Men's Hockey Competes in Hockey East Quarterfinals at #6 Boston Univ. (Fri - 7 p.m. | Sat - 4 p.m. NESN | Sun - 5 p.m.)
Game Notes
DURHAM, N.H. -- The University of New Hampshire men's hockey team travels to sixth-ranked and third seeded Boston University for a best-of-three Hockey East quarterfinal series. Friday night's game is slated for a 7 p.m. start, Saturday's game will start at 4 p.m. with coverage on NESN, while Sunday's game, if necessary, is tabbed for a 5 p.m. start all games will be played at Agganis Arena.
Scouting the Terriers: The sixth-ranked and third seeded Boston University Terriers enter the best-of-three quarterfinal series coming off the split of a home and home series with Northeastern. Friday night the Terriers took down the Huskies 5-2, then Northeastern rebounded Saturday night with a 5-4 win over BU. The Terriers enter the weekend with a 21-12-1 overall record and finished the regular season with a 17-9-1 mark in Hockey East. Over the last eight games the Terriers have earned a record of 4-4-0 including two overtime losses. Offensively, Boston University is led by Alex Chiasson and Matt Nieto, who both rank in the top five of Hockey East in scoring, with 38 (12g, 26a) and 37 (13g, 24a) points, respectively. Another force for the Terrier offense is senior forward Chris Connolly who has 35 points on eight goals and 27 assists for the 2011-12 campaign. A fixture in the Terrier net for the past four season is senior Kieran Millan, who has compiled a .923 save percentage, a 2.50 GAA, and a 18-11-1 record.
Series History vs. Boston U.:Boston University leads the all-time series with UNH 99-46-19 in 164 all-time meetings between the two schools dating back to Feb. 5, 1925. BU won the first three meetings of the year by a combined score of 11-2 (5-0, 4-1, 2-1). The 'Cats were swept by BU for the first time since the 1996-97 when the Terriers captured four wins over UNH. Coach Umile owns a 26-36-9 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 six points (2g,4a) , 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. Casey DeSmith is 0-1-0, with a 2.02 GAA and a .941 save percentage in his first game against the Terriers.
SCORING LEADERS VS. THE TERRIERS:
Player GP G-A-P
Damon Kipp 12 2-4-6
Mike Borisenok 10 1-2-3
Greg Burke 4 2-0-2
Stevie Moses 13 0-2-2
Brett Kostolansky 10 1-1-2
Connor Hardowa 9 0-2-2
John Henrion 9 2-0-2
Dalton Speelman 9 0-1-1
Grayson Downing 2 0-1-1
Trevor van Riemsdyk 3 1-0-1
Kevin McCarey 8 0-0-0
Austin Block 10 0-0-0
Jeff Silengo 5 0-0-0
Kevin Goumas 6 0-0-0
Scott Pavelski 2 0-0-0
Eric Knodel 3 0-0-0
Justin Agosta 3 0-0-0
Jay Camper 2 0-0-0
Casey Thrush 2 0-0-0
Matt Willows 2 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
DeSmtih 1/59:23 2 2.02 0-1-0 32 .941
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
DeSmith's Game-by-Game vs. the Terriers
Date Min Res. Svs. GA Shots
12-8-11 59:23 L 32 2 34
Total: 59:23 0-1-0 32 2 34
SCORING LEADERS IN HE QUARTERFINALS
Player GP G-A-P
Steve Moses 6 1-2-3
Steve Moses 7 1-2-3
Kevin Goumas 2 0-2-2
Mike Borisenok 5 0-1-1
Damon Kipp 7 0-1-1
Connor Hardowa 5 0-1-1
Brett Kostolansky 2 0-1-1
Kevin McCarey 4 0-1-1
Austin Block 1 1-0-1
Dalton Speelman 5 0-0-0
Greg Burke 3 0-0-0
John Henrion 4 0-0-0
Scott Pavelski 2 0-0-0
Jeff Silengo 2 0-0-0
Nick Sorkin 2 0-0-0
Goaltending Stats in HE Quarterfinals
Player GP/Min GA GAA W-L-T SV SV%
Di Girolamo2/119:36 4 2.00 2-0-0 56 .933
Di Girolamo Game-by-Game in Hockey East Quarterfinals
Date Min Res. Svs. GA Shots
3-11-11 59:49 W 31 1 32
3-12-11 59:55 W 25 3 28
Totals 119:44 2-0-0 56 4 60
SCORING LEADERS IN HOCKEY EAST TOURNAMENT
Player GP G-A-P
Steve Moses 8 3-2-5
Mike Borisenok 6 0-2-2
Kevin Goumas 3 0-2-2
