MEN'S HOCKEY TO PLAY #8 MASS.-LOWELL (FRI - 7PM - WHITT); AND AT #19 VERMONT (SUN - 3PM - ESPNU)
Game
Notes
THE MATCHUP: The University of New Hampshire men’s
hockey team is set to play a pair of nationally-ranked Hockey East
foes. The ‘Cats conclude its 2009 home slate on Friday
against No. 8 UMass-Lowell at 7 p.m. at Whittemore Center and
travels to No. 19 Vermont on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. at
Gutterson Fieldhouse. Sunday’s game will air live nationally
on ESPNU.
SCOUTING THE NO. 8 RIVER HAWKS: The No. 8 UMass-Lowell
River Hawks enter Friday night’s game as the highest-ranked
team in Hockey East. UML stormed out of the gate with a 8-2-1
record over its first 11 games before suffering back-to-back losses
to Providence (4-2) and Maine (3-1). The River Hawks sit in fourth
place in the Hockey East standings with a 4-3-1 mark, good enough
for nine league points. This veteran group features 11 seniors
including five with 10 points or more this season. Junior Scott
Campbell is the team’s leading scorer with 13 points on five
goals and eight assists. The River Hawks are also experienced in
net with a pair of seniors splitting time this season. Carter
Hutton is 4-3-0 with a 2.29 GAA and a .918 save percentage, while
Nevin Hamilton is 4-1-1 with a 2.48 GAA and a .916 save
percentage.
SERIES HISTORY VS. UMASS-LOWELL: The Wildcats lead the
all-time series with the River Hawks at 50-30-14 in 94 all-time
meetings between the two schools dating back to Dec. 6, 1983.UNH
went 2-1-0 against the River Hawks a year ago by virtue of the
sweep of a home-and-home series in early December. Most recently,
the River Hawks used a four-goal third period to capture a 6-4 win
at Tsongas Arena on Nov. 8. UML was 3-6 on the power play in that
game including a pair of third period power play goals. Coach Umile
owns a 43-19-9 all-time record against the River Hawks in his
20-year coaching career. Phil DeSimone, Peter LeBlanc and Bobby
Butler all have five points against UML, while Brian Foster is
3-1-1 in four career meetings with the River Hawks. He owns a 1.97
GAA, .932 save percentage and a pair shutouts against UML.
SCORING LEADERS VS. THE RIVER HAWKS:
Player GP G-A-P
Phil DeSimone 7 0-5-5
Peter LeBlanc 10 2-3-5
Bobby Butler 10 1-4-5
Mike Sislo 7 2-0-2
Austin Block 1 1-0-1
Connor Hardowa 1 0-1-1
Blake Kessel 4 1-0-1
Nick Krates 6 0-1-1
Dalton Speelman 1 0-1-1
Paul Thompson 7 1-0-1
Mike Beck 2 0-0-0
Damon Kipp 3 0-0-0
Stevie Moses 3 0-0-0
Greg Burke 1 0-0-0
Mike Borisenok 1 0-0-0
Greg Manz 1 0-0-0
Scott Pavelski 1 0-0-0
Brett Kostolansky 1 0-0-0
Matt Campanale 1 0-0-0
Kevin McCarey 1 0-0-0
Goaltending Stats
Player GP/Min
GA GAA W-L-T
SV SV%
Foster 5/304:57
10 1.97 3-1-1
137 .932
DiGirolamo 1/59:57
8 8.00 0-1-0
27 .771
DiGirolamo Game-by-Game vs. the River Hawks
Date Min
Res. Svs. GA
Shots
11-14-08
59:57 L 27
8 35
Totals
59:57 0-1-0
27 8 35
Foster Game-by-Game vs. the River Hawks
Date Min
Res. Svs. GA
Shots
11-18-06
60:00 W 26
0 26
11-9-07
65:00 T 39
2 41
12-5-08
59:57 W 29
0 29
12-6-08
60:00 W 15
2 17
11-8-09
60:00 L 28
6 34
Totals
304:57 3-1-1
137 10 147
LAST TIME THESE TEAMS MET (Nov. 8, 2009): A four-goal
third period, which included a pair of power play goals, helped
lift eight-ranked Massachusetts-Lowell to a 6-3 win over the UNH on
Nov. 8 at Tsongas Arena. Mike Sislo, Austin Block and Bobby Butler
scored for the Wildcats, who held leads of 1-0 and 2-1 during the
contest.
