First-in-the-Nation: UNH's Poturalski-Kelleher-Correale Line

Andrew Poturalski Tied-1st Goals (16) 1st Scoring (32)

Tyler Kelleher Tied-1st Assists (23) 2nd Scoring (29)

Dan Correale T-5th Goals (10)

Enter "First in the Nation" into google and you see dozens of sites about New Hampshire's Presidential Primary coming up on February 9th. This year, New Hampshire is gaining recognition for another "First-in-the-Nation" - the top scoring line on the UNH Men's Hockey team. Over the first 16 games of the 2015-16 season, sophomore center Andrew Poturalski, junior right winger Tyler Kelleher and senior left winger Dan Correale have combined for 32 goals and 75 points. The Poturalski-Kelleher-Correale line is the #1 goal scoring and #1 scoring line in all of NCAA Division I hockey.

The North Dakota Fighting Hawks have the #2 scoring line in NCAA hockey. Known as the "CBS line", Drake Caggiula, Brock Boeser and Nick Schmaltz have combined for 29 goals and 74 points. They have played together for the last 17 games. Caggiula has played in 19 games while Boeser, a first round draft pick of the Vancouver Canucks, and Schmaltz, a first round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks, have played in 20 games. Poturalski, Kelleher, and Correale are undrafted, free agents.

The last time UNH had the top scoring forward line in the nation was the 1998-99 season. That was the year UNH lost to Maine in overtime in the NCAA Championship Game. Centerman Jason Krog was the leading goal scorer (34) and scorer (85) in the nation and won the Hobey Baker Award. Left winger Mike Souza, the current UNH Associate Head Coach, tied for 4th in scoring with 23 goals and 65 points. Right winger Darren Haydar was the 6th leading scorer with 31 goals and 61 points.

In the first game of this season, a 7-3 victory over American International College, the Poturalski-Kelleher-Correale line accounted for 4 of the UNH goals. In my postgame interview with UNH Captain Collin MacDonald, I asked him what makes them such an effective scoring threat. He said:

"These three are definitely fun to have on your team. Each guy brings something different to the table and they just work well together. Kells can obviously finish, Pots is so dangerous with the puck on his stick and makes great plays, Corrs works so hard to get pucks and with his speed he’s always a threat."

Little did we know that they would emerge as the top scoring line in the country.

Player Spotlight - Andrew Poturalski

Andrew Poturalski is the leading scorer in NCAA Division I hockey. In 16 games, he has posted 16 goals and 16 assists for a total of 32 points. Poturalski is tied for 1st in goal scoring in the nation. Austen Ortega of Nebraska-Omaha moved into a tie with Andrew after scoring 4 goals against Arizona State last week. Ortega has played in 17 games so far this season. Poturalski is tied for 2nd in power play goals with 6. In his first season and 1/2 at UNH, Andrew has scored 30 goals and 31 assists. Here are some of Andrew's highlight goals from the first half of the 2015-16 season:

Player Spotlight - Tyler Kelleher

Tyler Kelleher is the 2nd leading scorer in the nation. As the right winger on the top-scoring line, Tyler has potted 6 goals and dished out 29 assists over the first 16 games of the season. Kelleher is tied for 1st in assists with UND's Nick Schmaltz, who has played in 4 more games. In his 2 and 1/2 seasons at UNH, Tyler Kelleher has accumulated 87 points - just 13 shy of membership in the UNH Century Club. These video highlights show 5 of Tyler's goals from the first half of this season - several of his assists can be seen on the Poturalski and Correale videos:

Player Spotlight - Dan Correale

After scoring 11 goals over his first three seasons at UNH, Senior Alternate Captain Dan Correale has exploded for 10 goals so far this season. That places him in a tie for 5th in goal scoring among all NCAA Division I players. Five of Correale's goals have come on the power play. He is tied for 3rd in Division I power play goals. UNH has the 4th best power play in the country with a scoring percentage of 26.7. Poturalski, Kelleher, and Correale have scored 13 out of UNH's 20 power play goals. Here are some of Dan Correale's highlight goals, including 2 of his power play goals, from the first half of the 2015-16 season:



UNH has an overall record of 6-6-4 and is 2-1-4 in Hockey East competition. They return to action tonight and tomorrow night in two non-conference games against Maine. Tonight's game is in Portland and tomorrow the two teams will play in Manchester. This Saturday, UNH will travel to the University of Vermont for another non-conference game.

