Four Years of UNH Hockey: From Behind the Glass

Over the past four years I have attended roughly 60 UNH men's hockey games at the Whittemore Center, possibly closer to 70 or more even. I only missed a home game or two a year (only one when I was actually on campus, the others coming over breaks.) UNH hockey is a way of life in Durham and it was a big part of my college career.

From my freshmen days of filling a Coke can half full of vodka for the walk from Williamson to the Whit, arriving just a few minutes before puck drop to eventually becoming a front row fan as a senior I've seen a lot of hockey. It was a pleasure this year to help out with The Wildcat Army and I fill with joy during every "I believe" chant because that was started on my suggestion. I hope that tradition carries on because I would love to have had an impact on the UNH hockey atmosphere.

Senior Night is for the players, but as a graduating senior I couldn't help but feel slightly emotional as I stood in the student section one last time. I think it means something to all of us who have been there throughout the years. Getting to step on the ice to pick up pucks on Senior Night was truly a great experience as a UNH fan. I took a few pictures as I gathered it all in.

I've seen a lot of great games at the Whit over these last few years. The Wisconsin games were entertaining and well as the Miami-Ohio and Michigan games, but nothing compares with the two game home series against Maine last year. Thompson's last minute backhander after Nyquist missed an empty net was legendary.

The 5-5 tie against Miami-Ohio a few years back was another great one. It featured 9 second period goals (5 from UNH) and it will go down as one of the most entertaining periods I've seen. This year's game against Northeastern earlier in the season (with the power outages) was another great one. With only the student section remaining after three power outages, that game will be one to remember. I remember watching UNH's upset over North Dakota in the NCAA regional from my dorm room in Williamson. Last year's tournament upset over Miami-Ohio was another great game.

I got to see future and current pros and UNH legends such as James van Reimsdyk, Bobby Butler, Brian Foster, Blake Kessel, Phil Thompson, Phil DeSimone, Mike Sislo, Peter Leblanc and hopefully more from the current roster. Not to mention future NHL stars from the other Hockey East schools.

Going to hockey games has been amazing and I would like to thank all of the players. This has been a tough season for UNH fans, but I think the underclassmen have shown a lot of potential. I'm definitely looking forward to following this team as an alumni. To all the seniors, Tyler Scott, Kevin McCarey (whose easy button slap last night was epic) Matt Digirolamo, Damon Kipp, Stevie Moses and Mike Borisenok - thank you. I've never met you guys, but it was great seeing your careers progress these last four seasons. To all the underclassmen, best of luck in the upcoming years and make the most of it. This hasn't been our year, but I think a UNH championship is not far off.

Stay classy, not UMassy.

Letter Regarding David Guetta Concert

Dear Students of UNH,

I hope your semester is going well. With David Guetta performing a concert at the Whittemore Center tonight, Wednesday, February 8, I have been asked to get some information out to the students.

I am asking for your cooperation to make sure that no “after concert” problems may arise on campus. UNH has had a few times in our history where major student misbehavior followed concerts such as the Wiz Khalifa and Avicii "ragers." Leading up to and following these concerts significant damage has occurred to student's brain cells and livers.

I am requesting that students stay away from the Main Street area. Students will not be permitted to gather downtown. There is going to be increased police presence at the Whittemore Center and in town. By going downtown you face a serious risk of arrest, suspension from school or face a possible death squad.

Also, to prevent any "during concert" problems, students are being asked to stand still throughout the concert. No singing, no dancing, and absolutely no "going HAM" will be allowed. If you must use the facilities please raise your hand and a trained usher will walk with you. To avoid confusing the ushers, we respectfully ask that you refrain from "fist pumping."

Lastly, to prevent any "pre concert" problems, students are being asked to bring a book to read quietly while waiting in line for the doors to open. Any student found not studying will face possible suspension or arrest.

Enjoy yourselves and thank you for your cooperation. And remember stay classy, not UMassy.

The New Hampshirite
Student Blogger: Certified Bad Ass
unhblog@yahoo.com

Behavior not Unique to UNH

For the past several weeks, the UNH campus had been buzzing with anticipation for the Avicii concert, which finally took place this past Saturday. As expected, many UNH students and other concert attendees were "hydrated" as Tom Brady might put it, but it is important to note that behavior like this is not unique to the UNH campus.