SCOUTING THE NO. 19 CATAMOUNTS: No. 19 Vermont enters the
weekend 6-5-1 overall with 4-4-1 record good enough for a
fourth-place tie in Hockey East. The Catamounts are riding a
two-game winning streak with wins at Northeastern and home against
ECAC foe Yale. The ‘Cats will place at BU on Friday before
playing host to UNH for the only time this season at Gutterson
Fieldhouse. Senior Brayden Irwin is the team’s leading scorer
with 12 points on five goals and seven assists. UVM has been strong
in net this season as sophomore Rob Madore and senior Mike Spillane
have each played significant time in 2009-10. Madore is 3-4-1 with
a 3.51 GAA and a .886 save percentage. Spillane is 3-1-0 with a
2.54 GAA and .915 save percentage. Most recently, Spillane shutout
Yale, stopping all 26 shots he faced.
SERIES HISTORY VS. VERMONT: The Wildcats own the
advantage in the all-time series vs. Vermont at 66-16-3 in 85
all-time meetings dating back to Dec. 14, 1963. UNH is 8-2-2
against the Catamounts since they became a member of Hockey East
during the 2005-06 season. Last year, the Wildcats were 2-1-0
against the Catamounts including a 6-5 overtime road win in the
regular-season finale, a win that gave UNH the third seed in the
Hockey East tournament. UNH owns a 31-10-1 all-time record vs. the
Catamounts at Gutterson Field House and Coach Umile in his 20-year
coaching career has registered a 22-6-2 mark against Vermont in 30
meetings. Overall, the Wildcats are 16-3-2 in the last 21 meetings
with Vermont. Co-captains Bobby Butler and Peter LeBlanc are the
leading active scorers against Vermont with nine points in nine
games, while Brian Foster is 2-1-0 in four all-time appearances
against UVM.
SCORING LEADERS VS. THE CATAMOUNTS:
Player GP
G-A-P
Bobby Butler 9 5-4-9
Peter LeBlanc 9 4-5-9
Paul Thompson 6 1-3-4
Phil DeSimone 6 0-3-3
Blake Kessel 3 2-1-3
Mike Sislo 6 1-2-3
Greg Manz 3 1-0-1
Nick Krates 6 0-1-1
Matt Campanale 4 0-1-1
Damon Kipp 3 1-0-1
Stevie Moses 3 0-0-0
Goaltending Stats
Player GP/Min
GA GAA W-L-T
SV SV%
Foster 4/194:06
13 4.01 2-1-0
86 .868
Foster Game-by-Game vs. the Catamounts
Date Min
Res. Svs. GA
Shots
1/5/07
11:58 N/D 2
0 2
1/30/09
60:00 W 24
2 26
3/6/09
58:24 L 29
6 35
3/7/09
63:44 W 31
5 36
Totals
194:06 2-1-0
86 13 99
SCORING BY CLASS: 2009-10 breakdown of scoring by class.
Class G-A-P G-A-P
%.
Seniors: 17-17-34 37-22-28
Juniors: 14-24-38 30-32-31
Sophomores: 11-25-36
24-33-30
Freshmen: 4-10-14 9-13-11
LAST TIME THESE TEAMS MET (March 7, 2009): Greg Collins
scored at 3:44 of overtime to lift ninth-ranked UNH to a 6-5 Hockey
East win over No. 7 Vermont at Gutterson Fieldhouse in the
regular-season finale. With the win, the Wildcats secured the third
seed in the Hockey East tournament. Collins finished the night with
a goal and two assists, while Peter LeBlanc had two goals including
the game-tying goal at 16:40 of the third period.
BUTLER NAMED HE PLAYER OF THE MONTH FOR NOVEMBER: Bobby
Butler was named Hockey East Player of the Month for November. He
becomes the first Wildcat to earn this honor since Mike Sislo did
so in December, 2008. Butler registered a point in all seven games
in the month and scored a goal in all but one game, racking up 13
points on eight goals and five assists. Butler, who is tied as the
nation’s top goal scorer, had four multi-point games and two
multi-goal efforts in the month. The only game Butler did not score
a goal in the month was when he handed out a career-high three
assists factoring in all three goals in a 3-3 tie at Boston
University (11/21). He skated a +7 and scored twice on the power
play, once short-handed and netted the game-winning goal against
UMass (11/14) and the game-tying goal against Boston College
(11/6). Overall, the senior captain led the ‘Cats to a 3-2-2
mark and averaged 1.14 goals per game and 1.86 points per game in
the month.
