Friends of UNH Hockey

Welcome to Friends of UNH Hockey

The Friends of UNH Hockey is the largest athletic booster organization at the University of New Hampshire and one of the most successful in college hockey. We have been supporting the Wildcats since 1972 and are looking forward to another exciting season of Hockey East action! You can read more about our history or join us right now using our new online system.

Be sure to check back throughout the season for more information. As a member of the Friends, you’ll also be kept up to date with Blue Lines, our monthly newsletter as well as notifications of upcoming events. GO CATS!

WILDCATS TAKE THREE POINTS FROM BU

‘CATS TOP DOGS IN DURHAM, 4-2, BATTLE TO 3-3 TIE IN BOSTON

UNH moved another step forward on their march to respectability when they took three points this past weekend against Boston University. Playing probably their most complete game of the season, the ‘Cats pulled away for a 4-2 victory on Friday night at the Whittemore Center. They followed that up on Saturday with another fine effort at Agganis Arena, but had to settle for a 3-3 tie against the Terriers. The three points vaulted UNH into a first place tie in Hockey East with Boston College.

In Friday’s Blue Out the Whit night, Bobby Butler broke a 1-1 tie midway through the second period to give the Wildcats a lead that they wouldn’t relinquish. After struggling on special teams earlier in the season, this night UNH went 2 for 6 with the man advantage while limiting BU to four shots and no goals in their five power plays.

Damon Kipp got UNH on the board at 16:43 of the first period when he took a face-off win from Phil DeSimone and beat Kieran Millan with a wrist shot from just inside the blue line. BU tied the game at 4:33 of the second with a face-off win of their own. Corey Trivino drew the puck back to Zach Cohen, whose slapshot beat Brian Foster through a screen.

The game turned after Vinny Saponari and Sean Escobedo took penalties 39 seconds apart halfway through the period. UNH had little problem setting up in the BU zone and, after some nifty cycling, Butler beat Millan short side at 11:24. The Wildcats then kept the Terriers off the scoreboard after a DeSimone penalty, with Foster coming up big on a breakaway bid by Joe Pereira.

The ‘Cats got what proved to be the game winner 8:07 into the third period when freshman John Henrion potted his first career goal after another UNH face-off win, this time by Greg Manz. Ross Gaudet cut the lead to one 41 seconds later when he banged home the rebound of Colby Cohen shot from the point. But that would be as close as the Terriers would get. Paul Thompson got the insurance goal, roofing the puck past Millan on the power play at 11:14. Read more »

WILDCATS FACE-OFF AGAINST BU

UNH HOSTS AT THE WHIT, TRAVEL TO BOSTON ON SATURDAY

It’s been eight months, but for many fans it seems just like yesterday when the Wildcats battled Boston University down to the wire in the NCAA Northeast Regional Final in Manchester, losing in the final seconds, 2-1, on one of the more bizarre plays you’ll ever see.

There’s little question that the Boston University hockey team was just about all-everything last season. Although they edged Northeastern for the Hockey East regular season crown on the last day, barely got by UMass-Lowell in the league championship game, and had to stage an improbable comeback against Miami University (never mind against UNH) in the NCAA championship game, with their 35-6-4 record the Terriers were undoubtedly the best team in the country.

But this is a new season and BU has gotten off to a rough start. Gone are Hobey Baker Award winner Matt Gilroy, first team All-American Colin Wilson, plus senior forwards Chris Higgins, Brandon Yip, and Jason Lawrence. They were five of the top six scorers for the Terriers last year. The sixth, junior forward Nick Bonino, separated his shoulder in early November and only returned to the BU lineup last Saturday against Merrimack.