UNH police announced that 34 arrests were made at the concert. Many of the arrests were related to drugs and alcohol, which should be expected not because this is UNH, but because it was A) a concert and B) it was located at a college campus. It is also important to note that due to New Hampshire's internal possession law, arrest numbers are often higher than at schools located in other states. For example, when SCOPE brought rapper Wiz Khalifa to UNH last year, there were 48 arrests made on campus that night, as opposed to only two at the same show the night before at the University of Rhode Island.

These statistics are misleading. While one may argue that they show UNH has more disruptive and out of control students, the statistics actually reflect more on New Hampshire's strict alcohol consumption laws. An internal possession violation in New Hampshire will result in an arrest, while it would only result in a citation in other states.

This misleading stat is similar to the "study" done by The Daily Beast last year that ranked UNH as the "Druggiest School in the Country." The Daily Beast used the number of arrests related to drugs as their major statistic. High arrest numbers can also be attributed to UNH's zero tolerance policy and New Hampshire's drug laws. For example, possession of certain amounts of marijuana in Massachusetts or Vermont will only result in a citation, while any amount results in an arrest in New Hampshire.

While that means UNH has more arrests for marijuana than other schools, it does not mean that UNH students are using drugs more than others. UNH students simply get in more trouble for it.

If that study were to be done accurately, it would need to include citations issued for drug use along with the arrest numbers. In a way, it is kind of amusing because UNH is only being labeled as a top drug school because our policy is so strict. It is also important to note that the arrest numbers do not separate UNH students from non-students. Many of the biggest party weekends at UNH, including Homecoming, Halloween and Spring Climax, are also the biggest weekends for non-UNH students to come to our campus.

In fact, if you compare the statistics provided by The Daily Beast with statistics from UNH Health Services, UNH students actually use marijuana at a lower rate than the statewide average for 18-25 year olds. The Daily Beast listed New Hampshire's statewide average as 29.21 percent for the month prior to the survey and 41.54 percent for the year prior. Last year, UNH Health Services said that only 27 percent of UNH students admitted to using marijuana on the Housing surveys.

You are probably wondering by now why I am bringing all of this up. I feel that whenever stories break about UNH and illegal activities, it only dampens our school's reputation.

Following the announcement that 34 people were arrested (Update: of which only 14 were UNH students) at the Avicii concert, many local papers, including Foster's Daily Democrat, the New Hampshire Union Leader, the Nashua Telegraph, and even Boston.com ran brief stories. (Then again, has the Union Leader ever written anything positive about UNH?) Many of these write-ups also mentioned the fire at the salt shed as if there is evidence that the two were connected. While this is possible, it seems highly unlikely because the fire was called in at 7:30 p.m., when the concert was already underway.

When large concerts and events come to college campuses you should expect students and non-students to be arrested for drugs and alcohol – those come with the territory. However, we should not allow the few people who went too far, who may or may not even be UNH students, to hurt the reputation of this campus. UNH is already known as a party school, but once you attend it, you realize that it really isn't any different than most schools, especially public state schools for that matter.

Stay classy, not UMassy.

I Got the Hockey Bug

Over the last few days I have gotten the hockey bug. I cannot wait for the season to begin. I have been in close contact with the students who are forming "The Wildcat Army" and will be replacing the superfans this year. Let me just say that we have some awesome things in store and as the season approaches I'll have many more details, including new chants and traditions. It's going to be an awesome season and our main goal is to get the Whit louder than ever and make opponents tremble. Take a look at this gem from the old Snivley Area (what is now the rec center):

If that doesn't get you pumped then I don't know what will.

Wiz Reactions

Well, well, well... Another Scope concert and another overflow of negative (and a few positive) remarks thrown every which way... "it wasn't organized" "Scope sucks" "Scope blew it" "It wasn't Scope's fault, it was all the wasted kids" "what was the point of the wrist bands" blah blah blah... you complaints truly make a difference. (Not).

