Game Day: Men's Hockey to "Blue Out the Whitt" Against #11 Boston U. on Thursday (7 p.m.)
Game Notes
DURHAM, N.H. -- The University of New Hampshire men's hockey team concludes play before the holidays when it plays host to #11 Boston University on Thursday night. The Wildcats are trying to bounce back after a pair of road losses at BU earlier this season and head into the break on a high note. Thursday's game in "Blue Out the Whitt" and fans are encourage to wear blue to the game. A 7 p.m. puck drop is scheduled at Whittemore Center.
Scouting the Terriers: Boston University enters Thursday's game with UNH with a 8-5-1 overall record and a 6-4-1 mark in Hockey East, good for third place in the league's standings. The Terriers are ranked 11th and 12th nationally in the USA Today and USCHO.com polls. BU was riding a five-game win streak prior to a 6-1 loss to Boston College on Saturday night. The Terriers are looking for a sweep of the Wildcats after capturing a pair of home wins by a combined score of 9-1. Offensively, Matt Nieto and Corey Trivino lead the team with 16 and 14 points, respectively. Between the pipes, the Terriers look to veteran netminder Kieran Millan, who is 6-5-1 with a 2.97 GAA and a .909 save percentage. Grant Rollheiser is 2-0-0 with a 3.34 GAA and a .900 save percentage in four games for BU.
Series History vs. Boston U.: Boston University leads the all-time series with UNH 99-45-19 in 163 all-time meetings between the two schools dating back to Feb. 5, 1925. BU won the first two meetings of the year by a combined score of 9-1 (5-0, 4-1), both in Boston. The 'Cats are trying to avoid being swept by BU for the first time since the 1996-97 when the Terriers captured four wins over UNH. Coach Umile owns a 26-35-9 all-time record against Boston University. The Wildcats have enjoyed success at Agganis Arena with a 5-4-3 mark all time at Jack Parker Rink. Senior Damon Kipp is the active leading career Wildcat scorer against BU with five points (2g,3a), while senior goaltender Matt Di Girolamo is 1-4-0 against the Terriers, with a 2.95 GAA and a .890 save percentage in six games.
SCORING LEADERS VS. THE TERRIERS:
Player GP G-A-P
Damon Kipp 11 2-3-5
John Henrion 8 2-0-2
Mike Borisenok 9 1-2-3
Stevie Moses 12 0-2-2
Brett Kostolansky 9 1-1-2
Connor Hardowa 8 0-2-2
Dalton Speelman 8 0-1-1
Greg Burke 3 1-0-1
Grayson Downing 2 0-1-1
Trevor van Riemsdyk 2 1-0-1
Kevin McCarey 7 0-0-0
Austin Block 9 0-0-0
Jeff Silengo 4 0-0-0
Kevin Goumas 5 0-0-0
Scott Pavelski 1 0-0-0
Eric Knodel 2 0-0-0
Justin Agosta 2 0-0-0
Jay Camper 1 0-0-0
Casey Thrush 1 0-0-0
Matt Willows 1 0-0-0
Goaltending Stats
Player GP/Min GA GAA W-L-T SV SV%
Di Girolamo 6/304:29 15 2.95 1-4-0 122 .890
Di Girolamo's Game-by-Game vs. the Terriers
Date Min Res. Svs. GA Shots
1-23-09 8:57 ND 1 0 1
11-19-10 59:58 W 20 2 22
11-20-10 58:03 L 24 4 28
1-22-11 58:55 L 22 2 24
10-8-11 59:16 L 32 4 36
11-19-11 59:20 L 23 3 26
Total 304:29 1-4-0 122 15 137
Last Time These Teams Met (11/19/11): Boston University scored a pair of third-period goals just 36 seconds apart to capture a 4-1 win over UNH at Agganis Arena. Trailing 1-0, UNH controlled play early in the third period scoring the equalizer at 5:05 of the period as Trevor van Riemsdyk scores his first collegiate goal on a slapshot from the right point. The goal was assisted by Kevin Goumas and Connor Hardowa. 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. 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. Matt Di Girolamo 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.
