Men's Hockey Takes on Providence College in Home-and-Home Series (Fri - 7:30 p.m. - CBS Sports) (Sat - 7 p.m. - @PC)
Game Notes
DURHAM, N.H. -- The University of New Hampshire men's hockey team looks to get back on track as the calendar turns to February. The Wildcats and Providence College Friars will play a home-and-home series this weekend. New Hampshire entertains the Friars on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. live on CBS Sports. Doors open at 6 p.m. at the Whittemore Center. The teams will play Saturday night (7 p.m.) in Providence.
Scouting the Friars: Providence College enters the weekend coming off a 4-2 road loss to Merrimack College on Sunday. The Friars now stand at a 10-12-2 record overall and an 8-8-1 mark in Hockey East. Over the last six games, PC earned a record of 2-4-0 including the last meeting with UNH. On the road, Providence skated to a 2-5-0 record, while they garner a 8-5-2 on home ice. In its last matchup with the Wildcats on Jan. 11, UNH took down Providence 1-0 behind a Stevie Moses goal and the first collegeiate shutout for Casey DeSmith. Offensively, the Friars are led by Ross Mauerman and Derek Army with 18 (8g, 10a) and 16 (8g, 8a) points, respectively. In net for the Friars is senior Alex Beaudry, who has compiled a .894 save percentage, a 3.01 GAA, and a 9-12-2 record. After the previous weekend, the Friars just completed a stretch of four-consecutive games against ranked teams. Providence played against 10-ranked opponents and has four wins over ranked teams so far this season.
Series History vs. Providence: The Wildcats and Friars have met 144 times in the all-time series history dating back to Feb. 12, 1927, with UNH leading the series at 80-50-14. Coach Umile owns a 49-21-7 all-time mark vs. Providence. New Hampshire is unbeaten in its last 15 games (13-0-2) against the Friars dating back to Feb. 24, 2007. UNH has won a series-best eight-straight including a sweep of the last two season series. Senior Stevie Moses is UNH's active scoring leader against the Friars with four goals and eight assists for 12 points in 10 games played. Senior Matt Di Girolamo is 4-0-0 with a 2.25 GAA and a .933 save percentage. Freshman Casey DeSmith is 1-0-0 stopping all 26 shots he face in a Jan. 11 meeting.
SCORING LEADERS VS. THE FRIARS:
Player GP G-A-P
Stevie Moses 10 4-8-12
Dalton Speelman 5 2-3-5
Damon Kipp 8 0-4-4
Mike Borisenok 6 2-1-3
Brett Kostolansky 7 0-3-3
Nick Sorkin 4 2-1-3
John Henrion 7 1-1-2
Jeff Silengo 4 1-0-1
Kevin Goumas 3 0-1-1
Greg Burke 6 1-0-1
Austin Block 6 1-0-1
Connor Hardowa 5 0-1-1
Scott Pavelski 2 0-0-0
Kevin McCarey 4 0-0-0
Grayson Downing 1 0-0-0
Casey Thrush 1 0-0-0
Jay Camper 1 0-0-0
Eric Knodel 1 0-0-0
Trevor van Riemsdyk 1 0-0-0
Justin Agosta 1 0-0-0
Goaltending Stats
Player GP/Min GA GAA W-L-T SV SV%
DeSmith 1/60:00 0 0.00 1-0-0 26 1.000
Di Girolamo 4/240:11 9 2.25 4-0-0 126 .933
DeSmith Game-by-Game vs. the Friars
Date Min Res. Svs. GA Shots
1-30-12 60:00 W 26 0 26
Total 60:00 1-0-0 26 0 26
Di Girolamo Game-by-Game vs. the Friars
Date Min Res. Svs. GA Shots
12-11-09 60:00 W 32 3 35
1-21-11 64:14 W 22 3 25
1-28-11 59:57 W 35 2 37
1-29-11 60:00 W 37 1 38
Totals 240:11 4-0-0 126 9 135
Last Time Out: Casey DeSmith turned away a career-high 34 shots and senior Mike Borisenok scored an equalizer late in the second period to ultimately send the game into overtime, but the University of New Hampshire men's ice hockey team fell in overtime to No. 7 Boston College, 3-2, Saturday evening at the Whittemore Center. Barry Almeida scored the game winner goal, a power play goal, off the rebound of a Tommy Cross shot at 3:27 of overtime. DeSmith's night was highlighted by a 19-save effort in the second period, while Parker Milner registered 31 saves in between the pipes for the Eagles. Overall, New Hampshire was 1-for-6 on the power play to Boston College's 1-for-4 effort with the man-advantage, while BC outshot UNH by a 37 to 33 margin.