I did not go to the concert, but I talked to a fair amount of people who did. There was one pretty overlying response I got. (Well technically two). For the majority (but not on the whole) underclassmen tended to blame Scope while upperclassmen tended to blame overly drunk students. One email sent to me said "...people were wicked shitty, stoned/drunk/who the fuck knows. It was an overall a piss-poor ability from the student population to handle themselves when under the influence of whatever..." And it continued "We were both fairly intoxicated, but we know better. Plus we weren't puking in the bathrooms at the Whit like half the female population seemed to be. You paid money to go to a show, and you're so drunk you are puking and probably won't remember any of it. Yup, that's intelligent right there."


There is a common trend between all the complaints: Maturity. When I was younger I probably would have been all over Scope, but understanding what they have to deal with makes a big difference. Scope can't override what the Fire Chief says. I wouldn't want to have to deal with all that shitty shit, would you? Don't get me wrong, things can always be handled better, but I think that is it important to remember that Scope members are regular students like you and me. They are not professionals so it is not fair to assume that everything will go over smoothly. I think the bigger problem is with UNH and the local police. I heard a lot of cops being over physical and aggressive with the crowd, which is highly inappropriate. Most cops here aren't too bad, but there are a select few who abuse their powers.

Via Twitter I learned that by 10PM 14 people were already in protective custody at Strafford County. On the whole night 48 people were arrested (including Mac Miller's DJ). An undercover cop came "uncomfortably" close to arresting Wiz. 48 fucking people in one night! I set the over/under at 50!  It's things like this that give UNH a bad name (see: Daily Beast ranking UNH the worst drug school, which was based off arrests). In comparison, the same concert tour went to Rhode Island the night before and there were only 2 arrests.

College students drink. Underage college students drink. Zero tolerance policies do not work and only make things appear worse. It has become apparent that changes need to be made, but the current policy obviously isn't working. I'm not saying that law breakers shouldn't be punished, but there are other ways to go about this problem. Students need to learn to take responsibility for their actions and mistakes, but so does our administration and the police.

Stay classy, not UMassy.

Greater Than Sports

For the third day in a row I'm blogging based off an email. I got to say I'm loving the reader tips, keep 'em coming! If you haven't heard yet, UNH hockey player Mike Borisenok runs a t-shirt business and he designed shirts for next weekend's White out the Whit game against Maine. The shirts are pretty awesome and it is a great way to support a fellow UNHer and the hockey team for the game. They made a facebook page for the shirts, but you should also check out the Great Than Sports website. The White out the Whit shirts are selling for $15 and they can be delivered or picked up. Check out the website or email Katrina at kbe6@unh.edu to order a shirt.

Lastly, 

Puck Maine and Puck whoever made Mike change the original design. 

#3 Michigan visits the Whit

Tonight the #3 ranked Michigan Wolverines come to our house to take on the 'Cats at the Whit. Michigan is the only school in the country to have made more consecutive trips to the NCAA tournament (20) than UNH (9). To say that Michigan is a college hockey powerhouse is an understatement, however it is rare for  them to travel for a big non-conference game so we need the Whit to be rocking tonight. I expect a packed, rowdy crowd, and I am not just talking about the student section. After splitting a pair of games at then #3 Miami-Ohio last weekend UNH (#8) has proved they can play with anyone in the country. Michigan has a lengthy history and let's face it, if you've never heard of "The Michigan Goal" you aren't a true hockey fan:

So, UNH students and fans and all those in attendance tonight, be loud, be rowdy and make the Wolverines fear the Whit! Brush up on all your chants here.

Stay classy, not UMassy.

Talking Puck

The first month of school always feels empty, like something is missing. That something is UNH hockey. Since my freshman year I have been to almost every home game with the same group of people, and we always sit in the same area. It is our own little tradition, and I would not want it any other way. Needless to say, we were in the same section as always at the Whittemore Center Saturday night to watch UNH tie St. Francis Xavier in an exhibition game. As a lifelong UNH hockey fan, a few things really jumped out at me throughout the course of the game.

Almost immediately after taking our seats, I noticed that the Whitt featured new boards, which I heard were being replaced. No big deal, right? The surprising thing was that the corners are now about three feet shallower, which is strange because the Whit has always been known for its ice size. Although the dimensions are the same, the shallower corners may help the team adjust for smaller rinks at opposing arenas. This could be important because UNH is hosting NCAA Northeast Regional rounds at the Verizon Wireless Center in Manchester, which has a smaller ice surface.

