Saturday, February 13, 1993 at Volpe Complex, North Andover, MA
HOCKEY EAST GAME
Boston University Terriers (21-6-2, 14-4-1 HE 2nd) 2 3 0 - 5
Merrimack Warriors (11-16-2, 5-14-0 HE 8th) 0 2 2 - 4
FIRST PERIOD BU-MC
1. BU1, David Sacco 18 (Jay Pandolfo), 4:27. 1-0
2. BU2, Mike Bavis 11 (Mark Bavis, Steve Thornton), 8:27. 2-0
SECOND PERIOD
3. BU3, Sacco 19 (Kaj Linna, Jacques Joubert), 0:28. PPG 3-0
4. BU4, Jon Pratt 9 (Bob Lachance), 2:18. 4-0
5. MC1, John Barron 6 (Teal Fowler), 5:49. 4-1
6. MC2, Dan Hodge 2 (Cooper Naylor, Barron), 17:54. PPG 4-2
7. BU5, Sacco 20 (unassisted), 18:28. HAT TRICK GWG 5-2
THIRD PERIOD
8. MC3, Hodge 3 (unassisted), 8:27. 5-3
9. MC4, Matt Adams 6 (Wayde McMillan, Naylor), 10:22. PPG 5-4
SHOTS ON GOAL: Boston University 14-18--9 = 41
Merrimack 11--9--9 = 29
SAVES: BU, Derek Herlofsky (34:03, 16 sh-15 sv),
Scott Cashman (W, 9-2-0, 13-10).
MC, Mike Doneghey (L, 10-11-1, 41-36).
POWER PLAYS: BU 1 for 6. MC 2 for 4.
PENALTIES: BU 12/32. MC 16/40.
REFEREES: Jim Fitzgerald, Scott Leavitt. LINESMAN: Chuck Wynters.
ATTENDANCE: 954.
THREE STARS: 1. C David Sacco, BU (3-0--3, GWG).
2. D Dan Hodge, Merrimack (2-0--2).
3. C John Barron, Merrimack (1-1--2).
David Sacco scored his first career hat trick to lead BU to a 5-4 squeaker
at Merrimack, earning the Terriers a sweep of the weekend and of the season
series (4-0-0). The win allowed BU to clinch a home-ice spot for the
quarterfinals of the Hockey East Tournament. They can finish no lower
than second.
BU coach Jack Parker spent the night in the stands, serving a self-imposed
one-game suspension. According to the BU press release, Parker said, "I
am suspending myself for unprofessional and inappropriate behavior after
last night's game [vs Merrimack] toward the referees." In the paper, he
was quoted after Saturday's game as saying that since he tells his players
not to take out his frustrations towards the officials and he himself broke
that rule, he felt it was only right that he suspend himself. Some people
I talked to suggested that he was either trying to head off a possible
league suspension for some of the things he did, or that he was trying to
inspire his team since they had not been playing well lately. I was not
present in the runway after Friday's game to see or hear what was supposed
to have happened so I won't comment on that. Others thought he was just
trying to indicate to his players that his actions should not be seen as
the type of thing they should engage in, as he himself said publicly. I
did have to wonder whether he would have done the same if the game wasn't
against last-place Merrimack, but that's only speculation.
BU was coached by assistant Blaise MacDonald along with David Silk and
Bill Berglund for this game; Parker did not even enter the locker room
before the game or between periods. It was interesting to see that he
was pretty calm in the stands during the game while his team was blowing
a 4-0 lead. Also, HE commissioner Stu Haskell took in the game - some said
to keep an eye on Parker. :-) But I interviewed Haskell between periods
and asked him what brought him to the game, and he said he just was in
the area and wanted to see a good game, along with trying to take in as
many different teams in the conference he oversees as possible.
Sacco's trick was his first ever and allowed him to break the 200-point
barrier at BU; he now has 201 career points, 46 on the season. His
third goal was the biggest of the night as it cut short the momentum
Merrimack had gained in coming back from 4-0 to 4-2, and it ended up
being the game-winner. Outstanding players usually rise to the occasion
when they have to, and Sacco certainly did that tonight.
