.png&type=webp)
.png&type=webp)
University of New Hampshire Athletics
Nikolai Jenson had a goal and two assists last weekend.
Insider Report: Heating Up
2/9/2023 8:01:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey, UNH Insider
'Cats Ride Weekend Sweep into Pair of Games at Whitt vs. No. 13 UConn
DURHAM, N.H. – The University of New Hampshire men's hockey team found itself in a familiar tight spot in the Tsongas Center last Saturday night between the second and third periods of its game against No. 16 ranked UMass Lowell.
The Wildcats were tied 2-2 with the River Hawks with 20 minutes remaining in regulation time.
But they had gotten there in awkward fashion. After UNH grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by a pair of freshmen, forward Cy LeClerc and defenseman Damien Carfagna, the River Hawks took charge in the second and outshout UNH, 12-0, while tying the game.
"I think coming in (to the locker room) and realizing we didn't get a shot, it was definitely like, Holy cow, we've got to kind of turn this thing around," said junior defenseman Nikolai Jenson.
And then the Wildcats did.
The River Hawks actually scored early to take the lead in the third, but UNH battled back and with another goal by Carfagna and then a couple of quick strikes within 16 seconds by senior captain and forward Chase Stevenson, jumped in front and held on for a 5-4 win.
The Wildcats are on a nice little run now and will look to keep it going with home games in the Whittemore Center against No. 13 Connecticut on Friday night (7 p.m.) and Saturday afternoon (4 p.m.).
Friday night's game is being billed as Tropical Night and the first 750 fans will receive a free lei. The game is presented by EnviroVantage. Saturday's game is presented by Eversource.
Tickets for UNH hockey may be purchased at UNHWildcats.com/Tickets or by calling the ticket office at (603) 862-4000. Saturday's game is on NESN and both games are on ESPN+ and available on radio through www.unhwildcats.com.
UNH is down to its final six regular season games and five are at the Whittemore Center.
Next weekend, Friday, Feb. 17 and Saturday, Feb. 18, Maine is in town for White Out the Whitt games.
The Wildcats play at UConn on Saturday, Feb. 25 and then close out the regular season with a home game against Vermont on Thursday, March 2.
The wins over Merrimack and UMass Lowell last weekend earned UNH a little revenge.
Merrimack had won the previous meeting between the teams, 6-1, at Merrimack on Oct. 18.
UMass Lowell handed the Wildcats their only two losses of 2023, 6-2 on Jan. 20 in Lowell and 3-2 in overtime the next night in Durham.
UNH led the Jan. 21 game against the River Hawks, 2-1, after two periods as well.
His team is maturing and learning, said UNH coach Mike Souza.
"It stinks to lose," Souza said. "But there's a lot to learn from the way we lost that game in overtime to Lowell. Hopefully that bodes well when we get into these tight games the rest of February and March."
The Wildcats got contributions from many hands, young and older, last weekend.
"It was definitely a little eye-opening after the second period," Jenson said of Saturday's game. "I think it showed a lot to ourselves of what we can do. It was a really good third period, one of our better ones so far. I think it's a good building ground for our team right now."
The Wildcats have put together several good periods, leading to several good games, since the start of the new year.
They are 5-2 since January 1 overall, 4-2 in Hockey East games and all the league opponents have been ranked. On Friday, they beat No. 15 Merrimack on a Carfagna goal in overtime off a nice Stevenson setup.
Stevenson's two assists in Friday's win and two goals in Saturday's game earned him the first Hockey East Player of the Week honors of his career. Carfagna was named the league's Defender of the Week for his three goals on the weekend.
Jenson had his first goal of the season on Friday night and had two assists on Saturday.
"Nik's had an incredible year for us," Souza said. "He's as hard and as competitive a defenseman as we have in the league."
Jenson leads the team in plus-minus statistics at plus-7.
Cy LeClerc, a freshman forward from Brentwood, N.H., scored the first goal on Saturday night and leads the team in goals and points with 13 goals and seven assists for 20 points. Sophomore Liam Devlin is close behind at 9-10-19.
Freshman forward Stiven Sardarian had one assist for the season heading into last weekend and came up huge: He scored his first goal on Friday night and had three assists on Saturday.
"His natural ability to see the next play may be the best on the team," Souza said. "He sees the next play as well as anyone we have."
UConn is 17-8-3 overall and 11-6-2 in league play coming into the weekend and holds down the fourth spot in the Hockey East standings. The Huskies are two points behind Merrimack and trail second-place Northeastern by four points.
The Huskies have won four of their last five games and won at Northeastern, 4-3, last Friday.
UNH is 9-18-1 overall and 4-13-1 in Hockey East and in 10th place in the standings, a point behind Massachusetts and six points in back of eighth-place Maine.