Last Time Out (12/3/11 vs. UMass Lowell): Stevie Moses and freshman Casey Thrush each registered a goal and an assist, but the University of New Hampshire men's hockey team fell to UMass-Lowell, 5-3, in Hockey East action Saturday night at the Whittemore Center. In addition to Moses and Thrush, the UNH offense was paced by sophomore Justin Agosta (one goal), while junior Austin Block and sophomores Eric Knodel, Nick Sorkin and Kevin Goumas each recorded assists. Senior Matt Di Girolamo recorded 27 saves in net for the Wildcats, while Doug Carr stopped 45 shots in between the pipes for the River Hawks.
'Cats Trying to Avoid Hockey East Season Sweep for First Time Since 1996-97: UNH is trying to avoid a Hockey East sweep at the hands of the Terriers. BU was the last team to sweep UNH in a Hockey East regular season series capture all three meetings in the 1996-97 regular season and also earned a win over New Hampshire in the Hockey East finals at the Garden, winning all four meetings that season.
Home vs. Away: UNH is 6-2-0 at home compared to 0-6-2 on the road. Here is a look at some of the breakdown of home vs. away.
Home Away
Record 6-2-0 0-6-2
Goals For 35 21
Goals Against 19 36
GMs w/ 5+ goal 4 2
Power Play 26.9% 7.4%
Penalty Kill 91.6% 78.7%
Di Girolamo's GAA 2.44 4.47
Di Girolamo's Save % .915 .852
Wins vs. Losses: UNH is averaging over five goals a game in wins and allowing just 1.5. Here is a look at stats in wins versus losses.
Wins Losses
Record 6-0-0 0-8-0
Goals For 31 18
Goals Against 9 40
GMs w/ 5+ goal 4 2
Power Play 30.0% 12.9%
Penalty Kill 94.4% 75.8%
Di Girolamo's GAA 1.54 4.74
Di Girolamo's Save % .946 .844
Top Scorers Goumas (2-9-11) Dowing (2-5-7)
Sorkin (1-10-11) Henrion (1-5-6)
Moses (7-2-9) Moses (3-2-5)
Hey Man Nice Shot: UNH outshot UML by a combined margin 48-18 in consecutive periods last weekend. The 'Cats outshot UML 19-8 in the third period at Lowell and followed that up with a 29-10 margin in the first period on Saturday at home. However, UNH only scored on two of those 48 shots, while UMass Lowell scored once in its 18 shots.
3rd at UML: 19-8 1st vs. UML Saturday 29-10
Career Weekend for Agosta: Justin Agosta dished out his first collegiate assist on Friday night and followed that up with his first career goal on Saturday night.
One-and-One: Casey Thrush and Stevie Moses each registered a goal and an assist Saturday night.
Four Score: After a scoreless second period Friday night, the Wildcats scored in the final four periods of the weekend.
First Period Scoring: UNH ranks first in Hockey East in first-period scoring with 20 goals.
UNH Ninth Nationally in Scoring: UNH ranks ninth in the nation in scoring at 3.50 gpg. The 'Cats are third in Hockey East in that category.
Goumas Streaking: Kevin Goumas has a point in five-of-six games and nine of the last 11 games. After scoring no points in the first six games, he has 15 points over the last 11 (1.36 ppg) starting with the game-winning overtime goal against Union.
Date Opponent G-A-P
10-28 vs. Union 1-0-1
10-29 vs. Northeastern 0-1-1
11-4 vs. UMass 1-1-2
11-5 vs. Maine 0-1-1
11-12 at Vermont 0-0-0 (left after 1st - game misconduct)
11-18 vs. UMass Lowell 0-2-2
11-19 at Boston U. 0-1-1
11-22 at Harvard 2-0-2
11-26 vs. Ala.-Huntsville 0-4-4
12-2 at UMass Lowell 0-0-0
12-3 vs. UMass Lowell 0-1-0
Total 4-11-15
Moses on Fire: Stevie Moses' four-goal game against Alabama-Huntsville was just the tip of the iceberg. The senior has 10 goals in the last 10 games and has registered a point in eight of the last 10 contests.