Austin Block 2 1-0-1
Damon Kipp 8 0-1-1
Connor Hardowa 6 0-1-1
Brett Kostolansky 3 0-1-1
Kevin McCarey 6 0-1-1
Dalton Speelman 6 0-0-0
John Henrion 5 0-0-0
Greg Burke 3 0-0-0
Scott Pavelski 2 0-0-0
Jeff Silengo 3 0-0-0
Nick Sorkin 3 0-0-0
Goaltending Stats
Player GP/Min GA GAA W-L-T SV SV%
Di Girolamo 3/177:43 8 2.70 2-1-0 87 .915
Di Girolamo Game-by-Game in Hockey East Tournament
Date Min Res. Svs. GA Shots
3-11-11 59:49 W 31 1 32
3-12-11 59:55 W 25 3 28
3-18-11 57:59 L 31 4 35
Totals 177:43 2-1-0 87 8 95
Last Time These Teams Met (12/8/11): Casey DeSmith made 32 saves in his first collegiate start but UNH was defeated 2-1 by 11th-ranked Boston University in Hockey East action at the Whittemore Center. The Terriers were the first Hockey East team to sweep the Wildcats since BU did so in the 1996-97 season. DeSmith made double-digit saves in both the first (11) and second (14) periods, and he stopped all seven shots in the final frame. BU netminder Kieran Millan finished with 28 saves, including 11 in the second stanza. New Hampshire took a 1-0 lead at 4:32 of the first period. Damon Kipp intercepted a cross-ice pass in the neutral zone, hesitated at the blue line to avoid an offsides call and fired a shot from the right faceoff dot that Millan stopped with his leg pads. Greg Burke corralled the rebound in the slot and snapped a shot inside the left post to score his third goal of the season.In the ninth minute, UNH's Justin Agosta struck a low, hard shot from the right point that was redirected in the slot by Burke but stopped by Millan. The rebound once again went to the low slot, where John Henrion quickly redirected a shot on goal that Millan snared. BU, which recorded an 11-9 first-period shot advantage, nearly tied the score with 1:30 remaining in the opening stanza when Wade Megan's shot from the high slot beat DeSmith but ricocheted off the left post.
Last Time Out (3/3/12 at Maine): Dan Sullivan stopped all 32 shots he faced to lift tenth-ranked Maine to a 1-0 win over the University of New Hampshire men's hockey team in Saturday afternoon's Hockey East action at Alfond Arena. Casey DeSmith turned aside 28 shots including double figures in the final two periods. The game's lone goal came midway through the first period as Brice O'Connor's center pass from the right boards deflected off a UNH stick and knuckled into over DeSmith's shoulder to make it 1-0 at 10:13. Nick Pryor and Adam Shemansky assisted on the game-winning goal. New Hampshire would have the better of play in the last half of the first, but could not crack the scoreboard. UNH held a 14-8 shot edge in the frame.
NESN to Carry Saturday's Game: The Hockey East Association and the New England Sports Network (NESN) announced othat the matchup between New Hampshire at Boston University will be broadcast live from Agganis Arena on Saturday, March 11th at 4pm. Hockey East Overtime LIVE will air at the conclusion of the live broadcast.Tom Caron (play-by-play) and Craig Janney (color analyst) will have the call of the game from the campus of Boston University, while Hockey East Overtime LIVE will feature studio host Jamison Coyle and analyst Josh Ciocco.
'Cats Punch Ticket to Postseason for 24th-Straight Season: With a win over Massachusetts on Friday night, the Wildcats have secured a playoff berth for a league-best 24th-straight season.
498 for Umile: Head Coach Dick Umile with 498 wins is closing in on 500 career wins. Umile would become one of just six active coaches with 500 career wins and one of 14 coaches all-time to pass that historic milestone. Additionally, he would become just the eighth coach in Division I history to win 500 games at one program.
