Links: Box Score
Postgame Comments:
Dennehy
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Despite a 24-shot advantage in the game that saw the hosts held to just 13 shots on the night, the Merrimack College men's ice hockey team ultimately dropped a 1-0 decision to 18
th-ranked Boston College in Game 1 of the two schools' Hockey East Tournament Quarterfinal series on Friday night at Conte Forum. The Warriors need a win tomorrow night to extend the series to Sunday.
The Basics
Score: Boston College 1,
Merrimack 0
Records: Merrimack (12-20-4, 7-15-2 HEA) | #18 Boston College (19-13-3, 18-6-0 HEA)
Location: Conte Forum | Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Attendance: 2484
Game Duration: 2:10
Rapid Recap
- The opening 20 minutes of the contest went by without either side lighting the lamp, but Merrimack had the vast majority of scoring chances and nearly potted one of them. The Warriors outshot the Eagles by nine (11-2) in the period and had the only power play, but the game stayed scoreless heading to the second.
- Merrimack piled up another 11 shots on goal in the second and had the first nine shots of the period and an early power play chance, but BC netminder Joseph Woll kept it scoreless with a strong performance in the middle frame. The hosts would get on the board while on a late power play, as the Warriors found themselves behind by a goal heading to the third despite a 22-6 edge in shots on goal.
- Boston College would get a golden opportunity to add to its lead when Merrimack was whistled for consecutive infractions 50 seconds apart, but the Warrior penalty kill staved off 50 seconds of 5-on-3 from the Eagles and then the remainder of the second penalty, keeping the deficit at one with less than seven minutes to play. Merrimack racked up a game-high 15 shots in the period and had a few glorious looks in the final few minutes of regulation but Woll would finish the game with 37 saves to post the shutout and give Eagles first blood in the series.
Scoring Summaries
- Goal #1 (BC, 0-1): Connor Moore scored the only goal of the night with the Eagles on the power play at 17:08 of the second, giving BC a lead it would not relinquish. Moore scored from the top of the far circle off feeds from Graham McPhee and Aapeli Rasanen.
Notes and Notables
- Despite the loss, junior Craig Pantano was impressive in net. He now has a 1.15 goals-against average in the Hockey East Tournament to go with a .949 save percentage.
- Junior Derek Petti and sophomore Logan Coomes each had a game-high five shots on goal and were two of six Warriors with three or more shots on target.
- The Warriors outshot BC 22-6 after two periods and had 24 more shots than the Eagles overall in the game (37-13), one of the wider shot advantages in a game this season.
- Merrimack fell to 22-69-7 all-time against Boston College and 1-29-3 at Kelley Rink since Halloween of 1997.
- Merrimack fell to 1-18-2 when being held to fewer than three goals this year and was shut out for the third this season.
- Goaltenders: Craig Pantano (12 saves, 11-13-2) // Joseph Woll (37saves, 16-10-2)
- Power Plays: Merrimack (0-3) | Boston College (1-1)
- Shots on Goal (MC-BC): 11-2 // 11-4 // 15-7 – 37-13
Merrimack Lineup
Forwards
Hennig | Seney | Tibbet
Petti | L. Larsson | Tavernier
Coomes | A. Larsson | Irvine
Babcock | Bales | McBride
Defense
Kolquist | Titcomb
Biega | Cook
Dockery | Kovacevic
Goaltenders
Pantano | Vogler | Halladay
Up Next
Merrimack and BC return to the ice for Game 2 of the series tomorrow night, with puck drop from Conte Forum set for 7 p.m.
