DURHAM — The University of New Hampshire men’s hockey team wants Charlie Kelleher to be more selfish.
In fact, the Wildcats have also urged a few other forwards to shoot more in an effort to jump-start an offense that has scored more than three goals just once during a nine-game winless streak.
With a pass-first mentality, Kelleher had been particularly reticent to fire away with only one goal and 18 shots in his first 20 games.
The freshman took a step in the right direction last weekend at Maine with six shots in the two games, including one that resulted in his second goal of the season and first in three months.
“We like the way he’s playing,” said coach Dick Umile. “Obviously he had a great weekend up at Maine.”
The tying strike came midway through the third period last Saturday night and made it 3-3. Kelleher is tied for 12th on the team with 24 shots in 22 games.
“It definitely felt good,” Kelleher said. “I’m starting to shoot the puck more and have more confidence with it, and hopefully I’ll keep going.”
He does have 11 assists and figured in all three goals Saturday. Kelleher had three shots on goal in each game compared to just five in the previous six games combined.
He skated on a line with juniors Ara Nazarian and Marcus Vela last weekend. Kelleher set up Nazarian for UNH’s first goal and also drew the primary assist on a power-play goal by defenseman Richard Boyd.
“I’ve been passing up some scoring opportunities with passes,” Kelleher said. “I’ve been watching the game tape and the coaches have been kind of telling me to shoot the puck more, it will create more offense, so that’s what I‘ve been trying to do.”
Kelleher had cooled off offensively after a hot start with senior linemates Michael McNicholas and Jason Salvaggio. The top trio combined for five goals and 13 points in a two-game sweep of Colgate in mid-October, and Kelleher had a goal and six assists during one three-game stretch.
But he had only three assists in nine games until last Saturday’s three-point performance.
“It’s a tough league,” Kelleher said. “Hockey East is always pretty competitive. It’s about staying confident and sticking with it, and I guess just keep working. So I’m going to keep trying to build and get better every day.”
The Wildcats came from behind in both games last weekend to salvage ties and two of a possible four points. They rallied from a 2-0 deficit Friday night and outshot Maine in overtime, 7-1.
The Wildcats (9-11-4, 4-7-3 HE) will try to snap their dubious streak (0-6-3) with a home-and-home series this weekend against UConn (9-16-2, 6-11-1 HE). The clubs meet Friday night (7) at the Whittemore Center and Saturday (3:35 p.m.) at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn.
“This is a must weekend if we want to get home ice,” Umile said.
UNH leads the all-time series 15-4, but the Huskies have won the last four including two straight at the Whitt.
UConn knocked off No. 10 Providence last weekend, 3-1, on the road to snap a five-game losing streak in which the Huskies scored just three goals and were shut out three times.
“They’re a good team,” said freshman defenseman Max Gildon. “Every team in Hockey East is a potential threat. We’re not taking them lightly.”
With 10 games left in the regular season, the Wildcats can still secure home ice in the first round of the playoffs by finishing sixth, seventh or eighth. The top five get byes.
They are currently tied for eighth with UMass with 11 points, two behind UConn and one ahead of Merrimack.
“All year Coach has been saying we want to put together as many points as possible,” Kelleher said. “It starts to become more evident when you’re coming down the stretch. Every team’s close and every point matters.”