The 2008 and 2010 New Hampshire teams that won the regular-season title didn’t get here. The 2009, 2011 and 2013 squads that had a spot in the NCAA tournament locked up didn’t get here either. But the 2014 Wildcats team, one that finished fourth in the regular season, and one that needs a conference title just to qualify for NCAAs, is heading to the Hockey East championship game, a place the program hasn’t been since 2007.
The Wildcats beat Providence 3-1 in Friday night’s semifinals, led by their top scorer, Kevin Goumas. The senior center scored twice in the game, giving him five goals in his last two games, 24 points in his last 13, and 52 points in 39 games on the season. The Wildcats will take on defending champion UMass-Lowell Saturday night as they look to win their first tournament title since 2003.
“It’s been on my mind the last week or so, especially with playoffs coming around,” Goumas said of his collegiate career potentially ending. “The way I’ve been playing, just go out there and make sure it’s not my last game. I want to take care of business here in Hockey East first, but I also want one more chance to get to the NCAA tournament and a national championship.”
UNH outshot Providence 9-5 in the first and had two power plays in the period, but the Wildcats struggled to do anything with their opportunities. Most of the chances were one-and-done, and a few of them were bad-angle shots that seemed to just be desperate attempts to catch Providence goalie Jon Gillies (28 saves) off his line. They did have one quality chance on their second power play when Goumas got a good look from the slot, but Gillies made a blocker save and Nick Sorkin put the rebound over the net.
Oddly enough, it took a penalty kill for UNH to finally get on the board. With Justin Agosta in the box for cross-checking, Goumas picked up the puck in the neutral zone, raced past Anthony Florentino down the right wing and tucked a wraparound inside the far post for a shorthanded goal.
The Wildcats made it 2-0 six minutes later when Agosta fired a shot from the point that deflected in off Kevin Hart‘s skate. The backbreaker came at the second-period buzzer. After Sorkin put a centering feed from Goumas just wide, Goumas collected the puck at the right post and stuffed it past Gillies with 0.4 seconds left in the period.
Kevin Rooney cut UNH’s lead to 3-1 early in the third after Drew Brown forced a turnover on the forecheck, but that was as close as the Friars would get. Casey DeSmith made 26 saves for the Wildcats in the win.
“These guys play hard. They’ve been great guys to coach,” said UNH coach Dick Umile. “We wanted to get here. It’s a hard place to get to, to be honest with you. … This team here is a special team. They’ve been special all year.”
Providence will still qualify for the NCAA tournament despite the loss, while UNH needs to win Saturday night to make NCAAs. This marks the third straight year the Friars have lost in the semifinals.