University of New Hampshire Athletics
Boston University, Denver, Cornell and Western Michigan play in the Manchester Regional starting Thursday at 2 p.m.
Photo by: Jess Speechley
Insider Report: 'We've Had Some Doozies'
3/21/2023 4:30:00 PM | General, UNH Insider
For BU, Denver and Others Road to Frozen Four Goes Through Manchester
MANCHESTER, N.H. – Nineteen minutes, 59.9 seconds.
The time stamp in the archives has a certain ring to it, does it not: 19:59.9?
Thomas Fortney potted the improbable goal with one tenth of a second left on the clock, assisted by Jerry Pollastrone and Mike Sislo, and the University of New Hampshire men's hockey team thus kept alive its hopes in the semifinal game of the 2009 NCAA Northeast Regional in what was then known as the Verizon Wireless Arena.
New ice was made and overtime began and 45 seconds later Peter LeBlanc scored on a long shot – again with help from Pollastrone and Sislo – and a remarkable rally was complete.
The Wildcats tied the game at the last possible moment and then knocked off the University of North Dakota, 6-5, and were on their way to the Regional finals. In the process, they banked their most prized memory in a two-decade run of hosting hockey regionals.
This week, the Regionals return to what is now SNHU Arena – hosted for the ninth time overall by UNH since the debut edition in 2004 and first time since 2019 – and the making of memories begins anew.
"We're very excited about having the Regionals back," said Tim Bechert, the senior general manager of the arena. "We'll attack the event with the same passion we always have. We love the event and what it does for the community at large and hopefully we can continue to impress with it. People come to see first class hockey and obviously it appeals to the entire state and region."
The Manchester Regional is one of four in the country, each featuring four of the top NCAA Division I teams and the top players in the country, some of whom will soon be playing in the National Hockey League.
The NCAA announced the draw for the tournament Sunday evening and Boston University, the Hockey East champion and No. 2 seed in Manchester, plays No. 3 seed Western Michigan on Thursday at 2 p.m. in the first game of the entire event. Defending national champion, the University of Denver, is the No. 1 seed in Manchester and plays No. 4 Cornell at 5:30 p.m.
The winners of Thursday's game meet on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Regional championship with that winner advancing to the Frozen Four, which will be held at the Amalie Arena in Tampa with semifinal games April 6 and the championship April 8.
More information and tickets are available HERE.
Since Manchester hosted its first Regional in 2004, just three years after the building opened as the home of the now-gone Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League, the event has been recognized as among the best of the regionals in the country.
From the start, UNH and the arena have considered themselves partners, intent on putting on a good show for fans as well as for teams that have come from across the country.
"The building always goes above and beyond," said Carrie Kimball, UNH's senior associate athletic director for operations. "We've hosted a number of NCAA events over the years and I think the NCAA sees we do a good job putting the effort in to make sure everything gets done correctly. Look at football, soccer, skiing, women's hockey and the rest."
UNH will host the NCAA women's Frozen Four in 2024 for the fourth time at the Whittemore Center in Durham. The school last hosted the women's event in 2016 and also was the host in 2002 and 2005.
The men's Regionals will be at SNHU Arena again in 2025.
The fit between UNH and the arena was good from the start.
"The building was new and they were doing hockey very successfully," said Steve Metcalf, then an assistant director of athletics at UNH and point man in the NCAA projects and now the commissioner of Hockey East.
One of the missions of taking on the Regionals was to assist the NCAA, Metcalf said.
"We saw we could do a great job, us in athletics teaming with Tim Bechert and his staff," Metcalf said. "There were always people complaining about who was hosting and this and that. We thought let's be responsible and contribute to the NCAA and have a successful tournament instead of being someone who complained about regional sites. Let's do a great job here and provide a great experience for all the teams that come into Manchester."
The efforts were noticed, Metcalf said.
"I remember so many times being at Frozen Fours later or at the coaches meeting in Naples and coaches who had played in Manchester saying what a great job UNH did with hosting," Metcalf said. "So many people did a really good job with it and coaches and teams appreciated that."
Besides the 2009 win over North Dakota standing out as memorable, Pete Souris recalls the initial tournament in 2004.
"I remember the amount of work it took the first time, establishing something that had never been done before in terms of operations and helping the building understand how we did things and what we needed and laying that foundation," said Souris, who worked with UNH as an assistant sports information director at the time. "It was precedent setting and that was pretty awesome. We set standards that we're still upholding now."
Souris has worked in the Hockey East office and at the University of Massachusetts Lowell in the meantime and is back with UNH's athletics department now.
Bechert is ready to help the Regionals regain their spot in the region's sports scene.
"Hockey is part of the fabric of the State of New Hampshire," he said. "I truly believe the No. 1 sport in the state is politics . . . And hockey is a close second for sure and something we take very seriously and do with pride."
