Men's Ice Hockey Fights to 3-3 Tie at UNH Sunday

Men's Ice Hockey Fights to 3-3 Tie at UNH Sunday

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DURHAM, N.H. – Trailing by a goal with under a minute to play, host New Hampshire scored an extra-attacker goal with 48 seconds left to send the game to overtime, and that score would go unchanged the rest of the way, as the Merrimack College men's ice hockey team skated to a 3-3 tie against the Wildcats on Sunday at the Whittemore Center.

The Basics
 Score: Merrimack 3, New Hampshire 3 (F/OT)
Records: Merrimack (4-5-3, 0-2-3 HEA) | New Hampshire (4-5-2, 2-1-1 HEA)
Location: Whittemore Center | Durham, N.H.
Attendance: 3324
Game Duration: 2:13

How It Happened

1st Period

  • Both sides went nearly the entirety of the opening frame without a goal. There were limited scoring opportunities for both, as shots on goal stood even at 7-7 through 20 minutes.
  • However, with 1:25 left in the period, UNH was awarded a power play after an aggressive play by a Merrimack forward who was following up on a breakaway chance, which led to the Wildcats scoring with the man advantage with just seven seconds left in the period, as junior Michael McNicholas netted his fourth of the season to put the Wildcats up 1-0 after 20 minutes.

2nd Period

  • After goals were at a premium in the first, the second stanza saw the lamp lit four times, including three for the Warriors.
  • Senior Hampus Gustafsson (Ljungby, Sweden), after seeing his eight-game point streak snapped on Friday, started another after burying his team-high seventh strike of the year at 6:19 to level the ledger. Sophomore Derek Petti (Tewksbury, Mass.) did the bulk of the work on the play, going coast-to-coast before dishing the puck to Gustafsson for the equalizer.
  • Merrimack took the lead in the span of 1:11 after freshman Tyler Irvine (Livonia, Mich.) and senior Chris LeBlanc (Winthrop, Mass.) scored just over a minute apart, but the Wildcats cut the deficit back to one after McNicholas scored again with the Wildcats on a late power play to send the contest into the second intermission with the Warriors in front by one, 3-2.

3rd Period

  • Merrimack withheld about a minute's worth of a UNH 5-on-3 advantage in the early portions of the period and had a power play of its own later in the frame, but the score remained 3-2 in favor of the visitors heading to the final minute.
  • That, however, was when UNH would net the equalizer; skating with the extra attacker, the Wildcats worked the puck into the zone before Jason Salvaggio eventually tied it with 48 seconds left to send the game to overtime.

Overtime

  • UNH had a power play to start the sudden-death extra session that carried over from the end of regulation, but sophomore Drew Vogler (Florissant, Mo.) stopped a few dangerous chances to keep the game tied.
  • Each side had one last opportunity in the waning moments, with the Merrimack back check breaking up a potential 2-on-1 before a late shot from junior Brett Seney (London, Ontario) sailed wide before the final horn sounded.

Notes & Notables

  • Sunday marked the first time this season that Merrimack did not win when scoring three goals or more; the Warriors are now 4-0-1 in said situations this season.
  • Merrimack's winless stretch at the Whtitemore Center moved to 0-3-1, with its last win coming on Feb. 2, 2013 (4-1).
  • UNH won the season series for the third straight year after securing 3-of-4 points with a win two weeks ago and a tie today.

Goal Descriptions

  • UNH #1 (McNicholas/Grasso/Kelleher) | P1 19:53 (PP) – Power play cycle starts from the middle of the left circle down low to the left wing post and across to the weak-side goal line extended, where Michael McNicholas fires a one-timer over an outstretched glove of Drew Vogler.
  • MC #1 (Gustafsson/Petti/Spaxman) | P2 6:19 – Derek Petti starts the play by taking his own pass off the right wing boards in the Merrimack defensive zone and going all the way through the neutral zone, down the right wing boards, past a defenseman and to the right hash before dishing a backhand pass to Hampus Gustafsson, who scores off a wrist shot from the left hash.
  • MC #2 (Irvine/Hennig/Gustafsson) | P2 14:17 – Puck worked from the left wing corner from Hampus Gustafsson to Jace Hennig, who sent the puck in front of the crease area. Tyler Irvine, who was crashing toward the net, gets his stick on the loose puck and sends it home from the slot.
  • MC #3 (LeBlanc/Babcock) | P2 15:28 – Michael Babcock wins the faceoff in the left wing circle and sets up Chris LeBlanc for a one-timer, which goes in glove side.
  • UNH #2 (McNicholas/Babcock) | P2 15:57 (PP) – Puck worked from the right goal line extended into the right circle, where Michael McNicholas fired a shot that was saved, but the rebound is gathered and sent in off a wrist shot into the upper-left corner.
  • UNH #3 (Salvaggio/Kelleher/Cleland) | P3 19:20 (EA) – Pass from Tyler Kelleher at the the far dot to Jason Salvaggio, who was waiting at the back post and puts it home.
  • MC #3 (LeBlanc/Babcock) | P2 15:28 – Michael Babcock wins the faceoff in the left wing circle

MERRIMACK LINEUP
Hennig | Gustafsson | Irvine
Seney | A. Larsson | Tibbet
Petti | Babcock | LeBlanc
Coomes | Foget | Tavernier

Biega | Lashyn
Kolquist | Kovacevic
Spaxman| Carle

Vogler
Pantano

Game Leaders (MC // UNH)

  • Points: Hampus Gustafsson (2) // Four players (2)
  • Goals: Three players (1) // Michael McNicholas (2)
  • Assists: Five players (1) // Patrick Grasso/Tyler Kelleher (2)
  • Shots: Mathieu Tibbet (4) // Matias Cleland/Cameron Marks (4)
  • Faceoffs Won: Hampus Gustafsson (10) // Steven Iacobellis (12)
  • Saves: Drew Vogler (20-for-23) // Danny Tirone (28-for-31)

Facts and Figures (MC // UNH)

  • Power Plays: 0-3 // 2-6
  • Penalties: 6 Penalties – 12 Minutes // 3 Penalties – 6 Minutes
  • Faceoffs: 38 // 32
  • SOG: 7-7 // 15-3 // 7-11 // 2-2 // 31-23

Up Next
 Merrimack will make just its second trip to the state of Wisconsin in program history to battle the University of Wisconsin in Madison next weekend in a two-game set at the Kohl Center. Puck drop each night is set for 8 p.m. Eastern.

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For continuing coverage of Merrimack College Athletics, visit MerrimackAthletics.com and follow the Warriors on Twitter and on Facebook.

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