Third-Period Surge Leads No. 5/6 Providence Past Men's Ice Hockey, 4-2, Saturday Night
THREE THIRD-PERIOD MARKERS SINK MERRIMACK IN 4-2 ROAD LOSS SATURDAY
Links: Box Score | Dennehy Postgame Interview
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Leading by a goal after the break, the Merrimack College men's ice hockey team watched its lead evaporate, as No. 5/6 Providence College scored twice exactly six minutes apart as part of a four-goal third period to lead the Friars to a 4-2 victory and weekend sweep of the Warriors on Saturday night at Schneider Arena.
The Basics
Score: Providence 4, Merrimack 2
Records: Merrimack (3-5-0, 0-2-0 HEA) | Providence (7-1-1, 3-1-0 HEA)
Location: Schneider Arena | Providence, R.I.
How It Happened
For just the second time this season, Merrimack tallied the game's first goal in the first before the Friars tied it on a 5-on-3 advantage early in the second. The Warriors, however, went back up on a power-play strike of their own at 11:53 of the middle stanza, but the Friars hopped ahead for good on successive goals in the third period before wrapping it up with a late empty-net marker.
After Providence controlled the bulk of the scoring chances through the opening 10 minutes of the first, Merrimack drew first blood after junior Connor Toomey (Billerica, Mass.) sent a pass up toward sophomore John Gustafsson (Ljungby, Sweden). The latter skated up around a defender in the high slot before backhanding a shot toward the net, where Toomey managed to lift his stick enough to ricochet the puck past Providence netminder Jon Gillies and in for the opening salvo of the night.
In the second, Merrimack dug itself penalty trouble after a boarding call and a hit from behind game misconduct within a two-minute span handed the Friars a brief 5-on-3, and Mark Jankowski did not need long to capitalize. After junior Rasmus Tirronen (Espoo, Finland) made initial saves on the first and second attempt, Jankowski stuffed the third one home to even the score at a goal apiece at 5:59.
But the Warriors stood tall through the remainder of the major before drawing their second power play of the night on a charging call midway through the second, and less than a minute into the advantage, freshman Chris LeBlanc (Winthrop, Mass.) received a nifty feed from classmate Hampus Gustafsson (Ljungby, Sweden) and found the twine, as the rookie's first collegiate tally put the Warriors ahead, 2-1, after 40 minutes.
Providence would draw even less than seven minutes into the third, however, after Conor MacPhee received a feed from Derek Army and scored on a wraparound to bring it to 2-2. Exactly six minutes later, at 12:49, the Friars benefitted from a lucky bounce that hopped over a Merrimack defenseman's stick, and Shane Luke pounced before scoring on a partial breakaway that stood as the game-winner.
Minutes later, the Friars thought they had their fourth, as Luke crashed the net on a scrum in front and knocked the puck through the crease and in, but the goal was waved off after review.
Merrimack would pull Tirronen with 1:15 to go, but Jankowski iced it with an empty-net strike with 58 seconds to go to wrap things up.
A Closer Look
- Providence ended the night with a slim lead in shots, 34-33; the only period that the Friars out-shot the visitors came in the second (10-9), while the other two periods saw both teams finish with the same amount of shots
- Five different Warriors recorded a point, as freshman Hampus Gustafsson (Ljungby, Sweden) and senior Mike Collins (Boston, Mass.) joined Toomey and John Gustafsson on the scoresheet Saturday
- Collins led all Warriors with five shots on the night, while sophomore Ben Bahe (Stillwater, Minn.) and John Gustafsson were the only two Warriors to finish with a positive plus/minus (+1) on the night
- Tirronen finished the game with 30 saves, one shy of his counterpart Gillies, who turned away 31 Warrior shots.
Notes and Notables
- The loss for Merrimack was the first when leading after two periods since Dec. 30, 2012, to Union in the Sheraton/TD Bank Tournament
- Since 2010, when leading after two periods, Merrimack was 43-2-4 previously, with the only losses being the aforementioned Union setback, and Notre Dame in the NCAA Tournament in 2010
- Merrimack remains winless on the road and against non-Atlantic Hockey teams (0-4-0)
- Saturday marked Merrimack's first loss at Providence since Dec. 2, 2011, a 2-1 setback that came when the Warriors were ranked first in the country after a 9-0-1 start to the year
- LeBlanc and Toomey registered their first goals of the season for Merrimack, while John Gustafsson notched his first assist of the year in the process, as well
Up Next
The Warriors continue a grueling, nine-game stretch against nationally ranked, Hockey East foes next weekend, when they make their first-ever trek westward to South Bend, Ind., to face Notre Dame in a weekend conference series. It will mark the first meeting between the two schools since their clash in the NCAA Tournament back in March of 2010.
Friday's game will be televised live across the country on the NBC Sports Network with faceoff set for 7:30 p.m.
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