The New Hampshire Wildcats men's ice hockey team is a

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA) Division I

college ice hockey College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America. In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the go ...

program that represents the

University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire, United States. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant coll ...

. The Wildcats are a member of

Hockey East The Hockey East Association, also known as Hockey East, is a college ice hockey conference which operates entirely in New England. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. Hockey East came into existence in 1984 for ...

. They play at the Whittemore Center Arena in Durham, New Hampshire.

History

Early years

Efforts to organize an ice hockey team at New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts date to the early 1910s. By January 1914, a college team was playing "a short schedule of games" against local teams such as an athletic association from

Exeter, New Hampshire Exeter is a New England town, town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. Its population was 16,049 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 14,306 at the 2010 census. Exeter was the county seat until 1997, when county ...

. 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. In July 1923, the school was renamed the

(UNH). 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 Bates College () is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. Anchored by the Historic Quad, the campus of Bates totals with a small urban campus which includes 33 Victorian ...

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. The Wildcats played a small number of games for their first 15 seasons, fluctuating between an undefeated season in 1926–27 and a winless campaign in 1931–32. 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 1955, an artificial ice rink was constructed on campus to help the team play more than a handful of home games.

ECAC

In 1961 New Hampshire was one of 28 schools that were founding members of

ECAC Hockey ECAC Hockey is one of the six conferences that compete in NCAA Division I college ice hockey, ice hockey. The conference used to be affiliated with the Eastern College Athletic Conference, a consortium of over 300 colleges in the eastern United ...

. 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. 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

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. During his tenure, the indoor arena was completed and christened as the Snively Arena after his late predecessor and a year later the program was readmitted into the top echelon of college hockey. 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 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

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. While the wins started to come few and far between in the mid-1980s Holt continued to helm the program as it left ECAC Hockey to form

with six other northeastern schools.

Bob Kullen

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 Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is any disease involving the heart or blood vessels. CVDs constitute a class of diseases that includes: coronary artery diseases (e.g. angina pectoris, angina, myocardial infarction, heart attack), heart failure, ...

that necessitated a transplant and his missing an entire season to recuperate.

Dave O'Connor David O'Connor is an American former ice hockey coach and player. He was the interim head coach of the University of New Hampshire Wildcats men's ice hockey, New Hampshire for a year while head coach Bob Kullen was recovering from a heart transpl ...

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. Hockey East swiftly renamed its coach of the year award in his honor while the team continued the upward swing he began, allowing Umile to be the first recipient of the rechristened award.

Umile years

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 Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

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. The following year the Wildcats made the Frozen Four for the first time in 16 years and then reached even higher in

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

. 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. The Wildcats defeated two Michigan schools to reach their first national championship game where they would ultimately fall in overtime to conference rival Maine. UNH would continue to be a power in Hockey East, winning back to back conference championships in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

and

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

and reached their second NCAA title game in '03 where they lost to

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, 5-1. UNH would make the NCAA tournament every year from 2002 through

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

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. After that season Umile decided to retire, leaving the school as the all-time leader in just about every coaching category and recording the third most wins all-time for one school at the Division I level. Umile's final act for the program was to name his successor, allowing 1999 alumnus Michael Souza to become the 14th head coach in program history.

John "Jack" French

After his tour of duty in the US Navy, he worked at the UNH as the Athletic Equipment Manager for a total of 38 years from 1963-2001. He was beloved by the students and staff and holds the record for most games attended including hockey, football, baseball and basketball. He was a member of the Athletic Equipment Managers Association.

Seasons

Head coaches

As of the completion of 2024–25 season

Statistical Leaders

Source:

Career points leaders

Career goaltending leaders

''GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% =

Save percentage Save percentage (often known by such symbols as SV%, SVS%, SVP, PCT) is a statistic in various Goal (sports), goal-scoring sports that track Save (goaltender), saves as a statistic. In ice hockey and lacrosse and association football, it is a sta ...

; GAA =

Goals against average Goals against average (GAA), also known as average goals against (AGA), is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending on spo ...

