Game Day: Men's Hockey Travels to Hockey East foe Vermont (Saturday - 7 p.m.)
Game Notes
DURHAM, N.H. -- The University of New Hampshire men's hockey team looks to build on its recent four-game winning streak when it travels to Burlington, Vt. to take on the University of Vermont Catamounts. The game will air locally on WCAX with radio coverage on the Wildcat Sports Radio Network. Puck drops at 7 p.m. from Gutterson Fieldhouse.
SCOUTING THE CATAMOUNTS: The University of Vermont Catamounts enter the weekend series with a 1-5-0 record overall and an 0-4-0 mark in Hockey East. The Catamounts lone win is over top-ranked Minnesota (5-4) on Oct. 23, 2011. Most recently, UVM dropped a pair of games at Providence by scores of 5-2 and 5-1, respectively. Offensively, the Catamounts are led by Sebastian Stalberg who has five points on three goals and two assists. Connor Brickley is the team leader in goals with four. In net, senior Rob Madore and sophomore Alex Vazzano split time in 2011-12. Madore is 1-3-0 with a 5.18 GAA and an .838 save percentage, while Vazzano is 0-2-0 with a 3.61 GAA and an .886 save percentage.
SERIES HISTORY VS. VERMONT: The Wildcats own the advantage in the all-time series vs. Vermont at 73-16-5 in 94 all-time meetings dating back to Dec. 14, 1963. UNH is 15-4-4 against the Catamounts since they became a member of Hockey East during the 2005-06 season. Last season, the Wildcats captured the season series with a 2-0-1 mark and swept out the Catamounts in the Hockey East quarterfinals with a 2-0-0 mark. Coach Umile in his coaching career has registered a 28-8-4 mark against Vermont in 40 meetings. Overall, the Wildcats are 23-8-4 in the last 35 meetings with Vermont. Stevie Moses is the leading active scorer against Vermont with 12 points in 14 games, while Matt Di Girolamo is 4-0-1 lifetime against the Catamounts with a 1.58 GAA and a .946 save percentage.
SCORING LEADERS VS. THE CATAMOUNTS:
Player GP G-A-P
Stevie Moses 14 3-9-12
Mike Borisenok 11 2-3-5
Kevin Goumas 5 1-5-6
Brett Kostolansky 8 1-5-6
Damon Kipp 14 2-3-5
Greg Burke 7 2-0-2
Connor Hardowa 10 1-1-2
Austin Block 5 1-1-2
Dalton Speelman 11 0-1-1
Kevin McCarey 8 0-1-1
John Henrion 9 0-0-0
Scott Pavelski 5 0-0-0
Nick Sorkin 4 0-0-0
Jeff Silengo 4 0-0-0
Goaltending Stats
Player GP/Min GA GAA W-L-T SV SV%
Di Girolamo 5/302:18 8 1.58 4-0-1 141 .946
Scott 1/2:17 0 0.00 0-0-0 0 .000
Di Girolamo Game-by-Game vs. the Catamounts
Date Min Res. Svs. GA Shots
12-5-10 57:34 W 24 1 25
2-18-11 60:00 W 21 1 22
2-19-11 65:00 T 40 2 42
3-11-11 59:49 W 31 1 32
3-12-11 59:55 W 25 3 28
Totals 302:18 4-0-1 141 8 149
Scott Game-by-Game vs. the Catamounts
Date Min Res. Svs. GA Shots
12-5-10 2:17 ND 0 0 0
Totals 2:17 0-0-0 0 0 0
Last Time These Teams Met (3/12/11 - HE Quarterfinals): Mike Sislo broke a 3-3 tie with three minutes left in regulation to lift UNH to a 4-3 victory against the University of Vermont at the Whittemore Center. UNH, which prevailed 3-1 in Game 1, completed the two-game sweep of the Hockey East quarterfinals to advance to the semifinal at the TD Garden in Boston. Sislo finished the game with two points (goal, assist), as did Phil DeSimone with two assists. UNH goaltender Matt Di Girolamo was credited with 25 saves. UVM counterpart Rob Madore stopped 35 shots. Just 34 seconds after Vermont had tied the score at 3-3, Sislo put New Hampshire back in front for good. DeSimone found Connor Hardowa in the right slot. Hardowa fired a shot that bounced out in front of the net setting up Sislo for the rebound shot at 17:00 of the third.
