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Dennehy Postgame Comments
BOSTON – The Merrimack College men's ice hockey team dropped a 3-1 decision to No. 12/11 Northeastern University on Friday night, as the host Huskies built a three-goal lead that the Warriors were unable to overcome. The series concludes tomorrow night at Lawler Rink.
The Basics
Score: Northeastern 3,
Merrimack 1
Records: Merrimack (2-8-3, 1-5-1 HEA) | #12/11 Northeastern (8-5-1, 6-3-0 HEA)
Location: Matthews Arena | Boston, Mass.
Game Duration: 2:07
Rapid Recap
- The hosts controlled the majority of the opening frame; that, in large part, was due to having three power play chances to Merrimack's none, but Northeastern managed to convert on one of them and also added another even-strength tally to build a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes. The Warriors were also held to only four shots on net in the first period, as well.
- Merrimack had a much stronger showing in the second period, outshooting Northeastern by a 17-9 margin and threatened while on its first power play of the game early on in the stanza, but goaltender Cayden Primeau kept his clean sheet intact by stopping every shot he saw, including one on a partial breakaway. The Huskies would then get an insurance tally at the 17:22 mark to carry a 3-0 advantage into the second intermission.
- After withholding an early Northeastern power play to start the third, Merrimack was given a five-minute major power play of its own with just over 10 minutes left, and that would help the hosts get on the board at the 11:46 mark of the final stanza. That, however, was the closest they would get in ultimately dropping the contest by a two-goal margin.
Scoring Summaries
- Northeastern's John Picking gave the Huskies a 1-0 lead 7:47 into the contest. Garrett Cecere teed up a slap shot from the right point, and Picking was stationed in front of the net to tip it home.
- A nearly identical play set up the Huskies' second goal of the night, this one coming from Nolan Stevens off a deflection in the slot late on their second power play of the game to make it 2-0 at 10:28. Dylan Sikura skated the puck to the center point and sent a shot on net that Stevens redirected home to double the lead.
- With less than three minutes left in the second, Lincoln Griffin made it 3-0 in favor of the Huskies after poking home a rebound at the blocker side post. Garrett Cockerill threw the puck on net from center point, where Picking intercepted, spun and fired. His shot was saved, but while the puck was still loose, Griffin walked in uncovered and got it to go.
- Equipped with a major power play in the late stages of regulation, sophomore Cole McBride (Kindersley, Saskatchewan) got the Warriors on the board with his second tally of the year at the 11:46 mark of the third. Senior Marc Biega (Pointe-Claire, Quebec) took a drop pass at the left wing boards from sophomore Johnathan Kovacevic (Grimsby, Ontario) and threaded the puck through the zone to McBride at the far circle, who beat Primeau with a wrist shot upstairs that went through a screen.
Notes and Notables
- McBride notched his second collegiate goal and first since Oct. 21, 2017, at Minnesota Duluth.
- Kovacevic's assist was his ninth of the year, good for the most on the team.
- Pantano finished with 26 saves and fell to 2-4-1, while Primeau made 28 stops for the hosts.
- Northeastern won its fifth straight game in the series, as Merrimack's last win against Northeastern was when it swept the Huskies in the 2015 Hockey East Tournament Opening Round series at Matthews Arena.
- Merrimack has been kept to fewer than three goals nine of 13 games and is winless (0-8-1) in those contests, compared to 2-0-2 when scoring three-plus goals.
Merrimack Lineup
Seney | A. Larsson | Irvine
Hennig | L. Larsson | McBride
Babcock | Kramer | Tavernier
Petti | Drevitch | Tibbet
Kolquist | Titcomb
Biega | Carle
Dockery | Kovacevic
Pantano
Vogler
Halladay
Up Next
Merrimack and Northeastern conclude the weekend series at Lawler Rink tomorrow night, with puck drop set for 7 p.m.