'' minimum 30 games played Statistics current through the start of the 2019–20 season.

Current roster

As of August 24, 2024.

Awards and honors

Hockey Hall of Fame

Source: * Rod Langway (2002)

United States Hockey Hall of Fame

Source: * Charlie Holt (1997) * Rod Langway (1999)

NCAA

Individual awards

Hobey Baker Award * Jason Krog: 1999 Spencer Penrose Award * Charlie Holt: 1969, 1974, 1979 * Dick Umile: 1999 NCAA Scoring Champion * Louis Frigon: 1971 * Jason Krog: 1999 * Tyler Kelleher: 2017

All-American teams

AHCA First Team All-Americans *1960–61: Rod Blackburn, G *1972–73: Gordie Clark, F *1973–74: Cap Raeder, G; Gordie Clark, F *1975–76: Cliff Cox, F; Jamie Hislop, F *1976–77: Tim Burke, D; Bob Miller, F *1977–78: Ralph Cox, F *1978–79: Ralph Cox, F *1981–82: Andy Brickley, F *1997–98: Mark Mowers, F *1998–99: Jason Krog, F *2000–01: Ty Conklin, G *2001–02: Darren Haydar, F; Colin Hemingway, F *2003–04: Steve Saviano, F *2004–05: Sean Collins, F *2007–08: Kevin Regan, G; Mike Radja, F *2009–10: Bobby Butler, F *2010–11: Blake Kessel, D; Paul Thompson, F *2012–13: Trevor van Riemsdyk, F *2015–16: Andrew Poturalski, F AHCA Second Team All-Americans *1990–91: Jeff Levy, G *1991–92: Domenic Amodeo, F *1996–97:

Tim Murray Timothy Patrick Murray (born June 7, 1968) is an American lawyer and member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party who served as the 71st Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, lieutenant governor of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2 ...

, D; Jason Krog, F *1998-99: Jayme Filipowicz, D *1999–00: Ty Conklin, G *2002–03: Mike Ayers, G; Lanny Gare, F; Colin Hemingway, F *2004–05: Brian Yandle, D *2005–06: Brian Yandle, D *2006–07: Trevor Smith, D *2007–08: Brad Flaishans, D; Matt Fornataro, F *2009–10: Brian Foster, G; Blake Kessel, D *2016–17: Tyler Kelleher, F

ECAC Hockey ECAC Hockey is one of the six conferences that compete in NCAA Division I college ice hockey, ice hockey. The conference used to be affiliated with the Eastern College Athletic Conference, a consortium of over 300 colleges in the eastern United ...

Individual awards

Player of the Year * Ralph Cox, C: 1979 Rookie of the Year * Bob Miller, F: 1975 * Normand Lacombe, RW: 1982 Most Outstanding Player in Tournament * Greg Moffett, G: 1979

All-Conference teams

First Team All-ECAC Hockey *1971–72: Gordie Clark, F; Guy Smith, F *1972–73: Gordie Clark, F *1973–74: Gordie Clark, F *1974–75: Jamie Hislop, F *1975–76: Jamie Hislop, F *1976–77: Bob Miller, F *1977–78: Ralph Cox, F *1978–79: Ralph Cox, F *1981–82: Andy Brickley, F *1997–98: Mark Mowers, F *1998–99: Jason Krog, F *2000–01: Ty Conklin, G *2001–02: Darren Haydar, F; Colin Hemingway, F *2003–04: Steve Saviano, F *2004–05: Sean Collins, F *2007–08: Kevin Regan, G; Mike Radja, F *2009–10: Bobby Butler, F *2010–11: Blake Kessel, D; Paul Thompson, F *2012–13: Trevor van Riemsdyk, F *2015–16: Andrew Poturalski, F Second Team All-ECAC Hockey *1968–69: Rick Metzer, G *1973–74: Cap Raeder, G *1975–76: Cliff Cox, F; Tim Burke, F *1976–77: Tim Burke, D *1978–79: Greg Moffett, G; Bob Gould, F *1982–83: Normand Lacombe, F *1983–84: Bruce Gillies, G; Brian Byrnes, D

Hockey East The Hockey East Association, also known as Hockey East, is a college ice hockey conference which operates entirely in New England. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. Hockey East came into existence in 1984 for ...