Yuletide Spirit

From a big fan of UNH Hockey and Andrew Poturalski:

Sung to the tune of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer

You know Haydar and Hislop and Goumas and Willows
Downing and Souza, Umile and Sislo
But do you recall
The most famous Wildcat of all?

Andrew the right shot phenom
Had a very potent stick!
And if you ever saw it
You would have to say "that's sick"!

All of the other D men
Used to hate to see him skate
They never wanted Andrew
To play in any Hockey East games!

Then one big Hockey East game
Coach Umile came to say
Andrew with your stick so bright
Won't you win the game tonight?

Then all the Wildcats loved him
And they shouted out with glee!
Andrew the right shot phenom
You'll go down in history!!!



Happy Holidays from all of us at The UNH Men's Hockey Blog!

UNH Recruits Update: Dec-18-2015

Brendan van Riemsdyk 2 Game-Winning Goals

Liam Blackburn Short-Handed GWG

Charlie Kelleher Game-Winning Goal

Player Spotlight - Brendan van Riemsdyk

Last week, three UNH commits scored game-winning goals for their teams. In fact, 2016 Commit Brendan van Riemsdyk scored two game-winners for the Islanders Hockey Club. Last Friday, BvR scored the IHC's third goal in a 5-2 victory over the Jr. Pirates Hockey Club. On Saturday, the same two teams headed into overtime tied 3-3. Van Riemsdyk scored the GWG at the 3:28 mark of OT. BvR has posted 11 goals so far this season and is tied for 8th in goal-scoring in the United States Premiere Hockey League.

Player Spotlight - Liam Blackburn

2016 UNH Commit Liam Blackburn added two more goals to his season total last week. On Sunday, Blackburn scored an unassisted, short-handed goal for the West Kelowna Warriors in a 5-3 win over the Victoria Grizzlies. It turned out to be the game-winner for the Warriors. Blackburn is tied for 1st in short-handed goals (3) in the BCHL. He has scored 8 power play goals and 3 short-handed goals which puts him in 1st place for combined, special teams' goals in the league.

Player Spotlight - Charlie Kelleher

On Wednesday, Charlie Kelleher scored the game-winning goal for the Junior Bruins in a 4-1 win over the Springfield Pics. Charlie extended his scoring streak to 9 games. Kelleher is tied for 4th in USPHL scoring (33 points) and is tied for 2nd in assists (25 assists).

NOTE
The statistics for the recruits, presented in the following table, are categorized by the projected year they will enroll in UNH. For example, the "2016 Recruits" are projected to begin playing for UNH in the Fall of 2016. I have based these projections on a number of factors including:
~ If a National Letter of Intent has been signed.
~ The year the recruit and UNH coaches originally targeted for enrollment in UNH.
~ How old the recruit would be upon admission.
~ Number of years in junior hockey prior to admission.
~ The recruit's performance in recent seasons as well as injuries.
~ Anticipated date of high school graduation.
~ Number of UNH players leaving the team at the end of the previous season and the position they played.

Player	Team	League	GP	Goals	Asst	Pts	PIM
2016 Recruits
Liam Blackburn*  (F)	West Kelowna Warriors	BCHL	34	17	25	42	32
Justin Fregona*  (F)	Langley Rivermen	BCHL	29	19	14	33	27
Patrick Grasso*  (F)	Des Moines Bucs	USHL	24	8	5	13	6
Charlie Kelleher  (F)	Junior Bruins	USPHL	21	8	25	33	14
Nick Nonis  (D)	Powell River Kings	BCHL	29	1	4	5	24
Brendan van Riemsdyk*   (F)	Islanders Hockey Club	USPHL	27	11	16	27	12
Mike Robinson*  (G)	Junior Bruins	USPHL	-	-	-	-	-
2016 or '17 Recruits
Joe Cipollone  (F)	Tri-City Storm	USHL	16	3	1	4	8
	Vernon Vipers	BCHL	12	4	3	7	2
Liam Darcy  (D)	Islanders Hockey Club	USPHL	19	1	6	7	0
Aaron O'Neill  (F)	Chilliwack Chiefs	BCHL	1	1	0	1	0
	Tri-City Storm	USHL	8	0	1	1	2
2017 Recruits
Eric MacAdams  (F)	Sioux Falls Stampede	USHL	22	5	4	9	60
2017 or '18 Recruits
Eric Esposito  (F)	Youngstown Phantoms	USHL	22	0	3	3	22
Jason O'Neill  (F)	Langley Rivermen	BCHL	22	1	6	7	0
* = Signed National Letter of Intent

News & Notes

British Columbia Hockey League:

~ 2016 UNH Commit Justin Fregona and Canada West have advanced to the Championship Game of the 2015 World Junior A Challenge. Canada West will face off against Russia tomorrow. I'll have a full report in next week's "UNH Recruits Update".