Division I Coaches with 500 Wins at One Program
Name (University) Wins
Jack Parker (Boston Univ.)* Active 871
Red Berenson (Michigan)*Active 750
Ron Mason (Michigan State) 635
John MacInnes (Michigan Tech) 555
Jack Riley (Army) 542
Rick Comley (Michigan State) 538
John "Snooks" Kelley (Boston College) 501
Active Division I Coaches with 500 Wins
Name (Current School) Wins
Jerry York (Boston College) 905
Jack Parker (Boston Univ.) 871
Red Berenson (Michigan) 750
Don Lucia (Minnesota) 592
George Gwozdecky (Denver) 569
DeSmith First Nationally Among Rookies in Save Percentage/Fourth in GAA: Casey DeSmith ranks first in the nation among rookies in save percentage with a .929. Additionally, DeSmith is fourth nationally in GAA at 2.21.
National Goaltending Stats Among Division I Freshman - Save %
Rk Player Team Saves GA Save%
1. Casey DeSmith UNH 507 39 .929
2. Juho Olkinuora Denver 473 38 .926
3. C.J. Motte Ferris St. 298 24 .925
4. Ryan Massa Neb.-Om473 43 .917
5. Joel Rumpel Wisco. 614 58 .914
National Goaltending Stats Among Division I Freshman - GAA
Rk. Player Team Mins. GA GAA
1. C.J. Motte Ferris State 726:34 24 1.98
2. Frank Slubowski Western Mich. 1624:52 5 2.03
3. Juho Olkinuora Denver 1067:02 38 2.14
4. Casey DeSmith UNH 1058:32 39 2.21
5. Matt Ginn Holy Cross 1483:00 61 2.47
DeSmith Since January 7: Casey DeSmith is 8-6-1 with a 2.05 GAA and a .934 save percentage since January. Additionally, DeSmith has allowed two goals or fewer in nine games during that span. The freshman netminder has stopped 25-plus shots 10 times during that span. Of DeSmith's six losses, five are one-goal losses and three in overtime.
2011 vs. 2012: UNH has been playing much better hockey in the second half of the season. They are allowing over a full goal less per game. Here is a look at stats in 2011 versus 2012.
2011 2012
Record 6-10-2 8-7-1
League Play 4-7-1 7-7-1
Goals For 59 (3.3) 40 (2.5)
Goals Against 63 (3.5) 36 (2.2)
GMs allowing/ 5+ goal 6 1
Power Play 18.2% (12-66) 20.0% (10-50)
Penalty Kill 83.0% (49-59) 83.7% (36-43)
Starter's GAA Di Girolamo (3.41) DeSmith (2.23)
Starter's Save% Di Girolamo (.883) DeSmith (.928)
Top Scorers Moses (11-9-20) Goumas (4-12-16)
Sorkin (6-14-20) Moses (10-4-14)
Goumas (4-11-15) Sorkin (2-11-13)
Moses at 97 and Counting: Stevie Moses with 97 points in hand is trying to become the 71st player in school history to record 100 career points. Last season, UNH's top line of Paul Thompson, Mike Sislo and Phil DeSimone joined the century club, while Bobby Butler did so in 2009-10.
DeSmith Top 20 Nationally in Save Percentage and GAA: Casey DeSmith ranks 11th nationally with a .926 save percentage, while his goals against average ranks 19th nationally at 2.28 GAA. Additionally, DeSmith is first among freshmen nationally in save percentage and third among rookies in GAA.
TO THIS POINT LAST YEAR: A comparison through 34 games over the past few seasons.
07-08 08-09 09-10 10-11 11-12
Record 23-8-3 19-10-5 16-11-7 19-9-6 14-17-3
HE Record 19-5-3 15-8-4 15-6-6 17-6-4 11-14-2
Goals scored 114 106 116 119 99
Goals scored/PG 3.40 3.12 3.41 3.50 2.91
Goals Allowed 79 99 108 87 99
Goals Allowed/PG 2.30 2.91 3.18 2.56 2.91
Shots 1107 1111 1128 1145 1116
Shots Allowed 1051 1012 1030 1088 1027
Power Play 18.2% 12.2% 16.9% 21.0% 18.8%
(30-165) (22-181) (24-142) (30-143) (22-117)
Penalty Kill 87.4% 82.8% 80.7% 81.5% 83.3%
(153-175) (144-174) (109-135)(101-124) (85-102)
Top 3 Scorers Fornataro van Riems. Butler Thompson Moses
14-27-41 15-22-37 25-22-47 26-23-49 21-13-34
Radja LeBlanc Thompson Sislo Sorkin
19-21-40 12-15-27 16-18-34 12-31-43 8-25-33
van Riemsdyk Sislo Kessel DeSimone Goumas
11-15-26 18-8-26 8-25-33 9-27-36 8-23-31
DeSmith DaDifference for UNH in Net: Casey DeSmith has been red-hot since becoming the everyday starter in Durham. He has allowed two goals or fewer 10 of 16 starts this season. Overall he is 8-8-1 with seven of his eight losses by one goal including three in overtime. He has stopped 30-plus shots in nine games.
