#14 Men's Ice Hockey Knocks off UMass, 4-2, for First Win at Mullins Center since 2012
Links: Box Score | Postgame Comments: Dennehy / Christie
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AMHERST, Mass. – Sophomore forward Alfred Larsson (Malmo, Sweden) picked an opportune time for his first marker of the year, scoring midway through the third period to send the No. 14 Merrimack College men's ice hockey team to a 4-2 road win at the University of Massachusetts on Friday night.
The win was the first on the road against a league opponent since Feb. 2, 2013, and the first at the Mullins Center since Feb. 4, 2012.
The Basics
Score: #14/T13 Merrimack 4, #RV Massachusetts 2
Records: Merrimack (6-1-2, 2-1-2 HEA) | Massachusetts (6-3-1, 2-2-1 HEA)
Location: Mullins Center | Amherst, Mass.
How It Happened
Merrimack took the lead at the 4:06 mark of the first after senior John Gustafsson (Ljungby, Sweden) ricocheted a shot from sophomore Jared Kolquist (Hermantown, Minn.) to give the Warriors an early 1-0 advantage.
That line struck again early in the second period, as Gustafsson finished off a gritty sequence by the second line to pot his second of the game at 4:03 to give the Warriors a 2-0 edge.
UMass had five straight minutes of power-play time midway through the second, including two minutes of a 5-on-3 power play, but the Warrior penalty kill – ranked fifth nationally heading into the night – came up with the unit's best performance of the season and kept the momentum in the visitors' favor by fending off both penalties.
The hosts got to within one after Calum Fryer scored at 17:32 of the second, making it a 2-1 contest after 40 minutes.
The Minutemen would eventually draw even on their fourth man advantage of the night, as the nation's seventh-ranked power-play unit tied the game at 2-2 thanks to Shane Walsh's eighth marker of the year 2-2 at 4:18 of the third.
But Merrimack got the goal back about six minutes later after Larsson beat UMass goaltender Nic Renyard up high to regain the lead for the Warriors midway through the third.
Sophomore goaltender Collin Delia (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) made an incredible lunging toe save in the final 30 seconds to preserve the lead as UMass skated with the extra attacker before junior Hampus Gustafsson (Ljungby, Sweden) iced the game with an empty-netter to seal the win.
The win marked Merrimack's first victory at the Mullins Center since a 4-3 win on Feb. 4, 2012 – a span over nearly 3-1/2 years. It was also the Warriors' first win on the road during the regular season against a league opponent since a 4-1 win at New Hampshire on Feb. 2, 2013.
Merrimack Goal Descriptions
P1 4:06 | Merrimack's second line gained the offensive zone, as John Gustafsson took the puck across the blue line and found sophomore Jace Hennig (Port Moody, British Columbia), who skated near the left half wall and angled a pass off the boards to Kolquist, whose slapper from the left point went through traffic and directed off Gustafsson and into the left side of the net for the opening tally.
P2 4:03 | Merrimack's second line again generated its second goal of the night; as UMass tried to clear the zone, Hampus Gustafsson kept the puck in the zone and found a lunging Hennig in between the dots. Hennig turned and found Gustafsson at the top of the slot, who spun and fired a wrister that Renyard got some, but not all, of, as the Warriors doubled their lead four minutes into the second.
P3 9:37 | With UMass trying to break out, junior Hampus Gustafsson (Ljungby, Sweden) stole the puck at the blue line and gained the zone before angling a pass to Larsson along the left wall. The latter broke through the defense and threw a shot up high that went over Renyard's shoulder and in to give the Warriors the lead in the third.
P3 19:54 | Following a sensational save by Delia to keep the game tied while UMass Renyard pulled for the extra skater, senior Brian Christie (West Chester, Pa.) moved the puck out of the zone and to the front of the Merrimack bench in the neutral zone; Hampus Gustafsson sent the puck the length of the ice from the left half wall and into the empty net to seal the win for the Warriors.
Inside The Numbers
- John Gustafsson finished with his first-ever two-goal night and second-ever multi-point night; the only other occasion was a two-point outing against Boston College on Nov. 16, 2012
- Kolquist ran his point streak to three games after recording an assist, while Christie assisted on the empty-netter to assure that the top line of Christie and classmates Ben Bahe (Stillwater, Minn.) and Justin Hussar (Lancaster, N.Y.) produced at least one point for the ninth straight game
- Hampus Gustafsson recorded his first-ever three-point night after recording seven previous two-point outings
- Delia finished with 29 saves to improve to 6-1-2, while Renyard turned away 23 and fell to 4-2-1
- UMass was only the third opponent to outshoot Merrimack this year (31-27) and also was the third to put over 30 shots on net against the Warriors
Up Next
Merrimack rounds out its two-game league weekend with a Saturday night home tilt against the University of New Hampshire. Puck drop from Lawler Rinks is set for 7 p.m.
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