New Hampshire Wildcats men's ice hockey

The New Hampshire Wildcats men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents the University of New Hampshire. The Wildcats are a member of Hockey East. They play at the Whittemore Center Arena in Durham, New Hampshire.http://www.uscho.com/m/new-hampshire-wildcats/mens-college-hockey/team,unh.html
==History==
===Early years===
The first New Hampshire ice hockey team played in January 1925, winning its first two games in a contest held in Lewiston, Maine. A year later, now under the stewardship of Ernest Christensen, UNH played its first home game at the UNH ice rink, an outdoor facility that was completely dependent on cold weather for its surface. The Wildcats would play a small number of games for their first 15 seasons, fluctuating between an undefeated season in 1927 and a winless campaign in 1932. Christensen retired in 1938 and the team eventually came under the tutelage of Anthony Dougal but his tenure was suspended in 1943 due to the outbreak of World War II. The team finally returned to the ice in January 1947 with Dougal remaining for one year before handing the program over to Joseph Petroski. Horace "Pepper" Martin took over after four rather poor seasons and New Hampshire's fortunes began to change. By the mid-1950s the Wildcats started to play more and win more games than they ever had before and in 1955 an artificial ice rink was constructed on campus to help the team play more than a handful of home games.
===ECAC===
In 1961 New Hampshire was one of 28 schools that were founding members of ECAC Hockey. Martin turned the team over to A. Barr Snively and plans were underway to replace the Harry C. Batchelder Rink with an indoor ice rink. In the offseason of 1964, two events happened that hampered the ice hockey program. First, in April, head coach Snively suffered a heart attack and tragically died. With the school searching for a replacement the ECAC announced that it was dividing itself into two separate tiers. 'Major' program would continue on with ECAC Hockey but 'minor' schools would be forced to join the newly-formed ECAC 2. Because their indoor facility had not yet been completed New Hampshire was forced out of the top tier. Rube Bjorkman was eventually named as head coach and he led the team for four years. During his tenure, the indoor arena was completed and christened as the Snively Arena after his late predecessor and a year later the program was readmitted into the top echelon of college hockey.
It was Bjorkman's successor, Charlie Holt, who put New Hampshire on the college hockey map. In Holt's first season UNH played its first postseason game, earning Holt his first of three Spencer Penrose Awards. In his first five seasons, the Wildcats finished with a winning record and then won the ECAC regular season championship in his sixth year. The Wildcats made their first NCAA appearance in 1977 and captured their first Conference championship two years later, but no matter how good Holt's teams were national success continued to elude him. under Holt the Wildcats went 0–6 in the frozen four and 2–8 in the tournament overall. While the wins started to come few and far between in the mid-1980s Holt continued to helm the program as it left ECAC Hockey to form Hockey East with six other northeastern schools.
===Bob Kullen===
Holt stepped down in 1986 and was replaced by long-time assistant Bob Kullen. In his first year the team saw marginal improvement but that summer Kullen was diagnosed with a rare form of heart disease that necessitated a transplant and his missing an entire season to recuperate. Dave O'Connor served as the interim head coach for 1987–88 allowing Kullen to return in the fall of '88. In two years New Hampshire saw its wins total improve to 12 and then 17 but by 1990 Kullen started rejecting his new heart and was forced to resign. Another UNH assistant, Dick Umile, was named as his replacement and unfortunately, Kullen died in November 1990 at the age of 41. Hockey East swiftly renamed its coach of the year award in his honor while the team continued the upward swing he began, allowing Umile to be the first recipient of the rechristened award.
