Saturday, January 9, 1993 at Snively Arena, Durham, NH
HOCKEY EAST GAME
Merrimack Warriors (7-10-2, 1-8-0 HE) 0 1 3 - 4
New Hampshire Wildcats (10-7-2, 5-3-1 HE) 1 2 6 - 9
FIRST PERIOD NH-MC
1. NH1, Nick Poole 11 (Greg Klym, Bryan Muir), 4:20. 1-0
SECOND PERIOD
2. MC1, Wayde McMillan 11 (Jim Gibson, Mark Goble), 1:35. 1-1
3. NH2, Rob Donovan 13 (Klym, Poole), 2:11. PPG 2-1
4. NH3, Glenn Stewart 9 (Scott Malone), 19:42. 3-1
THIRD PERIOD
5. NH4, Klym 3 (Poole, Jim McGrath), 1:57. PPG 4-1
6. MC2, Goble 7 (Gibson, Bryan Miller), 5:03. 4-2
7. MC3, Martin Favreau 6 (Guy Ragault, Dan Gravelle), 9:04. 4-3
8. MC4, McMillan 12 (Mark Cornforth), 9:31. 4-4
9. NH5, Klym 4 (Donovan, Poole), 11:47. GWG 5-4
10. NH6, Tom O'Brien 4 (Sean Perry), 13:10. 6-4
11. NH7, Klym 5 (Poole, McGrath), 14:56. PPG HAT TRICK 7-4
12. NH8, Eric Flinton 11 (Poole), 17:28. 8-4
13. NH9, Jason Dexter 8 (Eric Royal), 18:15. 9-4
SHOTS ON GOAL: Merrimack 6--6-10 = 22
New Hampshire 11-18-15 = 44
SAVES: MC, Mike Doneghey (40:00, 29 sh-26 sv),
Dan Millar (L, 1-5-1, 20:00, 15-9).
UNH, Brett Abel (W, 7-5-1, 60:00, 22-18).
POWER PLAYS: MC 0 for 2. UNH 3 for 6.
PENALTIES: MC 17/34. UNH 13/26.
REFEREES: Steve McBride, Rich Fowkes. LINESMAN: Bill Jones.
ATTENDANCE: 2,991.
THREE STARS: 1. RW Greg Klym, UNH (3-2--5, GWG).
2. C Nick Poole, UNH (1-5--6).
3. RW Mark Goble, MC (1-1--2).
[I don't trust all of the above stats...UNH has a new hockey SID as of
this week and I suspect there are several errors in the total penalties
(should be one additional), goaltending stats (I thought Millar came in
1:57 into the third), and scoring on at least one Merrimack goal...also,
the linesman may have been John Jones, whoever typed up the game sheet
put "Reverend Jones" which I don't understand.]
UNH scored five unanswered goals over the game's final 8:13 to go on to
a 9-4 win and sweep Merrimack, but it wasn't as easy as it looks at first
glance. Merrimack had scored three straight in the third to tie it at 4-4.
First-liners Greg Klym and Nick Poole led the way for the Wildcats. Klym
had a hat trick in the third and added two assists in the game, while
Poole contributed a goal and five assists. With Rob Donovan's 1-1--2,
the top line for UNH accounted for 5 goals and 8 assists.
UNH scored a total of 10 goals in the two third periods of the series,
outscoring Merrimack 16-9 over the two games. The Wildcats took sole
possession of third-place pending the outcome of Sunday's NU-BC game,
while Merrimack fell to 1-8-0 in HE and barring a serious turnaround will
probably travel to Maine for the first round of the playoffs.
Merrimack coach Ron Anderson made several changes for this game after the
poor third period of the night before, with Martin Favreau, Quentin
Fendelet, and Matt Hayes stepping in for John Barron, Rob Atkinson, and
Don MacLeod. The lines were also shaken up, but the result was a weaker
offense, although the Warriors played slightly better in their own end
until the game's final 10 minutes.
GAME
The only goal of the first period came at 4:20, when Klym fed Poole for
an easy 10-footer that beat Mike Doneghey. The Wildcats had two power
plays on which they moved the puck well and tested Doneghey several times,
but he played well and kept the score at 1-0 after one.
Merrimack tied it 1:35 into the second when Wayde McMillan tipped in a
behind-the-net pass from Jim Gibson. But after Tom Costa went off for
tripping at 2:05, the 'Cats won the draw and scored just six seconds into
the power play when Poole fed Donovan in front for an easy goal.
