With just under two weeks until the regular season opens, we take a closer look at the UNH Wildcats.

Last year: 22-11-6, (17-6-4), 2nd in Hockey East, eliminated in 2nd round of NCAA tournament

What Happened: New Hampshire got off to a scorching hot start last year, losing only two of their first 17 games, and setting up a dogfight with Boston College to see who would sit at the top of Hockey East. The Wildcats were unable to duplicate the success of their 2009-10 though, finishing second in the regular season after being swept by BC on the last weekend of the season and setting up a playoff meeting with rivals Vermont. After easily dispatching the Catamounts, New Hampshire faced off against Merrimack in the Hockey East Semifinals, losing 4-1. Despite the loss, the Wildcats still made it into the NCAA tournament. There, they defeated Miami in the first round before falling to Notre Dame in the Regional Final, ending their season, once again, with “no hardware”.

Key Losses:

• Paul Thompson: In his senior season, the Derry, N.H. native posted a career year. Thompson set career highs in goals (28), assists (24), and points (52) en route to being named one of ten Hobey Baker Award finalists and tying Cam Atkinson for the Hockey East scoring lead. So valuable to UNH’s offense was Thompson that the Wildcats were 19-4-5 when he tallied at least one point and 15-3-2 in games he found the back of the net.
• Mike Sislo: Playing on a line with Thompson for most of the year, Sislo was a major benefactor of Thompson’s stellar play, posting career highs in points and assists and finishing with a final line of 15-33-48.
• Phil DeSimone: Another player who spent the majority of the season on a line with Thompson, DeSimone enjoyed his best year in a UNH sweater in 2010-11. His final line of 10-31-41 represented career highs in goals, assists, and points, as he and Sislo played provider for many of Thompson’s 28 goals.

Key Returners:

• Stevie Moses: Back for his senior season, Moses will be asked to help fill the massive hole left by the departures of the entire first line of Thompson, Sislo and DeSimone. As a junior, Moses posted 14 goals and 12 assists for 24 points, with the goal and point totals marking career-bests. Named an assistant captain for 2011-12 by head coach Dick Umile, Moses will have to prove that he can help lead the Wildcats both in the locker room and on offense.
• Matt Di Girolamo: After serving as Brian Foster’s back-up for his first two seasons at UNH, Di Girolamo jumped into the starting role last year and didn’t disappoint. Di Girolamo had the top save percentage (.923), second-best goals-against average (2.44) and third best winning percentage (.641) among Hockey East net minders, playing in every contest UNH skated in.

2011-12 Outlook: There is no way around it; UNH has huge gaps to fill on offense this year if the Wildcats want to retain their spot as one of Hockey East’s top teams. After graduating three players that accounted for over 40% of UNH’s scoring last year, head coach Dick Umile has a big task ahead of him. The good news for the Wildcats is that their roster still has plenty of offensive talent with players like Moses, Dalton Speelman, and John Henrion returning, in addition to retaining the core of their blue line, minus Blake Kessel who left school a year early to sign with the Philadelphia Flyers. If Di Girolamo has another strong season in goal and the Wildcats can find a way to pick up the slack on scoring, odds are we will see them battling for top spot in Hockey East. That last question is a big “if” however, and unless Umile and UNH can find an answer somewhere, it will be one that hangs over their whole season.

- Ben Horner

Ben Horner Hockey Fall Preview, Hockey East, UNH