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Sunday, February 28, 2016
UNH Collapses, Loses Home Ice Advantage in Playoffs to UConn
Senior Maxim Gaudreault Scores Goal in Final Home Game
DURHAM, NH - It looked like UNH had locked up home ice advantage in the
first round of the Hockey East playoffs heading into the third period with a
three goal lead, but in a blink, it was gone.
At 2:40 of the third period, UCONN’s Joey Ferriss made the
score 4-2 when he snuck a shot past UNH sophomore goalie Danny Tirone. At 10:26 of the third,
Spencer Naas scored on the powerplay to make the score 4-3. A silence fell over
the Whittemore Center as fans realized the comeback was on.
UNH pressured offensively for three minutes straight as the
clock ticked under two minutes in regulation. But UConn pulled goalie Rob Nichols for an extra attacker and caught a break. Joey
Ferriss equalized things with 1:03 left in the game. Groans and moans could be
heard throughout the arena with disbelief of the collapse.
The game went into overtime and finished in the way that
one could only assume after such a disastrous third period; UCONN’s Corey Ronan
scored on a bouncing puck 3:08 into the overtime period to clinch the 5-4
comeback victory for the Huskies.
The first two periods were dominated by UNH. Up and down the
ice they looked like a lock for a victory. But a flat, lazy team showed up in
the third and UCONN took advantage.
Two power play goals opened the scoring for UNH. Sophomore
Michael McNicholas with the first at 12:04 of the first period and junior defenseman Matias Cleland with
the second at 15:54 of the first giving UNH a 2-0 lead.
Just over five minute into the second, sophomore Shane Eiserman made
it 3-0 with a fantastic individual effort collecting his own rebound and
pocketing his third goal of the season.
After a power play goal by Tage Thompson at 11:51 of the
second made it 3-1, UNH didn’t panic and responded with 42 seconds left in the
period on a Maxim Gaudreault slap shot making it 4-1.
All seemed well as the third period began with a 5 on 3
penalty kill for UNH, but it was the calm before the storm.
This was by far the worst third period performance of the
season, and there were a lot to choose from. There was nothing to show for when
the Wildcats needed it the most and it attests to the whole season.
Here are the video highlights courtesy of UNH Athletics:
UNH finishes the regular season in disappointing fashion and
will have to hope to make a miracle run in the playoffs and things look more
and more glum each game.
The Wildcats will travel to Merrimack for the round one, best-of-three series of the
Hockey East playoffs starting on Thursday.
When 2016 UNH commit Patrick Grasso was just 16 years old, he was called up from his Midget Minor team (Omaha AAA Lancers 16U) to play 17 games with the Des Moines Buccaneers and scored 3 goals and 2 assists. Now, in his third full season with the Bucs, Grasso has become Des Moines go-to guy. The 5'7", 160 lbs. speedster is the Buccaneers' Captain, starting right-winger, point-man on their first power play unit, and fore-checker on the first penalty kill unit.
As Des Moines battles for the final playoff berth in the USHL Western Conference - they are 5 points behind the Sioux Falls Stampede - Patrick Grasso is heating up. Last Saturday, Grasso scored the first hat trick of his USHL career as the Bucs downed the Chicago Steel 4-2. Here's a video of the hat trick including the short-handed, game-winning goal:
With 17 games remaining in the USHL season, Grasso has already exceeded his goal-scoring totals from last season. He has more goals (14 vs 9), power play goals (3 vs 1) and game-winning goals (2 vs 0). Last November, Patrick signed his National Letter of Intent to come to UNH next fall. He turns 20 years old on May 29th.
Playoff Season
The two primary junior hockey leagues in the Northeastern United States - the United States Premiere Hockey League and the Eastern Hockey League - began their 2016 Playoffs this week. UNH Commits Brendan van Riemsdyk, Liam Darcy and the Islanders Hockey Club won the USPHL Premiere Division regular season title. They earned home-ice for the best-of-three quarterfinals series which begins today. The IHC will face off against the Rochester Junior Americans at the Gallant Arena on the campus of Merrimack College.
Charlie Kelleher, Mike Robinson, and the Junior Bruins finished the USPHL regular season in third place. They also earned home-ice in the playoff quarterfinal series which begins tomorrow. The Junior Bruins will play the Philadelphia Flyers at the New England Sports Center in Marlborough, MA.
UNH commit Corson Green and the Northern Cyclones finished the regular season of the EHL Premiere Division in third place in the Northern Conference. They face the Valley Junior Warriors in the best-of-three opening round beginning tomorrow. The first game will be played at the Cyclones Arena in Hudson, NH.
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.
United States Premiere Hockey League:
~ UNH commit Charlie Kelleher finished the USPHL regular season with 17 goals and 36 goals in 38 games. He tied for 5th in USPHL scoring and power play assists and he had the 5th most assists in the league. In the 2014-15 season, Kelleher tallied 11 goals and 21 assists in 37 regular season games.
~ 2016 UNH Commit Brendan van Riemsdyk finished the USPHL regular season with 20 goals and 27 assists in 43 games. BvR tied for 9th in USPHL scoring, tied for 5th in goals, and tied for 11th in assists. He was a top performer on the power play. BvR tied for 1st in USPHL power play goals (8), tied for 3rd in power play assists (11), and was second in total power play points (19). Last season, BvR posted 29 goals, 12 assists, 8 power play goals, and 5 power play assists in 47 regular season games.