Individual awards

Player of the Year * Jason Krog: 1999 * Ty Conklin: 2000 * Darren Haydar: 2002 * Mike Ayers: 2003 * Steve Saviano: 2004 * Kevin Regan: 2008 * Bobby Butler: 2010 * Paul Thompson: 2011 Rookie of the Year * Jeff Levy: 1991 * Mark Mowers: 1995 * Darren Haydar: 1999 * Sean Collins: 2002 Best Defensive Forward * John Sadowski: 2000 * Preston Callander: 2005 Len Ceglarski Award * Joe Flanagan: 1992 * Todd Hall: 1996 * Steve Saviano: 2004 * Jackson Pierson: 2022 Best Defensive Defenseman * Steve O'Brien: 1999 *Joe Charlebois: 2008 Three-Stars Award * Colin Hemingway: 2002 * Bobby Butler: 2010 * Paul Thompson: 2011 * John Henrion: 2013 * Tyler Kelleher: 2017 Coach of the Year * Dick Umile: 1991, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2007, 2010 Tournament Most Valuable Player * Darren Haydar:

All-Conference teams

First Team All-Hockey East *1994–95: Eric Flinton, F *1995–96: Todd Hall, D; Mark Mowers, F *1996–97:

, D; Eric Boguniecki, F; Mark Mowers, F; Jason Krog, F *1997–98: Jason Krog, F *1998–99: Jayme Filipowicz, D; Jason Krog, F *1999–00: Ty Conklin, G *2000–01: Ty Conklin, G *2001–02: Darren Haydar, F; Colin Hemingway, F *2002–03: Mike Ayers, G; Lanny Gare, F *2003–04: Steve Saviano, F *2006–07: Trevor Smith, F *2007–08: Kevin Regan, G; Brad Flaishans, D; Mike Radja, F *2009–10: Brian Foster, G; Blake Kessel, D; Bobby Butler, F *2010–11: Blake Kessel, D; Paul Thompson, F *2012–13: Trevor van Riemsdyk, D *2015–16: Andrew Poturalski, F *2016–17: Tyler Kelleher, F Second Team All-Hockey East *1990–91: Jeff Levy, G *1991–92: Scott Morrow, F *1992–93: Rob Donovan, F *1997–98: Derek Bekar, F; Mark Mowers, F *1998-99: Ty Conklin, G; Darren Haydar, F *1999–00: Michael Souza, F; Darren Haydar, F *2001–02: Mike Ayers, G; Garrett Stafford, D *2002–03: Colin Hemingway, F *2004–05: Brian Yandle, D; Sean Collins, F *2005–06: Brian Yandle, D; Daniel Winnik, F *2006–07: Chris Murray, D *2007–08: Craig Switzer, D; Matt Fornataro, F *2008–09: James van Riemsdyk, F *2013–14: Eric Knodel, D; Kevin Goumas, F *2016–17: Tyler Kelleher, F Third Team All-Hockey East *2023–24: Alex Gagne, D Hockey East All-Rookie Team *1984–85: Stephen Leach, F *1987–88: Pat Morrison, G; Chris Winnes, F *1990–91: Jeff Levy, G *1993–94:

, D; Eric Boguniecki, F *1994–95: Mark Mowers, F *1995–96: Derek Bekar, F *1996–97: Sean Matile, G; Michael Souza, F *1997–98: Matthias Trattnig, F *1998–99: Ty Conklin, G; Darren Haydar, F *2001–02: Sean Collins, F *2003–04: Brett Hemingway, F *2004–05: Kevin Regan, G *2007–08: James van Riemsdyk, F *2011–12: Casey DeSmith, G; Trevor van Riemsdyk, D *2016–17: Patrick Grasso, F

Program Records

Hockey East

Individual

*Most Career Short-Handed Goals: Mark Mowers; 8 *Longest Goalie Win Streak: Kevin Regan; 11

Olympians

This is a list of New Hampshire alumni were a part of an Olympic team.