Last Time Out (11/5/11 vs. Maine): Nick Sorkin recorded a goal and an assist to propel UNH to Saturday night's 3-2 Hockey East victory against 20th-ranked University of Maine at the Whittemore Center. UNH goaltender Matt Di Girolamo (Ambler, Pa.) recorded 13 saves in both the first and second periods en route to a 31-save effort. Maine goalie Martin Ouellette stopped 10 shots in both the first and third, and made 25 saves overall.
UNH Named Hockey East Team of the Week: UNH garnered Hockey East's Team of the Week for its weekend sweep of UMass and Maine over the weekend. The announcement was made Monday afternoon by the league office. The Wildcats captured a 7-3 victory over Massachusetts on Friday night and downed Maine on Saturday night by a score of 3-2. UNH is 4-0-1 over its last five including winners of four straight. New Hampshire's five-game unbeaten streak is the fourth-longest active streak in the nation. On Friday, the Wildcats posted a season-high seven goals marking the best offensive output since a 7-4 win at Cornell on Oct. 29, 2011. Saturday night's 3-2 win over Maine was the 'Cats ninth straight win over the Black Bears at the Whittemore Center.
UNH Hopes to Continue Recent Success Against Vermont: The Wildcats are hoping to pick up where they left off with the Catamounts as UNH is 11-2-2 in the regular season dating back to 2006-07 and have only lost five times in the last 32 meetings overall.
Streaking 'Cats: UNH improved to .500 by extending its win streak to four and its unbeaten streak to five games (4-0-1) with a pair of Hockey East wins over Massachusetts (7-3) on Friday night and Maine (3-2) on Saturday night.UNH's five-game streak is the fourth longest active streak in Division I. It is UNH's first five-game unbeaten streak since Dec. 10, 2010.
Seven Heaven: On Friday night, UNH scored a season-high seven goals marking the first time since Oct. 29, 2010 at Cornell the 'Cats scored seven goals in a game. On Friday night 14 players tallied a point against Massachusetts with seven players with multi-point efforts. After scoring zero goals in the first two games and one goal through the first three games, UNH has responded with 25 goals over the last six contests including 10 this past weekend by nine different players.
Protecting the Lead: The Wildcats improved to 4-0-0 when leading after two periods thanks to a three-goal second period.
Fine Nine; Nine Whitt Wins in a Row Over Maine: UNH captured its ninth-straight win over Maine at Whittemore Center on Saturday night. The 'Cats jumped out to a 3-0 lead and held off a late Maine charge. UNH is now 18-5-1 against Maine at the Whittemore Center.
Home-Sweet-Home: The Wildcats, who played four of the first five games on the road, returned home to the friendly confines of the Whittemore Center and rattled off four straight wins.
Streakin' Sorkin: Nick Sorkin is riding a seven-game point scoring streak with 11 points in that span.
Game G-A-P
10-15 vs. BC 1-0-1
10-21 at SCSU 1-1-2
10-22 at SCSU 2-0-2
10-28 vs. Union 0-1-1
10-29 vs. Northeastern 0-1-1
11-4 vs. UMass 0-2-2
11-5 vs. Maine 1-1-2
Record - 4-2-1 5-6-11
Di Gi's Back: After struggling out of the gate in 2011-12, senior netminder Matt Di Girolamo has been lights out during UNH's four-game winning streak.
Game GA Saves Result
10-28 vs. Union 1 37 W
10-29 vs. Northeastern 2 15 W
11-4 vs. UMass 3 29 W
11-5 vs. Maine 2 31 W
Record - 4-0-0 (2.00 GAA) 8 112 (.933)
Di Gi vs. Vermont: Senior netminder Matt Di Girolamo has enjoyed his share of success against the Catamounts. Di Girolamo is 4-0-1 with a 1.58 GAA and a .946 save percentage. Di Girolamo allowed just one goal three times in five games last season.