~ In his first season in the USPHL Premiere Division, defenseman Liam Darcy, who just turned 19 years old, tallied 2 goals and 11 assists in 34 games. Over the final four games of the Islanders Hockey Club's regular season, Darcy scored a goal and 2 power play assists. He tied for fourth in the league in power play assists (10).
"Anthony is a special player, plain and simple. His decision making, compete level, and will to succeed is what makes him so fun to coach. He will be a great addition to the Dartmouth team, and I am confident that his work ethic will propel him to continue on after college."
Wyse, a native of Newton, MA, played several years of youth hockey with the Boston Advantage Hockey Club based in Hingham, MA. He finished the 2013-14 season with 7 goals, 20 assists and 18 penalty minutes in 46 Boston Advantage U18 games.
In May, 2014, Wyse was drafted by the Lincoln Stars in the 1st Round of the United States Hockey League Entry Draft. He was the 5th overall player selected in the USHL Draft. The Hockey Scouting News described Wyse as a:
"Big strong defenseman with a lot of skill for his size. Good skater with good vision."
Anthony planned to join the Lincoln Stars for their Summer 2014 training camp but was having difficulty with his mobility:
"I was having some problems with my hips and groin. I thought I just kept pulling it and went to get some tests and found out they were both torn.”
Wyse underwent surgery for a torn labrum in each hip and missed the entire 2014-15 season.
Wyse has played this entire season with the Lincoln Stars and has produced 2 goals, 14 assists, and 46 shots on goal in 46 games. In early December, Stars General Manager Jon Hull described Anthony's progress since recovering from surgery:
“I think he’s an impactful player. He’s a guy that plays a lot. I think (head coach) Chris (Hartsburg) and (assistant) Mick (Berge) rely on him a lot, our staff relies on him a lot. He is a very calming player with the puck, he’s calculated, he’s able to distribute with precise accuracy. Anytime you can have a guy play 20 to 22 minutes a night, he’s a big asset to the team.”
Anthony Wyse graduated from Newton North High School in June, 2014. He was also a star player for the Newton North lacrosse team.
This is my 5th season covering the UNH hockey program on The UNH Men's Hockey Blog. In that time, the Wildcats have qualified for the NCAA Tournament once. The 2012-13 team was ranked #1 in the nation in early December, 2012 and eventually earned an invite to the NCAA tourney by virtue of their overall record.
In the 2015-16 season, UNH has not won enough games against top-ranked teams to earn an invitation to the 2016 NCAA Tournament. Their only route to the tourney is the automatic berth awarded to the winner of the Hockey East Playoffs. The Wildcats entered the home-and-home series against Boston University last weekend with a slim 1-point lead over UConn for the 8th spot in the Hockey East standings. Teams that finish the regular season between 5th and 8th place earn home ice in the best-of-three opening round of the Hockey East Playoffs.
BU came to UNH on Friday night in 5th place in Hockey East, just 3 points behind UMass Lowell, and ranked #9 in the nation. The Terriers were battling to finish the regular season in the top 4 of Hockey East thereby earning a bye in the opening round of the HE Playoffs.
After a scoreless first period, BU opened up a two-goal lead on consecutive scores by senior alternate captain Danny O'Regan, a 5th round draft pick of the San Jose Sharks. Junior Jamie Hill sparked a UNH comeback with this nifty, breakaway goal set up by a beautiful, stretch pass from senior defenseman Harry Quast:
Less than 3 minutes later,
Michael McNicholas converted a cross-slot pass from Andrew Poturalski on the UNH power play to tie the game 2-2. In the third period, O'Regan completed a hat trick with 2 and 1/2 minutes left in regulation. It could have been a deflating goal for UNH but they tied the game up 36 seconds later.
Sophomore defenseman Cameron Marks snapped a wrist shot from the blueline and the puck appeared to deflect down to the ice off freshman Marcus Vela. Senior Alternate Captain Maxim Gaudreault banged home the bouncing puck for this game-tying goal:
Neither team scored in the 5-minute overtime period. Here's a link to Parker Wheeler's game report of the 3-3 tie from our blog:
#9 BU and UNH Skate to 3-3 Tie
Although BU earned a point on Friday night, they still needed a win on Saturday to move into a tie for 4th place with UMass Lowell. The Terriers responded with 3 unanswered goals over the first two periods. UNH picked up the pace in the third period.
Three minutes into the final stanza, Cameron Marks snapped a wrister toward the net. BU goalie Connor LaCouvee's made the save but left a rebound and Ara Nazarian knocked it home as he was being knocked to the ice. Here's Nazarian's 7th goal of his freshman season:
Three minutes later, sophomore Shane Eiserman lead a 4-on-2 rush up ice and slid a pass to Cameron Marks streaking toward the top of the slot. Marks fired this wrist shot over LaCouvee's right shoulder and pulled the Wildcats to within one goal:
UNH outshot Boston University 11-4 in the final period including a flurry at the end with goalie Danny Tirone pulled for an extra attacker. Here's a link to my game report of the 3-2 BU win:
UNH Comeback vs BU Falls Short
Although UNH lost at Agganis Arena, they maintained their one-point lead in the race for 8th place in Hockey East. The win by BU drew them into a tie with UMass Lowell for fourth place. Next weekend, UNH plays it's final two games of the regular season - a home-and-home series against UConn. They will enter the games 1 point behind 7th place Vermont, 1 point ahead of Merrimack, and 2 points ahead of UConn and Maine.
