Comparing the Cats and Hawks

As we begin the countdown to faceoff, here's a nuts-and-bolts look at how New Hampshire and Miami compare in some of the areas that figure to be critical in the NCAA quarterfinal Saturday at Verizon Wireless Arena.

Scoring
Though the Wildcat attack has slipped precipitously over the second half of the season - it produced 84 goals in the first 19 games, 54 in the final 19 -- UNH still ranks fifth in the nation at 3.63 scores per skate. Miami is 12th at 3.33 tallies per contest, and if it approaches that average it has a pretty good chance to win, since the RedHawks are 21-3-2 when potting at least three pucks.

Defense
In scoring-starved Hockey East, Miami 's 2.55 goals against average would've been in the middle of the pack, but in the CCHA it was third, and nationally it ranks 16th. New Hampshire 's 2.29, meanwhile, is eighth in the country thanks largely to goalie Kevin Regan, whose .936 save percentage is the nation's best.

Penalty minutes
At tournament time a team's ability to stay out of the sin bin is paramount, and neither of these teams figures to cripple itself with constant trips to the penalty box. Miami commits an average of 16.8 penalty minutes per game, with UNH averaging 16.2.

Power play
When given the extra attacker, the Wildcats are - again - among the top 10 nationally, converting 20.2 percent of their opportunities and going 18-5-2 when they score at least once on the power play. Miami has hit on only 18.7 percent of their chances (22nd in Div. I), but more interesting may be the fact its allowed eight shorthanded goals.

Penalty kill
This might be the area in which Miami is most dangerous. Killing 89.2 percent of enemy opportunities, the RedHawks rank second in the country skating a man down -- and while allowing only 26 goals in those situations, they've scored nine times themselves. UNH isn't bad, either, 86.3 percent successful to rank 11th.