===Umile years===
In Umile second season New Hampshire made the NCAA tournament for the first time in almost a decade and retroactively finished first in the conference after Maine was forced to forfeit 13 games. The team continued to play well for several seasons but after a disappointing season in 1996, the team won its first Hockey East Championship and set a new program record with 28 wins. The following year the Wildcats made the Frozen Four for the first time in 16 years and then reached even higher in 1999. in the penultimate year of the millennium the Wildcats won 30 games for the first time, establishing a still-record of 31 victories (as of 2019), winning their second conference title (first outright) and were led by sophomore goaltender Ty Conklin and senior center Jason Krog, the latter won the NCAA scoring title by 16 points and captured the Hobey Baker Award (UNH's only recipient as of 2019). Despite losing in the Hockey East tournament finale The team received the #2 overall seed and a bye into the second round. The Wildcats defeated two Michigan schools to reach their first National Championship game where they would ultimately fall in overtime to conference rival Maine.
UNH would continue to be a power in Hockey East, winning back to back conference championships in 2002 and 2003 and reached their second NCAA title game in '03 where they lost to Minnesota, 5-1. UNH would make the NCAA tournament every year from 2002 through 2011 but the team could not make it out of the Regionals after 2003. Starting in 2012 the program began a slow decline, ending up dead-last in the conference in 2017–18. After that season Umile decided to retire, leaving the school as the all-time leader in just about every coaching category and recording the third most wins all-time for one school at the Division I level.
Umile's final act for the program was to name his successor, allowing 1999 alumnus Michael Souza to become the 14th head coach in program history.
==Season-by-season results==
==Head coaches==
As of the completion of 2019–20 season
Tenure 	Coach 	Years 	Record 	Pct.
1922–1923 	Hank Swasey 	1 	2–2–0 	
1925–1936, 1937–1938	Ernest Christensen 	12 	55–54–8 	
1936–1937 	Carl Lundholm 	1 	3–5–0 	
1938–1939 	George Thurston 	1 	5–4–0 	
1939–1943, 1946–1947	Anthony Dougal 	5 	15–28–0 	
1947–1951 	Joseph Petroski 	4 	9–20–0 	
1951–1962 	Horace "Pepper" Martin	11 	76–76–3 	
1962–1964 	A. Barr Snively 	2 	23–22–0 	
1964–1968 	Rube Bjorkman 	4 	57–40–0 	
1968–1986 	Charlie Holt 	18 	347–232–18 	
1986–1987, 1988–1990	Bob Kullen 	4 	37–66–8 	
1987–1988 	Dave O'Connor 	1 	7–20–3 	
1990–2018 	Dick Umile 	28 	598–375–114 	
2018–Present 	Michael Souza 	2 	27–30–13 	
Totals 	14 coaches 	94 seasons	1261–970–167	
==Statistical Leaders==
===Career points leaders===
Player	Years 	GP 	G 	A 	Pts	PIM
 	1975–1979	128	127	116	243	
 	1995–1999	151	94 	144	238	
 	1998–2002	158	102	117	219	
 	1972–1976	119	77 	132	209	
 	1994–1998	144	85 	112	197	
 	1967–1971	89 	98 	95 	193	
 	1975–1979	135	91 	101	192	
 	1972–1976	108	87 	88 	175	
 	1974–1978	107	72 	102	174	
 	1975–1979	131	71 	103	174	
 	1988–1992	140	85 	89 	174	
===Career goaltending leaders===
GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
minimum 30 games played
Player	Years 	GP 	Min 	W 	L 	T 	GA 	SO	SV% 	GAA
 	1998–2001	93 	5580	57	23	12	202	1 	.915	2.18
 	2004–2008	112	6599	70	29	10	250	9 	.928	2.27
 	2011–2014	97 	5637	48	36	8 	218	9 	.923	2.32
 	2002–2006	55 	2904	27	13	6 	119	2 	.917	2.46
 	2000–2004	102	5755	58	25	12	239	12	.914	2.49
Statistics current through the start of the 2019–20 season.
==Current roster==
As of September 17, 2020.
