UNH Looks For Success in Hockey East Playoffs

Senior Tyler Kelleher 21st/22nd Goals

Freshman Liam Blackburn 7th/8th Goals

Junior Danny Tirone 79 Saves

Today, the college hockey postseason is upon us. For the University of New Hampshire Wildcats, it is a brand new season. After the Wildcats got swept by the University of Connecticut over the weekend, the Wildcats will look to start fresh. In a rematch of last year's first round series, UNH will travel to North Andover, Massachusets for a best-of-three series against the Merrimack College Warriors. Last year, Merrimack bested the Wildcats in three games.

This past weekend brought UNH fans exciting hockey and nostalgia as the four Wildcat seniors were recognized prior to Friday's game. In essence, the final weekend slate of games was exciting all over the collegiate divisions in the country and specifically Hockey East where we saw a three-team tie at the top of the conference.

The Wildcats went into last Friday’s regular season home finale with a chance to uphold a home playoff series, but just like the year before, the Huskies came in and spoiled the party. UNH scored fifteen seconds into the game as Michael McNicholas stripped the puck from a UConn defenseman at center ice, skated down the right wing, and flipped a backhand pass to Jason Salvaggio. He deked into the offensive slot and fired one past freshman goaltender Adam Huska for his 21st of the season.

The Whittemore Center was cheering at a capacity level, but five minutes later the Huskies knotted the game up after sophomore prodigy Tage Thompson wrapped around Danny Tirone’s net and fired a shot that consequently went off defenseman Cam Marks skate. At 10:13, UConn struck gold again as Kasperi Ojantakanen got a juicy rebound and buried it past Tirone to make it 2-1.

The Huskies never looked back in this one when at 18:20 of the second period Spencer Nass increased the lead to 3-1. His 15th goal of the season put a clamp on the Wildcats. Ojantakanen sent the apple his way on the play.

At the start of the third period, the Huskies added yet another goal at 8:54 when defenseman Philip Nyberg scored his first collegiate goal. Yet, the Wildcats made it interesting late when Hobey Baker Award nominee and senior Tyler Kelleher recorded his 21st goal of the year - a knuckler that danced its way past Huska from the far side faceoff circle. It was 4-2 and there was life for the comeback ‘Cats.

With only three and a half minutes remaining, Liam Blackburn scored his 7th goal of the season to make the contest 4-3 in favor of the Huskies. The Wildcats fired on all cylinders, but Huska was strong in net and with 27 seconds remaining, Ojantakanen buried the empty netter for his 2nd goal of the night. The Huskies won 5-3 and surely enough, had a stranglehold on the Wildcats heading into the last regular season game of the year down in Hartford.

Here are the highlights of Friday night's game courtesy of UNH Athletics:



On Saturday night, the Wildcats traveled down to XL Center to challenge the Huskies on their senior night and once again had to fight to try and salvage some points in the final regular season tilt.

The Huskies drew first blood at 3:38 of the first period and sent the crowd into a raucous. Max Kalter recorded his fourth of the season when the play came to Brian Morgan who fired a shot on Tirone and Kalter attacked the night and jammed it in.

Blackburn scored his second of the weekend and his 8th of the season to knot the game up at 1-1 at the 10:36 mark. Senior captain Matias Cleland directed a shot from the top of the offensive zone that ricocheted over to Justin Fregona who fed a pass to Blackburn waiting to fire a shot past goaltender Rob Nichols.

Then at 13:41 of the first period, UConn regained the lead 2-1. Thompson registered his 19th goal of the season when Maxim Letunov fed a pass to him from behind the net who one-timed the goal past Tirone.

UNH once again tied it up at 15:52 of the first stanza when Kelleher scored his 22nd goal of the season. The goal came on the power play that was not working on Friday night. Michael McNicholas was able to send one tape-to-tape across the offensive zone onto Kelleher’s stick who, to the right of Nichols, sent one airborne. The shot was deflected, but surely enough found the back of the net to make it 2-2.

The second period provided nip-and-tuck hockey to the fans where both teams had plenty of opportunities, but could not generate any goals. The game remained tied until 4:19 of the second period where Evan Richardson provided the hometown fans with one of the nicer goals you will see all season. Richardson picked up a loose puck in neutral zone and skated with it towards Tirone. After losing an edge and turning around, he was able to regain possession and flick a backhander past Tirone to put UConn up 3-2.