This depletion of talent has given the Terriers and their fans a harsh wake-up call. Ranked first or second in all pre-season polls, they started the season 2-2-0, then lost their next four, all to Hockey East opponents. This past weekend they split with newly resurgent Merrimack, losing away 6-3 before hanging on for a 6-4 win last Saturday night at Agganis Arena. Read more »

WILDCATS SPLIT AT UMASS

MINUTEMEN WIN IN OT SHOCKER, 4-3
‘CATS REBOUND BEHIND BUTLER, 4-2
The Wildcats had some mixed emotions and some mixed results this past weekend when they took on UMass at the Mullins Center, Amherst, MA. On Friday night the ‘Cats played one of their better all around games of the season, only to see the Minutemen tie it with 11 seconds left, then win in overtime, 4-3. The ‘Cats apparently shook off any ill effects of that sudden defeat the next night when, led by Bobby Butler’s two goals, they came away with a solid 4-2 victory, their first in three weeks.

Friday night UNH came out flat and found themselves down 2-0 at the end of the first period. Before a crowd that was noisy and engaged from the opening whistle, UMass took control early. After two failed power plays (the only penalties on UNH the entire night) Michael Lecomte scored at 16:28 when he banged home the rebound of a Will Ortiz shot from the slot. Justin Braun then made it 2-0 at 18:39, when he got an edge on a UNH defender and beat Brian Foster blocker side.

If the Wildcats didn’t match UMass’ intensity in the first period, they sure made up for it in the second when they dominated the Minutemen in every facet of the game, outshot them 18-7, and tied the game. Stevie Moses got UNH on the board at 10:27 when he beat Paul Dainton from in front after taking a feed from Kevin McCarey. Peter LeBlanc tied the game when he banged home the rebound of a Brett Kostolansky’s shot from the right point at 17:52. Read more »

WILDCATS TAKE ON UMASS THIS WEEKEND

UNH TRAVELS TO AMHERST FOR TWO GAME SET
After garnering only one point in two Hockey East games last weekend, the Wildcats will attempt to get back on track when they face off against UMass in a two-game set at the Mullins Center, Amherst, MA. This will be the first time in league play that the teams will play back-to-back games at the same arena. The change was made this year at the behest of UNH’s travel considerations.

After going 5-1-1 at the start of last season, the Minutemen lost seven of their last 11, wound up seventh in the league, and were eliminated in the first round of the Hockey East playoffs by Northeastern. This year they are off to another strong start, with a league record of 3-1-0, good for second in Hockey East. Last weekend UMass took two non-conference wins from Niagara to boost their overall record to 6-1-0, tops in the league.

UMass has plenty of firepower back from last year’s team, led by junior James Marcou and sophomore Casey Wellman. Marcou led the team in scoring last season with 47 points (15 goals, 32 assists) while Wellman was second with 33 (11 g, 22 a). The duo has picked up right where they left off, with Marcou currently leading the team with 13 points (3 g, 10 a) and Wellman right behind with 11 (4 g, 7 a). The top freshman so far has been Rocco Carzo, who has five points in five games. Read more »

UNH TIES BC, 4-4, LOSES AT LOWELL, 6-3

SPECIAL TEAMS DO-IN THE WILDCATS
UNH took a step back this past weekend, failing to win a game for the third time in the last four weekends. After being unceremoniously swept at Wisconsin the weekend before, the Wildcats looked to get back on track when they hosted Boston College on November 6, then traveled to Lowell to take on the Riverhawks on the 8th. While the ‘Cats played well in spurts, especially in their come-from-behind tie vs. the Eagles, the end result was the taking of just one point out of four and a fall to third place in Hockey East. The most glaring culprit in the two losses were the UNH specialty teams, which gave up seven power play goals in 11 chances while scoring only one of their own.

On Friday, the UNH penalty kill left much to be desired as it gave up three first period power play goals, then another in the second, as the Eagles rushed out to a 4-1 lead against the ‘Cats. All three BC goals in the first came off the sticks of Eagle defenseman, and all were shots from the high slot, inside the blue line. Tommy Cross got the first at 8:17, then senior blueliner Carl Sneep got the next two at 10:23 and 14:38.
In the second, UNH sruck first when Peter LeBlanc banged home the rebound of his own shot at 4:47. But BC got it back with their fourth power play goal (they would go 4 for 5 on the night) when Ben Smith nudged the puck past Brian Foster at the crease at 13:31.

At that point it looked as though the Wildcats had no life, but at 4:16 of the third they got their lone power play goal of the weekend when Mike Sislo beat John Muse from the slot. A minute later LeBlanc was in the penalty box for interference but it was here that the game turned as Foster held off the Eagles on what was probably their best power play effort of the night.