First Goal: Last weekend, freshmen Grayson Downing and Jay Camper potted their first collegiate goals. Downing's came in Friday night's 7-3 win over UMass, while Camper's was Saturday night against rival Maine.
Goumas on a Roll: After scoring his first goal of the season with a dramatic overtime tally, Kevin Goumas has been on fire with five points (2g, 3a) in an active four-game point scoring streak.
SCORING BY CLASS: 2011-12 breakdown of scoring by class.
Class G-A-P G-A-P %.
Seniors: 8-11-19 31-24-26
Juniors: 8-10-18 31-22-25
Sophomores: 8-15-23 31-33-32
Freshmen: 2-10-12 8-22-17
All in the Family: Junior forward Scott Pavelski is the younger brother of Joe Pavelski of the San Jose Sharks while freshman defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk is the younger brother of former wildcat and current Philadelphia flyer James van Riemsdyk. Freshman forward Jay Camper is the brother of Miami standout Carter Camper, while Associate Head Coach Jim Tortorella is the brother of Rangers head coach John Tortorella.
'Cats Selected in the NHL Draft: Two current UNH players have been selected in the National Hockey League draft. Greg Burke (Washington) and Eric Knodel (Toronto) have all been drafted.
Wildcats Among National Leaders (Thru 11/9): Below is a list of where UNH players and team rank nationally.
Individual Rank Stats
Points Per Game:
Nick Sorkin 42nd 1.22 ppg
Goals Per Game:
Nick Sorkin 58th 0.56 gpg
Power Play Goals:
Nick Sorkin 3rd 4 ppg
Short Handed Goals:
Nick Sorkin 4th 1 shg
Game Winning Goals:
Kevin Goumas 37th 1 gwg
Kevin McCarey 37th 1 gwg
Brett Kosotlansky 37th 1 shg
Nick Sorkin 37th 1 shg
Team
Scoring Offense 31st 2.89
Scoring Defense 49th 3.56
Scoring Margin 42nd -0.67
Power Play 21st 20.0
Penalty Kill 43rd 78.1
Combined Special Teams 35th 47.8
Among the League Leaders (Thru 11/9): Where some of the Wildcats rank in Hockey East.
Player All Games HE Games
Points Nick Sorkin 5th (11 pts) 17th (6 pts)
Stevie Moses 17th (8 pts) 27th (5 pts)
Kevin Goumas 45th (5 pts) 42nd (4 pts)
Goals
Nick Sorkin 5th (5 g) 22nd (2 g)
Mike Borisenok n/a 14th (3 g)
Assists Nick Sorkin 9th (6 a) 14th (4 a)
Stevie Moses 16th (5 a) 24th (3 a)
Casey Thrush 25th (4 a) 24th (3 a)
Grayson Downing 25th (4 a) 82nd (1 a)
Dalton Speelman 51st (3 a) 53rd (2 a)
PP Points Nick Sorkin 1st (5 pts) 7th (3 pts)
Stevie Moses 8th (4 pts) 7th (3 pts)
Grayson Downing16th (3 pts) 43rd (1 pt)
PP Goals Nick Sorkin 1st (4 ppg) 5th (2 ppg)
John Henrion 18th (1 ppg) n/a
Stevie Moses 18th (1 ppg) 9th (1 ppg)
SH Points Stevie Moses 8th (1 shp) n/a
Nick Sorkin 8th (1 shp) n/a
SH Goals Nick Sorkin 2nd (1 shg) n/a
Game Winning Goals
Kevin Goumas 9th (1 gwg) n/a
Kevin McCarey 9th (1 gwg) 5th (1 g)
Def. Scoring Eric Knodel 13th (4 pts) 30th (1 pt)
Damon Kipp 13th (4 pts) 15th (2 pts)
Freshman Scor. Casey Thrush 4th (6.00 pts) 8th (3.00 pts)
Grayson Downing 6th (5.00 pts)11th (2.00 pts)
T. van Riemsdyk 16th (2.00 pts) 17th (1.00 pt)
GAA Matt Di Girolamo 9th (3.48) 8th (3.45)
Save% Matt Di Girolamo 9th (.883) 10th (.876)
Saves Matt Di Girolamo 4th (197) 4th (141)
Minutes Matt Di Girolamo 3rd (448:24) 5th (347:53)
Where UNH is Ranked in Hockey East (Thru 11/9):
Overall HE games
Goals/per game 2.89/7th 2.67/8th
GAA 3.86/9th 3.50/6th
Power Play 20.0/3rd 21.1/4th
Penalty Kill 78.1/8th 85.0/4th
Special Teams Net +1/5th +1/4th
1st Period Scoring 10/4th 7/5th
2nd Period Scoring 8/4th 6/3rd
3rd Period Scoring 7/6th 3/5th
Overtime Scoring 1/1st n/a
