Fri. February 21, 1997 at Matthews Arena, Boston, MA
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Score By Periods Shots on Goal Pen - Min Power Play
MC 0 - 0 - 1 - 0 -- 1 14- 8-16- 1-- 39 4 - 8 0 - 3
NU 0 - 1 - 0 - 0 -- 1 15-13- 7- 2-- 37 5 - 10 0 - 2
Goaltenders Saves by Period
MC - Martin Legault (65:00) 15-12- 7- 2 -- 36 (1 GA)
NU - Marc Robitaille (65:00) 14- 8-15- 1 -- 38 (1 GA)
New Records: Merrimack (13-16-2, 9-10-2 5th HE)
Northeastern ( 7-21-3, 2-17-3 9th HE)
Merrimack College, one of the hottest teams in Hockey East, settled for
a 1-1 tie at last-place Northeastern Friday night. It was a very good
and entertaining game, with up-and-down play and lots of offensive chances,
but good goaltending and solid defense by both teams kept the scoring to
a minimum. Northeastern's Dmitri Vasiliev scored on a 2-on-1 break at
2:52 of the second period, and Merrimack answered on a quick one-timer
from the left circle by Martin Laroche at 0:51 of the third. Both
goaltenders played very well in the game; Merrimack almost got the game-
winner when Jayson Philbin got a clean breakaway on a bouncing puck with
4 minutes left in regulation but hit the crossbar with his shot.
Merrimack carried the early play in the first period but a hot Marc
Robitaille kept them at bay. A Northeastern power play halfway through
the period was ineffective but they recovered strongly and played well
to the end of the first and into the second period.
Merrimack's Rejean Stringer was blocked on a 2-on-1 chance to open the
second period, then Northeastern got their goal by Vasiliev. Merrimack
had two quick break chances following the Northeastern goal but could
not capitalize. The Huskies then took over the rest of the period,
showing strong defensive play and relentless forechecking to keep the
puck in the Merrimack zone for long stretches at a time. They certainly
did not play like a last-place team during this period, which may have
been their finest two-way play of the season.
The Warriors have been playing well of late, though, and stepped up the
pressure in the third period. Robitaille managed to find a loose puck
in the crease in the first minute and tie it up, but Merrimack scored
off the following faceoff. Kesselring got the puck to Darrel Scoville,
who circled around the defense in the left corner. He slid an accurate
pass to Laroche in the near left circle, who swept the puck immediately
just inside the near post for the equalizer. As reflected in the shots
on goal, Merrimack dominated most of the period, getting high quality
shots but to no avail. Northeastern had their best chance with 3 minutes
left on a quick Wilkinson snap shot from a faceoff, but Legault kept his
legs closed to thwart the shot. Both teams had chances in the overtime --
NU on a scramble at the right post when Merrimack's defense failed to
move the puck away, and Merrimack's Beck missed high and wide on a clear
break attempt.
Merrimack has to be a bit disappointed with the tie, as they need every
point they can get in a fight for home ice in the Hockey East playoffs.
They probably expected to win this game, as they have been playing
quite well in 1997 and Northeastern has usually found ways to lose games
this year. I thought Merrimack played good enough to win against most
teams tonight; they did not have a bad game at all. But this may have
been Northeastern's finest game of the year. I thought they played
exceptionally well defensively and forechecked quite effectively during
most of the game. Combine that with a very good effort by Robitaille
in the goal and it really isn't a surprise that they were able to shut
down the recently-potent Merrimack attack.
I continue to be impressed by Todd Barclay and Roger Holeczy of NU, and
this was the first game I have seen Dmitri Vasiliev play as hard on
defense as he has on offense. Arttu Kayhko and Brad Mahoney had very
good defensive games also. Merrimack had their own set of stars: goalie
Legault just keeps adding to his scrapbook, Beck had another superb game
at forward, and freshmen Sandy Cohen and Jayson Philbin played strongly
as well. Usually 1-1 ties are dull, defensive efforts, but tonight's
game was a treat to watch. I think the NU fans were pleased, though the
Merrimack fans I talked to were a bit disappointed, given their recent
level of play. The same two teams play again at Merrimack Saturday night.
Merrimack did move 1 point ahead of UMass-Lowell with the tie, as UML
lost to Providence tonight. MC also has a game in hand over UML, so
Lowell really needs to rebound tomorrow night to keep their home-ice
playoff chances alive.
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Rick McAdoo [log in to unmask]
"Volunteer reporter" A positive BC fan. GO EAGLES!
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