Last Time These Teams Met: Casey DeSmith stopped all 26 shots he faced to register his first collegiate win and shutout, lifting UNH to a 1-0 win over Providence College in Hockey East action at Schneider Arena. DeSmith becomes the first Wildcat freshman goalie to earn a shutout since Brian Foster did so on Dec. 8, 2006 against St. Lawrence. UNH broke the deadlock as Moses scored his team-best 12th goal of the season at 6:41 of the second. Damon Kipp fought to keep the puck in the offensive zone and found Nick Sorkin in the zone. Sorkin carried the puck cross ice and his centering pass was deflected to an open Moses who fired a wrister from the center slot. The teams each had power play chances that they were unable to capitalize on, while the 'Cats held an 11-7 shot edge in the period. Providence went 0-5 on the power play, while the 'Cats were 0-3 in its extra-skater opportunities.
UNH Extends Unbeaten Streak against PC to 15 Games: UNH is 13-0-2 in its last 15 games against PC with its last loss coming in a 7-1 defeat on Feb. 24, 2007.
'Cats Own 16-Game Home Unbeaten Streak Against PC: New Hampshire is 15-0-1 in its last 16 games at home against the Friars with the last loss at home coming on March 12, 2004 in the Hockey East quarterfinals. The last time UNH lost to PC in the regular season at home was Jan. 13, 2002.
Live on CBS Sports: On Friday, UNH and Providence will square off live on CBS Sports (HD). Dave Starman and Eric Frede will be calling all the action from the Whittemore Center with Shireen Saski serving as the sideline reporter.
UNH 0-5-0 in Last Five at the Whitt: After going 6-1-0 over their first seven games at the Whitt, UNH is 0-5-0 over the last five contests including back-to-back overtime losses and three one-goal losses in that span. The 'Cats last road win was Nov. 26 against Alabama-Huntsville.
Sorkin Riding Six-Game Scoring Streak: Nick Sorkin riding a six-game point scoring streak with seven assists in that span.
DeSmith Turns Aside Career-High 34 on Saturday night: Casey DeSmith stopped a career-high 34 shots on Saturday night against Boston College including 19 in the second stanza.
Close Calls/Six One-Goal Games in January: UNH has played in six one-goal games in January. The 'Cats are 2-4-0 in those games including three overtime losses and a loss in the waning seconds at BC.
Moses Heating Up/Points in Six of Last Seven: Stevie Moses has points in six of the last seven games with seven goals and three assists in that span. Overall, Moses has points in 10 of the last 13 games with 17 points on 13 goals and four assists during that span.
Moses Top in Hockey East in Goals/Fourth Nationally: Stevie Moses ranks fifth nationally and is first in Hockey East with 0.72 gpg. He has 18 goals in 25 games.
Moses First in Hockey East in Game Winners: Stevie Moses netted the game-winning goal in each of the last three wins for UNH. Moses' four game-winners is tied for first in Hockey East and ranks seventh nationally.
Moses on the Power Play: Moses has a team-best six power play goals including three PPGs in the last six games.
Defense the Difference: The UNH defense has been the difference during the last six games. The 'Cats have allowed just 12 goals in the last six games (2.00 GAA). Additionally, the penalty kill is 17-for-20 (85%).
Opp. Res. Shots Shots Ag.
at PC W, 1-0 26 26
v. Dartmouth W, 4-1 32 22
at Merrimack W, 2-1 33 25
MERRIMACK L, 2-3 OT 30 26
at BC L, 3-4 13 34
BC L, 2-3 OT 33 37
Totals: Goals 14 Goals for (2.3 gpg) 12 GA (2.0 gapg)
Shots 167 (27.8) 170 (28.3)
Specialty PP 5-25 (20.0%) PK 17-20 (85.0%)
DeSmith DeDifference for UNH in Net/Five One-Goal Losses: Casey DeSmith has been red-hot since becoming the everyday starter in Durham. He has allowed two goals or fewer four of seven starts this season. Overall he is 3-5-0 with all five of his losses by one goal including three in overtime.
Date Opp Res. Svs. GA Shots Margin
12-8-11 BU L, 1-2 32 2 34 -1
1-7-12 v. Maine L, 4-5 OT 28 5 33 -1
1-11-12 at PC W, 1-0 26 0 26 +1
1-14-12 v. Dart. W, 4-1 21 1 22 +3
1-20-12 at MC W, 2-1 24 1 25 +1
1-21-12 MC L, 2-3 OT 23 3 26 -1
1-27-12 at BC L, 3-4 30 4 34 -1
1-28-1 BC L, 2-3 34 3 37 -1
Totals 3-5-0 218 19 237 0
GAA: 2.36 Save% .920
Youth Served: Three freshmen rank in the top seven in scoring for New Hampshire. Grayson Downing is the leader in rookie scoring with 17 points in 24 games. Here is a look at recent successes among UNH freshmen compared to this year's top trio.