Paul Thompson cut the lead to one at 8:46, jamming the puck home at the crease after a furious scrum by the Wildcats. That goal gave the ‘Cats some life and over the next few minutes they carried the play to the Eagles. They finally tied it when Bobby Butler backhanded a rebound past Muse with just 53 seconds left. Muse was then forced to make three big stops in the overtime to preserve the point for BC.

Read about Sunday’s Game against Lowell and Coaches Reactions Read more »

UNH GETS BACK TO HOCKEY EAST ACTION

WILDCATS HOPE TO REBOUND AGAINST BC AND LOWELL
After some major struggles against the University of Wisconsin last weekend, UNH will look to get back to their winning ways this Friday and Sunday when they face-off against Hockey East opponents Boston College and UMass-Lowell. The Wildcats will host BC at the Whittemore Center on Friday, then travel to Lowell on Sunday afternoon to take on the Riverhawks. Both games will be televised, with Friday’s tilt on NESN beginning at 7PM and Sunday’s on ESPNU at 5PM.

Scouting Boston College
Last year was not one of the best in recent memory for the Eagles. After winning the national championship in 2008 (their third straight trip to the national final, eighth to the Frozen Four in eleven years), last season they finished 18-14-5. Their high watermark came when they swept UNH in the quarterfinal round of the Hockey East playoffs. So far this year BC is 2-2-0 (1-2-0 in Hockey East), including a split with Merrimack and a loss at Vermont.

Although they lost top scorer Brock Bradford, current San Jose Shark Benn Ferriero, and rugged defenseman Nick Petrecki, BC returns several familiar faces. Notable players up front are junior Brian Gibbons (9-29-38 last season, 2-3-5 currently), senior Ben Smith (6-11-17, 2-2-4), and junior Joe Whitney (7-8-15, 2-2-4). A newcomer to watch is forward Chris Kreider, a 6’2” speedster who was the first round (17th overall) pick of the New York Rangers in last spring’s NHL draft.

On defense BC will be young, with only senior Carl Sneep (2-9-11, 1-2-3) and sophomore Tommy Cross returning. They will look to get some help from freshmen Philip Samuelsson (1 assist), Brian Dumoulin, and Patrick Wey, all of whom were drafted by NHL teams (Carolina, 2nd round, Pittsburgh, 2nd round, Washington, 4th round respectively). In goal will be junior John Muse, who sputtered a bit last year after backstopping BC’s run to the title as a freshman. So far this season he is off to a slow start, going 1-2-0 with a 3.70 goals against average and .843 save percentage.

Scouting UMass-Lowell
The Riverhawks turned it on in the late stages of last season. Barely over .500 during the regular season (17-15-2), they made a run in the Hockey East playoffs with a quarterfinal sweep at Vermont, a semi-final win over Northeastern and a heroic 1-0 loss to Boston University in the final. With only two players graduated and their top seven scorers returning, UML was the sexy pick in a lot of pre-season polls. This season they are off to a good start, going 4-2-0 (2-1-0 in Hockey East), including a split with BU last weekend, each team winning at the other’s rink.

One of the reasons for optimism is at forward where Lowell has ten returnees who had at least ten points. Leading the way are Scott Campbell (14-16-30 last season, 3-2-5 currently), Kory Falite (14-8-22, 2-4-6) and David Vallorani (9-18-27, 2-4-6). One newcomer to watch is Riley Wetmore, who had 75 points with Green Mountain in the EJHL last year and already has three points in his first six games for Lowell.

On the blue line the Hawks return three who had more than 20 points – Maury Edwards (11-18-29, 1-3-4), Nick Schaus (5-17-22, 2-3-5) and Jeremy Dehner (3-23-26, 3 assists). Barry Goers and Tim Corcoran also return. Carter Hutton and Nevin Hamilton will once again split the goaltending for Lowell. Last year their combined goals against was 2.11, with a save percentage of around .920. Hutton already has a shut out this season, a 3-0 win vs. St. Lawrence.