Deron Treadwell <[log in to unmask]> writes on INFO-HOCKEY-L:
>Saturday February 3, 1996
>Volpe Complex (North Andover, MA)
>HOCKEY EAST LEAGUE GAME
>
>Maine...... 1-1-0--2  [19-6-4 overall, 10-4-4 2nd in HE]
>Merrimack.. 0-1-0--1  [7-15-5 overall, 2-14-2 9th in HE]
...
Good comments by Deron!  I'll just add a few.
 
>FIRST PERIOD:
...
>Maine would break the ice at the 15:14 mark of the first period.  Jamie
>Thompson made a good play in the neutral zone to cause the turnover and Bra=
d
>Purdie fed Jason Mansoff who took the low shot from the point, sliding
>through Thibeault's pads to give Maine the 1-0 lead.  I believe the goal wa=
s
>scored on the 4 on 4 play, but I didn't make note of it.
 
Yes, it was.  From the replay, it looked like Thibeault had started to move=
 off the post and Mansoff's quick one-timer beat him just inside the pipe. =
 A perfect shot.
 
>Merrimack responded immediately, as Tom Johnson broke in and hit the inside
>of the post, but it didn't cross the line before bouncing out.
 
This was a bullet of a shot.  Johnson was truly snakebitten, as he had=
 earlier hit the other post on a wraparound attempt.  The third Merrimack=
 post of the period was one I didn't catch until seeing some of the game on=
 tape.  It came off a backhander by Chris Davis, after Jakopin had done a=
 good job of digging the puck out of the corner and centering it.  If one or=
 two of these goes in, the complexion of the game might have changed dramati=
cally.
 
>SECOND PERIOD:
>Maine created a couple good offensive chances on their first shift
>(Shermerhorn-Cardinal-Kariya), but Merrimack turned them aside and got thei=
r
>goal at 3:48 in kind of a fluke goal.  Rob Beck picked up the puck after it
>deflected off a Maine defender in front, and buried the puck in the open ne=
t
>to tie the game at 1-1.  No fault for Marsh on this one, as he had no chanc=
e.
 
Agreed.  It was one of the few defensive errors on the night for Maine. =
 They were caught out of position a bit and Beck was uncovered to Marsh's=
 right.  Laroche (how well he's been playing lately) took the initial shot=
 and it was deflected by Jakopin, coming to Beck for the flip in.
 
>After that goal, the offensive chances really were few and far between for
>both teams as they went back to focusing on play in their own end.  Blair
>Marsh began to show signs that his shoulder was not 100% (he admitted befor=
e
>the game it wasn't) as he seemed to have trouble getting his glove up over
>his shoulder.  Merrimack whether unaware or unable to shoot high was never
>able to exploit this.
 
I don't know if they knew, but with the way Maine's defense was playing,=
 Merrimack didn't have many opportunities to take advantage of this.  There=
 were several shots that went high over the net, one by Porter in the third.
 
>Maine would get a power play mid-way through the second and they would cash
>in. Maine's most improved player Steve Kariya scored his 7th goal of the
>year as he stuffed the rebound from Tim Lovell's shot.  Lovell's shot went
>wide of the net, and came out of the live backboards, Kariya put it home fo=
r
>what proved to be the game winner at 9:16.
 
This was a good power play for Maine.  They had their best puck movement on=
 the night, and Lovell had several chances.  Kariya was uncovered to=
 Thibeault's right, a bit bothersome since Maine had three players on the=
 blue line and there were only two Black Bears to watch down low.
 
>THIRD PERIOD:
>Maine's defense responded in front of their injured netminder holding
>Merrimack to *ONE* shot on goal in the final period according to Maine
>radio.  Maine (who only had 19 shots through two periods) generated 18 shot=
s
>in the period, taking control of the game and earning the victory.
 
