A Legacy on Ice: The Storied History of University of New Hampshire Hockey
The University of New Hampshire (UNH) Wildcats men's ice hockey program boasts a rich and vibrant history, marked by periods of dominance, heartbreaking setbacks, and the unwavering dedication of players and coaches alike. From its humble beginnings on an outdoor rink to its rise as a national contender, the program has left an indelible mark on the landscape of college hockey.
Early Years and Formation of a Program
The seeds of UNH's hockey program were sown in the early 1910s, with initial efforts to organize a team at the New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts. By January 1914, a college team was playing "a short schedule of games" against local teams. A summary of the 1914 hockey season-the team had a record of two wins and two losses-appeared in the college's 1916 yearbook. However, games from this era are not considered part of varsity history.
The first UNH ice hockey team considered part of varsity history played in January and February 1925. The team won its first two games, on consecutive days, in away matches against Bates College and Colby College in Maine. A year later, under the stewardship of Ernest Christensen, UNH played its first home game on a local rink, an outdoor facility that was dependent on cold weather for its surface. In 1938, Christensen retired and the team eventually came under the tutelage of Anthony Dougal, but his tenure was suspended in 1943 due to the outbreak of World War II. The team finally returned to the ice in January 1947, with Dougal remaining for one year before handing the program over to Joseph Petroski. After four rather poor seasons, Horace "Pepper" Martin took over and New Hampshire's fortunes began to change. By the mid-1950s, the Wildcats started to play more and win more games than they ever had before.
Joining the ECAC and the Rise to Division I
The modern era of UNH hockey began in 1961 when New Hampshire was one of 28 schools that were founding members of ECAC Hockey. Martin turned the team over to A. Barr Snively and plans were underway to replace the Harry C. Batchelder Rink with an indoor ice rink.
In the offseason of 1964, two events happened that hampered the ice hockey program. First, in April, head coach Snively suffered a heart attack and tragically died. With the school searching for a replacement the ECAC announced that it was dividing itself into two separate tiers. 'Major' programs would continue on with ECAC Hockey but 'minor' schools would be forced to join the newly-formed ECAC 2. Because their indoor facility had not yet been completed New Hampshire was forced out of the top tier. Rube Bjorkman was eventually named as head coach and he led the team for four years.
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The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) developed a hockey league, and UNH was an original member. The ECAC established a 15-member Division One (DI) conference beginning in the 1964-65 season, but UNH did not become eligible until the 1968-69 season. In their first five DI regular seasons, UNH finished no higher than 5th place. They qualified for the 8-team Quarterfinal round of the DI ECAC Playoffs in 4 out of 5 seasons but never earned home-ice advantage.
The Charlie Holt Era: A Turning Point
It was Bjorkman's successor, Charlie Holt, who put New Hampshire on the college hockey map. In Holt's first season UNH played its first postseason game, earning Holt his first of three Spencer Penrose Awards.
All that changed in 1973-74 - a season filled with first-time accomplishments. For the first time in team history, UNH finished the ECAC regular season in 1st-place. In fact, they topped the ECAC standings the entire regular season. UNH made a mark on the national scene for the first time on December 3, 1973. The Wildcats won the first two ECAC games and their 4-2-0 overall record was good enough for #6 in the national poll. From Jan 28 to Feb 24, 1974, UNH was the #2 team in the nation. In the February 11, 1974 national rankings, UNH came as close to #1 as it ever had. The Wildcats were 13-2-0 in the ECAC and 19-5-0 Overall. 4 of the 10 coaches representing the ECAC, Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA), and Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) ranked UNH #1. However, Michigan Tech retained the top rank. At the end of the 1973-74 regular season, UNH lead the ECAC with a 15-5-0 record (22-8-0 Overall) and were ranked #4 nationally.
The Impact of Tragedy and the Rise of the C-H-C Line
The UNH hockey team was flying high entering the 1973 Christmas break. On Friday night, December 21st, they beat Boston College 5-4 in overtime at the old McHugh Forum. With an undefeated record of 6-0-0 in the ECAC and 9-2-0 overall, UNH was nationally ranked at #4. A few hours after UNH triumphantly skated off the BC ice, unimaginable tragedy struck. After the BC game, three UNH players from Ontario - Warren Brown (Sophomore Left Wing, Scarborough), Dave Bertollo (Junior Left Wing, Hespeler) and Jim Harvie (Freshman Defenseman, Sarnia) - headed home for Christmas in Brown's car. At around 1 AM Saturday morning, while driving on the Massachusetts Turnpike, they were rear-ended by a truck. The serious accident resulted in the death of 19-year-old Warren Brown. Bertollo and Harvie also suffered injuries.
In the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, UNH's record fell from 6-0-0 ECAC/9-2-0 Overall to 6-2-0 ECAC/10-5-0 Overall. Their national ranking dropped from #4 to #6. Needing a spark to get the team back on track, Coach Holt juggled the lineup and created the Clark-Hislop-Cox (C-H-C) line. UNH went on a blistering 10-game win streak, including 8 ECAC wins, and rocketed up the National Rankings from #6 to #2. During one 5-game stretch, C-H-C averaged 5 goals per game.