The next thing that I noticed was the lack of enthusiasm from many student fans, most of whom were probably freshmen. Now, I understand that Saturday night was simply an exhibition game, but standing emotionless, refusing to take part in any cheers or even clap, is down right unacceptable. Attending UNH hockey games is a privilege; nobody is too cool to cheer. Leaving after the first period? Unforgivable. Say what you want, but UNH is a hockey school; it has been forever and it probably always will be. Hockey games are not social events that you attend to take self-portraits with your friends. Hockey games are for watching the best college hockey players battle it out for a chance to win a championship. Hockey games are about passion, tradition and pride for your school.

One of my closest friends goes to Maine (yeah, I know…). Maine also had an exhibition game this weekend. You know what their student section was like? There were students lining up around the building two hours before game time, the section was fully packed and the students treated the game like any other. I am issuing a challenge right now for my fellow UNH students. There should never be an empty seat in the student section. There should never be a silent moment from the time the puck is dropped until well after the final whistle. We want opposing players to fear the Whit. For the past few years, UNH has led Hockey East in average attendance, but that is not good enough. We need to be loud, rowdy and make the building shake to truly have the best fans in the conference.

If you are asking yourself: "Why should I care about college sports so much? It's not like they're pro." Then think about this: as a UNH student you are more a part of the "team" then any professional team. Every single full-time UNH undergraduate pays a mandatory "Student Athletics" fee of $882 a year. That fee, which is $300 more than any other mandatory fee, is described on UNH's website as "admittance to all home games of organized sports at UNH and financial support for athletes and athletic teams." (Later this week I will have a post on more of these mandatory fees.) You are, in part, paying for the athlete's scholarships; you better cheer for them to do well. Also, it shows that we really do not get free tickets to the home games. UNH home games for all sports are as free as every meal you eat at the dining hall. Just because you don't pay to enter doesn't mean you're getting in for free. Also, it really shows that UNH athletes should be nice to the student fans. We're paying for you to go here. You're welcome.

This year's team has the talent to be a national title contender. With a little time for the lines to gel together and the best home ice advantage, UNH could easily win Hockey East. All of the eyes in Hockey East are on the defending NCAA champions Boston College and the high-powered offense of Maine, so UNH has the potential to sneak up on a few teams this season. Any year can be our year; let's make it one to remember.

Stay classy, not UMassy.

UNH/St. Francis Xavier (Delayed) Reactions

Something I want to do this year is write more about UNH sports on the blog. The big three are obviously men's hockey, football and more recently, men's basketball. Hopefully, I'll find time to make it to more games for all different teams. I know I've dropped the ball on the two home football games so far (I only made it to the opener) but I will try to do better. As for hockey, I have been to almost every home game going back to my freshman year. In fact, I've only missed two that I was actually on campus for.

Here are some of my thoughts on the exhibition game verse St. Francis Xavier. (Sorry for the long delay, usually I'll get these up right after or the day after games.)

The Whit featured shallower corners, by about 3 or 4 feet. (The ice used to cover where the steel grate is in this photo.) I'm not too sure what to think of this. The Whit has always been known for it's massive ice size and deep corners. Could this be strategy for adjusting to small away arenas? Or just more foot room for the front row spectators?

