DURHAM, N.H. - Junior forward Liam Devlin (Needham, Mass.) scored three goals for his first career hat trick as the #19 University of New Hampshire men's hockey team defeated #7 Maine, 6-2, on Friday night at the Whittemore Center at Key Auto Group Complex.
Junior goaltender Jakob Hellsten (Ljusdal, Sweden) recorded 18 saves to earn the win for the Wildcats.
The Wildcats improve to 15-11-1 (8-8-1 Hockey East), while the Black Bears fall to 18-7-2 (10-6-1 Hockey East). UNH's 15-11-1 start to the season is its best in 11 years when the Wildcats were 16-8-3 in 2012-13.
UP NEXT:
The No. 19 University of New Hampshire men's hockey team (15-11-1, 8-8-1 Hockey East) will return to the Whittemore Center at Key Auto Group Complex for the second night of the Border Battle presented by Buffalo Wild Wings versus No. 7 Maine (18-7-2, 10-6-1 Hockey East) on Feb. 17 for White Out the Whitt at 7 p.m. TOMORROW'S GAME IS SOLD OUT.
Score: New Hampshire 6, Maine 2
Records: UNH (15-11-1, 8-8-1 Hockey East); Maine (18-7-2, 10-6-1 Hockey East)
Location: Durham, N.H. (Whittemore Center at Key Auto Group Complex)
Date: Friday, Feb. 16, 2023
Attendance: 6,501
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- At 14:55 in the first period senior forward Harrison Blaisdell (Regina, Saskatchewan) sent the puck through the five-hole of Albin Boija to give UNH a 1-0 lead. Junior Defenseman Colton Huard (Foothill Ranch, Calif.) and freshman forward J.P. Turner (East Falmouth, Mass.) were credited with the assists.
- Maine's Ben Poisson set up Cole Hanson for a tap-in equalizer at 2:04 in the second period.
- Devlin deked around the glove side of Boija to give the 'Cats a 2-1 lead at 13:27 in the second period. Freshman forward Ryan Comny (Alexandria Va.) and junior defenseman Luis Lindner (Spittal an der Drau, Austria) created the opportunity.
- Freshman forward Nick Ring (Hingham, Mass.) and sophomore forward Kristaps Skrastins (Grobina, Latvia) set up Comny with a power-play goal that extended the Wildcats lead to 3-1 at 16:19 in the second period.
- Black Bear Anthony Calafiore found the back of the net with assists from Harrison Scott and Poisson to shrink the 'Cats lead to 3-2 at 11:10 in the third period.
- Devlin scored back-to-back goals at 16:52 and 18:34 in the third period. His first was a breakaway set up by junior captain Alex Gagne (Bedford, NH) and senior alternate captain Nikolai Jenson (Cold Spring, Minn.). The second was an empty netter with a Jenson assist.
- Sophomore forward Stiven Sardarian (Saint Petersburg, Russia) put a dagger in the game at 19:52 when he tapped in a shot by junior forward Conor Lovett (Franklin Mass.) to bring the final score to 6-2. Gagne was credited with the secondary assist.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- UNH outshot Maine 26-20.
- The Wildcats went 1-1 on the power play while the Black Bears went 0-2.
- Hellsten recorded 18 saves to earn the win and improve to 10-8-1, while Boija tallied 20 saves.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
- Hellsten leads Hockey East and is seventh in the nation in goals against average (2.17). He is now 10-8-1 on the season and is on the Watch List for the Mike Richter Award, given annually to the top goalie in men's NCAA Division I hockey.
- The last time a Wildcat scored three goals in a game was Tyler Ward on March 9, 2022, at Boston College.
- UNH is 10-3-1 at home this season.
- The Wildcats are 9-2-0 after a loss.
