Tricks & Treats: 4 Grasso Goals Lead Wildcats to 6-2 Victory Over Warriors

Freshman Patrick Grasso Tallies 4 Goals

Junior Goalie Danny Tirone 25 Saves

[Durham, N.H.] - The University of New Hampshire Wildcats hockey team won against the Merrimack College Warriors 6-2 on Saturday night to improve to 3-3 on the season and 2-0 in Hockey East. Led by freshman Patrick Grasso's four goals and Danny Tirone's 25 saves, the 'Cats won their first home game of the season. Grasso also registered his first collegiate hat-trick in the win.

The scoring started at 4:31 when senior Tyler Kelleher was able to capitalize on a shorthanded opportunity for his 4th goal of the season. After freshman defenseman Anthony Wyse went to the penalty box for tripping, Kelleher took a bouncing puck that was cleared by the defense and was able to skate down the near side and put it five-hole past Warrior goaltender Drew Vogler.

"Overall, it was a good weekend of hockey. We played 6 pretty good periods of hockey," coach Dick Umile said. Umile with the win got his 350th career Hockey East victory.

Then at 5:48 in the first period, freshman Patrick Grasso continued to shine with his 5th goal of the season assisted by Brendan van Riemsdyk. Skating down the far side, Van Riemsdyk passed one through traffic to Grasso who was trailing him on the right at the slot and Grasso wristed one top shelf past Vogler. The fun was just beginning for the young 'Cat.

"The goal by Grasso with van Riemsdyk was a great play. The rush. That line played well and the young guys made great plays. We played solid hockey up and down" Umile said.

At 7:06, Grasso found the back of the net for his 2nd goal coming on the first powerplay of the night for the Wildcats. Kelleher received a pass from Matias Cleland at the far side hash marks and took a shot which was deflected and landed at the doorstep for Grasso. Grasso so elegantly poked the puck into the net and it was 3-0 Wildcats in the first period.

Over two minutes later, history occurred for the young gun as he was able to score his first collegiate hat trick and push the lead to 4-0. On the powerplay again, Kelleher got a pass from Michael McNicholas who then fed one at the top of the crease where Grasso was waiting. Once again, Grasso was able to sneak one by Vogler. The Whittemore Center was in a frenzy for the first time this season.

Coach Umile compared Patrick Grasso to the third all-time leading UNH scorer Darren Haydar:

"We're going to hear a lot about him [Patrick Grasso]. He is real clever, has a great stick and can score goals. I compare him to a Darren Haydar. [He is] a very smart hockey player. We're happy, two games in Hockey East that we won. We will enjoy it."

Going into the 2nd intermission, the Wildcats were up 4-0 and Danny Tirone continued his solid weekend in net keeping the Warriors shut out. Once, the third period began Tirone faced a lot more shots from the Warriors.

More history occurred at 12:04 in the third period when Grasso was able to score one more time making it 5-0. Grasso's four goals in a game was remarkable. He was the first one to do so since Steve Moses in 2012 against Dartmouth. He now has eight goals on the season to lead the Wildcats and only six games have been played.

"I spend a lot of time in the offseason working on those situations. I think it is something that is important especially as a little guy to be able to find loose pucks, because a bigger guy may knock you off if you don't get to it in time so being able to locate those and try to bury them it can be an asset for sure," freshman Patrick Grasso said.

Here are the video highlights of all four Patrick Grasso goals:



Merrimack struck gold at 10:45 when Mark Biega was able to score from the point and lift one past Tirone to make it 5-1 in favor of the home team. Then at 8:20, Jared Kolquist found a wide open Sami Tavernier at the far side who was ready to ring the door bell. A great tape-to-tape pass from Kolquist ended up on the stick of Tavernier who poked it into the back of the net. It was 5-2 and fans at the Whitt started getting a little anxious.

Yet, solid defense and 25 big saves from Tirone kept the Warriors in check late in the third. Jason Salvaggio scored his second goal of the season coming off an empty-netter at 19:01 remaining in regulation. The Wildcats were able to come away with a 6-2 victory and in the last six against the Warriors improve to 3-2-1. The 2-0 start in Hockey East is big for the Wildcats here in the young season.

"It is huge moving forward. Huge confidence booster by getting on the board first has led to some of our success, if we can continue to do that I think we can be a big threat," Grasso said.

The Wildcats start the month of November at home where they will take on Atlantic Hockey Association opponents in Sacred Heart next Friday and Mercyhurst on Saturday.

Check out the highlights of the Wildcats' victory courtesy of UNH Wildcat Productions:

UNH Downs UMass in Hockey East Opener

Junior Michael McNicholas 2nd Goal of Season

Freshman Liam Blackburn 1st NCAA Goal, GWG

Defenseman Dylan Maller 2nd Goal of Season

Junior Eiserman 1st Goal of Season

AMHERST, MA - The UNH Wildcats opened its 2016-17 Hockey East schedule of games with a convincing 4-1 victory over UMass Amherst. Over their first four games of the season, UNH compiled a 1-3-0 record in out-of-conference play. In each game, the opposing team scored early in the first period and built up a 2-0 advantage. As captain Matias Cleland discussed in this week's Captain's Corner, UNH was determined to keep UMass off the scoreboard early on and score the first goal of the game - and that's exactly what they did.

