Icecats 4, Providence 0
Less than two weeks after absorbing a punishing defeat against Providence, the University of New Hampshire hockey team turned the table last night, opening its playoff push with a 4-0 win over the Friars that gives the Wildcats a one-game lead in the best-of-three Hockey East quarterfinal series.
No. 1 UNH (24-9-2) 2-1-1 -- 4
No. 8 PC (10-22-3) 0-0-0 -- 0
GOALIE SAVES
Kevin Regan, UNH 16-17-9 -- 42
Tyler Sims, PC 10-x-x -- 10
Chris Mannix, PC x-4-8 -- 12
GAME RECAP
The 'Cats cracked open the scoring with an aggressive play by its first line at 4:25. After Mike Radja dumped the puck into the offensive end, Jacob Micflikier chased it long enough to take the puck from goalie Tyler Sims behind the net. Flinging a pass out front, he found Radja, who then got the puck to Brett Hemingway -- and he buried it before Sims could recover.
A couple freshmen collaborated for another score about seven minutes later, with Peter LeBlanc making a couple of nice moves to take Sims out of the play before Bobby Butler capped the sequence with a wrister under the crossbar.
Providence had an apparent goal waved off with 11:06 left in the second,with the linesman ruling Cody Wild kicked it in, and 39 seconds later the Wildcats made the missed opportunity hurt even more. When Hemingway fired a pass at Micflikier near the net during a 2-on-2 rush, the puck appeared to hit Micflikier in the body before redirecting into the cage. This one stood, though, and it was 3-0.
The Wildcats' first line was at it again early in the third, with Radja winning an offensive zone draw to Brad Flaishans, who fired through traffic to beat Mannix's five-hole. That made it 4-0.
GAME NOTES
- Kevin Regan earned the start for New Hampshire, his 31st start of the season. He now has two shutouts in that time, and five for his career.
- Regan was initially opposed by Providence's Tyler Sims, though Sims was replaced by Chris Mannix to open the second period. PC Coach Tim Army said after the game he liked the way Mannix has "managed the game" when given recent opportunities, and that he'd played better than Sims down the stretch, but the coach said he'd wait until Friday to decide on a Game 2 starter. He may even wait until gametime, he said, with Bow's Ryan Simpson in the mix of candidates as well.
- Simpson was in uniform for the Friars. The freshman goalie has been out of game action since suffering a leg injury in November.
- Captain Josh Ciocco returned to the UNH lineup after sitting last Saturday with a hip injury.
- This marks the third time in the last four years the Friars come to the Whitt for the quarters, and the third time they've lost Game 1.
- At the opening faceoff the arena appeared to be barely half full because of UNH's spring break. The official attendance was 3,952.
- The Wildcats are now 17-3-1 when they score first, 14-1-1 when leading after a period and 5-1-0 when allowing the opponent at least 41 shots.
- UNH was 0-for-3 on the power play, failing to put a shot on net during those opportunities. In their defense, the 'Cats had only one two-minute advantage, with the other two lasting 25 and 6 seconds, respectively.
- Providence had nine shots, but was 0-for-5 with the extra attacker.
- Deering's Jon Rheault fired a game-high six shots, and would've had an assist on Cody Wild's disallowed score in the second period, but instead was on the bench for all the game's goals.
- With two points apiece, Micflikier has 15 and Hemingway 11 over the 12 games each has played in the Hockey East tournament.
- In its history, UNH has lost only one postseason series in which it has won the first game.
- Should the Wildcats beat Providence in this series, they will face the lowest seed still alive in the semifinals next Friday at Boston's TD Banknorth Garden. They'll also have the choice between the 5 or 8 p.m. game that night.
POST-GAME AUDIO
