Merrimack Rebounds with 3-1 Win over #18 Lowell
Video of
Velleca's goal / Video of Flanigan's goal
NORTH ANDOVER, MA - Chris Barton
(Calgary, AB) and Ryan Flanigan (Rochester,
NY) netted third-period goals in a sixty-second span,
giving Merrimack the 3-1 victory over #18 UMass Lowell Saturday
night in front of 2,473 fans at Lawler Arena.
Merrimack (10-15-0, 7-11-0 HEA) hits the road for a pair of big
games at #17 Vermont next weekend, beginning Friday at the
Gunderson Fieldhouse at 7 p.m. Lowell (14-12-2, 8-9-2 HEA) will
host Boston College next Friday at 7 p.m. at the Tsongas Arena.
With the win, the Warriors improved to 10-2 at home and defeated
the River Hawks at Lawler Arena for the first time since November
12, 2000, snapping a 13-game winless streak.
“That might be the best 60 minutes we played all
year,” said Merrimack head coach Mark Dennehy. “They
didn't have many chances and we had plenty. It was a real
good response out of a team that didn't play the way it was
capable of (Friday) night.”
Barton took a feed from Stephane Da Costa (Paris,
France) and wristed a shot from just outside the faceoff
circle into the net for his 17th of the season, and
ninth in seven games, at 3:30.
Sixty seconds later, Flanigan notched his first goal in almost a
year with Da Costa also assisting on the tally. Flanigan went hard
to the net and was stopped by Carter Hutton, but the puck went
behind the net, and the sophomore hacked away at it as he wrapped
around the goal and snuck it through the goaltender's pads for the
big insurance marker.
The Warrior defense took over from there, killing all seven
power plays, as Joe Cannata (Wakefield, MA),
making his first start since January 22, turned aside 20 shots,
including all 11 in the third.
After a scoreless first, the River Hawks got on the board first
as David Vallorani tallied his ninth of the season 8:03 into the
second, with Scott Campbell picking up the assist.
Jeff Velleca (Waterbury, CT) evened the score
at 17:43 of the second on the power play, as his wrister beat a
screened Hutton for his eighth of the season. Kyle Bigos
(Upland, CA) started the play in his own zone, working the
puck to Carter Madsen (Okotoks, AB) in the neutral
zone. Madsen knocked it to Brandon Brodhag (Brooklyn Park,
MN), who left it for Velleca, and the sophomore buried it
to tie the game at the end of two periods.
Merrimack's power play, ranked second in the country, was
1-for-4 on the evening.
Da Costa's two assists give the freshman 32 points and three on
the weekend on Merrimack's four goals. Adam Ross (Red
Deer, AB), who blocked numerous shots all night, also
picked up an assist, his sixth of the season.
