NEW HAMPSHIRE DEFEATS BOSTON UNIVERSITY, 4-1
Sophomore goaltender Casey DeSmith stops 24 shots for Wildcats

Sophomore goaltender Casey DeSmith made 24 saves for the Wildcats

DURHAM, N.H. - John Henrion (Holden, Mass.) and Nick Sorkin (Rockville, Md.) scored first-period goals 18 seconds apart to turn a one-goal deficit into a one-goal lead and propel the 15th-ranked University of New Hampshire men's ice hockey team to Saturday night's 4-1 victory against 11th-ranked Boston University at the Whittemore Center.

UNH remains unbeaten this season at 3-0-0 overall and 1-0-0 in Hockey East while BU moves to 1-1-0 both overall and in league play.

Ten different Wildcats recorded a point in a balanced attack. The other goal scorers were Eric Knodel (West Chester, Pa.) and Scott Pavelski (Plover, Wis.), while Casey DeSmith (Rochester, N.H.) finished with 24 saves.

BU starting goalie Sean Maguire exited the game with the Terriers trailing 4-1 at 12:19 of the second period and 10 saves to his credit. Matt O'Connor went the rest of the way and stopped all 15 shots he faced, including 13 in the third period.

Boston University took a 1-0 lead 43 seconds into the first period when Wade Megan notched his first goal of the season. Megan received the puck from Evan Rodrigues and fired a shot that hit DeSmith and bounced into the net.

The Wildcats responded at 8:52 with their first goal of the night when Henrion rifled a shot past Maquire into the net for his second goal of the season. Casey Thrush (Easton, Md.) dished the puck to Henrion to earn his second of the season. Just 18 seconds later, Sorkin gave the Wildcats a 2-1 lead with his second goal of the year. Sorkin found the puck at the top of the crease and stuffed it into the net for the goal. Connor Hardowa (Edmonton, Alberta) and Dalton Speelman (San Jose, Calif.) assisted Sorkin on the play, tallying their fifth and third assists of the season, respectively.

BU opened the second period on the power play and tested DeSmith, but the UNH netminder turned aside Matt Nieto's close-range shot to preserve the Wildcats' one-goal lead.

The Terriers were whistled for hooking at 1:24 and six seconds later Eric Knodel (West Chester, Pa.) ripped a shot from the top of the right circle into the upper-left corner of the net to extend the lead to 3-1. Kevin Goumas (Long Beach, N.Y.), who drew the faceoff back to Knodel, was credited with an assist.

New Hampshire struck again at 6:42 to extend the advantage to 4-1. Dan Correale (Prince George, British Columbia) led a rush into the attack zone and advanced the puck ahead to Matt Willows (Congers, N.Y.) in the right circle. Willows fanned on a shot at the faceoff dot but maintained possession and carried into the corner, where he dropped the puck back to Scott Pavelski (Plover, Wis.), whose low wrister trickled underneath Maguire and across the goal line. It marked the first career assist and point for Correale.

UNH nearly potted another goal at 12:16, when Grayson Downing (Abbottsford, British Columbia) corralled a loose puck in the slot and snapped a shot that beat Maguire but ricocheted off the crossbar.

A scrum in front of DeSmith resulted in five total penalties and a power play for BU at 16:49. The Terriers were limited to one shot during that skater advantage.

The 'Cats were once again denied by the iron of the cage when Downing, who collected Speelman's outlet pass, skated alone down the slot and fired a shot that caromed off the post five minutes into the third period.

UNH went on a power play at 6:19, but BU nearly netted a shorthanded goal moments later. From behind the net, Matt Neito centered the puck low in the slot to Alexx Privitera but his one-timer was stopped by DeSmith.

The parade of Terriers to the penalty box continued at 13:59 and 15:15 to give New Hampshire a 5-on-3 advantage for 44 seconds, but UNH was unable to extend its lead.

BU pulled O'Connor in favor of an extra skater with 2:11 remaining and went on a power play at 18:48 to gain a two-skater advantage. The 'Cats kept the Terriers at bay the rest of the way, however, by allowing just one shot in the last 1:12 of the game.

New Hampshire returns to action Friday, Oct. 26 against Northeastern. Puck drops at 7:30 p.m. at the Whittemore Center. The game will air live on WBIN-TV regionally and nationally on FOX College Sports Atlantic. Tickets to the Northeastern game and all UNH home games are on sale at UNHWildcats.com.