Colgate beat the Warriors 6-4 tonight at the Starr Rink in Hamilton, NY,
adding an empty-netter in the final moments to seal a close game.
 
I'm sure Mike will have a complete box score by tomorrow, but here are a
few observations.
 
Merrimack was very young up front and looked it. They are fast, but very
small... they will have extreme difficulty playing against larger, more
physical teams.
 
This group of sophomore/freshman forwards, however, are more creative than
Merrimack has had for a few years. Some of their best offensive chances
didn't result in shots on net, because players seemed to develop "stone
hands" in the final few feet of a good offensive rush.
 
However, the game was won and lost on defense. Each team had a serious
defensive lapse of about 5 minutes. Colgate scored four goals on theirs,
Merrimack only scored 3.
 
MC scored first in the second period, but then went into a deep defensive
funk. They abandoned Legault. The first goal resulted from a defenseman
standing in the crease-- a cross-slot pass was stopped by his skate, and an
onrushing Colgate forward was able to pick it up and poke it past
goaltender Martin Legault through a screen at point-blank range. Legault
had no chance at all. The second goal was all Legault's fault... a long
slap shot from the right wing side just caught the underside of his right
pad and slid through. Colgate scored twice more in quick succession, and
went into the third period up 4-1. Although it seemed for a moment that
backup goalie Eric Thibault was putting on his helmet, Legault stayed in.
 
MC came out strong in the third, though, and Colgate seemed confused, the
defense collapsing in on their goaltender. MC scored to close within one in
about the first six minutes or so, and by the halfway point had tied the
game.
 
In the final 1:30, Colgate scored the go-ahead goal. Merrimack pulled
Legault as soon as possible, but couldn't keep the puck in the Colgate
zone. After a few misses, Colgate was able to put in the empty-netter on a
wraparound.
 
I was impressed with MC's mental tenacity in coming back, and in Legault's
as well. Past teams and past goalies for Merrimack would have gotten a bit
worse, and perhaps not pulled out of the 4-1 hole after two. MC can't
survive simultaneous lapses in goaltending and defensive play, though.
 
Dave Josselyn