Late OT Goal Gives #12 UNH 4-3 Victory
Barton's
1st Goal / Barton's
2nd Goal
DURHAM, NH – Paul Thompson scored with 11.1 seconds to
play in overtime, giving #12 New Hampshire the 4-3 victory despite
two power-play goals from Chris Barton (Calgary,
AB) and 43 saves from Andrew Braithwaite
(Kingston, ON) in front of a sellout crowd of 6,501 at the
Whittemore Center Saturday night.
Merrimack (9-14-0, 6-10-0 HEA) returns home to host Northeastern
University Friday night at 7 p.m. and UMass Lowell on Saturday at 7
p.m. Tickets are available for purchase online at
www.merrimackathletics.com.
Thompson found a loose puck in front of Braithwaite with players
all over the ice, desperately trying to keep the puck out of the
net. The junior's goal came after two great point-blank stops
by Braithwaite, who made ten saves in overtime.
“It's hard to believe we haven't won a game on
the road,” said head coach Mark Dennehy.
“We have a very resilient group of young men. We
weren't playing our best hockey in the first period, but
Braithwaite kept us in it. We turned it around in the second, and
it was an evenly played game from there until overtime.”
UNH dominated the majority of the first, registering the
game's first 11 shots and scoring first as Peter LeBlanc
netted his eighth of the game, putting home a rebound off a Mike
Sislo shot.
Braithwaite was a big reason the Warriors trailed by just one at
the end of 20 minutes. The senior goaltender robbed Kevin McCarey
with a tremendous glove save off a two-on-one midway through the
period. Then in the final minute, Braithwaite made a highlight-reel
kick save on a LeBlanc wraparound attempt, throwing his left pad in
the air to rob the senior of his second goal of the period.
Sislo did find the net at 1:43 of the second, giving the hosts the
2-0 lead, but the Warriors recovered, as Justin Bonitatibus
(Arlington, MA) netted his seventh of the season, roofing
it past Brian Foster from the goal line on a second attempt.
Carter Madsen (Okotoks, AB) and Elliott
Sheen (Lethbridge, AB) worked hard behind Foster's
net to center the puck to Bonitatibus, who was stopped once by
Foster's left pad, but the puck came right back to the
senior, and he lifted it over Foster at 4:43 of the second.
LeBlanc added his second of the game off a Warrior turnover,
pushing the lead back to two goals at 13:20 of the second.
With the Warriors on the first power play of the game, Barton
netted his 14th of the year, blasting a wrist shot past a screened
Foster just three minutes later. Barton finished off a man
advantage that featured tremendous offensive pressure with
Karl Stollery (Camrose, AB) and Stephane
Da Costa (Paris, France) picking up the assists.
Barton made it two power-play goals in as many chances 42 seconds
into the third, tying the game. Da Costa worked the puck to Barton,
who was stationed right in front of Foster, and the junior captain
backhanded it into the net for goal number 15 of the season.
The Warriors did not commit a penalty for the first 44:37 of the
game until Kyle Bigos (Upland, CA) was whistled
for a five-minute major for hitting from behind, but
Merrimack's penalty kill did the job. Braithwaite made four
saves, including a great pad stop on Paul Thompson, while
Adam Ross (Red Deer, AB) made two sprawling blocks
in front of his goaltender.
The teams traded chances in the remainder of regulation with
Brandon Brodhag (Brooklyn Park, MN) getting
Merrimack's best opportunity. Braithwaite stopped all nine
shots he faced in the third.
Foster made 26 saves, improving to 12-8-4 on the season.
Merrimack's second-ranked power play went 2-for-3, while the
penalty kill was 1-for-1, killing off the five-minute major.
Barton and Da Costa finished the weekend with four points each,
while Stollery had three.