Over the first 15 minutes of play, junior goalie Danny Tirone turned away 7 UMass shots on goal while the UNH offense generated 8 SOG. On their second power play opportunity of the evening, the Wildcats' top PP unit converted. Senior Tyler Kelleher threaded a cross-ice, back-hand pass to junior Michael McNicholas at the faceoff circle to the left of UMass goalie Ryan Wischow. McNicholas snapped a one-time wrister into the top corner for his second goal in the last two games. Here's the video highlight:



On their first shift of the second period, the all-freshman line of Brendan van Riemsdyk-Liam Blackburn- Patrick Grasso combined for the eventual game-winning goal. Grasso corralled a loose puck in the faceoff circle, cycled down to the corner and dropped a pass to van Riemsdyk. BvR sprinted behind the net and dished a perfect, back-hand pass to Blackburn parked in the low slot. Liam one-timed it between Wischow's legs for his first NCAA goal.



With 6:42 remaining in the second period, UMass went on a 5-on-3 power play for 38 seconds. Tirone, Cleland, Kelleher and McNicholas nearly killed off the 2-man advantage but Shane Bear's slap shot from the top of the faceoff circle thudded off Tirone's left pad and went between his legs with just 2 seconds left.



By the end of the second period, the shots on goal were nearly identical with UNH owning a 20-19 advantage. On their first shift of the final stanza, the combined unit of Eiserman-Nazarian-Vela up front and Wyse-Maller on the back end struck for the all-important two-goal lead. Junior Shane Eiserman lead a rush through the neutral zone and down the right side of the UMass zone. Eiserman pulled up at the half-wall and connected with senior defenseman Dylan Maller streaking down the slot. Maller's burst of speed carried him and the puck around the back of the goal for a pretty wrap-around, backhand tally. It was Maller's 2nd goal in the last three games and his 2nd career goal.



Entering the UMass game, the UNH penalty kill had allowed a goal on nearly 20% of their short-handed situations. However, in a pivotal juncture in the third period, goalie Danny Tirone and the penalty killers came up big to maintain UNH's two-goal lead. With 13 minutes left in regulation and a minute remaining on a UMass power play, defenseman Ivan Chukarov launched a slap shot from the point. Tirone stopped the shot and scooped up the loose puck with his glove as freshman defenseman Anthony Wyse and Dylan Maller cleared UMass players away from the crease.



Ottawa Senators' draft pick Shane Eiserman gave the Wildcats a three-goal lead midway through the final period on UNH's 6th power play opportunity of the game. Sophomore Marcus Vela, who had missed the first 4 games of the season with a shoulder injury, slid the puck to Eiserman behind the UMass net. Shane patiently allowed his teammates to skate into prime positions then passed to Ara Nazarian at the half-wall. Nazarian returned the pass to Eiserman at the top of the crease, he quickly drew the puck to his forehand, and snapped it past the goalie. It was Eiserman's first goal of the 2016-17 season.





Here is the box score for UNH's 4-1 victory over UMass Amherst. The Wildcats returns to action tonight against Merrimack College at the Whittemore Center.

UNH Captain's Corner: St. Lawrence, Clarkson & Colorado College

UNH Captain Matias Cleland

In our last Captain's Corner, UNH Captain Matias Cleland discussed the team's difficulties converting on the power play in the 5-1 loss to Bentley University. The Wildcats took a step in the right direction in the first of a series of three out-of-conference games over the last two weekends. Despite being soundly defeated 6-2 by 15th-ranked St. Lawrence University on October 14th, both UNH goals came on 5-on-3 power plays. The goals scored by senior Tyler Kelleher and freshman Patrick Grasso (his first NCAA goal) are described and shown in the article "UNH Overpowered by #15 St. Lawrence 6-2".

The following evening at Clarkson University, Grasso scored another power play goal and added a regular strength goal in a 5-3 come-from-behind victory. UNH also got 2 more goals from Kelleher plus Dylan Maller's first NCAA goal. Here's a link to Ben Nawn's game report titled "UNH Finds the Win Column for the First Time".

In all, UNH scored 7 goals, including 3 power play goals, in their two contests in upstate New York. On the strength of their offensive production, Tyler Kelleher was named Hockey East/Warrior Player of the Week and both Patrick Grasso and Matias Cleland were named Hockey East Weekly Top Performers. The Wildcats appeared to have overcome their difficulties scoring goals. However, another troubling pattern persisted - falling behind early in the game.

In the season opener, Bentley scored on their second shot on goal and built up a 2-0 advantage 14 minutes into the first period. At St. Lawrence, the Saints also scored on their second shot on goal and nabbed a 2-0 lead with 8 minutes left in the first. Their lead increased to 3-0 with 12:13 left in the second period. Clarkson's first shot on goal, just 1:34 into the opening stanza, went in and the Golden Knights made it 2-0 at the 10:08 mark.

So, entering the game last Saturday night against Colorado College, a couple of key questions were still in play. Could the Wildcats avoid falling behind early in the game? Would UNH score enough goals, at even strength and on the power play, to defeat their opponent?

As Ben Nawn describes in his article "Colorado College Beats UNH for First Time Since '97", the Wildcats have not overcome the problem of surrendering early leads. The Colorado College Tigers scored the first goal of the game on their first shot on goal just 2:03 after the opening faceoff. Three minutes later, their second shot on goal also found the back of the net. Both Colorado College goals were short-handed.

On the plus side, UNH eventually tied the game 3-3 midway through the second period. Freshman Patrick Grasso scored his 4th goal in 4 games and juniors Jason Salvaggio and Michael McNicholas scored their first goal of the season. Grasso and McNicholas' were even strength goals and Salvaggio's was short-handed. The Wildcats went 0-for-7 on power play opportunities.

Captain's Interview

I had an opportunity to interview UNH Captain Matias Cleland about the three out-of-conference games from the last two weekends.

