Game Day: Men's Hockey Heads to Harvard University (Tues - 7 p.m.); Hosts Alabama-Huntsville (Sat - 7 p.m.)
Game Notes
DURHAM, N.H. -- The University of New Hampshire men's hockey team looks to get back on track when it travels to non-conference rival Harvard University tonight at 7 p.m. The Wildcats return home on Saturday for a game against University of Alabama-Huntsville (7 p.m.).
Scouting the Crimson: Harvard University enters Tuesday evening's game with a 2-3-1 record and a 2-3-1 record in the ECAC conference. In the Crimson's last outing they traveled to upstate New York where they took on both Clarkson and St Lawrence and played to a 3-2 win and a 4-3 loss, respectively. The last time New Hampshire met Harvard was on Dec. 8, 2005 when they snuck by the 'Cats 1-0. On offensive, Harvard turns to junior defenseman Danny Biega (2g, 4a) and senior forward Alex Killorn (3g, 3a). In goal for Harvard is freshman Steve Michalek with a record of 2-2-0, 2.81 GAA and a .908 save percentage. Backing up Michalek is sophomore Raphael Girard who has seen action in two games this season earning a 0-1-1 record and a 3.53 GAA, .866 save percentage.
Series History vs. Harvard: Harvard University leads the all-time series with UNH, 18-11-0 in 29 all-time meetings between the two schools dating back to Jan. 12, 1942. Harvard won the first six meetings all time, while UNH has won six of the last seven. Harvard won the last meeting between the two with a 1-0 win on Dec. 8, 2005 in Durham.
vs. HARVARD (11-18-0)
1-12-43 (A) Harvard 13 UNH 2 L
1-8-66 (A) Harvard 9 UNH 5 L
12-3-66 (H) Harvard 6 UNH 2 L
2-15-69 (A) Harvard 7 UNH 1 L
3-4-69 (A) Harvard 4 UNH 3 OT L
12-9-69 (H) Harvard 11 UNH 3 L
1-15-72 (H) UNH 4 Harvard 3 OT W
3-11-72 (N) UNH 4 Harvard 1 W
12-2-72 (A) Harvard 9 UNH 3 L
1-28-73 (H) UNH 3 Harvard 2 W
3-9-76 (H) Harvard 4 UNH 3 L
12-15-76 (A) UNH 9 Harvard 6 W
12-14-77 (H) Harvard 7 UNH 6 L
12-12-78 (A) Harvard 8 UNH 4 L
12-11-79 (H) Harvard 4 UNH 1 L
12-10-80 (A) Harvard 4 UNH 3 L
12-9-81 (H) Harvard 3 UNH 2 L
12-7-82 (A) Harvard 7 UNH 5 L
3-11-83 (N) Harvard 6 UNH 3 L
2-21-84 (H) UNH 6 Harvard 2 W
12-10-88 (H) Harvard 4 UNH 3 OT L
3-26-94 (N) Harvard 7 UNH 1 L
12-7-94 (A) UNH 5 Harvard 2 W
12-21-95 (H) UNH 3 Harvard 2 OT W
12-30-95 (N) UNH 8 Harvard 3 W
1-28-97 (A) UNH 7 Harvard 5 W
12-14-00 (H) UNH 4 Harvard 1 W
3-26-05 (N) UNH 3 Harvard 2 W
12-8-05 (H) Harvard 1 UNH 0 L
Last Time Out (12/8/05 vs. Harvard): John Daigneau recorded 32 saves to lead the Harvard University men's hockey team to a 1-0 upset victory against ninth-ranked University of New Hampshire at the Whittemore Center. Harvard netted the game's only goal on defenseman Brian McCafferty's second tally of the season to take a 1-0 lead into the first intermission. Kevin Du and Jimmy Fraser were credited with assists on the goal, which was potted off a rebound in front at 5:27 of the first period. In a scoreless second stanza, Harvard went 0-for-3 on the power play but was outshot by the Wildcats, who did not have a skater advantage in the period, by a 7-5 margin. Kevin Regan finished with 19 saves, eight of which came in the third period. Daigneau recorded half of his 32 saves in the first period.
Scouting the Chargers: The University of Alabama-Huntsville enters the week with a 0-11-1 record. On this road trip, the Charger's will also travel to Merrimack (Wednesday) and UMass Lowell (Friday). Over the weekend, the Chargers traveled to Providence College, where they tallied two losses with scores of 3-0 and 4-2. Offensively the Chargers look to freshman forward Kyle Lysaght and sophomore forward Mac Roy who lead Alabama-Huntsville with three goals apiece. Between the posts for the Chargers is sophomore Clarke Saunders, who despite his nine losses has compiled a .915 save percentage.
