DURHAM, N.H. - Seven Wildcat skaters recorded two points and 14 tallied at least one point to lead the University of New Hampshire men's hockey team to Friday night's 7-3 Hockey East victory against the University of Massachusetts at the Whittemore Center.
UNH improved to 3-4-1 overall and 2-3-0 in Hockey East with its third consecutive victory, all during a current four-game homestand. UMass is now 1-4-2, 0-4-2.
Seven different players scored goals for the Wildcats with Grayson Downing (Abbottsford, British Columbia), Kevin Goumas (Long Beach, N.Y.), John Henrion (Holden, Mass.) Stevie Moses (Leominster, Mass.) and Dalton Speelman (San Jose, Calif.) all recorded a goal and an assist while both Austin Block (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) and Nick Sorkin (Rockville, Md.) tallied two assists. Sorkin now owns a six-game point-scoring stretch.
UNH goaltender Matt Di Girolamo (Ambler, Pa.), the reigning Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week, made double-digit saves in both the first (10) and third (12) periods en route to a 29-save effort. UMass goalie Kevin Boyle entered the game with UMass trailing 3-2 just 35 seconds into the second period and exited 10:40 later with the Minutemen trailing 5-2. He was charged the loss in the two-save effort. Starting netminder Steve Mastalerz played a total of 49:20, yielded five goals and was credited with 23 saves.
The teams combined to score five first-period goals and UNH led 3-2 at the first intermission. UMass' T.J. Syner, with the assistance of Conor Sheary and Eric, Filiou, gave the visitors a 1-0 lead at 1:28, but the Wildcats responded with goals 84 seconds apart - at 2:17 and 3:41 - to quickly turn a one-goal deficit into a one-goal lead.
Goumas struck first for the 'Cats to tie the score on a goal set up by Block and Eric Knodel (West Chester, Pa.). Speelman put the puck in the net and, after review by the officials, the goal gave UNH a 2-1 lead. Sorkin and Moses were credited with assists.
UMass tied the score, 2-2, at 15:05 when Joel Hanley's shot from the left point ricocheted off a UNH defender at the faceoff dot and went between Di Girolamo's leg pads. Carzo Rocco, with the pass from the near circle, and Sheary set up the goal.
New Hampshire regained the lead, 3-2, with 5.4 seconds remaining in the first period. Henrion carried the puck into the offensive zone on the right wing, then Downing carried the puck into the corner before sending a return pass to Henrion. After eluding a sliding UMass skater, Henrion wristed a shot into the upper-right corner. Jeff Silengo (Madison, Conn.) was also credited with an assist.
UNH scored the first three goals of the second stanza in a span of 5:10 to build a 6-2 advantage. Brett Kostolansky (Denver, Colo.) made it 4-2 at 9:10 on a shot from the left point. Block, with the pass across the slot from the right point, and Goumas set up the tally.
Mike Borisenok (Watervliet, N.Y.) finished a feed from Casey Thrush (Easton, Md.) at 11:15 to give the 'Cats a three-goal lead - Kevin McCarey (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) was also credited with an assist. Speelman then centered a pass from behind the net and Moses scored from the low slot for a 6-2 cushion at 14:20. Sorkin earned his second assist on the play.
UMass' Sheary netted a power-play goal off a rebound in the slot to trim the deficit to 6-3 at 17:46 of the second period. Adam Phillips, whose initial shot from close range was blocked, and Troy Power set up the score.
UNH scored the only third-period goal on the power play at 9:13 when Downing scored off a rebound at the right post. Damon Kipp (Salmon Arm, British Columbia) initiated the sequence with a diagonal pass from the right point to Henrion, whose shot from the inner-left circle was stopped by Mastalerz.
Both teams scored a power play goal with UNH going 1-2 on the power play, while the Minutemen were 1-3 on the power play. Both teams netted 32 shots on net.
Di Girolamo earns his third-straight victory improving to 3-3-0. Boyle moves to 1-2-2, while Steve Mastalerz stopped 23 shots in 49:20 of game time in his first collegiate start.
The Wildcats conclude its four-game homestand against border rival University of Maine on Saturday night in the annual "White Out the Whitt" game. Fans are encouraged to wear white for the 7 p.m. game at Whittemore Center. For more information on UNH hockey log onto www.UNHWildcats.com.