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DURHAM, N.H. -- The University of New Hampshire men's
hockey team opens Hockey East play with a pair of marquee matchups
against Northeastern (Friday - 7 p.m.) and Maine (Saturday - 7
p.m.). Friday night's game is the first NESN-TV broadcast of the
Hockey East season as Tom Caron and Bob Norton call all the action,
while Saturday's game is the annual "White Out the Whit" game.
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES: Northeastern enters the weekend
2-1-0 with a split at Colorado College and a home win over Atlantic
Hockey foe Bentley, most recently. The Huskies went to the NCAA
tournament a year ago and return several key players from that
squad. Senior forward Chris Donovan continues to lead Northeastern
in scoring with four points despite being held out of NU’s
home opener due to illness. The Huskies have put away five power
play goals, making up 55.6 percent of their scoring (5-of-9).
Northeastern’s home opener at the brand-new Matthews Arena
was a successful sellout of 4,666 strong. The student body set a
new record as 2,724 people crammed the upper corners at “The
Dog House”. Freshman netminder Chris Rawlings is 2-1-0
with a 3.01 GAA and a .913 save percentage in three games.
SERIES HISTORY VS. NORTHEASTERN: UNH owns an 84-57-11
all-time record against Northeastern in 152 meetings in the series
history between the two teams.The Wildcats went 1-1-1 against the
Huskies a year ago. Coach Umile owns a 39-15-9 record
all-time against Northeastern. Senior forward Peter LeBlanc (3g,
4a) is the Wildcats’ leading career scorer vs. NU.
Senior netminder Brian Foster is 1-1-0 against Northeastern, while
Matt DiGirolamo is 0-0- with a 1.85 GAA all time against the
Huskies.
SCORING LEADERS VS. THE HUSKIES:
Player GP
G-A-P
Peter LeBlanc 9 3-4-7
Bobby Butler 7 1-5-6
Paul Thompson 5 2-1-3
Phil DeSimone 6 1-2-3
Steve Moses 3 0-2-2
Mike Sislo 6 1-0-1
Blake Kessel 3 0-1-1
Matt Campanale 2 0-0-0
Nick Krates 5 0-0-0
Damon Kipp 2 0-0-0
Mike Borisenok 1 0-0-0
Goaltending Stats
Player GP/Min
GA GAA W-L-T
SV SV%
Foster 1/119:16
5 2.51 1-1-0
60 .923
DiGirolamo 1/64:51
2 1.85 0-0-1
22 .916
DiGirolamo Game-by-Game vs. the Huskies
Date Min
Res. Svs. GA
Shots
11/1/08
64:51 T 22
2 24
Totals
64:51 0-0-1
22 2 24
Foster Game-by-Game vs. the Huskies
Date Min
Res. Svs. GA
Shots
10/31/08
60:00 W 27
2 29
11/22/08
59:16 L 33
3 36
Totals
119:16 1-1-0
60 5 65
SCOUTING THE BLACK BEARS: Maine enters this
weekend’s game with a 1-3-0 record and will play at UMass on
Friday night before traveling north to Durham. The Black Bears
opened the season with a pair of losses at Union and most recently
split in a pair of games with Michigan State. Gustav Nyquist is off
to an impressive start for the Black Bears as he has four goals and
two assists in Maine’s first four games. Three goals have
been on the power play and he has Maine’s lone game-winning
goal and has scored at least one goal in three straight
games. Netminders Scott Darling and Dave Wilson have each
played twice in net for the Black Bears with Darling posted a 1-1-0
record with a 4.06 GAA and Wilson with an 0-2-0 mark with a 4.61
GAA.
