Men's Ice Hockey Welcomes #5/6 Providence Friday on Youth Hockey Night
WARRIORS ROUND OUT HOMESTAND, OPEN HOCKEY EAST PLAY VS. FRIARS FRIDAY
Links: Tickets | Live Stats | Video | Follow @MC_Athletics | Audio | Game Notes
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Back at .500 for the first time this season and in the midst of a three-game winning streak, the Merrimack College men's ice hockey team concludes a season-high five-game homestand and opens up Hockey East play Friday night, as the Warriors welcome No. 5/6 Providence College to North Andover for a conference showdown at Lawler Rink.
The Basics
Date/Time: Friday, Nov. 8, 2013 | 7 p.m.
Records: Merrimack (3-3-0, 0-0-0 HEA) | Providence (5-1-1, 1-1-0 HEA)
Location: Lawler Rink | North Andover, Mass.
Youth Hockey Night at Lawler!
Friday night's contest against Providence will double as Youth Hockey Night, as all kids will receive special $5 admission on game day when they wear their youth hockey jersey to the game while supplies last!
Last Time Out: Merrimack 3, Bentley 1
Merrimack scored two third-period goals to break a 1-1 draw after 40 minutes of action, and that was enough for the Warriors, who posted a 3-1 home victory against nearby rival Bentley University last Friday night at Lawler Rink.
Midway through the third, while on the power play, freshman Hampus Gustafsson took a perfect feed from the slot toward the near circle and buried it for the game-winner at 10:32, and junior Dan Kolomatis intercepted a Bentley pass with five seconds to go and sent it the length of the ice from his own blue line to seal the deal.
For the full recap from last Friday, click here!
Lifetime Vs. Providence
Meeting for the 118th time since the series began during the 1959-60 season, Providence represents Merrimack's most frequently played opponent in the history of the program, with UMass Lowell ranking second with 115 previous all-time meetings. Providence holds a notable advantage in the series, boasting a 78-30-9 record against the Warriors. Last year, the two sides split the season series, 1-1-1, with Merrimack posting a win and a tie at Schneider Arena while the Friars won, in overtime, in the only game played in North Andover. Merrimack has gone 3-5-2 in its last 10 meetings with Providence, as well.
The Warriors:
- Have won three straight since starting the year 0-3, and have stellar defense to thank for that recent success, as the Warriors' scoring defense now ranks third in Hockey East and 13th nationally (2.17 GAA)
- Are led by senior Mike Collins (2-6—8), while Quinn Gould leads all Warriors with three goals, representing a balanced offense that has seen 16 different skaters record at least a point
- Junior Dan Kolomatis leads Hockey East and ranks second nationally in points scored by defensemen, averaging 1.17 points per game
- In net, junior Rasmus Tirronen leads the team with boast a 1.71 GAA and .930 SV% and has backstopped the team to a 2-0-0 record through three appearances (two starts)
The Friars:
- While boasting one of the top young netminders in the country in sophomore Jon Gillies, the reigning Hockey East Rookie of the Year, Providence has turned heads with an explosive offense that ranks second nationally in scoring (4.43 G/GM) and scoring margin (+2.14)
- Junior Ross Mauermann leads the way averaging 1.86 points per game (third nationally) and boasts a 7-6--13 scoring line, while sophomore Mark Jankowski (4-1--5) ranks second in goal-scoring. Mauermann also has a three-game point streak, going 4-3--7 in that span, and has tallied four multi-point games on the year
- Gillies, meanwhile, has been excellent, ranking 13th in the country with a 1.97 GAA and seventh in save percentage (.938). That has helped anchor a Friars defense that comes in at 15th in the country, yielding just 2.29 goals per game
Saturday At Schneider Arena
Tickets for the second leg of this weekend's home-and-home series at Schneider Arena in Providence, R.I., are available online at the following link. Puck drop from Providence is set for 7 p.m. Local viewers can catch the action tomorrow night on Cox Sports on the Ocean State Network, as well.
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For continuing coverage of Merrimack College Athletics, visit MerrimackAthletics.com and follow the Warriors on Twitter and on Facebook.