UConn never looked back as they tightened up defensively in the third period and Corey Ronan fired a shot into the empty net with 43 seconds left in regulation to solidify the weekend sweep with a final score of 4-2.

The win put the final touches on a second half that had its shares of ups and downs for the Wildcats but saw them skid down to 10th place at the end of the regular season. With the two wins, UConn surpassed them to take the 9th seed. Although it was a tough final stretch in the schedule, the Wildcats played teams such as Boston University, Notre Dame, and Vermont harder than most.

For Kelleher, he was able to win the Hockey East scoring title with 37 points in 22 conference games. It was the second straight year a Wildcat won the title. Last year, former Wildcat Andrew Poturalski earned the honors. You can vote for Kelleher for the Hobey Baker on their Facebook page.

Moving forward, the postseason is a brand new season. This conference is always a chess match and everyone starts out with a blank record. For UNH, they travel once again down to Lawler Rink where they hope for a different result than last year. Merrimack was able to snatch the 7th seed and will host the Wildcats in the best-of-three game series starting Friday at 7 pm.

Myself (Ben Nawn) and Brian Dunn will bring you playoff action on 91.3 FM WUNH Durham and online this coming weekend.

UNH Commits Update: February-17-2017

Charlie Kelleher 2017 UNH Commit

Benton Maass 2017 UNH Commit

Marek Wazny 2019 UNH Commit

Player Spotlight - Charlie Kelleher

The Sioux City Musketeers bolstered it's chances of winning the Clark Cup when it acquired the services of right-winger Charlie Kelleher on February 7th. In a series of moves, the Tri-City Storm, who are dead last in the USHL Western Conference, traded Kelleher (11 goals, 22 assists) and linemate Alex Limoges (13g, 18a; former Cornell commit), their 2nd and 3rd leading scorers, and top goalie Dayton Rasmussen (Denver commit).

In his first season in the United States Hockey League, Charlie Kelleher has established himself as one of the premiere play-makers and scorers in the league. In his final 5 games with the Storm, Kelleher scored 2 goals, including 1 power play goal (see video below), and 5 assists (3 power play assists). Throughout this season, Kelleher has played right wing on the Storms' first power play unit.

Kelleher didn't miss a beat in his first 4 games with Sioux City posting 3 assists. In a game against the Sioux Falls Stampede last Sunday, the Musketeers had an opportunity to move into sole possession of first place in the Western Conference. Kelleher was moved up to the starting lineup at right wing with Aapeli Rasanen (Edmonton draft pick) at center and Eeli Tolvanen (BC commit) on left wing. Kelleher set up Sioux City's first goal on the power play. As the video highlights show, Kelleher (#13 in White) deked around one defender, moved to the faceoff circle and fed Phiip Knies (Miami commit) for the goal. The Musketeers went on to win the game in a shootout. Sioux City has the most points (59) in the USHL.

Charlie Kelleher has scored at least 1 point in 8 of the last 9 games. He is currently tied for 8th in USHL scoring (44 games, 11 goals, 25 assists). He is tied for 5th in assists. Here are his last 2 goals as a member of the Tri-City Storm and 2 of his assists with Sioux City:

Player Spotlight - Benton Maass

On the first Saturday in February, UNH Commit Benton Maass and Elk River High School faced rival Duluth East HS. The #1 seed in the Minnesota Class AA, Section 7 playoffs was very much in play. Elk River was ranked #4 in the state while Duluth East was #12. Just 26 seconds after Duluth East scored a short-handed goal, Maass tied the game on the power play. Benton (#11 in White) skated down from the blueline into the slot, received a back door feed, and one-timed his 4th goal of the season:



Elk River defeated Duluth East 4-1 and improved their record to 17-4-0. The Elks also moved up to #3 in the Minnesota AA hockey rankings.

On Tuesday, Benton Maass played his final regular season game for Elk River High School. He opened the scoring just 47 seconds after the opening faceoff and Elk River defeated Maple Grove 2-1. Maass finished the regular season with 6 goals (4 Power Play Goals) and 23 assists (7 PPA) in 25 games. Among all defensemen in the Northwest Suburban Conference, Maass was tied for third in scoring. His teammate and fellow captain Nick Perbix (St. Cloud State commit) was first with 40 points.