Series History vs. Alabama-Huntsville: UNH is 3-1-0 all-time in the series. The Wildcats won the first meeting between the two teams with an 11-4 win in Alabama on Jan. 5, 1990. New Hampshire swept a two-game series at home in 1990 with scores of 6-3 and 8-2, respectively. This is the first meeting since that 1990 series.
vs. ALABAMA-HUNTSVILLE (3-1-0)
1-5-90 (A) UNH 11 Alab.-Hunts. 4 W
1-6-90 (A) Alab.-Hunts 4 UNH 1 L
11-9-90 (H) UNH 6 Alab.-Hunts. 3 W
11-10-90 (H) UNH 8 Alab.-Hunts 2 W
Thrush Named Hockey East Rookie of the Week: Freshman forward Casey Thrush of the University of New Hampshire men's hockey team was named Hockey East Rookie of the Week. The announcement was made Monday by the league office. Thrush earns the award for the first time this season and becomes the first Wildcat since Kevin Goumas (March 28, 2011) to win this award.Thrush registered his first collegiate goal and added an assist in UNH's convincing 5-0 win over UMass Lowell on Friday night. Thrush had six shots on net and was a +2 on the weekend. He is tied with Grayson Downing for the most points by a Wildcat freshman with six points apiece.
Seven-Game Streak Comes to an End: UNH extended its unbeaten streak to seven games (5-0-2) on Friday night with a convincing 5-0 win over UMass Lowell before falling to Boston University 4-1 on the road Saturday night.
Di Gi Blanks UMass Lowell: On Friday night, Matt Di Girolamo turned aside 31 shots for his first shutout of the season and third of his career. It was his first shutout since a 25-save performance over the River Hawks on Dec. 2, 2010.
Five Score: UNH scored five goals in a win over Mass Lowell marking the four time in the last eight games the 'Cats have scored five goals or more.
New Hampshire 7-0-1 in Last Eight vs. UML at the Whitt: UNH is 7-0-1 in its last eight home games against UMass.-Lowell with its last home loss to the River Hawks on Nov. 19, 2005.
Last Time Out (11/19/11 at Boston University): No. 16 Boston University scored a pair of third-period goals just 36 seconds apart to capture a 4-1 win over the University of New Hampshire men's hockey team Hockey East action Saturday night at Agganis Arena.UNH, which sees its seven-game unbeaten streak (5-0-2) come to an end, moves to 5-5-2, 4-4-1 in Hockey East. The Terriers improve to 6-4-1, 5-3-1 in Hockey East by capturing their fourth-straight win over New Hampshire including both meetings this season. Trailing 1-0, UNH controlled play early in the third period scoring the equalizer at 5:05 of the period as Trevor van Riemsdyk (Middletown, N.J.) scores his first collegiate goal on a slapshot from the right point. The goal was assisted by Kevin Goumas (Long Beach, N.Y.) and Connor Hardowa (Edmonton, Alberta). New Hampshire registered 10 of the first 11 shots on goal in the period and held a 23-8 advantage in the third period. However, it was BU that scored a pair of goals 36 second apart just over two minutes after UNH had netted the tying goal. The eventual game winner came when Max Nicastro scored his first of the season at 7:29 with assists from Chris Connolly and Corey Trivino. Trivino added an insurance goal at 8:05 with helpers from Connolly and Sahir Gill. New Hampshire had several chances in the second half of the period including a flurry during 40 seconds of empty-net time, but could not cut into the Boston University lead. The Terriers iced the victory when a Matt Nieto clearing attempt caught an edge and slowly rolled into an empty New Hampshire net at 18:57 of the third. In a scoreless first period, BU held a 9-4 shot advantage with each team unsuccessful in a power play opportunity. It was the second-straight games these teams played a scoreless first. For the second-straight game it was Wade Megan breaking up the scoreless deadlock with an even-strength goal at 8:25 of the second period with an assist from Evan Rodrigues. The Wildcats held a 34-27 shot advantage thanks to its lopsided edge in the third period. UNH was 0-4 on the power play, while BU was 0-2 in its extra-skater opportunities. Matt Di Girolamo (Ambler, Pa.) stopped 23 shots including nine in each of the first two periods, but falls to 5-4-1. Kieran Millan turned away 33 shots with 22 in the third period to move to 5-4-1.
