Merrimack Blanked by Providence 2-0
Dennehy post-game podcast
PROVIDENCE, RI – Alex Beaudry made 29 saves, six in the final two minutes, as defensive-minded Providence handed Merrimack a 2-0 blanking Friday night at Schneider Arena.
Idle on Saturday, Merrimack (2-2-2, 1-2-1 HEA) will take on third-ranked Boston University in a home-and-home series next weekend, beginning next Friday night at Agganis Arena at 7 p.m. Limited tickets remain for next Saturday's 7 p.m. game at Lawler Arena and are on sale at merrimackathletics.com.
Tim Schaller scored in the second period for the Friars while Ian O'Connor added an empty-netter at 19:55 of the third as Providence improved to 3-4-1 overall, 3-2-1 in Hockey East.
Fighting the puck all night on a tough ice surface, Merrimack pulled Joe Cannata (Wakefield, MA) for the extra attacker with 1:50 left, but Beaudry came up with big saves on a slap shot from Karl Stollery (Camrose, AB), and two one-timers from Chris Barton (Calgary, AB) before O'Connor put the game away with the empty netter.
After a scoreless first period that saw Barton fire a wrister off the post with the Warriors on a two-man advantage, Providence broke through at 14:37 of the second as Schaller gathered a rebound in front of Cannata and buried it for his second of the season with assists from Chris Rooney and Andy Balysky.
Mike Collins (Boston, MA) thought he tied it with his first collegiate goal on the power play as time expired in the second, but the video review proved otherwise, as the freshman scored after time had run out in the period.
The Friars went into shutdown mode in the third, limiting Merrimack's offensive opportunities, including stonewalling the visitors on the power play with 3:50 remaining.
Cannata, the Hockey East Pure Hockey Defensive Player of the Month for October and last week's Defensive Player of the Week, was sharp in the loss, making 25 saves, including 12 in the first period.
Twenty-two of Beaudry's 29 saves came in the final two periods.
Both teams killed off all five power plays, as Merrimack's penalty kill has killed off 32 of 35 opportunities.
The Warriors entered Friday's game with just one loss in the last nine meetings between the two teams and were unbeaten (3-0-2) in the last five games.
