New Hampshire Wildcats men's ice hockey | |
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Current season | |
University | University of New Hampshire |
Conference | Hockey East |
Head coach | Michael Souza 7th season, 78–103–21 (.440) |
Assistant coaches |
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Arena | Whittemore Center Durham, New Hampshire |
Colors | Blue, gray, and white [1] |
NCAA Tournament Runner-up | |
1999, 2003 | |
NCAA Tournament Frozen Four | |
1977, 1979, 1982, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003 | |
NCAA Tournament appearances | |
1977, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013 | |
Conference Tournament championships | |
1979, 2002, 2003 | |
Conference regular season championships | |
1992, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2010 | |
Current uniform | |
The New Hampshire Wildcats men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents the University of New Hampshire. The Wildcats are a member of Hockey East. They play at the Whittemore Center Arena in Durham, New Hampshire. [2]
The first New Hampshire ice hockey team played in January 1925, winning its first two games in a contest held in Lewiston, Maine. [3] A year later, under the stewardship of Ernest Christensen, UNH played its first home game at the UNH ice rink, an outdoor facility that was completely dependent on cold weather for its surface. The Wildcats would play a small number of games for their first 15 seasons, fluctuating between an undefeated season in 1927 and a winless campaign in 1932. Christensen retired in 1938 and the team eventually came under the tutelage of Anthony Dougal but his tenure was suspended in 1943 due to the outbreak of World War II. The team finally returned to the ice in January 1947 with Dougal remaining for one year before handing the program over to Joseph Petroski. Horace "Pepper" Martin took over after four rather poor seasons and New Hampshire's fortunes began to change. By the mid-1950s the Wildcats started to play more and win more games than they ever had before and in 1955 an artificial ice rink was constructed on campus to help the team play more than a handful of home games. [4]
In 1961 New Hampshire was one of 28 schools that were founding members of ECAC Hockey. Martin turned the team over to A. Barr Snively and plans were underway to replace the Harry C. Batchelder Rink with an indoor ice rink. In the offseason of 1964, two events happened that hampered the ice hockey program. First, in April, head coach Snively suffered a heart attack and tragically died. [5] With the school searching for a replacement the ECAC announced that it was dividing itself into two separate tiers. 'Major' programs would continue on with ECAC Hockey but 'minor' schools would be forced to join the newly-formed ECAC 2. Because their indoor facility had not yet been completed New Hampshire was forced out of the top tier. Rube Bjorkman was eventually named as head coach and he led the team for four years. During his tenure, the indoor arena was completed and christened as the Snively Arena after his late predecessor and a year later the program was readmitted into the top echelon of college hockey.
It was Bjorkman's successor, Charlie Holt, who put New Hampshire on the college hockey map. In Holt's first season UNH played its first postseason game, earning Holt his first of three Spencer Penrose Awards. In his first five seasons, the Wildcats finished with a winning record and then won the ECAC regular season championship in his sixth year. The Wildcats made their first NCAA appearance in 1977 and captured their first Conference championship two years later, but no matter how good Holt's teams were national success continued to elude him. under Holt the Wildcats went 0–6 in the frozen four and 2–8 in the tournament overall. While the wins started to come few and far between in the mid-1980s Holt continued to helm the program as it left ECAC Hockey to form Hockey East with six other northeastern schools.
Holt stepped down in 1986 and was replaced by long-time assistant Bob Kullen. In his first year the team saw marginal improvement but that summer Kullen was diagnosed with a rare form of heart disease that necessitated a transplant and his missing an entire season to recuperate. [6] Dave O'Connor served as the interim head coach for 1987–88 allowing Kullen to return in the fall of '88. In two years New Hampshire saw its wins total improve to 12 and then 17 but by 1990 Kullen started rejecting his new heart and was forced to resign. Another UNH assistant, Dick Umile, was named as his replacement and unfortunately, Kullen died in November 1990 at the age of 41. Hockey East swiftly renamed its coach of the year award in his honor while the team continued the upward swing he began, allowing Umile to be the first recipient of the rechristened award.