SERIES HISTORY VS. MAINE: The Black Bears own the
advantage in the all-time series history at 54-44-5 in 103
meetings.The Wildcats went 2-1-0 in three meetings against Maine a
year ago. Coach Umile is 30-37-5 all-time in his coaching career
vs. the Black Bears. Overall, the Wildcats are 9-2-0 in their last
11 meetings against Maine including a stretch of five-straight
wins. UNH has posted a 14-5-1 record vs. the Black Bears at the
Whittemore Center compared to just 14-31-3 at Alfond Arena. Senior
forward Bobby Butler is the active leader in Wildcat scoring
against Maine with five points in 11 games, while Brian Foster is
2-1-0 lifetime against the Black Bears.
SCORING LEADERS VS. THE BLACK BEARS:
Player GP
G-A-P
Bobby Butler
11 4-1-5
Peter LeBlanc
9 1-3-4
Mike Sislo
6 2-1-3
Phil DeSimone
6 1-0-1
Paul Thompson 5
0-1-1
Mike Beck 3
0-1-1
Steve Moses
3 1-0-1
Mike Borisenok 3
0-1-1
Matt Campanale 2
0-0-0
Blake Kessel
2 0-0-0
Damon Kipp
2 0-0-0
Nick Krates
6 0-0-0
Kevin McCarey 2
0-0-0
Goaltending Stats
Player GP/Min
GA GAA W-L-T
SV SV%
Foster 3/179:19
6 2.00 2-1-0
72 .947
Foster Game-by-Game vs. the Black Bears
Date Min
Res. Svs. GA
Shots
1-4-09
60:00 W 29
4 33
2-6-09
59:56 W 21
1 22
2-7-09
59:23 L 22
1 23
Totals
179:19 1-0-0
72 6 78
‘CATS ENJOY RECENT SUCCESS IN HOCKEY EAST OPENERS:
UNH is 9-1-1 in Hockey East openers dating back to 1998-99. Most
recently, the Wildcats are riding a two-game Hockey East streak
with a 4-1 win over BU on Oct. 19, 2008 and a 2-1 win over BU on
Oct. 19. 2009.
WILDCATS OPEN NESN’S HOCKEY EAST PACKAGE: UNH and
Northeastern will open the 2009-10 NESN Hockey East season on
Friday night. Tom Caron and Bob Norton will call all the action
from the Whittemore Center.
SECOND TO NONE: In a wild second period, the Wildcats and
RedHawks put up nine goals. The teams combined to score just one
goal the rest of the game, including no scores in the final 27:20.
It’s no surprise the Wildcats are the league leader in second
period scoring with seven or their nine goals coming in the middle
frame.
KESSEL THE LEAGUE LEADER IN DEFENSIVE SCORING: After
missing the first weekend of the season with a shoulder injury,
Blake Kessel made up for lost time with five points on the weekend.
He is the league leader in defenseman scoring and ranks second
overall in points. He posted a career-high two assists on Friday
night and topped that with a career-high two goals and three points
on Saturday.
FIVE SCORES; JUST A YEAR AGO: UNH’s scored five
goals in an eight-minute span on Saturday night against top-ranked
Miami. It was the first time UNH scored five goals in a period
since its 9-4 win over Holy Cross on Dec. 11, 2008
BUTLER CONTINUES TO LIGHT THE LAMP: Bobby Butler has
scored a goal in all three games this season and four games in a
row dating back to last season. He ranks sixth in the nation in
goals per game with 1.00 gpg.
LEBLANC HAPPY TO ASSIST: Peter LeBlanc put up a
career-high three assists on Saturday night against Miami. It was
the first time UNH had a player with three or more assists in a
game since James van Riemsdyk handed out four helpers on Dec. 11,
2008.
HEY MAN NICE SHOT: The Wildcat outshot the
RedHawks 19-11 in the second period. It was the most shots in a
period since the Nov. 21, 2008 game at Matthews Arena.
WHITE OUT THE WHIT ON SATURDAY: On Saturday night, the
Wildcats will “White Out the Whit”. Fans are encouraged
to wear white and thundersticks will be handed out as part of the
promotion.
BORISENOK OFF TO A FAST START: Mike Borisenok scored a
goal in each game of the weekend and put up a career high two
points on Friday vs. Miami.
