NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College men's ice hockey team turns the calendar to 2018 and returns to Hockey East play with a pair of league matchups on the road this weekend. The Warriors face UConn on Friday night at the XL Center before meeting Providence on Saturday at Schneider Arena, with 7 p.m. puck drops each night.
Inside the Series (UConn)
- Merrimack and UConn will be meeting for the 33rd time in the all-time series this weekend with the Warriors holding a 24-3-5 all-time mark against the Huskies, including a 19-2-2 record at home and a 3-1-2 mark on the road.
- To say the series has been close over the last three seasons would be an understatement; both teams have played to four straight ties and have skated to draws in five of their last six outings. The only non-ties have been one-goal wins for either side, with Merrimack's victory coming in overtime back in October of 2014.
- The goal that sent the game to overtime in each of the last four Merrimack-UConn games has come inside the last 90 seconds of regulation.
- More incredibly, in each of the last three games, the trailing team tied the game in the final minute with an extra attacker.
- The Warriors are still looking for their first win at the XL Center in three tries (0-1-1).
Inside the Series (Providence)
- With 129 all-time meetings coming into the weekend, Providence represents Merrimack's most frequently played opponent in the history of the program.
- Merrimack owns a 32-86-12 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 5-13-4 against the Friars. Twelve of those games have been decided by a goal or ended in a tie, including the previous two games this year.
- Merrimack is 15-34-7 at home against Providence and 16-51-4 at Schneider Arena.
- Back in November, Merrimack dropped a 2-1 road game despite outshooting the Friars by a 41-24 margin before skating to a 6-6 tie the following night at home. The Warriors led by four goals after one period but were unable to hold on.
'Mack Facts
- Merrimack had its longest unbeaten streak of the season snapped Saturday (3-0-1) but had wins over Army, UNH and defending national champion Denver in that span.
- The Warriors have just two road wins in 11 tries (2-7-2) compared to 3-3-2 at home.
- Jace Hennig and Brett Seney lead the team with 17 points; Hennig has potted a team-high seven goals while classmate Jared Kolquist has a team-high 12 assists.
- Three other Warriors have surpassed the 10-point threshold, as well.
- Hennig, Seney and Sami Tavernier each have four goals on the power play, which ranks tied for eighth in Hockey East. Seney ranks third with 12 power play points, while Hennig and Kolquist rank fourth with 11 points on the power play.
- Goaltender Craig Pantano has earned all of Merrimack's wins this season and has started 12 of the last 13 games; he is 5-5-2 with a 2.32 GAA and .919 SV% on the year.
Hello, Huskies
- UConn enters the weekend at 8-13-2 overall with a 5-8-1 mark in league play.
- The Huskies have lost their last two, including a 3-0 setback against Quinnipiac on Tuesday night at the XL Center to open the second half.
- Junior Maxim Letunov leads seven Huskies who are in double-digit scoring figures. His 19 points and 14 helpers are most on the squad.
- Sophomore Alexander Payusov has lit the lamp a team-most nine times, with six of them coming on the power play. Senior defenseman Johnny Austin has 13 assists, too.
- Sophomore Adam Huska has started 21 of 23 games for the Huskies and owns a 2.52 goals against average, as well as a .914 save percentage.
- UConn ranks 43rd nationally in scoring offense (2.61) and 25th in scoring defense (2.83); their power play ranks 21st (19.8) while their PK ranks 31st (80.9).
- Mike Cavanaugh is in his fifth season at UConn; he started the year 51-70-23 all-time.
Friar Focus
- Providence has had an up-and-down season despite entering the weekend at 12-7-1 overall.
- The Friars have not won or lost more than two games in a row at any point this year. They did sweep Arizona State and Robert Morris to win the Three Rivers Classic, however, and are hosting Brown Wednesday night eyeing a third straight win.
- Senior Erik Foley has solidified himself as Providence's top scorer and has 24 points (11g, 13a). He is one of seven Friars in double-digit scoring figures and the only one over 20 points.
- Sophomore defenseman Jacob Bryson has a team-high 14 helpers, while another defenseman, rookie Ben Mirageas, has a team-high five power play goals.
- Junior Hayden Hawkey has started all 20 games for the Friars. He owns a 2.40 goals against average and a .911 save percentage.
- Providence ranks 18th nationally in scoring offense (2.90) and 11th in scoring defense (2.40); their power play ranks 33rd (18.3) while their penalty kill is fourth-best (88.3).
- 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 will play host to UConn to round out the two schools' season series next Saturday (Jan. 13) at Lawler Rink. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.