~ Last Friday, defenseman Nick Nonis scored his first goal of this BCHL season. Nonis has scored a goal and 4 assists for the Powell River Kings.

~ 2016 or '17 UNH Commit Aaron O'Neill scored his first BCHL goal in his first game with the Chilliwack Chiefs. The Chiefs downed the Merritt Centennials 5-2 on Sunday.

UNH's Explosive First Period Leads to 6-3 Victory Over Dartmouth

Senior Maxim Gaudreault Nets GWG + 1 Goal

Sophomore Andrew Poturalski Nation's Leading Scorer Scores 2 More Goals

DURHAM, NH - Goalies cringed around the world after a first period that saw UNH score six goals on 16 shots at the Whittemore Center Friday night as Dartmouth clashed with the Wildcats.

The first goal of the night came at 7:43 of the first period off the stick of Dan Correale, who scored his 10th goal of the season. After using his speed to blow past opposing defenders, Correale faked toward the goal, then cut across the goal line. He extended the puck before pulling it behind the goal for a wrap around and banking it off of Dartmouth starting goaltender Devin Buffalo to give UNH a 1-0 lead.

Just over a minute later, Andrew Poturalski was found sitting just outside the crease of Buffalo as John Furgele stepped down into the offensive zone and went tape to tape with a pass to Poturalski. He buried it to make it 2-0, 9:50 into the first. UNH freshman Frankie Cefalu recorded his first collegiate point on the goal with an assist.

The magic man wasn’t done there. At 11:13 of the first, Poturalski extended the lead to 3-0 as he once again parked himself in front of the net. A shot from Matias Cleland rang off the post and bounced into the crease. Poturalski was able to get a stick on it and score a garbage goal for his second of the game and 16th of the season.

Just when UNH fans thought the start couldn’t get better, a minute later it was 4-0. Maxim Gaudreault received a beautiful pass from behind the net from line mate Kyle Smith. Smith sent Gaudreault a no look, behind the back pass and Maxim sniped the shot top shelf at 12:13 of the first.

Dartmouth's starting goalie Devin Buffalo was chased from the game after making just two saves on six Wildcat shots.

Dartmouth would take back momentum and score two goals before the end of the first. Overall, what could have been UNH's best period of the year was overshadowed by a few breakdowns late and some spotty goaltending by Danny Tirone. Tirone was fighting the puck off in the first period, leaving multiple rebounds in the slot and handcuffing himself on a few shots, including the second goal scored by Dartmouth’s Corey Kalk. The puck deflected off Tirone’s shoulder and sat in the crease for an easy goal.

UNH went to a 5 on 3 power play in the second period and went with five forwards on the ice. It worked as planned. After playing pass for the first 20 seconds Tyler Kelleher sent a pass to Gaudreault who one-timed it to the back of the net for his second goal of the game. UNH lead 5-2 lead at 13:09 of the second period.

In the third period, Jamie Hill extended the Wildcats' lead with a tip on a pass from Shane Eiserman who was driving toward the goal. UNH was up 6-2 at 11:13 of the third.

Dartmouth would add a goal late against Jamie Regan , who came into the game for the final six minutes to get some action in relief of Tirone. Tirone himself settled down as the game went on and again looked strong between the pipes for the ‘Cats.

John Furgele had a fantastic game for UNH, racking up five blocks on the night to go along with two assists and a plus two rating on the ice.

Andrew Poturalski and Tyler Kelleher continue to hold the #1 and #2 positions in NCAA scoring. Poturalski's 16 goals is the most in Division I hockey and his 32 points put him at the top of the scoring leaders. Kelleher's 23 assists are the highest in the nation and his 29 points are the second highest.

Here are the video highlights of UNH's 6-3 win courtesy of UNH Athletics:



UNH improved it's overall record to 6-6-4 while Dartmouth dropped to 3-7-1. The Wildcats have a nice winter break before facing UMaine at the end of December in two out of conference games at Portland and Manchester.