A WEEKEND OF FIRSTS: Here is a list of firsts from last
weekend:
- First career points for Kevin McCarey (two assists)
- First career goal for senior Nick Krates
- First career point for Austin Block
LAST TIME OUT (10/17 VS. MIAMI): Bobby Butler,
Peter LeBlanc and Blake Kessel recorded three points apiece in
Saturday night’s 5-5 tie against top-ranked Miami University.
Kessel tallied a two goals and an assist while Butler had one goal
and two assists and LeBlanc finished with three assists, all
matching or surpassing career bests. Mike Borisenok and Nick Krates
scored UNH’s other two goals; it was Krates’ first
career goal. UNH goaltender Brian Foster made 22 saves, including
three in overtime.
SCORING BY CLASS: 2009-10 breakdown of scoring by
class.
Class G-A-P G-A-P
%.
Seniors: 4-6-10 44-38-40
Juniors: 1-2-3 11-13-12
Sophomores: 4-7-11
44-44-44
Freshmen: 0-1-1 0-6-4
THE NATIONAL POLLS:
USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine (October 19)
Rk. School, Pts. (FPV)
LW Record
WIP
1 Miami University, 509 (33)
1 3-0-1 3
2 University of North Dakota,
465 4 3-0-1
3
3 Boston University, 388
2 0-1-0
3
4 University of Michigan, 386
5 1-1-0 3
5 University of Denver, 378
3 2-2-0 3
6 Cornell University, 319
6 0-0-0
3
7 University of Vermont, 295
(1) 11 2-1-0
3
8 Princeton University, 245
9 0-0-0 3
9 Yale University, 226
10 0-0-0
3
10 University of Notre Dame,
221 7 2-2-0
3
11 University of Minnesota,
139 8 0-1-1
3
12 Massachusetts Lowell, 126
13 1-1-0 3
13 Nebraska Omaha, 113
15 3-0-1
2
14 Minnesota Duluth, 59
NR 3-1-0
1
15 Boston College, 42
12 0-1-0
3
Others receiving votes: University of Alaska, 39;
Bemidji State University, 30; University of Massachusetts, 28;
Colorado College, 24; University of Wisconsin, 18; Quinnipiac
University, 15; St. Cloud State University, 6; Northeastern
University, 4; U.S. Air Force Academy, 3; University of Alabama
Huntsville, 1; University of New Hampshire, 1.
USCHO.com/CSTV Division I Men’s Poll (October
19)
Rk. Team
(First Place)
Record Pts LW
1
Miami
(46)
3-0-1
994 1
2 North
Dakota (1)
3-0-1
940 4
3 Boston University (2)
0-1-0
820 2
4
Denver
2-2-0
801 3
5
Michigan
1-1-0
784 5
6
Cornell
0-0-0
701 6
7 Vermont (1)
2-1-0
650 11
8
Yale
0-0-0 589
8
9 Notre
Dame
2-2-0
554 7
10
Princeton
0-0-0
530 10
11
Minnesota
0-1-1
454 9
12
Nebraska-Omaha
3-0-1
366 16
13
Mass.-Lowell
1-1-0
363 14
14 Boston
College
0-1-0
273 12
15
Alaska
3-0-1
253 17
16 Bemidji
State
2-0-0
243 15
17
Wisconsin
0-1-1
205 13
18
Minnesota-Duluth
3-1-0
175 NR
19 Colorado
College
2-1-1
160 NR
20
Quinnipiac
3-0-0
150 18
Others Receiving Votes: Massachusetts 136, St. Cloud
State 107, Northeastern 74, New Hampshire 48,
Michigan State 31, Alabama-Huntsville 22, Harvard 21, Northern
Michigan 18, Ohio State 12, Lake Superior 8, Union 8, St. Lawrence
6, Providence 3, Ferris State 1
WHERE IS UNH RANKED?: Here is a week-by-week look at the
‘Cats in the national polls and the HE standings:
Date USA TODAY USCHO
HE
9/28
RV N/A t-4th (pre)
10/5
N/A 16 t-4th (pre)
10/12 RV
RV t-4th (pre)
10/19 RV
RV N/A
DICK UMILE TO BE INDUCTED TO NEW HAMPSHIRE LEGENDS OF
HOCKEY: Head Coach Dick Umile was among a group of seven
Hall of Fame inductees for the New Hampshire Legends of Hockey for
2009. In addition, former Wildcat assistant coach and longtime
voice of the team Bob Norton will also be inducted. The
ceremony was held on Sunday morning at C.R. Sparks in Bedford,
N.H.