Mike Lowry ("C-H-C"): Since our last Captain's Corner, the team lost 6-2 to 15th-ranked St. Lawrence, defeated Clarkson 5-3, and lost to Colorado College 4-3. In each game, UNH surrendered a goal within the first three minutes and fell behind 2-0 in the first period. What factors have lead to the team digging themselves into a hole early in these games?

Matias Cleland: I think the biggest thing is just slow starts. I don't think we necessarily are flat footed but we haven't buried our chances early. We have had opportunities to score the first goal in the games we have gone down, but we haven't and its hurt us. We need to bear down and bury our early chances to put ourselves in a better situation.



Mike Lowry: Patrick Grasso is the first UNH freshman since All-American Sean Collins (2001-02 season) to score 4 goals in his first 4 collegiate games. Would you describe Patrick's skill set for those fans who have not yet seen him play? Does he remind you of any other outstanding forwards you've played with and against in your time at UNH?

Matias Cleland: Grasso is very talented with the puck and sees the ice well. His quickness allows him to be dangerous in the offensive zone. Obviously, I have been impressed with his play. He is not playing like a freshman and it's what we need out of him. He has had some early accomplishments already but he's not the kind of kid that lets that get to him.

His skill set reminds me of Kelleher's a little. They are both small and great with the puck.



Here are the video highlights of Patrick Grasso's first 4 NCAA goals:





Lowry: Were there other individual efforts, over the last 3 games, that stood out as positives in your mind?

Cleland: I thought that Maller has played great the past two games. He's been putting up points but more importantly, he's been solid defensively. He has been a leader on the back end for us the past three games.

Colorado College Beats UNH for First Time Since '97

Freshman Patrick Grasso 4th Goal in 4 Games

Junior Jason Salvaggio Short-Handed Goal

Junior Michael McNicholas 1st Goal of 2016-17

[Durham, NH]-- The University of New Hampshire Wildcats hockey team fell to the Colorado College Tigers on Saturday night by a score of 4-3. Led by their special teams unit and that of freshman right-winger Nick Halloran, who scored two power-play goals, the Tigers upended the Wildcats for the first time in 19 years. The last time they beat the Wildcats was on March 21, 1997. This was also the first time they won in Durham since January 4th, 1986. 

The Wildcats (1-3) were returning home after a big, come-from-behind win against Clarkson last Saturday in New York. The underlying theme early in the season still exists. UNH has been falling behind early and playing catch-up hockey which is hard at this level. The Wildcats got a quick taste of that once again in this one.

At the start of the first period, the Wildcats went on the power-play and had multiple chances that goalie Derek Shatzer saved, but quickly the tide turned when a 2-on-1 broke out and sophomore Gregg Burmaster carried the puck down the left side of the ice and wristed one over Danny Tirone's stick and glove to make it 1-0.

"We have to get the first one, no more excuses," junior Jason Salvaggio said. 

The Tigers (2-4) pounced not once, but twice on shorthanded opportunities and converted only three minutes later to make it 2-0. Senior captain Sam Rothstein followed Burmaster's suit by carrying the puck down the right side of the ice, misdirecting the Wildcat defense, and fired a wrist shot from the top right circle past Tirone's glove. It went from promising to sketchy very quickly at the Whittemore Center. 

"Two short handers. Two shots. We are getting tired of that show and we did not convert on the power play," head coach Dick Umile said. 

One bright spot was freshman Patrick Grasso registering his fourth goal of the season at 15:59 of the first period. Grasso rang the door bell at the near side of Shatzer and poked in a juicy rebound to cut the lead in half. At the beginning of the game, Umile noted that Grasso had been stepping up and it is great to see. The Whit had regained the atmosphere and the comeback 'Cats were refueling for an exciting second period. 

Yet, the Tigers answered quickly to start the second period and stalled the positive energy once again. Halloran finally helped a struggling power play convert to make it 3-1 when he wristed one over Tirone's glove and roofed it top shelf where the cookies are. 

Adversity looked the Wildcats right in the face again, but two goals in the second period made the Whit deafening for the first time in a while. Salvaggio gave the Tigers a taste of their own medicine when he converted on a shorthanded goal for his first of the season. Waiting patiently down the left side he retrieved a pass from Dylan Maller and Anthony Wyse and shot it past Shatzer. 

"Everyone was all aboard and ready to take the lead. [We] had the momentum. Our powerplay needs a dirty goal or something to get us going," Salvaggio said. 

Popping back into the lineup for the first time this season, junior forward Michael McNicholas received a tape-to-tape pass from Maller through traffic and shot past Shatzer from the far circle to knot it up 3-3. The Whit was loud and ready for the third period. 

"We had some momentum for sure. We showed some strides today, but we came out weak in the first and could not bury it down in the third. We have to get better at practice especially with conference games coming next week," McNicholas said. 

Four minutes into the third, the Wildcats could not contain themselves and made a bad penalty that lead to the second power play goal by the Tigers. Halloran recorded his second of the game when he waited at the near side circle and took a trip upstairs shooting one over Tirone's blocker. It was 4-3 and the Tigers never looked back. 

The Wildcats ended up going 0-7 on the powerplay and it hurt them in this one. They now fall 0-2 at home on the young season. 

"This is getting old for us. No excuses. The game was on the line with 20 minutes left and we did not get it done. I was really disappointed with the third period. We got outplayed in the third, no excuses. Playing from behind, it is pathetic to be quite honest with you," Umile said. 

Check out the highlights here, courtesy of UNH Wildcat Productions:

The Wildcats will head on the road Friday, Oct. 28th to take on Massachusetts and then return home Saturday, Oct. 29th to take on Merrimack.