THE GAME
The Terriers seemed to come out prepared for a continuation of the way
the previous night's game had ended, with Friedman (potentially a marked
man for his hit on Costa) swinging his stick from behind at Merrimack's
Don MacLeod after MacLeod had dumped the puck in near the BU bench and
Petteri Koskimaki throwing a punch or two at Dan Hodge on a separate play.
But Merrimack didn't retaliate in either case and the first period was
a relatively cleanly-played one, with no penalties until the final minute
as both teams decided to play the game instead.
Sacco started the scoring at 4:27 when Merrimack's Chris Ross tried to
pass the puck out of his zone and the puck hit Jay Pandolfo's (hat trick
the night before) skate and came to Sacco. He quickly shot it past Mike
Doneghey from high in the slot for a 1-0 lead. Four minutes later, BU
went up 2-0 on some good work in the corners when Steve Thornton got it
to Mark Bavis behind the net, and Mark quickly found his twin brother Mike
in front for a one-timer, Mike's 11th goal. Each of the two Bavises has
21 points on the season (Mark 12-9--21, Mike 11-10--21).
Dan Gravelle was called for cross-checking late in the first, and BU
jumped on the chance to score a power play goal just 28 seconds into the
second period to go up 3-0. The Terriers moved the puck well and it came
to Sacco at the left circle for a quick shot that was pegged for the upper
left corner of the net, a beautiful shot. Then, at 2:18, Jon Pratt got
hold of a loose puck in front, wheeled and fired it past Doneghey as there
was little the Merrimack goalie could do on the play - Pratt's 9th, making
it 4-0 and we had the makings of a rout.
But Merrimack would play strong defense the rest of the way and only make
one mistake - which Sacco jumped on to score the winner. In between,
Merrimack scored twice to make it 4-2. First, after killing off a penalty,
Teal Fowler stole the puck in his own end and carried up the right side to
start a 3x2. Fowler carried to the bottom of the right circle and then
flipped it towards the net, where John Barron was heading. The puck
deflected off Barron's stick in the air and went past Derek Herlofsky for
Barron's 6th of the year at 5:49 and a 4-1 score.
Both goalies were called upon to make great saves over the next few minutes,
Doneghey off of Wood and Prendergast, and Herlofsky off of Barron from
the right point on a shot he never saw. Then, more then halfway through
the game, the previous night's chippiness began to take over. At 10:11,
Fowler and Jacques Joubert got in a wrestling match in the corner,
apparently after Fowler had slashed Joubert, and Fowler ended up knocking
off Joubert's helmet. He was then escorted to the penalty box and on the
way, he threw the helmet at the BU bench. He would receive six minutes
in penalties to Joubert's two. Also on the same play, as Doneghey had
covered up the puck, Koskimaki came along and slashed Doneghey and was
hammered by Quentin Fendelet; both went off although the original slash
went unseen since the officials were probably concentrating on the Fowler-
Joubert showcase.
BU then went on a 5x3 28 seconds later, at 10:39, when Merrimack's Tom
Costa and Cooper Naylor were called for cross-checking at the same time.
This could have killed Merrimack, but the Warriors put on a superb display
of penalty-killing and killed both the 5x3 and ensuing 5x4.
As the 5x4 was ending, Merrimack dumped the puck in up the left side and
Herlofsky went over to play it at the boards - outside the goalie's
protected area. Barron came in to try to steal it and he knocked down
Herlofsky, drawing a penalty for charging. This seemed like a questionable
call since Barron didn't actually commit a charge. It looked like the
referee saw Herlofsky down and assumed an illegal hit on the goalie since
he fell down close to the protected area, but he was not near it when
playing the puck (and thus should be treated like any other player playing
the puck). Merrimack argued the call and certainly had a case, but of
course they didn't win. What is most interesting is that although Herlofsky
was down and had to be helped off the ice, never to return, I was told that
he actually bruised his behind when he landed on it after doing a huge
acting job jumping backwards (which helped him draw the penalty). It
sounded like he was not injured badly enough to keep him out of action in
future games, but that is not official.
Scott Cashman came in to relieve Herlofsky, who had allowed only one goal
on 16 shots, and he was tested right away. On the shorthand, Rob Atkinson
came in and tried to score but Cashman stayed with him and made the save.
