Men's Ice Hockey Skates to 4-2 Victory against Northern Michigan in Florida College Hockey Classic

12/29/2016 12:00:00 AM

Links: Box Score

ESTERO, Fla. – The Merrimack College men's ice hockey team saw four different skaters record a goal and post multi-point performances to close out the 2016 Florida College Hockey Classic on a high note, as the Warriors topped Northern Michigan, 4-2, in the tournament's consolation game on Thursday afternoon at Germain Arena.

The Basics
Score: Merrimack 4, Northern Michigan 2
Records: Merrimack (7-9-3, 1-4-3 HEA) | Northern Michigan (4-16-2, 2-11-1 WCHA)
Location: Germain Arena | Estero, Fla.
Attendance: TBA
Game Duration: 2:02

How It Happened

1^st Period

• Merrimack dominated possession in the opening stanza, limiting Northern Michigan to a meager five shot attempts, with only two of those winding up on net, but the game was still scoreless heading to the later portion of the period.
• But while on the Warriors' second power play of the afternoon, senior Hampus Gustafsson (Ljungby, Sweden) snapped a stretch of 37 power plays without converting after burying his team-high ninth tally of the season at 18:17 to give the Navy and Gold a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes.

2^nd Period

• After each side traded power plays, another senior in Chris LeBlanc (Winthrop, Mass.) doubled the Merrimack lead directly off a faceoff win, as the Winthrop, Massachusetts, product's third of the year at the 9:42 mark pushed the Warriors ahead, 2-0, and that score went unchanged through the remainder of the second.

3^rd Period

• Penalties piled up toward the early portion of the third period; the first one allowed Northern Michigan to get to within a goal off a power play tally from Gerard Hanson just 21 seconds into the period, but junior Brett Seney (London, Ontario) first goal in six games came just past the two-minute mark while the Warriors were skating with an extra attacker on a delayed penalty to restore their two-goal lead.
• Then just after Merrimack's fifth power play of the night expired, sophomore Ludvig Larsson (Malmo, Sweden) tickled the twine for his third marker of the year at 4:10 to give the Warriors a 4-1 advantage early in the final frame.
• The Wildcats cut the deficit to two off the stick of Dominik Shine at 13:14 and were in position to claw closer after back-to-back penalties were levied against the Warriors late in regulation, but Merrimack would hold on to snap a three-game losing streak and end the month of December and the 2016 calendar year on a high note.

Notes & Notables

• Merrimack snapped a stretch of 36 power play chances without a goal after capitalizing on its second man advantage of Thursday afternoon. It was the Warriors' first power play goal since a 3-1 home loss to UMass on Nov. 11.
• The meeting between Merrimack and Northern Michigan was the first in the history of both programs; the only two Division I programs that the Warriors have not faced are now Michigan Tech and Penn State.
• LeBlanc secured his second career three-point game, matching his previous single-game high that was set against Arizona State on Jan. 31, 2016; it was also the third career two-point game for Larsson, which matches his single-game high.

Goal Descriptions

• MC #1 (Gustafsson/Coomes/Kovacevic) | P1 18:17 (PP) – Johnathan Kovacevic takes an outlet pass down the right side to Logan Coomes for a give-and-go feed at the blue line to Hampus Gustafsson, who carries the puck around the edge of the far circle toward the low slot before scoring on a backhand shot that goes over the shoulder.
• MC #2 (LeBlanc/L. Larsson) | P2 9:42 – Right off a faceoff win from Ludvig Larsson, Chris LeBlanc scores low from the left circle over the glove side. 
• NMU #1 (Hanson/Maschmeyer/Shine) | P2 9:42 – Snap shot from the near dot that squeezes through the wickets.
• MC #3 (Seney/LeBlanc/Kolquist) | P3 2:03 (EA) – Puck played down the left wing side by Seney, who carries it over the blue line and between the circles where he beats the goaltender with a wrist shot low blocker side.
• MC #4 (L. Larsson/Seney/LeBlanc) | P3 4:10 – Rebound shot near the bottom of the right wing circle.
• NMU #2 (L. Larsson/Seney/LeBlanc) | P3 4:10 – Gerard Hanson carries the puck into the zone 2-on-2 and passes right-to-left to Dominik Shine, whose wrist shot from the far dot goes in over the left shoulder.

MERRIMACK LINEUP
Hennig | Gustafsson | Irvine
Seney | A. Larsson | Tavernier
Babcock | L. Larsson | LeBlanc
Coomes | Kramer | Tibbet

Biega | Kovacevic
Kolquist | Titcomb
Lashyn| Cook

Vogler
Delia
Pantano

Game Leaders (MC // NMU)

• Points: Four players (2) // Gerard Hanson/Dominik Shine (2)
• Goals: Four players (1) // Gerard Hanson/Dominik Shine (1)
• Assists: Johnathan Kovacevic (2) // Four players (1)
• Shots: Brett Seney (5) // Troy Loggins (3)
• Faceoffs Won: Ludvig Larsson/Hampus Gustafsson (10) // Shane Sooth (12)
• Saves: Drew Vogler (12-for-14) // Atte Tolvanen (29-for-33)

Facts and Figures (MC // NMU)

• Power Plays: 1-5 // 1-5
• Penalties: 6 Penalties – 12 Minutes // 6 Penalties – 12 Minutes
• Faceoffs: 32 // 23
• SOG: 17-2 // 9-4 // 7-8 // 33-14

Up Next
Merrimack will open the 2017 portion and conclude the non-conference portion of its schedule when it returns home to welcome Cornell to Lawler Rink next Saturday (Jan. 7) at 7 p.m.

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