Warming up the ice

Trevor van Riemsdyk scored a pair of goals and Justin Agosta dished out three assists in the University of New Hampshire men’s hockey team’s 5-2 win in an exhibition game on Saturday night at the Whittemore Center.

UNH starting goaltender Casey DeSmith played the initial 31:36 of the game and exited with 13 saves and the Wildcats leading 3-1. Jeff Wyer went the rest of the way between and made seven saves, all in the third period.

Dalton Speelman (one goal, one assist), Nick Sorkin and Casey Thrush (two assists) also recorded multiple points for the Wildcats.

St. Francis Xavier goalie Joseph Perricone stopped 25 shots, including 12 in the opening stanza.


UNH led 2-0 through one period on the strength of a 14-6 shot advantage. The Wildcats took a 1-0 advantage at 10:17 when Agosta’s shot deflected off Jeff Silengo into the goal. Thrush was also credited with an assist.

van Riemsdyk extended the lead to two goals with a power-play tally at 16:44 on a shot from the left point that sailed into the upper-left corner of the cage. Agosta, who slid the puck across the slot from the right point, and Speelman, who move the puck from low on the right side to the point, set up the goal.

The X-Men pulled within 2-1 with a power-play goal at 4:40 of the second period when Brennen Wray scored from close range. Jason Bast and Spencer McAvoy registered assists. The tally came with three seconds remaining on a five-minute major assessed against UNH; SFX was whistled for a minor during that span.

New Hampshire reestablished a two-goal lead, 3-1, on van Riemsdyk’s second power-play goal of the night. From the lower-left side, Sorkin slipped a pass to the high slot, where the sophomore defenseman wristed a shot into the upper-right corner. Agosta picked up his second assist.

SFX, which recorded the 8-7 shot advantage in the middle frame, once again trimmed the deficit to one goal at 2:05 of the third period when Bast’s centering pass from the right circle was redirected in front by Ted Stephens. Nick Pageau was also credited with an assist.

UNH responded with a goal at 11:53 when Speelman gained a centering pass in the slot and beat Perricone to give the ‘Cats a 4-2 lead. Grayson Downing, with the pass off the right boards, and Sorkin set up the goal.

The X-Men pulled Perricone in favor of an extra skater with 47 seconds remaining, but Scott Pavelski snapped a shot into the open net from the high slot with 29 seconds remaining to extend the home team’s lead to 5-2. Thrush, who gained possession along the left boards at center ice, fed Pavelski for the tally.

New Hampshire opens the 2012-13 season with a four-game homestand at the Whittemore Center that begins Oct. 12 & 13 against St. Cloud State University. Puck drops for Friday’s game at 7:30 p.m.