MEN'S HOCKEY TRAVELS TO HOCKEY EAST FOE MERRIMACK ON SATURDAY (4 P.M.)
Game
Notes
DURHAM, N.H. -- The University of New Hampshire
men’s hockey team travels to play league foe Merrimack
College on Saturday afternoon. The puck drops at 4 p.m. at Lawler
Arena in North Andover, Mass. for this early-season Hockey East
tilt.
SCOUTING THE WARRIORS: Merrimack enters this
weekend’s game against UNH with a 6-5-0 record and 3-3-0 mark
in Hockey East play. The Warriors are led offensively be freshman
standout Stephane Da Costa. De Costa has 15 points in just nine
games with eight goals and seven assists. In addition, junior
forwards Chris Barton and Joe Cucci have 13 and 11 points,
respectively. After jumping out to a 4-2 start, Merrimack has lost
three of the last five including back to back losses to Boston
University (6-4) and UMass-Lowell (6-3). Sophomore Joe Cannata and
senior Andrew Braithwaite have split time in net this season for
the Warriors. Cannata is 3-4-0 with a 3.32 GAA and a .893 save
percentage. Braithwaite is 3-1-0 with 3.25 GAA and a .895 save
percentage.
SERIES HISTORY VS. MERRIMACK: The Wildcats hold the
advantage in the all-time series vs. Merrimack College at 61-12-8
in 81 all-time meetings dating back to Jan. 16, 1960. Since
1996, UNH is 37-3-6 in the last 46 games including a 2-1-0 mark
last season. Most recently, the Wildcats captured a 1-0 win over
the Warriors on February 28 at Whittemore Center. UNH owns a 23-3-2
all-time record vs. Merrimack at the Whittemore Center and Coach
Umile in his 20-year coaching career has compiled a 49-9-7 all-time
mark against the Warriors. The ‘Cats are 13-2-0 in the last
15 meetings against Merrimack at Towse Rink. Senior Bobby Butler
(2-3-5) is the active leading Wildcat scorer against Merrimack with
five points. Senior goaltender Brian Foster has posted a 2-1-1
lifetime record against the Warriors with a 1.96 GAA, a .930 save
percentage and one career shutout.
SCORING LEADERS VS. THE WARRIORS:
Player GP
G-A-P
Bobby Butler 9 2-3-5
Peter LeBlanc 9 1-2-3
Mike Sislo 6 2-0-2
Paul Thompson 5 0-2-2
Phil DeSimone 5 1-0-1
Stevie Moses 2 1-0-1
Nick Krates 6 0-1-1
Blake Kessel 3 0-1-1
Matt Campanale 4 0-0-0
Greg Manz 1 0-0-0
Mike Borisenok 1 0-0-0
Kevin McCarey 1 0-0-0
Damon Kipp 1 0-0-0
Mike Beck 1 0-0-0
Goaltending Stats
Player GP/Min
GA GAA W-L-T
SV SV%
Foster 4/244:09
8 1.96 2-1-1
107 .930
Foster Game-by-Game vs. the Warriors
Date Min
Res. Svs. GA
Shots
3-1-08
64:57 T 34
1 35
11-29-08
59:12 L 23
4 27
2-27-09
60:00 W 24
3 27
2-28-09
60:00 W 26
0 26
Totals
244:09 2-1-1
107 8 115
SCORING BY CLASS: 2009-10 breakdown of scoring by
class.
Class G-A-P G-A-P %.
Seniors: 15-15-30 37-23-28
Juniors: 11-20-31 27-30-29
Sophomores: 11-21-32
27-32-30
Freshmen: 4-10-14 10-15-13
LAST TIME THESE TEAMS MEET (Feb. 28, 2009): Brian Foster
stopped all 26 shots he faced to record his fifth career shutout
and backbone UNH’s 1-0 Hockey East victory against Merrimack
College at the Whittemore Center. Peter LeBlanc scored the
game’s lone goal, a first-period tally.
