Men’s Hockey Set for Weekend Series with Friars

 

Date	Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021 // 2 pm Sunday, Feb. 7, 2021 // 2 pm
Matchup	Merrimack (2-9-1, 2-9-1 HEA) 16/RV Providence (7-5-4, 7-5-4 HEA)
Location	Lawler Rink // North Andover, Mass. Schneider Arena // Providence, R.I.
Links	Watch  // Live Stats (Sat.) // Listen (Sat.) // Live Stats (Sun.) // Game Notes
Social	Twitter // Instagram

 
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College men's hockey team turns the calendar to February with a home-and-home series against Providence set to start Saturday at Lawler Rink.   
 
Five Things To Know

• A pair of Warriors were included when the 2021 Hobey Baker award nominees were announced Monday. Declan Carlile and Alex Jefferies were included among the 50+ nominees after the pair have gotten off to a great start during the 2020-21 season. In just eight games, Carlile has three points on a goal and two assists and is second in the nation with 3.00 blocked shots per game. Jefferies leads Merrimack in all major offensive categories (4-6--10) and his 4.73 shots per game leads Hockey East and is first in the nation among rookies.
• Merrimack's lineup has enjoyed a Scandinavian influence recently that is set to continue. The Warriors have three Swedes (Hugo Esselin, Filip Karlsson-Tagtstrom, Filip Forsmark) and one Finn (Jere Huhtamaa) on their current roster and a pair of Swedish defensemen are slated to join next year.
• Senior transfer Max Newton has lived up to his billing and then some. After he finished third in the nation in faceoff percentage at .642 last season at Alaska, he enters the weekend ranked fifth in the country at .638. He's also chipped in with a goal and an assist in his first three games.
• The Warriors did not lose a single defenseman to graduation after the 2019-20 season and they've been reaping the benefits so far this winter. Merrimack's defenders have combined for 23 points so far, which accounts for over 30% of the team's offense. Zach Vinnell's breakout season leads the way with seven points on three goals and four assists.
• Providence enters Saturday on a five-game unbeaten streak after a sweep over UNH. Tyce Thompson (6-6--12) and Parker Ford (2-10--12) share the team lead in scoring and Jaxson Stauber has led the Friars in net to all seven wins.

 
Inside the Matchup:

Merrimack (2-9-1, 2-9-1 HEA)	Category	16/RV Providence (7-5-4, 7-5-4 HEA)
1/30 at RV/RV Connecticut (L, 6-2)	Last Time Out	1/31 vs New Hampshire (W, 3-2)
2.25	Scoring Offense	2.56
4.00	Scoring Defense	2.44
28.7	Shots/Game	35.1
28.2	Shots Allowed/Game	26.1
7-47	PPG-Chances	12-65
.149	PP%	.185
41-56	PK-Chances	52-57
.732	PK%	.912
66-143	Penalties-PIM	69-149
11.9	PIM/Game	9.3
366-374	Faceoffs (W-L)	528-455
.495	Faceoff %	.537

 
Up Next
Hockey East is now announcing schedules on a week-by-week basis.  
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For continuing coverage of Merrimack College Athletics, visit MerrimackAthletics.com and follow the Warriors on Twitter and on Facebook.