The New Hampshire Wildcats men's ice hockey team represents the University of New Hampshire as a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program. The Wildcats are a member of Hockey East, showcasing their competitive spirit and dedication to the sport.
Early History and Formation
Efforts to organize an ice hockey team at New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts date back to the early 1910s. By January 1914, a college team was playing "a short schedule of games" against local teams. A summary of the 1914 hockey season-the team had a record of two wins and two losses-appeared in the college's 1916 yearbook. However, games from this era are not considered part of varsity history.
The first UNH ice hockey team considered part of varsity history played in January and February 1925. The team won its first two games, on consecutive days, in away matches against Bates College and Colby College in Maine. A year later, under the stewardship of Ernest Christensen, UNH played its first home game on a local rink, an outdoor facility that was dependent on cold weather for its surface.
Coaching and Program Evolution
In 1938, Christensen retired and the team eventually came under the tutelage of Anthony Dougal, but his tenure was suspended in 1943 due to the outbreak of World War II. The team finally returned to the ice in January 1947, with Dougal remaining for one year before handing the program over to Joseph Petroski. After four rather poor seasons, Horace "Pepper" Martin took over and New Hampshire's fortunes began to change.
By the mid-1950s, the Wildcats started to play more and win more games than they ever had before. In 1961 New Hampshire was one of 28 schools that were founding members of ECAC Hockey. Martin turned the team over to A. Barr Snively and plans were underway to replace the Harry C. Batchelder Rink with an indoor ice rink.
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In the offseason of 1964, two events happened that hampered the ice hockey program. First, in April, head coach Snively suffered a heart attack and tragically died. With the school searching for a replacement the ECAC announced that it was dividing itself into two separate tiers. 'Major' programs would continue on with ECAC Hockey but 'minor' schools would be forced to join the newly-formed ECAC 2. Because their indoor facility had not yet been completed New Hampshire was forced out of the top tier.
Rube Bjorkman was eventually named as head coach and he led the team for four years. It was Bjorkman's successor, Charlie Holt, who put New Hampshire on the college hockey map. In Holt's first season UNH played its first postseason game, earning Holt his first of three Spencer Penrose Awards. In his first five seasons, the Wildcats finished with a winning record and then won the ECAC regular season championship in his sixth year.
The Wildcats made their first NCAA appearance in 1977 and captured their first Conference championship two years later, but no matter how good Holt's teams were national success continued to elude him. Under Holt the Wildcats went 0-6 in the frozen four and 2-8 in the tournament overall. Holt stepped down in 1986 and was replaced by long-time assistant Bob Kullen.
In his first year the team saw marginal improvement but that summer Kullen was diagnosed with a rare form of heart disease that necessitated a transplant and his missing an entire season to recuperate. Dave O'Connor served as the interim head coach for 1987-88 allowing Kullen to return in the fall of '88. In two years New Hampshire saw its wins total improve to 12 and then 17 but by 1990 Kullen started rejecting his new heart and was forced to resign. Another UNH assistant, Dick Umile, was named as his replacement and unfortunately, Kullen died in November 1990 at the age of 41.
In Umile second season New Hampshire made the NCAA tournament for the first time in almost a decade and retroactively finished first in the conference after Maine was forced to forfeit 13 games. The team continued to play well for several seasons but after a disappointing season in 1996, the team won its first Hockey East Championship and set a new program record with 28 wins.
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The following year the Wildcats made the Frozen Four for the first time in 16 years and then reached even higher in 1999. In the penultimate year of the millennium the Wildcats won 30 games for the first time, establishing a still-record of 31 victories (as of 2019), winning their second conference title (first outright) and were led by sophomore goaltender Ty Conklin and senior center Jason Krog, the latter won the NCAA scoring title by 16 points and captured the Hobey Baker Award (UNH's only recipient as of 2019). Despite losing in the Hockey East tournament finale The team received the #2 overall seed and a bye into the second round.
UNH would continue to be a power in Hockey East, winning back to back conference championships in 2002 and 2003 and reached their second NCAA title game in '03 where they lost to Minnesota, 5-1. UNH would make the NCAA tournament every year from 2002 through 2011 but the team could not make it out of the Regionals after 2003. Starting in 2012 the program began a slow decline, ending up dead-last in the conference in 2017-18.
Current Roster
Below are the current rosters for both the Women's and Men's ice hockey teams at the University of New Hampshire.