The top five teams in the final standings earn byes for the first round. Teams in sixth through eighth place will host teams 9-11 in a first-round game. All rounds are a single game.
The Wildcats were tied 2-2 with the River Hawks with 20 minutes remaining in regulation time.
But they had gotten there in awkward fashion. After UNH grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by a pair of freshmen, forward Cy LeClerc and defenseman Damien Carfagna, the River Hawks took charge in the second and outshout UNH, 12-0, while tying the game.
"I think coming in (to the locker room) and realizing we didn't get a shot, it was definitely like, Holy cow, we've got to kind of turn this thing around," said junior defenseman Nikolai Jenson.
And then the Wildcats did.
The River Hawks actually scored early to take the lead in the third, but UNH battled back and with another goal by Carfagna and then a couple of quick strikes within 16 seconds by senior captain and forward Chase Stevenson, jumped in front and held on for a 5-4 win.
The Wildcats are on a nice little run now and will look to keep it going with home games in the Whittemore Center against No. 13 Connecticut on Friday night (7 p.m.) and Saturday afternoon (4 p.m.).
Friday night's game is being billed as Tropical Night and the first 750 fans will receive a free lei. The game is presented by EnviroVantage. Saturday's game is presented by Eversource.
Tickets for UNH hockey may be purchased at UNHWildcats.com/Tickets or by calling the ticket office at (603) 862-4000. Saturday's game is on NESN and both games are on ESPN+ and available on radio through www.unhwildcats.com.
UNH is down to its final six regular season games and five are at the Whittemore Center.
Next weekend, Friday, Feb. 17 and Saturday, Feb. 18, Maine is in town for White Out the Whitt games.
The Wildcats play at UConn on Saturday, Feb. 25 and then close out the regular season with a home game against Vermont on Thursday, March 2.
The wins over Merrimack and UMass Lowell last weekend earned UNH a little revenge.
Merrimack had won the previous meeting between the teams, 6-1, at Merrimack on Oct. 18.
UMass Lowell handed the Wildcats their only two losses of 2023, 6-2 on Jan. 20 in Lowell and 3-2 in overtime the next night in Durham.
UNH led the Jan. 21 game against the River Hawks, 2-1, after two periods as well.
His team is maturing and learning, said UNH coach Mike Souza.
"It stinks to lose," Souza said. "But there's a lot to learn from the way we lost that game in overtime to Lowell. Hopefully that bodes well when we get into these tight games the rest of February and March."
The Wildcats got contributions from many hands, young and older, last weekend.
"It was definitely a little eye-opening after the second period," Jenson said of Saturday's game. "I think it showed a lot to ourselves of what we can do. It was a really good third period, one of our better ones so far. I think it's a good building ground for our team right now."
The Wildcats have put together several good periods, leading to several good games, since the start of the new year.
They are 5-2 since January 1 overall, 4-2 in Hockey East games and all the league opponents have been ranked. On Friday, they beat No. 15 Merrimack on a Carfagna goal in overtime off a nice Stevenson setup.
Stevenson's two assists in Friday's win and two goals in Saturday's game earned him the first Hockey East Player of the Week honors of his career. Carfagna was named the league's Defender of the Week for his three goals on the weekend.
Jenson had his first goal of the season on Friday night and had two assists on Saturday.
"Nik's had an incredible year for us," Souza said. "He's as hard and as competitive a defenseman as we have in the league."
Jenson leads the team in plus-minus statistics at plus-7.
Cy LeClerc, a freshman forward from Brentwood, N.H., scored the first goal on Saturday night and leads the team in goals and points with 13 goals and seven assists for 20 points. Sophomore Liam Devlin is close behind at 9-10-19.
Freshman forward Stiven Sardarian had one assist for the season heading into last weekend and came up huge: He scored his first goal on Friday night and had three assists on Saturday.
"His natural ability to see the next play may be the best on the team," Souza said. "He sees the next play as well as anyone we have."
UConn is 17-8-3 overall and 11-6-2 in league play coming into the weekend and holds down the fourth spot in the Hockey East standings. The Huskies are two points behind Merrimack and trail second-place Northeastern by four points.
The Huskies have won four of their last five games and won at Northeastern, 4-3, last Friday.
UNH is 9-18-1 overall and 4-13-1 in Hockey East and in 10th place in the standings, a point behind Massachusetts and six points in back of eighth-place Maine.
The top five teams in the final standings earn byes for the first round. Teams in sixth through eighth place will host teams 9-11 in a first-round game. All rounds are a single game.
Players Mentioned
D
/ Men's Ice Hockey
F
/ Men's Ice Hockey
D
/ Men's Ice Hockey
F
/ 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