Wildcats Among National leaders: Below is a list of where
UNH players and team rank nationally.
Individual Rank
Stats
Points Per Game:
Bobby Butler 19th 1.67 ppg
Peter LeBlanc 38th 1.33
ppg
Goals Per Game:
Bobby Butler 7th 1.00 gpg
Mike Borisenok 32nd 0.67
gpg
Assists Per Game:
Peter LeBlanc 8th 1.33 apg
Power Play Goals:
Mike Borisenok 13th 1 ppg
Bobby Butler 13th 1 ppg
Blake Kessel 13th 1 ppg
Short-Handed Goals:
n/a
Game-Winning Goals:
n/a
Freshmen Scoring:
n/a
Goals Against Average:
Brian Foster 66th 5.13 gaa
Save Percentage:
Brian Foster 65th .831
Winning Percentage:
Brian Foster 47th .167
Team
Scoring Offense 18th 3.00
Scoring Defense 48th 4.67
Scoring Margin 40th -1.67
Power Play 28th 15.0
Penalty Kill 17th 87.5
Combined Special Teams 33rd
47.2
Winnning Percentage 39th
.167
WHERE UNH IS RANKED IN HOCKEY EAST (10/22):
Overall HE games
Goals/per game 3.00/4th
GAA 4.67/10th
Power Play 15.0/7th
Penalty Kill 87.5/3rd
Special Teams Net +1/3rd
1st Period Scoring 2/6th
2nd Period Scoring 7/1st
3rd Period Scoring 0/8th
Overtime Scoring 0/NR
UNH HOCKEY ON TELEVISION: UNH will have 13 games
broadcast live on TV in 2009-10...NESN will air four games, while
three will air on ESPNU, while COX-TV and WABI will each broadcast
one.
DATE GAME
Channel
Oct. 23 Northeastern NESN
oct. 30 at wisconsin tvw
madison/wc
Oct. 31 at wisconsin
wisc-tv3/wc
Nov. 6 Boston College
NESN
Nov. 8 AT Mass-Lowell
ESPNU
nov. 21 at boston univ.
nesn
Dec. 6 at Vermont ESPNU
Dec. 11 at Providence
Cox-TV
Jan. 3 Cornell ESPNU
jan. 23 at boston univ.
nesn
Feb. 6 at Maine WABI-TV
Feb. 19 Vermont NESN
March 5 Boston College
NESN
ALL IN THE FAMILY: UNH sophomore defenseman Blake Kessel
is the younger brother of Toronto Maple Leafs forward Phil Kessel,
while freshman forward Scott Pavelski is the younger brother
of Joe Pavelski of the San Jose Sharks. Joe and Phil are
currently sidelined with injuries that are keeping them out of the
lineup of their current teams.
WILDCATS PICKED THIRD IN HOCKEY EAST POLL: UNH was picked
to finish tied for fourth in the Hockey East preseason
Coaches’ Poll, which was announced on Sept. 30 at the
league’s annual media day at Legends Restaurant at the TD
Garden.
