2024–25 New Hampshire Wildcats men's ice hockey season

2024–25 New Hampshire Wildcats
men's ice hockey season
Conference10th Hockey East
Home iceWhittemore Center
Rankings
USCHONR
USA HockeyNR
Record
Overall13–16–6
Conference5–14–5
Home6–7–2
Road7–9–4
Coaches and captains
Head coachMike Souza
Assistant coachesGlenn Stewart
Jeff Giuliano
CaptainAlex Gagne
Alternate captain(s)Nikolai Jenson
Connor Sweeney
New Hampshire Wildcats men's ice hockey seasons
« 2023–24 2025–26 »

The 2024–25 New Hampshire Wildcats Men's ice hockey season was the 99th season of play for the program and the 41st in Hockey East. The Wildcats represented the University of New Hampshire in the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, played their home games at the Whittemore Center and were coached by Mike Souza in his 7th season.

Season

New Hampshire entered the season with some uncertainty about its goaltending situation. Having lost both of the netminders who appeared the previous season, the Wildcats went with the combination of two transfers in Rico DiMatteo and Jared Whale. Whale won the starting job out of training camp and remained in goal despite some up and down play early in the year. During the first few weeks of the season, the team mirrored their goaltender's performance, alternating between good and bad nights before finally settling down in mid-November. UNH began to show some of the promise the club had only hinted at over the previous few seasons, scoring at a solid clip while the defense insulated Whale. Ryan Conmy led the way during their winning stretch, scoring in every game from November 9 to January 4. The Wildcat's 8–1–2 record during that time also earned the club a return to the national polls and they even made it into the top-16 of the PairWise, giving them a shot for an at-large bid.

The team was riding high going into their series with Connecticut in mid-January. The offense faltered a bit in the two games, resulting in losses, and presaged a disastrous run of games that destroyed any chance of UNH returning to the national tournament. Over a nearly two month span, New Hampshire's scoring virtually disappeared. In 15 games, the Wildcats were only able to score more than 2 goals in 4 matches. That problem was then compounded by the sudden struggles of Whale, who saw his goals against average balloon by more than a goal per game in the second half of the season. The result was a 1–11–3 run that dropped the Wildcats towards the bottom of the standings and knocked them outside the bubble.

At the end of February, Whale was felled by an injury when he was landed on by a teammate.[1] DiMatteo finished off the game and was then called upon to start for the remainder of the season. The first thing he did was stave off #2 Boston College, losing 1–1 in a shootout, and then backstop the Wildcats to two wins over Massachusetts Lowell, the team's only conference sweep of the season.

The sudden shift in the team's fortunes brought a bit of hope back for the program, particularly since they were set to play Lowell in the first round of the conference tournament. While UNH would still have to make some noise in the Hockey East playoffs, the fact that the conference had the best ranking in the nation was born out in New Hampshire's #18 position despite possessing a losing record. Their first round match started off well with UNH finishing the first period with a 2–1 lead. However, the offense was only able to fire 13 shots over the next two periods. Lowell, on the other hand, assailed the Wildcat net bombarding DiMatteo with 29 attempts. He did well to stop most of the shots, including several on two power plays, but did end up surrendering the tying goal. UNH was able to limp into overtime but the momentum remained firmly with the River Hawks. Lowell scored the winning goal on their 42nd shot of the night, ending a dismal season for the Wildcats.[2]

Departures

Player Position Nationality Cause
Harrison Blaisdell Forward  United Kingdom Graduation (signed with Fort Wayne Komets)
Nicholas Cafarelli Forward  United States Graduate transfer to RIT
Jeremy Forman Goaltender  United States Graduate transfer to UNLV
Cameron Gendron Forward  United States Graduate transfer to Providence
Jakob Hellsten Goaltender  Sweden Signed professional contract (Leksands IF)
Tyler Muszelik Goaltender  United States Transferred to Connecticut
Stiven Sardaryan Forward  Russia Transferred to Michigan Tech

Recruiting

Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Rico DiMatteo Goaltender  United States 23 Brasher Falls, NY; graduate transfer from Long Island
Connor MacPherson Forward  Canada 19 Windsor, ON
Ryan MacPherson Forward  Canada 19 Windsor, ON; selected 172nd overall in 2023
Josh Player Defenseman  United States 19 Thorofare, NJ
Jared Whale Goaltender  Canada 21 Calgary, AB; transfer from Alaska Anchorage

Roster

As of August 24, 2024.[3]

