Links: Box Score
AMHERST, Mass. – The Merrimack College men's ice hockey team was shut out for the first time this season, falling to the University of Massachusetts, 4-0, in both teams' Hockey East opener on Friday night at the Mullins Center.
The Basics
Score: Massachusetts 4,
Merrimack 0
Records: Merrimack (0-4-2, 0-0-0 HEA) | Massachusetts (4-3-0, 0-0-0 HEA)
Location: Mullins Center | Amherst, Mass.
Game Duration: 2:13
Rapid Recap
- UMass broke the deadlock 13:37 into the first period while on the power play and then doubled that lead just over two minutes later, as the hosts held Merrimack to only six shots in the opening frame.
- The Minutemen tallied two more in the second to build a 4-0 lead, while the Warriors were held to seven shots at the midpoint of the contest. Merrimack would eventually outshoot UMass, 8-7, in the middle frame but was still in search of its first goal after the 40-minute mark.
- Merrimack outshot UMass 8-0 in the third period and had three more power play opportunities during the final stanza but came up short, suffering its shutout loss this season.
Scoring Summaries
- Jake McLaughlin put the Minutemen ahead 13:37 into the first period after knocking in a rebound at the back post after a long scramble during UMass' first power play of the night. The goal came amidst a long sequence that saw junior Drew Vogler (Florissant, Mo.) made a few fantastic from close range before McLaughlin got a rebound to go.
- UMass doubled its lead just over two minutes later on a goal from Eetu Torpstrom, who took a short pass from the blue line from Philip Lagunov, skated into the far circle and scored with a quick backhand shot that went in low to make it 2-0.
- Just thirteen seconds into the second period, Cale Makar capitalized on a turnover in the Merrimack zone, pouncing on a giveaway and one-timing a shot home from the high slot to make it 3-0 Minutemen.
- Josh Couturier pushed the UMass lead to 4-0 while on the Minutemen's second power play of the night with a wrist shot from the left point that went through traffic, hit a pipe and found the twine.
Notes and Notables
- Merrimack has allowed at least one power play goal to the opposition in four straight games, as the opposition has now converted nine out of the last 23 power play opportunities against the Warriors.
- UMass's third goal of the game came 13 seconds into the second period; the last time Merrimack allowed a goal that early in a period was to Connecticut at home on Oct. 16, 2010; in that game, Jason Krispel drew the Huskies even at 1-1 just 12 seconds into the second period, but the Warriors scored six unanswered to win that game, 7-1.
- Junior Craig Pantano (Bridgewater, Mass.) made his second career appearance in net on Friday, entering 15 minutes into the second period. He did not allow a goal in over 20 minutes of work.
- The shutout loss was Merrimack's first of the season and first since Game 2 of last year's Hockey East Opening Round series against New Hampshire, a 4-0 setback (March 4, 2017). Merrimack's last shutout loss on the road was on Oct. 14, 2016, at Clarkson (4-0).
- Merrimack had won its last two games at the Mullins Center but fell to 18-28-1 all-time in Amherst; its last shutout loss at the Mullins Center was a 3-0 defeat on March 9, 2013.
Merrimack Lineup
Seney | Petti | Tavernier
Hennig | L. Larsson | Irvine
Coomes | A. Larsson | McBride
Babcock | Kramer | Tibbet
Kolquist | Kovacevic
Biega | Carle
Dockery | Titcomb
Vogler
Pantano
Halladay
Up Next
Merrimack and Massachusetts round out the weekend series tomorrow night at Lawler Rink, which will mark only Merrimack's second home game this season. Puck drop is 7 p.m.
