The University of New Hampshire put on quite a scoring show for their fans at a sold out Whittemore Center on Saturday night as they hosted Providence College for the final time this year. UNH improved to 13-2-2 in Hockey East this season with the 5-1 win and also completed the season sweep against the Friars, who fell to 3-10-4 in Hockey East.
Action during the first period was hard to be found in the first 8 minutes. Both teams looked a little flat and scoring chances were few and far between but the momentum finally gathered after the 12:00 minute mark as each team began to find their legs and increase pressure on the opposing goaltender. After a cross-checking penalty assigned to Providence’s Tim Schaller, UNH capitalized on their first powerplay with a goal scored by sophomore forward Dalton Speelman, assisted by Paul Thompson and Phil DeSimone. Providence goaltender Alex Beaudry looked strong between the pipes during the first, stopping 10 of 11 shots and only allowing the first goal while his team was on the penalty kill.
Despite an even start to the game, UNH would run away with this one in the second period. Providence scored their only goal of the game just 59 seconds in on an excellent wristshot by senior forward Kyle MacKinnon, assisted by fellow seniors Ian O’Connor and Matt Germain. Six minutes later, the floodgates opened and UNH scored a slew of goals by Thompson, Austin Block, Greg Burke, and John Henrion. At the end of the second period, Providence lead UNH in shots on goal 24-22, but UNH had captured the 5-1 lead.
The score remained the same through the end of the game. UNH goaltender Matt DiGirolamo was once again stellar in net for the Wildcats, making 37 saves for his team.
After the game, Providence head coach Tim Army did not seem frustrated, despite his team’s loss. “I put us in the hole by taking the bench minor” he said, referring to the minor penalty called at 7:11 of the second period. He attributed the loss to bad bounces and expressed faith in his team’s ability. “I think we’ve played some really good stretches of hockey. We’re still in 8th place and we are very motivated.”
UNH head coach Dick Umile seemed pleased with the way his team played as well. “[It was a] good win… we played better tonight than last night.”
UNH is facing rival UMaine next weekend, while Providence prepares to face Vermont.
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