#9 UMass Lowell Edges #18 Men's Ice Hockey, 3-1, in Mariucci Classic Title Game
Links: Box Score | Dennehy Postgame Comments
MINNEAPOLIS – The 18th-ranked Merrimack College men's ice hockey team entered the third period even at a goal apiece against ninth-ranked rival UMass Lowell, but the River Hawks would score with just under four minutes to play and add an insurance tally to capture the Mariucci Classic title over the Warriors on Saturday at Mariucci Arena.
The Basics
Score: #9 UMass Lowell 3, #18 Merrimack 1
Records: #18 Merrimack (11-6-2) | #9 UMass Lowell (14-3-3)
Location: Mariucci Arena | Minneapolis, Minn.
How It Happened
Seeking its first win against UMass Lowell in nearly two years, Merrimack jumped out to a quick start as senior Dan Kolomatis (Basking Ridge, N.J.) put the Warriors on top early in the first. Lowell would answer midway through the second to draw even, setting the stage for a decisive third period.
With the game still even and less than four minutes on the clock, Dylan Zink – who drew the River Hawks even in the first – potted the game-winner at 16:11 of the final stanza before Evan Campbell added insurance just over two minutes later to give the River Hawks their second tournament title in as many weeks.
One night after setting a new career high with 40 saves, senior goaltender Rasmus Tirronen (Espoo, Finland) topped that mark with another outstanding night that saw him turn away 41 shots. Kevin Boyle finished with 21 stops for the River Hawks to improve to 11-1-3 on the year, while Tirronen slipped to 8-3-1.
In what proved to be the theme for most of the game, Lowell controlled possession through most of the opening minutes, but regardless of that Merrimack still managed to strike first on Kolomatis' third marker of the year. Sophomore Chris LeBlanc (Winthrop, Mass.) carried the puck in down the left half wall and sent a slick centering feed toward the edge of the right circle to Kolomatis, who fired it home at 6:49 to put the Warriors up early. Freshman Brett Seney (London, Ontario) also assisted on the play.
But the River Hawks would spend most of the remainder of the first period in the Merrimack zone, piling up 14 shots on net after the opening frame and kept that momentum on their side through most of the second, as well. Eventually that pressure led to the equalizer at 11:49 of the middle stanza, as Zink got Lowell on the board on a wrister that snuck in through traffic to tie it up.
With the score equal at a goal apiece after 40 minutes, the game would be settled in the third. But the River Hawks yielded little in terms of scoring chances while keeping the Warriors pinned back in their own end throughout the game. Each side traded power-play chances over the course of the third but neither would amount to much.
With less than four minutes to go, Zink lit the lamp for the game-winner at 16:11, scoring on a similar play as he did in the first after threading a wrist shot from the top of the far circle that found the twine through traffic.
Then, after Tirronen was forced to retreat back to his net on the way to the bench for the extra skater, Campbell buried a 2-on-1 feed from Adam Chapie to at 18:27 to wrap up the win for the River Hawks.
Inside The Numbers
- For the second night in a row, Merrimack was outshot by a 20-shot margin; the River Hawks finished with a 44-22 edge in shot attempts, including a 14-4 lead in the first frame
- Merrimack's penalty kill kept UML off the board on four chances, pushing their most recent consecutive kill streak to 19 straight dating back to Nov. 29 against Clarkson
- Lowell was strong on the dot, winning 62 percent (36-of-58) of the faceoffs; Merrimack's only player with a faceoff percentage over .500 was LeBlanc, who won 9-of-17 (52.3%)
Notes and Notables
Merrimack has now surrendered at least 40 shots on goal for three consecutive games for the first time since doing so in the first three games of the 2001-02 season: at Miami on Oct. 12 (48); at Miami on Oct. 13 (47); and vs. New Hampshire on Oct. 18 (47).
Up Next
Merrimack will break next weekend and return to action to face the current No. 14 team in the country in Quinnipiac, as the Warriors host the Bobcats on Friday, Jan. 16, to kick off a weekend home-and-home series at Lawler Rink.
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