'Cats Round Out Regular Season In True Form

In one of the more ridiculous seasons in MCLA history, the UNH Wildcats finished up on Sunday with a win against BU. Despite the goal being scored above, the 'Cats clawed out a 13-12 win on Senior Day improving them to 10-2, which is appropriately, the best season that myself and the other seniors have had in all four years. We've come a long way since going 5-7 last season, also seeing as we were 1-4 within the division, but it hasn't come easy, and it has been far from predictable.

Recently, we played Stonehill College, a team who has given us trouble in the past, but is still a PCLL Division 2 team nonetheless. Well, after sitting in Boston traffic for 2 hours and arriving 8 minutes before the opening draw, we found ourselves in dogfight that we weren't exactly expecting. It took 3OT's, but eventually we got out of there alive, and was ready to move on to BU. Sound similar to another game this season? Like when URI, a team that finished 1-6 this season, and 0-5 in conference took us to double overtime, before we could close them out. Sure both games ended with a W, both coming from OT game winners by #2, but that's not important. In the first season that my seniors and I have won 10 games, here's a few observations from this season:

• Both of our losses came to top 15 teams. (CSU #3, Boston College #15)
• We won six games by 5 goals or less, four by a mere one, two of which were in OT.
• The two teams that took us to OT combined for 5 wins all season.
  
• We won one game by 22 goals, and another by 14.
  
• We beat CU, who beat Michigan, snapping a 75 game winning streak. Irrelevant, but rad.
• We played 6 games in the rain, and one well below freezing, winning all but one of them.
  
• We've been in the Top 25 several times this season, peaking at 17 and currently resting at 24.
• Captain Dan Milano has 26 assists this season, leading the conference. The second guy? 13.
• The top three total point scorers in the PCLL are all from UNH.
• The top three goal scorers in the PCLL are all from UNH, including the top guy who boasts a selfish 28 goals and 4 assists.
• Our defense has only given up more than 10 goals twice.
• Of our enormous roster, rookies Joe Gardiner and R.J. O'Riordan are the ONLY two players who have flow.
  

How did this happen? The stars don't align for any of these stats, and if you try to make sense of it your head might explode. The only thing I have learned is that we don't play well on the road, and that we play down to teams we think we should beat. The good news is, that it's playoffs now it's only good teams from here on out. The better news is that the playoffs are right here in the 603, so we don't have to worry about traveling until we fly to CO, the state where we happened to play our best ball of the year. So getcha popcorn ready, because Friday night at 7 we will be hosting the semifinals of the PCLL playoffs with nothing but momentum on our sides. Except now there's only one rule. In the words of Kenny Blankenship, "Don't Get Eliminated!"