Elk River (21-4-0) earned the #1 Seed in the Minnesota Boys Section 7AA Hockey Tournament and gained a bye in the first round. Maass and Elk River will have home ice advantage in the quarterfinal round next Tuesday. If the Elks win the Section 7AA Playoffs, they will advance to the State Championship Tournament. When the Elk River season is over, Maass will rejoin the Fairbanks Ice Dogs in the North American Hockey League.

Benton Maass is on track to enroll at UNH next Fall. The 6'2", 195 lbs., right-shot defenseman is eligible for the 2017 NHL Draft. The NHL Central Scouting Service ranked Maass as the 158th North American skater. They have identified him as a "C" prospect meaning he's a candidate to be drafted in the 4th, 5th, or 6th round of the NHL Draft this June.

Player Spotlight - Marek Wazny

2019 UNH Commit Marek Wazny and the North Jersey Avalanche 16U team begin play in the Tier 1 Elite Hockey League Playoffs this evening out in Blaine, Minnesota. The Avalanche won 30 games and lost only 2 in T1 EHL competition. They finished in first place in the East Conference and were the #1 team in the Tier 1 EHL.

In the final game of the regular season on January 29th, Marek Wazny tallied a goal and 3 assists, including the game-winning assist. The North Jersey Avalanche defeated the Philadelphia Jr Flyers 5-1.

Wazny, a 6'1", 170 lbs., left-shot forward, scored 21 goals, including 3 game-winners, and 11 assists in 32 Tier 1 EHL, regular season games. He was tied for 10th in league scoring, tied for 3rd in goals, and tied for 1st in power play goals (6).

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	16	2	0	2	4
	Junior Bruins	USPHL	20	7	13	20	8
Liam Darcy  (D)	Islanders Hockey Club	USPHL	41	4	17	21	12
Charlie Kelleher*  (F)	Tri-City Storm	USHL	40	11	22	33	10
	Sioux City Musketeers	USHL	4	0	3	3	0
Benton Maass  (D)	Fairbanks Ice Dogs	NAHL	17	2	6	8	10
	Elk River	Minn HS	25	6	23	29	6
Eric MacAdams*  (F)	Sioux Falls Stampede	USHL	41	11	8	19	84
James Miller*  (D)	Penticton Vees	BCHL	31	4	10	14	43
Mike Robinson*  (G)	Dubuque Fighting Saints	USHL	1	1W	0L	4.20	.854
	Springfield Jr Blues	NAHL	16	8W	6L	2.91	.915
2017 or '18 Commits
Eric Esposito*  (F)	Youngstown Phantoms	USHL	37	9	4	13	94
2018 Commits
Angus Crookshank*  (F)	Langley Rivermen	BCHL	24	8	8	16	4
Corson Green  (D)	Chicago Steel	USHL	36	5	7	12	34
2018 or '19 Commits
Lucas Bahn  (D)	Skipjacks 18U	USPHL 18U	23	8	17	25	10
Ryan Verrier  (D)	Salisbury School	NE Prep	26	7	15	22	-
2019 Commits
Marek Wazny  (F)	NJ Avalanche 16U	Tier 1 Elite	32	21	11	32	26
		AYHL	20	11	13	24	2
2020 Commits
Drew Commesso  (G)	St. Sebastian's	NE Prep	7	2W	2L/1T	2.05	.920
* = Signed National Letter of Intent

News & Notes

United States Hockey League:

~ 2017 UNH Commit Eric MacAdams has scored 11 goals for the Sioux Falls Stampede and is tied for 12th in USHL goal-scoring.

British Columbia Hockey League:

~ 2018 UNH commit Angus Crookshank tallied his first BCHL hat trick on February 2nd. One of them was the Langley Rivermen's game-winner in the 11-2 victory over the Salmon Arm Silverbacks.

United States Premiere Hockey League:

~ 2018 or '19 UNH Commit Lucas Bahn was named the USPHL 18U Defenseman "Star of the Week" on February 13th. In 23 league games with the Skipjacks Hockey Club 18U team, Bahn has scored 8 goals, including 2 game-winners, and distributed 17 assists. Among all defensemen in the USPHL 18U Division, Bahn is 1st in scoring and 2nd in assists.