UNH to Play Rival Maine at Fenway Park: The University of New Hampshire will make history Jan. 7, 2012, when the Wildcats face off against longtime nemesis University of Maine at Fenway Park as part of a Hockey East doubleheader that was announced Aug. 25 at the venerable ballpark, which is home to the Boston Red Sox of MLB. The event has been dubbed Frozen Fenway 2012 and Hockey Day in New England. The 111th meeting in the series between UNH and Maine - the 'Cats swept last year's season series - is the second game of a doubleheader at 7:30 p.m. and will be preceded by a matchup between the University of Vermont and the University of Massachusetts at 4 p.m. The doubleheader will be broadcast live in high-definition on NESN.
UNH, Verizon Wireless Arena Awarded 2013 NCAA Northeast Men's Hockey Regional: The NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Committee announced Oct. 5 that the University of New Hampshire and Verizon Wireless Arena have been awarded the 2013 NCAA Division I men's hockey Northeast Regional. Game dates and times have not been finalized, but will be held between March 29-31. 2013 will mark the fifth time UNH and Verizon Wireless Arena have hosted this event, all since 2004. Last season, UNH advanced to the regional finals against with a 3-1 win over top-seeded Miami at the NCAA Northeast Regional in Manchester. New Hampshire also hosted in 2007 and 2009. In addition to the Northeast Regional, the East Regional will be held at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, R.I. and hosted by Brown University, the Midwest Regional will be held at the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio and hosted by Bowling Green State University and the West Regional will be held at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich. and be hosted by the University of Michigan.
Wildcats Tabbed Third in Hockey East Preseason Poll: The University of New Hampshire men's hockey team was picked to finish third in the Hockey East Preseason Coaches' Poll, which was announced Sept. 27 at the league's annual media day at Legends Restaurant at the TD Garden. The Wildcats garnered 72 points in the poll, which was good enough for a third place preseason standing. UNH was picked third last season and finished second in the league's regular-season standings. New Hampshire has finished in the top three in Hockey East each of the last five seasons, including three regular-season titles in that span.
2011-2012 Hockey East Preseason Coaches Poll
Rk. Team (FPV) Pts
1. Boston College (7) 88
2. Boston University (3) 83
3. New Hampshire 72
4. Maine 64
5. Merrimack 61
6. Vermont 44
7. Massachusetts 42
8. Northeastern 33
9. UMass-Lowell 27
10. Providence 26
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
9/27 12th 12th 3rd (pre)
10/3 NP NP 3rd (pre)
10/10 RV 15th 6th
10/17 NR RV 8th
10/24 NR NR 8th
10/31 NR NR 7th
11/7 NR RV 4th
THE NATIONAL POLLS:
USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's Hockey Poll (Nov. 7)
Rk. Team, Points (FPV) Last Poll Record Weeks
1 University of Minnesota, 489 (27) 5 9-1-0 5
2 Boston College, 469 (6) 1 8-2-0 6
3 Colorado College, 415 2 5-1-0 6
4 Merrimack College, 390 (1) 7 7-0-1 5
5 University of Michigan, 378 3 7-2-1 6
6 Western Michigan Univ., 360 6 6-1-3 6
7 University of Notre Dame, 291 4 5-2-2 6
8 Ferris State University, 255 10 8-2-0 3
9 Union College, 225 11 5-1-3 6
10 Yale University, 169 9 2-1-1 6
11 Lake Superior State Univ., 148 13 8-2-0 2
12 University of Denver, 140 8 3-3-2 6
13 Minnesota Duluth, 123 14 5-3-2 6
14 Dartmouth College, 66 NR 3-1-0 1
15 Northern Michigan Univ., 46 NR 4-3-3 2
Others receiving votes: Michigan Tech University, 29; Boston University, 26; Colgate University, 24; Quinnipiac University, 24; University of Nebraska Omaha, 6; Clarkson University, 3; United States Air Force Academy, 3; University of North Dakota, 1.