==Awards and honors==
===Hockey Hall of Fame===
*Rod Langway (2002)
===US Hockey Hall of Fame===
*Charlie Holt (1997)
*Rod Langway (1999)
===NCAA===
====Individual awards====
Hobey Baker Award
*Jason Krog: 1999
Spencer Penrose Award
*Charlie Holt: 1969, 1974, 1979
*Dick Umile: 1999
NCAA Scoring Champion
*Louis Frigon: 1971
*Jason Krog: 1999
*Tyler Kelleher: 2017
====All-American teams====
AHCA First Team All-Americans
*1960–61: Rod Blackburn, G
*1972–73: Gordie Clark, F
*1973–74: Cap Raeder, G; Gordie Clark, F
*1975–76: Cliff Cox, F; Jamie Hislop, F
*1976–77: Tim Burke, D; Bob Miller, F
*1977–78: Ralph Cox, F
*1978–79: Ralph Cox, F
*1981–82: Andy Brickley, F
*1997–98: Mark Mowers, F
*1998–99: Jason Krog, F
*2000–01: Ty Conklin, G
*2001–02: Darren Haydar, F; Colin Hemingway, F
*2003–04: Steve Saviano, F
*2004–05: Sean Collins, F
*2007–08: Kevin Regan, G; Mike Radja, F
*2009–10: Bobby Butler, F
*2010–11: Blake Kessel, D; Paul Thompson, F
*2012–13: Trevor van Riemsdyk, F
*2015–16: Andrew Poturalski, F
AHCA Second Team All-Americans
*1990–91: Jeff Levy, G
*1991–92: Domenic Amodeo, F
*1996–97: Tim Murray, D; Jason Krog, F
*1998-99: Jayme Filipowicz, D
*1999–00: Ty Conklin, G
*2002–03: Mike Ayers, G; Lanny Gare, F; Colin Hemingway, F
*2004–05: Brian Yandle, D
*2005–06: Brian Yandle, D
*2006–07: Trevor Smith, D
*2007–08: Brad Flaishans, D; Matt Fornataro, F
*2009–10: Brian Foster, G; Blake Kessel, D
*2016–17: Tyler Kelleher, F
===ECAC Hockey===
====Individual awards====
Player of the Year
*Ralph Cox, C: 1979
Rookie of the Year
*Bob Miller, F: 1975
*Normand Lacombe, RW: 1982
Most Outstanding Player in Tournament
*Greg Moffett, G: 1979
====All-Conference teams====
First Team All-ECAC Hockey
*1971–72: Gordie Clark, F; Guy Smith, F
*1972–73: Gordie Clark, F
*1973–74: Gordie Clark, F
*1974–75: Jamie Hislop, F
*1975–76: Jamie Hislop, F
*1976–77: Bob Miller, F
*1977–78: Ralph Cox, F
*1978–79: Ralph Cox, F
*1981–82: Andy Brickley, F
*1997–98: Mark Mowers, F
*1998–99: Jason Krog, F
*2000–01: Ty Conklin, G
*2001–02: Darren Haydar, F; Colin Hemingway, F
*2003–04: Steve Saviano, F
*2004–05: Sean Collins, F
*2007–08: Kevin Regan, G; Mike Radja, F
*2009–10: Bobby Butler, F
*2010–11: Blake Kessel, D; Paul Thompson, F
*2012–13: Trevor van Riemsdyk, F
*2015–16: Andrew Poturalski, F
Second Team All-ECAC Hockey
*1968–69: Rick Metzer, G
*1973–74: Cap Raeder, G
*1975–76: Cliff Cox, F; Tim Burke, F
*1976–77: Tim Burke, D
*1978–79: Greg Moffett, G; Bob Gould, F
*1982–83: Normand Lacombe, F
*1983–84: Bruce Gillies, G; Brian Byrnes, D
===Hockey East===
====Individual awards====
Player of the Year
*Jason Krog, C: 1999
*Ty Conklin, G: 2000
*Darren Haydar, RW: 2002
*Mike Ayers, G: 2003
*Steve Saviano, LW: 2004
*Kevin Regan, G: 2008
*Bobby Butler, RW: 2010
*Paul Thompson, RW: 2011