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
1-28-12 BC L, 2-3 34 3 37 -1
2-3-12 PC W, 3-1 37 1 38 +2
2-4-12 @PC W, 3-2 OT 34 2 36 +1
2-10-12 NU W, 3-2 24 2 26 +1
2-11-12 @MC T, 1-1 34 1 35 E
2-17-12 UVM L, 3-4 OT 17 4 21 -1
2-18-12 UVM W, 3-1 28 1 29 +2
2-24-12 @UMass W, 4-3 48 3 51 +1
2-25-12 @UMass L, 2-4 28 4 32 -2
3-3-12 @Maine L, 0-1 28 1 29 -1
Totals 8-8-1 496 38 534 +3
GAA: 2.21 Save% .929 SHO (1)
Penalty Kill Key to UNH Success: UNH has killed off 35 of 37 (94.5%) power play opportunities during its 14 wins this season. In comparision, UNH has allowed 14 power play goals in 16 losses this season killing off 38 of 54 chances (70.3%).
Sorkin with Points in 11 of Last 15 Games: Nick Sorkin has points in 11 of the last 15 games. He has two goals and 11 assists in that span.
Close Calls/11 One-Goal Games Since January: UNH has played in 11 one-goal games since January including five overtime contests.
Protecting the Lead: The Wildcats are 14-2-0 when leading after two periods. UNH is 10-3-0 when leading after one period.
Youth Served: Two freshmen rank in the top five in scoring for New Hampshire. Grayson Downing is the leader in rookie scoring with 21 points in 32 games. Additionally, Downing's nine goals are second on the team. Here is a look at recent successes among UNH freshmen compared to this year's top duo.
Players Year G-A-P
Grayson Downing 2011-12 9-12-21 (32 gp)
Trevor van Riemsdyk 2011-12 4-14-18 (34 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)
SCORING BY CLASS: 2011-12 breakdown of scoring by class.
Class G-A-P G-A-P %.
Seniors: 34-34-68 34%-19%-25%
Juniors: 28-40-68 28%-23%-25%
Sophomores: 21-66-87 21%-38%-32%
Freshmen: 16-36-52 16%-20%-19%
'CATS IN THE PROS: Here is a listing of former Wildcats playing professional hockey:
Bobby Butler: Ottawa Senators (NHL)
Mike Beck: Vita Hasten (Sweden)
Matt Campanale: Elmira Jackals (ECHL)
Joe Charlebois: Kalamazoo Wings (ECHL)
Greg Collins: Riessersee SC (2.GBun)
Ty Conklin: Detroit Red Wings (NHL)**/Grand Rapids (AHL)
Phil DeSimone: Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL)
Matt Dzieduszycki: Wolfsburg Grizzly Adams (DEL)
Matt Fornataro: Norfolk Admirals (AHL)
Brian Foster: Florida Panthers (NHL)**/ Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL)
Jamie Fritsch: Las Vegas Wranglers (ECHL)
Darren Haydar: Chicago Wolves (AHL)
Brett Hemingway: Wichita Thunder (CHL)
Colin Hemingway: Wichita Thunder (CHL)
Kevin Kapstad: Landshut Cannibals (2.GBun)
Blake Kessel: Adirondack Phantoms (AHL)
Jason Krog: HV71 Jonkoping (Elitserien)
Peter LeBlanc: Rockford IceHogs (AHL)
Nathan Martz: Storhamar (Norway)
Jacob Micflikier: Hershey Bears (AHL)
Jerry Pollastrone: Las Vegas Wranglers (ECHL)
Josh Prudden: Sterzing/Vipiteno (Italy)
Mike Radja: Houston Aeros (AHL)
Kevin Regan: Valpellice (Italy)
Steve Saviano: Vaxjo HC (Elitserien)
Mike Sislo: Albany Devils (AHL)
Trevor Smith: Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL)**/Norfolk (AHL)
Garrett Stafford: Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL)
Craig Switzer: AaB (Denmark)
Paul Thompson: Wheeling Nailers (ECHL)
James van Riemsdyk: Philadelphia Flyers (NHL)
Daniel Winnik: Colorado Avalanche/San Jose Sharks (NHL)
**=spent time with NHL team in 2011-12
Home vs. Away: UNH is 9-7-0 at home compared to 4-9-3 on the road. Here is a look at some of the breakdown of home vs. away and neutral.