2009-10 Hockey East Men’s Preseason Coaches Poll
Rk. Team (FPV)
Pts
1. Boston University (6)
84
2. UMass-Lowell (2) 79
3. Boston College (2) 76
4. New Hampshire
59
Vermont
59
6. Northeastern
57
7. Massachusetts
47
8. Maine
32
9. Providence
24
10. Merrimack
23
THE DICK UMILE ERA: Dick Umile, a five-time Hockey East
Coach of the Year, enters his 20th season as the head coach of the
UNH Wildcats. He earned his fourth Leonard Fowle New England Coach
of the Year award following the 2007-08 season. After signing a
long-term contract in 2008, Umile will conclude his coaching career
at his alma mater. During his time spent at UNH, Umile has molded
UNH hockey into one of the top programs in all of Division I
hockey, guiding the Wildcats to four Frozen Four appearances, 15
NCAA tournament appearances and 19 Hockey East championship
tournament showings in his 19-year career in Durham. In
addition, Umile has posted 17 20-victory campaigns over the span of
19 seasons, including a current streak of 13 20-win seasons. Umile
is now the winningest coach in the history of UNH hockey with 444
career victories. He surpassed legendary coach Charlie Holt on Feb.
16, 2005 in a 6-1 victory at Merrimack at Thom Lawler Arena in
North Andover, Mass. Umile ranks fourth among active NCAA coaches
with a .652 winning percentage and on the active victories list his
444 victories ranks eighth among NCAA coaches. He has been named
Coach of the Year a total of 10 times in his career, including New
England honors four times. Umile’s five Hockey East Coach of
the Year Awards is an all-time league best.Last season, Umile
directed the Wildcats to a 20-13-5 mark as they captured their
eighth-consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament. Umile guided the
Wildcats to 20+ wins in 13 straight years, the second longest
streak in the nation and five seasons more than its closest
competition; no other team in Hockey East has an active streak
longer than one season. After struggling through a 1-5-2 stretch in
November, New Hampshire went 14-4-2 to close out the regular season
and claimed third place in the league and home-ice in the Hockey
East quarterfinals for a Hockey East-best 13th straight season. The
crowning moment of the 2008-09 season was the Wildcats’ goal
with 0.1 seconds remaining to tie and eventually win 6-5 in
overtime in their NCAA Northeast Regional opening-round game
against perennial power North Dakota in front of UNH faithful at
Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester.
THE PROGRAM’S HISTORY: UNH has appeared in the NCAA
Tournament 19 times in the 82-year history of the program,
including the nation’s second best streak at eight-straight
appearances. UNH has appeared in the Frozen Four seven times,
including national championship game appearances against Maine in
1999 and Minnesota in 2003. UNH earned Hockey East Tournament
titles in 2002 and 2003 and regular-season championships in 1997,
1999, 2002, 2003, 2007 and 2008. The Wildcats won the ECAC
regular-season title in 1974 and the tournament championship in
1979. UNH has posted 30 seasons with 20-plus wins, including the
last 13 consecutive seasons.
‘CATS SELECTED IN THE NHL DRAFT: Five current UNH
players have been selected in the National Hockey League
draft...Greg Burke (Washington), Phil DeSimone (Washington), Brian
Foster (Florida), Blake Kessel (N.Y. Islanders) and Peter LeBlanc
(Chicago) have all been taken.
