WILDCATS REWARDED IN SEASON’S BEST EFFORT
New Hampshire 3, Miami 1 | Box Score 

MANCHESTER, N.H. – New Hampshire’s superior play through two periods against Miami was hardly worth anything on the scoreboard. And the underdog Wildcats weren’t ready to boast a certificate of participation after pushing top-seeded Miami to its limit in the Northeast Regional semifinal. 

That’s why they truly needed Mike Sislo’s goal early in the third period to validate everything they worked toward through 40 minutes. As it turned out, that’s all the Wildcats needed, and Sislo’s strike proved to be the decisive tally in UNH’s 3-1 triumph Saturday at Verizon Wireless Arena. 

UNH junior defenseman Blake Kessel faked a shot from the right point and sent a hard pass through the slot to Sislo, who redirected the puck past Miami goalie Cody Reichard. The goal gave UNH a 2-1 lead 39 seconds into the third and helped prove to everyone on the bench that their hard work would indeed put them in position to stun Miami. 

The Wildcats had mixed emotions during the second intermission. They were happy with their performance, but they wished it amounted to more. 

“Obviously, we were disappointed that we didn’t get the lead, but we were also really excited about the way we were playing,” Kessel said. “That’s something that we all kept saying to each other. It’s a 20-minute game. If we play like we have, we’re going to get those chances, and someone would be able to put one away.” 

Reichard was phenomenal through two periods, turning aside two breakaways and halting a pair of beautiful chances from the slot, and Sislo had two great bids to find the score sheet. But Reichard couldn’t poke away Kessel’s crossing pass, and Sislo easily guided it into the net. 

“I think it was just a result of hard work that we had,” Sislo said. “We had been playing well up to that point, skating hard, working hard, pressuring them. We finally had an opportunity, and we executed.” 

The Wildcats answered coach Dick Umile’s blunt demands to play their best game of the season, and moments after they polished off Miami, Umile was pleased to announce that’s what they did. UNH did enough through two periods to be in that position, and Sislo’s goal gave the Wildcats the confidence to finish the job. 

“As a team, we pulled together throughout the week, and we realized we’re not ready to be done yet,” Kessel said. “We had to come out and play that hard game that we haven’t really played in the last couple months. It’s something we felt confident we could do, and we obviously went out there and did it.” 

NOTRE DAME BOUNCES MERRIMACK
Notre Dame 4, Merrimack 3 (OT) | Box Score 

Despite getting severely outplayed in overtime, Notre Dame managed to find good fortune in every bouncing puck. And obviously, they’ll remember that last bounce forever. 

Notre Dame freshman forward Anders Lee chased down Merrimack junior forward Carter Madsen behind the Warriors’ net in overtime. From behind the play, Lee made a diving attempt at Madsen and managed to get his stick on the puck, which took a sideways turn toward the goal and slid home for the 4-3 winner. 

Merrimack's Chris Barton tries to ward off a Notre Dame skater during Saturday's NCAA Northeast Regional semifinal game.

“I was going in on the forecheck as hard as I could,” said Lee, who scored a pair of goals against Merrimack. “I took a last-ditch effort and swung at it, and the next thing I knew, it was in the back of the net.” 

Merrimack lost a 3-1 second-period lead and played flat throughout the third. But the Warriors jumped all over the Irish in overtime, unleashing the first six shots of the period before Lee’s winner. 

There were a handful of times when a Warrior was a clean stick away from banking a puck into an empty net, as Notre Dame struggled to merely stay in the right position during Merrimack’s extra-session onslaught. 

Notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson called a timeout at the five-minute mark, and Lee produced the winner 18 seconds later. 

“I just told our guys to calm down,” Jackson said of the timeout. “If it wasn’t for [goalie] Mike Johnson in the overtime, we wouldn’t be sitting here right now. Sometimes you call a timeout to change the momentum in the game. That was one of those times.” 

Everyone in Merrimack gear had to answer questions about the bounce after the game, but coach Mark Dennehy put it in perspective. These things happen, and there will be no prejudice over the difference between fortune and misfortune when Notre Dame and UNH face off Sunday night. 

“We forget all the bounces we got this year,” Dennehy said in response to the array of questions. “It all equals itself out.” 

SEEN AND HEARD AT VERIZON WIRELESS ARENA 

• UNH defenseman Blake Kessel was heavily cheered during the starting lineups, which is a big difference from the noise he heard last weekend from the TD Garden crowd. A change in venue can go a long way. 

• There was an early swing of emotion for the UNH fans, and it has nothing to do with the two early goals. They were initially angry that one of the referees didn’t call a holding penalty on Miami, but moments later, said ref got tangled up between a pair of players and fell on his seat cushion, which yielded a loud ovation from the crowd. 