I had an opportunity to interview UNH Captain Collin MacDonald about the weekend series with Boston University:
Mike Lowry ("C-H-C"): The Wildcats played 9th-ranked Boston University tough over the weekend series and earned an important point. How would you assess the team's performance against the Terriers?
Collin MacDonald: Although we tied Friday night, we didn’t play a great game. Danny Tirone really kept us in it and stole a point for us. Coming back with little time to play showed the character of our team, but we knew we could play much better. Saturday was frustrating because we didn’t bring our game until the third period. We were in desperation mode and took it to them in the third, but it was a little too late to overcome that big of deficit.
Mike Lowry: Over the last 4 games, Jamie Hill has scored some big points including the breakaway goal which sparked the comeback against Boston University on Friday night. He's also been a key contributor on the UNH penalty kill. Would you describe the skill set of your fellow New Jersey native and the ways he contributes to the team?
Collin MacDonald: Hill brings a lot of energy to his game. You’ve seen his skill show, especially as of late. That breakaway goal was a beauty, and he’s made some nice plays setting guys up for goals over the last few weekends. He’s a heads up player, his head is always on a swivel, and he figures out what he’s going to do with the puck before he gets it. Him and Correale have worked hard together on our PK, which has been huge for us.
Lowry: Sophomore defenseman Cameron Marks' wrist shot from the point initiated the game-tying goal against BU on Friday and his goal on Saturday pulled UNH to within one of the Terriers. What are Cameron's strengths and how has his game developed in his first two years in Durham?
MacDonald: It was great to see Marksy have two strong games for us this weekend. He’s a guy who played a big role back there as a freshman. Things weren’t going his way in the beginning of this year, and then he had to battle a tough knee injury. A weekend like last is huge for him going forward. He shows poise with the puck, and is a smart hockey player. We’ll need him to be one of our best players heading into the playoffs.
Lowry: After being out of the lineup since early December with a fractured shoulder, you finally got a chance to play in Friday's game. How do you think you played and how does the shoulder feel?
MacDonald: Yeah I was happy to be back out there. I knew I wasn’t going to play much, but there’s nothing like being back in the fight. Coach decided I was only going to play one game last weekend, and hopefully I’ll be back for both this weekend. My shoulder is sore, but it’s to be expected; I’ve kind of rushed the process so I could finish the year in the lineup.
BOSTON, MA - After salvaging a tie against UNH on Friday night, the BU Terriers entered Saturday's game with extra incentives. They needed a victory over the Wildcats to keep pace with UMass Lowell in the battle for fourth place in Hockey East. At stake is the fourth and final bye in the opening round of the Hockey East Playoffs. In addition, it was Senior Night at Agganis Arena.
Six minutes into the first period, BU took advantage of a tripping penalty on freshman Marcus Vela as senior captain Matt Grzelcyk converted on the power play. Grzelcyk flipped a harmless looking shot toward the net and the puck bounced between Danny Tirone's legs.
With seven minutes left in Period 1, senior Danny O'Regan scored his 4th goal of the home-and-home series. He was left uncovered on the goal line to Tirone's right and one-timed a Shane Switzer pass from the point. BU outshot UNH 12-5 in the opening stanza.
Midway through the second period, the Wildcats dug a deep hole when Harry Quast
was penalized for slashing and Matt Dawson joined him in the penalty box a minute later on a cross-checking call. UNH weathered the 5-on-3 and was just 11 seconds away from killing off the man advantage when Bobo Carpenter cleaned up a rebound.
A minute later, UNH was on the verge of letting the game get completely away from them when Andrew Poturalski was whistled for an elbowing penalty. Fortunately, they were able to kill off BU's fourth power play of the game. Shots on goal in the second period were a lop-sided 18-5.
Credit UNH for coming out of the locker room with intensity and hustle in the third period. The Wildcats were able to pressure BU with aggressive fore-checking. Freshman Ara Nazarian gathered a loose puck at the bottom of the face off circle to BU goalie Connor LaCouvee's left and sent a pass out to sophomore defenseman Cameron Marks at the point. Marks snapped a wrister toward the net and Nazarian knocked the rebound home as he was being knocked to the ice. It was Nazarian's 7th goal of his freshman season.
A little over three minutes later, sophomore Shane Eiserman rushed the puck through center ice and down into the faceoff circle to LaCouvee's right. He dropped a pass back to Cameron Marks streaking toward the top of the slot. Marks fired a wrist shot over LaCouvee's right shoulder and pulled the Wildcats to within one goal.
With just under two minutes left in regulation, UNH pulled Danny Tirone for an extra skater. As this rinkside video shows, UNH maintained puck possession deep in the BU zone for most of the remainder of the game and generated a few legitimate scoring chances:
:
UNH outshot BU 11-4 in the final period but did not get the equalizer. The one point the Wildcats earned at the Whittemore Center on Friday night turned out to be an important one. Although they lost 2-3 at Agganis Arena, they maintained their one-point lead in the race for 8th place in Hockey East. If the season ended today, UNH would earn home-ice in the opening round of the Hockey East Playoffs. The win by BU drew them into a tie with UMass Lowell for fourth place.
