Wins over a trio of ranked opponents — including the preseason No. 1 team in the country — have put New Hampshire in the national spotlight as the college hockey season enters its second month.
But what really exemplifies the Wildcats’ success, in the eyes of sixth-year coach Mike Souza, was a play that occurred in the final seconds of Thursday’s 4-1 win over Northeastern.
With the team up three goals, UNH senior forward Harrison Blaisdell went low to block a blazing one-timer off the stick of Northeastern’s Braden Doyle from high in the slot.
Blaisdell didn’t have to put himself in the path of the puck, which drilled him right in the gut — a UNH win was all but assured at that point. But the tenaciousness on display by was characteristic of the grittiness that now has the Wildcats in the USCHO.com men’s Division I poll for the first time in almost six years.
“We talk all the time, no matter the score, no matter the situation, you play the game the right way,” Souza said. “That was a huge play by Harrison. The bench went crazy, and I thought that’s a good sign.”
The Wildcats find themselves at No. 15 in the latest USCHO.com Division I men’s poll after wins vs. Boston University (then No. 1) and Northeastern (then 17) and a split vs. then-No. 4 and defending NCAA champion Quinnipiac (ECAC Hockey). It’s the first national ranking for UNH in more than five years. The Wildcats now enjoy a 4-1-0 record, their best start to a season since winning five straight to begin the 2017-18 campaign
Perhaps more importantly, Souza said his team — which was 11-21-3 last season and picked to finish 10th out of 11 schools in this year’s Hockey East preseason coaches’ poll — enters every matchup believing it can win.
“Believability has a lot to do with it,” Souza said. “Confidence in yourself as an individual — it spreads to the group.”
Currently the Wildcats are led in scoring by freshman Ryan Conmy (1-6-7), sophomore Cy LeClerc (3-3-6) and junior Liam Devlin (2-4-6). Sophomore goalie Tyler Muszelik has posted a 2-1 record with a 3.92 goals-against average and .864 save percentage. Junior Jacob Hellsten backstopped the games vs. Northeastern and Dartmouth, allowing a goal apiece in each game with a .951 save percentage.
While players and coaches often say they don’t pay attention to rankings or predictions, but to be picked next to last by the coaches definitely stung for UNH and has been a source of motivation.
“We talk about that a lot,” said Devlin, a forward. “Going into this season, (we) didn’t get much respect in the rankings. Every game, we’re just going to try to prove ourselves, keep climbing up those rankings, earn as many points as possible, try to show the rest of the league that we’re here to play this year.”
A scheduling quirk that had UNH playing in the first two all-Hockey East matchups of the season had, as of last Thursday night, a full six points ahead of the rest of the league. While Souza has no delusions about the Wildcats’ standing — like a runner starting on the outside lane of the 200-meter dash knows he isn’t really ahead — it’s also not lost on him the importance of league points, no matter the point of the season in which they come.
“The points are all vital, right?” Souza said. “We want to get as many as we can. (Getting) six of six is a good way to start.”
