Gustafsson Lifts Men's Ice Hockey over UConn in Overtime; Warriors Top Huskies 2-1 Saturday
Links: Box Score | Postgame Press Conference
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Trailing by a goal with just over 30 seconds to play, freshman Brett Seney (London, Ontario) forced in the equalizer to light up the Homecoming Weekend crowd, and midway through overtime, sophomore Hampus Gustafsson (Ljungby, Sweden) buried the game-winner to lift the Merrimack College men's ice hockey team to a 2-1, come-from-behind victory over the University of Connecticut in both sides' league opener at Lawler Rink.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 2, UConn 1 (F/OT)
Records: Merrimac (3-0-0, 1-0-0 HEA) | UConn (0-2-1, 0-1-0 HEA)
Location: Lawler Rink | North Andover, Mass.
How It Happened
Both sides battled through a physical first period following a pregame ceremony to honor Connecticut's first-ever conference game. The Huskies became Hockey East's 12th member this season.
Most of the first was highlighted by physical play with few golden scoring chances, but UConn managed to strike first after David Drake took away an errant Merrimack pass at the left point and fired a slapper that deflected off a Warrior skater and into the net to put the visitors up by one heading into the first intermission.
Despite outshooting the visitors by a 15-3 margin – including several outstanding looks on the only power play of the period – Merrimack still trailed by a 1-0 margin through 40 minutes of play.
Merrimack kept the trend going through most of the third, a period that saw the hosts own a 15-6 edge in shot attempts but still trail by one entering the final minutes of play.
With senior Rasmus Tirronen (Espoo, Finland) on the bench for the extra skater, Merrimack's strong forecheck kept the Huskies pinned deep, and senior Clayton Jardine (Lacombe, Alberta) poked a loose puck on the left half wall back to classmate Kyle Singleton (Beaverton, Ore.). The winger homed in on net, fired a shot that came back his way, put the rebound on net again that Rob Nichols turned away.
But waiting on the back door was Seney, who dug it out and forced it through traffic and into the twine to light up the home crowd and send the game to overtime.
Following matching minors late in regulation, both sides skated 4-on-4 to start the sudden-victory overtime session. After both penalties were killed off, junior Brian Christie (West Chester, Pa.) dumped the puck into the UConn zone with Gustafsson chasing.
The sophomore center tipped it back to rookie Mathieu Tibbet (Dover, Del.), who wasn't able to fire a shot but left it in place for Gustafsson, and the latter buried the wide-open look to send the Warriors home victors for the third time in as many tries.
Inside The Numbers
- In total, Merrimack finished with a 43-18 edge in shot attempts, including all five chances in overtime
- Once again, Merrimack's balanced offense featured six different point scorers and no multi-point performances
- Tirronen came up with 17 saves, including a few key ones down the stretch, while Nichols finished with an impressive 41-save effort
- Neither side converted on four power-play chances
- Merrimack finished winning 40-of-73 (54.8%) of the faceoffs
Up Next
Merrimack will make the trek to Erie, Pennsylvania, for its longest road trip of the first half of the season to meet Mercyhurst next weekend (Oct. 25-26). Puck drop both nights is set for 7 p.m.
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