Merrimack Upended by #16 Maine, 5-1
NORTH ANDOVER, MA
- Gustav Nyquist had two goals and two assists as
16th-ranked Maine defeated Merrimack 5-1 Saturday night
to salvage a weekend split in front of 2,793 fans at Lawler Arena.
Merrimack (14-17-1, 11-13-1 HEA) will head to Providence next
Friday at 7 p.m. to begin a home-and-home series with the Friars.
Maine (16-13-3, 13-10-2 HEA) will conclude its regular season with
a pair of games against UMass beginning next Friday at Alfond Arena
in Orono.
The Warriors, who fell to 12-3 at home, sit in seventh place in
Hockey East with two games remaining, while the Black Bears remain
in third with 28 points.
Maine came out strong in the first, scoring twice in a 1:13 span
late in the period, as Brian Flynn netted a short-handed goal, and
Nyqist wristed a shot on the power play past Joe Cannata
(Wakefield, MA).
"That goes back to them wanting it more," said head coach
Mark Dennehy. "We wanted to win, but we weren't willing to fight to
win and fight for our ice. I can't remember a time that has
happened this year at our rink."
In the lineup for the first time in nine games, John
Heffernan (Scituate, MA) gathered the rebound off his own
shot and wristed it past goaltender Shawn Sirman for his second
career goal at 18:54 of the first, assisted by Carter
Madsen (Okotoks, AB).
But after the Warriors killed three second-period power plays,
Nyquist struck again with the teams skating four aside, wristing
another shot past a screened Cannata for his 17th of the
year, assisted by Mark Nemec and Tanner House with just 56 seconds
remaining in the second.
Robby Dee put the game away at 4:28 of the third, pushing the
lead to three goals, taking feeds from Jeff deKastrozza and Jeff
Dimmen and beating Cannata and ending the evening for the sophomore
goaltender.
Flynn added his second of the game with 3:20 left, working a
pretty give-and-go with Nyquist for his 17th of the
year.
Making just his fourth start of the season, Sirman stopped 24
shots for his first collegiate win. Cannata made 23 saves, before
giving way to Andrew Braithwaite (Kingston, ON),
who stopped eight shots in the final 15 minutes.
Merrimack's power play struggled, going 0-for-8 and registering
just seven shots. Maine's power play, ranked first nationally, was
1-for-5.
"Did we win a faceoff on one power play?" asked Dennehy. "That's
where it starts. Maine just wanted to win more than we did."
