Top 21 'Cats of the 21st century

Friday night at the Whittemore Center the University of New Hampshire hockey program will announce its team of the decade for 2000-09, choosing six forwards, four defensemen and two goaltenders to comprise the ultimate collection of 'Cats from the past 10 years. We made our picks in Thursday's print edition, and welcome you to do the same in the comments section below -- but now let's take it one step further: Here are our top 21 Wildcats of the 21st century.

21. Patrick Foley: There's room on this list for the intangibles of a three-time captain who led his team to consecutive Hockey East titles and Frozen Four berths.
20. Trevor Smith: Only one of his two seasons was exceptional - but, obviously, it was good enough to earn him a pro contract from the New York Islanders.
19. Mike Radja: He belonged from the moment he arrived, doing what the team needed for much of his career before finally leaving as an All-American who piled up 80 points in his last two seasons.
18. Mike Lubesnick: He was a plus-58 for his career, and voted by teammates as the best defenseman on the 2003 national runner-up. Stafford, Teplitsky, Mounsey and Yandle were all on that team.
17. Brian Yandle: He's the third-highest scoring defenseman in UNH history with 98 career points, and was ever-dangerous on the power play with perhaps the hardest shot UNH saw during the decade.
16. Bobby Butler: If the team gets one point this weekend, he'll leave with three Hockey East titles and more than 100 career points to his credit. Not a bad little career for the current co-captain.
15. Tyson Teplitsky: He was reliable at both ends of the ice and in any situation, posting a plus-57 to go with his 61 points, and scoring the overtime winner in the 2003 Hockey East title game.
14. Matt Fornataro: If he doesn't post 86 points in his last two seasons, UNH probably doesn't win back-to-back regular-season championships in '07 and '08.
13. Steve Saviano: A late bloomer, but absolutely one of the best players in the game during his 49-point season of '03-04, and a big factor in the '02-03 postseason as well.
12. James van Riemsdyk: He didn't dominate the way some had hoped when he arrived as the No. 2 pick in the NHL draft ... yet he left after two years on a pace for 56 goals and 148 career points.
11. Preston Callander: In 2004-05 he scored 54 points and was feated as both his team's and Hockey East's best defensive forward. How's that for a two-way player?
10. Mick Mounsey: Concord's finest was a plus-38 as a sophomore, and a plus-68 overall. The Granite Stater was UNH's granite rock on the blue line for some of its best teams.
9. Daniel Winnik: While centering one of the era's most lethal lines (between Micflikier and Brett Hemingway), he played with the size and strength of an NHL player, and that's exactly what he's become with the Phoenix Coyotes.
8. Jacob Micflikier: In part due to the 92 assists that make him one of the decade's premier playmakers, he averaged 41.3 points per year from sophomore year on, which works out to better than one per game.
7. Sean Collins: He had at least 42 points in three of his four seasons -- with the only exception being what was labeled a "down" sophomore campaign in which he still scored 22 goals.
6. Mike Ayers: The backbone of the 2003 team that played for a national title, setting a school record for games and wins, and ultimately becoming the author of an incredible 13 career shutouts.
5. Colin Hemingway: A highlight reel waiting to happen, he scored 113 points over his final two seasons, earning him two All-American nominations and two trips to the Frozen Four.
4. Garrett Stafford: Whatever needed to be done on the blue line, he could do it -- whether that meant scoring, setting up, moving the puck or muscling in the defensive end. He was big in big games, too.
3. Lanny Gare: Oh, how Wildcat fans will always wonder whether things might've turned out differently had UNH's leading scorer and best defensive forward been available in the '03 national title game.
2. Kevin Regan: He was the best player in New England as a senior, and graduated with his name all over the school's record books, including the best save percentage and second-best goals against average in UNH history.
1. Darren Haydar: His career may have begun in the 1990s, but no Wildcat was better than Haydar, who tallied 60 goals, 80 assists, and 140 points in 100 games this decade.

WHAT DO YOU THINK? Leave your dream team in the comments below. And enjoy the trip down Memory Lane...