Nine of New Hampshire’s first 12 games have been decided by one goal or fewer, but the Wildcats finally broke through on the right side of a close one on Saturday night.
First-year head coach Mike Souza’s club returned to the win column for the first time since Oct. 27 against Vermont with a 4-1 decision over Miami at Whittemore Center. Prior to beating the RedHawks, UNH alternated losses and ties for six games; the non-conference opponents skated to a 3-3 draw in this past weekend’s series opener.
UNH scored four unanswered goals en route to its second win of the season. Sophomore Patrick Grasso’s first goal of the season with 8:55 remaining turned out to decide the game and came after junior Liam Blackburn’s second goal of the series.
“We had incredible effort from a lot of players,” Souza said after Saturday’s game. “They have a really good hockey club, but when we skate we can be effective, too. … At the end of the day, it’s just one win but I think it’s a nice step towards building off having a good week of practice.”
A pair of locals have been among the Wildcats’ top scorers, while sophomore Mike Robinson has both victories and a .918 save percentage on the season. The Bedford, N.H., native eclipsed the 30-save mark for his fourth consecutive game with 33 against Miami.
Sophomore Charlie Kelleher (Longmeadow, Mass.) and classmate Max Gildon have 11 points apiece. Kelleher leads the Wildcats with 10 assists, making him one of seven Hockey East players that have reached double-digits in that category.
Senior Ara Nazarian (Boxford, Mass.) has eight points, including a team-high five goals. Nazarian had a four-game goal scoring streak snapped in Friday’s tie, but the former Malden Catholic standout has recorded points in seven of his first 10 games this season. Nazarian and reigning Hockey East Rookie of the Week Angus Crookshank assisted on Grasso’s winning goal to cap a three-point weekend with a goal and two helpers.
“I've coached Ara for four years, and he just brings it every night. I know he's not happy (with the team’s 2-6-4 record) right now, but he's off to a good start this year. He finds a way to create offense,” Souza said. “Their line (Nazarian, freshman Jackson Pierson, and Kelleher) is playing really well and creates the majority of our offense, and he’s shown great leadership.”
Building on Belfast
UMass Lowell and Vermont brought the first two Friendship Four titles back to Hockey East, but ECAC clubs have tied the all-time score after Clarkson and Union captured the last two tournaments in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The Dutchmen captured this year’s title with a 2-1 win over Boston University on Saturday.
The overseas trip has served as a major building block in the season for several New England squads. There is no better example than Northeastern’s 2015-16 team, which left Belfast with a 2-11-2 record before capping a 20-3-3 run with its first Hockey East title since 1988 and an NCAA appearance. UMass Lowell was one win away from the Frozen Four that same year.
Two seasons ago, Vermont won six of its first nine games after the tournament, and Quinnipiac finished with 23 wins. Maine began a nine-game unbeaten streak with a win in Belfast last season, while Providence won 16 of its final 26.
The 4-6-1 Terriers and 5-8-1 Connecticut are hoping to spark similar results. It already has for BU sophomore Ty Amonte as the sophomore from Norwell, Mass., scored his first two goals of the season at SSE Arena after being held to just one point through in eight games.
Falcons flexing their muscle
Bentley has won three consecutive 4-2 games after defeating Boston College on Friday and Holy Cross in its return to Atlantic Hockey play the following night. The 5-7-1 Falcons have defeated Hockey East opponents nine times since 2008-09.
Four different players have scored for Bentley in each of its last three wins, including sophomore Michael Zuffante who has recorded three goals and five of his six total points in only two weekends. Matt Lombardozzi (Leominster, Mass.) scored his first collegiate goal at BC in his what was his 40th game on the blue line.
Aidan Pelino has performed well above his .887 save percentage for the season during this run. The junior has stopped 63 of the last 69 shots he’s faced, equaling a .913 mark.
Bentley’s current streak is its first since taking four in a row towards the end of last season. That run from Jan. 27 to Feb. 9 against Canisius, RIT, and Air Force followed a six-game streak in November and December.
Where’s the rule book?
UMass Lowell earned a 5-2 win at Rensselaer to split its weekend home-and-home series, but there is a much deeper story to the first River Hawk goal of Sunday’s game in Troy, N.Y.
Freshman defenseman Jon McDonald was credited with his second goal in as many games as he was the last to touch the puck after an RPI player inadvertently cleared it into an open net from his own zone. RPI goaltender Owen Savory had vacated the net in favor of an extra skated due to a delayed penalty.
As RPI’s hockey sports information director Perry Laskaris noted on Twitter, Section 6-6 of the NCAA’s statistics rules state that an empty-net goal is credited in this situation: “Any goal scored while a goaltender is clearly on the way to the bench in favor of an extra attacker or is on the bench will be considered an empty-net goal.”
In addition, Lowell junior Ryan Lohin finished the weekend with another three points on a goal and two assists. The Pennsylvania native had a whopping 17 shots on goal in the series, including 11 in Sunday’s win.
Loose pucks
― Milton, Mass., native Christian Simeone became the fifth Merrimack freshman to record his first collegiate goal this season as he tallied in Friday’s 2-2 tie with Holy Cross. The former Thayer Academy and BC High winger’s goal gave the Warriors a two-goal lead in the second period, but the visitors from Worcester scored twice before that intermission to earn the draw.
― While several Harvard freshman and defenseman Adam Fox are attracting most headlines, senior captain Lewis Zerter-Gossage leads the Crimson with six goals in eight games and has recorded points in five straight after a 4-1 win over Cornell at Madison Square Garden. Saturday night’s game marked the first Big Red loss in New York City since 2013.
― Massachusetts extended its nation-best winning streak to eight games on Saturday night. Sophomore Oliver Chau’s first goal of the season in overtime also moved the Minutemen one win shy of the longest streak in program history, so the the No. 3 team in the country will look to add that milestone Friday when UConn visits the Mullins Center.
― Vermont junior Stefanos Lekkas made 43 saves in the Catamounts’ 5-3 win at Dartmouth, which snapped a three-game skid. Lekkas has now surpassed the 40 mark six times in his career and become the seventh goaltender in program history to record 2,200 career saves.
― Though Holy Cross has won just one of its first 11 games, the Crusaders have benefitted from balanced scoring. Fourteen different players have netted the team’s 29 goals. Senior Michael Laffin, who has played in all 118 games over his collegiate career, scored his first goal of the season against Merrimack.
― Maine was held to just two goals over a 0-2 weekend against Quinnipiac, but junior Ryan Smith chipped in on both in Friday’s 7-2 loss at Alfond Arena to double his season point total. Smith scored one after assisting on Chase Pearson’s team-leading eighth of the season.