Hockey East Honors Kelleher, Grasso & Cleland

Tyler Kelleher Hockey East Player of the Week

Patrick Grasso Hockey East Weekly Top Performer

Matias Cleland Hockey East Weekly Top Performer

In it's weekly press release, Hockey East honored UNH's Tyler Kelleher, Patrick Grasso, and Matias Cleland for their performance last weekend at St. Lawrence University and Clarkson University. After losing to 15th-ranked St. Lawrence 6-2 on Friday night, the Wildcats bounced back with a come-from-behind 5-3 victory over the Clarkson Golden Knights on Saturday. The offensive production of seniors Kelleher and Cleland and freshman Grasso was instrumental in the turnaround.

Hockey East/Warrior Player of the Week - Tyler Kelleher

Tyler Kelleher entered his final season as a member of the UNH Century Club. In his first three seasons, Tyler compiled 33 goals and 71 assists. For his efforts over the weekend in upstate New York, Hockey East named Kelleher the Warrior Player of the Week.

On Friday night in Canton, New York, Kelleher scored his first goal of the 2016-17 season in the third period on a 5-on-3 power play against the St. Lawrence Saints. Freshman winger Patrick Grasso passed the puck behind the net to sophomore Ara Nazarian who touch-passed it out to Kelleher in the mid-slot. Kelleher blasted a 3/4 slapshot for the Wildcats' second goal of the game.

On Saturday in Potsdam, New York, Kelleher scored the game-winning goal late in the third period. UNH battled back from 2-0 deficit against Clarkson to tie the game 3-3 on a goal by Grasso. With less than 2 minutes remaining in regulation, junior Jason Salvaggio stole the puck, skated around a Clarkson defender, and sent a perfect cross-slot pass to Kelleher crashing the net. He converted the one-timer to give UNH a 4-3 lead.

With 40 seconds remaining and the Clarkson net empty, senior defenseman Matias Cleland blocked a shot on goal. Kelleher gathered the loose puck at the half-wall, flicked a 150-foot wrist shot into the center of the net, and sealed UNH's first win of the season. Kelleher also assisted on the Wildcats' first and second goals, fired 6 shots on goal, and blocked a shot. Here are the video highlights of Kelleher's three goals:

Hockey East Weekly Top Performer - Patrick Grasso

Just three games into his freshman season, Patrick Grasso has become an offensive threat. In addition to playing right wing on the all-freshman, third line with Liam Blackburn and Brendan van Riemsdyk, Grasso plays right wing on UNH's first power play unit. On the strength of two power play goals plus and an even strength tally in two weekend games, Patrick Grasso was named a Hockey East Weekly Top Performer.

Grasso scored his first NCAA goal on Friday against St. Lawrence. With 7:16 left in the second period and the Wildcats trailing 3-0, Grasso converted on a 5-on-3 power play. While Grasso was parked to the right of the St. Lawrence goalie, Matias Cleland fed him a perfect pass and Grasso one-timed the puck into the back of the net. Near the end of the game, Grasso also assisted on Tyler Kelleher's power play goal.

On Saturday night, UNH trailed Clarkson 2-0 midway through the first period. With 8 minutes left in the period and the Wildcats on the power play, Cleland passed to Kelleher who passed down to Grasso near the boards on the goal line. Patrick skated straight toward the goalie and stuffed it between his pads. After UNH fell behind 3-2, Grasso scored the critical game-tying goal with 4 minutes left in the second period. Center Ara Nazarian won a faceoff back to Grasso at the top of the faceoff circle to the right of the Clarkson goalie. Grasso snapped a wrist shot into the back of the net for his third goal of the weekend.

SPECIAL NOTE

Patrick Grasso is the first UNH freshman since All-American Sean Collins to score 3 goals in his first 3 games. In the 2001-02 season, Collins scored a goal in each of the first 4 games. Collins went on to score a remarkable total of 77 goals and 96 assists in his four seasons at UNH. He is currently tied for 10th among all-time UNH scorers.

Here are the video highlights of all Grasso's goals:

Hockey East Weekly Top Performer - Matias Cleland

In his senior season at UNH, Matias Cleland is the team's anchor. The captain is the starting left defenseman, point person on UNH's first power play unit, and the backbone of the first penalty kill unit. In the St. Lawrence and Clarkson games, Cleland dished out a total of 3 assists, fired 4 shots on goal, blocked 4 shots, and posted a +/- rating of +1. Like his young teammate Patrick Grasso, Cleland was named a Hockey East Weekly Top Performer.

The following video of Patrick Grasso's first NCAA goal shows how important Cleland is to the UNH power play. It shows him keeping the puck in the zone, taking shots on goal, and feeding passes to his teammates.



Kelleher, Grasso, Cleland and the rest of the UNH team will face Colorado College on Saturday night at the Whittemore Center in Durham. Puck drop is at 7:00.

UNH Commits Update: October-20-2016

Goalie Mike Robinson
First USHL Win

Player Spotlight - Mike Robinson

UNH's "Goalie of the Future", Mike Robinson, secured his first victory in the United States Hockey League in his first appearance last Friday. The Dubuque Fighting Saints traveled to Sioux Falls, South Dakota hoping to end a three-game losing streak. The 6'3", 196 lbs. Robinson, who was drafted by Dubuque in the 2nd Round of the 2016 USHL Entry Draft (30th overall pick), made a number of pivotal saves as the Fighting Saints downed the Sioux Falls Stampede 5-3.