Box Score

UNH Recruits Update: Dec-11-2015

UNH Commit Liam Darcy
Islanders Hockey Club

Player Spotlight - Liam Darcy

On Wednesday, defenseman Liam Darcy, who turns 19 in February, scored his first goal as a member of the Islanders Hockey Club in the United States Premiere Hockey League. He scored IHC's 1st goal in a 4-2 victory over the South Shore Kings. As this video highlight shows, Darcy (#21 in white jersey) collected the faceoff draw at the left point of the blueline, maneuvered around the opposing forward, and snapped a wrist shot that snuck between the legs of the Kings' goalie:



In late September, Liam broke a finger and was out of the lineup throughout October. He missed 10 USPHL games. Over the last 6 games, Darcy has posted a goal and 3 assists. 4 of his 5 assists this season have come on the power play.

For the second consecutive season, Liam Darcy has been identified by the NHL Central Scouting Service as a potential 4th, 5th, or 6th round NHL draft pick. In their Midterm Rankings last January, Liam was ranked the #156th North American skater. At the time, Darcy was the senior captain at Berwick Academy, a New England Prep School on the border of Maine and New Hampshire. Ryan Kennedy, senior writer and draft/prospect expert for The Hockey News, provided this assessment of Liam:

"A big driver for the (Berwick Academy) Bulldogs, Darcy has a great knack for making the first forechecker miss. The University of New Hampshire commit has great elusiveness as a blueliner and nice offensive upside. Confident with the puck on his stick, he will need to get stronger, but there’s time for that."

In the final CSS 2015 rankings, Darcy had moved down to the 204th North American skater and he was not drafted by an NHL team in the 2015 Draft. However, in his first year of junior hockey, Liam is once again on NHL scouts' radar. In both the September and November NHL Central Scouting Service's "Players to Watch" lists, Darcy was rated as a "C" prospect. The CSS believes he has the potential to be drafted in the 4th, 5th, or 6th round of the 2016 NHL Draft next June.

I've had an opportunity to watch Liam play twice so far this season. I agree with Ryan Kennedy's appraisal and would add that Darcy has stepped up his physicality. He effectively uses his body and stick work to defend the front of the net and is strong along the boards in the defensive zone. Darcy plays on the Islanders Hockey Club's first penalty kill unit and logs meaningful minutes on their power play. He also has a smooth and powerful skating stride, both forward and backward.

NOTE
The statistics for the recruits, presented in the following table, are categorized by the projected year they will enroll in UNH. For example, the "2016 Recruits" are projected to begin playing for UNH in the Fall of 2016. I have based these projections on a number of factors including:
~ If a National Letter of Intent has been signed.
~ The year the recruit and UNH coaches originally targeted for enrollment in UNH.
~ How old the recruit would be upon admission.
~ Number of years in junior hockey prior to admission.
~ The recruit's performance in recent seasons as well as injuries.
~ Anticipated date of high school graduation.
~ Number of UNH players leaving the team at the end of the previous season and the position they played.

Player	Team	League	GP	Goals	Asst	Pts	PIM
2016 Recruits
Liam Blackburn*  (F)	West Kelowna Warriors	BCHL	31	15	25	40	28
Justin Fregona*  (F)	Langley Rivermen	BCHL	29	19	14	33	27
Patrick Grasso*  (F)	Des Moines Bucs	USHL	23	8	5	13	6
Charlie Kelleher  (F)	Junior Bruins	USPHL	19	7	24	31	12
Nick Nonis  (D)	Powell River Kings	BCHL	27	0	4	4	22
Brendan van Riemsdyk*   (F)	Islanders Hockey Club	USPHL	25	9	14	23	12
Mike Robinson*  (G)	Junior Bruins	USPHL	-	-	-	-	-
2016 or '17 Recruits
Joe Cipollone  (F)	Tri-City Storm	USHL	14	3	1	4	8
	Vernon Vipers	BCHL	12	4	3	7	2
Liam Darcy  (D)	Islanders Hockey Club	USPHL	16	1	5	6	0
Aaron O'Neill  (F)	Chilliwack Chiefs	BCHL	-	-	-	-	-
	Tri-City Storm	USHL	8	0	1	1	2
2017 Recruits
Eric MacAdams  (F)	Sioux Falls Stampede	USHL	20	4	4	8	29
2017 or '18 Recruits
Eric Esposito  (F)	Youngstown Phantoms	USHL	20	0	3	3	22
Jason O'Neill  (F)	Langley Rivermen	BCHL	20	1	6	7	0
* = Signed National Letter of Intent

News & Notes

British Columbia Hockey League:

~ Last weekend, UNH Commit Justin Fregona and 59 players from the five Western Canada Junior A leagues participated in the Team Canada West selection camp. On Tuesday, Hockey Canada announced the 22-player team that will compete in the 2015 World Junior A Challenge and Fregona is on it. The tournament will be contested from December 13-19 in Cobourg and Whitby Ontario. Canada West will face teams from Canada East, the United States, Russia, the Czech Republic, and Switzerland.

