WILDCATS TRAVEL TO ORONO FOR WEEKEND SERIES
Oh what a lovely trip! This coming weekend UNH will make the trek up I-95 to face-off against the University of Maine in Orono. The two games will mark the end of a stretch where the Wildcats have played six of seven away from the friendly confines of the Whittemore Center. Starting on January 16 when they defeated Dartmouth, 5-2, in Manchester, the ‘Cats have won three of their four road games to solidify their hold on first place in Hockey East.
When the season started it was difficult to believe that the Black Bears would be making much noise in Hockey East. After all, last year they won just three of their last 21 games and barely eked into eighth place where they lost to eventual national champ Boston University. It was the second year in a row where Maine had a losing record and did not make the NCAA tournament. A far cry from their glory days when they routinely made the Frozen Four and won their two championships.
Picked to finish near the bottom of Hockey East, the Black Bears have surprised a lot of folks by currently holding onto fourth place. Last weekend they took three out four points at Vermont. Maine’s success has been predicated on their offense, which currently leads Hockey East in goals scored (88} and power play (30%) in overall games.
Up front they are led by sophomore Gustav Nyquist, who is tied for second (14 goals, 22 assists) with Bobby Butler for overall scoring in Hockey East. Nyquist, who also ranks third nationally in points per game (1.50), was the Hockey East Player of the Month for December. Other forwards to watch are sophomore Brian Flynn (7-17-24) and senior Tanner House (11-9-20).
On the blue line the leading performer is sophomore Will O’Neill, who ranks second in Hockey East scoring (5-17-22) behind Blake Kessel. Juniors Jeff Dimmen (4-11-15) and Josh Van Dyk (1-11-12) also bear watching. In goal for most of the season has been sophomore Scott Darling, who ranks second in Hockey East for both save percentage (.916) and goals against (2.39), league games only.
While the Black Bears continue to hold the advantage in the all-time series between the teams (54-45-5), UNH has won 10 of the last 12, including a five-game active winning streak at Alfond Arena. In their most recent meeting the ‘Cats won 5-2 on October 24 at the Whittemore Center. Stevie Moses had two goals in the second period to lead the victory.
Butler is the active leader in Wildcat scoring against Maine with five points in 11 games, while Peter LeBlanc and Mike Borisenok each have four career points. In net, Brian Foster is 3-1-0 lifetime against the Black Bears with a 2.00 GAA and a .921 save percentage.
