DURHAM, N.H. – A word to the wise, or more specifically, the underclassmen of the Northeastern men’s hockey team: Listen to your veteran teammates.
“I haven’t been in [New Hampshire’s Whittemore Center] for 10 years but one of the things I’ve been finding out is that we’ve got players that have been here for a couple years, maybe three or even four years, and they’ve got bad memories of this building,” coach Greg Cronin said. “I don’t even know what NU’s record is here and what we’ve done. But I heard a couple of [the upperclassmen] talking on the way in about that, and it puzzled me.”
It no longer puzzled Cronin after the team’s 3-0 shutout loss on Saturday. Before 6,501, UNH (4-3-1, 3-1-0) increased its commanding home record of 15-1-3 against the Huskies. It sent NU home winless, as the Huskies (0-6-1, 0-3-1) lost 6-4 the night before to the Wildcats at Matthews Arena.
Following five games in eight nights, NU receives a much-needed break this week.
On Friday against Massachusetts and Tuesday against Providence, both home tilts, it’ll be up to NU to fight away any further memories of the team’s 2003-04 record-setting 0-9-2 start.
“The funny thing is, I told them after the game, you’ve played top-10 North Dakota twice, you’ve played top-10 BC, top-10 Vermont and now UNH twice,” Cronin said. “Six out of the seven games have been nationally ranked teams. I’ve just got to get them to believe in themselves. I don’t care who you are, if you lose games, you’re losing believability [in yourself]. And believability is a critical piece of the psychological puzzle.”
Part of the team’s inability to score Saturday was its lack of endurance, as the tough stretch of hockey put a burden on the team even before it hit Route 1 for New Hampshire.
This inability affected the team’s chances to mount a comeback after a quick first-shift goal from the Wildcats and its ability to curtail its ongoing power play struggles.
“What happens when you get tired is that your brain starts to go,” Cronin said. “We had a five-minute power play late, and then a five-on-three. Then, we have guys burying their heads and blasting shots. We shot into their defensemen like three of four times. That’s a reflection of guys that are tired.”
The Huskies are young, and their youth is hurting their play when down early, or when trying to fight off an imposing power play setup on a nationally-ranked opponent. Cronin is doing his best to change this.
“They made it 3-0, even with a five-minute major,” Cronin said. “We sunk, and they fed off the energy. That’s something we’ve been dealing with all year. We’re a young team and it seems to be a trend that when we get scored on, the third goal or whatever it is, that we’ll sink.”
UNH got the Wildcat faithful going strong just 48 seconds in. Forward Daniel Winnik hit a shot off the post from the right side and the puck trickled to the left faceoff circle, where defenseman Craig Switzer blasted home a goal past NU goalie Adam Geragosian (38 saves).
In the second period, first-line right wing sophomore Jacob Micflikier put home another easy goal. Five seconds into a five-on-three, Switzer induced an NU defenseman out of position before sending it to Micflikier alone in the right faceoff circle. Micflikier had time to set up and fire off a picturesque slap shot. Goal.
At the 8:02 mark in the third, UNH put the game away for good on Mike Radja’s easy rebound shot directly in front of the goal. UNH outshot the Huskies 41-27, opening up their big lead in scoring opportunities in the third with a 19-8 advantage.
The Wildcats never let up either, as Geragosian was on the edge even in the final minute.
On a two-on-one with Winnik and Micflikier, Micflikier deked Geragosian near the goal and barely missed putting it past the junior in the corner.
“Honestly, I think it was the best we played defensively all season,” said UNH goalie Kevin Regan, who made 27 saves. “The way our defense was playing, you could tell that [NU] wasn’t going to get any scoring chances and on my part, it was about not letting a weak one get through.”
On Friday night, NU lost 6-4 but had its first hat trick since 2002 when freshman Ryan Ginand produced three quick scores in the second period. Defenseman Steve Birnstill added three assists to help the Huskies build a 3-2 lead before letting No. 13 UNH finish off the contest in the third with two scores.
“New Hampshire turned it up when they had to turn it up,” Cronin said. “They’re a mature team. It was 3-2, they sunk a little bit, but they captured some momentum on their power plays. They’re a veteran team.”
UNH coach Dick Umile praised the Huskies’ style of play, but also was quick to point out where his team has the advantage.
“Greg’s got his team playing hard,” Umile said on Saturday after the second win. “[Friday] they played well. Tonight, we took it away from them in [the] third period. We’re a bit more experienced.”