One of Robinson's 21 saves was spectacular. With 5 minutes remaining in the 2nd period and Sioux Falls ahead 3-2, Austin Albrecht (UMass Amherst commit) swooped across the low slot and Robinson tracked him preventing a shot on goal. Albrecht wristed the puck toward the goal and Jason O'Neill, another UNH Commit, gathered the puck and snapped a shot on goal. Robinson sprawled and made the save with the back of his left leg, then smothered the puck with his glove. Here's a video of what the USHL twitter account called a "save of the year candidate".



Eventually, the Fighting Saints tied the score and went ahead by a goal. In the last half-minute of regulation, Robinson came up big again making a save on a point-blank shot then knocked the loose puck away. Here's the video highlight:



Mike Robinson was drafted by the San Jose Sharks in the 3rd Round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. He has already signed a National Letter of Intent with UNH and is on track to enroll next Fall.

2016-17 Statistics

NOTE
The statistics for the commits, presented in the following table, are categorized by the projected year they will enroll in UNH. For example, the "2017 Commits" are projected to begin playing for UNH in the Fall of 2017. I have based these projections on a number of factors including:
~ If a National Letter of Intent has been signed.
~ The year the commit and UNH coaches originally targeted for enrollment in UNH. ~ How old the commit would be upon admission.
~ Number of years in junior hockey prior to admission.
~ The commit'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
2017 Commits
Joseph Cipollone  (F)	Tri-City Storm	USHL	9	1	0	1	2
Liam Darcy  (D)	Islanders Hockey Club	USPHL	13	0	4	4	0
Charlie Kelleher*  (F)	Tri-City Storm	USHL	9	2	5	7	2
Eric MacAdams  (F)	Sioux Falls Stampede	USHL	7	4	4	8	10
James Miller  (D)	Penticton Vees	BCHL	6	0	1	1	6
Mike Robinson*  (G)	Dubuque Fighting Saints	USHL	1	1W	0L	3.00	.875
2017 or '18 Commits
Eric Esposito  (F)	Youngstown Phantoms	USHL	5	0	0	0	42
Jason O'Neill  (F)	Sioux Falls Stampede	USHL	7	4	2	6	0
2018 Commits
Angus Crookshank  (F)	Langley Rivermen	BCHL	1	0	1	1	0
Corson Green  (D)	Chicago Steel	USHL	4	0	0	0	2
2018 or '19 Commits
Lucas Bahn  (D)	Skipjacks 18U	USPHL	13	5	10	15	2
Ryan Verrier  (D)	Salisbury School	NE Prep	-	-	-	-	-
* = Signed National Letter of Intent

News & Notes

United States Hockey League:

~ Two UNH commits - Jason O'Neill and Eric MacAdams - play on the same line for the Sioux Falls Stampede and they are the team's 2nd and 3rd leading scorers. MacAdams' 4 goals and 8 points puts him in a tie for 4th and a tie for 6th in the USHL respectively. O'Neill has also scored 4 goals in just 7 games and is tied for 4th in USHL goal-scoring.

~ 2017 UNH Commit Charlie Kelleher is off to a fast start in his first 9 games in the USHL. He has tallied 2 goals and 5 assists and is tied for 4th in USHL assists and tied for 7th in scoring.

United States Premiere Hockey League:

~ 2018 or '19 commit Lucas Bahn, has continued to score at a point-a-game pace for the Skipjacks Hockey Club 18U team in the USPHL. The defenseman has scored 5 goals and 10 assists in 13 games. He is currently the 5th leading scorer in the USPHL 18U League and tied for 2nd in assists.

UNH Finds the Win Column for the First Time

Freshman Patrick Grasso Tallies 2 Goals

Senior Tyler Kelleher GWG + Empty Netter

It was not easy in upstate New York this past weekend, but the University of New Hampshire hockey team was resilient and upended Clarkson 5-3 on Saturday night. Combined with the loss to St. Lawrence on Friday night, UNH went 1-1 on the weekend trip and improved their record to 1-2 on the year.

Going into the matchup, the Wildcats had been looking to score goals and were outscored 11-3 through two games. After falling down 2-0 early, it looked like the team was going in the wrong direction once again. Yet, the 'Cats' comeback showed what the team can do with their backs against the wall.

Just 94 seconds into the game, Clarkson's Troy Joseph received a tape-to-tape pass from Aaron Thow and skated down the right wing before he lifted one off the far post past junior goalie Danny Tirone.

It got worse for UNH as the Golden Knights struck gold with under 10 minutes left in the first period. Sophomore Juho Jokiharju retrieved a loose puck in Wildcat territory raced to the slot and wristed one past Tirone five hole to make it 2-0.

At this juncture in the game, it did not look good for the Wildcats. The team needed a boost and they got it from freshman Patrick Grasso. Grasso, who scored his first NCAA goal on Friday night, capitalized on the power-play by poking one in at the crease past Jake Kielly. It is a young season for the 'Cats with young talent, but players such as Grasso stepping up and getting a feel for college hockey is great to see.

The night got better as senior defenseman Dylan Maller recorded his first goal as a Wildcat to tie the game 2-2. Maller took a shot from the top of the point and flung it through traffic and past Kielly. Momentum was shifting and for the first time all season, the 'Cats were finishing golden opportunities.

Then adversity crept back onto the ice as the Golden Knights and Jokiharju responded just 70 seconds later. At 10:59 in the second, Jokiharju received a beautiful puck off the boards behind the net then swung around at the near side circle and wristed one blocker side on Tirone.