~ The Chilliwack Chiefs of the BCHL have acquired 2016 or '17 UNH Commit Aaron O'Neill from the Tri-City Storm of the USHL. O'Neill is expected to be in the Chiefs' lineup on Sunday.

United States Premiere Hockey League:

~ 2016 UNH Commit Charlie Kelleher extended his scoring streak to 7 games last Saturday. In the 6-2 Junior Bruins' win over the Philadelphia (Junior) Flyers, Kelleher dished out 3 assists. He has scored at least one point in 18 out of the 19 games this seasons. Kelleher is tied for 5th in USPHL scoring (31 points) and has the 3rd most assists (24 assists).

UNH Captain's Corner: Maine Home-and-Home Series

UNH Captain Collin MacDonald

The UNH-Maine rivalry is one of the best known in college hockey. In the annual "White Out the Whitt" game, a tradition which began in March, 1999, the Whittemore Center is a sea of white as UNH fans wear white jerseys/shirts when the Maine Black Bears come to town. Since the 2012-13 season, the White Out the Whitt matchup has been linked to a home-and-home series with Maine. The rivals play in either Orono, Maine or Durham, NH on the first night and travel the 198 miles to the other campus the following night. Both contests count in the Hockey East standings.

This year, the first game was contested at the Alfond Arena on Friday night. UNH entered the contest with a .500 record in Hockey East competition - 1 win, 1 lose, and 3 ties for a total of 5 points. Maine had earned 4 Hockey East points with 2 wins and 5 loses. UNH built up a 2-0 lead on power play goals by Dan Correale in the first period and Andrew Poturalski in the second period.

Maine responded with 3 unanswered goals in a 4-minute stretch but UNH senior Kyle Smith scored the game-tying goal before the second period ended. Sophomore goalie Danny Tirone closed the door on Maine the rest of the way and played one of his best games of the season making 50 saves on 53 shots on goal. Here's my game summary of the 3-3 tie:

"Tirone Makes 50 Saves; UNH Ties Maine 3-3"

On Saturday night, the teams battled in "White Out the Whitt" on the campus of UNH. Once again, the Wildcats built up a 2-0 lead, this time on first-period goals by sophomore Andrew Poturalski and senior Alternate Captain Maxim Gaudreault. Maine got one goal back later in the first period.

In the second period, UNH extended its lead to 4-1 on Gaudreault's second goal of the game and a power play goal by freshman Ara Nazarian. The Maine goalie was pulled for an extra skater late in the third period and the Black Bears scored to make it 4-2. Moments later, Poturalski sealed the deal with an empty net goal. Here's a link to Parker Wheeler's game report from our blog:

"UNH Wildcats Take 3 of 4 Points on the Weekend Over Rival Maine"

Over the weekend series against Maine, Danny Tirone faced 83 shots on goal and made 78 saves. He looks like he has regained the form that made him one of the top goalies in Hockey East last season. The UNH line of Tyler Kelleher (6G, 21A), Andrew Poturalski (14G,16A) and Dan Correale (9G, 4A) are the #1 scoring line (70 points) and #1 goal-scoring line (29 goals) in the nation.

UNH improved it's Hockey East record to 2-1-4 and is currently tied for 5th place with Merrimack, UMass and Vermont. The Wildcats have played 2 fewer Hockey East games than Merrimack and 3 fewer than UMass or Vermont. More importantly, UNH won the Hockey East series with Maine. The two will face-off again later this month, once in Portland and once in Manchester, but the results will not count in the Hockey East standings.

I had an opportunity to interview UNH Captain Collin MacDonald about the successful weekend against Maine:

Mike Lowry ("C-H-C"): Congratulations on taking 3 out of 4 points on the annual Home-and-Home series with the University of Maine. In your four years at UNH, this is the first season UNH has won the Maine series. Can you describe the atmosphere at the Alfond Arena and the Whittemore Center - both in the building and on the ice - during these rivalry games?

Collin MacDonald: Yeah these games are great. The atmosphere up there is just crazy, the fans are right on top of you, it’s smaller so it’s just incredibly loud, and it’s a great experience. White out the Whitt is something we obviously circle on our calendars every year, our student section was great. We had control of that game the whole night Saturday and it was great to take 3 out of 4 points from them on the weekend.