Next weekend, UNH plays it's final two games of the regular season - a home-and-home series against UConn. They will enter the games 1 point behind 7th place Vermont, 1 point ahead of Merrimack, and 2 points ahead of UConn and Maine.
Here are the video highlights of the 2-3 loss courtesy of BU Athletics:
Sophomore Michael McNicholas 2nd Goal in Last 3 Games
Junior Jamie Hill 3rd Goal of Season
DURHAM, NH - In one of the most exciting games of the year, the UNH Wildcats
were able to take home a point against a difficult BU Terrier opponent.
After an even and scoreless first period, the scoring started
quickly in the second period. Just 12 seconds into the period, Danny O’Regan
ripped a shot from the slot past Danny Tirone to give BU a 1-0 lead.
At 6:41 of the second period, O’Regan lit the lamp again on
a beautiful one-timer off a pass from Matt Grzelcyk to make the score 2-0
Terriers.
Just forty seconds later, UNH’s Jamie Hill found himself on a
breakaway where he tucked the puck in the 5-Hole to cut the lead in half at 2-1 at 7:21 of
the second.
Michael McNicholas would tie it up 2-2 at 10:01 of the
second on a power play goal after slapping home a pass from Andrew Poturalski. The Wildcats had battled back in less than four minutes.
At the end of the second period, UNH was faced with the
challenge of killing off a five minute major after Shane Eiserman received a
game misconduct for a boarding call. UNH was able to kill off the penalty late
in the second and early in the third period giving them momentum going forward.
While the battle went back and forth in the third,
BU took the lead on O’Regan’s third goal of the game with 2:32 left in regulation. It looked like UNH would lose yet another one goal game.
The Wildcats wouldn’t back down. Senior Alternate Captain Maxim Gaudreault poked home
a rebound just 35 seconds after BU scored at 18:03 and tied the game 3-3.
UNH was throwing shots towards the goal in the waning minutes and found a rebound to put
to the back of the net.
UNH and BU traded opportunities in overtime, but neither was
able to take home the victory and the Wildcats took home a point and their 6th
tie of the season. BU outshot UNH 37 to 19, but the
Wildcats stayed close in scoring chances all night.
The two teams will faceoff again Saturday night at Agganis
Arena at 7:00PM.
Here are the video highlights courtesy of UNH Athletics:
The Vermont Catamounts came to the Whittemore Center tied with UNH, Northeastern and UConn for 6th place in the Hockey East standings. On Friday night, UNH scored the all-important, first goal of the game. As Parker Wheeler pointed out in his game report, the Wildcats had a record of 6-0-3 when scoring the first goal. UNH utilized the 6th best power play (24.8%) in NCAA Division I hockey to get on the board as Tyler Kelleher scored his 8th goal of the season.
Vermont answered with a power play goal of it's own early in the second period. Minutes later, UNH capitalized on 5-on-3 power play opportunity when sophomore Michael McNicholas made a nifty move around UVM goalie Packy Munson.
Tyler Kelleher notched the 100th point of his UNH career as he assisted on the McNicholas goal. Kelleher is the first UNH player to join the Century Club in his junior year since Jacob Micflikier and Brett Hemingway in the 2005-06 season.
UVM tied the game again midway through the second period on another power play goal. In the waning seconds of the period, the puck ricocheted off the right skate of Conor O'Neil past goalie Danny Tirone for the controversial game-winning goal. It looked to me that O'Neil made a deliberate kicking motion the instant the puck reached Tirone's right skate (see slow motion video below). Referees Jeff Bunyon and Thomas Fryer reviewed the video replay and ruled that it was a goal.
Here's a link to Parker Wheeler's game report of the 3-2 loss from our blog:
Controversial Goal Leads to Vermont Victory Over UNH
Vermont's win combined with Northeastern's win over UMass on Friday night meant that UNH dropped down to a tie for 8th place with UConn. At this stage in the season, UNH's primary objective is to finish between 5th and 8th place. Doing so will give them home ice in the best-of-three opening round of the Hockey East Playoffs. The pressure was on to bounce back with a win or tie against UVM on Saturday night.
The game had added importance since it marked the 1,000th game in Dick Umile's career as UNH Head Coach. After falling behind by two goals midway through the second period, UNH rallied a couple minutes later with a power play goal by the nation's leading scorer Andrew Poturalski. Sophomore Shane Eiserman scored the game-tying goal early in the third period. It was his second goal in the last 3 games.
Here's a link to Parker Wheeler's game report of the 2-2 tie:
Vermont and UNH Skate to a 2-2 Tie
With 4 games left in the regular season, UNH holds a slim 1-point lead over UConn for the 8th spot in the Hockey East standings. Boston University (23 points) is in 5th place, Northeastern (16) is in 6th, and Vermont (15) is 7th. UNH faces BU this coming weekend in a home-and-home series then finishes the regular season in another home-and-home against UConn. Connecticut plays Northeastern in a home-and-home this Friday and Saturday.
