Saturday, February 27, 1993 at Volpe Complex, North Andover, MA
HOCKEY EAST GAME
Maine Black Bears (33-1-2, 20-1-1 HE 1st) 2 1 5 - 8
Merrimack Warriors (13-18-2, 7-16-0 HE 7th) 0 0 1 - 1
FIRST PERIOD UM-MC
1. UM1, Cal Ingraham 36 (Dan Murphy, Jim Montgomery), 3:41. 1-0
2. UM2, Chris Ferraro 22 (unassisted), 18:19. SHG GWG 2-0
SECOND PERIOD
3. UM3, Montgomery 21 (Paul Kariya, Eric Fenton), 5:48. PPG 3-0
THIRD PERIOD
4. UM4, Mike Latendresse 16 (unassisted), 4:30. 4-0
5. UM5, Montgomery 22 (Dave MacIsaac, C. Ferraro), 5:32. PPG 5-0
6. UM6, Patrice Tardif 18 (Latendresse), 9:14. PPG 6-0
7. UM7, Ingraham 37 (Tardif, Murphy), 12:41. PPG 7-0
8. UM8, Tardif 19 (Peter Ferraro, Latendrese), 14:41. PPG 8-0
9. MC1, Bryan Miller 5 (Matt Hayes), 16:23. SHG 8-1
SHOTS ON GOAL: Maine 20-16-22 = 58
Merrimack 14--9--6 = 29
SAVES: Maine, Garth Snow (W, 15-0-1, 60:00, 29 sh-28 sv).
Merrimack, Mike Doneghey (L, 12-13-1, 52:58, 53-46),
Mike Cox (7:02, 5-4).
POWER PLAYS: Maine 5 for 10. Merrimack 0 for 5.
PENALTIES: Maine 15/30. Merrimack 23/68.
REFEREES: Jim Fitzgerald, Scott Leavitt. LINESMAN: Jeff Bunyon.
ATTENDANCE: 3,371 (new Merrimack record since joining Hockey East).
THREE STARS: 1. G Garth Snow, Maine (29 sh-28 sv).
2. LW Mike Latendresse, Maine (1-2--3).
3. C Jim Montgomery, Maine (2-1--3).
(Merrimack's penalties are actually wrong, should be 23/71. Also, Maine
should have at least 11 power play attempts, maybe even 12, but it got
too difficult to figure out in the wild third period.)
Outstanding goaltending by Garth Snow helped Maine keep Merrimack off
the board while Snow's teammates built a 3-0 lead through two periods,
and then Maine added five more (four PPGs) in a wild third period to go
on to an 8-1 win that wasn't as easy as the score might suggest.
Maine swept the season series, 4-0-0, with the win. Jim Montgomery, who
had been kept off the board in Friday's 4-2 win, came up with two big
PPGs and Cal Ingraham, who had also gone scoreless Friday, scored twice
to give him 37 goals on the year. Paul Kariya picked up one assist for
a total of only 3 points on the weekend, an "off" weekend for him. Patrice
Tardif had two PPGs and Mike Latendresse had a goal and two assists.
It was senior night at Merrimack, the Warriors' final home game of the
year as they are guaranteed to play on the road in the playoffs after
closing out the regular season next Saturday at UMass-Lowell. The team's
12 seniors were introduced in place of the normal Merrimack starting
lineup before the game: forwards Dan Gravelle, Teal Fowler, Wayde McMillan,
John Barron, Guy Ragault, & Matt Crowley; forward-defenseman Bryan Miller;
defensemen Alex Weinrich (injured), Don MacLeod, & Matt Hayes; and
goalies Mike Doneghey & Mike Cox. The seniors represent 64 of Merrimack's
125 goals scored on the year, as well as three solid defensemen and
Doneghey, the #1 goaltender. Despite the loss, Merrimack finished the
season at 8-7-2 at home, not bad when you consider four of the seven
losses came to BU and Maine.
