Men's Ice Hockey Skates to 2-2 Draw to UConn in Liberty Invitational Opening Round
Links: Box Score
NEWARK, N.J. – Backed by a goal each from New Jersey natives Dan Kolomatis (Basking Ridge, N.J.) and Vinny Scotti (Vineland, N.J.), the Merrimack College men's ice hockey team fought back to tie the University of Connecticut, 2-2, in the Liberty Invitational Opening Round on Friday at the Prudential Center.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 2, UConn 2 (UConn wins shootout, 2-0)
Records: Merrimack (4-1-1) | UConn (1-3-2)
Location: Prudential Center | Newark, N.J.
How It Happened
For the fourth straight game, Merrimack had to play catch-up after surrendering the first goal of the game early in the first period. Late in the second while skating on a power play, Scotti tapped in a centering feed from classmate Brian Christie (West Chester, Pa.) to draw even at a goal apiece.
Appropriately enough, Kolomatis – a fellow Garden State native – had the secondary assist on the play, as both sides skated into the locker room even at 1-1 after 40 minutes.
Despite a heavy advantage in shot attempts (25-12) and six power plays after two periods, Merrimack once again found itself down by a goal after UConn's Kasperi Ojantakanen intercepted the puck and scored just 23 seconds into the third frame, pushing the Huskies back up, 2-1.
Just about five minutes later though, and while skating with an extended power play thanks to a five-minute interference major at the 5:00 mark, Merrimack clawed back again thanks to a blistering wrist shot from the point by Kolomatis, making it a 2-2 contest at the 6:29 mark of the third. Christie and sophomore Hampus Gustafsson (Ljungby, Sweden) assisted on the scoring play.
Later in the third, Merrimack found itself down two men after back-to-back slashing and tripping minors, but the Warrior penalty kill stayed perfect and fended both off en route to finishing 5-for-5 on the night.
Despite throwing 37 shots at UConn netminder Rob Nichols, Merrimack was held off the board the rest of the third and withheld one last chance from the Huskies in the last minute of regulation to head to overtime for the third time in four games.
Merrimack outshot UConn, 3-2, in the sudden-victory session but was kept off the board on each try.
After the final buzzer sounded signifying a tie as the official result, both sides faced off in a three-man shootout to determine who would play in the tournament's championship game on Sunday. In the shootout, UConn scored on its second and third attempt to earn the right to play in Sunday's Liberty Invitational Championship.
Inside The Numbers
- Merrimack finished with a 40-22 edge in shot attempts, including a whopping 21-4 advantage in the second period
- The Warriors went 2-for-8 on the power play, while UConn finished 0-for-5
- Both sides combined for 44 penalty minutes, including 32 for UConn on a pair of major penalties and a game misconduct
- Merrimack won 32-of-66 (48.4%) faceoffs, with Gustafsson finishing 11-for-17 on the dots
- Senior netminder Rasmus Tirronen (Espoo, Finland) turned in a 20-save effort for Merrimack, while Nichols fended off 38 shots for UConn
Up Next
Merrimack will next face Princeton or Yale in the Liberty Invitational Third Place Game on Sunday afternoon. Puck drop from the Prudential Center is set for 1 p.m.
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