College Hockey: Two nonconference losses may have changed UNH's plight
Jan. 18—LOOKING at the schedule and box scores, the University of New Hampshire men's hockey team's losses at Union College at the end of December might seem insignificant.
To the Wildcats, they were everything.
Those 4-3 and 3-2 non-conference losses to the Dutchmen prolonged UNH's skid that it took into the holiday break to 1-14-1. They also showed the Wildcats their identity, sophomore assistant captain Alex Gagne said, and sparked their current winning streak.
UNH (7-16-1, 2-11-1 Hockey East) has won three straight games, including at then-No. 11 Providence and then-No. 17 UMass, entering its home-and-home Hockey East series with UMass Lowell.
The River Hawks (12-9-1, 6-5-1) will host UNH on Friday night (7:15) before visiting the Whittemore Center on Saturday at 7 p.m.
"Definitely, those were games we should have won," Gagne, a defenseman from Bedford, said of the Union series. "Those two games kind of showed us who we are as a team — how we can take over teams with our puck control and with our team defense."
Wildcats coach Mike Souza said those Union games might have been the two best his team has played all year. UNH responded after falling behind, 3-0, in both games while scoring four power-play goals and outshooting Union, 72-27, in the series.
"I felt after that, we had a sense of, 'OK, we're not that bad. We can play,'" Souza said.
The Wildcats' current three-game winning streak following that series consists of a 2-0 triumph at Providence, a 4-1 home non-conference win over Sacred Heart and a 3-1 victory at UMass.
Since returning from the holiday break, Souza said UNH has received solid goaltending and played strong defensively.
Senior goaltender David Fessenden has started in four of UNH's five games since returning from break. Over the Wildcats' winning streak, he has made a combined 85 saves and not surrendered a power-play goal over six UNH penalty kills.
Fessenden turned away 13 UMass shots on goal in the first period and the Minutemen finished with a 28-24 shots advantage on UNH on Sunday.
"These past couple weekends, he's been our backbone," Gagne said of Fessenden. "He's an older guy so he's a leader back there. Guys lean on him. In between periods, I know people don't see it but he's so positive and so reassuring. If a mistake does happen, he lets us know that he's there to help, he's there to have our back."
Souza said the Wildcats did well managing the middle of the ice and keeping shots to the outside in front of Fessenden over the past three games.
Gagne said UNH has been more detailed in the defensive zone, blocked more shots, managed the puck better and been more willing to play team defense since returning from break.
UNH allowed at least three goals in each of its previous nine games before its first shutout win of the season — at Providence on Jan. 6.
Luke Reid has defended hard, Gagne is also one of, if not the first player at the rink each day and Colton Huard has improved his defensive play to pair with his offensive contributions (three goals, team-high 12 assists), Souza said.
"We knew coming into the year that would be the strength of our team," Souza said of his team's defensive play. "Hopefully it continues to be here through January and February."
The Wildcats' defense will look to match the stingiest team in Hockey East this weekend. UMass Lowell has allowed a league-low 48 goals. River Hawks graduate student goaltender Gustavs Davis Grigals owns the best save percentage in Hockey East and ranks third in the nation with his .929 mark. The Alaska-Fairbanks transfer also ranks sixth in the nation in goals against average (1.96).
The River Hawks are 2-3-0 since returning from break and coming off a two-game series split at Maine last weekend.
UNH will play at UMass Lowell again next Saturday (6 p.m.) following its home game against Merrimack College next Friday (7 p.m.).
"We're focused on ourselves getting better every day through practice, through workouts," Gagne said. "It's a process with our team. I think it's trending upward right now so I think people are starting to see that and our team is starting to garner that confidence day in and day out."
NCAA changes coaching limits in Division I hockey
The NCAA Division I council announced last week that, among other decisions, it voted to eliminate the voluntary coach designation. The change allows Division I hockey teams to carry four coaches total, effectively changing the current volunteer coach role into another paid, full-time assistant coach position.
The rule will take effect on July 1.
UNH goaltending development coach Ty Conklin, now in his fourth year on Souza's staff, is the Wildcats' current volunteer assistant coach.
Souza said he does not yet know how his program will handle the rule change but believes it will provide more opportunities for younger coaches to get into the field. It should also alleviate staffs from being spread too thin between coaching and recruiting duties, he said.
"You'll be able to make sure that you've got staff coverage and you're going to have recruiting coverage and so it's a good thing, I think, for college hockey, certainly," Souza said.
Plymouth State men rising in Division III national poll
The Plymouth State University men's hockey team moved up one spot from last week into 14th place in this week's U.S. College Hockey Online Division III poll.
The Panthers (12-3-1) have won eight straight games and lead the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference by six points with their 9-0-0 mark in league play.
Senior Brendahn Brawley was named this week's MASCAC goalie of the week after making 40 saves and allowing one power-play goal in Plymouth State's 2-1 win at UMass Dartmouth last Thursday.
The Panthers play at Worcester State (8-7-0, 7-2-0), which is second in the MASCAC standings, tonight before hosting sixth-place Framingham State (3-11-1, 2-7-1) on Saturday at 6 p.m.
Saint Anselm's Rosen nominated for Hockey Humanitarian award
Saint Anselm College freshman forward Will Rosen was announced Wednesday as one of this year's 15 nominees for the Hockey Humanitarian award.
The award is presented annually to a student-athlete who makes significant contributions to a team and a community-at-large via leadership and volunteerism.
Rosen, a Washington, D.C., resident, founded a non-profit apparel company, Every Shift Hockey, in 2021. The company aims to generate support for the Fort Dupont Ice Arena in D.C., the USA Hockey Membership Relief Fund and those less fortunate in the hockey community.
Rosen has won 20 of his 32 faceoffs over 10 games for the Hawks (12-7-1, 7-3-1 Northeast-10 Conference).
Individual notes
UNH junior forward Nick Cafarelli will miss the rest of the season, Souza said, with a lower-body injury. Cafarelli recorded three goals and eight assists over 23 games, the last of which was an assist in UNH's win at Providence on Jan. 6.
Dartmouth College freshman Alex Krause was named this week's ECAC rookie of the week after scoring in his first two college games last weekend.
The freshman forward tied the game at 1-1 in the second period in Dartmouth's 3-2 overtime loss to St. Lawrence last Friday. Krause also capped the Big Green's scoring in their 5-4 loss to Clarkson the following night.
Big Green classmate Cooper Flinton, a forward from Auburn, notched a goal and an assist in the Clarkson loss to bring his season points total to seven (three goals, four assists).
