DURHAM, N.H. - Freshman forward Ryan Conmy (Alexandria, Va.) and freshman forward Marty Lavins (Riga, Latvia) each recorded one goal and one assist for two points as the No. 17 University of New Hampshire men's hockey team defeated Princeton, 5-2, on Friday night at the Whittemore Center at Key Auto Group Complex.
The Wildcats improve to 10-5-1, while the Tigers fall to 6-6-2.
UNH's 10-5-1 start to the season is its best in 11 years when the Wildcats were 11-3-2 in 2012-13.
UP NEXT:
- The 'Cats conclude the two-game series versus Princeton on Saturday, Jan. 6 at 4 p.m. on ESPN+ at the Whittemore Center at Key Auto Group Complex. The game is presented by M&T Bank and hot dogs are just $1.
- 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: #17 New Hampshire 5, Princeton 2
Records: UNH (10-5-1); Princeton (6-6-2)
Location: Durham, N.H. (Whittemore Center at Key Auto Group Complex)
Date: Friday, Jan. 5, 2024
Attendance: 4,190
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Conmy gave the Wildcats a 1-0 lead at 9:55 of the first period when he stole the puck at center ice then fired a shot from the right faceoff circle to the near side of the net for his team-leading ninth goal of the season.
- Just 1:04 later, UNH increased the lead to 2-0 when Lavins sent a wrist shot from the top of the left faceoff circle to the back of the net for his second goal of the season. Sophomore forward Kristaps Skrastins (Grobina, Latvia) and junior defenseman Colton Huard (Foothill Ranch, Calif.) each posted an assist on the goal.
- Sophomore forward Morgan Winters (Osprey, Fla.) scored off a rebound on a shot by Lavins at 9:12 of the second period to make it a 3-0 contest for his seventh goal of the season. Junior defenseman Luis Lindner (Spittal an der Drau, Austria) also tallied an assist on the goal.
- At 16:00, Ian Murphy blasted a slap shot to the back of the net for the power play goal to cut the UNH lead to 3-1.
- Sophomore forward Cy LeClerc (Brentwood, N.H.) fired a one-timer to the upper glove side of the net on a delayed penalty with just 47.5 seconds left in the second period to extend the advantage to 4-1. The goal was his eighth of the season. Conmy and senior defenseman Luke Reid (Warman, Saskatchewan) each posted an assist.
- At 8:00 of the third period, Kai Daniells scored on the power play for the Tigers to cut their deficit to 4-2.
- Junior forward Liam Devlin (Needham, Mass.) concluded the night with an empty net goal with an assist by junior defenseman Jack Babbage (Tully, N.Y.) at 18:28 for the 4-2 final score. Devlin now has four goals this season.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- UNH outshot Princeton, 35-23.
- The Wildcats went 0-4 on the power play, while the Tigers who lead the nation on the power play went 2-2.
- Junior goaltender Jakob Hellsten (Ljusdal, Sweden) recorded 21 saves to improve to 6-2-1 on the season, while Arthur Smith tallied 30 saves.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
- UNH is 7-1-1 this season at the Whittemore Center at Key Auto Group Complex
- The Wildcats are 4-1-0 versus the ECAC this season and 6-3-0 against non-conference opponents.
- The Wildcats are now 14-2-0 all-time versus the Tigers and 6-0-0 in Durham.
- Lavins posted his first collegiate multiple-point game
- Winters now has two game-winning goals this season.
- Conmy leads the team with nine goals, 12 assists and 21 points. He has eight multi-point games this season.
- Reid, Huard, Conmy are all on three-game point streaks.