Mike Lowry: In the 3-3 tie up at Orono, Maine generated 53 shots on goal. During the 5-2 win on Saturday, UNH held Maine to 30 shots on goal. What might account for this big difference in the two games?

Collin MacDonald: It’s hard for me to say just because I wasn’t in the game Saturday. I know we wanted to be better in our defensive zone and I believe we were. Alfond has a smaller ice surface; any shot is a good shot up there so that could’ve been a factor as well.



Lowry: What team and individual efforts over the weekend stood out as positives in your mind?

MacDonald: It was great to see Danny Tirone have two strong outings, especially Friday, that was huge. Matias Cleland was tremendous on the back end. Smith, Max, and Eiserman I thought all had great weekends. I don’t think I have to mention Pots, Kells, and Correale; they are just consistent game in and game out. Saturday I thought was an overall great team effort from my perspective.



Lowry: After a strong sophomore campaign when he was often paired with defensive standout Brett Pesce, junior defenseman Matias Cleland is quietly having perhaps the best season of his UNH career. This was particularly noticeable over the weekend with both Cameron Marks and Dylan Maller out of the lineup with injuries. What makes Cleland one of the top defensemen in Hockey East?

MacDonald: Cle is a warrior, plain and simple. He’s not worried about making anything pretty; he keeps things simple and is very effective. I lost count of how many shots he blocked this weekend, he’s got a great stick, and he jumps in on the offense and helps run the first power play unit. He leads on the ice by example, and is vocal in the room; he’s a guy you are glad is sitting on your bench and not another team’s.



Lowry: Both you and freshman Chris Miller sustained upper body injuries up at Maine and were unable to play in the "White Out the Whitt" game. Are either of you likely to return for the Dartmouth game this Friday?

MacDonald: I can’t say right now if either of us will be ready. We are both just getting our treatments in and taking it day by day.

UNH Wildcats Take 3 of 4 Points on the Weekend Over Rival Maine

Senior Maxim Gaudreault Nets GWG + 1 Goal

Sophomore Andrew Poturalski Scores 2 More Goals

DURHAM, NH - Finally, UNH hockey produced a 60-minute, full team effort performance, and to no surprise it resulted in a solid victory. Goaltending from Danny Tirone, defensive play and the high powered offense all came together and gave the 6,000 fans at White Out The Whitt something to go home smiling about.

The nation’s leading scorer Andrew Poturalski kicked things off for the Wildcats with a goal 3:29 into the first period. After receiving a drop pass from Tyler Kelleher, Poturalski wristed a shot towards goal that Maine goaltender Rob McGovern struggled to handle, as the puck dribbled behind him past the goal line to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.

At 10:43 of the first, UNH was handed an early holiday gift from the Maine defenders. After a defenseman broke his stick on the play, Maine found themselves short a defender as he headed to the bench for a replacement stick. Maxim Gaudreault was all alone standing at the offensive blue line and Kyle Smith found him streaking into the offensive zone with a tape-to-tape pass. Gaudreault loaded his slap shot and fired away, beating McGovern glove side to make it 2-0 UNH.

A Maine goal made it 2-1 before the end of the first period, but there was no doubt UNH was in charge of the game and was controlling the pace of play the way they wanted to.

More importantly, Danny Tirone found his game for the Wildcats this weekend. After making 50 saves of 53 shots the night before, Tirone came right back onto the ice tonight and had a similar performance. He saw the puck well and challenged every shot he faced at the top of his crease. It seemed like he was back to tracking the puck similar to ways he was last season. He finished the weekend with 78 saves on 83 shots.

“I don’t think confidence is something you gain from results, I think it’s something you create through your preparation and mindset,” Tirone said after the game when asked if his confidence had changed.

At 13:22 of the second period, UNH took a 3-1 lead after Tyler Kelleher’s shot deflected off the pad of McGovern and sat in the slot where Maxim Gaudreault pocketed his second goal of the game.

Just over two minutes later at 15:45 of the second period, UNH made it 4-1 on the power play. Freshman Ara Nazarian waited on the doorstep for a puck that bounced in front and he pushed it to the twine for his second goal of the season.

With 2 and 1/2 minutes left in regulation, Maine scored with an extra attacker on the ice to cut the lead to 4-2. But Poturalski struck again with an empty netter to finalize the score at 5-2.