Date Opponent G-A-P
10-29 vs. Northeastern 1-0-1
11-4 vs. UMass 1-1-2
11-5 vs. Maine 0-1-1
11-12 at Vermont 1-2-3
11-18 vs. UMass Lowell 1-0-1
11-19 at Boston U. 0-0-0
11-22 at Harvard 1-0-1
11-26 vs. Ala.-Huntsville 4-0-4
12-2 at UMass Lowell 0-0-0
12-3 vs. UMass Lowell 1-1-2
Total 10-5-15
TO THIS POINT LAST YEAR: A comparison through 16 games between this season and last season.
09-10 10-11 11-12
Record 7-6-3 10-2-4 6-8-2
HE Record 7-2-2 8-1-2 4-6-1
Goals scored 53 57 56
Goals scored/PG 3.31 3.56 3.50
Goals Allowed 56 39 56
Goals Allowed/PG 3.50 2.44 3.50
Shots 460 580 570
Shots Allowed 520 491 468
Power Play 17.4% 21.3% 20.3%
(12-69) (16-75) (12-59)
Penalty Kill 75.0% 83.9% 84.2%
(51-68) (47-56) (48-57)
Top 3 Scorers Butler Thompson Moses
12-10-22 11-14-25 11-8-19
Kessel Sislo Sorkin
5-12-17 8-16-24 5-14-19
Thomp. DeSimone Goumas
7-8-15 4-16-20 4-11-15
Protecting the Lead: The Wildcats are 6-1-0 when leading after two periods.
SCORING BY CLASS: 2011-12 breakdown of scoring by class.
Class G-A-P G-A-P %
Seniors: 20-15-35 36%-15%-22%
Juniors: 14-29-43 25%-29%-28%
Sophomores: 12-34-46 21%-34%-29%
Freshmen: 10-22-33 18%-22%-21%
Wildcats Among National Leaders (Thru 12/5): Below is a list of where UNH players and team rank nationally.
Individual Rank Stats Points Per Game:
Nick Sorkin 29th 1.19 ppg
Stevie Moses 29th 1.19 ppg
Goals Per Game:
Stevie Moses 14th 0.69 gpg
Assists Per Game:
Nick Sorkin 13th 0.88 apg
Power Play Goals:
Nick Sorkin 16th 4 ppg
Stevie Moses 41st 3 ppg
Short Handed Goals:
Kevin Goumas 8th 1 shg
Nick Sorkin 8th 1 shg
Rookie Scoring
Grayson Downing 11th 0.87 ppg
Casey Thrush 32nd 0.64 ppg
Team
Scoring Offense 9th 3.50
Scoring Defense 53rd 3.50
Scoring Margin 31st .00
Power Play 22nd 20.3
Penalty Kill 22nd 84.2
Combined Special Teams 19th 51.7
Among the League Leaders (Thru 12/5): Where some of the Wildcats rank in Hockey East.
Player All Games HE Games
Points Nick Sorkin 4th (16 pts) 30th (11 pts)
Stevie Moses 4th (16 pts) 11th (11 pts)
Kevin Goumas 12th (15 pts) 30th (11 pts)
Goals Stevie Moses 2nd (11 g) 10th (5 g)
Grayson Downing 26th ( 5g) n/a
Nick Sorkin 26th (5 g) n/a
Assists Nick Sorkin 2nd (14 a) n/a Kevin Goumas 7th (11 a) n/a
John Henrion 16th (9 a) n/a
PP Points Stevie Moses 7th (7 pts) 7th (5 pts)
Nick Sorkin 7th (7 pts) 31st (3 pts)
Connor Hardowa 34th (4 pts) 47th (2pts)
T. van riemsdyk 34th (4pts)
PP Goals Nick Sorkin 2nd (4 ppg) 9th (2 ppg)
Stevie Moses 8th (3 ppg) 9th (2 ppg)
SH Points Kevin Goumas 8thrd (1 shp) n/a
Nick Sorkin 8th (1 shp) n/a
Stevie Moses 8th (1 shp)
T. van Riemsdyk 8th (1shp)
SH Goals Kevin Goumas 3rd (1 shg) n/a
Nick Sorkin 3rd (1 shg) n/a
Game Winning Goals
Jeff Silengo 15th (1 gwg) 8th (1 g)
Kevin Goumas 15th (1gwg) n/a Stevie Moses 15th (1gwg)
Kevin McCarey 15th (1 gwg) 8th (1 g)
Bret Kostolansky 15th (1gwg) 8th (1 g)
Nick Sorkin 15th (1gwg) 8th (1 g)
Def. Scoring T.van Riemsdyk 8th (9 pts) 19th (3 pts)
Connor Hardowa 14th (6 pts) 19th (3 pts)