Players Year G-A-P
Grayson Downing 2011-12 7-10-17 (23 gp)
Trevor van Riemsdyk 2011-12 2-12-14 (25 gp)
Casey Thrush 2011-12 2-7-9 (22 gp)
Kevin Goumas 2010-11 6-12-18 (32 gp)
Brett Kostolansky 2009-10 0-12-12 (28 gp)
Stevie Moses 2008-09 5-8-13 (33 gp)
Blake Kessel 2008-09 6-7-13 (37 gp)
James van Riemsdyk 2007-08 11-23-34 (31 gp)
Danny Dries 2007-08 11-17-28 (37 gp)
Darren Haydar (record) 1998-99 31-30-61 (41 gp)
Home vs. Away: UNH is 6-6-0 at home compared to 2-7-2 on the road. Here is a look at some of the breakdown of home vs. away and neutral.
Home Away Neutral
Record 6-6-0 2-7-2 1-1-0
Goals For 42 (3.5) 27 (2.5) 8 (4.0)
Goals Against 32 (2.7) 42 (3.8) 6 (3.0)
GMs w/ 5+ goal 4 2 0
Power Play 22.0% 13.3% 28.6%
Penalty Kill 84.3% 81.8% 62.5%
Wins vs. Losses: UNH is averaging over four goals a game in wins and allowing just 1.22. Here is a look at stats in wins versus losses.
Wins Losses
Record 9-0-0 0-14-0
Goals For 38 (4.2) 32 (2.3)
Goals Against 11 (1.22) 62 (4.4)
GMs w/ 5+ goal 4 2
Power Play 26.5% 11.8%
Penalty Kill 96.3% 70.2%
Top Scorers Moses (13-2-15) Downing (3-7-10)
Goumas (2-12-14) Sorkin (3-7-10)
Sorkin (1-13-14) Moses (4-5-9)
TO THIS POINT LAST YEAR: A comparison through 25 games between this season and the last two seasons.
09-10 10-11 11-12
Record 13-8-4 16-5-4 9-14-2
HE Record 12-3-3 14-2-2 6-11-1
Goals scored 86 91 77
Goals scored/PG 3.44 3.64 3.08
Goals Allowed 79 60 80
Goals Allowed/PG 3.16 2.40 3.20
Shots 758 867 831
Shots Allowed 817 780 730
Power Play 18.3% 21.2% 18.1%
(20-109) (24-113) (17-94)
Penalty Kill 79.2% 79.5% 81.0%
(84-106) (70-88) (68-84)
Top 3 Scorers Butler Thompson Moses
18-18-36 22-19-41 18-11-29
Kessel Sislo Sorkin
6-22-28 10-26-36 6-21-27
Thomp. DeSimone Goumas
15-12-27 5-25-30 6-16-22
Protecting the Lead: The Wildcats are 9-1-0 when leading after two periods.
SCORING BY CLASS: 2011-12 breakdown of scoring by class.
Class G-A-P G-A-P %.
Seniors: 29-24-53 38%-18%-25%
Juniors: 21-34-55 27%-25%-26%
Sophomores: 15-49-64 19%-36%-30%
Freshmen: 12-29-41 16%-21%-19%
Wildcats Among National Leaders (Thru 1/30): Below is a list of where UNH players and team rank nationally.
Individual Rank Stats Points Per Game:
Stevie Moses 23rd 1.16 ppg
Nick Sorkin 34th 1.08 ppg
Goals Per Game:
Stevie Moses 5th 0.72 gpg
Assists Per Game:
Nick Sorkin 17th 0.84 apg
Kevin Goumas 32nd 0.67 apg
Power Play Goals:
Stevie Moses 17th 6 ppg
Short Handed Goals:
Kevin Goumas 8th 2 shg
Stevie Moses 22nd 1 shg
Nick Sorkin 22nd 1 shg
Game-Winning Goals
Stevie Moses 7th 4 gwg
Rookie Scoring
Grayson Downing 21st 0.74 ppg
Team
Scoring Offense 17th 3.08
Scoring Defense 45th 3.20
Scoring Margin 39th -.12
Power Play 33rd 18.1
Penalty Kill 34th 81.0
Combined Special Teams 42nd 47.8
Among the League Leaders (Thru 1/30): Where some of the Wildcats rank in Hockey East.