Grasso again picked up the slack, with the 2nd period coming to a close, by scoring his second of the game. Winning the faceoff, fellow freshman Liam Blackburn glided one to Grasso who shot top shelf on the blocker side of Kielly and converted making it 3-3. That was Blackburn's first collegiate point.

With the game tied, UNH and Clarkson battled throughout the most of the the third period with neither team scoring. In the end, senior Tyler Kelleher would not let the team's record fall to 0-3. With a 1:39 remaining in regulation and the Wildcats and Golden Knights smelling over-time, Kelleher took the Knights' sword and slayed the beast. Swiftly skating down the far right wing, Jason Salvaggio connected across the crease on a one-timer that Kelleher tucked in the net. It was an incredible play that brought the 'Cats identity back to the ice.

Kelleher sniped a 150-foot empty netter at 19:28 and the Wildcats won 5-3. Tirone stopped 29 pucks and both Kelleher and Grasso had a pair of goals to highlight the night.

It is a young season, but the young Wildcat team needed this one. A come-from-behind win made it that much sweeter.

Check out the highlights here:



The Wildcats return home to take on Colorado College next Saturday at 7:00 p.m.

UNH Overpowered by #15 St. Lawrence 6-2

Freshman Patrick Grasso
Scores 1st NCAA Goal

Midweek, the UNH Wildcats traveled to northern New York for weekend games against ECAC mainstays St. Lawrence University and Clarkson University. Tonight, they skated into Appleton Arena in Canton to face nationally-ranked St. Lawrence. The 15th ranked Skating Saints dominated all three periods, outshot UNH 40-18, and won 6-2.

The one positive is that UNH converted on two 5-on-3 power plays - something they were unable to do against Bentley University last Saturday. The first came with 7:16 left in the second period and the Wildcats trailing 3-0. Freshman Patrick Grasso was parked to the right of St. Lawrence goalie Kyle Hayton. Captain Matias Cleland fed him a perfect pass and Grasso one-timed the puck into the back of the net. Here's a video clip of what may be the first of many goals for Grasso:



Although the game was well out of reach late in the final period, UNH got another 5-on-3 opportunity and succeeded. Patrick Grasso passed the puck behind the net to sophomore Ara Nazarian who touch-passed it out to Tyler Kelleher in the mid-slot. Kelleher blasted a 3/4 slapshot for the Wildcats' second goal.



For all the details of the 6-2 loss at St. Lawrence, here's a link to the article on unhwildcats.com.

UNH will search for it's first win of the 2016-17 season tomorrow night at Clarkson University.

UNH Captain's Corner: Season Opening Loss to Bentley

UNH Captain Matias Cleland

For the second consecutive season, The UNH Men's Hockey Blog will include the "Captain's Corner" feature. Beginning with this article, I will periodically interview UNH Captain Matias Cleland about the team's performance in recent games.

In the series of 15 Captain's Corner articles last season, Captain Collin MacDonald provided insight into the 2015-16 team's ups and downs and the progress of individual players. After his graduation last spring, Collin went on to sign a professional contract with the Toledo Walleyes of the East Coast Hockey League. The Walleyes are an affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings.

Bentley Game

On Saturday night, the 2016-17 UNH hockey team opened the regular season with a loss to the Bentley University Falcons of the Atlantic Hockey Conference. As Ben Nawn pointed out in his game report for The UNH Men's Hockey Blog, it was the second time that the two Division I programs had played each other. Last season, UNH defeated Bentley 5-4 at the end of November.

Bentley, and a number of other Atlantic Hockey Conference schools such as American International College and Sacred Heart University, are upgrading their hockey programs in an effort to attract more talented hockey players. After playing for years at a municipal arena 10 minutes from campus, Bentley University is building a new, on campus arena due to open in 2018.

Bentley has already attracted some skilled recruits such as freshman Jonathan Desbiens. He was a teammate of UNH freshman Liam Blackburn last season with the West Kelowna Warriors. They were West Kelowna's #1 and #3 scorers and the Warriors won the BCHL Championship and the RBC Cup. On Saturday, Desbiens scored Bentley's fourth goal just seconds into the third period.

The UNH loss was frustrating for a number of reasons. The Wildcats outshot Bentley 12-0 over the first 11 and 1/2 minutes of the game. Bentley's first goal came a minute later on only their second shot on goal. UNH had a 5-on-3 power play in each period and did not score. After falling behind 2-0, they appeared to recapture the momentum with 3:19 remaining in the second period on a goal by sophomore Ara Nazarian. However, Bentley answered with their third goal just 36 seconds later. Desbiens' goal sealed the deal in the final stanza.

Here are some video clips of the post-game press conference courtesy of UNH Wildcats Productions:

Captain's Interview

I had an opportunity to interview UNH Captain Matias Cleland about the opening game of the season against Bentley University.

Mike Lowry ("C-H-C"): In the news conference after the 5-1 loss to Bentley University, you and Coach Umile talked about two major themes: missed opportunities to score and defensive mistakes that lead to goals. In each period, UNH had a 5-on-3 power play opportunity but did not score. What do the power play units need to do to improve and find the back of the net more often?

Matias Cleland: We have some skilled players on both units obviously and that can lead to guys not shooting the puck as much as they need to. I think we can look to shoot the puck more and get bodies to the net. That being said, we had a lot of shots blocked on the power play on Saturday night. We need to get pucks through traffic and give our guys down low a chance to get second opportunities. This will help our power play a lot.



Mike Lowry: Bentley's first, third and fourth scoring plays involved them controlling the puck below the UNH goal line. What were the defensive mistakes that Bentley capitalized on and what does the team need to do to avoid these mistakes in the future?