Home Away Neutral
Record 9-7-0 4-9-3 1-1-0
Goals For 54 (3.4) 37 (2.3) 8 (4.0)
Goals Against 40 (2.5) 53 (3.3) 6 (3.0)
GMs w/ 5+ goal 4 2 0
Power Play 24.1% 12.7% 28.6%
Penalty Kill 87.5% 83.3% 62.5%
Wins vs. Losses: UNH is averaging almost four goals a game in wins and allowing just 1.3. Here is a look at stats in wins versus losses.
Wins Losses
Record 14-0-0 0-17-0
Goals For 54 (3.9) 37 (2.2)
Goals Against 20 (1.4) 71 (4.2)
GMs w/ 5+ goal 4 2
Power Play 31.4% (13-47) 11.9% (7-59)
Penalty Kill 94.5% (35-37) 74.0% (40-54)
Top Scorers Goumas (3-17-20) Sorkin (4-8-12)
Sorkin (2-16-18) Goumas (5-6-11)
Moses (15-3-18) Moses (5-6-11)
Wildcats Among National Leaders (Thru 3/6): Below is a list of where UNH players and team rank nationally.
Individual Rank Stats Points Per Game:
Stevie Moses 47th 1.00 ppg
Nick Sorkin 57th 0.97 ppg
Goals Per Game:
Stevie Moses 11th 0.62 gpg
Assists Per Game:
Nick Sorkin 24th 0.74 apg
Kevin Goumas 28th 0.70 apg
Power Play Goals:
Stevie Moses 28th 7 ppg
Short Handed Goals:
Kevin Goumas 11th 2 shg
Stevie Moses 11th 2 shg
Nick Sorkin 36th 1 shg
Game-Winning Goals
Stevie Moses 10th 4 gwg
Rookie Scoring
Grayson Downing 32nd 0.68 ppg
Goals Against Average
Casey DeSmith 18th 2.21
Save Percentage
Casey DeSmith 7th .929
Team
Scoring Offense 24th 2.91
Scoring Defense 39th 2.91
Scoring Margin 31st 0.00
Power Play 30th 18.8
Penalty Kill 18th 83.3
Combined Special Teams 36th 48.9
Among the League Leaders (Thru 3/6): Where some of the Wildcats rank in Hockey East.
Player All Games HE Games
Points Stevie Moses 12th (34 pts) 25th (21 pts)
Nick Sorkin 13th (33 pts) 30th (20 pts)
Kevin Goumas 19th (31 pts) 25th (21 pts)
Goals Stevie Moses 2nd (21 g) 13th (11 g)
Assists Nick Sorkin 6th (25 a) 13th (16 a)
Kevin Goumas 10th (23 a) 13th (16 a)
PP Points Stevie Moses 23rd (11 pts) 32nd (7 pts)
Nick Sorkin 23rd (11 pts) 32nd (7 pts)
PP Goals Stevie Moses 8th (7 ppg) 13th (4 ppg)
Nick Sorkin 20th (4 ppg) 32nd (2 ppg)
SH Points Kevin Goumas 3rd (4 shp) 5th (2 shp)
Stevie Moses 7th (3 shp) 12th (1 shp)
Nick Sorkin 22nd (1 shp) n/a
T. van Riemsdyk 22nd (1 shp) n/a
SH Goals Kevin Goumas 4th (2 shg) 5th (1 shg)
Stevie Moses 4th (2 shg) 5th (1 shg)
Nick Sorkin 12th (1 shg) n/a
Game Winning Goals
Stevie Moses 1st (4 gwg) 6th (2 gwg)
Kevin McCarey n/a 6th (2 gwg)
Def. Scoring T.van Riemsdyk 11th (18 pts) 17th (10 pts)
Damon Kipp 21st (13 pts) 22nd (9 pts)
Freshman Scor. Grayson Downing 7th (21 pts) 9th (12 pts)
T. van Riemsdyk 9th (18 pts) 14th (10 pts)
Casey Thrush 18th (10 pts) 18th (8 pts)
Goals Against Average
Casey DeSmith 4th (2.21) 4th (2.29)
Save Percentage
Casey DeSmith 1st (.929) 4th (.928)
Where UNH is Ranked in Hockey East (Thru 3/5):
Overall HE games
Goals/per game 2.91/6th 2.52/8th