• Miami forward Carter Camper ran off a list of things the RedHawks needed to do to beat UNH and concluded by saying, “We knew all these things. We just couldn’t execute.” 

• Camper recalled something Ryan Jones said to him after Jones played his last game, saying the program was going to keep improving, get to a Frozen Four and win a national championship. Camper said it’s now his turn to say the same thing to the underclassmen. “Miami is going to win one someday,” Camper said. “I know that.” 

• UNH goalie Matt DiGirolamo said good luck to the Merrimack players as they took the ice before the second game. 

• Miami coach Rico Blasi had a passionate comment at the end of his news conference. “That’s on me as the head coach,” he said. “We weren’t ready to play. This wasn’t our night. This was UNH’s night. They played well. Let’s not take anything away from what they did. They played a very, very good hockey game against a good team and made us look not so good. If it wasn’t for [goalie] Cody [Reichard], it could have been a lot worse. I’ll take full blame for that.” 

Blasi also made sure to honor his senior class. “It stings,” Blasi said of the loss. “It stings because of the seniors. Two Frozen Fours, a regular-season championship, playoff championship, overtime loss in the regional championship. Other than [Boston College], I’m not sure a senior class has a better record. It stings.” 

• UNH freshman Kevin Goumas had his first career two-goal game, and he pulled it off by helping break up a Miami rush, taking the puck to center ice and sending a line drive into an open net. “I was loving it from the bench,” Kessel said. “It had a nice little angle on it. It was flat the whole way. It was one of the flattest things I’ve seen.” 

• The Merrimack student section had a giant cutout head of Charlie Sheen, which is relevant because Elliott Sheen talked to INCH about winning last weekend. 

• UNH had a very decisive advantage in crowd support, and Merrimack wasn’t hurting in that department, either. UNH’s win probably caused its fans to stick around and root for a fellow Hockey East school. The crowd thinned out once Merrimack and Notre Dame went to overtime. Since the extra session started around 10 p.m., the bar scene appeared to win that battle. 

• Merrimack defenseman Karl Stollery was on the ice during Notre Dame’s winning goal, but he didn’t get a look at how it went in the net. He said he thought he’d give it a look eventually. “I guess I’ll look at it later,” Stollery said. “I don’t really want to, though.” 

• Mark Dennehy put Merrimack’s journey in perspective. “It’s about the people we surround ourselves with,” Dennehy said. “You get to see how special these student-athletes are. It humbles me quite a bit to see how hard they work, how determined and disciplined they are. Hey, we could have won the national championship, and there still would have been some sadness on my part because I don’t get to work with these guys again. We’re going to lose some seniors this year. This is an incredibly special group, and the school is in their debt for the sacrifices that they’ve made.” 

Senior captain Adam Ross did the same. “It’s been a lot of hard work,” Ross said. “A few years ago, coach had a plan in place, and the guys he brought in to do this job did a good job. We thought right from day one that we had a good enough group of guys to be a good team. It’s all come together in the last couple years, climbed the ladder a little bit. To get to this point is exciting. … We’re not satisfied with just making it here. We think we’re good enough to go further, but overall, the past two seasons have been great. We’ve grown a lot as a team and as a program. Hopefully, the guys can keep ‘er going.” 

PLUSSES AND MINUSES 

Two photographers were perched on the catwalk high above the Verizon Wireless Arena ice for the start of the New Hampshire-Miami game. A little bit of insanity (at the very least) is a requirement for that type of dedication to get a unique shot. 

Someone was wearing a Whalers sweater in the crowd, which begs the thought, why hasn’t there been a regional in Hartford? That is a hockey-starved area, and would probably do well with attendance. UConn, get on that. 

INCH’s THREE STARS OF THE NIGHT 

3. Kevin Goumas, New Hampshire: He had his first career two-goal game, and Blake Kessel raved about his future potential. 

2. Mike Sislo, New Hampshire: Kessel did all the hard work to set up the game-winning goal, but Sislo created a handful of scoring chances along the way. 

1. Anders Lee, Notre Dame: His first goal gave the Irish some hope, and his second was the result of a hustle play that pushed them into the next round. 

WHAT’S NEXT 

Fourth-seeded UNH and third-seeded Notre Dame will play Sunday at 8 p.m., and the winner will play Minnesota Duluth in the Frozen Four. 

“They’re always an exceptional transition team,” Notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson said of UNH. “The fact that they beat Miami after what I saw last weekend is an incredible feat. They’re obviously a pretty darn good hockey team to be able to do that.” 

UNH will try to advance to its first Frozen Four since 2003, and Notre Dame will aim to get to the Frozen for the first time since 2008. UNH and Notre Dame have only played once since 2000. Notre Dame won that game, 7-3, in 2008 West Regional.