Cashman did not sparkle, stopping only 10 of 13 shots the rest of the way,
but two of the three goals he allowed were PPGs and the team did not play
as well in front of him as with Herlofsky.
At this point in the game, BU had had five power plays to Merrimack's
none, with three of the PPs coming in the middle of the period, but BU
was unable to score in that stretch and it gave Merrimack momentum. After
Doug Wood went off for tripping at 16:52, the tide started to turn as 4
of the game's final 5 PPs would go to Merrimack in an odd display of
officiating. Merrimack scored on the man advantage at 17:54 when Hodge
took a shot from the right point that went in off a defender, making it
4-2.
But with the momentum all Merrimack's way, Sacco stole the puck at center
ice and broke out on a 2x1 with Pandolfo, and he rifled one from the
left circle past Doneghey at 18:28 - just 34 seconds after Hodge's goal -
to complete his hat trick and regain the three goal lead for BU, 5-2.
That briefly took the wind out of Merrimack's sails, especially when
Hodge was called for holding with four seconds left in the period, but
again BU couldn't score on the power play and looked pretty awful, although
Rich Brennan did hit the post on the Terriers' best chance. Two more
BU penalties early in the third gave Merrimack an outstanding chance to
score, but despite some good puck movement, they couldn't score either.
Then, Hodge scored his second of the game at 8:27 when he intercepted a
clearing pass at the right point and blasted one past Cashman to make it
5-3. 31 seconds later, Linna was called for slashing to put Merrimack
on its third power play in the period's opening ten minutes, and they
took advantage of some poor defense in front of Cashman to pull within
one. Matt Adams took a feed from Wayde McMillan in front and scored his
6th goal at 10:22, making it 5-4.
As the game wound down with BU ahead by one and the Warriors pressing, it
seemed like this was the perfect situation for Merrimack to be in - they
seem to play better when behind, and several times this year they've
come from behind in the final minutes to force overtime and even win in the
extra session. But this time, BU pulled together and played outstanding
team defense in the final minutes and didn't even allow Merrimack to
carry the puck into the zone, putting three or four players right across
the blue line, and when Merrimack dumped it in, BU would get it and toss
it right back out. This, along with Merrimack appearing to be very tired
since they'd been going mainly with two lines in the third, helped BU to
hold on and escape with the 5-4 win.
POSTGAME
BU played outstanding team defense in the first half of the game, as has
been their strong point this year - then they fell away from that and took
some penalties that allowed Merrimack to get right back in the game. But
the Terriers reverted to that down the stretch when it counted and pulled
out the win. Merrimack may have turned some heads with the way they fought
to get back in the game after being down 4-0, but it was their poor play
over the first 25 minutes that let BU put them in such a deep hole. As
Coach Ron Anderson said afterwards, Merrimack is not good enough to spot
a team like BU a lead of several goals and then come back to win.
Teal Fowler took 12 minutes in penalties in the series and now has 99 on
the season, which is nearly twice as many as any other Warrior. It is
also easily the most he has incurred in a season; before this year, his
season-high was 42 in his freshman year. Fowler is a hard worker and great
leader, and his presence is desperately needed on the team - though on the
ice would be better.
The Terriers didn't look pretty in doing it, but they did get the weekend
sweep. They now have to go to Maine for a pair of games Fri-Sat, with
Friday's game due to be shown on NESN. Merrimack has its biggest series
of the year next weekend with 7th-place Northeastern, which is just one
point ahead of Merrimack and has lost its last 7 HE games. NU is 2-12-1
in its last 15 games overall, and 1-12-1 in its last 14 HE games. The
Huskies have allowed 5 or more goals 9 times in that 14-game stretch. This
series will likely decide which team will finish last in HE, while a
sweep by either team could put that team in solid position to finish 7th
or even 6th. It would appear that Merrimack needs nothing less than a sweep
to have a good chance at finishing 7th or higher. Merrimack will host
Northeastern Friday night and play at NU on Saturday; the Huskies swept
Merrimack 7-6 and 9-2 in two games back in November when NU seemed to be
playing much better than they have been recently.
---
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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