Men's Hockey Brings Back Same Group, Team Goals Entering 2026-27 Season

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. -- Don't expect any wholesale changes when the Merrimack men's hockey team returns to the ice for its 2026-27 campaign. 

Not only in the sense Merrimack returns a noteworthy 18 players from its 2026 Hockey East Championship team, but also in the sense the Warriors will be operating with the same mindset as the one that helped them experience the highest of highs less than six months ago. 

"I don't think it's different, honestly," Merrimack head coach Scott Borek said regarding the goals for the upcoming season. "Our goal is to get to the Garden every year. Because once you get to the Garden, you have a chance to win it. And if you get to the Garden and win it, you have a chance to play for the national title. 

"It's simple. It's tangible," continued Borek, who enters his ninth season with the program. "Guys can see it and touch it. Now that a lot of this team has been there, I think it's even more important to them."

Merrimack opens its season at Quinnipiac on Saturday before hosting its first home game at Lawler Rink on Thursday, Oct. 8. It's sure to be a banner night for the program, and you can purchase tickets here.

Merrimack was picked to finish sixth in the Hockey East Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Warriors also ranked 19th by USA Hockey and 20th by the U.S. College Hockey Online (USCHO) in national rankings. Merrimack concluded last season 15th in both USA Hockey and USCHO polls.

In the history of the Hockey East Preseason Coaches' Poll, sixth is the second-lowest ranking for a defending Hockey East champion, according to The Mack Report. 

"We will once again be the underrated team and the underdog team every night we play in this league," Borek said. "But we're excited about it. I think our team has a chance to surprise some people."

Borek is looking forward to seeing Merrimack's veterans back on the ice – and there's a lot of them. The Warriors retained 89.1% of their point scoring from last season (295 of 331 points). Parker Lalonde (13 goals, 24 assists), Justin Gill (16 goals, 19 assists), Trevor Hoskin (13 goals, 22 assists), Caelan Fitzpatrick (13 goals, 16 assists) and Nick Pierre (13 goals, 12 assists) all return after scoring 10 or more goals last season.

Both of Merrimack's power-play units are fully intact after those units scored 34 power-play goals last season, including three power-play goals during the Hockey East Tournament run. The Warriors concluded with a .258 conversion rate on the man-advantage.

"I think we're in a really good situation offensively," Borek said.

One of the biggest questions going into the upcoming season: How will the Warriors replace standout goaltender Max Lundgren? Lundgren, who signed an entry-level contract with the Boston Bruins during the offseason, started all 39 games for the Warriors last season. He compiled an impressive .920 save percentage and was named Hockey East Tournament MVP.

Merrimack will look to Linards Feldbergs, Ryan Keyes and Charlie Durkin to make up for the loss of Lundgren. Feldbergs is an exciting name after the freshman backstopped Latvia in the 2025 World Juniors and posted a .911 save percentage with the USHL's Sioux Falls Stampede last season.

Durkin arrived at Merrimack after playing last season in the USHL while Keyes backed up Lundgren.

"Recently, all three of them won championships, and that's pretty impressive," Borek said. "When you have three goalies in the room who've all played for a championship, who've all won a championship, they're pretty confident. They're a good group together as well. I think that room is really good. It's really strong."

The biggest strength for Borek and company, though, isn't the group who will take the ice night after night but rather the makeup of the room.

"The biggest strength our team has, and I know I say this a lot, but we have a really good locker room," Borek said. "We have good people in that room. We have team people in that room. We have people who add to our table, don't take away from our table. So that I think is our No. 1 strength."

That's another thing that's unlikely to change.