No. Nat. Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
2 United States Jack Babbage Senior D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2000-08-30 Tully, New York Quinnipiac (ECAC) —
3 United States Conor Lovett Senior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2001-04-07 Franklin, Massachusetts Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (USHL) —
5 United States Zach Hahn Sophomore D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2002-08-06 Huntington, New York P.A.L. Jr. Islanders (NCDC) —
6 Latvia Marty Laviņš Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2003-04-10 Riga, Latvia Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (USHL) —
7 Canada Ryan MacPherson Freshman F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2005-03-02 Windsor, Ontario Penticton Vees (BCHL) PHI, 172nd overall 2023
8 United States Nikolai Jenson (A) Graduate D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 193 lb (88 kg) 2000-07-28 Cold Spring, Minnesota Youngstown Phantoms (USHL) —
9 United States Connor Sweeney (A) Senior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2000-05-05 North Andover, Massachusetts Islanders Hockey Club (NCDC) —
10 United States Ronan Walsh Sophomore F 6' 4" (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 2002-05-03 Andover, New Hampshire Amarillo Wranglers (NAHL) —
12 United States Liam Devlin Senior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 2001-01-07 Needham, Massachusetts Omaha Lancers (USHL) —
13 United States Josh Player Freshman D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2005-05-13 Thorofare, New Jersey Green Bay Gamblers (USHL) —
15 Austria Luis Lindner Senior D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2001-05-16 Spittal an der Drau, Austria American International (AHA) —
16 Canada Luke Reid Graduate D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 2001-09-26 Warman, Saskatchewan Chicago Steel (USHL) NSH, 166th overall 2020
17 Latvia Kristaps Skrastiņš Junior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2001-11-20 Grobiņa, Latvia Amarillo Wranglers (NAHL) —
19 United States Brendan Fitzgerald Sophomore D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2003-03-06 North Reading, Massachusetts Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (USHL) —
20 United States Colton Huard Senior D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2000-11-27 Foothill Ranch, California Chicago Steel (USHL) —
22 United States J. P. Turner Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2003-01-31 East Falmouth, Massachusetts Fargo Force (USHL) —
23 United States Jason Siedem Sophomore F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2002-10-17 Madison, New Jersey Blackfalds Bulldogs (AJHL) —
24 United States Robert Cronin Senior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 2000-08-15 Plymouth, Massachusetts Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL) —
25 United States Nick Ring Sophomore F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2003-10-26 Abington, Massachusetts Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL) —
26 United States Morgan Winters Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2001-12-08 Osprey, Florida Omaha Lancers (USHL) —
27 Canada Connor MacPherson Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 176 lb (80 kg) 2005-03-02 Windsor, Ontario Penticton Vees (BCHL) —
28 United States Alex Gagne (C) Senior D 6' 4" (1.93 m) 207 lb (94 kg) 2002-08-12 Bedford, New Hampshire Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL) TBL, 192nd overall 2021
29 United States Cy LeClerc Junior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2002-08-17 Brentwood, New Hampshire Janesville Jets (NAHL) —
30 United States Rico DiMatteo Senior (RS) G 6' 3" (1.91 m) 161 lb (73 kg) 2001-01-01 Brasher Falls, New York Long Island (NCAA) —
35 United States Rafe Gaughan Graduate G 6' 1" (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2000-02-11 Somersworth, New Hampshire Northeast Generals (NA3HL) —
36 United States Ryan Conmy Sophomore F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2004-10-23 Alexandria, Virginia Sioux City Musketeers (USHL) LAK, 182nd overall 2023
41 Canada Jared Whale Junior G 5' 11" (1.8 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2002-11-01 Calgary, Alberta Alaska Anchorage (NCAA) —

Standings

2024–25 Hockey East Standings
Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OTW OTL SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#4 Boston College † 24 18 4 2 2 0 1 55 82 40 37 27 8 2 125 65
#8 Maine * 24 13 5 6 1 1 5 50 67 45 38 24 8 6 124 75
#2 Boston University 24 14 8 2 1 1 2 46 89 65 40 24 14 2 150 119
#7 Connecticut 24 12 8 4 3 2 1 40 76 65 39 23 12 4 130 97
#13 Providence 24 11 8 5 2 2 1 39 65 67 37 21 11 5 103 96
#10 Massachusetts 24 10 9 5 0 0 2 37 69 58 40 21 14 5 133 97
Massachusetts Lowell 24 8 13 3 0 1 2 30 57 69 36 16 16 4 93 101
Merrimack 24 9 14 1 1 0 1 28 57 81 35 13 21 1 81 112
Northeastern 24 7 14 3 1 1 2 26 48 71 37 14 20 3 88 112
New Hampshire 24 5 14 5 0 2 1 23 53 73 35 13 16 6 96 100
Vermont 24 6 16 2 2 3 1 22 59 88 35 11 21 3 100 116
Championship: March 21, 2025
† indicates regular season champion
* indicates conference tournament champion (Lamoriello Trophy)
Rankings: USCHO Division I Men's Poll