I had an opportunity to interview UNH Captain Collin MacDonald about the weekend series with Vermont:
Mike Lowry ("C-H-C"): After trading goals twice on Friday night, Vermont won the game on this controversial goal:
Would you take a look at the slow motion replay and give your opinion on whether it was a legitimate goal?
Collin MacDonald: Definitely a tough one to watch, I wouldn’t want to be a ref deciding on that goal. Calling it a goal on the ice makes it tougher for them to overturn it. It looks like if it went in when he first made contact with the puck off his skate we might have had it called our way. But when he’s stopping at the net and it goes in off his skate while he’s stopping it makes it hard to overturn. A tough goal to lose on for sure, but that’s hockey, it goes that way sometimes.
Mike Lowry: Over the last 3 games, sophomore Michael McNicholas has scored 3 points including this power play goal on Friday against UVM:
In recent games, Michael has centered a line with Shane Eiserman and Jamie Hill on the wings and has played point on the UNH power play. Would you describe Michael's skill set?
Collin MacDonald: Michael’s skill set is phenomenal; I’m used to seeing it everyday in practice and I’m glad the fans are getting a taste of it. It’s hard to explain I guess, but his feel for the puck is just different and it’s been cool to watch. I’m glad he’s getting opportunity on the top PP unit; he brings a little something different to it and it’s working. He’s gaining confidence and his skill will continue to show as we make this final push into and during playoffs.
Lowry: Saturday night was a special occasion for Coach Umile as it marked his 1,000th game as head coach of UNH. Would you share your thoughts on his accomplishments and what it has been like to play for him for 4 years?
MacDonald: That was a pretty amazing milestone for him, we were happy to be a part of it. I wish we pulled out the win, but I’m glad we got a point out of it on the night. He’s very big on senior leadership, and we’ve all got to know him on more of a personal level this year, which has been great. I’ve learned through my time this year especially how much he wants to win for the school and community. UNH hockey is his life, and I hope we can start to get on a little run here and make something special out of this year for him.
DURHAM, NH - Following a disappointing loss the night before, the
expectation was the Wildcats would come out with a chip on their shoulder and
take it to the Catamounts in Dick Umile’s 1,000 career game as head coach.
Despite a flurry of offensive action early in the game for
UNH, they were unable to strike on 11 shots in the first period. Vermont’s Mitch Ferguson made it a 1-0 game at 10:26 of the first with a
shot from the point that blew past Danny Tirone.
In the second period Vermont pushed their lead to 2-0 on the
power play when Chris Muscoby scored at 8:08 of the second for the third
Catamount power play goal on the weekend. Vermont came into the weekend with the nations worst power
play at 11% and was able to find success against the struggling UNH penalty
kill.
Finally, UNH was able to get on the board with a power play
goal by Andrew Poturalski making it 2-1 at 10:41 of the second period. Poturalski
patiently waited at the top of the slot, before faking a shot and skating in
closer to rip a snap shot, glove side past Packy Munson.
At 5:18 of the third sophomore Shane Eiserman made it a tie game. Eiserman crashed the side of the net and pushed the puck under Munson’s glove to make it 2-2. It was Eiserman's second goal in the last 3 games.
Midway through the third period, the net behind Tirone was pushed off and the whistle
blew. A couple of seconds later, Muscoby fired a shot into the back of the net well after the play had
ended. Eiserman and the rest of the Wildcats on the ice took exceptation to the
late shot and went after Muscoby. Eiserman, who was the first man in, gave Muscoby a two-handed crosscheck from behind and pandemonium broke out everywhere. Eiserman would end up receiving a game
misconduct and Muscoby received a 10-minute misconduct.
The teams traded opportunities throughout the remainder of
the third period and overtime, but no one could break the tie. The 2-2 tie gave UNH one out of a possible four points in the Hockey East series with the Catamounts. The Wildcats are currently in eighth place in the Hockey East standings, 2 points behind Vermont and 1 point ahead of Connecticut. If the season ended today, UNH would have home-ice in the opening round of the Hockey East Playoffs and play against UConn.
Here are the video highlights courtesy of UNH Athletics:
Controversial Goal Leads to Vermont Victory Over UNH
Junior Tyler Kelleher Joins UNH Century Club
DURHAM, NH - UNH welcomed the Vermont Catamounts into the Whittemore
Center Friday night as they looked to build off of a victory against #8
UMass-Lowell last Saturday night.
Both teams came out roaring in the first, but it was the
Wildcats that would strike first. Just seconds into the first power play of the game Andrew Poturalski ripped a
shot off Vermont goalie Packy Munson’s outside pad where a rebound was left for
the picking. Tyler Kelleher snuck into the slot and put it home at 7:54 of the
first and UNH took the 1-0 lead.
When scoring first this season, UNH was 6-0-3, so things were
looking good for the Wildcats.
UNH sophomore goalie Danny Tirone held strong for the remainder of the first and
kept 13 Vermont shots out of the back of the net.
The second period was a bit different. Vermont’s dismal power play came into the game ranked dead last in the nation with an 11% success rate. However, freshman Liam Coughlin scored on UVM's first power
play just 2:18 into the second period to tie the game 1-1.