THE GAME
One thing I haven't mentioned that impresses me about Maine is their team
discipline, which is even shown in the way they approach the national
anthem. While most teams' players (Merrimack included) start to skate
away before the anthem ends, the six Maine starters stand completely still
until the very last note is played, then they skate off and take their
positions. I think more coaches should follow Shawn Walsh's lead and
impress upon their players the positive reasons for doing this.
Maine came out obviously determined to take charge from the opening draw,
and they did, outshooting Merrimack in the opening period 20-14. The
high shot total reflects the skating that was done on both sides, with
Maine getting the edge in shots and quality shots. But both goalies
came up big, especially Snow, while his counterpart Doneghey was also
strong and might have ended the period with only one goal against if a
bad mistake hadn't led to a Maine shorthanded goal late.
Merrimack was able to get some pressure on Snow right off the bat, with
Gibson feeding McMillan for a shot and then Miller almost beating Snow
off a faceoff. But it was Maine that scored the first goal, as Ingraham
took a pass from Murphy and beat Doneghey from right in front at 3:41.
That was still a plus for Merrimack, though, as the Warriors had given up
a goal to Maine in the first 30 seconds of the previous three games the
teams played this year. It was also one of only two even strength goals
the Black Bears would score on the night, the other one coming early in
the third.
Gibson, who missed Friday's game due to the flu, was the most impressive
player for Merrimack in the period and probably for the game (other than
Doneghey). He fed Matt Adams on a 2x1 that could have resulted in a goal
if Fitzgerald hadn't blown the play offside from the opposite blue line.
Then, he stole the puck from Kariya in the Maine zone and forced Snow to
make a quick save, then Snow was just able to stop Mark Goble on the
rebound. Doneghey was also playing well, stopping Kariya with a nice
skate save and turning away several shots on the power play (on which
Maine used 5 forwards with Kariya and Montgomery at the points; this would
result in a goal in the second period).
When Peter Ferraro went off for holding at 17:34, it looked like Merrimack
would escape the first down only 1-0, but when Chris Ross attempted a
cross-ice breakout pass from deep in his own zone, Peter's brother Chris
read the play perfectly and stole the puck at the Merrimack blue line.
Chris walked in alone and beat Doneghey for an unassisted shorthanded goal
at 18:19, Maine's 20th SHG of the year, and the Black Bears led 2-0 after
one. Merrimack almost got on the board, though, as Gibson was wide open
and took a cross-ice pass near the end of the power play, but his shot
hit the crossbar.
Merrimack was playing good defense again in this game, and they were
effectively able to contain the dangerous players like Kariya and Montgomery
on the even strength situations. But it was on the power play where Maine
was most dangerous, and when Tom Costa went off for hooking five minutes
into the second, Maine would get a big PPG from a very likely source on
a beautiful play. First, Kariya had a great chance but shot the puck over
the net. Then, as Maine moved the puck around, Kariya rotated behind the
net and held the puck there. Montgomery, who was at the left point, saw
an open lane and dashed to the slot. Kariya passed in front and Montgomery
easily banged in the feed for his 21st goal of the year at 5:48, the only
goal of the period.
Maine kept up the pressure and Merrimack had trouble getting the puck out
of the zone. Doneghey made a great glove save off of Chris Ferraro from
five feet, and Merrimack called timeout to try to defuse the situation.
Then Doneghey came right back and made a big save off of Peter Ferraro.
But Snow wasn't about to let Doneghey upstage him; after Mark Cornforth
walked in and shot the puck over the net, then went behind and passed in
front to Ragault, Ragault shot the puck quickly at the top corner, but
somehow Snow was able to get the glove up to take the sure goal away and
keep Merrimack off the board.
The last half of the period saw each team get a pair of power play chances,
with Maine having the better of the attack, but no scoring ensued. It was
interesting to see that on one power play, Kariya was double shifted in
an attempt to enable him to break loose; but Merrimack continued to cover
him closely and he would not pick up another point after setting up
Montgomery's goal. In addition, it's worth noting that despite the close
attention paid to Kariya (not quite shadowed, just watched closely), the
Warriors didn't neglect the other Maine threats and continued to play
solid defense.