UNH Snaps Losing Streak, Downs #15 UVM 4-2

Senior Tyler Kelleher 50 & 51 NCAA Goals

Freshman Anthony Wyse GWG, 1st NCAA Goal

Junior Jason Salvaggio Tying Goal, 1 Assist

Junior Danny Tirone 31 Saves

Earlier today, I posted "UNH Captain's Corner: Untimely Losing Streak" which included an interview with Matias Cleland about the Wildcats' 5-game losing streak. Matias offered this perspective on the streak and what the team was focusing on:

"We haven't been scoring enough goals in games to win. Obviously, the last game against Lowell had a lot to do with the defensive zone. We are making some changes that we will take into Vermont this weekend. I always believe that things are never as good as they seem and they are never as bad as they seem. Yes, we have lost some games to some good teams but we have Vermont coming this weekend. That's where all our focus is at as of now."

Tonight at the Gutterson Fieldhouse in Burlington, Vermont, UNH scored enough goals, played competent defense, and won their first game since the 5-3 victory over Northeastern on January 12th. More importantly, they earned 2 points against Vermont - the team immediately above them in the Hockey East standings. UNH moved into 7th place 1 point behind UVM.

After a scoreless first period, the monkey on UNH's back flailed it's arms again. The Wildcats surrendered the first two goals of the game in the first 5 minutes of the second period. However, this time around, UNH clawed its way back to score 4 unanswered goals. Entering the game, UNH had the #1 power play in Hockey East and it came through 6 and 1/2 minutes into the second period.

Freshman Patrick Grasso began the scoring play by initiating a series of around the perimeter passes. From behind the Vermont net, Grasso passed to Tyler Kelleher at the faceoff circle to the right of UVM goalie Stefanos Lekkas. Kelleher sent the puck to Cleland at the top of the umbrella who then touch passed it to junior Michael McNicholas at the opposite faceoff circle. McNicholas laid a perfect cross-ice pass onto Kelleher's stick and he snapped it home for his 50th NCAA goal:



Just 2 minutes into the third period, junior Jason Salvaggio showed why he's gaining recognition as one of the best shooters in Hockey East - see this Boston Globe article published earlier this week. He carried the puck into the Vermont zone with speed and fired a wrist shot past Lekkas. The game-tying goal was Salvaggio's 17th of the season. He is now tied for 5th in NCAA goal-scoring.



A few minutes later, Salvaggio broke in cleanly toward the Vermont net and was hooked down, setting the stage for this penalty shot:



Credit Lekkas for the outstanding split to block Salvaggio's 5-hole attempt.

One of the changes Cleland mentioned in the interview helped set up UNH's game-winning goals. Freshman left winger Brendan van Riemsdyk was moved to the line with Chris Miller at center and Marcus Vela on right wing. With about 12 minutes left in regulation, that new line maintained possession in the UVM zone and Vela passed the puck back to freshman defenseman Anthony Wyse at the left point. Wyse snapped a wrist shot through a screen of several players for the game-winning goal. It was Wyse's first NCAA goal:



With less than a minute left in the game, Vermont pulled their goalie for an extra skater. UNH goalie Danny Tirone made a couple key saves and Kelleher scored the empty net goal. Tyler Kelleher (18 Goals, 32 Assists) is tied for 2nd in NCAA scoring and leads in assists.



It's worth noting another change the UNH coaches made in the forward lines. Sophomore Ara Nazarian was moved to left wing with freshmen Liam Blackburn (center) and Grasso (right wing). While they did not score, each got a shot on goal and effectively moved the puck in the offensive zone.

UNH and Vermont will close out their regular season series Saturday night at the Gutterson Fieldhouse.

UNH Captain's Corner: Untimely Losing Streak

UNH Captain Matias Cleland

When the UNH Wildcats walked off the Frozen Fenway field following a 2-2 tie with Northeastern University, they were near the top of the standings in Hockey East. UNH had already clinched the season series against Maine (4-point Sweep), UMass Amherst (Sweep), Merrimack (3 points), and Northeastern (3 points). Their in-conference record of 6-2-2 put them in fourth place, 1 point behind Lowell and Vermont, 2 points behind Boston University, and 5 points behind first-place BC in the Hockey East standings. A finish in the top 4 at the end of the regular season earns a first-round bye in the Hockey East Playoffs.