Less than two minutes later, UNH capitalized on a 5-on-3 power play when sophomore
Michael McNicholas made a nifty move around goalie Munson and buried the goal. McNicholas' second goal of the season came at 4:55 of the
second and gave UNH a 2-1 lead. Tyler Kelleher and Poturalski assisted on the goal. It was a major milestone for Kelleher who reached point number
100 in his UNH career.
After UNH gained the lead, the special teams fiasco continued. Alexx Privitera knotted it up again with the 5 on 3 man
advantage at 10:16 of the second period. The goal appeared to take the wind out of UNH’s sails.
Just when it looked like the teams were headed to second intermission,
Conor O’Neil slid his skates into a rebound off Tirone’s leg and it found the
back of the net with 26 seconds left in the second making it 3-2. The play was reviewed by the referees who decided that O'Neil had not kicked the puck into the net. When Head Coach Dick Umile subsequently saw the slow-motion replay on the center-ice video board, he was furious. He stepped in front of his team on the bench and smacked the side of the boards in frustration.
As for trailing after the second period, that’s also a
different story for UNH. Coming into the night, the Wildcats were 0-11-1 when
facing a deficit after two periods. In other words, the second period was huge for the
Catamounts. The record held true.
UNH fought until the final minute when Tirone was pulled for an extra skater but were unable to equalize in the end and fell 3-2.
The win pulled UVM 2 points ahead of UNH in the Hockey East standings. These two teams meet again tomorrow at 5:00 at the
Whittemore Center where UNH will look to get revenge.
Here are the video highlights of the game courtesy of UNH Athletics:
To date, the 4 top-scoring UNH commits are Liam Blackburn and Justin Fregona in the BCHL and Charlie Kelleher and Brendan van Riemsdyk in the USPHL. Three of these players - Blackburn, Kelleher, and BvR - are playing for the same team they played for in the 2014-15 season. With just a handful of games left in the regular season, it's interesting to take a look at how these commits have performed compared to last season.
Player Spotlight - Liam Blackburn
Over the last seven West Kelowna Warriors' games, Liam Blackburn has scored 2 goals and 8 assists. One of these goals was an overtime game-winner against Coquitlam on February 2nd (click this link to watch it).
In 52 games this season, Blackburn has scored 25 goals (Tied 11th in BCHL) and 42 assists (8th) for a total of 67 points (9th in BCHL). These stats are nearly identical to his totals following 52 games last season with West Kelowna - 21G, 47A, 68 Points. In November, 2014, Blackburn signed his National Letter of Intent to come to UNH. After last season, his second in the BCHL, Liam decided to play one more year for the Warriors in part because "an extra year of juniors would be nice to develop physically". He will be 20 years old when he enrolls at UNH next fall.
Player Spotlight - Charlie Kelleher
USPHL All Star Charlie Kelleher has scored 7 goals and 10 assists in his last 11 games with the Junior Bruins. With just 4 games left in the regular season, Kelleher has compiled 16 goals and 35 assists (3rd in USPHL) for a total of 46 points (4th in USPHL) in 34 games. The Junior Bruins are in 2nd Place in the USPHL just 3 points behind the league-leading Islanders Hockey Club.
Charlie Kelleher has been substantially more productive this season compared to last. After 34 games in the 2014-15 season, he had 9 goals and 20 assists. Kelleher missed over a month of action last winter with mononucleosis. Charlie has not yet signed a National Letter of Intent with UNH. One of his top goals is to enroll next fall and have a chance to play with his older brother Tyler Kelleher. In his junior year at UNH, Tyler is currently tied for 2nd in scoring (40 points) in NCAA Division I hockey and has tallied the most assists in the nation (33). Charlie just turned 19 years old and Tyler turned 21 last month.
Player Spotlight - Brendan van Riemsdyk
Over the last 14 games, Brendan van Riemsdyk has scored 9 goals and 12 assists for the first place Islanders Hockey Club. After 39 regular season games, he is among the USPHL leaders in goals (18G, Tied 6th), assists (26A, T-10th), and scoring (44 Points, T-7th). He has also been prolific on the power play with 7 PPG (Tied 2nd in USPHL) and 10 PPA (T-2nd) for a total of 17 Power Play Points (2nd in USPHL).
A comparison of BvR's stats over the last two seasons shows that he has more than doubled the number of assists while his goal-scoring has slightly decreased. Over the first 39 games in the 2014-15 season, he had tallied 15 fewer assists (11 vs 26) and 8 more goals (26 vs 18). Over the same span, BvR had 6 PPG and 5 PPA so he has doubled his power play assists this season (10 vs 5).
BvR signed his National Letter of Intent last November and plans to enroll at UNH next fall. Brendan turned 20 years old on January 28th.
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.
British Columbia Hockey League:
~ 2016 UNH Commit Justin Fregona has scored a power play goal and 3 assists over his last 5 games with the Langley Rivermen. The 18-year-old rookie is tied for 14th in goal scoring (23) in the BCHL and tied for 12th in power play goals (6). The Rivermen have already clinched a playoff spot and Fregona leads the team in goals.
United States Hockey League:
~ 2016 Commit Patrick Grasso has tallied a goal and 2 assists in his last 4 games with the Des Moines Buccaneers. Grasso has scored 11 goals and 15 assists in 39 games and is tied for 17th in USHL scoring.