TO THIS POINT LAST YEAR: A comparison through 12 games between this season and last season.
09-10 10-11 11-12
Record 4-6-2 6-2-4 5-5-2
HE Record 4-2-1 4-1-2 4-4-1
Goals scored 38 43 36
Goals scored/PG 3.17 3.58 3.00
Goals Allowed 46 34 40
Goals Allowed/PG 3.83 2.83 3.33
Shots 341 467 416
Shots Allowed 385 369 351
Power Play 17.6% 21.1% 20.0%
(9-51) (12-57) (9-45)
Penalty Kill 76.4% 83.0% 36-44
(42-55) (39-47) (36-44)
Top 3 Scorers Butler DeSimone Moses
10-5-15 4-13-17 5-7-12
Kessel Thompson Sorkin
3-10-13 6-10-16 5-7-12
LeBlanc Sislo Goumas
4-7-11 7-8-15 2-6-8
Early November to Remember: UNH is 3-1-1 in the month of November. The 'Cats have outscored opponents 20-13 in the month.Last year, UNH went 5-1-2 in November.
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 five straight wins.
Protecting the Lead: The Wildcats improved to 5-0-0 when leading after two periods thanks to a three-goal second period.
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
11-12 at Vermont 4 25 T
11-18 vs. UMass Lowell 0 31 W
11-19 at Boston University 3 23 L
Record - 5-1-1 (2.12 GAA) 15 191 (.927)
SCORING BY CLASS: 2011-12 breakdown of scoring by class.
Class G-A-P G-A-P %.
Seniors: 12-14-26 33-22-26
Juniors: 10-18-28 28-29-28
Sophomores: 9-19-28 25-30-28
Freshmen: 5-12-17 14-19-17
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 11/21): Below is a list of where UNH players and team rank nationally.
Individual Rank Stats Points Per Game:
Nick Sorkin 52nd 1.00 ppg
Stevie Moses 52nd 1.00 ppg
Goals Per Game:
Nick Sorkin 89th 0.42 gpg
Stevie Moses 89th 0.42 gpg
Power Play Goals:
Nick Sorkin 8th 4 ppg
Short Handed Goals:
Nick Sorkin 6th 1 shg
Game Winning Goals:
Kevin Goumas 48th 1 shg
Kevin McCarey 48th 1 shg
Brett Kosotlansky 48th 1 shg
Nick Sorkin 48th 1 shg
Team
Scoring Offense 24th 3.00
Scoring Defense 48th 3.33
Scoring Margin 34th -0.33
Power Play 19th 20.0
Penalty Kill 30th 81.8
Combined Special Teams 26th 50.6
Among the League Leaders (Thru 11/21): Where some of the Wildcats rank in Hockey East.
Player All Games HE Games
Points Nick Sorkin 10th (14 pts) 25th (7 pts)
Stevie Moses 10th (14 pts) 9th (9 pts)
Kevin Goumas 36th (8 pts) 25nd (7 pts)
Goals Nick Sorkin 13th (5 g) 35th (2 g)
Stevie Moses 13th (5 g) 12th (4 g)
Mike Borisenok n/a 24th (3 g)
Assists Nick Sorkin 14th (7 a) 15th (5 a)
Stevie Moses 14th (7 a) 15th (5 a)
Casey Thrush 47th (4 a) 33rd (4 a)
Grayson Downing25th (4 a) n/a
Austin Block 24th (6 a) 15th (5 a)
Kevin Goumas n/a 9th (6 a)
PP Points Nick Sorkin 10th (5 pts) 20th (3 pts)
Stevie Moses 2nd (6 pts) 2nd (5 pts)
Grayson Downing34th (3 pts) 69th (1 pt)
PP Goals Nick Sorkin 2nd (4 ppg) 7th (2 ppg)
John Henrion 26th (1 ppg) n/a
Stevie Moses 10th (2 ppg) 7th (2 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)
Jeff Silengo 9th (1 gwg) 5th (1 g)
Def. Scoring Eric Knodel 16th (4 pts) 42nd (1 pt) Damon Kipp 12th (5 pts) 17th (3 pts)
Freshman Scor. Casey Thrush 8th (6.00 pts) 8th (3.00 pts)
Grayson Downing 8th (6.00 pts)13th (3.00 pts)
T. van Riemsdyk 13th (4.00 pts)13th (3.00 pt)
GAA Matt Di Girolamo 8th (3.13) 6th (3.04)
Save % Matt Di Girolamo 7th (.893) 8th (.891)
Saves Matt Di Girolamo 5th (238) 3rd (221)
Minutes Matt Di Girolamo 3rd (632:44) 3rd (532:13)
Where UNH is Ranked in Hockey East (Thru 11/21):
Overall HE games
Goals/per game 3.00/7th 2.89/6th
GAA 3.33/8th 3.22/6th
Power Play 20.0/5th 20.7/5th
Penalty Kill 81.1/5th 87.5/3rd
Special Teams Net +1/6th +1/6th
1st Period Scoring 12/6th 9/6th
2nd Period Scoring 12/3rd 10/3rd
3rd Period Scoring 11/6th 7/7th
Overtime Scoring 1/2nd 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.
