#15/17 Vermont Snaps Men's Ice Hockey's Unbeaten Streak after Warriors Drop Series Opener, 3-1

#15/17 Vermont Snaps Men's Ice Hockey's Unbeaten Streak after Warriors Drop Series Opener, 3-1

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BURLINGTON, Vt. – The Merrimack College men's ice hockey team got to within one early in the third period, but No. 15/17 Vermont netted a key insurance goal minutes later to hand the Warriors a 3-1 setback and snap their eight-game unbeaten streak on Friday night at Gutterson Fieldhouse.

The Basics
 Score: Vermont 3, Merrimack 1
Records: Merrimack (13-14-6, 7-8-6 HEA) | #15/17 Vermont (18-10-5, 10-7-4 HEA)
Location: Gutterson Fieldhouse | Burlington, Vt.
Attendance: 4007
Game Duration: 2:20

Hockey East Playoff Picture
 All teams qualify for postseason; seeds 1-4 earn first round bye; seeds 5-8 host 9-12 in best-of-three first round; winning teams advance, bracket is re-seeded, and seeds 1-4 host best-of-three quarterfinal series; winners advance to Championship Weekend at TD Garden

1. Boston College (13 league wins/29 points) – H2H vs. PC,
2. Notre Dame (12/28) H2H vs. UVM, UNH, NU
3. Boston U. (12/27) H2H vs. BC, PC
4. UMass Lowell (13/27) H2H vs. UVM, UNH, MC
5. Providence (11/25) H2H vs. UML, UNH, UC
6. Vermont (10/24) H2H vs. NU
7. Northeastern (9/21) H2H vs. MC
8. Merrimack (7/20) H2H vs. BC, BU, PC
 9. Connecticut (7/18) H2H vs. UML
 10. New Hampshire (7/18) H2H vs. MC, NU, ME
 11. Maine (4/10) H2H vs. UMA
 12. Massachusetts (2/5)

  • Merrimack will earn a home ice spot with a tie or a win tomorrow against Vermont (7th or 8th)
  • Merrimack can also finish eighth if UConn/UNH play to a tie tomorrow
  • A Merrimack loss AND and a UConn OR UNH win will result in Merrimack finishing in ninth
  • Merrimack's Hockey East Tournament Opening Round opponent will be either UConn or New Hampshire

Wins = 2 pts, Ties = 1 pt
H2H = Team has won head-to-head tiebreaker vs. abbreviated team
Tiebreakers: Head-to-head; # of wins in conf. play; Record vs. first-place team, then second-place team, etc.; Coin flip

How It Happened

  • After Merrimack controlled most of the first half of the opening frame, Vermont began building momentum and eventually converted on its first power play of the night after Colton Ross scored from the near circle by sending the puck through traffic and into the upper-left corner of the net to give the Catamounts a 1-0 lead at the end of 20 minutes.
  • An early second period power play nearly got the Warriors on the board, but Vermont would get the kill, draw a power play of its own shortly after and quickly capitalize, as Brian Bowen redirected a shot in front of the crease to make it 2-0 in favor of the hosts.
  • Merrimack also had to work around a five-minute major penalty in the frame, but the Warriors kept Vermont off the board during that stretch and then drew back-to-back penalties late in the period to give the visitors a length 5-on-3 power play to start the third stanza.
  • The Warriors got to within a goal after freshman Sami Tavernier (Morzine, France) kept his hot stretch going with his seventh goal of the year just 41 seconds into the third; classmate Johnathan Kovacevic (Grimsby, Ontario) and senior Hampus Gustafsson (Ljungby, Sweden) each picked up an assist on the tally.
  • But Vermont answered six minutes later after Craig Puffer scored off a rebound at the 6:27 mark, restoring the Catamounts' two-goal lead.
  • That score went unchanged the rest of the way, as UVM goaltender Stefanos Lekkas finished with 27 saves to preserve the home side's lead down the stretch.

Notes & Notables

  • Merrimack's unbeaten streak comes to an end at eight games (5-0-3), which was the team's longest such streak since a 10-game unbeaten stretch to start the 2011-12 season.
  • Tavernier now leads the team with 11 points (4g, 7a) since Jan. 24.  

Merrimack Lineup
Seney | Gustafsson | Tavernier
Hennig | L. Larsson | LeBlanc
Babcock | A. Larsson | Tibbet
Coomes | Petti | Irvine

Biega | Carle
Kolquist | Kovacevic
Lashyn | Cook

Delia
Vogler
Pantano

Game Leaders (MC // UVM)

  • Points: Three players (1) // Brendan Bradley (2)
  • Goals: Tavernier (1) // Three players (1)
  • Assists: Gustafsson/Kovacevic // Brendan Bradley (2)
  • Shots: Jared Kolquist (4) // Mario Puskarich (5)
  • Faceoffs Won: Alfred Larsson (10) // Derek Lodermeier (11)
  • Saves: Collin Delia (30-for-33) // Stefanos Lekkas (27-for-28)

Facts and Figures (MC // UVM)

  • Power Plays: 1-5 // 2-4
  • Penalties: 5 Penalties – 13 Minutes // 6 Penalties – 12 Minutes
  • Faceoffs: 38 // 28
  • SOG: 12-12 // 10-8 // 6-13 // 28-33

Up Next
 Merrimack and Vermont round out the weekend series back at Gutterson Fieldhouse tomorrow night. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.

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For continuing coverage of Merrimack College Athletics, visit MerrimackAthletics.com and follow the Warriors on Twitter and on Facebook.

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