Series at Notre Dame

The weekend after Frozen Fenway, UNH travelled to South Bend, Indiana for their final regulation series against Notre Dame. This is the Fighting Irish's final season as a member of Hockey East. Next year, they will join the Big Ten Conference. Although Notre Dame began the weekend one point behind UNH in 5th place, they were ranked #14 nationally. On Friday January 20th, the Wildcats built a 2-1 lead on tallies by junior Jason Salvaggio (15th Goal) and freshman Patrick Grasso (15th). Notre Dame tied the game midway through the third period and the teams finished in a 2-2 tie following the overtime period. Here are the video highlights:



The tie improved UNH's record in Hockey East competition to 6-2-3. Unfortunately, it was the last point the team would earn for a while. A 3-0 loss to Notre Dame the next night was the start of a 5-game losing streak. Notre Dame captain Cal Peterson, a 5th round pick of the Buffalo Sabres, made 31 saves and handed UNH it's first shutout of the season. Junior goalie Danny Tirone made 40 saves for a total of 87 saves in the two-game series.

Home Series vs Providence

UNH returned home for a two-game series against Providence College on the last weekend of January. At the time, PC (4-6-2) was 5 points behind UNH (6-3-3) and ranked #19 in the nation. The opener was a tight game and featured outstanding goaltending by Danny Tirone and Hayden Hawkey. Both goalies made 27 saves but Providence scored two back-breaking goals. The first came on a faceoff play with just 1 second left in the opening stanza.

UNH turned up the offensive pressure outshooting PC 11-5 in the third period. However, with under 3 minutes left in regulation, the first line of Salvaggio-McNicholas-Kelleher got caught deep in the offensive zone and PC scored on a 2-on-1 breakout. The Friars added an empty net goal with 21 seconds left.

UNH had entered the Notre Dame series with the #1 offense in Hockey East. The 3-0 loss to Providence marked the second consecutive game the Wildcats had been shut out. They looked to rebound on Saturday night with former UNH stars Trevor and James van Riemsdyk on hand to sign autographs for hundreds of fans before the game.

For the 6th consecutive game, UNH surrendered the first goal of the game. Hobey Baker Award candidate Tyler Kelleher tied the score on a power play late in the second period. Providence went ahead 3-1 on consecutive goals at 4:50 and 13:44 of the third period.

With a couple minutes left in regulation, UNH pulled Tirone for an extra skater and sophomore defenseman Matt Dawson appeared to score UNH's second goal on a wrister from the top of the slot. However, following a video review, the referees disallowed the goal because Jamie Hill made skate-to-skate contact with PC goalie Hawkey immediately before the puck went between his legs.

With just 47 seconds remaining, Tirone went to the bench again and Kelleher set up Grasso with a pretty bang-bang goal. After the ensuing faceoff, UNH successfully added an extra skater for the third time in the final two minutes. Junior defenseman Cam Marks sent a wrist shot on goal with 15 seconds left and Kelleher backhanded the rebound toward the net but it was not to be. Here are the highlights of UNH's come-from-behind effort:



Although UNH ended January with a 3-game losing streak, their position in the Hockey East standings did not change substantially. Following the tie with Notre Dame on January 20th, the Wildcats had 15 points and were tied for 4th place with UMass-Lowell. Vermont (17 pts) was in 3rd, BU (20) in 2nd, and BC (21) in the lead. After the sweep by Providence on January 28th, UNH and UMass-Lowell had 15 points and were tied for 5th place. Notre Dame (16 points) was in 4th place, UVM (17) in 3rd, BU (20) in 2nd, and BC (25) in 1st. With Boston College and Lowell on the schedule for the first weekend in February, UNH did not want to lose any more ground.

Boston College & Lowell

The BC Eagles came to the Whittemore Center last Friday as the 8th ranked team in the nation (Overall: 16-9-2, Hockey East: 11-3-1). When they met in Chestnut Hill on November 8th, UNH overcame a three-goal deficit and tied the game 3-3 with 4 minutes remaining. BC tallied the game-winner two minutes later and added an empty net goal.

On Friday, UNH was not able to overcome the nagging problem of giving up the first goal of the game. In fact, BC scored 2 goals in the first 9 minutes. In a season of ups and downs, the UNH power play has been a consistent bright spot. The Wildcats still have the #1 power play in Hockey East and it came through against Boston College. In the final minute of the first period, the player with the most assists in NCAA Division I men's hockey set up UNH's first goal. Tyler Kelleher (16 goals, 31 assists) cruised along the goal line to the left of BC goalie Joe Woll and fed Patrick Grasso (17 goals, 11 assists) in the slot for a one-timer.

Building on the momentum of Grasso's goal, UNH knotted the game 2-2 soon after the puck dropped in the second period. Junior defenseman Cam Marks connected with sophomore Chris Miller flying through the neutral zone. Miller and sophomore Ara Nazarian entered the BC zone on a 2-on-1 break and Miller snapped a low wrister at Woll. Nazarian banged home the rebound for his 3rd goal of the season.