USCHO.com Division I Men's Hockey Poll (Nov. 7)
Rk. School (FPV) Record Points Lst Wk.
1 Minnesota (32) 9-1-0 956 5
2 Boston College (15) 8-2-0 940 1
3 Colorado College 5-1-0 845 2
4 Michigan (1) 7-2-1 836 3
5 Western Michigan 6-1-3 802 4
6 Merrimack (2) 7-0-1 801 7
7 Notre Dame 5-2-2 675 6
8 Ferris State 8-2-0 647 10
9 Union 5-1-3 536 13
10 Minnesota-Duluth 5-3-2 483 14
11 Lake Superior 8-2-0 474 11
12 Denver 3-3-2 450 8
13 Yale 2-1-1 448 9
14 Northern Michigan 4-3-3 290 17
15 Michigan Tech 6-3-1 272 16
16 Boston University 3-3-1 207 12
17 Dartmouth 3-1-0 161 NR
18 Colgate 5-3-1 147 18
19 Quinnipiac 7-3-1 129 19
20 North Dakota 3-6-1 96 15
Others receiving votes: Clarkson 53, Nebraska-Omaha 51, Ohio
State 51, Air Force 41, St. Cloud State 32, Miami 17, New
Hampshire 16, Maine 14, Providence 8, Wisconsin 8, Cornell
6, Massachusetts-Lowell 4, Michigan State 4.
UNH Hockey on Television(Subject to change or additional): UNH will have 12 games broadcast live on TV in 2011-12. WBIN-TV will air six games with one game on CBS Sports, WCAX, NESN and Cox, while two will air locally on Charter (Minn.).
DATE GAME Channel RES.
Oct. 21 at St. Cloud Charter L, 5-7
Oct. 22 at St. Cloud Charter T, 3-3
Nov. 12 at Vermont WCAX
Nov.18 Mass.-Lowell WBIN
Dec. 8 Boston Univ. WBIN
Jan. 7 vs. Maine (Frozen Fenway) NESN
Jan. 11 at Providence COX
Jan. 21 Merrimack WBIN
Jan. 28 Boston College WBIN
Feb. 3 Providence CBS Sports
Feb. 10 Northeatern WBIN
Feb. 17 Vermont WBIN
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.In 2009, Wildcats Sports Properties has added WGIN-AM 930 (Rochester) and WQSO-FM 96.7 (Portsmouth) as affiliate stations on the Wildcat Sports Network, joining flagship WGIR-AM 610 (Manchester), which was added in 2008. All three stations are part of the Clear Channel family. These three aforementioned stations -- along with WSMN-AM 1590 (Nashua), WNTK-FM 99.7 (New London) and WASR-AM 1420 (Wolfeboro) -- will carry the following: all UNH football & men's hockey broadcasts, a select number of men's basketball, women's basketball and women's hockey broadcasts. Dan Parkhurst will be handling the play-by-play for the fifth-straight season, while Pete Webster will once again be doing the color commentating. Webster has been announcing Wildcat hockey 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.
WILDCAT AWARDS: Here is a list of awards that Wildcat players have won to date this season:
Player Award Date
Matt Di Girolamo USCHO's Top 10 Goalies #1 9/26
Stevie Moses USCHO's Top 10 Forwards #4 9/30
Matt Di Girolamo HE Defensive Player of the Week 10/31
UNH Wildcats HE Team of the Week 11/7
GRANITE STATE CONNECTION: The Wildcat hockey team features three players from New Hampshire with Greg Burke (Lee), Ryan Randall (Durham) and Casey DeSmith (Rochester) all hailing from the Granite State.