Matias Cleland: They did a good job controlling the puck down below the goal line but they found open guys in front. That was the issue with the goals they scored. We need to execute our defensive zone and do our individual jobs. We felt like leaving guys open was a big reason why they were able to score goals on us. If we can fix this, we will be a tough team to score against.



Lowry: Were there team and individual efforts that stood out as positives in your mind?

Cleland: I thought Frankie Cefalu had a great game. He played strong and won the majority of his 1v1 battles which gave him the chance to make plays. He needs to continue playing the way he is.

UNH Falls to Bentley 5-1 in Regular Season Opener

UNH Sophomore Ara Nazarian
Scores 1st Goal of Season

[Durham, N.H.] -- October brings change amongst the leaves here in the state of New Hampshire as well as the beginning of the college hockey season. One thing that did not change this time around was the sloppy play of The University of New Hampshire hockey team. The Wildcats began their 2016-2017 regular season with a loss to the Bentley Falcons 5-1 on Saturday night.

In only their second meeting of all-time, Bentley University got revenge after losing 5-4 last season.

Late in the first period, the Falcon's flew out of the nest after freshman Connor Brassard received a beautiful backhand pass from captain Max French. Brassard raced towards the slot and wristed one glove side of goaltender Danny Tirone for his first collegiate goal to make it 1-0 Bentley.

Two minutes later, Alexey Solovyev smashed a quick one-timer past Tirone to thrust the Falcons out to a 2-0 lead. French who had 47 points last year was able to win the faceoff battle on this one and placed the puck on a platter for Solovyev.

Coach Dick Umile, who is at the helm in his 27th season, was blunt in the press conference following the game saying:

"Needless to say, very disappointed. We had the opportunities and scoring opportunities, but the 5-on-3 opportunities as well. We can't score or hit the net."

The second period did not bode well for the Wildcats either. They had multiple power-play opportunities, but could not execute. The Falcons stood strong defensively with 14 blocked shots and Junior goaltender Jayson Argue made 32 saves.

Referring to the blocked shots and missed opportunities on the power-play Umile said, "Those kill ya."

Midway through the second period, a small fire erupted in the UNH equipment room causing the fire alarm to go off at the Whittemore Center. All the fans quickly exited the area pausing the game for 15 minutes. Somehow, the unexpected break rejuvenated the Wildcats who finally scored late in the second period.

Sophomore goaltender Ara Nazarian chased towards a dribbling puck off the far side boards and wristed one past Argue to make it 2-1. It seemed the Bentley lead was just a false alarm and the Wildcats were ready to claw their way back.

Under a minute later, Dino Balsamo collected a sloppy Wildcat turnover and used his backhander to his advantage sneaking one past Danny Tirone to make it 3-1. This most certainly killed the 'Cats.

"That hurt," said Umile.

"They capitalized on our mistakes so hats off to them on that, but we have to limit those," said senior captain Matias Cleland.

The main story though was the Wildcats' failure to capitalize on the 5-on-3 power play opportunities. UNH held a two-man advantage three times - once in each period. The Wildcats went 0-6 on the power play and it proved to change the game.

The Wildcats entered the third period trailing by only two goals and looking to get back into the game. They were out-shooting Bentley 24-12. However, only :14 seconds in, Bentley struck again. Kyle Schmidt, who is third all-time in assists at Bentley, found a wide open Johnathan Desbiens waiting to pull the trigger. He did and Bentley lead 4-1. The Falcons flew even further away with a short-hand, empty-netter late in the third to seal the victory.

Although disappointed in the lack of execution, Coach Umile noted that the season just started, but changes need to happen quickly:

"We have a long road trip and a lot of work to do."

The Wildcats head on the road to take on ECAC opponent #16 St. Lawrence and Clarkson next weekend.

You can take a look at the highlights, brought to you by UNH Athletics, below:



Box Score

Ben Nawn Joins The UNH Men's Hockey Blog

Ben Nawn

I'm very pleased to announce that Ben Nawn will be writing game reports for the The UNH Men's Hockey Blog this hockey season. Ben is the play-by-play broadcaster of UNH men's hockey and the Sports Director for WUNH 91.3 FM. He is also a staff writer for The New Hampshire, the UNH student newspaper.

Ben is a senior at UNH and majors in Communications. In his time in Durham, he has vigorously pursued his dream career in sports broadcasting. His work at WUNH includes play-by-play broadcasting of UNH football and hosting the sports talk show "Wildchats" Tuesday mornings and Thursday evenings. In addition, Ben is the play-by-play broadcaster of Wildcats' volleyball, soccer, field hockey, and swimming for America East TV.

Last season, Parker Wheeler, served as game reporter and analyst for The UNH Men's Hockey Blog. Parker graduated from UNH last spring and has recently accepted a position in Public Relations for the Manchester Monarchs, the ECHL affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings.

Ben Nawn's first game report will appear on the blog following UNH's season opener with Bentley University. Game time is 7:00 PM tomorrow evening at the Whittemore Center in Durham, New Hampshire.

UNH Commits Update: October-6-2016

Eric MacAdams
4 Goals in 3 USHL Games

The 2016-17 regular season has begun for 11 of the 12 young players who have committed to play for the University of New Hampshire. Seven UNH Commits are playing in the United States Hockey League (USHL), two in the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL), two in the United States Premiere Hockey League (USPHL), and one in the New England Prep School Hockey League.