Player All Games HE Games
Points Stevie Moses 5th (29 pts) 15th (16 pts)
Nick Sorkin 7th (27 pts) 25th (14 pts)
Kevin Goumas 15th (22 pts) 44th (12 pts)
Goals Stevie Moses 1st (18 g) 11th (8 g)
Assists Nick Sorkin 3rd (21 a) 10th (12 a)
Kevin Goumas 12th (16 a) 28th (9 a)
PP Points Stevie Moses 12th (10 pts) 27th (6 pts)
Nick Sorkin 12th (10 pts) 27th (6 pts)
PP Goals Stevie Moses 5th (6 ppg) 14th (3 ppg)
Nick Sorkin 14th (4 ppg) 25th (2 ppg)
SH Points Kevin Goumas 4th (3 shp) 9th (1 shp)
Stevie Moses 8th (2 shp) n/a
Nick Sorkin 20th (1 shp) n/a
T. van Riemsdyk 20th (1shp) n/a
SH Goals Kevin Goumas 3rd (2 shg) 5th (1 shg)
Nick Sorkin 10th (1 shg) n/a
Stevie Moses 10th (1 shg) n/a
Game Winning Goals
Stevie Moses 1st (4 gwg) 3rd (2 gwg)
Def. Scoring T.van Riemsdyk 9th (14 pts) 23rd (6 pts)
Damon Kipp 17th (11 pts) 19th (7 pts)
Freshman Scor. Grayson Downing 7th (17 pts) 10th (8 pts)
T. van Riemsdyk 9th (14 pts) 17th (6 pts)
Casey Thrush 15th (9 pts) 14th (7 pts)
Where UNH is Ranked in Hockey East (Thru 1/30):
Overall HE games
Goals/per game 3.08/6th 2.56/9th
GAA 3.20/7th 3.06/6th
Power Play 18.1/6th 14.1/9th
Penalty Kill 81.0/5th 82.8/5th
Special Teams Net +2/5th -3/6th
1st Period Scoring 27/2nd 17/5th
2nd Period Scoring 26/5th 16/6th
3rd Period Scoring 23/8th 13/10th
Overtime Scoring 1/6th 0/9th
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, 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
12/12 NR NR 8th
12/19 NR NR 8th
12/26 NP NP 8th
1/2 NR NR 8th
1/9 NR NR 9th
1/16 NR NR 8th
1/23 NR NR 8th
1/30 NR NR 9th
THE NATIONAL POLLS:
USCHO.com Division I Men's Hockey Poll (Jan. 30)
Rk. School (FPV) Record Points Lst Wk.
1 Minnesota-Duluth (28) 17- 5-4 959 1
2 Minnesota (21) 19- 9-1 918 3
3 Boston University 15- 8-1 799 2
4 Merrimack 14- 5-5 784 5
5 Boston College 16-10-1 777 7
6 Ferris State (1) 17- 8-3 716 10
7 Michigan 15- 9-4 689 8
8 Notre Dame 15-10-3 673 4
9 Massachusetts-Lowell 16- 7-0 596 11
10 Ohio State 14- 8-5 531 6
11 Colorado College 14- 9-1 451 12
11 Union 15- 6-6 451 14
13 Denver 15- 8-3 383 15
14 Cornell 11- 6-4 338 9
15 Maine 14- 8-3 326 20
16 Western Michigan 13-10-5 290 13
17 North Dakota 15-10-2 227 18
18 Miami 15-11-2 220 17
19 Northern Michigan 12- 9-5 111 19
20 Colgate 14- 9-3 87 NR
Others receiving votes: Michigan State 69, Lake Superior 52,
RIT 15, Nebraska-Omaha 10, Michigan Tech 5, Quinnipiac 5,
Harvard 4, Northeastern 1.
USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's Hockey Poll (Jan. 30)
Rk. Team, Points (FPV) Last Poll Record Weeks
1 Minnesota, 475 (18) 3 19-9-1 16
2 Minnesota Duluth, 473 (16) 1 17-5-4 17
3 Boston University, 394 2 15-8-1 14
4 Merrimack College, 376 5 14-5-5 16
5 Boston College, 332 8 16-10-1 17
6 University of Notre Dame, 320 4 15-10-3 17
7 Ferris State University, 317 12 17-8-3 12
8 University of Michigan, 278 9 15-9-4 13
9 UMass Lowell, 250 11 16-7-0 5
10 Ohio State University, 178 7 14-8-5 11
11 Colorado College, 150 10 14-9-1 17
12 Union College, 128 13 15-6-6 15
13 University of Denver, 118 15 15-8-3 16
14 Cornell University, 108 6 11-6-4 7
15 University of Maine, 60 NR 14-8-3 2
Others receiving votes: Western Michigan University, 44; Miami University, 34; University of North Dakota, 24; Northern Michigan University, 12; Colgate University, 7; Rochester Institute of Technology, 2.
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 L, 1-2
Jan. 7 vs. Maine (Frozen Fenway) NESN L, 4-5 OT
Jan. 21 Merrimack WBIN L, 2-3 OT
Jan. 27 at Boston College NESN L, 3-4
Jan. 28 Boston College WBIN L, 2-3 OT
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
Grayson Downing HE Rookie of the Month Nov.
Stevie Moses MVP Battle for RiverStone Cup XI 1/14
Stevie Moses HE Player of the Week 1/16
Casey DeSmith HE Rookie of the Week 1/16
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.
