Huskies Complete Weekend Sweep with 2-0 Blanking of Men's Ice Hockey
WARRIORS OUTSHOOT NORTHEASTERN 38-26 BUT BLANKED FOR FIFTH TIME IN 13-14
LINKS: Box Score | Dennehy Postgame
BOSTON – The Merrimack College men's ice hockey team fired 38 shots at Northeastern netminder Clay Witt, but the Huskies made two first-period tallies stand up the entirety of the game, as the Warriors suffered a weekend sweep after being handed a 2-0 shutout setback on Saturday night at Matthews Arena.
The Basics
Score: Northeastern 2, Merrimack 0
Records: Merrimack (3-8-1, 0-5-1 HEA) | Northeastern (8-5-0, 3-4-0)
Location: Matthews Arena | Boston, Mass.
How It Happened
For the second night in a row, the Huskies hopped out to a two-goal lead, and for the second night in a row, Merrimack was unable to respond with enough firepower to get back in the game. But unlike Friday night's 5-2 setback, the Warriors would come up empty on the scoreboard through all 60 minutes, as Merrimack was handed its fifth shutout loss of 2013-14 on Saturday.
Torin Snydeman put the home side on the board at 10:28 of the first in what ultimately proved to be the game-winner. Colton Saucerman fed the biscuit to Zach Aston-Reese before Snydeman beat Merrimack junior Rasmus Tirronen (Espoo, Finland) for the opening marker midway through the opening frame.
Six minutes later, with the Huskies on the man advantage, it was Aston-Reese figuring into his second score of the night, this time after feeds from Dalen Hedges and Adam Ried to put the Huskies on top by two at the 16:23 mark.
A scoreless second period ensued that saw Merrimack miss its biggest opportunity of the game, as the Warriors were rewarded a two-minute 5-on-3 power play after Dustin Darou was booked for cross-checking at the same time that Cody Ferriero was whistled for a high stick at 14:04. But the Huskies stood tall during that long penalty kill, keeping the visitors off the board. After 40 minutes, the contest was relatively even, as Merrimack held a slim 26-23 edge in shots on target entering the third.
But in the last stanza, Merrimack all but dominated, outshooting the hosts by a 12-3 margin, but that impressive edge was all for naught thanks to the heroics of NU goaltender Clay Witt, who had been brilliant before the start of the third but was even better over the last 20 minutes, totaling 12 more stops to finish with 38 on the night while limiting the Warriors to an 0-for-7 night on the power play.
A Closer Look
- Merrimack finished with an impressive 38-26 edge in shots on target, totaling no fewer than 12 shot attempts in any of the three periods
- Northeastern scored the game's only power-play goal and finished 1-for-3, while the Warriors ended the night 0-for-7
- Junior Dan Kolomatis (Basking Ridge, N.J.) led all skaters on both teams with nine shot attempts, while two other Warriors finished with four shot attempts apiece
- Tirronen (2-2-1) finished with 24 saves, while Witt was perfect in turning away all 38 chances he faced
Notes And Notables
- Remaining winless in Hockey East (0-5-1), Merrimack will head into Thanksgiving for the first time since 2005-06 without a victory inside conference play
- Saturday marked Merrimack's fifth shutout loss in 12 games this season; the Warriors suffered just four shutout losses all of last year
- Merrimack is now 4-16-2 (.181) over its last 22 games dating back to the end of last season
- The opposition has scored the game's first goal in 10-of-12 games this season
Up Next
After a quick respite for Thanksgiving break, the Warriors return to action with a trip to New Haven, Conn., to face reigning national champion Yale University next Saturday (Nov. 30). Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.
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