DURHAM - Sitting in a makeshift media room at Tsongas Arena a couple of Sundays ago, in the aftermath of a UMass-Lowell win that left the University of New Hampshire both hurting and humbled, River Hawk forward Kory Falite explained his team's success in the simplest of hockey terms.

"Goaltending and special teams," he said, "are going to win you games."

New Hampshire's players weren't there to hear it. They were at the other end of a long hallway, lugging equipment bags and loads of frustration to the bus for their ride back across the border.

But apparently they got the message. And, based on last night, that message came through loud and clear.

Thwarting all five Boston University power plays, and striking for two timely goals with the extra skater on their side, UNH paired stellar special teams with a strong night from Brian Foster and produced a 4-2 victory that - believe it or not, after a woebegone start - vaults the Wildcats to a first-place tie within Hockey East.

"It's definitely true," UNH captain Bobby Butler said when apprised of Falite's remark. "Obviously defense wins championships, but along the way it's special teams and goalies."

Just 13 days ago, neither seemed too stable for New Hampshire. Between games against Lowell and Boston College they surrendered seven goals while shorthanded, and 10 overall, in just two contests. That left the Wildcat penalty kill ranked 54th among Division I's 58 teams.

But since then they've invested plenty of practice time in trying to improve it, and last night that paid dividends. Shortly after grabbing a one-goal lead midway through the second period, three successive penalties put them a man down for six out of an eight-minute span - but the 'Cats came up huge, allowing just two shots through to Foster (21 saves), and swiping any momentum the Terriers were hoping to seize.

"That," Butler said, "is just the team showing some good character tonight."

The timing of its own power-play successes might be proof of UNH's character, too, considering how pivotal each proved to the outcome. The first came with the game tied at one - thanks to a first-period goal from Wildcat Damon Kipp and a second-period tally from Terrier Zach Cohen - when Butler buried Blake Kessel's feed into the short side during a two-man advantage. It was Butler's 10th goal of the year, and his sixth in a five-game goal-scoring streak, but more importantly it gave New Hampshire a lead it would never relinquish.

The second was huge because it provided separation. UNH's John Henrion (first career) and BU's Ross Gaudet traded goals within 31 seconds near the middle of the third period, so the Wildcats lead was tenuous at 3-2 before some pretty passing got the puck on the stick of Paul Thompson at the side of the net.

Phil DeSimone and Matt Campanale each picked up his second assist of the night on the play, working the rubber around until Campanale slung a pass to Thompson on the back door, where the junior patiently lifted it over Kieran Millan (23 saves) to pad the Wildcats' advantage. From there, the Terriers never really challenged.

"The difference in the speed of the game between UNH and BU in the third period was like night and day," said BU Coach Jack Parker, whose team is now 3-7-0 (2-6-0 Hockey East) in its defense of last year's national title. "That, coupled with the fact that they did a good job killing penalties, they did a great job on their power play, and they got two faceoff goals.

"As the game progressed, I thought they outbattled us."

In other words, the Wildcats finally delivered the 60-minute game they'd been looking for. And finally left with a win worthy of their efforts.

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