In Umile second season New Hampshire made the NCAA tournament for the first time in almost a decade and retroactively finished first in the conference after Maine was forced to forfeit 13 games. The team continued to play well for several seasons but after a disappointing season in 1996, the team won its first Hockey East Championship and set a new program record with 28 wins. The following year the Wildcats made the Frozen Four for the first time in 16 years and then reached even higher in 1999. in the penultimate year of the millennium the Wildcats won 30 games for the first time, establishing a still-record of 31 victories (as of 2019), winning their second conference title (first outright) and were led by sophomore goaltender Ty Conklin and senior center Jason Krog, the latter won the NCAA scoring title by 16 points and captured the Hobey Baker Award (UNH's only recipient as of 2019). Despite losing in the Hockey East tournament finale The team received the #2 overall seed and a bye into the second round. The Wildcats defeated two Michigan schools to reach their first national championship game where they would ultimately fall in overtime to conference rival Maine.
UNH would continue to be a power in Hockey East, winning back to back conference championships in 2002 and 2003 and reached their second NCAA title game in '03 where they lost to Minnesota, 5-1. UNH would make the NCAA tournament every year from 2002 through 2011 but the team could not make it out of the Regionals after 2003. Starting in 2012 the program began a slow decline, ending up dead-last in the conference in 2017–18. After that season Umile decided to retire, leaving the school as the all-time leader in just about every coaching category and recording the third most wins all-time for one school at the Division I level.
Umile's final act for the program was to name his successor, allowing 1999 alumnus Michael Souza to become the 14th head coach in program history.
After his tour of duty in the US Navy, he worked at the UNH as the Athletic Equipment Manager for a total of 38 years from 1963-2001. He was beloved by the students and staff and holds the record for most games attended including hockey, football, baseball and basketball. He was a member of the Athletic Equipment Managers Association.
As of the completion of 2023–24 season [8]
Tenure | Coach | Years | Record | Pct. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1922–1923 | Hank Swasey | 1 | 2–2–0 | .500 |
1925–1936, 1937–1938 | Ernest Christensen | 12 | 55–54–8 | .504 |
1936–1937 | Carl Lundholm | 1 | 3–5–0 | .375 |
1938–1939 | George Thurston | 1 | 5–4–0 | .556 |
1939–1943, 1946–1947 | Anthony Dougal | 5 | 15–28–0 | .349 |
1947–1951 | Joseph Petroski | 4 | 9–20–0 | .310 |
1951–1962 | Horace "Pepper" Martin | 11 | 76–76–3 | .500 |
1962–1964 | A. Barr Snively | 2 | 23–22–0 | .511 |
1964–1968 | Rube Bjorkman | 4 | 57–40–0 | .588 |
1968–1986 | Charlie Holt | 18 | 347–232–18 | .596 |
1986–1987, 1988–1990 | Bob Kullen | 4 | 37–66–8 | .369 |
1987–1988 | Dave O'Connor | 1 | 7–20–3 | .283 |
1990–2018 | Dick Umile | 28 | 598–375–114 | .603 |
2018–Present | Michael Souza | 6 | 78–102–21 | .440 |
Totals | 14 coaches | 98 seasons | 1312–1039–175 | .554 |
Source: [9]
Player | Years | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
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Ralph Cox | 1975–1979 | 128 | 127 | 116 | 243 | |
Jason Krog | 1995–1999 | 151 | 94 | 144 | 238 | |
Darren Haydar | 1998–2002 | 158 | 102 | 117 | 219 | |
Jamie Hislop | 1972–1976 | 119 | 77 | 132 | 209 | |
Mark Mowers | 1994–1998 | 144 | 85 | 112 | 197 | |
Louis Frigon | 1967–1971 | 89 | 98 | 95 | 193 | |
Bob Gould | 1975–1979 | 135 | 91 | 101 | 192 | |
Cliff Cox | 1972–1976 | 108 | 87 | 88 | 175 | |
Jon Fontas | 1974–1978 | 107 | 72 | 102 | 174 | |
Frank Roy | 1975–1979 | 131 | 71 | 103 | 174 | |
Joe Flanagan | 1988–1992 | 140 | 85 | 89 | 174 |
GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
minimum 30 games played
Player | Years | GP | Min | W | L | T | GA | SO | SV% | GAA |
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Ty Conklin | 1998–2001 | 93 | 5580 | 57 | 23 | 12 | 202 | 1 | .915 | 2.18 |
Kevin Regan | 2004–2008 | 112 | 6599 | 70 | 29 | 10 | 250 | 9 | .928 | 2.27 |
Casey DeSmith | 2011–2014 | 97 | 5637 | 48 | 36 | 8 | 218 | 9 | .923 | 2.32 |
Jeff Pietrasiak | 2002–2006 | 55 | 2904 | 27 | 13 | 6 | 119 | 2 | .917 | 2.46 |
Mike Ayers | 2000–2004 | 102 | 5755 | 58 | 25 | 12 | 239 | 12 | .914 | 2.49 |
Statistics current through the start of the 2019–20 season.