After five great periods played between the two teams on the weekend, it
was too bad that the sixth turned out to be so awful. 27 penalties were
called for 79 minutes in the third, with Merrimack taking 17 for 59
minutes - including two misconducts and three majors - as frustration
was clearly evident. Maine didn't stand idly by and helped prolong some
of the action after the whistle, but it was almost always started by
Merrimack and the penalty minutes are an accurate reflection of what
happened. Still, I thought the situation could have been handled better
had the referees recognized it early on and handed out misconducts along
with the penalties, as it was mostly the same few players (on both sides)
who would go into the box for 2, 4 or 5 minutes, then return to start the
same garbage all over again. It probably took about an hour to play
the period.
One interesting situation which wasn't discovered until after the game
and the penalties were tallied up was as follows. Maine's Matt Martin
drew a double minor at 13:47; a total of 5 players went off at that time,
with all of Maine's penalties cancelling out and the Black Bears going on
a power play. At 17:13, Martin drew a minor for high-sticking - strange,
since he should have still been in the box at the time!
Oh, and six goals were scored in the period, five by Maine (four PPGs).
Maine came out and barraged Doneghey with shots, even shorthanded, as
Kariya and Ingraham worked their magic. After killing a penalty, with
Merrimack trying to get on the board and cut it to 3-1, Maine got its
4th goal when Mike Latendresse got the puck in his own end after chasing
Rob Atkinson, blew by Matt Hayes at the Maine blue line, and went in
alone to beat Doneghey on a wrist shot from ten feet for his 16th of the
year at 4:29. When Gibson drew a minor and a misconduct for arguing the
call at 5:10, it only took 22 seconds for Montgomery to drive another nail
in the coffin as he set up to Doneghey's right and put in a feed from
Dave MacIsaac after MacIsaac had faked the goalie into the concession
stand. That made it 5-0.
The first big incident occurred at 7:51 when Adams ran into Snow after
the whistle, then Don MacLeod came in and gave a cross-check to Martin
which earned him a major. Maine would score twice on the unlimited power
play. First, Tardif tallied at 9:14 when Latendresse stole the puck off
a clearing attempt and fed Tardif for the easy goal. Then, Ingraham
picked up his 2nd of the night at 12:41 to make it 7-0 off a rebound of
Murphy's shot.
Recognizing the way the game was getting cheap, Walsh made a smart move
by sending Montgomery to the locker room with 8:24 left and the score (then)
6-0; Kariya would follow him shortly as well. However, Montgomery had
also played the role of peacemaker earlier, as he held off and calmed
down Merrimack's Dan Gravelle during a near-altercation (Heather saw this,
I missed it). Montgomery and Gravelle are good friends, and it was nice
to see cooler heads prevail in this situation (for once).
Soon after the 7th Maine goal, Doneghey left the game for backup Mike
Cox, a senior who had seen only 8 minutes of action prior to this game in
his career. Doneghey got a deserved ovation and a deserved rest after
playing two superb games in the Merrimack net. Cox would face five shots
over the final 7 minutes and allow one goal.
A huge altercation in the corner at 13:47 resulted in a 7-minute Maine
power play, after the smoke cleared. It appeared to be started by Merrimack,
although I didn't see it too well. Fowler drew a double minor and a
misconduct, and MacLeod came in late with a hit from behind that earned
him another major as well as a minor for roughing (the 7 minutes that
went on the board after everything cancelled out). Snow was even tangled
up in it a little and Cox raced down from his crease to even things off, but
both goalies were really spectators; still, I thought both should have been
given minors for leaving the crease during an altercation.