Actually 15 shots (as usual, I was on the chart tonight).  It was 13-0 till=
 Merrimack's first shot with 3:51 left - a shot from outside the blue line=
 by Steve McKenna.  NESN kept asking if the total was right and I had to say=
 yes, it was.  In the postgame Bob Norton commented that he couldn't=
 remember ever seeing a team held to one shot on net in a period.  In 1989,=
 BU outshot Merrimack in the third period of an 8-0 win, 19-0.  But this=
 Merrimack team is better than that one was, and Maine's defensive showing=
 was better.
 
I wonder what it was that got Maine to play that way in the third.  The D=
 had played pretty well before that, but they still allowed 17 shots on goal=
 through the first two periods.  Compared to the first two, however, their D=
 in the third was absolutely stifling and nearly flawless.  If it was=
 because they knew they had a less than 100% netminder, I wonder why they=
 didn't play this way from the start.
 
On the other side, Thibeault stopped everything he saw and his defense=
 cleared the puck well. =20
 
>A little bit of a scary moment for Merrimack fans as it appeared that Trevo=
r
>Roenick caught Thibeault with his skate, but Thibeault bounced back up and
>was able to continue.
 
I thought it was the skate too, but it turned out that while going after the=
 puck, Roenick's knee collided with Thibeault's head - ouch.  But Thibeault=
 did get right back in there and continued to play well.  Probably his best=
 game of the year, or at least equal to one of the BU games.
 
>Merrimack would get two power plays at the midway part of the period, but
>Maine turned them aside.  Blair Marsh did make his one save in the period o=
n
>the first of these power plays as he stopped Kris Porter.  Marsh landed on
>his sore shoulder and was in visible pain.  He did not have to make another
>stop again.
 
I had Porter's shot going wide over the net.  Either way, it was the best=
 chance the Warriors had in the period.
 
>Trevor Roenick laid a couple big hits for Maine with about seven minutes to
>go.=20
 
He sure did.  Both were on Jason Feeley, a former JVer who was inserted into=
 the lineup tonight.  A tough shift for Feeley, but he's a gamer and got=
 right up and went at Roenick again.  He lost that one too, but Roenick is=
 just bigger and stronger.
 
>This is noteworthy, because Maine did not hit Merrimack all game, and
>did not hit Boston College the night before.  Roenick finally began to use
>the body only after he had been in Cronin's dog house.  Maine was spending
>too much time circling instead of playing the body.  More on this later.
 
In the third, I did not think Maine had to hit that much because they were=
 doing a good job of thwarting Merrimack's attempts to dump it in and start=
 something.  Maine's D consistently beat Merrimack to the puck and moved it=
 up ice quickly.
 
>POSTGAME:
>I'd like to be able to say that Merrimack was happy with their performance
>tonight, but I don't believe that is the case.  Through two periods if Ron
>Anderson could have scripted being down 2-1 and having a very even, very
>defensive game I think he would have taken it no question.  Certainly
>through two periods Merrimack was playing great hockey, however the Warrior=
s
>problem all year has been their lack of play for 60 minutes, and it did bur=
n
>them tonight. =20
 
I would disagree on tonight's performance from having seen Merrimack all=
 year.  It's tough for me to be disappointed in their effort tonight. =
 Against a team that is not as good defensively as Maine is, this effort=
 probably would have been enough for a win.  Maine's D stepped it up in the=
 third and that was the problem for Merrimack - not their effort.  They have=
 to wait for chances against Maine and capitalize on them, but Maine did not=
 give them many of those chances tonight, and only one in the third (Porter)=
.
 
>Merrimack did play a good defensive game tonight, and
>didn't play badly IMHO.  It was a good game, I just don't think that they
>(or Mike) will be completely happy with their performance despite the score=
.
 