As of July 10, 2023. [10]
No. | S/P/C | Player | Class | Pos | Height | Weight | DoB | Hometown | Previous team | NHL rights |
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1 | Jeremy Forman | Senior | G | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 150 lb (68 kg) | 1999-09-22 | Northbrook, Illinois | Corpus Christi ( NAHL ) | — | |
2 | Jack Babbage | Junior | D | 6' 1" (1.85 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | 2000-08-30 | Tully, New York | Quinnipiac ( ECAC ) | — | |
3 | Conor Lovett | Junior | F | 5' 11" (1.8 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | 2001-04-07 | Franklin, Massachusetts | Cedar Rapids ( USHL ) | — | |
5 | Zach Hahn | Freshman | D | 6' 2" (1.88 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | 2002-08-06 | Huntington, New York | P. A. L. (NCDC) | — | |
6 | Marty Laviņš | Freshman | F | 6' 1" (1.85 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | 2003-04-10 | Riga, Latvia | Cedar Rapids ( USHL ) | — | |
7 | Stiven Sardarian | Sophomore | F | 6' 1" (1.85 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | 2003-02-07 | Saint Petersburg, Russia | Youngstown ( USHL ) | BUF , 88th overall 2021 | |
8 | Nikolai Jenson | Senior | D | 5' 11" (1.8 m) | 193 lb (88 kg) | 2000-07-28 | Cold Spring, Minnesota | Youngstown ( USHL ) | — | |
9 | Connor Sweeney | Junior | F | 6' 2" (1.88 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | 2000-05-05 | North Andover, Massachusetts | Islanders (NCDC) | — | |
10 | Ronan Walsh | Freshman | F | 6' 4" (1.93 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | 2002-05-03 | Andover, New Hampshire | Amarillo ( NAHL ) | — | |
12 | Liam Devlin | Junior | F | 5' 11" (1.8 m) | 192 lb (87 kg) | 2001-01-07 | Needham, Massachusetts | Omaha ( USHL ) | — | |
13 | Nick Cafarelli | Senior | F | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 182 lb (83 kg) | 2001-12-31 | Middleton, Massachusetts | Wenatchee ( BCHL ) | — | |
15 | Luis Lindner | Junior | D | 5' 11" (1.8 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | 2001-05-16 | Spittal an der Drau, Austria | American International ( AHA ) | — | |
16 | Luke Reid | Senior | D | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 192 lb (87 kg) | 2001-09-26 | Warman, Saskatchewan | Chicago ( USHL ) | NSH , 166th overall 2020 | |
17 | Kristaps Skrastiņš | Sophomore | F | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | 2001-11-20 | Grobiņa, Latvia | Amarillo ( NAHL ) | — | |
18 | Harrison Blaisdell ( A ) | Senior | F | 5' 11" (1.8 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | 2001-03-18 | Regina, Saskatchewan | North Dakota ( NCHC ) | WPG , 134th overall 2019 | |
19 | Brendan Fitzgerald | Freshman | D | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | 2003-03-06 | North Reading, Massachusetts | Cedar Rapids ( USHL ) | — | |
20 | Colton Huard | Junior | D | 6' 3" (1.91 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | 2000-11-27 | Foothill Ranch, California | Chicago ( USHL ) | — | |