United States Premiere Hockey League:
~ After missing the first half of the Junior Bruins' season, Mike Robinson is rounding into form. The 6'4", 200 lbs. goalie has won 4 of his last 5 games and has moved up the USPHL goalie leaderboard. His 2.81 Goals Against Average is 6th best in the league and his .915 Save Percentage puts him in a tie for 6th best. Robinson has signed his National Letter of Intent with UNH and plans to enroll next fall. He turns 19 years old on March 27th.
UNH Captain's Corner: Hanging Tough with BC & UMass Lowell
UNH Captain Collin MacDonald
With 6 games remaining in the Hockey East regular season, the top 5 teams - Notre Dame (26 pts), Boston College (26), UMass Lowell (24), Providence (23) and Boston University (21) - have separated themselves from the rest of the pack. UNH, Vermont, Connecticut, and Northeastern have each earned 12 points followed by Maine and Merrimack (10 pts) and Massachusetts (8).
Over the past three weekends, UNH faced off against all the top Hockey East teams except BU and hung tough with each of them. The Wildcats built some momentum with a convincing 3-1 victory at Providence College (ranked #4 in the nation at the time) on the final night of January.
On Friday, the team bus rolled into Chestnut Hill to face 4th-ranked Boston College. Over the prior 7 Hockey East conference games, the Eagles had won 4 and tied 3. Their goalie, Thatcher Demko had the best goals against average and save percentage in Hockey East. In one of the more entertaining games of the season, both UNH and BC unloaded 38 shots on goal. Sophomore goalie Danny Tirone made some key saves including one in the first period dubbed the "Superman Save" by Grant Salzano of BC Interruption (click on link to view).
After BC potted two quick goals early in the second period, a resilient UNH squad answered with goals by Kyle Smith, his 3rd goal in the last 2 games, and Andrew Poturalski. Midway through the third period, BC scored two more goals but Dan Correale pulled the Wildcats to within one with a goal a minute later. UNH played with an extra skater for over a minute at the end of regulation but did not get the equalizer.
Here's a link to an informative game report on BC Interruption:
"GOAL BY GOAL: Boston College Hockey Battles Through Injuries To Hold Off New Hampshire 4-3"
Following the game, Head Coach Dick Umile summed up the team's performance:
"I think we played well, played smart. Tirone made saves in key times of the game. The Poturalski (Kelleher-Correale) line played hard and I thought Kelleher played extremely well tonight. We're talking about one of the top teams in the country and we're going head-to-head with them. We're disappointed that we're not winning hockey games here but it's not from lack of effort. These guys have been bringing it the last 3 or 4 games and I like the way they compete."
On Saturday night, UNH played it's fourth road game in two weekends - this time against 8th ranked UMass Lowell. The River Hawks' goalie Kevin Boyle entered the game with the second best stats in Hockey East, just slightly behind Thatcher Demko. The Poturalski-Kelleher-Correale line scored one of the quickest goals of the season just 30 seconds into the game. As this rinkside video shows, Poturalski sparked the scoring play by digging the puck out from behind the net. Correale made a slick centering pass to Kelleher who nearly shoveled it in. Poturalski banged the rebound home for the 21st goal of his sophomore season.
Midway through the second period, Andrew Poturalski nearly notched his second goal of the game on this penalty shot but Lowell goalie Kevin Boyle denied him:
Less than 2 minutes later, Shane Eiserman built up a 2 goal lead with the first goal of his sophomore season. Eiserman and right winger Jamie Hill worked this pretty, cross-slot passing play:
With 10 minutes remaining in the third period, freshman Ara Nazarian scored the eventual, game-winning goal on an outstanding individual effort. Incidently, the last time Nazarian scored a point at the Tsongas Center was in March, 2014 during a semifinal victory by Malden Catholic High School in the Massachusetts Super 8 tournament. Here's a rinkside view of Nazarian's second game-winning goal of his freshman season:
Lowell mounted a two-goal comeback, including one with an extra skater, but UNH held them off for the 3-2 victory. Danny Tirone finished the game with 43 saves and earned the #2 Star of the Game.
I had an opportunity to interview UNH Captain Collin MacDonald about the key win over Providence College:
Mike Lowry ("C-H-C"): On Friday night, both UNH and Boston College (#4 in Nation) generated 38 shots on goal with BC winning 4-3. On Saturday, UMass Lowell (#8 in Nation) outshot UNH 45-16 but the Wildcats won the key Hockey East contest 3-2. What did Lowell do to limit the team's shots on goal and how did UNH overcome the shot deficit to win?
Collin MacDonald: Lowell is a defensively disciplined team, and really shut it down in their own end. They block shots and win a lot of low scoring games. We were very opportunistic on Saturday. Two of our three goals were nice plays on the rush, and we were very happy with the final outcome.
Mike Lowry: Sophomore goalie Danny Tirone earned the Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week award after the Providence series and he was awarded the #2 Star in both the BC and Lowell games. When Danny is on top of his game, what does he do as well or better than any other Hockey East goalie?
Collin MacDonald: Yeah I thought Danny had another outstanding weekend. He made some incredible saves in both games. A couple things that are consistent about Danny are his focus and his work ethic. I’ve said it before; his work ethic is second to none. He’s very quick in the net, and he just refuses to quit. I see it everyday in practice and it carries right into games.