I think I look at this game differently than I did a MC-Maine game last=
 year.  Last year after playing a number of teams tough, it was=
 disappointing to lose another close game (i.e. the 3-2 loss in Orono last=
 season).  But right now, it is almost a case of having to go back to the=
 drawing board, with the way things are going now.  I don't think many=
 people knew what to expect tonight, other than that Merrimack would=
 probably be up for the game and play better than they have in their last=
 few games.  They at least met expectations and in many ways exceeded them. =
 They might be able to build on this game. =20
 
And if some of the posts hit in the first period were goals, who knows how=
 the game would have changed.  If you count those posts, Merrimack beat=
 Marsh 4 times tonight and Maine beat Thibeault twice.  I guess that's why=
 the post is the goaltender's best friend. :-)
 
>Maine is not loaded in offensive talent despite having a good team.  Their
>offense starts from the blue line out, and players like Jeff Tory and Brett
>Clark did not have good offensive weekends.
 
Maine's offense seems to depend on getting to the front of the net and=
 scoring off rebounds or creating havoc in front.  They weren't able to do=
 that too much tonight.  Only Kariya's goal came on a play from in front. =
 It's also important for Maine's better offensive defensemen (Tory, Clark)=
 to be involved in the play, especially on the transition.  Maine had a lot=
 of transition rushes tonight.  But they couldn't get to rebounds when they=
 got shots off those rushes, and at other times, Merrimack did a good job of=
 backchecking and forcing Maine to the boards as they came into the zone. =
 In fact, it was like night and day, comparing Merrimack's backchecking=
 effort against UMass to that vs Maine.
 
>I
>believe the move to put Vitorino on the 1st line may have inspired
>Parmentier who had to be the playmaker of the line.  Shermerhorn eventually
>moved up to the first line as Vitorino wasn't all that effective as the gam=
e
>went on.
 
This move surprised me too (Vitorino centering Parmentier and Wansborough). =
 As you say, it didn't last long, and it probably was designed to spark the=
 other two.  Still, they were rather quiet.  Only two shots on goal for=
 Parmentier and one for Wansborough.
 
>Kudos also to Steve Kariya who stepped up big and had some good
>offensive play.  Kariya was neutralized pretty well by MC in their last
>meetings, and Steve showed his improvement tonight.  My #1 star is Blair
>Marsh though.
 
Kariya not only had the game-winning goal, but he was also involved in many=
 of Maine's better scoring chances.  That was enough to get him #1.  Marsh=
 makes sense if you consider his injury and the way it might have sparked=
 his teammates, but he did not play well enough to get in the three stars=
 IMO.  That may have been due to his injury.  I'm thinking of the three=
 shots that rang the pipe in the first.
 
McKenna was our tentative choice for a Merrimack star until Thibeault (#2)=
 came up big in the third.  What Merrimack needs to get from their=
 goaltenders right now is a performance where they stop all the shots they=
 should and also make big saves to keep them in a position to be able to=
 win.  Thibeault did that tonight.  His numbers aren't very good, but most=
 of the time he has been called on, he has come up with a consistent effort.
 
And Thompson (#3) earned his star for playing an intense, physical game that=
 resulted in some good chances in the first two periods (including Mansoff's=
 goal).  But Joe Carr will tell you that I have always liked him. :-)
 
The star selection is always interesting.  Merrimack's SID (Tom Caraccioli)=
 makes the final call, but I lobby for various guys based on how the game=
 has gone.  I don't consider points picked up in garbage time (not relevant=
 tonight) nor empty-net points.  If a team builds an early lead and then=
 pulls away, I look at the players who helped build that lead, not the ones=
 who racked up points when the game was all but over.  I also don't like=
 going just on the basis of points or saves, but rather, I try to consider=
 which players had a big impact on the outcome.  Sometimes we do a better=
 job of this than other nights.  It was a consideration to give it to a=
 Maine player for his defensive play, but it was hard to pick out one. =
 Kariya and Thompson were two of the better players at both ends for Maine=
 and they were involved in the only two goals Maine scored, so that helped=
 give them the nod.
 
---                                                                   ---
Mike Machnik                   [log in to unmask]            *HMM* 11/13/93
>> Co-owner of the College Hockey Lists at University of Maine System  <<
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