Damon Kipp 14th (6 pts) 19th (3 pts)
Freshman Scor. Grayson Downing 2nd (14 pts) 12th (4pts)
Casey Thrush 8th (9 pts) 5th (7 pts)
T. van Riemsdyk 8th (9 pts) 16th (3pts)
GAA Matt Di Girolamo 11th (3.36) 9th (3.23)
Save % Matt Di Girolamo 10th (.888) 9th (.888)
Saves Matt Di Girolamo 2nd (371) 2nd (278)
Minutes Matt Di Girolamo 1st (857:32) 1st (649:11)
Where UNH is Ranked in Hockey East (Thru 12/5):
Overall HE games
Goals/per game 3.50/3rd 2.82/6th
GAA 3.50/9th 3.36/8th
Power Play 20.3/4th 16.7/7th
Penalty Kill 84.2/6th 90.0/2nd
Special Teams Net +3/6th +1/5th
1st Period Scoring 20/1st 11/4th
2nd Period Scoring 18/2nd 11/3rd
3rd Period Scoring 17/2nd 6/6th
Overtime Scoring 2/3rd n/a
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.
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:
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
11/28 NR NR 4th
12/5 NR NR 7th
THE NATIONAL POLLS:
USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's Hockey Poll (Dec. 5)
Rk. Team, Points (FPV) Last Poll Record Weeks
1 Minnesota Duluth, 495 (19) 5 11-3-2 10
2 University of Minnesota, 473 (11) 4 13-4-1 9
3 Boston College, 418 (3) 3 11-5-0 10
4 Ohio State University, 410 (1) 7 12-3-1 4
5 Merrimack College, 382 1 9-2-1 9
6 Colorado College, 329 8 8-4-0 10
7 University of Notre Dame, 306 2 10-5-3 10
8 Western Michigan, 233 12 8-4-4 10
9 Union College, 199 9 7-3-5 10
10 Ferris State University, 198 6 10-5-1 7
11 Colgate University, 158 14 11-4-1 4
12 Boston University, 156 13 8-5-1 7
13 University of Denver, 134 10 6-5-3 10
14 Michigan State University, 87 NR 10-5-1 1
15 Lake Superior State, 47 11 10-6-2 6
Others receiving votes: Cornell University, 37; Yale University, 7; UMass Lowell, 6; Providence College, 3; United States Air Force Academy, 1; University of North Dakota, 1.
USCHO.com Division I Men's Hockey Poll (Dec. 5)
Rk. School (FPV) Record Points Lst Wk.
1 Minnesota-Duluth (25) 11-3-2 965 4
2 Minnesota (9) 13-4-1 921 5
3 Boston College (8) 11-5-0 884 2
4 Ohio State (7) 12-3-1 861 7
5 Merrimack 9-2-1 783 1
6 Colorado College 8-4-0 733 8
7 Notre Dame (1) 10-5-3 671 2
8 Western Michigan 8-4-4 590 12
9 Ferris State 10-5-1 525 6
10 Union 7-3-5 505 9
11 Boston University 8-5-1 477 13
12 Colgate 11-4-1 454 15
13 Denver 6-5-3 421 10
14 Michigan State 10-5-1 411 16
15 Lake Superior 10-6-2 306 11
16 Cornell 7-3-1 304 17
17 Yale 6-4-1 205 14
18 Massachusetts-Lowell 9-4-0 177 NR
19 North Dakota 8-7-1 63 NR
20 Providence 8-6-1 56 NR
Others receiving votes: Michigan 45, Northern Michigan 40,
Air Force 30, Miami 25, Quinnipiac 17, Northeastern 16,
Michigan Tech 8, Nebraska-Omaha 4, Harvard 3.
UNH Hockey on Television(Subject to change or additional):
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.
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
Stevie Moses HE co-Player of the Week 11/28
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.
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.
