Hockey Hosts #2 BC Tonight
MERRIMACK COLLEGE HOCKEY
Friday vs. #2 Boston College, 7 p.m. / Game
Notes / Watch Live / Live Stats
Tonight's Matchup: Merrimack takes on the
2008 National Champion, second-ranked Boston College in a
home-and-home matchup beginning Thursday night in Chestnut Hill.
The Eagles edged Vermont 3-2 in their last game played on October
24.
Lifetime vs. the Eagles: The Warriors are 17-50-3
lifetime against the Eagles. They went 0-2-1 last season. The
Warriors last defeated the Eagles on February 15, 2003, 18 games
ago, winning 6-1 at Merrimack. Merrimack has not won at BC since
October 31, 1997.
Coach Dennehy vs. Boston College: Coach Dennehy
is 0-8-1 against BC as head coach of the Warriors.
Last Season: After dropping the first two games
7-1 and 4-2 to BC, the Warriors tied the Eagles 3-3 at Kelley Rink
behind a career-high 41 saves from Pat Watson and two goals from
Matt Jones.
Merrimack on Halloween
The Warriors are 4-0 on Halloween since joining Hockey East 20
years ago. They are 1-0 against Boston College, with that win
coming in 1997 at Kelley Rink. Averaging nearly six goals a game on
Halloween, this will be Merrimack's first game on the final
day of October since 1998.
Hockey East Play
After playing four of their first five games against
non-conference teams, the Warriors begin a stretch of 10 straight
games against Hockey East opponents. Merrimack's next
non-conference game is December 29 against Quinnipiac at the
UConn Holiday Classic.
Cannata in the Record Books
Freshman Joe Cannata saw his shutout streak end at 101:09 to start
the season when he gave up a third-period goal at Canisius. Cannata
stopped the first 55 shots he faced, setting a Merrimack record,
and has turned aside 66 of his first 67 shots. He leads all goalies
in the conference and nation in goals-against (0.48) and save
percentage (.985). Cannata was named the Pro Ambitions Rookie of
the Week by Hockey East after becoming the first goaltender in
school history to register a shutout in his first start.
Ricci Returns
Captain Rob Ricci returned to the lineup against Niagara after
missing the first three games. Ricci, last season's team MVP,
tallied one assist, three shots, and was 27-for-57 on draws against
Niagara and Canisius.
1-0 Games
The Warriors played two 1-0 games against Army and Niagara,
marking the first time they have played back-to-back 1-0 games in
school history.
Excellent Penalty Kill
Through five games, Merrimack has killed off 33 of 37 short-handed
situations, good enough for fourth in Hockey East. Against Robert
Morris, the Warriors killed off all nine minor man-down situations,
including two two-man advantages of over 1:40. Merrimack's
penalty kill is 26-for-28 against non-conference teams.
Non-Conference Update
Merrimack's nine-game unbeaten streak against non-conference
opponents came to an end with a 1-0 loss at Niagara. The Warriors
are 8-1-2 in their last 11 games against non-Hockey East teams.
Before Niagara, the Warriors last non-conference loss was against
Robert Morris on December 30, 2006.
Kimball on the Board
Junior Pat Kimball scored the game's lone goal at Army. It
was Kimball's first tally since November 10, 2007 against
Vermont.
Rego Chips in
Mickey Rego, only one of two seniors to play at BU and at
Army, notched an assist on Kimball's goal. It was
Rego's first point since January 20, 2007.
Merrimack in 40+ Save Performances
Incredibly, over the last two seasons, Merrimack is 3-0-2 when its
goaltender stops 40 or more shots. Joe Cannata became the first
goaltender to stop 40+ shots this season with his 44-save
performance at Army. Last season, Andrew Braithwaite did the deed
three times with Merrimack going 2-0-1 in thse games. Pat Watson
stopped 41 shots in a 3-3 tie at BC last season.
Barton and BU
Sophomore Chris Barton scored both goals in a 5-2 loss at BU. It
was the second time in Barton's career that he notched two
goals in a game. The first time also came in a game against the
Terriers played on January 18, 2008.
Ouimet Leads Merrimack to Opening Night Win
Sophomore Francois Ouimet tallied two goals in Merrimack's
3-1 win over Robert Morris on opening night. It was the first
career two-goal game for Ouimet, who posted four shots in the
victory.
Freshmen Notch First Career Points
Newcomers Elliott Sheen and Karl Stollery each tallied an assist
at Boston University for their first collegaite points.
Cannata, Stollery Among Top Prospects in INCH's
Recruiting Rankings
Freshmen Karl Stollery and Joe Cannata have been included among
the top incoming recruits according to Inside College Hockey.