Rookie of the Year
*Jeff Levy, G: 1991
*Mark Mowers, C: 1995
*Darren Haydar, RW: 1999
*Sean Collins, C: 2002
Best Defensive Forward
*John Sadowski, F: 2000
*Preston Callander, F: 2005
Len Ceglarski Award
*Joe Flanagan, C: 1992
*Todd Hall, D: 1996
*Steve Saviano, LW: 2004
Best Defensive Defenseman
*Steve O'Brien: 1999
*Joe Charlebois: 2008
Three-Stars Award
*Colin Hemingway: 2002
*Bobby Butler: 2010
*Paul Thompson: 2011
*John Henrion: 2013
*Tyler Kelleher: 2017
Coach of the Year
*Dick Umile: 1991, 1997, 1997, 2002, 2007, 2010
Tournament Most Valuable Player
*Darren Haydar, RW: 2002
====All-Conference teams====
First Team All-Hockey East
*1994–95: Eric Flinton, F
*1995–96: Todd Hall, D; Mark Mowers, F
*1996–97: Tim Murray, D; Eric Boguniecki, F; Mark Mowers, F; Jason Krog, F
*1997–98: Jason Krog, F
*1998–99: Jayme Filipowicz, D; Jason Krog, F
*1999–00: Ty Conklin, G
*2000–01: Ty Conklin, G
*2001–02: Darren Haydar, F; Colin Hemingway, F
*2002–03: Mike Ayers, G; Lanny Gare, F
*2003–04: Steve Saviano, F
*2006–07: Trevor Smith, F
*2007–08: Kevin Regan, G; Brad Flaishans, D; Mike Radja, F
*2009–10: Brian Foster, G; Blake Kessel, D; Bobby Butler, F
*2010–11: Blake Kessel, D; Paul Thompson, F
*2012–13: Trevor van Riemsdyk, D
*2015–16: Andrew Poturalski, F
*2016–17: Tyler Kelleher, F
Second Team All-Hockey East
*1990–91: Jeff Levy, G
*1991–92: Scott Morrow, F
*1992–93: Rob Donovan, F
*1997–98: Derek Bekar, F; Mark Mowers, F
*1998-99: Ty Conklin, G; Darren Haydar, F
*1999–00: Michael Souza, F; Darren Haydar, F
*2001–02: Mike Ayers, G; Garrett Stafford, D
*2002–03: Colin Hemingway, F
*2004–05: Brian Yandle, D; Sean Collins, F
*2005–06: Brian Yandle, D; Daniel Winnik, F
*2006–07: Chris Murray, D
*2007–08: Craig Switzer, D; Matt Fornataro, F
*2008–09: James van Riemsdyk, F
*2013–14: Eric Knodel, D; Kevin Goumas, F
*2016–17: Tyler Kelleher, F
Third Team All-Hockey East
Hockey East All-Rookie Team
*1984–85: Stephen Leach, F
*1987–88: Pat Morrison, G; Chris Winnes, F
*1990–91: Jeff Levy, G
*1993–94: Tim Murray, D; Eric Boguniecki, F
*1994–95: Mark Mowers, F
*1995–96: Derek Bekar, F
*1996–97: Sean Matile, G; Michael Souza, F
*1997–98: Matthias Trattnig, F
*1998–99: Ty Conklin, G; Darren Haydar, F
*2001–02: Sean Collins, F
*2003–04: Brett Hemingway, F
*2004–05: Kevin Regan, G
*2007–08: James van Riemsdyk, F
*2011–12: Casey DeSmith, G; Trevor van Riemsdyk, D
*2016–17: Patrick Grasso, F
==Program Records==
===Hockey East===
====Individual====
*Most Career Short-Handed Goals: Mark Mowers; 8
*Longest Goalie Win Streak: Kevin Regan; 11
==New Hampshire Wildcats Hall of Fame==
The following is a list of people associated with the New Hampshire men's ice hockey program who were elected into the New Hampshire Wildcats Hall of Fame (induction date in parenthesis).
