NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College men's ice hockey team returns to league play and closes out a brief five-game November slate when it faces No. 10/9 Providence College in a home-and-home series beginning Friday night at Schneider Arena. Puck drop is 7:15 p.m. The series concludes on Saturday at Lawler Rink with a 7 p.m. puck drop., and the game will be broadcast regionally and nationally on NESN and NESN National.
PARKING AND SECURITY ADVISORY
Due to enhanced security regulations in place on campus, fans are encouraged to arrive to Lawler Rink
EARLY Saturday night. The Lawler Rink security staff reserves the right to check
ALL bags and ask guests to leave inappropriate or prohibited items in their car or outside of the gates.
All guests are subject to search.
Please note the following parking restrictions for Saturday night's game:
- Lot F (MAC) is reserved for hockey season ticket holders
- Lot G (Deegan/Fenton Road) is reserved for reserved parking.
Click here to view campus map.
Inside the Series
- With 127 all-time meetings coming into the weekend, Providence represents Merrimack's most frequently played opponent in the history of the program.
- Merrimack owns a 32-85-11 all-time mark in that span and took the season series last year for the first time since the 2009-10 season after a win and a tie.
- However, since the start of the 2010-11 season, the Warriors are just 5-12-3 against the Friars. Ten of those games have been decided by a goal or ended in a tie.
- Merrimack is 15-34-6 at home against Providence and 16-50-4 at Schneider Arena.
- Last year, the two teams skated to a 2-2 draw at Schneider Arena before the Warriors rallied from a second-period deficit to claim their first win against the Friars since Nov. 8, 2014, as Merrimack went on to win 5-2 to win the season series, 1-0-1.
'Mack Facts
- Senior Brett Seney posted his fourth career two-goal night and second of the year in last Friday's win over Bentley, while sophomore defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic dished a career-high three helpers to add to his team-leading point total of nine.
- Kovacevic is also riding a career-best four-game scoring streak.
- Merrimack matched its season-high in goals (5) while the defense held Bentley to only five points (2g, 3a), the lowest total by any team in a game this season.
- Merrimack surpassed three or more goals for only the third time this season; the Warriors are 2-0-1 when scoring three or more times and are winless (0-6-1) when scoring fewer than three goals.
- Merrimack's power play finished 3-for-5 against Bentley on Friday; the team lit the lamp four times with the man advantage at Minnesota Duluth on Oct. 20.
Friar Focus
- Picked to finish third in the Hockey East Preseason Coaches' Poll, Providence has had an up-and-down start to the season, entering the weekend at 6-4-0 (3-3-0 HEA).
- After sweeping Miami to start the year, the Friars are 4-4-0 since and have not won or lost more than two games in a row at any point.
- Most recently, the Friars split a home-and-home series with UMass last week.
- Junior Scott Conway holds a slim lead to stake his claim as Providence's lead scorer with eight points on a team-best seven helpers. Five other Friars have seven points.
- Sophomore Kasper Bjorkqvist has potted a team-best five markers on the season, while rookie defenseman Ben Mirageas' four goals have all come on the power play.
- Junior Hayden Hawkey has started all 10 games for the Friars and has played all but 16 minutes in net. He owns a 2.46 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage.
- Providence ranks 29th nationally in scoring offense (2.90) and 15th in scoring defense (2.60); their power play ranks 21st (21.6) while their penalty kill is fifth-best (90.6).
- Nate Leaman, who led Providence to its first national championship in 2014-15, started the season with a 266-204-63 all-time coaching mark in 14 seasons of work.
Up Next
Merrimack and Providence conclude the home-and-home weekend series on Saturday night back at Lawler Rink, with puck drop set for 7 p.m. The Warriors then break for Thanksgiving and return to face Northeastern University in a home-and-home series Dec. 1-2.
