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Highlights
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College women's ice hockey team played toe-to-toe with No. 10/10 Providence on Friday night, but eventually fell, 4-1, in Hockey East action from Lawler Rink.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 1, #10/10 Providence 4 | Final
Records: Merrimack (4-9-3, 1-5-2 WHEA) // #10/10 Providence (7-3-3, 4-1-1 WHEA)
Location: Lawler Rink | North Andover, Mass.
Rapid Recap:
- Providence took a 1-0 lead at 11:40 of the first period on a delayed penalty.
- Junior Paige Voight (St. Michael, Minn.) had a chance to even the game with just under six minutes in the first period on a breakaway. Her backhanded shot was turned away by Clare Minnerath. Both teams could not capitalize on a pair power-plays in the opening frame, as the Friars finished the period with a 12-8 shot advantage.
- Sophomore goaltender Lea-Kristine Demers (Repentigny, Quebec) came up with a pair of saves early on. Voight had a chance on Merrimack's power-play right in front of the crease, but the puck rolled away from danger.
- The Friars extended their lead at 6:27 of the second. Merrimack cut into the at 11:58 on a breakaway goal by freshman Megan Fergusson (Kitchener, Ontario).
- Sophomore Mikyla Grant-Mentis (Brampton, Ontario) had a great chance to even the game at 3:34 of the third, but was taken down on the play to give the Warriors a power-play at 3:44.
- Demers made a huge save on a short-handed opportunity for Providence with 14:45 left in the period, sprawling out to turn away a chance by Christina Putigna.
- Demers came up again to keep the game a one-goal deficit with 8:21 left in the third.
- Merrimack had a breakaway opportunity with 6:12 left in the period, but Minnerath kicked the puck away with her left pad.
- However, a pair of empty netters late in the contest put the game away for the Friars.
Scoring Summaries
- The Friars took a 1-0 lead at 11:40 of the first period. Kate Friesen took a shot from the point. The puck bounced off the pads of Warrior sophomore goaltender Lea-Kristine Demers (Repentigny, Quebec), and the rebound went to Cassidy MacPherson, who was crashing the net, and she put the puck into the back of the net.
- Providence added to its lead at 6:27 of the second period following on offensive zone face-off. Neve Van Pelt won the draw back to Madison Sansone at the blue line, who one-timed a shot to the upper left corner of the net.
- The Warriors cut the lead in half at 11:58 of the second period on a breakaway by f Fergusson for her third goal of the season. After winning the defensive zone draw, junior Felila Manu (Anchorage, Alaska) passed the puck up to Fergusson, who skated toe-to-toe with a Providence defender. Fergusson tapped the puck through the five-hole of Minnerath to put Merrimack on the board.
- Providence scored two empty netters at 18:43 and 19:42 to seal the game.
Inside the Numbers
- Fergusson picked up her third goal of her career.
- Manu has already matched a career-high with five assists on the year, which she finished with five during her rookie campaign.
- The Teams combined for 0-10 on the power-play.
- Demers made 16 saves in the second period and finished with 32, her fourth game with 30 or more saves.
- Goaltenders: L- Lea-Kristine Demers (32 Saves, 3-3-2) // W– Clare Minnerath (23 Saves,1-0-0)
- Power Plays: Merrimack (0-6) | Providence (0-4)
- SOG (MC-PC): 8-12 | 11-17 | 5-7 |24-36
Up Next
The Warriors and Friars play the final game of the weekend series at 7 p.m. from Schneider Arena in Providence, Rhode Island tomorrow night.
