DURHAM, N.H. - Junior forward Conor Lovett (Franklin, Mass.) scored the game-winner and sophomore goaltender Tyler Muszelik (Long Valley, N.J.) posted a 20-save shutout as the No. 16 University of New Hampshire men's hockey team defeated Rensselaer, 1-0, on Saturday afternoon at the Whittemore Center at Key Auto Group Complex.
The Wildcats improve to 8-4-1, while the Engineers fall to 2-10-1.
UNH's 8-4-1 start to the season is its best in 11 years when the Wildcats were 10-1-2 in 2012-13.
UP NEXT:
- The 'Cats return to action on Friday, Dec. 29 at Army West Point at 7 p.m. The next home series is versus Princeton on Jan. 5-6 on ESPN+. The game on Friday is at 7 p.m. as the first 1,000 fans will receive a 2024 UNH Men's Hockey Calendar, while hot dogs are just $1 at the 4 p.m. contest on Saturday.
- Go to UNHWildcats.com/Tickets.or call the ticket office at (603) 862-4000 to catch the most exciting family entertainment in New Hampshire.
Score: #16 New Hampshire 1, Rensselaer 0
Records: #16 UNH (8-4-1, 4-2-1 Hockey East); RPI (2-10-1, 2-4-0 ECAC)
Location: Durham, N.H. (Whittemore Center at Key Auto Group Complex)
Date: Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023
Attendance: 5,299
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The first period went scoreless as UNH outshot the Engineers 11-9.
- The Wildcats got on the board at 18:15 in the second period when junior defenseman Luis Lindner (Spittal an der Drau, Austria) set up Lovett for the tap-in on the glove side of Brett Miller. Freshman forward Marty Lavins (Riga, Latvia) recorded the secondary assist.
- RPI pulled its goalie at 17:48 of the third period but were unable to score the equalizer.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- UNH outshot RPI 30-20.
- The Wildcats went 0-3 on the power play while the Engineers went 0-1.
- Muszelik recorded 20 saves to earn the win and improve to 4-2-0, while Brett Miller tallied 29 saves.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
- The Wildcats improve to 6-1-1 at home.
- UNH leads the series vs. RPI 27-24-0.
- This is the second shutout of the season for the Wildcats.
- This is Muszelik's first shutout of the season and the second of his career.
