DURHAM – Mike Souza and his staff liked the looks of the forward line they put together for the University of New Hampshire’s final series of the first half of the season, a home-and-home set against Dartmouth College on Dec. 7 and 8.
For good reason.
Junior Liam Blackburn, centering for freshman Angus Crookshank and junior Justin Fregona, led the Wildcats to a weekend sweep of the Big Green.
The trio earned themselves more playing time together in the process.
They were back as a unit last weekend and helped UNH to a 4-3 win over Bentley University on Sunday night at the Whittemore Center.
Chances are they will be lined up together again for a pair of games this weekend back at the Whitt.
The Wildcats (5-7-5, 1-4-3 Hockey East) get their first shot at points in the conference standings in more than a month when they take on Merrimack College (4-14-1, 2-8 Hockey East) on Friday night at 7 p.m.
Saturday, UNH plays No. 5 Yale (7-4-2, 6-2-1 ECAC), also at 7 p.m.
“As I told the guys, I’m excited to see where we are,” Souza said. “We keep playing the game the right way. It’s not going to get any easier. Each and every game gets harder moving forward.”
Souza appreciated the outlook his team had on the Bentley win.
“We had an opportunity to put the game away and we didn’t,” Souza said “After the game we convened and I think the guys recognized that we played well enough to win, but were also cognizant of the fact we need to tighten up in a few areas moving forward. We had a little bit of a group discussion and to hear some of the guys mention that is a good sign.”
Three of UNH’s four goals against Bentley came on the power play.
Crookshank, with assists to Marcus Vela and Patrick Grasso, had the team’s only even-strength goal of the game.
The freshman also had an assist on the winning power play goal that Grasso scored.
Crookshank’s play over the last several games earned him a couple of awards this week. First, he was named Pro Ambitions Player of the Week. Thursday, he pulled down honors as Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Month.
Crookshank had a goal and two assists for three points in UNH’s first 10 games this season. He’s had four goals and six assists for 10 points in the last seven games.
His totals of five goals and eight assists for 13 points rank him fourth in Hockey East scoring among freshmen.