Tibbet Sends Men's Ice Hockey to HEA Quarterfinals, Warriors Sweep Northeastern in Double OT, 2-1
Links: Highlights | Box Score | Dennehy/Tibbet Postgame Comments
BOSTON – One night after Game 1 was decided early in overtime, freshman Mathieu Tibbet (Dover, Del.) completed a two-game sweep after his golden goal with less than four minutes left in the second sudden-death session lifted the Merrimack College men's ice hockey team past Northeastern, 2-1, to wrap up the series the Hockey East Tournament Opening Round.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 2, Northeastern 1 (F/2OT)
Records: Merrimack (16-16-4) | Northeastern (16-16-4)
Location: Matthews Arena | North Andover, Mass.
How It Happened
There's just been something about overtime in the Hockey East Tournament through two days of the postseason; last night, Merrimack and Northeastern couldn't settle Game 1 until early in overtime, and then hours later, Massachusetts and Notre Dame needed five overtime periods to determine a winner, turning the page to today's Game 2.
Merrimack and Northeastern wouldn't disappoint, as each found the back of the net in the second period to stake a 1-1 draw on the scoreboard.
That would be the last time anyone lit the lamp over a span of nearly an hour; not only was regulation not enough to determine a victory, but neither was the first 20-minute overtime.
The host Huskies, who finished with over 60 shots total in the game, threw a game-high 17 of them on net in the first sudden-death session. But the one constant for Merrimack throughout this season – strong team defense and, more importantly, goaltending – still rang true, as senior Rasmus Tirronen (Espoo, Finland) kept them all out.
Merrimack, meanwhile, had the fans that traveled to witness their first two playoff victories since 2012 on baited breath in much of the extra session as well and nearly won it on a number of occasions. Taking back-to-back penalties in the first overtime didn't do much for the nerves, but the Warriors' penalty kill – ranked third nationally coming into the night – came through again.
After that, the game trudged on to a second overtime still knotted up at a goal apiece. Each side continued to rack up chance after chance, but Tirronen and his counterpart, Clay Witt, were rock solid.
Late in the second overtime, Kevin Roy tried to end the game himself with a charge toward the net, but the sequence ended with Tirronen turning away the shot attempt and Roy being levied a goaltender interference call.
The Warriors, who had already scored on the man advantage back in the second, promptly went to work. And finally, less than a minute into that man advantage, Tibbet found himself with the puck off a feed from classmate Jace Hennig (Port Moody, British Columbia) and sent a centering feed through the crease. The puck made contact with Witt's pads and squeezed behind him with enough on it to roll slowly over the line and in for the game-winner.
The goal was upheld by video review, sending Merrimack back to the league's quarterfinal round for the first time since the 2012-13 season.
But it was Northeastern that tallied the opening goal back in the second period. On its fourth power play of the night, the Huskies finally broke through with less than eight minutes to go in the second. Zach Anston-Reese picked up a loose puck following a wild scrum in the crease and batted it home to put the hosts up by a goal at 12:19.
After four of the game's first five penalties were levied against Merrimack, the Warriors enjoyed a power-play chance late in the second and took advantage. Freshman Marc Biega (Pointe-Claire, Quebec) did most of the work, drawing the attention of the defense with a slick maneuver to the high slot. After firing a shot on Witt, Hennig was there to put the rebound home to tie the match. Senior Dan Kolomatis (Basking Ridge, N.J.) also assisted on the play.
That would be the last time either side would tickle the twine for just under an hour's worth of playing time. There were opportunities for both sides in both overtime sessions, but in the end, it was Tibbet's sixth strike of the season that sent Merrimack on to the quarterfinals with the series sweep.
Inside The Numbers
- Northeastern wound up with a 121-90 edge in shot attempts, as well as a 64-49 advantage in shots on target; Roy led all players with 11 shots, while Tibbet had six to lead the Warriors
- Hennig (1g, 1a) and Biega (2a) both accounted for the team's lone two-point effort; the former finished the weekend with four points to lead the team
- All three goals on Saturday were of the power-play variety; Merrimack finished 2-for-4 with the man advantage, while Northeastern was kept to only a 1-of-7 clip
- Tirronen finished with a career-high 63 saves, topping his previous mark of 51 set against UMass Lowell on Jan. 30; Witt turned away 47 for the hosts
- Merrimack also blocked a season-high 23 shots, three more than yesterday's 20-block performance
- The faceoff battle went to Merrimack by the slimmest of margins, as the Warriors went 58-57 on the dot, with sophomore Hampus Gustafsson (Ljungby, Sweden) tallying a 20-17 record
Notes and Notables
Merrimack was playing in only the fifth double-overtime contest in program history and the first since a 3-2 loss to Babson in the ECAC East Tournament Semifinals back on March 5, 1986. It also could potentially stand as the longest-ever game in program history depending on how long into double overtime those games went, and how long those overtime periods were back then.
Up Next
Merrimack advances to face either top-seeded Boston University or second-seeded Providence in next week's best-of-three quarterfinals starting Friday (March 13) at the site of whomever the Warriors are matched up with. If Notre Dame wins its series against Massachusetts, Merrimack's opponent will be Boston University, but if the Minutemen pull of the upset, the Warriors will face the Friars.
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