Women's Ice Hockey Hosts Whitby in First-Ever Exhibition Tilt Friday Night (7 p.m.); Admission Is Free!
Links: Live Stats | Watch ($) | Follow @MerrimackWIH
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Finally!
After over two years of roster-building, recruiting, scheduling and planning, the Merrimack College women's ice hockey team finally hits the ice for its first-ever exhibition contest against the Whitby Jr. Wolves of the Provincial Women's Hockey League (PWHL) on Friday night at Lawler Rink. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m., and admission is FREE for all guests.
The Basics
Date/Time: Friday, Sept. 25, 2015 | 7 p.m.
Location: Lawler Rink | North Andover, Mass.
Meet the Warriors:
Earlier this week, head coach Erin Hamlen officially unveiled the 2015-16 roster for the team's inaugural season.
Of the 21 players on the final roster, there are seven defensemen, 11 forwards and three goalies. Thirteen players on the roster are from the United States., while six hail from Canada and one from Germany. The American players represent seven different states (Alaska, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, North Dakota, Vermont), and the Canadians come from four different provinces (Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan).
To view the full roster, click here.
The Schedule:
Merrimack's 34-game slate includes 18 home games at Lawler Rink (including Friday's exhibition); the Warriors will get to enjoy plenty of home-ice advantage in the early goings, as eight of the team's first 11 regular season contests will be played in North Andover.
The ball gets rolling next weekend (Oct. 2-3) when the Warriors host St. Cloud State (WCHA) before boarding a flight to Pittsburgh one week (Oct. 9-10) later for a two-game set at Robert Morris (CHA). Merrimack then returns home for five games to round out October, starting with a Homecoming Weekend set against New Hampshire and Maine, both of which will mark the program's first-ever Hockey East matchups.
After a doubleheader weekend against Colgate (ECAC), the Warriors wrap up October with a single Friday afternoon matchup against Northeastern on Oct. 30.
Outside of the remainder of the Hockey East portion of the schedule, the Warriors will also participate in the Nutmeg Classic hosted by Yale University over Thanksgiving weekend; the team will also head to the North Country in early January to play St. Lawrence and host Brown later on that month.
The 2016 Women's Ice Hockey Tournament will feature the top-eight teams in the conference. The quarterfinal round will consist of a best-of-three series at the sites of the higher seeds before the remaining four teams square off in the Championship Rounds at a to-be-determined site the following weekend.
The Wolves:
- Whitby is a member of the Provincial Women's Hockey League (PWHL), a Junior women's ice hockey league in Ontario, Canada that was founded in 2004. It is considered to be the highest level of junior women's amateur ice hockey in Ontario, and is sanctioned by Hockey Canada and the Ontario Women's Hockey Association
- Last year, the Wolves skated to a 49-12-5 record en route to a silver medal performance in the PWHL's "Final Four" playoff tournament; Whitby did win back-to-back titles in 2013 and 2014
- The Wolves have four players committed to NCAA teams (Connecticut, Mercyhurst, New Hampshire)
Up Next
The Warriors drop the puck for their official season (and program) opener next weekend (Oct. 2-3) when they host St. Cloud State for a pair starting on Friday night. Game time is set for 6 p.m.
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For continuing coverage of Merrimack College Athletics, visit MerrimackAthletics.com and follow the Warriors on Twitter and on Facebook.
