman forward out of Brentwood, N.H., continues to lead the Wildcats in scoring. He had the first goal last week against UMass and has a goal in each of the last three wins and has 11 goals and six assists for 17 points for the season.
His 11 goals are tied for second in Hockey East and tied for first among freshmen.
Freshman defenseman Damien Carfagna and sophomore forward Will Margel had assists on the LeClerc goal.
Margel took the place of junior Nick Cafarelli on a line with LeClerc and sophomore Liam Devlin. Cafarelli was injured late in practice the day before the UMass game and Souza said during a media conference Wednesday that he will be out for the season. Cafarelli was having his best season as a Wildcat with three goals and eight assists for 11 points.
Freshman Kristaps Skrastins scored his second goal of the season for the game-winner against UMass, assisted by freshman Stiven Sardarian.
Gagne scored an empty net goal to finish the scoring.
UNH is off next weekend and plays Merrimack at home on Friday, Feb. 3 and then is at UMass Lowell on Saturday, Feb. 4.
Women's hockey
The women are 8-16-0 overall and 6-11-0 in Hockey East and also have 10 games left in the season.
Boston College brings a 14-8-1 overall record into the Whitt on Friday. UNH lost at BC, 3-1, on Nov. 18 and took the Eagles to overtime and fell 3-2 the next day.
The Wildcats and BU split a pair of games in October. The Terriers won, 2-0, on Oct. 14 in the Whitt. The next day, sophomore forward Kira Juodikis scored her second goal of the game in OT to lift UNH to a 3-2 win.
The Wildcats are in eighth place in Hockey East, two points behind BU in seventh.
Grad student forward Emily Pinto leads UNH in scoring with six goals and 13 assists for 19 points. Juodikis is at 9-7-16.
Senior goalie Nicky Harnett has a 2.23 goals against average and .916 save percentage.
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