21 | Cam Gendron | Senior | D | 6' 3" (1.91 m) | 181 lb (82 kg) | 1999-02-05 | Hampstead, New Hampshire | New Jersey ( NAHL ) | — | |
22 | J. P. Turner | Freshman | F | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | 2003-01-31 | East Falmouth, Massachusetts | Fargo ( USHL ) | — | |
23 | Jason Siedem | Freshman | F | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | 2002-10-17 | Madison, New Jersey | Blackfalds ( AJHL ) | — | |
24 | Robert Cronin | Junior | F | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 187 lb (85 kg) | 2000-08-15 | Plymouth, Massachusetts | Dubuque ( USHL ) | — | |
25 | Nick Ring | Freshman | F | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | 2003-10-26 | Abington, Massachusetts | Sioux Falls ( USHL ) | — | |
26 | Morgan Winters | Sophomore | F | 5' 11" (1.8 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | 2001-12-08 | Osprey, Florida | Omaha ( USHL ) | — | |
28 | Alex Gagne ( A ) | Junior | D | 6' 4" (1.93 m) | 207 lb (94 kg) | 2002-08-12 | Bedford, New Hampshire | Muskegon ( USHL ) | TBL , 192nd overall 2021 | |
29 | Cy LeClerc | Sophomore | F | 5' 9" (1.75 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | 2002-08-17 | Brentwood, New Hampshire | Janesville ( NAHL ) | — | |
30 | Tyler Muszelik | Sophomore | G | 6' 3" (1.91 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | 2004-07-01 | Long Valley, New Jersey | NTDP ( USHL ) | FLA , 189th overall 2022 | |
35 | Rafe Gaughan | Senior | G | 6' 1" (1.85 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | 2000-02-11 | Somersworth, New Hampshire | Northeast ( NA3HL ) | — | |
36 | Ryan Conmy | Freshman | F | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | 2004-10-23 | Alexandria, Virginia | Sioux City ( USHL ) | LAK , 182nd overall 2023 | |
37 | Jakob Hellsten | Junior | G | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | 2000-02-02 | Ljusdal, Sweden | North Dakota ( NCHC ) | — | |
Hockey Hall of FameSource: [11]
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AHCA Second Team All-Americans
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This is a list of New Hampshire alumni were a part of an Olympic team.
Name | Position | New Hampshire Tenure | Team | Year | Finish |
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Bob Miller | Center | 1974–1975, 1976–1977 | USA | 1976 | 5th |
Steve Leach | Right Wing | 1984–1986 | USA | 1988 | 7th |
Adrien Plavsic | Defenseman | 1987–1988 | CAN | 1992 | Silver |
Jeff Lazaro | Right Wing | 1986–1990 | USA | 1994 | 8th |
James van Riemsdyk | Left Wing | 2007–2009 | USA | 2014 | 4th |
Bobby Butler | Right Wing | 2006–2010 | USA | 2018 | 7th |
Daniel Winnik | Forward | 2003–2006 | CAN | 2022 | 6th |
The following is a list of people associated with the New Hampshire men's ice hockey program who were elected into the New Hampshire Wildcats Hall of Fame (induction date in parentheses). [13]
As of July 1, 2023.
= NHL All-Star team | = NHL All-Star [14] | = NHL All-Star [14] and NHL All-Star team | = Hall of Famers |
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Several players also were members of WHA teams.