*Gordie Clark (1982)
*Ernest Christensen (1982)
*Rod Blackburn (1983)
*Cliff Cox (1983)
*Jamie Hislop (1983)
*A. Barr Snively (1983)
*Hank Swasey (1983)
*Tim Burke (1984)
*Lou Frigon (1985)
*Russell Martin (1986)
*Roger Magenau (1986)
*Josiah Bartlett (1986)
*Ralph Cox (1986)
*Howard Hanley (1987)
*Graham Bruder (1987)
*John Gray (1987)
*Bob Gould (1988)
*William Weir (1989)
*Cap Raeder (1989)
*Charlie Holt (1989)
*Mickey Goulet (1990)
*Rod Langway (1990)
*Albert Brodeur (1991)
*J. Allan Clark (1991)
*Edward Noel (1991)
*Greg Moffett (1992)
*Horace "Pepper" Martin (1993)
*R. Braden Houston (1993)
*Frank Roy (1993)
*Dick Umile (1994)
*Bob Miller (1994)
*Donald Perkins (1995)
*Michael Ontkean (1995)
*Herbert Merrill (1996)
*Raymond March Jr. (1996)
*Guy Smith (1996)
*David Lumley (1997)
*Raymond Patten (1997)
*Andy Brickley (1998)
*Kenneth McKinnon (1999)
*Bob Towse (2000)
*Richard David (2000)
*Kevin Dean (2000)
*Bob Towse (2000)
*Don Otis (2001)
*Peter Van Buskirk (2001)
*Paul Powers (2003)
*Jason Krog (2005)
*Mark Mowers (2006)
*Ty Conklin (2008)
*Dave O’Connor (2008)
*Darren Haydar (2012)
==Wildcats in the NHL==
	= NHL All-Star Team		= NHL All-StarPlayers are identified as an All-Star if they were selected for the All-Star game at any time in their career.			= NHL All-Star and NHL All-Star Team		= Hall of Famers
Player 	Position 	Team(s) 	Years 	
Derek Bekar 	Center 	STL, LAK, NYI 	1999–2004 	0
Eric Boguniecki	Center 	FLA, STL, PIT, NYI 	1999–2007 	0
Andy Brickley 	Left Wing 	PHI, PIT, NJD, BOS, WPG 	1982–1994 	0
Gary Burns 	Forward 	NYR 	1980–1982 	0
Bobby Butler 	Right Wing	OTT, NJD, NSH, FLA 	2009–2014 	0
Matt Campanale 	Defenseman	NYI 	2010–2011 	0
Gordie Clark 	Right Wing	BOS 	1974–1976 	0
Ty Conklin 	Goaltender	EDM, CBJ, BUF, PIT, DET, STL	2001–2012 	0
Bruce Crowder 	Forward 	BOS, PIT 	1981–1985 	0
Kevin Dean 	Defenseman	, ATL, DAL, CHI 	1994–2001 	1
Casey DeSmith 	Goaltender	PIT 	2017–Present	0
Peter Douris 	Right Wing	WPG, BOS, ANA, DAL 	1985–1998 	0
Warren Foegele 	Left Wing 	CAR 	2017–Present	0
Jon Fontas 	Center 	MNS 	1979–1981 	0
Brian Foster 	Goaltender	FLA 	2011–2012 	0
Bobby Francis 	Center 	DET 	1982–1983 	0
Jamie Fritsch 	Defenseman	PHI 	2008–2009 	0
Bobby Gould 	Left Wing 	ATF, CGY, WSH, BOS 	1979–1990 	0
Darren Haydar 	Right Wing	NSH, ATL, COL 	2002–2010 	0
Colin Hemingway	Forward 	STL 	2005–2006 	0
Jamie Hislop 	Forward 	QUE, CGY 	1979–1984 	0
