Live: UNH vs. UMass

Welcome to the Whittemore Center, where the University of New Hampshire hockey team takes on the University of Massachusetts in the latest chapter of a border war that's resulted in a win for each side so far this season. The Wildcats enter losing to carry over the closing periods of last night's 1-1 tie with UMass-Lowell, while the Minutemen are looking for any signs of momentum. They've lost five of seven. Keep it here all night for all the details.

(We'll also be tweeting any scoring changes at twitter.com/monitorunh.)

		WILDCAT GAMECENTER
January 9, 2010 - Whittemore Center - Durham, NH
UNH 7 - MASSACHUSETTS 2  :  FINAL
UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE (9-7-4, 9-2-3)
LEFT WING	G-A-P	CENTER	G-A-P	RIGHT WING	G-A-P
Thompson	2-2-4	DeSimone	0-1-1	Butler	2-2-4
Burke	0-1-1	LeBlanc	0-2-2	Sislo	0-0-0
Speelman	0-0-0	Borisenok	0-0-0	Moses	1-0-1
McCarey	1-0-1	Manz	0-0-0	Pavelski	0-0-0
LEFT D'MAN	G-A-P	RIGHT D'MAN	G-A-P	GOALIE	Saves
Kostolansky	0-1-1	Kessel	1-2-3	Foster	26
Campanale	0-0-0	Kipp	0-0-0	DiGirolamo	NA
Krates	0-0-0	Beck	0-0-0	Scott	NA
UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS (11-8-0, 6-6-0)
LEFT WING	G-A-P	CENTER	G-A-P	RIGHT WING	G-A-P
Syner	1-0-1	Wellman	0-1-1	J. Marcou	0-0-0
Hobbs	0-0-0	Carzo	1-0-1	Ortiz	0-0-0
Keane	0-0-0	Watson	0-0-0	Concannon	0-0-0
Saunders	0-0-0	Czepiel	0-0-0	Olczyk	0-0-0
LEFT D'MAN	G-A-P	RIGHT D'MAN	G-A-P	GOALIE	Saves
Irwin	0-0-0	Braun	0-0-0	Meyers	26
Nolet	0-0-0	Rowe	0-0-0	Dainton	NA
Kublin	0-0-0	M. Marcou	0-0-0	(None dressed)	NA

*(Pregame) - A few changes tonight for the Wildcat lineup, as Stevie Moses slides back to the third line after playing last night with the second; Greg Burke trades spots with Moses; John Henrion and Austin Block are scratched as fourth liners in favor of Kevin McCarey and Scott Pavelski; and Nick Krates returns to the lineup in place of Connor Hardowa.

*(20:00) - We're underway here at the Whitt ... with a guarantee that UNH with a Hockey East lead of at least two points, and possibly as big as five.

*(15:21) - UNH gets the first power play of the night, as Matt Irwin goes off for interference. Good start for UNH, and it might get a lot better if they can take advantage here.

*(15:08) - 1-0 UNH - Well that didn't take long. Just 13 seconds into the man advantage, Blake Kessel fired a low wrister from between the tops of the circles and on the way to the net it was tipped home by Paul Thompson. It's the junior's ninth goal of the year; he had 10 total in his first two.

*(14:31) - 2-0 UNH - Before they could even announce the first goal, UNH gets a second. This time Thompson did the helping, sliding a pass across the low slot to Bobby Butler on the backdoor and the captain stuffed it into the short side. UNH is off to a white-hot start, with seven of the game's first nine shots.

*(10:00) - UMass has begun to pick things up in the last couple minutes, and nearly got on the board right there. Marc Canconnon tipped the rubber off the right post, and then it hit the rear of Foster's retreating skate, but it somehow stayed out of the net.

*(9:26) - Furthering the Minutemen momentum, Kevin McCarey is called for tripping and UMass -- which is converting better than 1 of 4 PP chances -- gets it first power play of the night.

*(7:26) - UNH survives the shorthand.

*(4:06) - The Wildcats again go down a man, and again a fourth liner is the culprit. Scott Pavelski goes to the box for tripping during an offensive-zone faceoff, and for the second straight shift his line leaves UNH at a disadvantage. Not the way to earn ice time later in the night, methinks.

*(3:23) - 3-0 UNH - This is shaping up as some kind of night for Paul Thompson and Bobby Butler. The two just combined for a shorthanded goal, their third connection of the night, at the end of a 2-on-1 that started at neutral ice. Butler carried in and once Thompson had half a step on his defender he got the puck. From there he showed impressive strength, keeping control of his stick despite the the defender on his back, and made a move on Meyers to put it home.

*(1:37) - 4-0 UNH - The Wildcats survived the penalty ... but that's merely bookkeeping after the move Kevin McCarey just pulled off to score his first career goal. Starting on the left wing in front of the UNH bench, he steamrolled into the zone, cut across the low slot, and sticked his way around Meyers before stuffing the rubber to the twine. Heck of a play.

*(0:00) - UNH leaves the ice to a standing ovation after perhaps its best period of the season. To sum it up: 4 goals for, 0 goals against, 1 power play goal, 1 shorthanded goal, 2-for-2 killing penalties, and a 13-7 advantage in shots. This could be a rout pretty soon.

*(19:37) - 4-1 UNH - The second period started where the first had left off, as UNH generated a great chance less than 15 seconds in, but Blake Kessel banged it off the post. And then things changed. The rebound popped out in a way that started UMass in transition, and T.J. Syner took full advantage, shrugging a defender to give himself a breakaway and beating Foster up top.

*(16:26) - 5-1 UNH - UMass certainly had the momentum after scoring its first goal, but UNH's captains took care of that threat before it really materialized. Peter LeBlanc brought the puck into the offensive zone, and rather than forcing the issue when nothing materialized, he patiently waited in the corner for something to open up. Eventually a lane cleared between himself and Bobby Butler coming off the bench -- and Butler teed up a wicked one-time slap shot that beat Dainton by the right skate. Butler's got two goals and four points now, while LeBlanc and Blake Kessel both have a couple of assists.

*(13:41) - UNH is only outshooting UMass 18-12 ... but when you're hot, you're hot.

*(12:02) - Damon Kipp goes off for boarding, giving UMass its third power play of the night.

*(10:02) - UNH is at full strength, and the league's best power play is 0-for-3 on the night.

*(6:37) - UMass's TJ Syner goes to the box for boarding, and UNH is on the power play for the second time tonight.

*(4:43) - 6-1 UNH - There are NBA teams that would be jealous right now. UNH is now shooting 26 percent tonight, scoring six times on 23 attempts, as Blake Kessel roofs a one-timer on the power play. He's now got three points, and with a secondary assist, Paul Thompson's got four.

*(4:27) - Damon Kipp to the box for elbowing. The only negative of the night for UNH is four penalties through two periods.

*(2:27) - The penalty to Kipp has expired.

*(0:00) - The period is over ... and it was another terrific one for the Wildcats. Shots were even (13-13), but UNH leads 26-20 on the night.

*(0:00) - Rocco Carzo pulled UMass within four, but Stevie Moses got it back for New Hampshire within a minute ... and the Wildcats complete the rout.