LeBlanc, Tirronen Lift Men's Ice Hockey to 1-1 Draw at Boston University Saturday
LeBLANC (2nd COLLEGIATE GOAL), TIRRONEN (23 SAVES) HELP MERRIMACK CLAIM THREE POINTS VS. BU
Links: Box Score | Dennehy Postgame Interview
BOSTON – Freshman forward Chris LeBlanc (Winthrop, Mass.) found the back of the net for the second time in his collegiate career early in the second period, as the Merrimack College men's ice hockey team dominated the shot chart against Boston University en route to a 1-1 draw on Saturday night at Agganis Arena to complete a three-point weekend against the Terriers.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 1, Boston University 1
Records: Merrimack (4-9-2, 1-5-1 HEA) | Boston U. (7-7-2, 2-4-1 HEA)
Location: Agganis Arena | Lawler Rink
How It Happened
Seeking its first-ever weekend sweep of BU in program history, Merrimack roared back from a one-goal deficit early in the second thanks to LeBlanc's second collegiate tally and dominated large portions of the contest, holding a shot attempt advantage of 23 (27-4) at one point in the second period.
BU's Matt O'Connor, however, posted a 38-save performance to limit the Warrior offense to just the one marker, while junior Rasmus Tirronen (Espoo, Finland) was no slouch on the other end, finishing the game with 23 saves – including several acrobatic ones down the stretch to keep the Terriers from stealing the game late in regulation and in overtime.
Leading in shots, 27-8, after two periods, BU awarded Merrimack three power-play opportunities in the third but the Warriors came up empty on all three in the final stanza while finishing 0-for-4 on the night with the man advantage. Still, both sides battled through a much more even third period that saw each team finish 10 shot attempts on the way to overtime.
In the sudden-victory session, BU controlled the opening three minutes and had a few opportunities if not for the heroics of Tirronen; Merrimack, meanwhile, piled on a couple late shot attempts before the final horn sounded, as the Warriors moved to 0-1-2 in overtime in 2013-14.
BU wasted little time getting on the board, as Evan Rodrigues beat Tirronen at 1:47 of the opening stanza on feeds from Robbie Baillargeon and Brendan Collier.
But after that, the Warriors heavily controlled the pace of play and the shots on goal battle for the remainder of the first but could not find the back of the net despite a 15-3 edge in shot attempts after 20 minutes.
That would change less than six minutes into the second, however, as sophomore Craig Wyszomirski (Mahwah, N.H.) took away an errant pass from a BU skater and fed it to LeBlanc at the top of the near circle. There, the rookie sent a floating shot toward a screened O'Connor, sneaking over his right shoulder and in for the equalizer at 5:53. It was LeBlanc's second collegiate marker and Wyszomirski's first collegiate point in two seasons.
Merrimack would proceed to run up shot after shot and chance after chance at O'Connor, and at one point midway through the second held an astounding 27-4 edge in shots on goal. Despite that, O'Connor kept the visitors from taking the lead, as the Warriors went into the intermission with a 19-shot (27-8) advantage and the scoreboard knotted at a goal apiece.
The Terriers managed to keep Merrimack quiet in the shot department for roughly 17 minutes until a Merrimack power play in the early goings of the third period, but O'Connor stood tall and kept Merrimack at bay despite three power-play opportunities in the frame.
In overtime, BU held a 6-2 lead in shot attempts but neither goalie would give away, resulting in the final result of a draw that helped Merrimack take the season series against BU for the first time since the 2010-11 season, when the Warriors finished 1-0-2 in the three-game season series.
A Closer Look
- Overall, Merrimack finished with a 39-24 advantage in shot attempts, including leads of 15-3 in the first period and 12-5 in the second
- The evening saw three different skaters attempt six or more shots for the Navy and Gold, led by sophomore Brian Christie (West Chester, Pa.), who attempted a team-high seven shots on the night, with sophomores Ben Bahe (Stillwater, Minn.) and John Gustafsson (Ljungby, Sweden) totaling six apiece
- LeBlanc's goal was his first since his first collegiate marker on Nov. 9 at Providence
- For the Terriers, defenseman Matt Grzelcyk led the night with eight shot attempts, while no other BU skater finished with more than three shots
- Merrimack held BU scoreless on the power play all weekend long, as the Terriers went 0-for-3 with the man advantage
Up Next
Merrimack will now break for the remainder of the semester before returning to action in early January. The Warriors open the 2014 portion of the schedule with a home exhibition against the Russian Red Stars on Thursday, Jan. 2. Puck drop from Lawler Rink is set for 7 p.m.
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