Maine scored once on the major, a goal by Tardif at 14:41 (his 19th),
to make it 8-0. Merrimack broke the shutout at 16:23 while still killing
the major, as Matt Hayes carried in deep and fed Bryan Miller in front
for the senior's 5th of the year, and the 4th SHG allowed by Maine this
year. Fortunately, most of the major combatants had been booted from the
ice by the time the final seconds ticked off the clock, and there were
no further serious incidents. It was nice to see both teams offer sincere
congratulations to the opposing goalies for games well played, Merrimack
to Snow and Maine to Doneghey, in the handshakes.
POSTGAME
After a glance at Friday's 4-2 score, anyone who didn't see the game might
have thought it was just a case of Maine not showing up, but the rematch
proved this not to be true, nor did Maine suggest that it was. Maine was
forced to work very hard for both of these wins, and Merrimack earned a
measure of respect from the top team in the country after the weekend.
From the Sunday Eagle-Tribune, Walsh said, "I would not want to be the
team that plays Merrimack in the tournament. They are playing better
and better. I knew it before we got here. All I had to do was look at who
they were beating." Ingraham, a Georgetown, MA resident, said, "I'm sore.
They're a lot better. It was a different team than the one we saw
earlier in the season. They hit us all over the place. This was not easy
at all." Walsh also downplayed the third-period festivities, saying,
"That's going to happen...it was an emotional game."
Doneghey was also the recipient of high praise from the Maine squad,
which is nice for the senior who has labored in the background the last
three years before getting his chance to play this year. Walsh said of
him, "I liked him all weekend. They went right at him...he played well."
Doneghey also had the best line of the weekend, saying that to get ready
for Maine, it helps to "go to church. I didn't go before tonight's game,
but I usually try to. Every little bit helps." Finally, Merrimack coach
Ron Anderson, who has to have been frustrated at some of his team's outings
this season, said, "We played some of the best hockey of the year this
weekend. They've got talent everywhere. We had some chances, but we ran
into a real hot goaltender." (two, actually) "You want to be playing your
best hockey down the stretch and we're playing well."
Jim Montgomery, one of the classiest players around, dropped by the sports
information office after the game and offered his wishes for good luck
the rest of the way, after I wished him the same...he also seemed impressed
with the improvement Merrimack has shown over the last few months. I
liked the way he stepped up after being kept off the board Friday and
scored two big goals while the game was still close - the mark of a great
player is responding like that when your team needs it. He is not-so-
quietly establishing himself as a player who deserves to be mentioned in
the same breath as Kariya, Drury, Plante and Johnson for Hobey accolades.
I think the series will work to the benefit of both teams. Maine was
played much tighter and more physically than I have seen yet this year,
in a couple of live games and several on tv. They showed they can handle
it and that both Dunham and Snow are deserving of any accolades they get
as two of the top goaltenders in the country. And Merrimack, despite
losing both, feels a lot better about itself and knows that they really
can play with anyone - now, anything can happen in the playoffs.
BTW, special words of congratulations should go to Eagle-Tribune writer
Bill Burt, who hyped the series with two excellent articles Thursday and
Friday on Kariya and on Maine, including comments from other players and
coaches around the league on what they thought of the Black Bears. Those
undoubtedly had a lot to do with the huge local turnout this weekend. He
followed that up with great game stories in Saturday and Sunday's papers,
along with a nice article today on Walsh. Bill asked me yesterday if I'd
ever seen so much hockey coverage in the paper :-), and I said no, but
keep it up!
As mentioned in the box, the crowd Saturday night of 3,371 broke Friday's
record for the largest crowd to see a Merrimack home game since the move
to Hockey East in 1989, just 236 short of capacity. It's too bad this
was the final home game of the year; hopefully it will carry over into
next year.
Maine has two regular season games left, hosting BC Tuesday and UNH
Saturday, and then Maine will host Northeastern in the HE quarterfinals
March 12-13. Merrimack will close its regular season at UMass-Lowell
Saturday in a game that could have playoff implications, if BC loses its
final two games; then, the Warriors will travel to either BU or UNH for
the HE quarterfinals.
---
Mike Machnik [log in to unmask] Color Voice of the Merrimack Warriors
(Any opinions expressed above are strictly those of the poster.) *HMN*
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