Saturday, January 11, 1992 at Volpe Complex, North Andover, MA
HOCKEY EAST GAME
Northeastern Huskies (10-10-0, 1-8-0 HE) 0 0 0 - 0
Merrimack Warriors (11-9-0, 2-6-0 HE) 0 1 1 - 2
FIRST PERIOD MC-NU
No scoring.
SECOND PERIOD
1. MC1, Jim Gibson 3 (Teal Fowler, Alex Weinrich), 14:45. GWG 1-0
THIRD PERIOD
2. MC2, Weinrich 2 (unassisted), 19:47. SHG, ENG 2-0
SHOTS ON GOAL: Northeastern 9-10--7 = 26
Merrimack 6--6--7 = 19
GOALIES: Northeastern, Todd Reynolds (3-5-0, 58:52, 18 shots-17 saves)
Merrimack, Steve D'Amore (9-8-0, 60:00, 26 shots-26 saves)
POWER PLAYS: Northeastern, 0 of 4. Merrimack, 0 of 3.
PENALTIES: Northeastern 4/8. Merrimack 5/10.
REFEREE: Jim Fitzgerald. LINESMEN: John Jones and Andy Hennigar.
ATTENDANCE: 1,374 (capacity 3,617).
THREE STARS: 1. Steve D'Amore, Merrimack (26 shots-26 saves).
2. Jim Gibson, Merrimack (1-0--1).
3. Todd Reynolds, Northeastern (18 shots-17 saves).
Steve D'Amore continued to play superbly in net, notching his first career
shutout and completing his finest weekend as a Merrimack goalie as he
backstopped the Warriors to their second straight Hockey East win, 2-0
over Northeastern. D'Amore allowed only one goal in 120 minutes against
BC and NU, stopping 51 of the 52 shots he saw; he should be a strong
contender to receive his second ever Player of the Week honors. The one
goal D'Amore allowed Friday against BC was his best performance in a
game, but tonight he improved upon that with the shutout.
It was the Warriors' first ever shutout in a Hockey East game. The last
time Merrimack shut out an opponent was a 5-0 win over Kent in February
of 1990; Mike Doneghey earned that goose egg.
Northeastern was coming off a tough loss to BU the night before, when they
led the Terriers 3-1 going into the 3rd and then surrendered five straight
goals and lost, 6-4. They had to have left tonight shaking their heads
and wondering how they didn't pull out a win as they definitely had the
better of the play, but D'Amore was masterful. He set the tone early
on when he turned back several shots during a Northeastern power play.
One in particular had fans still talking about it for much of the game.
Dino Grossi got the puck all alone right in front of D'Amore, and he
tried to lift it under the crossbar, but D'Amore's glove flashed up and
he snared it, sending Grossi away shaking his head.
The Huskies came out hitting and it affected Merrimack, as the Warriors
were unable to sustain any attack for much of the game. Both teams
played well defensively as the score and shot totals show. After Tom Cole
allowed six goals to BU, NU coach Ben Smith came back with rookie Todd
Reynolds who has served notice that he's ready to succeed Cole, a senior.
The physical play bordered on being cheap during the first period and
referee Jim Fitzgerald whistled 7 of the game's 9 penalties in that stanza.
Northeastern had three man advantages in the first and four for the game,
but Merrimack did a nice job killing and got a little bit of luck as well
to go 6 for 6 on the weekend. The Warriors have killed a solid 80.6% in
Hockey East on the season, and that's important when the power play is only
scoring at an 11.8% clip. Merrimack ranks 3rd in the league now in killing
penalties, but is 7th in power play conversion.
Just like the night before, the game was headed for the late stages of the
second period still in a scoreless tie. A quick conversion on a turnover
got Merrimack its first goal at 14:45. Alex Weinrich, playing his second
straight superb game on defense, intercepted a pass at his own blue line
and fed Teal Fowler at center ice. Fowler skated up the right side and
slid the puck across to Jim Gibson on the 2-on-1, and Gibson knocked it
in before Reynolds could get over to cover the net; he can't be faulted
on the goal. As in the first period, Northeastern had the edge in shots
but a combination of good defense and D'Amore kept the Huskies off the
board.
The third period was more of the same although Merrimack kept most of the
Huskies' shots outside of the quality shot area. With just over a minute
to go, NU pulled Reynolds for the sixth attacker and tried to get the
equalizer, and then Merrimack's Mark Cornforth drew a penalty for cross-
checking with 21 seconds remaining which gave Northeastern a 6 on 4
advantage. But right off the draw to D'Amore's right, Weinrich grabbed the
puck after the two centers got tied up scrambling for it, and knowing that
he couldn't ice the puck being down a man, he fired a 185-foot shot from
the bottom of the circle and his aim was perfect to ice the win.
EPILOGUE
Merrimack is clearly on a roll, winning four of its last five games and
playing well in its last six or seven games. The Warriors came into the
weekend mired in last place in Hockey East and won two games they had to
win if they don't want to go to Maine for the HE quarterfinals in March.
They moved up to 7th place with the weekend sweep and now face Maine for
two games next weekend. Maine was off this weekend, but will come to
Merrimack for a nationally-televised game Friday night; then, the two teams
bus up to Alfond for a rare Sunday night meeting.
We believe Friday night will mark the first time a team ranked number one
in the polls has ever played at Merrimack, so hopefully the turnout will
reflect this. Maine coach Shawn Walsh was at tonight's game to scout
Merrimack; we thank him for being our in between periods guest tonight in
what was an interesting interview that touched on his team and its top
ranking, the outcome of the NC$$ convention, changes to the NC$$ tourney
format for this season, Mike Dunham's trials with Team USA, and his
future. And I gave him the latest TCHCR, too. :-)
By the way, Shawn said that the agreement Maine has with the Team USA
people says that Dunham will return to Maine Monday (Jan 13) regardless
of what happens this weekend. Dave Peterson will decide whether he wants
Dunham to join his team, and Dunham would join them just before the Games.
Dunham allowed five goals Friday night in a 5-0 loss to Canada in Detroit;
he made 21 saves.
The key to Merrimack's recent success has been solid team defense and great
goaltending. Instead of opening it up as they did against some of the
nonleague teams, Merrimack is working harder in its own zone and waiting
for opportunities to pounce on. D'Amore is playing the best hockey of his
career. He is obviously more confident than he has ever been, and although
he has been a stay-in-the-net goalie throughout his time at Merrimack, he's
starting to come out a little to challenge shooters. Of course, next
weekend will be the real test. Merrimack hasn't beaten Maine in 12 years,
but they have played well against the Black Bears in The Igloo.
Northeastern had two tough games this weekend as possible wins turned into
losses, which just goes to show how difficult play can be in Hockey East.
The Huskies play at BC next Friday night and then host Providence next
Saturday. Providence is the one team Northeastern has beaten. NU's
troubles seem to stem from a lack of team depth and consistency. They
played two good periods against BU and a horrible third. I get the feeling
this is still a Ben Smith rebuilding project; the Huskies are going with
a lot of young players but will lose only two forwards, two defensemen
and a goalie after this season, and experience may benefit them in the
coming years.
By the way, thanks also to Merrimack players Yannick Gosselin and Guy
Ragault who provided good interviews during the BC game. (Is anybody
on the list tuning in?)
OTHER SCORES
Host BU defeated UMass-Lowell, 5-2, to move into a three-way tie for first
with Maine and UNH. Clarkson tied Harvard, 4-4.
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Mike Machnik [log in to unmask] [log in to unmask]
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