Schedule and results

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Exhibition
October 5 1:00 pm Stonehill* Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire (Exhibition) ESPN+ Whale W 4–1  3,139
Regular Season
October 12 7:00 pm Bentley* Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire ESPN+ Whale W 2–1 OT 4,372 1–0–0
October 18 7:00 pm at Merrimack J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts ESPN+ Whale T 0–0 SOL 2,476 1–0–1 (0–0–1)
October 25 7:00 pm at #11 Quinnipiac* M&T Bank Arena • Hamden, Connecticut ESPN+, NESN Whale L 2–8  3,402 1–1–1
October 26 4:00 pm at #11 Quinnipiac* M&T Bank Arena • Hamden, Connecticut ESPN+ Whale W 3–2  3,541 2–1–1
November 1 7:00 pm at #12 Providence Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island ESPN+, NESN Whale L 3–6  2,029 2–2–1 (0–1–1)
November 2 4:30 pm #12 Providence Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire ESPN+, NESN Whale L 0–3  4,857 2–3–1 (0–2–1)
November 9 7:00 pm Long Island* Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire ESPN+ Whale W 6–1  4,162 3–3–1
November 15 7:00 pm Northeastern Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire ESPN+, NESN Whale W 4–1  5,937 4–3–1 (1–2–1)
November 16 7:00 pm at Northeastern Matthews Arena • Boston, Massachusetts ESPN+ Whale T 1–1 SOL 2,654 4–3–2 (1–2–2)
November 22 7:00 pm #5т Maine Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire (Rivalry) ESPN+, NESN Whale L 1–3  6,501 4–4–2 (1–3–2)
November 29 7:00 pm RIT* Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire ESPN+ Whale W 5–1  3,717 5–4–2
November 30 7:00 pm RIT* Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire ESPN+ Whale W 6–1  3,619 6–4–2
December 6 7:00 pm at Northeastern Matthews Arena • Boston, Massachusetts ESPN+ Whale W 5–3  2,276 7–4–2 (2–3–2)
December 13 7:00 pm at #17 Dartmouth* Thompson Arena • Hanover, New Hampshire (Rivalry) ESPN+ Whale T 3–3 SOW 2,768 7–4–3
December 14 7:30 pm USNTDP* Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire (Exhibition) ESPN+ DiMatteo W 6–2  3,441
December 28 3:00 pm at Rensselaer* Houston Field House • Troy, New York ESPN+ Whale W 7–4  2,138 8–4–3
January 3 7:00 pm at Princeton* Hobey Baker Memorial Rink • Princeton, New Jersey ESPN+ Whale W 3–0  2,020 9–4–3
January 4 4:00 pm at Princeton* Hobey Baker Memorial Rink • Princeton, New Jersey ESPN+ Whale W 4–3  2,057 10–4–3
January 10 7:00 pm Connecticut #17 Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire ESPN+ Whale L 1–4  5,491 10–5–3 (2–4–2)
January 11 4:00 pm at Connecticut #17 Toscano Family Ice Forum • Storrs, Connecticut ESPN+ Whale L 2–3  2,691 10–6–3 (2–5–2)
January 17 7:00 pm #11 Boston University #19 Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire ESPN+, NESN Whale L 3–6  5,653 10–7–3 (2–6–2)
January 18 7:00 pm at #11 Boston University #19 Agganis Arena • Boston, Massachusetts ESPN+ Whale L 1–2 OT 5,717 10–8–3 (2–7–2)
January 24 7:00 pm Vermont #18 Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire ESPN+ Whale L 2–3  4,705 10–9–3 (2–8–2)
January 25 7:00 pm Vermont #18 Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire ESPN+ Whale W 5–2  5,873 11–9–3 (3–8–2)
January 31 7:00 pm at #10 Boston University #18 Agganis Arena • Boston, Massachusetts ESPN+ Whale L 2–7  4,483 11–10–3 (3–9–2)
February 7 7:00 pm #1 Boston College Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire ESPN+, NESN Whale L 2–4  6,501 11–11–3 (3–10–2)
February 8 7:00 pm Merrimack Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire ESPN+, NESN Whale L 4–5  4,989 11–12–3 (3–11–2)
February 14 7:00 pm at #5 Maine Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine (Rivalry) ESPN+ Whale T 1–1 SOL 5,043 11–12–4 (3–11–3)
February 15 7:00 pm at #5 Maine Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine (Rivalry) ESPN+, NESN Whale L 2–5  5,043 11–13–4 (3–12–3)
February 21 7:00 pm #16 Massachusetts Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire ESPN+ Whale T 3–3 SOW 5,726 11–13–5 (3–12–4)
February 22 6:00 pm at #16 Massachusetts Mullins Center • Amherst, Massachusetts ESPN+ Whale L 1–3  6,144 11–14–5 (3–13–4)
February 28 7:00 pm at #1 Boston College Conte Forum • Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts ESPN+ Whale L 1–4  7,007 11–15–5 (3–14–4)
March 1 7:00 pm #1 Boston College Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire ESPN+ DiMatteo T 1–1 SOL 6,501 11–15–6 (3–14–5)
March 7 7:00 pm at #17 Massachusetts Lowell Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+, NESN+ DiMatteo W 4–1  5,291 12–15–6 (4–14–5)
March 8 7:00 pm at #17 Massachusetts Lowell Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire ESPN+ DiMatteo W 4–2  6,501 13–15–6 (5–14–5)
Hockey East Tournament
March 12 7:05 pm at #19 Massachusetts Lowell* Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts (Hockey East Opening Round) ESPN+ DiMatteo L 2–3 OT 2,995 13–16–6
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.
Source:[4]

