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Date: 10/16/2015
DURHAM, N.H. – Tyler Kelleher of Longmeadow recorded four points to propel the University of New Hampshire men's hockey team to a 7-3 victory against American International College in the season opener for both teams at the Whittemore Center Oct. 10.
UNH recorded a 33-29 shot advantage that included a 10-6 edge in the third period. The Wildcats went 1-for-4 on the power play. AIC was scoreless on five power plays.
Kelleher matched his personal best of two goals and also had two assists while Andrew Poturalski tallied a goal and career-high three assists for a personal-best four points. Linemate Dan Correale finished with a goal and an assist, as did defenseman Matt Dawson.
Maxim Gaudreault and Jason Salvaggio scored UNH's other two goals as a total of 12 skaters recorded a point. Goaltender Danny Tirone made 14 of his 26 saves in the second period.
AIC was led offensively by Springfield native Austin Orszulak (one goal, one assist) and Brandon Lubin (two assists). Alex Murray made 26 saves and was credited with an assist.
The Wildcats generated the first dangerous scoring opportunity of the game in the fifth minute when Kelleher's wrister from the low slot was kicked out by Murray's left leg pad. Moments later the 'Cats reentered the zone and Richard Boyd snapped a hard, screened shot deep on the left wing that Murray enveloped.
The Yellow Jackets took a 1-0 lead at 7:35 when Orszulak circled behind the net to the right doorstep and lifted a shot into the upper-right corner. Lubin and Murray set up the tally.
UNH tied the score, 1-1, at 11:29. Dawson's outlet pass from the defensive zone was collected by Poturalski, who slid a pass ahead to Kelleher. He skated down the slot, shifted toward the left post and jammed the puck inside the post.
In the 14th minute, Kyle Smith maneuvered around a defender in the slot and wristed a shot wide right of the cage. Two minutes later at the other end of the ice, Lubin's slap shot from the left point was stopped by Tirone, who also slid across the crease to deny Giovani Bombini off the rebound.
With 90 seconds remaining in the opening stanza, Murray stuffed Correale's wraparound and the right post and then he stoned Poturalski off the rebound.
UNH, which generated a 10-8 shot advantage through 20 minutes, outscored AIC 3-1 in the second period to build a 4-2 lead. The Yellow Jackets struck first, however, to regain the lead, 2-1, at 2:03. Lubin's shot from the right point caromed high off Tirone and landed in the crease, then a charging Bryant Christian jammed the rebound into the net.
The 'Cats leveled the score just 14 seconds later on Dawson's first career goal, which was set up by Shane Eiserman.
Cameron Marks fired a slap shot from the right point that ricocheted off the far post at 4:45. On minute later, AIC's Chris Porter lifted a shot from the left faceoff dot that caromed off the outside of the near post.
New Hampshire took its first lead of the game, 3-2, at 8:51 when Correale found Kelleher alone at the left post. Poturalski initiated the scoring sequence when he leapt to glove the puck and keep possession in the zone at the left point. He dumped a pass in the slot to Correale, who quickly touched the puck down low to Kelleher.
With 5:30 left in the middle frame, Gaudreault had his initial shot from the slot blocked by a defender but he regained possession, turned and lifted a shot into Murray's torso. One minute later with UNH on the power play, Matias Cleland skated in from the right point for a backdoor pass. He settled the puck and was denied by Murray.
The Wildcats extended the advantage to 4-2 with a power-play goal at 15:45. From the inner-right circle, Poturalski slipped a pas to Correale in front, who hesitated for a moment before lifting a shot into the cage. Kelleher was credited with the secondary assist.
Kelleher had a breakaway with 90 seconds left in the second period. He skated down the slot and shifted to the left, but Murray made a sprawling save to send the teams into the locker room with UNH in front 4-2.
AIC went on the power play in the opening minute of the third period and Tirone made a blocker save on Orszulak's shot from the high slot. The 'Cats went on the power play 14 seconds after successfully killing the Yellow Jackets' skater advantage, and at 3:35 Smith wristed a shot that Murray steered aside.
Salvaggio scored on a shot from the slot at 7:03 to give New Hampshire a 5-2 lead. Jamie Hill, with the pass off the right boards, and Michael McNicholas, with the pass from the right circle to Hill, set up the tally.
AIC trimmed the deficit to 5-3 at 11:25. Orszulak gained possession in the neutral zone and sent the puck ahead to Johno May, who moved down the slot, deked Tirone and tucked a shot into the cage.
AIC's Travis Douglas won a faceoff back to Ryan Polin at the high slot and his slap shot was snared by Tirone with 3:40 left in the game.
UNH called time out at 18:02 and netted two late goals. Gaudreault scored into the empty net on a shot from just outside the blue line along the left boards with 1:15 on the clock. In the defensive zone, Cleland wrapped the puck around the boards from the right corner and Marks made the diagonal outlet pass to Gaudreault.
Poturalski, standing at the top of the crease, closed the scoring with one second to play when he redirected Kelleher's centering pass into the open net. A Warren Foegele pass from the right circle to Kelleher on the left doorstep started the scoring sequence.