The blue line was expected to be a stronghold of consistency for the University of New Hampshire men’s hockey team back in the fall.
That has proven true for its top pairing of senior captain Matias Cleland and junior Cameron Marks. Anthony Wyse, a freshman and one of the team’s biggest bodies at 6 feet, 3 inches and 225 pounds, hasn’t missed a game and has anchored the second pairing since breaking into the top four in late October.
Cleland and Marks have been the team’s starting defensemen for every game this season. Cleland is second on the team in assists with 24 and carries a plus-minus record of plus-10, while Marks is plus-7.
But the team will be without it’s fourth defenseman, Dylan Maller, for at least the next four weeks, Coach Dick Umile told reporters during the team’s weekly media session Wednesday.
“It’s not good,” Umile said.
Maller has been in and out of the lineup since the season began as he dealt with pain in his hip. The injury turned out to be more than just soreness when an MRI earlier this week revealed a fracture in his hip, Umile said.
Maller left in the third period of UNH’s first of two games with Northeastern last week. The Wildcats won in Durham and then tied with the Huskies at Fenway Park on Saturday, but Maller was absent from the roster in the Frozen Fenway finale.
The senior from Parkland, Fla., played in the first eight games of the season before missing the next four and then returning Nov. 18. Maller then missed four of the next 11 games, including his absence on Saturday.
Umile has shuffled his second and third defensive pairings in a few ways as Maller’s game appearances and minutes have been cut short by the hip. Sophomore Matt Dawson, who has played in all but one game, has been Umile’s most common replacement for Maller this season.
On Saturday, it was Dylan Chanter skating with Wyse. Chanter, a junior, was the first name Umile mentioned when asked who has stepped up especially well on defense this season.
“Dylan Chanter overall has done a good job for us,” Umile said. “He’s filled that fourth spot. He and Dawson have both been in and out of there.”
Richard Boyd, a junior who started the year paired with Maller before Wyse made the top four, has also missed several games – including the last four – with an illness. Umile said Wednesday that Boyd could be back on the ice this weekend when the team travels to play two games with No. 14 Notre Dame.
“We’ve had consistency with Cleland, Marks and Wyse and then moved it around with the other guys,” Umile said. “We’ll have to continue to do that now with Maller out. … (Nick) Nonis has stepped in. So it’s just a different combination and we’ll deal with it game by game.”
As Umile shuffles the blue line, his third line of forwards may be more consistent in terms of personel.
The third line, with Ara Nazarian centered between Shane Eiserman and Marcus Vela, was responsible for three goals last week against Northeastern. Those three shared a line last season and at least some chemistry was clear in their performance against the Huskies, which saw the Wildcats earn three out of a possible four points in Hockey East.
“That worked out well for us and we feel now that we have three solid lines,” Umile said.
“That could be a big plus for us right now,” he added. “You go through the season, you try different combinations, you’re going to have some injuries, guys are not going to play well, you make some changes and hopefully you can start putting some pieces together. Maybe this is the piece we’ve been striving to get.”
It helps to have some friendly competition for ice time brewing between the forwards as well.
Since UNH faced Maine at SNHU Arena in Manchester on Dec. 30, the freshmen line of Brendan van Riemsdyk, Patrick Grasso and Liam Blackburn has moved up as the team’s second line of forwards. Umile sent them out against Northeastern’s top line when the Huskies visited the Whittemore Center.
“From the second period on, we put them against (Zach) Aston-Reese’s line, and they did a good job defensively,” Umile said. Aston-Reese is the top goal scorer in the nation with 20.
If Eiserman, Vela and Nazarian can build off the Northeastern games, they’ll be making a case for more time on the ice as well.
That’s a good problem for Umile.
The Wildcats head into South Bend, Ind., this weekend for two with Notre Dame tonight and Saturday. UNH (11-8-3, 6-2-2 Hockey East) is a point ahead of Notre Dame in the conference standings with a game in hand.
UNH is 0-3 against ranked teams so far this season, but Umile came away with positive thoughts after his team’s 5-3 loss to No. 10 Boston College in November and a 2-1 loss to No. 5 UMass-Lowell on Jan. 6.
Notre Dame (13-8-2, 6-4-1) will offer a similar challenge, although this one involves heavier travel. The team practiced Thursday and will have an optional morning skate today.
“The team feels good about where we’re at,” Umile said. “Obviously (Notre Dame is) a really good team, but we’re going to be able to say that now every weekend until the end.”
(Nick Stoico can be reached at 369-3339, nstoico@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @NickStoico.)