A positive for UNH was the defensive presence all night long. There were limited opportunities in the slot for the Black Bears and most of their shots came from the outside, making it a simpler game for Tirone to handle.

Andrew Poturalski is now on an eight game point streak, and has 18 points during that streak. He paces the nation with 30 points, while linemate Tyler Kelleher sits in second with 27 points on the season.

UNH improved it's overall record to 5-6-4. Their Hockey East record improved to 2-1-4. Maine dropped to 4-9-4 overall and 2-5-1 in Hockey East.

Here are the video highlights of UNH's 5-2 win courtesy of UNH Athletics:



Box Score

Tirone Makes 50 Saves; UNH Ties Maine 3-3

Sophomore UNH Goalie Danny Tirone
Comes Up Big Against Maine

After enrolling as a freshman at the beginning of the second semester last year, UNH goalie Danny Tirone played exceptionally well. He finished the half-season with a record of 14-6-0, a goals against average of 2.14, and a save percentage of .924. It's no secret that Tirone has struggled to regain his form so far this season. Entering the important game against the University of Maine up at the Alfond Arena in Orono, Tirone's goals against average was 4.02 and his save percentage had decreased to .874.

If Tirone is able to return to his stingy ways in the net, he might very well look back at tonight's 3-3 tie with Maine as the turning point. Maine generated 53 shots on net and Tirone saved 50 of them. He played with the style that has served him well throughout his prep school career at Loomis-Chaffee, his one season with the Cedar Rapid RoughRiders of the USHL and half season with the Junior Bruins of the USPHL. When Tirone is on his game - which he was tonight - he challenges the shooter, moves quickly side-to-side, makes the correct, aggressive move out beyond his crease, and makes the occasional diving save.

UNH entered the always rocking Alfond Arena and showcased the top scoring line in NCAA Division I hockey - the line of Tyler Kelleher, Andrew Poturalski and Dan Correale. They scored power play goals midway through the first period and again midway through the second period.

The Maine Black Bears, who entered the game on a 4-game winning streak, rebounded with 3 unanswered goals in a little over 4 minutes later in the second period. Senior Kyle Smith banged home a rebound of a shot by sophomore Shane Eiserman for the game-tying goal in the closing minutes of the second stanza. From then on, UNH and Maine each had scoring chances in the final period and in overtime but the game ended in a hard-fought draw.

Both Andrew Poturalski and Dan Correale finished the game with a goal and an assist and Tyler Kelleher dished out two assists. Poturalski, who entered the game as the leading scorer in the nation, now has tallied 12 goals and 15 assists. Kelleher, the #2 scorer in Division I hockey, now has 6 goals and 19 assists. Correale has compiled 9 goals and 3 assists.

UNH was without the services of regular defensemen Cameron Marks and Dylan Maller who are out with injuries. Captain Collin MacDonald appeared to get injured in the third period of tonight's game. UNH and Maine, perennial rivals, will do battle again Saturday night at the Whittemore Center in Durham.

Here are the highlights of UNH's 3-3 tie with Maine.

1st Period power play goal by Dan Correale with assists from Andrew Poturalsk and Tyler Kelleher at the 9:50 mark:



2nd Period power play goal by Andrew Poturalski with assists from Tyler Kelleher and Matt Dawson at the 8:58 mark:



2nd Period Goal by Cedric Lacroix at the 10:23 mark:



2nd Period Goal by Will Merchant at the 13:02 mark:



2nd Period Goal by Brian Morgan at the 14:55 mark:



2nd Period Game-Tying Goal by Kyle Smith with assists from Shane Eiserman and Dan Correale at the 18:20 mark:



Two Big Saves by Danny Tirone in the closing minutes of regulation:



Here is the box score for the 3-3 tie between UNH and Maine.

UNH Recruits Update: Dec-4-2015

UNH Commit Liam Blackburn
(Photo: Lorne White/KelownaNow.com)

Player Spotlight - Liam Blackburn

2016 UNH Commit Liam Blackburn has become the second leading scorer in the history of the West Kelowna Warriors. In 4 games last week, the 5'10", 175 lbs. left-shot forward scored 3 goals and 4 assists. Blackburn reached the Warriors' scoring milestone in a 7-3 victory over the Trail Smoke Eaters on Tuesday. He scored the game-tying goal, assisted on the team's 5th goal, and tallied the 7th goal. Here's a video of Blackburn scoring his 13th and 14th goals of the 2015-16 season:



In 131 games over three seasons with West Kelowna, Blackburn has scored 53 goals and 102 assists for a total of 155 points. Only one Warrior player has scored more points in the history of the franchise. Trevor Baily played in 231 games over four seasons with West Kelowna and notched 235 points. Former UNH star Grayson Downing is the 6th leading Warriors' scorer with 129 points (65G, 64A) in 132 games. Blackburn signed his National Letter of Intent with UNH a year ago and will enroll next fall so he won't be able to catch Baily in the all-time scoring race.