BC answered one minute after the Nazarian goal and, by the first minute in the third period, had built a 5-2 lead. Once again, the UNH power play sparked a comeback. With 8 minutes remaining in regulation, UNH had a 5-on-3 advantage. Associate head coach Mike Souza, who directs the power play, placed Patrick Grasso and junior Michael McNicholas below the goal line on opposite sides of the BC net. They passed the puck back and forth then McNicholas zipped it to Tyler Kelleher in the right faceoff circle. Kelleher fired a 3/4 slap shot over Woll's shoulder.

UNH made it a one-goal game with 3 and 1/2 minutes left on the clock. Marks made an exceptional play at the blue line keeping the puck in the zone and tapping it to Salvaggio. Jason carried it directly to the top of the slot and fired a wrister into the back of the net. The instant after Salvaggio released the shot, Boston College captain Chris Calnan took a cheap and dangerous shot at Jason's head (see video below). Calnan blind-sided him with a shoulder hit to the head (5-min major) and was kicked out of the game (10-min game misconduct).

The UNH fans who hadn't left the game early got the Whittemore Center rocking. With a minute and a half left in regulation, UNH pulled Tirone which gave them a 6-on-4 advantage. UNH Captain Matias Cleland fired a slapper from the blue line that was blocked. Then Salvaggio sent a cross-crease pass to Grasso who barely missed the conversion. BC potted an empty-netter for the 6-4 victory. Here are the exciting highlights:



After mounting two comeback attempts against Boston College in the energy-filled Whittemore Center, I wonder whether the team experienced a letdown on Saturday night down in Lowell. Whatever the reasons, 10th ranked UMass-Lowell blew out the Wildcats 8-2. Coach Dick Umile summed up the game succinctly - "They looked great, we were awful".

The 5-game losing streak has been costly. Entering this weekend's series at Vermont, UNH sits at 8th place in Hockey East, just 2 points ahead of Merrimack and Northeastern. Finishing the regular season in the top 4 will be a big challenge. The Wildcats are currently 4 points behind 4th place Notre Dame and Lowell. Finishing somewhere between 5th and 8th place and earning home-ice in the opening round (best-of-three series) of the Hockey East Playoffs is more realistic.

Captain's Interview

I had an opportunity to interview UNH Captain Matias Cleland about the team's recent down time:

Mike Lowry ("C-H-C"): Since our last Captain's Corner, the team played four teams nationally ranked in the top 16 - Notre Dame (16), Providence (11), Boston College (7), and UMass-Lowell (9). After a 2-2 tie out at Notre Dame, the team experienced the longest losing streak of the season (5 games) and the most lop-sided loss (Lowell 8-2). As you look back at that stretch of games, what were the biggest frustrations/disappointments? Did you take away any positives?

Matias Cleland: I think the biggest emphasis has been on scoring. We haven't been scoring enough goals in games to win. Obviously, the last game against Lowell had a lot to do with the defensive zone. We are making some changes that we will take into Vermont this weekend. I always believe that things are never as good as they seem and they are never as bad as they seem. Yes, we have lost some games to some good teams but we have Vermont coming this weekend. That's where all our focus is at as of now.



Mike Lowry: After falling behind 5-2 to Boston College last Friday night, the team rallied late in the third period to make it a one-goal game. Down at Lowell on Saturday, it looked to me like the team was a half-a-stride slower than usual. Was physical and/or mental fatigue a factor against the Riverhawks?

Matias Cleland: That was something I personally thought about. Those kind of games take a lot out of the guys. This was no excuse for what happened down at Lowell on Saturday. It was a bad game, and that's all there is to it.



Lowry: Despite being in and out of the lineup due to a hip injury, your classmate and fellow defenseman Dylan Maller has had the best season of his UNH career. He has tallied 3 goals, 7 assists and 14 blocked shots in 14 games and his +11 rating is the best on the team. Dylan has overcome personal tragedy and repeated injuries in his time at UNH. Would you talk about how Dylan has handled this adversity? Is there a chance he will return to the lineup this season?

Cleland: Dylan has definitely overcome so many obstacles in his time here at school. He has always taken his set backs in stride and looks at how to overcome them. He is facing some adversity right now but he is handling it well. I think we should see Maller soon.