Women's Ice Hockey Roster
| # | Player | Position | Year | Born | Birthplace | Height | Shoots |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | Sedona Blair | G | 202005 | Eden Prairie, MN, USA | 178 cm | L | |
| 34 | Vera Lee | G | 202005 | Seoul, KOR | 173 cm | L | |
| 1 | Noemi Sofia Martinez | G | 202005 | Glen Ridge, NJ, USA | 171 cm | L | |
| 2 | Addison Finn | D/F | 19 | Stillwater, MN, USA | 173 cm | R | |
| 33 | Aurora Kahlert | D/F | 18 | Maple Ridge, BC, CAN | 167 cm | L | |
| 28 | Lucie Legro | D | 21 | Brentwood, NH, USA | 178 cm | R | |
| 29 | Sadie Makokis | D | 20 | St. Albert, AB, CAN | 165 cm | L | |
| 8 | Callista Printz | D | 19 | Williamsville, NY, USA | 157 cm | R | |
| 3 | Moa Söderholm | D | 22 | Lidingö, SWE | 168 cm | L | |
| 4 | Alex Therien | D | 18 | Ottawa, ON, CAN | 177 cm | L | |
| 21 | Danika Botterill | F | 20 | Portage la Prairie, MB, CAN | 165 cm | L | |
| 22 | Julia Cabral | RW | 20 | Lee, NH, USA | 165 cm | R | |
| 6 | Ireland Frederickson | F | 19 | Concord, NH, USA | 168 cm | R | |
| 66 | Kristen Hartman | F | - | Newmarket, ON, CAN | 173 cm | - | |
| 9 | Kelly Harty | F | 22 | Billerica, MA, USA | 163 cm | - | |
| 67 | Alyson Hush | F | 21 | Scarborough, ON, CAN | 165 cm | L | |
| 7 | Sydney Leonard | F | 20 | St. | - | - | - |
Men's Ice Hockey Roster
| # | Player | Position | Year | Born | Birthplace | Height | Weight | Shoots |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36 | Kyle Chauvette | G | 24 | 2001 | Goffstown, NH, USA | 185 cm | 86 kg | R |
| 1 | Kristian Coombs | G | 20 | 2005 | Calgary, AB, CAN | 188 cm | 86 kg | L |
| 41 | Jared Whale | G | 23 | 2002 | Calgary, AB, CAN | 183 cm | 86 kg | L |
| 2 | Alex Carr | D | 21 | 2004 | Sackville, NS, CAN | 183 cm | 88 kg | R |
| 8 | Reid Conn | D | 21 | 2004 | Centennial, CO, USA | 193 cm | 95 kg | R |
| 95 | Nicholas De Angelis | D | 21 | 2004 | King City, ON, CAN | 188 cm | 88 kg | L |
| 72 | Conner de Haro | D | 20 | 2005 | Raleigh, NC, USA | 180 cm | 87 kg | L |
| 19 | Brendan Fitzgerald | D | 22 | 2003 | North Reading, MA, USA | 183 cm | 77 kg | L |
| 5 | Zach Hahn | D | 23 | 2002 | Huntington, NY, USA | 188 cm | 95 kg | L |
| 4 | Ryan Philbrick | D | 21 | 2004 | Concord, NH, USA | 180 cm | 84 kg | L |
| 15 | Oscar Plandowski | D | 22 | 2003 | Red Deer, AB, CAN | 183 cm | 86 kg | R |
| 13 | Josh Player | D | 20 | 2005 | Thorofare, NJ, USA | 183 cm | 86 kg | R |
| 9 | Jack Cronin | RW | 24 | 2001 | Hamilton, MA, USA | 180 cm | 86 kg | R |
| 11 | Connor DeTurris | F | 21 | 2004 | Naperville, IL, USA | 185 cm | 86 kg | L |
| 22 | Félix Gagnon | RW | 21 | 2004 | Saguenay, QC, CAN | 183 cm | 82 kg | R |
| 6 | Martins Lavins | C | 22 | 2003 | Riga, LAT | 186 cm | 88 kg | R |
| 29 | Cy LeClerc | F | 23 | 2002 | Brentwood, NH, USA | 178 cm | 82 kg | L |
| 61 | Cameron MacDonald | C/W | 22 | 2003 | Toronto, ON, CAN | 188 cm | 88 kg | L |
| 7 | Ryan MacPherson | C | 20 | 2005 | Windsor, ON, CAN | 185 cm | 84 kg | L |
| 91 | Jacob Newcombe | LW/C | 21 | 2004 | Halifax, NS, CAN | 183 cm | 92 kg | L |
| 47 | Sam Oliver | C | 21 | 2004 | Quispamsis, NB, CAN | 180 cm | 83 kg | L |
| 37 | Nick Ring | F | 22 | 2003 | Hingham, MA, USA | 178 cm | 84 kg | R |
| 23 | Jason Siedem | F | 23 | 2002 | Madison, NJ, USA | 178 cm | 84 kg | R |
| 17 | Kristaps Skrastins | C | 24 | 2001 | Riga, LAT | 178 cm | 81 kg | R |
| 16 | J.P. | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Club Hockey
The University of New Hampshire’s Club Hockey roots date back to the fall of 1994. Originally founded as the NH Ragin Moose, the team’s first seven years were flooded with success. As a 100% student run organization, the Ragin Moose competed with local Club and Junior hockey programs before being awarded recognition by the University of New Hampshire. Since then, the team has continued its winning ways and in the process, achieved local and national prominence.
The team is an official member of the American Collegiate Hockey Association and the Super East Collegiate Hockey League. The University of New Hampshire’s Club Hockey provides student athletes with an opportunity to get a great education and play an extremely competitive and demanding brand of hockey.
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