GAA 2.91/6th 2.74/5th
Power Play 18.8/5th 16.1/8th
Penalty Kill 83.3/3rd 85.4/3rd
Special Teams Net +7/4th +2/4th
1st Period Scoring 38/3rd 28/3rd
2nd Period Scoring 32/5th 22/7th
3rd Period Scoring 27/8th 17/10th
Overtime Scoring 2/5th 1/7th
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 advan`ced 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
2/6 NR NR 6th
2/13 NR NR 7th
2/20 NR NR 7th
2/27 NR RV 6th
3/5 NR NR 6th
THE NATIONAL POLLS:
USCHO.com Division I Men's Hockey Poll (March 5)
Rk. School (FPV) Record Points Lst Wk.
1 Boston College (50) 25-10-1 1000 1
2 Ferris State 22- 9-5 904 3
3 Minnesota-Duluth 22- 8-6 846 2
4 Michigan 21-11-4 821 6
5 Minnesota 24-12-1 792 4
6 Boston University 21-12-1 776 4
7 Massachusetts-Lowell 22-10-1 703 8
8 Union 20- 7-7 697 7
9 Denver 21-11-4 591 9
10 Maine 20-11-3 526 10
11 Miami 21-13-2 508 11
12 North Dakota 20-12-3 419 14
13 Cornell 15- 7-7 409 13
14 Merrimack 17-10-7 366 12
15 Michigan State 19-13-4 347 15
16 Western Michigan 17-13-6 249 16
17 Notre Dame 19-16-3 171 18
18 Colorado College 18-14-2 155 19
19 Air Force 17- 9-7 71 20
20 Lake Superior 18-15-5 39 NR
Others receiving votes: Northern Michigan 37, Harvard 26, Quinnipiac 26, Colgate 11, Ohio State 6, St. Cloud State 2, Nebraska-Omaha 1, Robert Morris 1.
USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's Hockey Poll (March 5)
Rk. Team, Points (FPV) Last Poll Record Weeks
1 Boston College, 510 (34) 1 25-10-1 22
2 Ferris State University, 443 3 22-9-5 17
3 Minnesota Duluth, 408 2 22-8-6 22
4 University of Minnesota, 381 5 24-12-1 21
5 University of Michigan, 374 6 21-11-4 18
6 Boston University, 343 4 21-12-1 19
7 Union College, 323 7 20-7-7 20
8 UMass Lowell, 322 8 22-10-1 10
9 University of Denver, 234 10 21-11-4 21
10 University of Maine, 177 11 20-11-3 7
11 Miami University, 167 9 21-13-2 6
12 University of North Dakota, 124 15 20-12-3 10
13 Cornell University, 108 13 15-7-7 12
14 Merrimack College, 75 12 17-10-7 21
15 Michigan State University, 67 14 19-13-4 7
Others receiving votes: Western Michigan University, 9; Colorado College, 5; University of Notre Dame, 5; Northern Michigan University, 3; United States Air Force Academy, 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 W, 3-1
Feb. 10 Northeastern WBIN W, 3-2
Feb. 11 at Merrimack NESN T, 1-1 OT
Feb. 17 Vermont WBIN L, 3-4 OT
Feb. 25 at Massachusetts WBIN L, 2-4
Mar. 3 at Maine NESN/NHL Network L, 0-1
Mar. 19 at Boston U. HE Quarterfinals NESN 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
Casey DeSmith HE Defensive Player of the Week 2/6
UNH Wildcats HE Team of the Week 2/6
Stevie Moses Walter Brown semifinalist 2/14
Trevor van Riemsdyk HE co-Rookie of the Week 2/27
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.