Source: [15] See alsoRelated Research ArticlesWhittemore Center Arena, known colloquially as The Whitt, is a multi-purpose arena in Durham, New Hampshire, United States, on the campus of the University of New Hampshire. It was built for $30 million and opened in November 1995. It was dedicated to Frederick B. Whittemore and his family on May 5, 1996. It is adjacent to its predecessor, Snively Arena, which is still standing and is used as a recreation facility. It is also adjacent to Durham's Amtrak station, and it is across the street from Wildcat Stadium. Ty Curtis Conklin is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender. Throughout his National Hockey League (NHL) career, he played for the Edmonton Oilers, Columbus Blue Jackets, Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins, St. Louis Blues and two stints with the Detroit Red Wings. The New Hampshire Wildcats, or 'Cats, are the American intercollegiate athletic teams representing the University of New Hampshire (UNH), located in Durham. The wildcat is the school's official mascot, the colors are UNH Blue and white. The University of New Hampshire competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a full member of the America East Conference, and sponsors teams in seven men's, eleven women's and one coed NCAA sanctioned sports. However, the men's and women's hockey teams are members of Hockey East, the gymnastics team is a member of the East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL), and the ski team is a member of the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association (EISA). The football team plays as an associate member of the Coastal Athletic Association in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision, the second tier of Division I formerly known as Division I-AA. Darren J. Haydar is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger. Haydar was selected by the Nashville Predators in the ninth round of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. He is one of the top AHL players of all-time, having won two Calder Cup championships and is the AHL’s all-time leader in playoff goals (63), assists (80) and points (143). Despite his prowess in the AHL, Haydar played little in the NHL, scoring only a single goal and eight points over 23 games. Jason Krog is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre last contracted by Lørenskog IK in the Norwegian GET-ligaen (GET). The Maine Black Bears men's ice hockey is an (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents the University of Maine. The Black Bears are a member of Hockey East. Home games are played at Harold Alfond Sports Arena commonly known as Alfond Arena in Orono, Maine. Erin Hamlennée Whitten is an American retired ice hockey goaltender and the current head coach of the Merrimack Warriors women's ice hockey program in the Hockey East (HEA) conference of the NCAA Division I. She was among the first women to play professional ice hockey and, on October 30, 1993, she became the first woman to earn a victory in a professional hockey game as a goaltender, in the Toledo Storm's 6–5 win over the Dayton Bombers in the East Coast Hockey League. As a member of the U.S. national team, she competed in and won silver medals at four IIHF Women's World Championships. She was USA Hockey Women's Player of the Year in 1994. The New Hampshire Wildcats represent the University of New Hampshire. They have won five ECAC championships between 1986 and 1996. When the Wildcats joined Hockey East, they won four Hockey East titles from 2006 to 2009. The Wildcats have more wins than any other women's ice hockey program at 668 in its first 32 years. The Wildcats went undefeated in their initial 74 games (73-0-1) spanning the 1978 through 1982 seasons. A UNH goaltender has been declared Hockey East Goaltending Champion in the first six years of the league's existence. From 2007 to 2009, UNH hosted NCAA Tournament Regional home games. Richard Umile is a former American men's ice hockey coach at the University of New Hampshire. Coaching the Wildcats from 1990 through the 2018 season, Umile led UNH to the most wins in school history. The Dartmouth Big Green men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents Dartmouth College. The Big Green are a member of ECAC Hockey. They play at the Thompson Arena in Hanover, New Hampshire. The UConn Huskies women's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents the University of Connecticut. The Huskies compete in the Hockey East conference. The Huskies play in the Toscano Family Ice Forum. The 2002 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 18th Tournament in the history of the conference. It was played between March 7 and March 16, 2002. Quarterfinal games were played at home team campus sites, while the final four games were played at the Fleet Center in Boston, Massachusetts, the home venue of the NHL's Boston Bruins. By winning the tournament New Hampshire received the Hockey East's automatic bid to the 2002 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament. Charlie Holt was an American ice hockey coach. He was the head coach of the University of New Hampshire from 1968 thru 1986. He is one of three 3-time recipients of the college ice hockey National Coach-of-the-Year Award. Robert A. Kullen was an American ice hockey coach and player. He was the head coach of the University of New Hampshire for a short time in the late 1980s before a rare heart condition that necessitated a heart transplant forced him to step away from his position and ultimately cost him his life a month later. In addition to coaching New Hampshire's ice hockey team, he also coached the New Hampshire golf team and soccer team. The 2015–16 Yale Bulldogs men's ice hockey team represented Yale University in the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season. The team was coached by Keith Allain, '80, his tenth season behind the bench at Yale. His assistant coaches were Jason Guerriero, Josh Siembida, and Stephen Volek. The Bulldogs played their home games at Ingalls Rink on the campus of Yale University, competing in the ECAC. The Hamel Recreation Center is an indoor multipurpose facility located in Durham, New Hampshire, United States. It was the home of the New Hampshire varsity ice hockey team from 1965 to 1995. It is currently used by UNH as a recreation building for students and faculty and possesses basketball, squash and racquetball courts, a cycling studio, and a sauna, among several other facilities. Louis Frigon is a Canadian retired ice hockey center and coach who was the NCAA Scoring Champion in 1970–71. Clifford Cox is a Canadian retired ice hockey center who was an All-American for New Hampshire. Michael Ayers is an American ice hockey coach and former goaltender who was an All-American for New Hampshire. References
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