Jason Krog 	Left Wing 	NYI, ANA, ATL, NYR, VAN 	1999–2010 	0
Normand Lacombe	Right Wing	BUF, , PHI 	1984–1991 	1
Player 	Position 	Team(s) 	Years 	
Rod Langway 	Defenseman	, WSH 	1978–1993 	1
Jeff Lazaro 	Right Wing	BOS, OTT 	1990–1993 	0
Steve Leach 	Right Wing	WSH, BOS, STL, CAR, OTT, PHO, PIT 	1985–2000 	0
Peter LeBlanc 	Left Wing 	WSH 	2013–2014 	0
Dave Lumley 	Forward 	MTL, , HFD 	1978–1987 	2
Bob Miller 	Wing 	BOS, COR, LAK 	1977–1985 	0
Jay Miller 	Left Wing 	BOS, LAK 	1985–1992 	0
Scott Morrow 	Left Wing 	CGY 	1994–1995 	0
Mark Mowers 	Center 	NSH, DET, BOS, ANA 	1998–2008 	0
Bryan Muir 	Defenseman	EDM, NJD, CHI, TBL, , LAK, WSH 	1995–2007 	1
Eric Nickulas 	Right Wing	BOS, STL, CHI 	1998–2006 	0
Brett Pesce 	Defenseman	CAR 	2015–Present	0
Adrien Plavsic 	Defenseman	STL, VAN, TBL, ANA 	1989–1997 	0
Andrew Poturalski 	Forward 	CAR 	2016–2017 	0
Chris Pryor 	Defenseman	MNS, NYI 	1984–1990 	0
Mike Sislo 	Right Wing	NJD 	2013–2016 	0
Trevor Smith 	Center 	NYI, TBL, PIT, TOR, NSH 	2008–2017 	0
Garrett Stafford 	Defenseman	DET, DAL, PHO 	2007–2011 	0
Paul Thompson 	Right Wing	NJD, FLA 	2015–2017 	0
James van Riemsdyk 	Left Wing 	PHI, TOR 	2009–Present	0
Trevor van Riemsdyk	Defenseman	, CAR 	2014–Present	1
Chris Winnes 	Right Wing	BOS, PHI 	1990–1994 	0
Daniel Winnik 	Left Wing 	PHO, COL, SJS, ANA, TOR, PIT, WSH, MIN	2007–2018 	0
File:Ty Conklin on the ice during warm ups.jpg|Ty Conklin
File:Casey DeSmith and Sidney Crosby 2017-12-09 17847.jpg|Casey DeSmith
File:Warren Foegele (39958893991).jpg|Warren Foegele
File:Peter LeBlanc IceHogs.jpg|Peter LeBlanc
File:Bryan Muir.jpg|Bryan Muir
File:Mike Sislo - New Jersey Devils.jpg|Mike Sislo
File:Trevor Smith 2012-02-25.JPG|Trevor Smith
File:James van Riemsdyk 2012-04-021.JPG|James van Riemsdyk
File:Daniel Winnik.jpg|Daniel Winnik
===WHA===
Several players also were members of WHA teams.
Player 	Position 	Team(s) 	Years 	
Gordie Clark 	Right Wing	CIN 	1978–1979	0
John Gray 	Center 	PHX, HOU,	1974–1979	1
Jamie Hislop 	Forward 	CIN 	1976–1979	0
Gary Jacquith	Defenseman	SDM 	1975–1976	0
Rod Langway 	Defenseman	BIR 	1977–1978	0
Cap Raeder 	Goaltender	NEW 	1975–1977	0
Guy Smith 	Left Wing 	 	1972–1974	1
==See also==
* New Hampshire Wildcats women's ice hockey
* New Hampshire Wildcats
* New Hampshire–Dartmouth rivalry
* New Hampshire–Maine hockey rivalry
==References==
==External links==
* New Hampshire Wildcats men's ice hockey
 
Category:Ice hockey teams in New Hampshire