Cannata, who spent last season with the U.S.A. Under-18 Development
Team, is ranked seventh among incoming goaltenders and second among
incoming Hockey East goaltenders. Stollery, who led the Camrose
Kodiaks to two straight AJHL and Doyle Cup Championships, is slated
19th among incoming defensemen and fifth among Hockey East blue
liners.
Newcomers Debut
The Warriors opening-night lineup featured seven freshmen and one
senior.
20 Deep in Hockey East
Merrimack enters its 20th season in Hockey East. After
having its most successful season since 2002-03, the Warriors will
look to build on that momentum this season, having lost just two
key contributors from last season's team.
Long Time from Home
The Warriors are in the midst of a five-game, 14 day trip, their
longest road trip of the season. In 2007-08, Merrimack had a
five-game road trip in November and December and struggled on it,
posting a 0-4-1 record.
Hot in Home Openers
The Warriors are now 5-1-2 in their last eight home openers.
Braithwaite Named to Preseason All-CHN Team
Junior goaltender Andrew Braithwaite was named to the Preseason
All College Hockey News Team as a Player to Watch.
Captains
Juniors Joe Loprieno and Rob Ricci will serve as co-captains for
the 2008-09 season. Both were named assistant captains in February
of 2008 under captain Derek Pallardy.
McGill Recap
Merrimack dropped a 2-1 preseason game to McGill at Lawler Arena.
Chris Barton scored the Warriors' lone goal on the power play
in the second period. Merrimack outshot the Redmen 33-17, including
24-10 in the final two periods. Six freshmen made their debuts
including Ryan Flanigan who had a team-high four shots. Joe Cucci
was 16-for-21 on faceoffs.
Camrose Connection
Chris Barton, Karl Stollery, and Jesse Todd all played junior
hockey with the Camrose Kodiacs of the AJHL. Barton, who was a
sophomore while Stollery and Todd were freshmen, helped Camrose to
two straight AJHL and Doyle Cup Championships in 2006-07 and
2007-08.
Newcomers
Eight freshmen join the Warriors' 29-man team, five of them
from Canada. Heading the group are goaltender Joe Cannata,
defenseman Karl Stollery and forward Jesse Todd. This class is
considered as talented as any Merrimack class in recent years and
will be expected to contribute immediately.
Depth in Net
Merrimack's greatest strength this season might be its depth
in goal. The incumbent starter is Andrew Braithwaite, who posted
incredible numbers while starting the final 18 games last season
and earning Hockey East weekly honors three times. Joining
Braithwaite is senior Pat Watson, who has started 40 games in three
years at Merrimack and was last season's starter until going
down with an injury in December. New to the team is freshman Joe
Cannata, who was the starting goaltender for the U.S.A. Under-18
Development Team last season and was the 13th ranked goaltender by
International Scouting Services.
The Alberta Pipeline
Eight players are from Alberta on this year's Merrimack
squad, tied with Massachusetts for the most from one province or
state. Besides the Camrose trio, Carter Madsen, Elliott Sheen,
Grant Farrell, Brandon Sadlowski, and Adam Ross hail from Alberta.
Home Cooking
Lawler Arena provided a big home-ice advantage for the Warriors
last season. Merrimack was 4-3-2 in its final nine home games and
7-7-2 overall, finishing at .500 for the first time since 2002-03.
The Warriors won just five total games at home in 2005-06 and
2006-07 combined.
Obliterating the Goals-Against Record
Merrimack surrendered just 93 goals last season, 82 in Hockey
East, the fewest they gave up in a season since joining Hockey East
in 1988.
All About Braithwaite
Andrew Braithwaite finished his 2007-08 season with a bang, as the
netminder earned Hockey East weekly honors three times in the final
two months of the season. He started 18 straight games to end the
year and ranked second in Hockey East in save percentage and third
in goals against. Braithwaite also was named to the
Hockey East Academic All-Star Team.
Warriors in the Professional Ranks
Matt Jones, who led Merrimack last season with 15 goals, departed
after his sophomore season to sign with the San Jose Sharks. Jones,
who scored three points in Worcester (AHL) in seven games
played last year, is projected to play in Worcester again
this season. Last year's captain, Derek Pallardy recently
signed a deal with the Flint Generals of the IHL.
Scoring First
Merrimack was 9-3-3 when they scored first and 5-1-3 when they led
after the first last season. They are 2-0-1 this season when
scoring first.
Warriors Online
All Merrimack home games will be webcast online at
www.merrimackathletics.com courtesy of B2 Networks. When the
Warriors are on the road, all games will be streamed online with
John Leahy calling the action live.
Merrimack on TV
The Warriors will appear on TV twice this season, on ESPNU at
Providence on February 22nd and on NESN at New Hampshire on
February 28th.