Lowry: After scoring 4 goals as a freshman, Shane Eiserman (4th round draft pick of the Ottawa Senators) broke through with his first goal of the season in the victory over Lowell. As a fellow left-shot, power forward, what strengths do you see in Shane's game?
MacDonald: Shane is always one of the strongest guys on the ice; he’s also always one of the most fearless players I’ve played with. I think he’s been playing a much more consistent game over the last few weeks. He’s had plenty of chances and the boys were happy to see him get rewarded. We’ll need him to continue his strong play as we finish up the regular season, and I believe he will.
Lowry: I noticed that you are no longer wearing a sling for your shoulder injury. Does that mean you are close to returning to the lineup?
MacDonald: I’m rehabbing everyday and back to on-ice activity. I’ve got a lot of work to do, but I plan to return to the lineup before the season is over. Can’t say when yet, it depends on how I progress on and off the ice. I have twenty-four teammates in my corner and helping me recover as quickly as I can.
Over the weekend, the UNH hockey team travelled to Providence College to face the #4 team in NCAA Division I. The Wildcats were fighting through a six-game losing streak - the longest since Dick Umile became the Head Coach in the 1990-91 season. There were a couple bright spots during the streak including a 0-1 loss to UMass Lowell (Ranked #10 at the time) and 2-3 decision to Notre Dame (Ranked #13). However, UNH had surrendered from 4 to 6 goals in three of their loses.
The Wildcats were hoping to build on their success against Providence last season when the Friars ended up winning the National Championship. After dropping an early season game 0-1 at the Whittemore Center, UNH won the regular season rematch 2-1. In the 2015 Hockey East Quarterfinal series at Schneider Arena, the teams played three 2-1 games with UNH winning Games 1 and 3.
In the first period of the game on Friday night, UNH and PC played each other even with neither team scoring (Shots on Goal: PC 11, UNH 10). Early in the second period, sophomore goalie Danny Tirone left his net and misplayed the puck below the goal line. Providence captalized and grabbed the 1-0 lead. Early in the final period, senior Mark Jankowski, a #1 draft pick of the Calgary Flames, flew out of the PC zone leading a 2-on-1 break and snapped a wrister past Tirone.
With just under 9 minutes left in regulation, the prolific scoring combination of Andrew Poturalski and Tyler Kelleher got UNH back in the game on an outstanding bang-bang goal. It was Kelleher's 7th goal of the season and 37th point. Poturalski's assist raised his point total to 40. PC sealed the deal with an empty net goal.
Here's a link to my blog post which shows each of the goals:
"UNH Loses 7th Straight; Providence 3, UNH 1"
On Saturday night, UNH played it's best all-around game of the season downing Providence 3-1. The Wildcats, backstopped by Danny Tirone, frustrated PC's efforts to get back in the game after the teams were tied 1-1. Although Providence outshot UNH 32-22, Tirone was up to the task and earned the Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week honor.
Here's a link to my game report of the 3-1 victory, including video highlights of the goals:
"UNH & Tirone Smother #4 Providence 3-1"
I had an opportunity to interview UNH Captain Collin MacDonald about the key win over Providence College:
Mike Lowry ("C-H-C"): Prior to the important win against Providence College on Saturday night, the team played competitive games against the top 4 teams in Hockey East - Boston College 3-6, UMass Lowell 0-1, Notre Dame 2-3, Providence 1-3 - but couldn't get the win. On Saturday night, UNH broke through the barrier with a 3-1 win over the Friars (4th Ranked in the Nation). What did it take to earn the win against one of the best teams in Hockey East?
Collin MacDonald: It took a full 60 minutes Saturday to win the game. In some of our losses we’ve had bad stretches of play during the game, sometimes just ugly periods. We played a full game on Saturday and we earned that win. I think we had close to thirty blocked shots as well, which was a huge part of our success.
Mike Lowry: Before you were injured in early December, the senior line of Maxim Gaudreault, Kyle Smith, and yourself had played together in nearly every game. When you've been out of the lineup with an injury, a few other forwards have been combined with Maxim and Kyle (i.e., Jamie Hill, Shane Eiserman, and Chris Miller). Over the weekend, freshman Marcus Vela moved up to join Gaudreault and Smith and they were productive. Over the two games, Kyle Smith had 2 goals and 8 shots on goal, Maxim Gaudreault had an assist and 6 SOG, and Marcus Vela generated 2 assists and 4 SOG. How do the skill sets of these three players compliment each other?
Collin MacDonald: It was really nice to see those three get rewarded this past weekend. Smitty is a very underrated player and has been throughout his career. You saw the skill he has on his second goal on Saturday, but its the little details in his game that are tough to teach. Max and Vela are heavy on the puck, it’s tough to take it away from them and they are hard to defend. Smitty supports the puck so well and made it easier for his whole line to make plays. Hopefully they can keep it going as we move on.
Lowry: During one of the television timeouts, I noticed Jamie Regan fist bumping Danny Tirone. Regan played well against Notre Dame and Tirone only allowed 3 goals over the two Providence games. How would you characterize the relationship between these two goalies who, at some level, are competing for playing time?
MacDonald: I’d say they definitely have a good relationship. They both support each other on the ice no matter the situation, and that’s so important. It’s great that there’s competition among them and they both push each other to be better.
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