FAIRFIELD, Conn. - Senior forward Nick Cafarelli (Middleton, Mass.) posted his first career two-goal game as the No. 16 University of New Hampshire men's hockey team defeated Sacred Heart, 6-2, on Saturday evening at the Martire Family Arena. The Wildcats went 3-4 on the power play.
The Wildcats improve to 9-5-1, while the Pioneers fall to 8-8-1.
UNH's 9-5-1 start to the season is its best in six years when the Wildcats were also 9-5-1 in 2017-18.
UP NEXT:
- The 'Cats return to action versus Princeton on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 5-6 on ESPN+ at the Whittemore Center at Key Auto Group Complex. The game on Friday is at 7 p.m. presented by Army ROTC as the first 1,000 fans will receive a 2024 UNH Men's Hockey Calendar, while hot dogs are just $1 at the 4 p.m. contest on Saturday.
- Go to UNHWildcats.com/Tickets.or call the ticket office at (603) 862-4000 to catch the most exciting family entertainment in New Hampshire.
Score: #16 New Hampshire 6, Sacred Heart 2 Records: UNH (9-5-1); SHU (8-8-1) Location: Fairfield, Conn. (Martire Family Arena) Date: Saturday, Dec. 30, 2023 Attendance: 3,368
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- At 14:48 of the first period, the Wildcats took a 1-0 lead when freshman forward Nick Ring (Hingham, Mass.) knocked in a rebound off a shot by senior defenseman Luke Reid (Warman, Saskatchewan) for the power play goal. Junior defenseman Luis Lindner (Spittal an der Drau, Austria) also posted an assist on the goal.
- UNH increased the lead to 2-0 at 3:34 of the second period when sophomore forward Stiven Sardarian (Saint Petersburg, Russia) sent a pass from behind the net to freshman forward Ryan Conmy (Alexandria, Va.) who buried a one-timer from the slot to the upper glove side of the net for the power play goal. Junior defenseman Colton Huard (Foothill Ranch, Calif.) also recorded an assist.
- The Pioneers responded at 6:17 with a goal by Kevin Lombardi to cut their deficit to 2-1.
- The Cats took back their two-goal lead when sophomore forward Kristaps Skrastins (Grobina, Latvia) fired a shot from the slot to the back of the net at 9:29. Junior forward Robert Cronin (Plymouth, Mass.) and Conmy each had an assist.
- The Wildcats then scored their third power play goal of the night to move out to a 4-1 advantage when Cafarelli scored on a backhander off a rebound from a shot by Lindner at 10:09. Sophomore forward Morgan Winters (Osprey, Fla.) posted an assist.
- UNH scored its fourth goal of the period at 17:15 when Winters fired a shot from the right faceoff circle. Skrastins and senior defenseman Nikolai Jenson (Cold Spring, Minn.) tallied assists.
- T.J. Walsh scored for the Pioneers at 3:00 of the third period to make it a 5-2 contest.
- Cafarelli netted his second goal of the game at 9:14 for the 6-2 final. Junior captain Alex Gagne (Bedford, N.H.) posted an assist.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- UNH outshot SHU, 30-27.
- The Wildcats went 3-4 on the power play, while the Pioneers went 1-2.
- Junior goaltender Jakob Hellsten (Ljusdal, Sweden) recorded 24 saves to improve to 5-2-1 on the season, while Justin Robbins tallied 24 saves.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
- The goal by Ring was his second of the season and his first collegiate power play goal.
- Skrastins and Lindner each posted their first multiple point game as Wildcats.
- Conmy leads the team with eight goals, 11 assists and 19 points. He has seven multi-point games this season.
- The two goals by Cafarelli were a career best.
- The six goals scored tonight by the Wildcats tied their season high as UNH also scored six in the 6-4 win over No. 1 Boston University on Oct. 13.
- The Wildcats are now 2-0-1 all-time versus the Pioneers.