New Hampshire Wildcats Hall of Fame

The following is a list of people associated with the New Hampshire men's ice hockey program who were elected into the New Hampshire Wildcats Hall of Fame (induction date in parentheses). * Gordie Clark (1982) * Ernest Christensen (1982) * Rod Blackburn (1983) * Cliff Cox (1983) * Jamie Hislop (1983) * A. Barr Snively (1983) * Hank Swasey (1983) * Tim Burke (1984) * Louis Frigon (1985) * Russell Martin (1986) * Roger Magenau (1986) * Josiah Bartlett (1986) * Ralph Cox (1986) * Howard Hanley (1987) * Graham Bruder (1987) * John Gray (1987) * Bob Gould (1988) * William Weir (1989) * Cap Raeder (1989) * Charlie Holt (1989) * Mickey Goulet (1990) * Rod Langway (1990) * Albert Brodeur (1991) * J. Allan Clark (1991) * Edward Noel (1991) * Greg Moffett (1992) * Horace "Pepper" Martin (1993) * R. Braden Houston (1993) * Frank Roy (1993) * Dick Umile (1994) * Bob Miller (1994) * Donald Perkins (1995) * Michael Ontkean (1995) * Herbert Merrill (1996) * Raymond March Jr. (1996) * Guy Smith (1996) * Dave Lumley (1997) * Raymond Patten (1997) * Andy Brickley (1998) * Kenneth McKinnon (1999) * Bob Towse (2000) * Richard David (2000) * Kevin Dean (2000) * Bob Towse (2000) * Don Otis (2001) * Peter Van Buskirk (2001) * Paul Powers (2003) * Jason Krog (2005) * Mark Mowers (2006) * Ty Conklin (2008) *

(2008) * Darren Haydar (2012)

Wildcats in the NHL

As of July 1, 2024. File:Ty Conklin on the ice during warm ups.jpg, Ty Conklin File:Ottawa Senators at Seattle Kraken - 2024-01-04 - Angus Crookshank (53450732437) (cropped).jpg, Angus Crookshank File:Casey DeSmith and Sidney Crosby 2017-12-09 17847.jpg, Casey DeSmith File:Warren Foegele (39958893991).jpg, Warren Foegele File:Peter LeBlanc IceHogs.jpg, Peter LeBlanc File:Bryan Muir.jpg, Bryan Muir File:Mike Sislo - New Jersey Devils.jpg, Mike Sislo File:Trevor Smith 2012-02-25.JPG, Trevor Smith File:James van Riemsdyk 2012-04-021.JPG, James van Riemsdyk File:Ottawa Senators at Washington Capitals - January 22, 2022 - Trevor van Riemsdyk (51847727204) (1).jpg, Trevor van Riemsdyk File:Daniel Winnik.jpg, Daniel Winnik

WHA

Several players also were members of WHA teams. Source:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:New Hampshire Wildcats Men's Ice Hockey College ice hockey teams in New Hampshire NCAA Division I men's ice hockey teams 1922 establishments in New Hampshire Ice hockey clubs established in 1922

History

Early years

ECAC

Bob Kullen

Umile years

John "Jack" French

Seasons

Head coaches

Statistical Leaders

Career points leaders

Career goaltending leaders

Current roster

Awards and honors

Hockey Hall of Fame

United States Hockey Hall of Fame

NCAA

Individual awards

All-American teams

ECAC Hockey ECAC Hockey is one of the six conferences that compete in NCAA Division I college ice hockey, ice hockey. The conference used to be affiliated with the Eastern College Athletic Conference, a consortium of over 300 colleges in the eastern United ...

Individual awards

All-Conference teams

Hockey East The Hockey East Association, also known as Hockey East, is a college ice hockey conference which operates entirely in New England. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. Hockey East came into existence in 1984 for ...

Individual awards

All-Conference teams

Program Records

Hockey East

Individual

Olympians

New Hampshire Wildcats Hall of Fame

Wildcats in the NHL

WHA

See also

References

External links