Women's Hockey Stifled In Clash with Northeastern

Links: Box Score
 
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass.—Merrimack women's ice hockey was held off on home ice against the No. 3 Northeastern Huskies on Friday afternoon, falling 5-0 at Lawler Arena.
 
The Basics
Score: Merrimack Warriors 0, No. 3 Northeastern Huskies 5
Records: Merrimack (5-20-1, 4-16-1 HEA) | Northeastern (22-4-1, 17-3-1 HEA)
Location: Lawler Arena | North Andover, Mass.   
 
How It Happened

• Northeastern jumped to a lead in the opening minute of the game, as Skylar Fontaine notched her first of three points on the night. Merrimack had its best opportunity of the first with five minutes left to play. Taking the puck from along the nearside boards, Emily Oosterveld worked on a break into the zone while fighting against the defender. Oosterveld got a shot off, forcing a pop-up save from the Huskies netminder, with the rebound skipping out to the corner for the Warriors to continue to push in the zone.
• The visitors tallied the only goal across the board in the second on a give-and-go play with the finish to double Northeastern's lead at 5:56 of the period. Ally Qualley worked a stellar chance for Merrimack in the final five of the second. Madison Oelkers nabbed a puck in the defensive zone, settling the puck to start the breakout. Qualley, with a head of steam, flew along the boards with Oelkers joining her on a rush. With Oelkers running out of room, the winger posted a challenging shot on Northeastern to force a rising glove save by the Huskies.
• Merrimack looked to take advantage of a 5-minute power play after Northeastern was docked for a game misconduct and major penalty, looking to counter the Huskies' opening minute strike. Teams traded penalties during the major, stifling the Warriors' offensive opportunities late. 
• Stretching the lead, Northeastern scored seven minutes into the third before notching the final goal of the game on the power play.

Notes & Numbers.

• Merrimack's defense was sharp with blocked shots, earning more than Northeastern with 14.
• Captain Gabby Jones had a strong night in the faceoff circle, winning 16 of her 24 draws for a 67% win percentage. 
• Goaltenders: Emma Gorski (23 saves) | Aerin Frankel (14 saves)
• Power Plays: MC 0-4 | NU 1-5
• Shots on Goal: MC 7, NU 10 | MC 4, NU 7 | MC 3, NU 11 | MC 14, NU 34
• Faceoffs: 32 MC | 25 NU                     Blocks: 14 MC | 11 NU

Up Next
Merrimack will travel to take on Providence in a make-up contest on Tuesday, Feb. 8 with puck drop set for 7 p.m. at Schneider Arena. 
 
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