Merrimack Drops First Home Game of Season; 5-4 to UNH
NORTH ANDOVER, MA - Four different Merrimack players
scored and six others registered assists, but three Wildcat goals
7:18 apart were the difference as New Hampshire edged Merrimack 5-4
Saturday afternoon in front of a sellout crowd of 2,990 at Lawler
Arena.
Merrimack (6-6-0, 3-4-0 HEA) hosts Northeastern Friday at 7 p.m.
at Lawler Arena in its final home game until January 23, while New
Hampshire (5-6-3, 5-2-2 HEA) hosts UMass Lowell next Friday at 7
p.m.
While Merrimack's scoring was spread out throughout the lineup,
UNH's second line of Paul Thompson, Phil DeSimone, and Bobby Butler
did all the damage, netting five goals and four assists in the
victory.
The Warriors came out flying, outshooting the Wildcats 16-7 in
the first and took the early lead as J.C. Robitaille (Des
Ruisseaux, QC) netted his third of the season 3:09 into
the game. Pat Kimball (Framingham, MA) fed
Matt Moulakelis (Hawthorne Woods, IL), who broke
in on a 2-on-1 with Robitaille, and Moulakelis perfectly fed the
senior right wing, who buried it glove side over Brian Foster for
his third of the season.
UNH nearly tied the game shorthanded late in the period, as
Stevie Moses and Phil DeSimone broke in two-on-none, but
Joe Cannata (Wakefield, MA) made a sprawling left
pad save on Moses.
After Butler tied the game on the power play at 7:08 of the
second, Merrimack responded immediately, regaining the lead as
Justin Bonitatibus (Walpole, MA) one-timed a pass
from John Heffernan (Scituate, MA) for his third
of the season and second in as many games.
Butler netted his second of the game short-handed at 16:22, but
again the Warriors answered right back, with Joe Cucci
(Melrose Park, IL) pounding in a loose puck in front of
Foster on the power play. Brandon Brodhag (Brooklyn Park,
MN) and Stephane Da Costa (Paris, France)
got the assists as Da Costa got the puck to the net and Brodhag,
along with Cucci, battled in front of Foster to push it by the
goaltender.
But Merrimack's momentum was squashed from there, as Thompson
one-timed a feed from DeSimone past Cannata to even the score at
three with 59-seconds remaining in the second. Thompson came right
back to start the third with his second of the game, giving the
Wildcats their first lead of the game with 19:13 to play. DeSimone
made it a two-goal lead as he took passes from Butler and Damon
Kipp and scored what proved to be the game-winner at 6:19 of the
final frame.'
“I'm not a mathematician, but I know that if you
don't give up a goal, you can never lose," said head coach
Mark Dennehy. "If you defend your net hard enough to the extent you
don't give up a goal, you never lose. I know you can score 30
goals, but if you give up 31, then you lose. Scoring is great, but
defense wins games and defense wins championships and right now,
we're not doing it.”
The Warriors didn't quit, cutting the deficit to one, as
Jeff Velleca (Waterbury, CT) burst past two
Wildcat defenders and backhanded a shot past Foster for his fourth
of the year, unassisted at 9:23.
But three prime scoring chances in the final 2:10 of regulation
from Robitaille, Da Costa and Karl Stollery (Camrose,
AB) were turned aside from Foster, and the Wildcats
escaped with their fifth victory of the season.
Merrimack outshot UNH 38-32, while both teams were 1-for-5 on
the power play. Ten Merrimack forwards registered points in the
loss, the first at home in seven games this season, its best start
ever in Hockey East.
