Freshman Angus Crookshank Cranks Up Scoring for UNH

Angus Crookshank
6 Games 3 Goals 5 Assists

"I love scoring goals. I don't think there's a better feeling in the world. Even in practice I try to score as much as I can, even if it's a warmup drill for the goalies." Angus Crookshank, UNH Freshman Forward, December 8th Press Conference

"Angus is a kid who loves to score goals. He loves to score goals in practice. He's got a high motor. He's continuing to learn the game, all the time, away from the puck. As his game away from the puck continues to get better, he's rewarded with more opportunities. That's what I saw tonight." Mike Souza, UNH Head Coach, December 8th Press Conference

As UNH head coach Mike Souza prepared for his first season at the helm, he knew the Wildcats needed to find ways to score more goals. During Dick Umile's final year behind the bench, UNH was last in goals scored in Hockey East competition averaging only 2 goals per game.

Souza believed that Angus Crookshank, an incoming freshman from North Vancouver, British Columbia, had the potential to help generate offense. Last summer, Crookshank was drafted in the 5th Round (126th overall) by the Ottawa Senators. Bobby Strum, amateur scout for the Senators, observed that Angus "scores big goals and has the ability to make big plays too."

Just 17 days after his 19th birthday, Crookshank scored his first NCAA goal. It happened on October 19th at Colorado College in Crookshank's third game in a Wildcat jersey. He also contributed an assist in the two subsequent games against CC and Vermont.

But then Crookshank hit a scoring dry spell. He didn't register a point in Games 6 through 10. During that stretch, UNH earned ties against UMass-Lowell and Boston College but lost twice to UMass-Amherst and once to Boston University. Angus admitted "it was getting a little frustrating there for a little bit; the puck wasn't bouncing my way".

Hockey East Rookie of the Week

Ten games into the 2018-19 season, the puck was not bouncing for UNH either. The Wildcats had only 1 win and 3 ties, along with 6 loses, when the 19th-ranked Miami Redhawks came to Durham on Thanksgiving weekend. In the first period of Game 1, Angus Crookshank skated strong down the slot, gathered a rebound, and banged it home giving UNH a 2-1 lead.

With less than a minute left in regulation and the UNH net empty, Crookshank raced the puck through the three zones down to the boards below the goal line. He initiated the game-tying play by gathering the loose puck and backhanding a pass to fellow freshman Eric Esposito behind the Miami net. In turn, Esposito centered a backhanded pass to junior Liam Blackburn who flipped it into the net.

The following night, UNH downed Miami convincingly 4-1 and earned its second win of the season. Midway through the third period, Angus Crookshank had the primary assist on Patrick Grasso's game-winning goal. After Crookshank carried the puck from below the goal line into the low slot and backhanded a shot on goal, Grasso cleaned up the rebound.

On the strength of these three scoring plays against Miami, Angus Crookshank was named the Hockey East Rookie of the Week:

Scoring Blitz

Following the Miami series, Crookshank picked up additional assists in games against 10th-ranked Providence College and Dartmouth College. For the Dartmouth game in Hanover, the UNH coaches created a new second line of British Columbia Hockey League alums - Crookshank on left wing, Liam Blackburn at center, and Justin Fregona on right wing. They produced Fregona's first goal of the season in the 3-2 victory.

In the finale to the first half of the season, Angus Crookshank exploded with 2 goals and an assist during a 3 minute and 45 second stretch against Dartmouth at the Whittemore Center. On their first shift of the game, Fregona and Blackburn worked the puck behind the Dartmouth net while Crookshank glided into the low slot in front of goalie Justin Ferguson. Blackburn centered a pass and Angus one-timed it over the goalie's blocker. The play was a prime example of what Coach Souza described as Crookshank improving his "play away from the puck".

Two minutes after Crookshank's first goal of the game, UNH captain Marcus Vela and Dartmouth's leading scorer Will Graber went to the box with matching penalties. Coach Souza sent out Crookshank, Blackburn, Max Gildon, and Kohei Sato for the 4-on-4 play. Angus dug the puck out of the right corner and carried it strong to the net. The goalie poked it away, Blackburn gathered it and lifted a shot on goal. The puck slid horizontally just in front of the goal line and Crookshank tapped it into the back of the net for his 4th goal of his rookie season.

With the same 4-on-4 play coming to an end, Blackburn backhanded a loose puck down to Crookshank in the right corner. Angus snapped a pass to Gildon streaking down the slot and the third round pick of the Florida Panthers banged it home for his 3rd goal of the season. UNH went on to win 4-0 crediting sophomore Mike Robinson with his first NCAA career shutout. Here are the video highlights of Angus Crookshank's scoring flurry:



Over the last 6 games, Angus Crookshank has scored 3 goals and distributed 5 assists. UNH won 3 games, tied 2 and lost only once. The Wildcats' record improved to 4-7-5. With a total of 4 goals and 7 assists in 16 games, Crookshank is tied for 3rd in scoring on the UNH squad and tied for 5th in points per game (0.69) among all Hockey East freshmen. Crookshank and UNH hope to continue these trends throughout the second half of the season which begins tomorrow night against Bentley University at the Whittemore Center.

Crookshank Interview at UNH Hockey Preseason Media Day

I had an opportunity to interview Angus Crookshank at the UNH Media Day on October 3rd. We talked about his adjustment to playing NCAA hockey and his experience getting drafted by the Ottawa Senators last June.

Mike Lowry ("C-H-C"): You've had a chance to practice with the upperclassmen who are NCAA veterans. It's early in the season and you haven't done a whole lot of scrimmaging. Are there particular areas where you say "I'm definitely going to succeed at this level" and, by the same token, are there other areas where you say "this is something I really need to work on to keep up with these guys and succeed at the NCAA level"?

Angus Crookshank: Obviously, there's experienced guys on this team, they know what it takes to win games in this league. It's definitely an eye-opening thing for us freshmen - the sheer speed and skill of these guys, and size. I think size was the biggest factor and also, while we're scrimmaging, the size of the rink. I personally love it but I know it's a change for some guys. I think we'll be really good this year. We're going to surprise a lot of people.

Mike Lowry: In terms of the size of the rink, what is it that you like about that?

Angus Crookshank: The space to create speed. I love playing fast. I love to make plays at a high tempo.

Lowry: What was it like to get drafted by the Ottawa Senators?

Crookshank: It was a dream come true. There was a lot of stress that whole month. You're overthinking every aspect. Have you done enough? Have you responded to questions that they've asked you? Once you've heard your name called, there's such a weight off your shoulders. Obviously, my parents being there is pretty emotional for sure considering where I came from.

Lowry: Were you surprised that Ottawa selected you or had you figured out that they were interested in you based on interviews and so forth?

Crookshank: Funny enough, Ottawa didn't talk to me. I guess they've been watching me ever since I committed to UNH. So they've been keeping an eye on me. It's an awesome organization and they have a bright future. Hopefully I can be a part of that.

Lowry: It must be nice to be drafted by a Canadian team.

Crookshank: Ya, except that my Dad's a Habs fan so he's not too happy about it (laughs), but at least it's not the Leafs.