This article is part of the backlog of stories submitted while the older version of our website, tnhdigital, was down. We appreciate the patience of our readers and staff during the launch of our new website.
The University of New Hampshire hosted the University of Massachusetts Lowell on Saturday, March 8. It was a sold-out crowd to celebrate the seniors and the last regular-season home game. The team returned to the Whittemore Center, defeating UMass Lowell in a 4-1 win the night before.
Twelve seniors were recognized before the game began including Jack Babbage, Conor Lovett, Nikolai Jenson, Connor Sweeney, Liam Devlin, Luis Lindner, Luke Reid, Colton Huard, Robert Cronin, Alex Gagne, Rico DiMatteo, and Raphael Gaughan.
At the end of the season, the team will say goodbye to six defensemen. Babbage has been with UNH for three years and has contributed a total of two goals and five assists. Jenson, a graduate student and an alternate captain, has spent all five years with UNH and contributed eight goals and 24 assists. Lindner has been a Wildcat for two years and contributed 16 assists. Reid has been with the team for five years and contributed eight goals and 40 assists. After graduation, Reid will continue playing hockey with the Nashville Predators, after being drafted in the 2020 NHL draft. Huard has been with UNH all four years and contributed 14 goals and 53 assists. Gagne, two-time captain, has been with the team all four years and contributed seven goals and 39 assists. After graduation, Gagne will continue playing hockey with the Tampa Bay Lightning, after being drafted in the 2021 NHL draft.
Along with the defensemen, the team will be saying goodbye to two goalies. DiMatteo has only been a Wildcat for one year and has a .892 save average. Gaughan, a graduate student and the second backup goalie, has been with the team for three years and hasn’t played a game yet.
The team will also say goodbye to four forwards: Lovett, Sweeney, Devlin, and Cronin. Lovett has also been on the team for three years and contributed seven goals and three assists, five of those goals being from this season. Sweeney, an alternate captain, has been a wildcat all four years and contributed two goals and 13 assists. Devlin has been with UNH all four years and contributed 41 goals and 40 assists. Cronin has been a Wildcat all four years and contributed 26 goals and 32 assists.
Head Coach Mike Souza said, “This is a special class to me. There’s a lot that goes into your time from the recruiting process through the ups and downs of being a division one athlete and the ups and downs off the ice.”
At 13:15 in the first period, Morgan Winters was able to breakaway and charged the goal, but the puck was stopped by UMass Lowell’s goalie, Beni Halasz. This led to a slashing penalty on the River Hawks’ Daniel Buchbinder and was followed by another slashing penalty a minute and 30 seconds later on Ben Meehan, giving the Wildcats a five-on-three advantage for 30 seconds and then a five-on-four advantage for another minute and 30 seconds. With 7:15 left in the period, a swarm was created in front of DiMatteo, which he kept out of the net, even with the increasing difficulty to see the puck and many of the players. This led to a fight between Brendan Fitzgerald and Jack Robilotti, ending with both teams getting a roughing penalty. 15:18 into the period, TJ Schweighardt was hit, popping the puck out of his possession, allowing Connor Eddy to get the puck and shoot it from the near inner end of the faceoff circle into the center of the net. Dillan Bentley received a tripping penalty with 3:25 left in the period, but UNH could not produce a goal. The period ended with an interference penalty on Robert Cronin for interference, giving the River Hawks a five-on-four advantage in the first minute and 55 seconds of the second period.
Going into the second period, UMass Lowell had the advantage but could not produce a goal. 15:23 into the period, three penalties were distributed. Two were on the Wildcats for tripping and roughing and one was on the River Hawks for roughing. This resulted in the River Hawks having a five-on-four advantage. With 5:14 left in the period and 1:24 left in the power play, Marty Lavins was able to get the puck and rushed to the net, but the shot bounced off the left side of the goal post. UNH gained a power play with 4:51 left in the period off a slashing penalty on Owen Cole. With 2:25 left in the period, Devlin rushed to towards the net with a quick pass to Lovett, who passed it back almost immediately, for Devlin to flick the puck into the net from the blue paint in front of the net.
Cronin stated, “For Devo (Devlin) to get back and get that monkey off his back and get his confidence going into playoffs is huge. He’s such a big asset for the team.”
At 14:01 in the third period, UNH gained a five-minute power play from a crosschecking penalty. The Wildcats gained the lead nine minutes and two seconds into the period. Cy LeClerc shot the puck and Cronin gained the rebound, flipping the puck from the left side of the net.
Cronin said, “It’s special and something I’m going to remember forever, with my family in the building. I remember scoring on my first game here and my last game here, so something that I’ll cherish forever.”
Shortly after, UNH gained a five-on-three advantage for 1:03 and continued with a five-on-four advantage for 57 seconds. With 8:42 left in the period Cronin scored a second goal of the night from the inner left faceoff circle off a pass from Nick Ring. UMass Lowell pulled its goalie with 2:16 left in the period. With 1:38 left in the period, the Wildcats continue their lead with an empty-net goal by Devlin from the outer left faceoff circle on the opposite side of the ice.
Cronin said, “Devo (Devlin) scoring two, he’s the same thing. He scored his first game too and scoring his last. Especially for Devo, he hasn’t exactly been getting the puck in the back of the net, but he hasn’t been playing bad at all.”
The River Hawks scored shortly after by Isac Jonsson from the blue line. The game ended with the student section cheering “Thank you seniors” as the time counted down to zero.
The Wildcats will move on to a preliminary against UMass Lowell March 12 at Tsongas Center.