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The potent first line of the captain Gordie Clark and Jamie Hislop and Cliff Cox led the ECAC regular season in scoring. Hislop (55 points) was the #1 scorer followed by #2 Cox (53 pts), and #3 Clark (51 pts). They scored 69 goals combined.
Individual Accolades and Team Success
Clark was named a first team All-American, becoming the first two-time All-American in UNH history. Sophomore UNH goalie Cap Raeder finished the season with the best Goals Against Average (2.64) in NCAA hockey and the third-best Save Percentage (.908). By season's end, Holt earned the Spencer Penrose Award as NCAA Coach of the Year for the second time.
With one game remaining in the 1973-74 regular season, UNH was awarded the #1 seed and home ice for the opening Quarterfinal round of the ECAC Playoffs - both for the first time in team history. The final game against St. Lawrence was home at Snively Arena. The outcome would have no effect on UNH's first-place finish in the ECAC standings. St. With UNH ahead 4-3 early in the final period, Raeder suffered a right ankle injury. He tried to resume play but was unable. Freshman goalie Dan Magnarelli, who'd played in only 4 periods all season, entered the game. St. Lawrence won 5-4.
Despite the setback, the team's accomplishments were undeniable. However, national success continued to elude him. Under Holt the Wildcats went 0-6 in the frozen four and 2-8 in the tournament overall.
A Heartbreaking End to a Promising Season
The New Hampshire, UNH's student-run newspaper, reported fans starting to lineup outside Snively Arena's entrance over 5 hours prior to the doors opening. The melodrama surrounding goalie Cap Raeder's availability and ability to play began during warmups. Frenzied cheers of relief and enthusiasm greeted his arrival on the ice. The brutal impact of Raeder's ankle injury stunned the crowd with about 6 minutes left in the opening period. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Engineers, the 8th seed in the ECAC Playoffs, scored 2 goals eight seconds apart culminating in 4 goals over a 1 minute, 20 seconds span. Raeder was done. The immense pressure of not allowing any more RPI goals shifted to the shoulders of largely untested freshman Magnarelli.
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After UNH tied the game at 4-4, goal-scoring - and UNH fans' emotions- shifted back and forth. RPI went ahead 5-4 on a power play goal late in the second period. Cliff Cox answered early in the third, completing the hat trick. It was his 27th goal in 31 games. With the clock ticking perilously close to 00:00, UNH's junior winger Mike Burkart reignited crowd euphoria, tying the game at 6-6 with 1:37 remaining. An unlikely RPI hero named Rick Smith brought UNH's epic season to an end. The freshman center, playing in only his 8th college game, had scored his first goal of the season during the second period. Just one minute, 38 seconds into overtime, Smith beat Magnarelli for the second time.
Holt stepped down in 1986 and was replaced by long-time assistant Bob Kullen.
The Kullen and Umile Eras: Transition and Renewed Success
In his first year the team saw marginal improvement but that summer Kullen was diagnosed with a rare form of heart disease that necessitated a transplant and his missing an entire season to recuperate. Dave O'Connor served as the interim head coach for 1987-88 allowing Kullen to return in the fall of '88. In two years New Hampshire saw its wins total improve to 12 and then 17 but by 1990 Kullen started rejecting his new heart and was forced to resign. Another UNH assistant, Dick Umile, was named as his replacement and unfortunately, Kullen died in November 1990 at the age of 41.
In Umile second season New Hampshire made the NCAA tournament for the first time in almost a decade and retroactively finished first in the conference after Maine was forced to forfeit 13 games.
The Late 1990s and Early 2000s: A Period of Dominance
The team continued to play well for several seasons but after a disappointing season in 1996, the team won its first Hockey East Championship and set a new program record with 28 wins. The following year the Wildcats made the Frozen Four for the first time in 16 years and then reached even higher in 1999. in the penultimate year of the millennium the Wildcats won 30 games for the first time, establishing a still-record of 31 victories (as of 2019), winning their second conference title (first outright) and were led by sophomore goaltender Ty Conklin and senior center Jason Krog, the latter won the NCAA scoring title by 16 points and captured the Hobey Baker Award (UNH's only recipient as of 2019). Despite losing in the Hockey East tournament finale The team received the #2 overall seed and a bye into the second round.
UNH would continue to be a power in Hockey East, winning back to back conference championships in 2002 and 2003 and reached their second NCAA title game in '03 where they lost to Minnesota, 5-1. UNH would make the NCAA tournament every year from 2002 through 2011 but the team could not make it out of the Regionals after 2003.
Recent History and the Quest for a Return to Glory
Starting in 2012 the program began a slow decline, ending up dead-last in the conference in 2017-18.
The New Hampshire Wildcats men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents the University of New Hampshire. The Wildcats are a member of Hockey East.
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