On Halloween Weekend, the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Men’s Hockey team welcomed the visiting University of Vermont (UVM) Catamounts to the Whittemore Center for a pair of Hockey East games.
UNH entered this weekend’s action 2-3-0, and was coming off a split of last weekend’s games, defeating Long Island University 3-2 in overtime before losing 2-0 to Quinnipiac.
Meanwhile, the visiting UVM entered Friday’s game with a 2-2-0 record, coming off a split series with St. Cloud State.
The teams began their slate on Friday night, where the Wildcats struggled to find their footing in the early going. With defenseman Connor De Haro caught up on the ice, UNH surrendered an odd-man rush, and Vermont capitalized on it to take a 1-0 lead.
The Catamounts seized momentum, controlling the physicality and pace of the game following the ice-breaking goal. They were beating the Wildcats to loose pucks, out-battling them, and dominating in the possession game. Late in the period, a pair of turnovers by UNH forced goaltender Kyle Chauvette to make critical saves and keep the game within striking distance heading into the second period.
The Wildcats earned themselves a power play early in the middle frame after a surge into the offensive zone by the top forward line of Morgan Winters, Cy LeClerc, and Nick Ring. Late in the power play, with the second unit on the ice, defenseman Brendan Fitzgerald walked the blue line and dished the puck to Cam MacDonald at the elbow; MacDonald smoked a wrist shot past the glove of Vermont goalie Aiden Wright to tie the game at one.
That was MacDonald’s first goal as a Wildcat. The sophomore forward and Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick played with Acadia University in Canada during his freshman season.
Then, UNH’s third line came through in a big way.
Friday’s game was the first time UNH first-year students Jacob Newcombe and Félix Gagnon, and fourth-year student Jason Siedem played together. They were coach Mike Souza’s most impactful forward grouping during the weekend.
“I thought they were the best line,” said Head Coach Mike Souza. “Hopefully that’s the start of some chemistry moving forward.”
“I really like [the line]," said Gagnon, who was complimentary of his linemates. [Friday night] was a great game by our line. Physical, first on loose pucks – that’s how we create momentum… It’s about supporting each other and moving our feet.”
Siedem, the lines veteran member, made a play on a free puck at the left circle, then slid a backhand pass to Gagnon at the goal mouth, who deflected the puck past Wright. It was the third tally in as many games for Gagnon.
“It’s always fun to get on the score sheet, but honestly, I’m trying not to think about it so much,” said Gagnon. “I’m just trying to help the team… My game is a complete, two-way game. I’m trying to be good on both ends of the ice. If you’re doing the right things, good things will happen, and right now it’s been pretty good for me.”
Gagnon, like a handful of Wildcats, joined the team from Canadian junior hockey.
“It’s more physical,” Gagnon said of the style of play in the NCAA compared to the CHL. “The guys are bigger, stronger, and older. [Because] we have less games, guys have more energy.”
The Quebec native’s goal gave the Wildcats their first lead of the evening, and they took a 2-1 lead to the dressing room after forty minutes of play.
The third period started roughly for an UNH team that carried some healthy momentum out of the middle frame. Just shy of the three-minute mark, a Catamount point shot hit the post to the right of Chauvette; the rebound squeaked out to Vermont forward Dawson Good, who got inside Wildcat defender Oscar Plandowski, and he put the puck home to tie the game 2-2.
As the third period wore on, and the Wildcats pushed for the winning goal, breakthrough freshman defenseman Ryan Philbrick once again proved he was up to the task.
Creeping down from his post at the left point, Philbrick collected the five-foot pass from teammate Jacob Newcombe, sent a backhand bid towards goal that was stopped by Wright, and poked home the rebound after it was sitting under his left pad.
“Ryan Philbrick emerged as a kid that can give us a lot of minutes,” said Souza.
It was also another productive shift by the aforementioned third line, with the second assist coming from Jason Siedem, his third of the contest.
Philbrick’s goal gave the Wildcats the lead with 4:05 remaining in the third period. From there, the mission turned to defending in front of Chauvette and preserving the lead, where the attention turned to another young defender establishing himself in a UNH jersey.
Defenseman Alex Carr was noticeable all weekend long for the Wildcats. He was a physical presence and defended the rush with poise and precision. His strong play earned an opportunity to be on the ice in a late-game 6-on-5 situation with the Catamount goalie pulled, and he registered a crucial block late in the game.
“He’s a mature guy, he’s played a ton of junior hockey,” said Souza of Carr. “He’s shown incremental progress.”
UNH closed out the win and took game one of the series.
Saturday night, the teams resumed action at the Whittemore Center, and the Wildcats were noticeably more prepared to play at the puck drop than the night before; UNH carried the bulk of the possession early on.
After a pair of scoring chances from J.P. Turner and Cam MacDonald, the Catamounts pushed back. The contest proved to be a bit of a slog, with both teams enforcing a strong defensive structure and neither club surrendering a goal during the first twenty minutes.
For the first nineteen minutes of the second period, the defensive stalemate continued. The intensity of the game was getting increasingly testy, with heavy hits all over the ice and Vermont’s forwards not shying away from the blue paint in front of Kyle Chauvette. No goals were scored until the final thirty seconds of the second period, when Vermont defender Jax Wismer unleashed a howitzer through a partially screened Chauvette. The tally broke the ice for the enemy camp and put UNH behind the eight ball entering the third period.
“You’ve got to manage the ebbs and flows of every weekend,” said Souza. “You can’t give up a goal in the last minute. I thought we did a poor job on our coverage there.”
The Wildcats entered the third period needing a goal to tie the game, and had their hands full with a penalty to kill off early and a Vermont group looking to put the clamps on and shut the game down.
UNH needed a greasy goal, and they needed it to come from their top line, which has been quiet during the past four games offensively.
At the halfway mark of the third period, Cy LeClerc sent a wrist shot toward Wright that was steered into the corner. Hungry for the equalizing goal, the Wildcats pressured the puck hard, working it low-to-high. From the right point, freshman defenseman Conner De Haro corked a blazing one timer toward the Vermont goal, where it deflected off of senior captain Morgan Winters and in—his fourth goal of the season.
It was a huge breakthrough for the first line to tie the game and bring the crowd to life at the Whittemore Center.
“That’s our line that we expect to drive some offense for us, and they need to be better,” Souza said.
However, the momentum was short-lived. Vermont forward Jonah Aegerter worked his way into the zone on UNH defenseman Brendan Fitzgerald before firing a perimeter wrist shot bar-down past the glove side of Kyle Chauvette.
UNH pushed for the tie down the stretch, pulled Chauvette for the extra attacker with two minutes remaining, and even earned themselves a late power play, but failed to beat Vermont’s Aiden Wright.
“I believe in our team, I think our goaltender’s been our best player most season long, but you’ve got to give him some run support,” Souza said. “Have a short memory, get better.”
The Wildcats’ split results on the weekend take their record to 3-4-0 (1-2-0 in Hockey East). They take on UMass Lowell next weekend, beginning a home-and-home series on the road Friday night.
