NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – After picking up its first win in nine games, the Merrimack College men's ice hockey team visits 2018 Frozen Four participant, the University of Michigan, on Tuesday night for the first time in over 13 years. Puck drop from Yost Arena is set for 7:30 p.m.
Five Things To Know
- Merrimack got back on track with a 1-0 blanking of No. 11 Northeastern University on Saturday night, ending both a nine-game winless streak against the Huskies and a nine-game winless streak on the season. Before Saturday, the Warriors were last victorious on Nov. 10 at Bemidji State by an identical score.
- The shutout victory was Merrimack's fourth of the season and the fourth for senior goalie Craig Pantano, who now ranks tied for second nationally with four clean sheets.
- Including ties, Merrimack has played 10 one-goal games on the season, among the most by any team nationwide. The Warriors are 0-2-1 in overtime this year.
- Six of Merrimack's top-nine scorers are juniors, headlined by Tyler Irvine's 14 points (5g, 9a), which are a new career-high. Junior defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic ranks tied for second on the team in overall scoring and is the most productive blueliner with 10 points (3g, 7a). Freshman Chase Gresock also has 10 points (4g, 6a) on the season, while the next three players on the scoresheet are all juniors as well: Sami Tavernier (2g, 5a), Patrick Kramer (4g, 3a) and Logan Coomes (1g, 6a).
- The Warriors are meeting Michigan for just the fifth time in school history on Tuesday. The two sides last met in Ann Arbor in October of 2005, a 9-2 Merrimack defeat.
Inside the Matchup:
| Merrimack (5-10-1, 3-9-0 HEA) |
Category |
Michigan (7-7-6, 3-4-4 HEA) |
| 1/5 at #11 Northeastern (W, 1-0) |
Last Time Out |
1/5 at #6 Notre Dame (W, 4-2) |
| 1.81 |
Scoring Offense |
3.05 |
| 3.76 |
Scoring Defense |
3.10 |
| 25.9 |
Shots/Game |
37.8 |
| 30.3 |
Shots Allowed/Game |
27.6 |
| 13-98 |
PPG-Chances |
18-96 |
| 13.3% |
PP% |
18.8% |
| 78-102 |
PK-Chances |
57-72 |
| 76.5% |
PK% |
79.2% |
| 124-311 |
Penalties-PIM |
96-232 |
| 14.8 |
PIM/Game |
11.6 |
| 219 |
Blocked Shots |
272 |
| 606-736 |
Faceoffs (W-L) |
689-638 |
| 45.2% |
Faceoff % |
51.9% |
Up Next
After a busy stretch, Merrimack will play just once this weekend when it returns to Lawler Rink to host Connecticut on Saturday, Jan. 12, at 7 p.m.