-UNH outshot St. Francis 44-14, but tied 3-3. Throwing the puck on net is good, but they got to find more high quality scoring opportunities.
-3 goals on 14 shots didn't mean goalie Matt DiGirolamo had a poor game. St. Francis capitalized on three great scoring chances. Turnovers and uneven rushes can put the goalie in bad situations.
-Paul Thompson looks like he's ready to continue from where he left off last year, scoring two goals. One came on a redirection from a Blake Kessel snipe.
-The second line of Stevie Moses - Mike Borisneok - Greg Burke might be the most entertaining line to watch. They didn't record any points Saturday, but they are three excited players and if they gel they will do great things. The top line of Thompson-Phil DeSimone-Mike Sislo will get the attention, but don't sleep on that second line.
-The third line, which was Dalton Speelman-Austin Block-John Henrion is also fun too watch. Speelman is an undersized scrapper who isn't afraid to do the dirty work. Block is all over the ice and Henrion has shown that he can score when he gets the opportunity.
-Defensively, Brett Kostolansky started the game with Kessel, but later in the game Matt Campanale played on the top defensive line with Kessel.
-UNH seemed a little out of synch. The lines didn't seem to be on the same page for the entire game and they allowed the less talented X-Men to hang around and eventually tie the game.
-UNH seemed to lack the "killer instinct." Towards the end of the second period UNH scored two goals and finally seemed to take control, but they came out flat to start the third. They also came out flat to start the second and didn't seem to be highly motivated. Hopefully their poor performance will motivate them to step their game up against tougher opponents.
-Forget the shot advantage, UNH did not play well or up to their expectations.
-STFX player Mark Louis is a total hack. Kid was scruffing it up after every play and following a 5 minute major for contact to the head he was also slapped with a game misconduct. That came late so he was most likely running his mouth to the ref.
-Speaking of the ref's, they missed several calls both ways. Not gonna complain because it didn't appear to be one sided, but one of the referees was my old buddy Scott Hansen, of course there would be missed calls.
-STFX did not have one shot on either of their power plays.
-UNH recorded 1 power play goal on 6 shots.
-The stick figure made his glorious return, but was not up long enough for the crowd to react.
-Freshman suck. Too many students refused to cheer, or even clap, some left after the first period. Weak showing. (More on this tomorrow in my Like a Pro column).
-The new Wild E. Cat sucks. Sorry, I'm nostalgic.

Stay classy, not UMassy.

MMA Comes to UNH

On Friday September 17th the MMA league called Global Fight League (basically the level below UFC) will be hosting a fight night at the Whittemore Center. Personally, I'm not a huge MMA person, I like boxing, but this event looks like it could be pretty entertaining. It will feature both amateur and professional fighters in 15 matches. The main bout is a rematch championship fight and two of the other fights are also for a title. Student tickets are just $10, which is a great deal considering tickets range from $35 to $100. I don't know if it is barbaric for me to say this, but I can't think of a better event to get really drunk and watch. It is being advertised as the biggest MMA fight in New England history so it could definitely be worth it to check it out. There will be a more detailed preview in an upcoming issue of TNH, so check that out because I am scooping this from them.

Stay classy, not UMassy.

What Should I Do?

Last night I had an epiphany. I had a sudden realization that my made up blogger identity is, and always will be, way more popular than me. Last night was going like every other Thursday night for me at UNH. I had a few drinks, just to get a buzz going, hung around with some friends and whatnot. But later in the evening I checked all three of my emails, personal and for the blog, and twitter and both of my facebooks and I had one message in all five forms of social networking technology. It was an invitation to go to a party... on the New Hampshirite's facebook account. Never, in my career at UNH have I ever received a formal invitation to a party. That being said, I have been to many, many parties at various apartments, frats and houses, but I was never invited a full week a head of time. It has always been a last minute thing. These people want someone who they have never met before to show up at their apartment next weekend to have a friendly get-together.

I fear the question is not, whether my alias is cooler than me, because it is quite obvious that's true. But the real question is whether or not I go to this party. These people obviously read the blog because they not only friended me on facebook, but also invited me to the party. But how do I know if this isn't some type of witch hunt just to find out who I am? I feel obligated to make an appearance and show them how to party the New Hampshirite way because these really could be my biggest readers and I don't want to let them down, but what happens if I knock on the door and the next thing I know a camera flash goes off and my face is all over campus, and the internet. That would not be cool. At all. So, as you can tell, I have found myself to be in a bit of a pickle. Any ideas about what I should do?

I don't know if you saw in today's TNH but I got mentioned in the "blogs de jour" section. I very much enjoyed which passage they choose to represent me. For those readers off campus, it was the one about the two girls talking about cocaine and my reaction to that. I should be finishing up my debut article for TNH later today so hopefully that will make it into one of next week's issues.

Just some other things I want to throw out, Fall Feast is tonight at the Whit. It can usually be a good place to see drunk kids try to do stupid things such as riding a mechanical bull. I'll probably swing by for a bit, but I also have places to be and people to see. Damn, I should start charging people to make an appearance. Have a good weekend everybody. Stay safe, stay smart, stay drunk, but most of all

Stay classy, not UMassy.