Blackburn has scored 39 points - 14 goals and 25 assists - in 29 games so far this season. He is now the 4th leading scorer in the British Columbia Hockey League and has the 6th most assists. In the regular season last year, Blackburn tied for 6th in BCHL scoring (73 pts.) and posted the third most assists (51). Blackburn is also a big contributor on the Warriors' special teams. He has scored 6 power play goals and 9 power play assists. He has added 2 shorthanded goals and 1 assist.

NOTE
The statistics for the recruits, presented in the following table, are categorized by the projected year they will enroll in UNH. For example, the "2016 Recruits" are projected to begin playing for UNH in the Fall of 2016. I have based these projections on a number of factors including:
~ If a National Letter of Intent has been signed.
~ The year the recruit and UNH coaches originally targeted for enrollment in UNH.
~ How old the recruit would be upon admission.
~ Number of years in junior hockey prior to admission.
~ The recruit's performance in recent seasons as well as injuries.
~ Anticipated date of high school graduation.
~ Number of UNH players leaving the team at the end of the previous season and the position they played.

Player	Team	League	GP	Goals	Asst	Pts	PIM
2016 Recruits
Liam Blackburn*  (F)	West Kelowna Warriors	BCHL	29	14	25	39	26
Justin Fregona*  (F)	Langley Rivermen	BCHL	29	19	14	33	27
Patrick Grasso*  (F)	Des Moines Bucs	USHL	21	8	5	13	6
Charlie Kelleher  (F)	Junior Bruins	USPHL	17	7	20	27	10
Nick Nonis  (D)	Powell River Kings	BCHL	27	0	4	4	22
Brendan van Riemsdyk*   (F)	Islanders Hockey Club	USPHL	22	9	13	22	8
Mike Robinson*  (G)	Junior Bruins	USPHL	-	-	-	-	-
2016 or '17 Recruits
Joe Cipollone  (F)	Tri-City Storm	USHL	12	3	1	4	8
	Vernon Vipers	BCHL	12	4	3	7	2
Liam Darcy  (D)	Islanders Hockey Club	USPHL	13	0	4	4	0
Aaron O'Neill  (F)	Tri-City Storm	USHL	6	0	1	1	0
2017 Recruits
Eric MacAdams  (F)	Sioux Falls Stampede	USHL	18	4	3	7	27
2017 or '18 Recruits
Eric Esposito  (F)	Youngstown Phantoms	USHL	17	0	3	3	14
Jason O'Neill  (F)	Langley Rivermen	BCHL	19	1	5	6	0
* = Signed National Letter of Intent

News & Notes

British Columbia Hockey League:

~ 2016 UNH Commit Justin Fregona sniped his 19th goal of the season on November 26th in a 4-1 win over the Prince George Spruce Kings. The Langley Rivermen right winger is now tied for 5th in BCHL goal-scoring. Next week, Fregona will attend the Team Canada West selection camp with hopes of making the 22-player team that will compete in the 2015 World Junior A Challenge. Here's the video highlight of Fregona's 19th goal:





United States Hockey League:

~ 2017 UNH commit Eric MacAdams scored the game-winning goal for the Sioux Falls Stampede in a 3-0 win over the Fargo Force on November 27th. MacAdams also added an assist and earned the #2 Star of the Game. Click on this link to watch a GIF video of MacAdams 4th goal of his rookie USHL season.

~ 2016 or '17 commit Joe Cipollone notched the 3rd goal of his rookie USHL season on November 28th. Cipollone played center on the Tri-City Storm's starting lineup.

~ 2016 or '17 commit Aaron O'Neill was injured on November 20th and has missed the last 4 Tri-City Storm games.

United States Premiere Hockey League:

~ Islanders Hockey Club defenseman Liam Darcy, who turns 19 in February, was on the latest NHL Central Scouting Service's "Players to Watch" list for the 2016 Draft. The list, which was released on November 24th, has Darcy rated as a "C" prospect meaning he has the potential to be drafted in the 4th, 5th, or 6th round of the NHL Draft next June.

~ The USPHL teams have been on a two-week break. They return to action today.