FOSTER NAMED HOCKEY EAST DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE
WEEK: Brian Foster has been named Pure Hockey’s
Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week. The announcement was made
Monday by the league office. He earns this award for the first time
this season, third time of his career and first since Dec. 15,
2008.Foster stopped 55 of 60 shots over the weekend against Boston
University. He posted a .917 save percentage and an 2.40 goals
against average. He turned away 15 shots in the final period and in
overtime to preserve a 3-3 tie on Saturday. Foster had 34 saves on
Saturday night and 21 in a winning effort on Friday.
THE BUTLER DID IT: Bobby Butler extended his six-game
scoring streak with four points on the weekend including a
career-high three assists on Saturday. Butler is the league’s
leading scorer and the first player in Hockey East to get to
double-figure goals.
TURNING UP THE HEAT OFFENSIVELY: New Hampshire has
scored three or more goals in six-straight games.
WILDCAT TOP LINE: UNH’s top line of Butler,
Thompson and DeSimone accounted for 12 points (5g, 7a) in the
weekend against BU.
‘CATS CONTINUE SUCCESS AT AGGANIS ARENA: The
Wildcats improve to 4-1-3 lifetime at BU’s Agganis Arena.
HENRION NETS FIRST GOAL/GAME WINNER: Freshman John
Henrion tallied the game-winning goal on Friday, it was his first
career goal.
PROTECTING THE LEAD: UNH is 3-0-0 when leading after one
period and 4-0-0 when leading after two periods.
BUTLER RECORDS THREE ASSISTS: Bobby Butler handed out a
career-high three assists and became the third Wildcat player with
three assists in a game this season.
Name Game
(Date) G-A-P
Bobby Butler at BU
(11/21) 0-3-3
Blake Kessel vs. NU
(10/23) 0-3-3
Peter LeBlanc vs. Miami
(10/17) 0-3-3
THOMPSON BREAKS OUT AGAINST BOSTON UNIVERSITY: Paul
Thompson had a breakout weekend against Boston University with five
points on three goals and two assists over the weekend. He is one
of four players with double-figure points with 11.
DESIMONE STARTING TO HEAT UP: Phil DeSimone is starting
to heat up as he has scored four points (1g, 3a) in a three-game
scoring streak.
BALANCED ATTACK/THREE CLASSES WITH 30+ POINTS: The
Wildcats are seeing a well-balanced offensive attack with each of
Coach Umile’s classes chipping in. The seniors (30), juniors
(32) and sophomores (31) have 30+ points, while the freshmen have
14 points.
CAMPANALE HAPPY TO ASSISTS: Matt Campanale handed
out three assists over the weekend against BU, including a
career-high two assists Friday night. All three helpers came on the
power play.
WILDCATS HAVE SCORED IN 15 OF LAST 17 PERIODS: UNH
has scored a goal in 15 of the last 17 regulation periods.
KESSEL HOCKEY EAST’S TOP DEFENSIVE ASSIST LEADER:
Blake Kessel notched his 10th assist over the weekend. He is one of
three players in Hockey East with double-figure assists and is one
of just four defensemen nationally with double-figure helpers.
‘CATS HOPE TO CONTINUE SUCCESS AGAINST MERRIMACK:
The Wildcats are 37-3-6 in 46 games since 1996 against
Merrimack.
IDENTICAL RECORDS: If the Wildcats manage to defeat
Merrimack on Saturday, they would matched last year’s 5-6-3
record through November. However, last year’s team was just
3-4-2 in Hockey East play after November a year ago.