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
11/14 NR RV 4th
11/21 NR RV 4th
THE NATIONAL POLLS:
USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's Hockey Poll (Nov. 21)
Rk. Team, Points (FPV) Last Poll Record Weeks
1 Merrimack College, 492 (20) 2 8-0-1 7
2 University of Minnesota, 461 (12) 1 11-3-0 7
3 University of Notre Dame, 455 (2) 4 9-2-2 8
4 Colorado College, 410 5 7-2-0 8
5 Boston College, 363 3 9-4-0 8
6 Minnesota Duluth, 328 8 9-3-2 8
7 Ferris State University, 274 6 10-3-1 5
8 Yale University, 269 9 5-1-1 8
9 University of Denver, 202 11 5-3-3 8
10 Ohio State University, 192 T-14 10-3-1 2
11 University of Michigan, 139 7 7-5-2 8
12 Union College, 133 12 6-3-3 8
13 Western Michigan, 125 10 6-4-3 8
14 Lake Superior State, 69 13 9-3-2 4
15 Colgate University, 61 NR 8-4-1 2
Others receiving votes: Boston University, 54; Cornell University, 48; Michigan Tech University, 5.
USCHO.com Division I Men's Hockey Poll (Nov. 21)
Rk. School (FPV) Record Points Lst Wk.
1 Merrimack (27) 8-0-1 967 2
2 Notre Dame (10) 9-2-2 932 4
3 Minnesota (11) 11-3-0 914 1
4 Colorado College (1) 7-2-0 842 5
5 Boston College (1) 9-4-0 789 3
6 Minnesota-Duluth 9-3-2 744 8
7 Ferris State 10-3-1 647 6
8 Yale 5-1-1 629 9
9 Ohio State 10-3-1 562 14
10 Denver 5-3-3 549 11
11 Michigan 7-5-2 481 7
12 Western Michigan 6-4-3 410 10
13 Lake Superior 9-3-2 389 12
13 Union 6-3-3 389 13
15 Boston University 6-4-1 311 16
16 Colgate 8-4-1 266 17
17 Cornell 5-2-0 249 18
18 Michigan Tech 7-4-1 186 15
19 Nebraska-Omaha 6-6-2 69 19
20 Michigan State 7-5-0 48 NR
Others receiving votes: Miami 43, St. Cloud State 18, Northern Michigan 17, Massachusetts-Lowell 15, Clarkson 10, New Hampshire 9, Providence 9, RIT 4, Air Force 2.
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 OT
Nov. 12 at Vermont WCAX T, 4-4 OT
Nov.18 Mass.-Lowell WBIN W, 5-0
Dec. 8 Boston Univ. WBIN 7 p.m.
Jan. 7 vs. Maine (Frozen Fenway) NESN 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 21 Merrimack WBIN 7 p.m.
Jan. 27 at Boston College NESN 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 28 Boston College WBIN 7 p.m.
Feb. 3 Providence CBS Sports 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 10 Northeatern WBIN 7 p.m.
Feb. 11 at Merrimack NESN 7 p.m.
Feb. 17 Vermont WBIN 7 p.m.
NESN FLEX GAMES WILL BE DETERMINED TWO WEEKS OUT
Feb. 18 Vermont at New Hampshire NESN-FLEX 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 25 New Hampshire at UMass NESN-FLEX 3:30 p.m.
Mar. 3 New Hampshire at Maine NESN-FLEX 4 p.m.
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
Casey Thrush HE Rookie of the Week 11/21
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.
