Merrimack pushes UM to tie
By Larry Mahoney, Of the NEWS Staff
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. - The Merrimack College
Warriors have had their problems with the University of
Maine Black Bears over the years, going just 7-32-1
against them.
But it took a goal from sophomore left wing Barrett
Heisten with 18.8 seconds left in regulation to enable the
Bears to salvage a 3-3 overtime tie at the Volpe Complex
Rink Friday night.
The Warriors received solid goaltending from junior Tom
Welby and opened up a 3-1 lead on second-period goals by
Tony White and Greg Classen.
But Doug Janik's power-play goal in the second period
pulled the Bears within one and Heisten equalized after
Maine had pulled goalie Matt Yeats for an extra attacker.
Cory Larose chased down the puck in the right corner and
Heisten, positioned at the near post, deflected Larose's
backhanded centering pass behind Welby.
"The goalie had his stick in my groin so I knew the
five-hole would be open,'' said Heisten.
Larose said he was "just trying to get the puck to the front
of the net.''
Merrimack is now 2-5-1 overall and 0-3-1 in Hockey East
while defending national champ Maine is to 6-0-2, 1-0-2.
Maine's extended its unbeaten streak to 12 games dating
back to its first loss since its 3-2 loss to Boston
College in
their Hockey East semifinal last season.
Maine is 10-0-2 over that span and will visit Boston
College on Sunday afternoon.
Merrimack's Sandy Cohen and Maine's Ben Guite
swapped first-period goals with Guite's coming on the
power play. All three of Guite's goals this season have
come with the man advantage.
After White and Classen made it 3-1, Maine coach Shawn
Walsh called a timeout with 10:41 left in the period.
Classen, whose goal came on the power play, was
assessed a holding-the-stick penalty and Janik capitalized
on the power play.
Cohen had opened the scoring with a fluke goal as Brad
Mills' dump-in hit high up on the glass and bounced in front
to him. Maine goalie Matt Yeats had gone behind the net
to play the puck and was helpless.
Guite tied it off a nice pass from Larose, who had faked a
shot and skated around a Warrior before making a
diagonal pass to Guite in the left circle. Guite teed it
up and
wristed the puck over Welby's stick-side shoulder and into
the short-side corner.
Merrimack's White scored just 2:32 into the second period
with a wrist shot from the left point through a crowded
goalmouth.
Midway through the period, just 17 seconds after Maine's
A.J. Begg was whistled for holding the stick, Drew Hale
wheeled out of the corner to Yeats' right and, with three
Bears around him, shoveled a pinpoint pass to the wide
open Classen at the far post.
Yeats had no chance as Classen swept it into the open
short side.
But the Bears clawed back into it when Brendan Walsh
slipped the puck to Peter Metcalf, who put a point-to-point
pass onto Janik's stick for a one-timer over Welby's stick
shoulder.
"I never saw it. I just heard a ping,'' said Welby.
Yeats kept the Bears within one when he got his right pad
on Joey Gray's break-in after Gray had maneuvered nicely
around Maine's Anders Lundback.
Although Maine began controlling play in the period, Yeats
and the Bears escaped in the final seconds of the period
when Classen partially fanned on a John Pyliotis pass and
the puck rolled wide.
Maine created a few chances in the third period but Welby
was never forced to make anything more than a routine
save until Heisten tied it up.
Maine's Larose had a great chance in overtime when he
had a partial break-in down the left wing but Welby was
equal to the task and stopped Larose's backhander.
"That's the second overtime game in a row that I've had a
chance like that. I tried to go upstairs but it hit his mask
and shoulder. I've got to bury those chances,'' said
Larose.
Welby said he tried to stay on his feet and the shot "hit me
in the chin.''
The Bears received a power play with 1:21 left and
manufactured some chances with Guite sweeping an
in-close opportunity wide off a Heisten pass.
But they were also fortunate when Chris Halecki, set up
alone in front by Classen, fired wide on his shorthanded
bid.
"It's a funny game. We worked hard and dominated the
game territorially but then they'd come down and get a
chance off a rush,'' said Maine coach Walsh. "They're
quicker than they were a year ago. They did a good job
protecting the lead in the third period. I didn't think we
were going to be able to pull it out.
"We need our guys to step up and make plays,'' added
Walsh whose Bears outshot Merrimack 46-26.
Welby credited his defense with doing an exceptional job
in front of him and Merrimack coach Chris Serino said he
thought his team worked hard throughout the game and
didn't sit back when it got the lead.
"We knew we had to do a good job on them low in our
zone because Maine cycles the puck so well. We also felt
we needed to cycle the puck down low against their
defenseman,'' said Serino. "The thing I liked the most was
our kids didn't celebrate after the game. They were ticked
off that they didn't win. That's a good sign.''
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