Scoring statistics

Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Ryan Conmy RW 34 15 18 33 6
Robert Cronin F 35 17 11 28 20
Cy LeClerc F 33 8 20 28 12
Liam Devlin F 35 9 14 23 40
Nick Ring F 35 9 11 20 4
Marty Laviņš C 35 8 9 17 34
Alex Gagne D 35 4 13 17 46
Morgan Winters F 26 2 12 14 8
J. P. Turner C 35 5 8 13 22
Luke Reid D 35 1 11 12 10
Jason Siedem F 32 3 8 11 4
Colton Huard D 35 0 10 10 22
Connor Sweeney F 35 2 6 8 8
Conor Lovett F 35 5 1 6 10
Kristaps Skrastiņš C 32 3 3 6 4
Nikolai Jenson D 28 2 4 6 33
Luis Lindner D/F 28 0 6 6 4
Brendan Fitzgerald D 33 1 2 3 24
Ryan MacPherson C 18 1 1 2 2
Jack Babbage D 20 1 0 1 6
Zach Hahn D 2 0 0 0 0
Connor MacPherson RW 5 0 0 0 0
Josh Player D 13 0 0 0 2
Ronan Walsh F 15 0 0 0 15
Rico DiMatteo G 8 0 0 0 0
Jared Whale G 31 0 0 0 0
Bench – – – – – 4
Total 99 183 282 383

[5]

Goaltending statistics

Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals against Saves Shut outs SV % GAA
Rico DiMatteo 8 355:25 2 1 1 15 153 0 .911 2.53
Jared Whale 31 1770:39 11 15 5 79 624 2 .888 2.68
Empty Net - 15:20 - - - 6 - - - -
Total 35 2141:24 13 16 6 100 777 2 .886 2.80

Rankings

Main article: 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey rankings
Poll Week
Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 (Final)
USCHO.com RV NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR RV - RV 17 19 18 18 RV RV RV RV RV RV NR NR - NR
USA Hockey RV NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR RV - 20 16 18 18 16 19 RV RV RV RV RV NR NR NR NR

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in week 12 or 26.[6]
Note: USA Hockey did not release a poll in week 12.

Awards and honors

Player Award Ref
Alex Gagne All-Hockey East Third Team [7]

References

  1. ^ "UNH goalie Whale resting at home on campus after suffering injury Friday night". New Hampshire Union Leader. March 1, 2025. Retrieved June 1, 2025.
  2. ^ "Ice Hockey - UMass Lowell vs New Hampshire Highlights (03.12.25, HEA Tournament Opening Round)". YouTube. Retrieved June 1, 2025.
  3. ^ "2022–23 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". UNH Wildcats. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  4. ^ "2024-25 Men's Ice Hockey Schedule". New Hampshire Wildcats. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  5. ^ "Univ. of New Hampshire 2024-2025 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  6. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  7. ^ "Hockey East Names 2024-25 Men's All-Star Teams". hockeyeastonline.com. March 14, 2025. Retrieved March 14, 2025.
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