‘CATS IN THE PROS: Here is a listing of
former Wildcats playing professional hockey:
Justin Aikins: Bossier Shreveport Mudbugs (CHL)
A.J. Bucchino: Amarillo Gorillas (CHL)
Joe Charlebois: Toledo Walleye (ECHL)
Greg Collins: Las Vegas Wranglers (ECHL)
Sean Collins: Wheeling Nailers (ECHL)
Ty Conklin: St. Louis Blues (NHL)
Matt Dzieduszycki: Hannover Scorpions (DEL)
Matt Fornataro: Houston Aeros (AHL)
Thomas Fortney: ESV Buchloe (GER)
Jamie Fritsch: Gwinnett Gladiators (ECHL)
Lanny Gare: Bad Nauheim EC (GerObL)
Darren Haydar: Lake Erie Monsters (AHL)
Brett Hemingway: Alaska Aces (ECHL)
Colin Hemingway: Alaska Aces (ECHL)
Kevin Kapstad: Riessersee SC (2.GBun)
Jason Krog: Chicago Wolves (AHL)
Nathan Martz: Alleghe HC (Italy)
Jacob Micflikier: Florida Everblades (ECHL)
Mark Mowers: Fribourg-Gotteron (Swiss NL)
Josh Prudden: Las Vegas Wranglers (ECHL)
Mike Radja: TPS Turku (FNL)
Kevin Regan: Reading Royals (ECHL)
Steve Saviano: Vaxjo Lakers (SEL)
Tyler Scott- Allen Americans (CHL)
Trevor Smith: Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL)
Garrett Stafford: Texas Stars (AHL)
Craig Switzer: Las Vegas Wranglers (ECHL)
James van Riemsdyk: Philadelphia Flyers (NHL)
Daniel Winnik: Phoenix Coyotes (NHL)
UNH HOCKEY ON THE RADIO: In the summer of 1999, the
University of New Hampshire Athletic Department formed the
“UNH Sports Network” — the largest network ever
to broadcast UNH sporting events.
Wildcats Sports Properties has added WGIN-AM
930 (Rochester) and WQSO-FM 96.7 (Portsmouth) as flagship stations
on the Wildcat Sports Network, joining WGIR-AM 610 (Manchester),
which was added in 2008. All three stations are part of the Clear
Channel family and this change will go into effect at the beginning
of the 2009-10 season.
These three aforementioned stations -- along
with WUVR-AM 1490 (Lebanon), WNTK-FM 99.7 (New London) and WCNL-AM
1010 (Newport) -- will carry the following: all UNH football &
men’s hockey broadcasts and weekly coaches’ shows, a
select number of men’s basketball, women’s basketball,
and women’s hockey broadcasts, as well as “Wildcat
Sports Today”, a three-minute daily update concerning UNH
athletics.
The game can also be heard on the internet at
www.UNHWildcats.com through a service from Stretch Internet.
Stretch has also partnered with UNH to develop a podcast page for
UNH fans to listen to archived broadcasts.
Dan Parkhurst will be handling the play-by-play
for the third straight season, while Pete Webster will once again
be doing the color commentating. Webster has been announcing
Wildcat hockey for 16 years since the 1993-94 season.
LISTEN LIVE ON THE INTERNET: UNHWildcats.com via Stretch
Internet Broadcast will carry all of the UNH men’s ice hockey
action again this season...If you can not attend Wildcat hockey,
you can still tune into the game from anywhere you can gain access
to the internet...Fans can get to the UNH men’s ice hockey
broadcast site by going to the men’s hockey schedule page at
www.unhwildcats.com.
THE DICK UMILE SHOW ON RADIO: The Coach’s Show
featuring UNH men’s hockey head coach Dick Umile and hosted
by Mike Murphy begins its 10th season in 2009-10. The Coach’s
Show is broadcast Mondays on the Wildcat Sports Network from
various locations around the seacoast and features Coach Umile, as
well as a student-athlete from the men’s ice hockey team. In
front of a live audience, Murphy and his guests talk about the
latest news and notes regarding UNH hockey.
GRANITE STATE CONNECTION: The Wildcat hockey team
features three players from New Hampshire with Greg Burke (Lee)
Brian Foster (Pembroke) and Paul Thompson (Derry) all hailing from
the Granite State.
WATCH ALL THE ACTION WITH THE UNHWILDCATS.TV: UNH and
Pack Network have once again partnered to provide online video
streaming of UNH’s seven ticketed sports for the upcoming
2009-10 season with UNHwildcats.TV.
Wildcat fans are encouraged to buy the
“Wildcat All-Access Pass” which is an annual
subscription for $79.95 that provides all the live coverage of UNH
home athletic events. Fans can also purchase home events on a per
game basis of $6.95.
