Merrimack Drops Game 1 to BU, 3-2, in Hockey East Quarterfinals
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BOSTON, MA – Making its first playoff appearance
since 2004, Merrimack took a 2-0 second period lead, but Boston
University came back, getting two goals from Vinny Saponari in a
3-2 victory in game one of the Hockey East Quarterfinals in front
of 3,508 fans at Agganis Arena.
#6 Merrimack (15-18-2) and #3 Boston University (17-15-3) will
take the ice in game two Saturday at Agganis Arena at 7 p.m., with
the Warriors needing a victory to remain alive in the postseason.
“The building crew thinks there will only be one more game
left, at least that's what they said as I walked by,”
said head coach Mark Dennehy. “But there is a Merrimack team
that doesn't believe that.”
Merrimack built an early 2-0 lead as Joe Cannata
(Wakefield, MA) made 38 saves in the game, including 30 in
the first two periods.
“Joe played well,” said Dennehy. “He's
playing like the goalie we knew he was capable of being when we
recruited him.”
Senior Pat Kimball (Framingham, MA) scored his
first goal since February 6, 2009, getting the Warriors on the
board first at 8:44 of the first period. Matt Moulakelis
(Hawthorne Woods, IL) flipped the puck from his goal line
up to the red line, where Kimball was waiting for it. The puck
eluded the Terrier defender and went right to Kimball, who raced
down the ice and beat Kieran Millan blocker side for his first of
the season and in his career against Boston University.
Jeff Velleca (Waterbury, CT) made it 2-0 at
6:14 of the second, netting his eighth of the year. The sophomore
took a feed from Chris Barton (Calgary, AB) and
threw it to the net. Millan made the first stop, but the puck sat
right on the goal line and was knocked in by a Terrier defender.
The Terriers tied it, as David Warsofsky and Saponari scored
1:55 apart midway through the second. Warsofsky scored on a
breakaway after a Merrimack defender was knocked down in the
neutral zone, and Saponari found a loose puck in front of the
crease and fired it home with Cannata out of position.
Cannata made 14 stops in the second, keeping the game tied,
including a spectacular, lunging save off Ryan Santana, who came
around the net with Cannata down, but the sophomore goaltender dove
from post-to-post to make the save with 2.1 seconds left in the
period.
Saponari gave the Terriers their first lead of the game with an
unassisted tally at 4:11 of the third, backhanding a shot off a
two-on-two that beat Cannata short side.
The Warriors had their chances to tie it, especially on a power
play with 6:06 remaining, but shots from Joe Cucci (Melrose
Park, IL) and Stephane Da Costa (Paris,
France) were stopped by Millan, while another wrist shot
from Da Costa glanced off the cross bar.
“We couldn't win an offensive-zone faceoff,”
said Dennehy. “We need to do a better job winning battles. We
weren't prepared for that hand-to-hand combat.”
Merrimack pulled Cannata with 1:52 remaining but Millan made a
glove save off Da Costa with 17.1 seconds left, and the clock ran
out on Merrimack's first chance at a win in Agganis Arena.
The Warriors' power play, ranked third nationally, was
0-for-6 in the game, registering just two shots in their first four
chances before tallying five in the two opportunities in the third.
Merrimack killed off all three of the Terriers'
man-advantages.
Millan finished with 26 saves, including 13 in the third when
Merrimack outshot the Terriers 13-9.
The first line of Barton, Da Costa, and Velleca combined for 17
of Merrimack's 28 shots, while Kyle Bigos (Upland,
CA) was the leader of the blue line with four on goal.
Tickets remain available for game two on Saturday online at
ticketmaster.com or at the Agganis Arena box office. The game will
be broadcast live locally on 1400 AM and at merrimackathletics.com.