NOVEMBER TO REMEMBER FOR TOP LINE: UNH’s top line
of Bobby Butler, Phil DeSimone and Paul Thompson have
accounted for UNH’s last nine goals and 12 of the last 16
overall in the last four games (3-0-1). The trio racked up 31
points on 16 goals and 15 assists in seven games, including 21
points in the last three games.
November Stats
G-A-P
Bobby Butler (HEPOTM)
8-5-13
Paul Thompson
6-4-10
Phil DeSimone
2-6-8
Totals
16-15-31
UNBEATEN IN LAST FOUR: New Hampshire is 3-0-1 in its last
four games and sits alone atop the Hockey East standings for the
first time this season.
TWO VS. RANKED FOES: UNH will play a pair of games
against nationally-ranked opponents as UMass-Lowell is eighth
nationally and Vermont is 19th in the latest top 20. Overall, UNH
is just 1-5-2 against ranked opponents, but won its last game
against a ranked team in a 4-2 win at No. 10 UMass.
IDENTICAL RECORDS: With a 5-6-3 mark through
November, the Wildcats have an identical record to 2008-09 squad
that qualified for the NCAA tournament. However, UNH was just 3- 4-
2 in conference compared to a 5-2-2 mark this season.
THE BUTLER DID IT: Bobby Butler has 13 points (8g, 5a) in
a seven-game scoring streak with eight goals and five assists...
Butler is tied for the nation’s lead in goals with 12. He is
tied with Canisius’ Cory Conacher and Ferris State’s
Blair Riley.
KESSEL AMONG NATION’S TOP DEFENSEMEN: Blake Kessel,
with a pair of assists on Saturday, became the league leader and is
tied for the nation’s lead in defensemen assists with 12.
TURNING UP THE HEAT OFFENSIVELY: The Wildcat offense has
scored three or more goals in seven-straight games, including four
games of four or more in that span.
THOMPSON HEATING UP: Paul Thompson has eight points (5g,
3a) in the last three games and with 14 points (7g, 7a) has already
set a career benchmark for goals, assists and points.
POWERFUL POWER PLAY: The UNH power play has scored four
times in the last three games.
CENTER OF ATTENTION FOR DESIMONE: Phil DeSimone has seven
points (2g, 5a) during his current four-game scoring streak,
including goals in back-to-back games.
KIPP NOTCHES CAREER-HIGH TWO ASSISTS: Damon Kipp handed
out a career-high two assists on Saturday.
SCORING AT LAWLER: Saturday’s five goals at Lawler
Arena is the most by a UNH squad since Feb. 16, 2005.
CAPTAINS VS. THE CATAMOUNTS: UNH’s co-captains
Peter LeBlanc (4g, 5a) and Bobby Butler (5g, 4a) have combined for
18 points in nine games against Vermont.
COMING FROM BEHIND: UNH’s 5-4 win over Merrimack
was the first time the Wildcats won when trailing after one period.
They are now 1-2-2 when trailing after one.
PROTECTING THE LEAD: UNH is 3-0-0 when leading after one
period and 4-0-0 when leading after two periods.
BUTLER APPROACHING 100 CAREER POINTS: Senior Bobby Butler
has 89 (44g, 45a) career points and is fasting approaching the
Wildcats Century Club. Butler looks to become the 67th member of
this prestigious group and the first since Mike Radja and Matt
Fornataro did so in the same game at Boston University on Jan. 26,
2008.