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
10/26 RV
RV t-1st
11/2
NR RV t-2nd
11/9
NR RV t-3rd
11/16 NR
RV t-2nd
11/23 NR
RV t-1st
THE NATIONAL POLLS:
USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine (Nov. 23)
Rk. School, Pts. (FPV)
LW Record
WIP
1 Miami University, 502 (26)
1 9-1-4 8
2 University of Denver, 479
(6) 3 8-3-1
8
3 Massachusetts-Lowell, 440
4 8-2-1 8
4 North Dakota, 374
2 7-4-1
8
5 Colorado College, 364
7 9-2-1
5
6 Bemidji State University,
290 8 10-1-1
5
7 Michigan State University,
270 6 9-3-2
3
8 Cornell, 256
5 5-2-0
8
9 Massachusetts, 240
11 8-2-0
3
10 Quinnipiac University, 234
13 10-1-0 2
11 Yale University, 144
9 3-2-2
8
12 University of Alaska, 137
10 8-3-1 4
13 Minnesota Duluth, 94
NR 9-4-1
2
14 University of Notre Dame,
86 14 6-5-3
8
15 Boston College, 42
NR 5-3-2
5
USCHO.com/CSTV Division I Men’s Poll (Nov. 23)
Rk. Team
(First Place)
Record Pts LW
1 Miami
(37)
9-1-4 983
1
2
Denver
(9)
8-3-1
938 3
3
Mass.-Lowell
(2)
8-2-1
864
4
4 North
Dakota
7-4-1
794 2
5 Colorado
College
9-2-1 792
7
6 Bemidji
State
(2)
10-1-1
690 8
7
Cornell
5-2-0
648 5
8 Michigan
State
9-3-2 632
6
9
Quinnipiac
10-1-0
622 13
10
Massachusetts
8-2-0 587
11
11
Yale
3-2-2
417
9
12
Alaska
8-3-1
401 10
13 Notre
Dame
6-5-3
381 14
14
Minnesota-Duluth
9-4-1
378 20
15
Wisconsin
7-4-1
292 15
16 Boston
College
5-3-2 250
17
17 Ferris
State
9-3-2
247 NR
18
Vermont
4-4-1
188 17
19
Nebraska-Omaha
5-4-3
109 12
20
Colgate
6-3-4
70 NR
Others Receiving Votes: St. Cloud State 64, Michigan 63, RIT 20,
Princeton 18, Union 16, New Hampshire 12, Northern Michigan 10,
Rensselaer 8, Merrimack 2, Providence 2, St. Lawrence 2
WILDCAT AWARDS: Here is a list of awards that
Wildcat players have won to date this season:
Player Award
Date
Dalton Speelman HE Rookie of the
Week
10/26
Bobby Butler HE Co-Player of the
Week 11/16
Brian Foster HE Defensive Player of
Week 11/23
Wildcats Among National leaders: Below is a list of where
UNH players and team rank nationally.
Individual Rank Stats
Points Per Game:
Bobby Butler 16th 1.38 ppg
Blake Kessel 58th 1.08 ppg
Goals Per Game:
Bobby Butler 10th 0.77 gpg
Assists Per Game:
Blake Kessel 22nd 0.83 apg
Power Play Goals:
Bobby Butler 33rd 3 ppg
Short-Handed Goals:
Peter LeBlanc 6th 1 shg
Game-Winning Goals:
Bobby Butler 6th 2 gwg
Stevie Moses 48th 1 gwg
John Henrion 48th 1 gwg
Defensemen Scoring:
Blake Kessel 7th 1.08 ppg
Freshmen Scoring:
n/a
Goals Against Average:
Brian Foster 72nd 3.70 gaa
Save Percentage:
Brian Foster 72nd .884
Winning Percentage:
Brian Foster 51st .423
Team
Scoring Offense 18th 3.15
Scoring Defense 52nd 3.77
Scoring Margin 41st -0.62
Power Play 32nd 17.5
Penalty Kill 52nd 75.4
Combined Special Teams 48th
46.5
Winnning Percentage 36th
.423
WHERE UNH IS RANKED IN HOCKEY EAST:
Overall HE games
Goals/per game 3.15/6th
3.75/3rd
GAA 3.77/10th 3.12/5th
Power Play 17.5/7th
24.1/4th
Penalty Kill 75.4/9th
67.6/10th
Special Teams Net -3/8th
-4/9th
1st Period Scoring 8/8th
6/6th
2nd Period Scoring 20/1st
12/1st
3rd Period Scoring 13/4th
12/1st
Overtime Scoring 0/NR
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 RES.
Oct. 23 Northeastern
NESN W, 4-2
oct. 30 at wisconsin tvw
madison/wc L, 1-4
Oct. 31 at wisconsin
wisc-tv3/wc L, 1-6
Nov. 6 Boston College
NESN T, 4-4 (OT)
Nov. 8 AT Mass-Lowell
ESPNU L, 3-6
nov. 21 at boston univ.
nesn T, 3-3 (OT)
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.
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.
DICK UMILE INDUCTED INTO 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 10/11 at C.R. Sparks in Bedford, N.H.
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.
