North Andover, MA—The Merrimack College Men's Ice Hockey team fell behind early and trailed by four goals through the first two periods. The Warriors fought back and scored three unanswered goals, but ultimately fell short in the effort, as they were defeated by the University of Maine Black Bears by a score of 5-4 at Lawler Arena on Saturday night.
Maine (5-1-0, 2-0-0 HE): 5 Merrimack (3-4-0, 1-2-0 HE): 4
Attendance: 2,189
Maine jumped on the board immediately, scoring only 37 seconds into the opening frame. The Black Bears would double their lead eight minutes later, taking a 2-0 lead into the locker room. They would then pick up right where they left off scoring in the first 75 seconds in the second period to bring their lead to 3-0.
Merrimack would get on the board when Mac Welsher picked up the loose puck after Tyler Young forced a takeaway and scored the unassisted goal at 5:41 of the second. Maine would score two more times to lead 5-1 after two periods.
In the third, Hugo Ollas was put into the game in relief of starter Zachary Borgiel. Alex Jefferies recorded his first goal of the season with 16 minutes to play and ignited the Warriors. Shortly after, Michael Citara would streak in and score on a nifty backhand shot to cut the lead to two (5-3) with half the period gone. Jefferies would strike again after a faceoff win following the game's final TV timeout. The Warriors pulled Ollas late but were unable to find the tying goal as Maine held on to get the win.
Notes and Numbers:
· Alex Jefferies scored his first two goals of the season, Michael Citara and Mac Welsher had other goals for Merrimack.
· Citara also had an assist, along with Liam Dennison, Ben Brar, Matt Copponi and Zach Bookman.
· Copponi's assist gives him at least one point in his last six games. Zach Bookman's assist gives him at least one point in the last five games.
· Hugo Ollas made eight saves in relief.
Up Next:
The Warriors head on the road for the first game of two against the University of Connecticut Huskies on November 10th. Puck drop is set for 7:00PM.
