DURHAM, N.H. - Junior goaltender Jakob Hellsten (Ljusdal, Sweeden) recorded his second straight shutout and his fourth of the season with 18 saves, and sophomore forward Stiven Sardarian (Saint Petersburg, Russia) scored two goals as the No. 18 University of New Hampshire men's hockey team defeated UMass Lowell, 4-0, on Senior Night at the Whittemore Center at Key Auto Group Complex in Hockey East action. The Wildcats swept the two-game regular season series with the River Hawks as UNH also won 4-0 on Friday night on the road.
With the win, the Wildcats conclude the regular season at 19-14-1 (12-11-1 Hockey East), while the River Hawks fall to 8-23-4 (4-17-3 Hockey East).
With tonight's results, the Wildcats are the No. 6 seed in the Hockey East Tournament. UNH will play a home Opening Round game on Wednesday, March 13 at 7 p.m. versus No. 11 seed UMass Lowell. Tickets are on sale now on UNHWildcats.com/Tickets.or by calling the ticket office at (603) 862-4000.
UNH's 19-14-1 (.574) regular season record is its best in 11 years when the Wildcats went 18-9-7 (.632) in 2012-13. The 19 wins are the most in a regular season in 10 years when the 'Cats went 19-16-1 in 2013-14.
Before the game, student manager Andrew Silsby (Exeter, N.H.), goalie Raphael Gaughan (Somersworth, N.H.), goalie Jeremy Forman (Northbrook, Ill.), forward Cam Gendron (Hampstead, N.H.), forward Nick Cafarelli (Middleton, Mass.), defenseman Luke Reid (Warman, Saskatchewan) and alternate captain Nikolai Jenson (Cold Spring, Minn.) were honored before the game for their hard work and dedication to the program over the last four years.
Junior forward Liam Devlin (Needham, Mass.) was presented the Frank "The Fan" Halbert Fan Favorite Award as voted on by the fans.
Score: #18 New Hampshire 4, UMass Lowell 0
Records: UNH (19-14-1, 12-11-1 Hockey East); UML (8-23-4, 4-17-3 Hockey East)
Location: Durham, N.H. (Whittemore Center at Key Auto Group Complex)
Date: Saturday, March 9, 2024
Attendance: 5,885
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- At 10:37 of the first period, Sardarian stole the puck in the UML zone then skated to the net and sent a shot bar down for the power play goal to give the Wildcats the 1-0 lead.
- The Wildcats made it a 2-0 lead 55 seconds into the second period after Devlin fired a loose puck into the back of the net. Sophomore forward Cy LeClerc (Brentwood, N.H.) and freshman forward Ryan Conmy (Alexandria, Va.) each tallied an assist on the goal.
- Just 39 seconds later sophomore forward Morgan Winters (Osprey, Fla.) skated through UML defenders and then ripped a shot from the right circle to advance the Wildcats to a 3-0 lead.
- At 1:29 of the third period, the Wildcats made it 4-0 after LeClerc sent a pass to Sardarian who glided the puck past the UML goaltender to earn his second goal of the night on the power play. Devlin also recorded an assist on the goal.
- The 'Cats outshot the River Hawks, 36-18, while UNH went 2-6 on the power play and UML went 0-4.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
- This was Sardarian's second two-goal game of his career. His first was this season against Northeastern on Oct. 26.
- The last time the Wildcats recorded a back-to-back shutout performances was 2012 by Casey DeSmith against Maine and Vermont.
- The 'Cats have posted five shutouts this season.
- The 'Cats are 13-4-1 at home. The 13 wins are the most at home in 16 seasons when UNH went 14-4-1 in 2007-08.