Doneghey was tested again a number of times over the rest of the period
but came up big, with a great glove save off of Flinton from point blank
range and with the pads off of Kevin Thomson. But with 18 seconds left
in the period, Scott Malone fed Glenn Stewart for a blast that beat
Doneghey and UNH took a 3-1 lead into the third, outshooting Merrimack
29-12 over the first two periods.
Klym scored his first of three in the third period on the power play at
1:57, and that came just 5 seconds into the man advantage off the draw.
I thought Millar came into the game at this point, but the game sheet
says he started the period in net for Merrimack. At any rate, Merrimack
started showing some of the offensive work that got them a 5-3 lead the
night before, and the result was three straight goals that tied the game.
Mark Goble, who has played well lately, took a pass from Gibson and
carried up the left side, firing a 20-footer that sneaked through Brett
Abel's pads at 5:03. Guy Ragault and Martin Favreau combined for a nice
passing display with Favreau knocking in the final pass at 9:04 for
Favreau's 6th goal. 27 seconds later, McMillan scored his second of the
game and 12th of the year when he was given a pass by Mark Cornforth and
his 15-footer beat Abel to the far side. The score was tied at 4-4 and
we appeared headed for a Fantastic Finish.
It was, but only for one side. Just as quickly as the momentum had swung
to Merrimack, it swung right back to UNH with five bang-bang goals. Klym
started it off at 11:47 when he knocked in the rebound of Donovan's shot.
Then, as freshman Tom O'Brien went one-on-one with Cornforth, Cornforth
fell down and O'Brien was able to walk in, fake Millar into the balcony
and beat him at 13:10 to make it 6-4. Cornforth then took a penalty for
holding and for the third time of the game, UNH scored right off the draw,
this time five seconds into the PP, with Klym netting his hat trick.
The game was over by this point, but a battle ensued with 4:11 left that
resulted in everyone on the ice being sent to the penalty box except the
goalies (at least, I thought it was everyone and heard referee Rich Fowkes
yell for everyone to go to the sin bin, but the game sheet only shows four
penalties per side). Matt Adams fired a shot on Abel from the boards
that was stopped but still loose, and as Matt Crowley swooped in to try to
knock it in before the whistle blew, UNH's Bryan Muir took a shot at him
(obviously protecting his goalie, but Crowley is not a cheap player with
only 8 PIM in 15 games). Adams responded by hitting Muir, and then
everyone was taking shots at everyone else. Everyone got double minors
for roughing and the penalty box looked like a crowded bar, especially
after Thomson and Cooper Naylor joined them at 16:23.
Eric Flinton, who scored twice in the third period the night before,
tallied again at 17:28, and Jason Dexter added another at 18:15 to close
out the scoring.
POSTGAME
For Merrimack, it was another devastating loss because of the way the
team folded in the final ten minutes after making a gutsy comeback. The
switch of goaltenders from Doneghey to Millar looked like a brilliant move
for the first half of the third period as it sparked the comeback, but
Millar was not sharp in allowing the final five goals. I still believe
Millar will be a decent goalie, but he appears to suffer from the same
thing that plagued Doneghey his first few years - a lack of confidence.
There's still a chance for Merrimack to work its way out of last, but
it will take some strong 60-minute play and consistency which the Warriors
have had trouble putting together in HE play thus far.
UNH showed a lot of heart for the second straight game in bouncing back
when it counted and stealing the momentum right back from Merrimack.
Klym's 3-2--5 give him 5-13--18 on the year, while Poole's 1-5--6 give
him 11-18--29 and he leads UNH in scoring. As long as the 'Cats believe
they are never done, they will be an awfully tough team for anyone to beat.
They've won four straight and six of eight.
NEXT
UNH will play a home-and-home next weekend with Northeastern, playing
at NU on Fri and hosting the Huskies the next night. Merrimack also
has another home-and-home, this with Merrimack Valley rival UMass-Lowell
which looks like it is on its way to a sweep of Alaska-Anchorage.
Merrimack will host the Chiefs on Friday, and then the teams will play
at Lowell's Tully Forum on Saturday night in a game that will be shown
a day later on delay by NESN.
---
Mike Machnik [log in to unmask] Color Voice of the Merrimack Warriors
(Any opinions expressed above are strictly those of the poster.) *HMN*
|
