{"id":25980,"date":"2003-10-03T13:46:51","date_gmt":"2003-10-03T18:46:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2003\/10\/03\/200304-new-hampshire-season-preview\/"},"modified":"2010-08-17T19:55:31","modified_gmt":"2010-08-18T00:55:31","slug":"200304-new-hampshire-season-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wwwproxy.uscho.com\/2003\/10\/03\/200304-new-hampshire-season-preview\/","title":{"rendered":"2003-04 New Hampshire Season Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"
New Hampshire lost some big-time players from the squad that advanced to the national championship game last year — All-Americans Lanny Gare and Colin Hemingway are Exhibits A and B — but still returns plenty of talent for another serious run at it.<\/p>\n
The motherlode crouches between the pipes. Michael Ayers recorded seven shutouts last season en route to All-Hockey East, All-America, and (with Boston College’s Ben Eaves) Hockey East Co-Player of the Year honors. <\/p>\n
“No question, our strength starts from our net out with our big returning All-American,” coach Dick Umile says. “Michael had a fabulous season. It’s great to have someone of his experience and what he accomplished last year.”<\/p>\n
In front of Ayers is a veteran group of blueliners that emphasizes solid defensive play over offensive flash. Don’t look for them atop any scoring statistics; instead, move your eyes over to the plus-minus leaders. <\/p>\n
“We’re going to bring back four or five guys who played quite a bit for us,” Umile says. “So we have quite a bit of experience and we think we’ll be a solid defensive corps. <\/p>\n
“Offensively, though, Garrett Stafford and Kevin Truelson [who both graduated] were talented offensive defensemen so we’ll need younger guys to step up and fill those shoes. There’s no question that defensively we’ll be solid, but it’s always good to have a couple offensive defensemen who can help you on the power play, get you out of the zone and put a little pressure on the attack.”<\/p>\n