Boston University – which already has a 4-0 record while playing in Regionals in Manchester - and Western Michigan, along with Denver and Cornell will be looking to make memories starting Thursday.
"That game against North Dakota was unbelievable," Kimball said and then mentioned another couple of moments and games that stood out to her in the arena. "We've had some doozies."
The time stamp in the archives has a certain ring to it, does it not: 19:59.9?
Thomas Fortney potted the improbable goal with one tenth of a second left on the clock, assisted by Jerry Pollastrone and Mike Sislo, and the University of New Hampshire men's hockey team thus kept alive its hopes in the semifinal game of the 2009 NCAA Northeast Regional in what was then known as the Verizon Wireless Arena.
New ice was made and overtime began and 45 seconds later Peter LeBlanc scored on a long shot – again with help from Pollastrone and Sislo – and a remarkable rally was complete.
The Wildcats tied the game at the last possible moment and then knocked off the University of North Dakota, 6-5, and were on their way to the Regional finals. In the process, they banked their most prized memory in a two-decade run of hosting hockey regionals.
This week, the Regionals return to what is now SNHU Arena – hosted for the ninth time overall by UNH since the debut edition in 2004 and first time since 2019 – and the making of memories begins anew.
"We're very excited about having the Regionals back," said Tim Bechert, the senior general manager of the arena. "We'll attack the event with the same passion we always have. We love the event and what it does for the community at large and hopefully we can continue to impress with it. People come to see first class hockey and obviously it appeals to the entire state and region."
The Manchester Regional is one of four in the country, each featuring four of the top NCAA Division I teams and the top players in the country, some of whom will soon be playing in the National Hockey League.
The NCAA announced the draw for the tournament Sunday evening and Boston University, the Hockey East champion and No. 2 seed in Manchester, plays No. 3 seed Western Michigan on Thursday at 2 p.m. in the first game of the entire event. Defending national champion, the University of Denver, is the No. 1 seed in Manchester and plays No. 4 Cornell at 5:30 p.m.
The winners of Thursday's game meet on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Regional championship with that winner advancing to the Frozen Four, which will be held at the Amalie Arena in Tampa with semifinal games April 6 and the championship April 8.
More information and tickets are available HERE.
Since Manchester hosted its first Regional in 2004, just three years after the building opened as the home of the now-gone Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League, the event has been recognized as among the best of the regionals in the country.
From the start, UNH and the arena have considered themselves partners, intent on putting on a good show for fans as well as for teams that have come from across the country.
"The building always goes above and beyond," said Carrie Kimball, UNH's senior associate athletic director for operations. "We've hosted a number of NCAA events over the years and I think the NCAA sees we do a good job putting the effort in to make sure everything gets done correctly. Look at football, soccer, skiing, women's hockey and the rest."
UNH will host the NCAA women's Frozen Four in 2024 for the fourth time at the Whittemore Center in Durham. The school last hosted the women's event in 2016 and also was the host in 2002 and 2005.
The men's Regionals will be at SNHU Arena again in 2025.
The fit between UNH and the arena was good from the start.
"The building was new and they were doing hockey very successfully," said Steve Metcalf, then an assistant director of athletics at UNH and point man in the NCAA projects and now the commissioner of Hockey East.
One of the missions of taking on the Regionals was to assist the NCAA, Metcalf said.
"We saw we could do a great job, us in athletics teaming with Tim Bechert and his staff," Metcalf said. "There were always people complaining about who was hosting and this and that. We thought let's be responsible and contribute to the NCAA and have a successful tournament instead of being someone who complained about regional sites. Let's do a great job here and provide a great experience for all the teams that come into Manchester."
The efforts were noticed, Metcalf said.
"I remember so many times being at Frozen Fours later or at the coaches meeting in Naples and coaches who had played in Manchester saying what a great job UNH did with hosting," Metcalf said. "So many people did a really good job with it and coaches and teams appreciated that."
Besides the 2009 win over North Dakota standing out as memorable, Pete Souris recalls the initial tournament in 2004.
"I remember the amount of work it took the first time, establishing something that had never been done before in terms of operations and helping the building understand how we did things and what we needed and laying that foundation," said Souris, who worked with UNH as an assistant sports information director at the time. "It was precedent setting and that was pretty awesome. We set standards that we're still upholding now."
Souris has worked in the Hockey East office and at the University of Massachusetts Lowell in the meantime and is back with UNH's athletics department now.
Bechert is ready to help the Regionals regain their spot in the region's sports scene.
"Hockey is part of the fabric of the State of New Hampshire," he said. "I truly believe the No. 1 sport in the state is politics . . . And hockey is a close second for sure and something we take very seriously and do with pride."
Boston University – which already has a 4-0 record while playing in Regionals in Manchester - and Western Michigan, along with Denver and Cornell will be looking to make memories starting Thursday.
"That game against North Dakota was unbelievable," Kimball said and then mentioned another couple of moments and games that stood out to her in the arena. "We've had some doozies."
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