UNH & Tirone Smother #4 Providence 3-1

Sophomore Goalie Danny Tirone 31 Saves

Senior Kyle Smith Scores 2 Goals

Senior Dan Correale Game Winning Goal

The UNH Wildcats snapped their seven-game losing steak with a full-effort, convincing 3-1 win over the #4 Providence Friars. They played perhaps their most complete game of the season winning puck battles against PC in all three zones.

Sophomore goalie Danny Tirone, who has always played exceptionally well against Providence, both at home and especially in Schneider Arena, was on top of his game. Tirone surrendered only one goal and made 31 saves. Last Spring, Tirone backstopped a Hockey East Quarterfinal Series win over PC. He allowed only 4 goals in the three-game series. Last night, except for a miscue playing the puck behind the net on Providence's first goal, Tirone was solid in the net and allowed two goals (PC also scored an ENG).

Two UNH senior forwards - Kyle Smith and Dan Correale - came up big with Smith scoring his 4th and 5th goals of the season and Correale burying his 15th. Correale is now tied for 7th place in NCAA Division I goals. High-scoring linemates Andrew Poturalski and Tyler Kelleher assisted on his goal. Poturalski (19G, 22A) is the 2nd leading scorer in the nation. Kelleher (7G, 30A) is only 2 points behind in 4th place and he leads the nation in assists.

In a total team effort, the forward line of Maxim Gaudreault at left wing, Kyle Smith at center, and freshman Marcus Vela stood out with their tight checking and scoring. Smith scored 2 goals on 6 shots on goal. Gaudreault dished out an assist and Vela had 2 assists and a +/- rating of +1.

Here are the video highlights of each goal in the UNH victory: