Hellsten a big reason why UNH advanced to play at Maine
Mar. 14—DURHAM — You have to be in the locker room to understand it, UNH men's hockey coach Mike Souza said, but it's noticeable when the Wildcats are on the ice.
"When your goalie's playing well," Souza said, "there's a different attitude in the room."
Wildcats junior transfer goaltender Jakob Hellsten earned his third straight shutout against UMass Lowell — in five days, no less — with a 20-save performance and winger Harrison Blaisdell's first-period goal stood up in UNH's 1-0 victory over the River Hawks on Wednesday night in a Hockey East first-round tournament game.
And now it's on to Maine for the single-elimination quarterfinals. The Wildcats (20-14-1) will visit their rivals, the eighth-ranked Black Bears, on Saturday at 7 p.m.
The Wildcats went 2-1 against Maine during the regular season, posting consecutive 6-2 and 5-2 home wins in front of sellout crowds last month and falling, 5-2, at a sold-out Alfond Arena on Dec. 1.
The eighth-ranked Black Bears (22-10-2), who went 4-2 over their final six regular-season games, own a 7-2 all-time record against the Wildcats in the Hockey East tournament.
The Black Bears' talented freshman forwards of Bradly and Josh Nadeau were held pointless in those two losses at UNH last month. The brothers combined for three goals and three assists in Maine's December home win over the Wildcats. Josh leads Maine in assists (25) and Bradly, a 2023 Carolina Hurricanes draftee (30th overall pick), leads it in goals (17).
"Obviously, it would have been a lot easier on the nerves to win 4-0 (Wednesday), but that's how it's going to be — it's the playoffs," Hellsten said. "I think (Wednesday was) a good game to get ready for Maine because it's probably going to be the exact same way. It's going to be a tight game."
A major reason for UNH's advancement is Hellsten. The North Dakota transfer, the first Wildcats goalie to earn three straight shutouts since current Vancouver Canuck Casey DeSmith did it in 2012, made a combined 39 saves over the Wildcats' two 4-0 victories over UMass Lowell last weekend to end the regular season and has five shutouts overall.
The Ljusdal, Sweden, native ranks third in the nation in goals-against average (1.93) and owns a .914 save percentage. Only Ty Conklin has ever posted a better single-season goals-against average for the Wildcats (1.84 in 1998-99).
Hellsten denied a Jake Stella shot on a two-on-one River Hawks rush 4:13 into the first period Wednesday — one of his 10 saves in the period.
"I think that allows you to play on your toes a little bit more defensively — with and without the puck," Souza said of when Hellsten is playing well. "I think that allows us to play to our strength, which is our transition game."
UMass Lowell coach Norm Bazin said his team slowed the Wildcats down in the neutral zone, an area where they like to play with pace, by keeping numbers above them. Souza said the Wildcats also could have been smarter with the puck in the neutral zone.
UNH tallied a combined 50 shots on goal in last weekend's series, but managed only 19 on UML goalie Henry Welsch on Wednesday.
Blaisdell, who scored two goals against UMass Lowell last Friday, scored again Wednesday with 9:14 remaining in the opening period on a tap-in shot from the doorstep. Defenseman Luke Reid corralled a loose puck in the River Hawks' end and dished it to Robert Cronin, and Cronin found Blaisdell, who chipped it past Welsh's glove.
Blaisdell and his other third line members, Cronin, a junior center, and J.P. Turner, a freshman right wing, have logged a combined five goals and nine assists in the Wildcats' last seven games.
Cronin also went a game-best 12-4 on faceoffs and Turner played "outstanding" on Wednesday, Souza said.
Hellsten denied a partial breakaway by Nick Rheaume, then weathered a final push after Welsch was pulled for an extra skater with 2:29 remaining.
"We just played the same way, honestly," Hellsten said of the Wildcats' defensive approach over those final minutes. "We chipped a couple more pucks but we're just sticking to whatever works. ... I think we've just got to stick to it no matter who we play and no matter what the situation is in the game."