The current freshman class on the 2016-17 UNH hockey team has 5 forwards, 2 defensemen, and the recently added goalie Joe Lazzaro. In the Wildcats' 3-1 exhibition victory over the University of New Brunswick last Sunday, a number of freshmen logged substantial minutes including Anthony Wyse on the 2nd defensive pair and Brendan van Riemsdyk, Liam Blackburn, and Patrick Grasso on the the 3rd forward line. Fans who followed The UNH Men's Hockey Blog last season will recognize these players' potential to be impact NCAA players.

Six of the current crop of UNH Commits are on target to enroll at UNH in the Fall of 2017. Of this group, forward Charlie Kelleher and goalie Mike Robinson have already signed National Letters of Intent. Another 2017 Commit, Eric MacAdams, is off to a red-hot start in his second season with the Sioux Falls Stampede in the USHL.

Player Spotlight - Eric MacAdams

Last November, Eric MacAdams (DOB: 4-29-1997) verbally accepted an athletic scholarship offer from the UNH hockey program. After an outstanding career at Austin Prep School in Reading, Massachusetts - he was named to the 2014-15 Boston Herald Boys All-Scholastic "Dream Team" - MacAdams traveled to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to play for the Stampede. In his first season, the 5'11", 170 lbs. right-shot forward tallied 10 goals, including 4 game-winning goals, and 8 assists.

The Stampede's opening game of the 2016-17 USHL season featured four UNH Commits - Eric MacAdams and Jason O'Neill for the Stampede and Charlie Kelleher and Joseph Cipollone for the Tri-City Storm. Early in the first period, MacAdams scored his and the Stampede's first goal of the season. At the end of regulation and the overtime period, the teams were tied 2-2. In the shootout, MacAdams was the second Stampede shooter and he buried the puck for the victory. This highlight video shows both of MacAdams' goals in the Tri-City game:



Last Friday, the Stampede made the 360 mile trip to Cedar Rapids, Iowa to face the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. Sioux Falls thumped the RoughRiders 8-2 and MacAdams scored the Stampede's 6th and 7th goals of the game (see highlight video). On all four of his goals, MacAdams skated strong into the slot and beat the opposing goalie. After three games, Eric MacAdams is tied for third in USHL scoring and tied for second in goals.

2016-17 Statistics

NOTE
The statistics for the commits, presented in the following table, are categorized by the projected year they will enroll in UNH. For example, the "2017 Commits" are projected to begin playing for UNH in the Fall of 2017. I have based these projections on a number of factors including:
~ If a National Letter of Intent has been signed.
~ The year the commit and UNH coaches originally targeted for enrollment in UNH.
~ How old the commit would be upon admission.
~ Number of years in junior hockey prior to admission.
~ The commit'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
2017 Commits
Joseph Cipollone  (F)	Tri-City Storm	USHL	4	1	0	1	0
Liam Darcy  (D)	Islanders Hockey Club	USPHL	7	0	2	2	0
Charlie Kelleher*  (F)	Tri-City Storm	USHL	4	1	1	2	2
Eric MacAdams  (F)	Sioux Falls Stampede	USHL	3	3	1	4	0
James Miller  (D)	Penticton Vees	BCHL	2	0	1	1	2
Mike Robinson*  (G)	Dubuque Fighting Saints	USHL	0	0W	0L	0.00	.000
2017 or '18 Commits
Eric Esposito  (F)	Youngstown Phantoms	USHL	1	0	0	0	15
Jason O'Neill  (F)	Sioux Falls Stampede	USHL	3	2	1	3	0
2018 Commits
Angus Crookshank  (F)	Langley Rivermen	BCHL	1	0	1	1	0
Corson Green  (D)	Chicago Steel	USHL	2	0	0	0	2
2018 or '19 Commits
Lucas Bahn  (D)	Skipjacks 18U	USPHL	7	4	5	9	0
Ryan Verrier  (D)	Salisbury School	NE Prep	-	-	-	-	-
* = Signed National Letter of Intent

News & Notes

United States Hockey League:

~ After two seasons with the Boston Junior Bruins Premiere team in the USPHL, Charlie Kelleher brought his talents to Kearney, Nebraska to play for the Tri-City Storm. Kelleher began the season at right-wing on the Storm's starting lineup. He has tallied a goal and an assist over the first four games. Last Saturday, Kelleher scored his first USHL goal on this pretty give and go play with Montgomery Graham (Boston College commit):



~ 2017 UNH Commit Joseph Cipollone scored his first goal of the season in the Tri-City Storm's first game. Last season, the left-shot forward scored 7 goals and 5 assists during Tri-City's run to the Clark Cup Championship.

~ 2017 or '18 commit Jason O'Neill has posted 2 goals and an assist over the first 3 games of the Sioux Falls Stampede season. O'Neill has played center on a line with Eric MacAdams.

~ 2018 UNH Commit Corson Green has been identified by the NHL Central Scouting Service as a "Player to Watch" for the 2017 NHL Draft. The 6'1", 206 lbs left-shot defenseman was given a "C" rating which indicates he has the potential to be drafted in the 4th, 5th, or 6th round of the 2017 Draft. Green is in his first season with the Chicago Steel in the USHL.

British Columbia Hockey League:

~ The Penticton Vees of the BCHL acquired 2017 UNH Commit James Miller in a trade with the Olds Grizzlys (Alberta Junior Hockey League). The 6'2", 175 lbs. left-shot defenseman has tallied one assist in two games for the Vees.

United States Premiere Hockey League:

~ 2018 or '19 commit Lucas Bahn, a defenseman with the Skipjacks Hockey Club 18U team in the USPHL, has been piling up points. Over the first 7 games of the season, Bahn has tallied 4 goals, including 2 game-winners, and added 5 assists. He is currently tied for 4th in scoring in the USPHL 18U League.