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
11/30 NR
RV 1st
THE NATIONAL POLLS:
USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine (Nov. 30)
Rk. School, Pts. (FPV)
LW Record
WIP
1 Miami University, 483 (18)
1 9-2-5 9
2 University of Denver, 470
(10) 2 9-4-1
9
3 North Dakota, 448 (3)
4 8-4-2
9
4 Bemidji State University, 373
(1) 6 11-2-1
6
5 Colorado College, 366 (1)
5 10-3-1 6
6 Quinnipiac University, 353
(1) 10 12-1-0
3
7 Cornell University, 316
8 6-2-1
9
8 Massachusetts Lowell, 244
3 8-4-1 9
9 Massachusetts, 237
9 9-3-0
4
10 Yale University, 198
11 5-2-2
9
11 Michigan State University,
129 7 9-5-2
4
12 Minnesota Duluth, 128
13 9-4-1
3
13 University of Alaska, 114
12 8-3-3 5
14 Boston College, 57
15 6-3-2
6
15 University of Notre Dame,
49 14 7-5-4
9
Others receiving votes: Ferris State University, 45; University of
Wisconsin, 44; University of Nebraska Omaha, 11; University of
Vermont, 9; University of Michigan, 2; Rochester Institute of
Technology, 2; Boston University, 1; Colgate University, 1.
USCHO.com/CBS College Sports Div. I Men’s Poll (Nov.
30)
Rk. Team
(First Place)
Record Pts LW
1 Miami (20)
9-2-5 934 1
2 Denver (14)
9-4-1 923
2
3 North Dakota (7)
8-4-2
900 4
4 Quinnipiac (7)
12-1-0
799 9
5 Bemidji State (2)
11-2-1
784 6
6 Colorado College
10-3-1 766
5
7 Cornell
6-2-1 708
7
8 Mass.-Lowell
8-4-1
647 3
9 Massachusetts
9-3-0
573 10
10
Yale
5-2-2
497 11
11 Michigan
State
9-5-2 441
8
12
Alaska
8-3-3
426 12
12
Minnesota-Duluth
9-4-1
426 14
14 Notre
Dame
7-5-4
323 13
15 Boston
College
6-3-2 321
16
16
Wisconsin
8-5-1
308 15
17 Ferris
State
9-3-2
265 17
18
Nebraska-Omaha
7-4-3
146 19
19
Vermont
5-5-1
83 18
20 St. Cloud
State
6-6-2
80 NR
Others Receiving Votes: Michigan 66, RIT 21, Colgate 20, Union 19,
New Hampshire 9, Northern Michigan 7, Rensselaer 3, Providence 2,
Boston University 1, Minnesota 1, Princeton 1
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
Bobby Butler HE Player of the
Month
Nov.
Wildcats Among National leaders: Below is a list
of where UNH players and team rank nationally.
Individual Rank Stats
Points Per Game:
Bobby Butler 7th 1.50 ppg
Blake Kessel 38th 1.15 ppg
Goals Per Game:
Bobby Butler 4th 0.86 gpg
Assists Per Game:
Blake Kessel 10th 0.92 apg
Power Play Goals:
Bobby Butler 18th 4 ppg
Short-Handed Goals:
Bobby Butler 7th 1 shg
Peter LeBlanc 7th 1 shg
Game-Winning Goals:
Bobby Butler 9th 2 gwg
Defensemen Scoring:
Blake Kessel 3rd 1.15 ppg
Freshmen Scoring:
n/a
Goals Against Average:
Brian Foster 72nd 3.72 gaa
Save Percentage:
Brian Foster 71st .885
Winning Percentage:
Brian Foster 47th .464
Team
Scoring Offense 16th 3.29
Scoring Defense 51st 3.79
Scoring Margin 39th -0.50
Power Play 30th 17.7
Penalty Kill 52nd 75.8
Combined Special Teams 47th
46.8
Winnning Percentage 33rd
.464
WHERE UNH IS RANKED IN HOCKEY EAST:
Overall HE games
Goals/per game 3.29/6th
3.89/2nd
GAA 3.79/10th 3.22/7th
Power Play 17.7/8th
23.5/5th
Penalty Kill 75.8/8th
69.2/10th
Special Teams Net -2/8th
-3/9th
1st Period Scoring 8/8th
6/8th
2nd Period Scoring 23/1st
15/1st
3rd Period Scoring 15/4th
14/1st
Overtime Scoring 0/NR
0/NR
Nation’s Current Unbeaten
Streak:
W- L- T Games
Quinnipiac
8-0-0 8
RIT
8-0-0 8
Air Force
4-0-3 7
Ferris State
4-0-2 6
Northern Michigan
3-0-3 6
Union
3-0-3 6
Notre Dame
2-0-3 5
New Hampshire
3-0-1 4
Mercyhurst
4-0-0 4
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
