Friday, December 6, 1991 at Volpe Complex, North Andover, MA
NONCONFERENCE GAME
Army Cadets (6-8-0)            1     1     0  -  2
Merrimack Warriors (7-7-0)     2     0     1  -  3
FIRST PERIOD                                                        MC-A
1. A1, Mark Stachelski #8 (Rick Berube, Ross Erzar), 15:48.          0-1
2. MC1, Cooper Naylor #1 (Dan Gravelle, Claude Maillet), 17:39.      1-1
3. MC2, Teal Fowler #9 (Rob Atkinson, Jason Pagni), 19:30.           2-1
SECOND PERIOD
4. A2, Bob Mansell #4 (unassisted), 14:59.                           2-2
THIRD PERIOD
5. MC3, Jeff Massey #4 (Rob Kelley, Atkinson), 19:04.  GWG           3-2
SHOTS ON GOAL: Army       11--9--7 = 27
               Merrimack  13--7--7 = 27
GOALIES: Army, Brandon Hayes (1-3-0, 59:27, 27 shots-24 saves).
         Merrimack, Steve D'Amore (5-6-0, 60:00, 27 shots-25 saves).
POWER PLAYS: Army 0 of 3.  Merrimack 0 of 3.
PENALTIES: Army 4/8.  Merrimack 4/8.
REFEREE: Jim Fitzgerald.  LINESMEN: Chuck Wynters, Paul Scleparis.
ATTENDANCE: 414 (capacity 3,617).
THREE STARS: 1. Jeff Massey, Merrimack (1-0--1, GWG).
             2. Brandon Hayes, Army (27 shots-24 saves).
             3. Rob Atkinson, Merrimack (0-2--2).
 
Jeff Massey carried the puck up the left side, moved in front and beat
Army goalie Brandon Hayes with 56 seconds left to break a 2-2 and give
Merrimack its second straight 3-2 win at home.  It was a very evenly
played game that saw Hayes steal the show with his aggressive style of
netminding while his teammates played a strong, clean but physical game
that denied the Warriors much of the night.
 
The previous game between the two teams a month ago at West Point was
a high-scoring affair, with Merrimack scoring 8 times in the first and
then holding on for a 9-6 win.  Hayes entered that game with the score
5-1 halfway through the first, and after surrendering three power play
goals late in the period, he only allowed an empty-netter the remainder
of the game.  This rematch was a continuation of that game's second and
third periods - strong defensive hockey and good netminding.
 
Hayes established himself early by coming far out of the net to break up
plays.  No less than ten times throughout the course of the game, Hayes
would come out of his crease about 20 feet to cut down angles and this
stymied Merrimack's forwards.  Expecting to have a lot of extra room to
cut in for a shot, a Warrior player would suddenly look up from the top
of the circle to see Hayes in his face, and many times Hayes would not
even let a shot be taken.  His aggressive play reminded me quite a bit of
Robb Stauber.  He gave the Cadets an immense amount of confidence, and you
can never underestimate what confidence in a goaltender can do to a team.
Army seemed more willing to skate than they did in the 9-6 game, and they
also played a good brand of physical hockey in the neutral zone that
gave Merrimack some trouble.  But Hayes was the key.
 
Army got on the board at 15:48 of the first when Mark Stachelski netted
his eighth goal of the season.  The line of Stachelski-Erzar-Berube was
the Cadets' best of the night and their forechecking caused a number of
Merrimack turnovers.  Two minutes later, Merrimack tied it when Cooper
Naylor banged home a loose puck in the slot.  Dan Gravelle's assist gave
him the Warrior lead in points.  Then, with thirty seconds left in the
period, Teal Fowler picked up the pick from Rob Atkinson behind the net,
came around in front to Hayes' left and stuffed it in to give Merrimack a
2-1 lead after one.
 
Army had the edge in play in the second and got the period's only goal.
Bob Mansell stole the puck as Merrimack tried to break out across the blue line,
 skated to the top of the left circle and fired a low, hard shot
that beat Steve D'Amore at 14:59 and tied the game at 2-2.
 
The third was very exciting, and as Hayes continued to make great saves,
it looked as if Army was picking up more and more confidence and would
go ahead, but D'Amore stood tall and made several solid glove saves.  He
didn't see many shots from in close due to the good play of his defense,
however.  Hayes got a lot of help from his defense, too, such as when
Gravelle picked up a loose puck right in front and, seeing Hayes in his
face, tried to shift to his backhand for what would have been almost a
sure goal, but before he could get the shot off he was leveled.  The game
appeared headed for overtime after Merrimack was shut down on the period's
only power play, but just 26 seconds after the penalty expired, Massey
got the winner at 19:04.  Army pulled Hayes for an extra attacker in the
final thirty seconds but was held without a good shot attempt as the
Warriors preserved the win.
 
EPILOGUE
Army is 0-5 against Hockey East teams, but the only real blowout came
against Providence early in the season.  They have played BU, BC, and
Merrimack (twice) tough.  The Cadets will face Maine in the Dexter
Classic and may play UMass-Lowell in the second game of that tournament.
Army is off until the Syracuse Tournament, when they take on Clarkson
and either Colgate or Ohio State.  Coach Rob Riley has to be pleased
with the way his team has played lately, and they should give Clarkson a
battle Dec 27.
 
Merrimack made its way back to the .500 mark overall (7-7-0) and plays
its final game of the first semester Tuesday night when they host BU.
The team has looked to this game for a while, as they believe this could
be the year they finally notch their first legitimate win against a
rebuilding Terrier team.  BU holds a 24-1-0 record against Merrimack.
The one "loss" was a 9-0 BU win in 1972-73 that was later forfeited to
Merrimack.  The Warriors are the only HE team without a league win, but
they do have several games in hand on Northeastern.  To beat BU, however,
they will need to neutralize BU's size advantage which has plagued
Merrimack for years.
 
I spoke with Rob Riley before the game and he's very excited about the way
his team has been performing.  He talked about how difficult it is for
the service academies to both recruit and keep players, after all the
military life is not for everyone.  He said he enjoys all the information
he gets from the list and appreciates the chance to get Army some publicity
and for people to learn more about Army hockey.  With the continued
reduction in Independents and in games available, it will be more difficult
to schedule games, but he is hopeful of continuing some of the relationships
with Eastern teams.  Army is centrally located and so this makes it a
little easier to host or travel to various Eastern opponents.  I think it
was a good move for Army to return to Independent status.  I wish Coach
Riley the best of luck in recruiting and the rest of the season, and we
hope to get to play his teams again over the next few years.  If you get
a chance to see him either at the Syracuse Tourney or at the Dexter
Classic, say hello; he's a classy guy and like most college hockey people,
a great representative for the sport.