Tentative 1993-94 UNH Men's Ice Hockey Schedule
===============================================
October
-------
S 16 ACADIA (Canada) Exhibition
F 22 at Dalhousie, NS NC
S 23 at Dalhousie, NS NC
F 29 ST. LAWRENCE NC
S 30 VERMONT NC
November
--------
F 5 at Air Force NC
S 6 at Air Force NC
F 12 PROVIDENCE HE
S 13 at Providence HE
T 16 at RPI NC
F 19 at Boston College HE
S 20 BOSTON COLLEGE HE
S/S 27/28 at Great Western
Freeze-out with
Clarkson, Denver
and Miami NC/NC
December
--------
F 3 at Lowell HE
S 4 LOWELL HE
F 10 Maine (at Portland) NC
S 11 at Northeastern HE
W/T 29/30 at Catamount Christmas
Tournament with BU,
Dartmouth and UVM NC/NC
January
-------
F 7 MERRIMACK HE
S 8 at Merrimack HE
W 12 at Northeastern HE
F 14 NORTHEASTERN HE
F 21 at Boston University HE
S 22 BOSTON UNIVERSITY HE
F 28 at Providence HE
S 29 Providence HE
February
--------
F 4 at Maine HE
S 5 at Maine HE
F 11 BOSTON UNIVERSITY HE
S 12 MERRIMACK HE
F 18 at Boston College HE
S 19 BOSTON COLLEGE HE
F 25 LOWELL HE
S 26 at Lowell HE
March
-----
S 5 MAINE HE
F 11 Hockey East Quarterfinal
(campus sites)
S 12 Hockey East Quarterfinal
(campus sites)
F 18 Hockey East Championship
(Boston Garden)
S 19 Hockey East Championship
(Boston Garden)
============================================
Summary
-------
HE League Games 24 (4 x 3 in "division;" 3 x 4 "extra-division"
Non-Conference Games 12 (2 vs. Canadian squad exempt
from NC$$ 34 Game Limit)
Some Comments:
-------------
* This is apparently the final year of the traditional Auld Lang Syne
Christmas/New Year's Tournament that rotated amongst UNH, UVM and
Dartmouth as host school. In past years UNH has been unable to accept
invitations to other Christmas Tournaments (such as the Badger Show-
down) because of its long-standing committment to the ALS Tourney. But
Wildcat coach Dick Umile has sought in recent years to broaden the UNH
recruiting base, and feels that one proven way to do this is to play as
possible in a greater number of Tournaments away from the familiar New
England venues (hence, UNH's participation in next season's Great
Western Freeze-out). For its part, Vermont has expressed a desire to
host an annual tournament in Gutterson Field House, so apart from the
teams involved, the upcoming ALS Tournament is both the end of one
tradition, and the beginning of another .... What Dartmouth thinks of
this is unclear; can anyone (Bob Gross ??) comment from the Big Green
perspective ??
* The UNH-Maine NC matchup at Portland is also to be an Annual Event, with
New Hampshire and Maine alternating each year as host/home team.
In other UNH News:
-----------------
William Sangray writes:
>The new Arena for the Gophers is going to be a really nice place to watch
>hockey. The ice surface is large, which may change the way teams play, as
>it will favor more wide-open hockey. The sight lines for fans are excellent;
>no posts or pillars anywhere.
A sketch of the (as yet) unnamed replacement for aging Snively Arena was
unveiled at the Annual Friends of Hockey Banquet. It most closely resembles
Dartmouth's Thompson Arena, i.e., a deep bowl with rows of individually-
backed chair-type seats (quite a change from the collapsible wooden bleachers
in Snively :-) rising to a concourse level that rings the entire Arena. No
posts or pillars here either :-) Long-time HOCKEY-L readers may remember my
earlier praise for the unmatched sightlines and general beauty of Thompson
Arena, so the architects will get no complaints from me (so long as the
seats are molded in Blue, not Green :-) Other highlights include an Olympic
sized (100x200) ice surface, increased seating for ca. 6000 fans, and multiple
(wow !!) rest room and concession facilities at either end. Snively Arena is
to be renovated into a tri-level Student Recreation Center for racquetball,
tennis, basketball, etc., with an enclosed skyway connection to the new Arena
to the north. "Holt" Arena should be a beauty ....
In light of recent HOCKEY-L postings re: inflated penalty minute totals
for various CCHA/ECAC players, I think it's worth pointing out that UNH
senior defenseman Jim McGrath was honored at the Friends Banquet as the
least penalized every-day player on the Wildcats last season: 0 (that's
right, zero) penalty minutes despite playing a regular shift in all 38 of
UNH's games last season. How you can be a superbly effective defenseman
(his +/- rating was among the team leaders) and not take a SINGLE PENALTY
minute is amazing to me. Unfortunately for Jim, UNH laboured for much of
the season without an SID, so his singular talent(s) were not well known
outside of Durham. But the Snively (Ir)regulars knew, and cheered him long
and lustily at the Banquet ....
Hockey Night in Boston/Recruits:
-------------------------------
Incoming UNH freshman center Tom Nolan was voted the Prep School Player
of the Year by HNIB (and Mass. Prep School Offensive Player of the Year)
after leading (2-1-3) Avon Old Farms of Connecticut to the NEPSIHA DivI
championship, a 5-4 victory over St. Sebastian's. Junior Darren Quint
(Durham native and future Wildcat - we hope :-) had 4 assists in the
Championship Game. Eric Boguniecki (voted Conn. Prep School Player of the
Year by HNIB) and UNH's other recruits are also coming off fine seasons:
School G A Pts Last Year
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nolan, Tom C 5'10" 175 Avon Old Farms 27 34 61 53
Boguniecki, Eric C 5' 9" 195 Westminster Prep 33 25 58 65
Murray, Tim D 6' 1" 190 Notre Dame (SJHL) 9 31 40 --
Woodman, Dean D 6' 0" 190 Wexford (MJBHL) 8 28 36 --
*Larochelle, Brian G Phillips Exeter
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*will join UNH in 1994-95
Cheers from the Chesapeake - Jim
P.S. I second (or third, or .... ) the many flattering words directed to
Steve Manning, Dave Parter, et al. for the exceptionally fine job
turned in re: organizing the HOCKEY-L get together in Milwaukee. I
enjoyed it immensely; now it's on to Minneapolis/St. Paul :-)
Hopefully, I'll be able to drink the water ....
P.P.S. I also detoured to Madison on Sunday, and made a special trip to
visit the Dane County Coliseum :-) My guide told me that the ice
surface is to be expanded to 100x200 next season, necessitating
the removal of three rows of seats behind the glass. Presumably
everyone else's seats will slide up three rows, but what's to
become of the fans displaced from the uppermost three rows of the
Arena ?? I'd be a pretty ticked season ticket holder if I got
bumped right out of the Coliseum :-(
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