Saturday, February 29, 1992 at Walter Brown Arena, Boston, MA
HOCKEY EAST GAME
Merrimack Warriors (13-20-0, 4-17-0 HE 8th) 1 3 0 - 4
Boston University Terriers (22-7-4, 10-7-4 HE 4th) 2 2 3 - 7
FIRST PERIOD BU-MC
1. BU1, Mark Bavis 8 (Mike Bavis), 5:24. SHG 1-0
2. BU2, Jon Pratt 8 (Jon Jenkins), 9:38. 2-0
3. MC1, Dan Gravelle 23 (Teal Fowler, John Barron), 10:43. 2-1
SECOND PERIOD
4. BU3, Kevin O'Sullivan 3 (Petteri Koskimaki,
Steve Thornton), 4:23. PPG 3-1
5. MC2, Rob Kelley 10 (Rob Atkinson, Brendan Locke), 14:14. PPG 3-2
6. BU4, Mark Bavis 9 (David Sacco, Mike Prendergast), 14:34. 4-2
7. MC3, Jeff Massey 7 (Kelley, Jim Gibson), 15:06. 4-3
8. MC4, Fowler 20 (Don MacLeod, Barron), 17:37. 4-4
THIRD PERIOD
9. BU5, Koskimaki 18 (Thornton), 4:33. GWG 5-4
10. BU6, Koskimaki 19 (unassisted), 9:37. 6-4
11. BU7, Rich Brennan 4 (O'Sullivan, Mike Pomichter), 10:01. 7-4
SHOTS ON GOAL: Merrimack 13-11--7 = 31
Boston University 17-12--7 = 36
GOALIES: MC, Mike Doneghey (1-2-0, 60:00, 36 shots-29 saves).
BU, Derek Herlofsky (7-0-1, 60:00, 31-27).
POWER PLAYS: MC 1 of 2. BU 1 of 3.
PENALTIES: MC 6/12. BU 5/10.
REFEREE: John Gravallese. LINESMEN: Jeff Bunyon, John Jones.
ATT: 2,399 (capacity 3,684).
THREE STARS: 1. Petteri Koskimaki, BU (2-1--3).
2. Mark Bavis, BU (2-0--2).
3. Rob Kelley, MC (1-1--2).
BU got two goals from Petteri Koskimaki in the first half of the third
period to break open a 4-4 game and send BU onto a 7-4 win over Merrimack
in the season finale for both teams. The win clinched 4th place and a
home ice berth in the HE quarterfinals for BU against BC next Sat 3/7.
The Terriers allowed two-goal leads to get away from them three times in
the game as Merrimack fought back with a strong second period to tie the
game. BU got on the board at 5:24 of the first as Mark Bavis scored a
shorthanded goal. He and brother Mike Bavis did a tenacious job of
forechecking and Mike was able to steal the puck and feed Mark in front
for the goal. It was the 7th SHG allowed by Merrimack this season, which
at times has to have been thinking about declining penalties.
4 minutes later, it was 2-0 when Merrimack goalie Mike Doneghey lost the
puck behind the net and Jon Jenkins fed Jon Pratt for the easy goal.
Doneghey, who has backed up Steve D'Amore for much of the season, finally
got a start in an arena he has played well in, and he was both brilliant
and shaky at times.
Just 1:05 after that goal, Merrimack got a big goal from leading scorer
Dan Gravelle to pull within one. Gravelle was fed in front by Teal Fowler
and he deposited the pass past BU goalie Derek Herlofsky. Merrimack was
outplayed for much of the period but was a little lucky to escape down 1.
BU regained its 2-goal lead at 4:23 of the second on the power play when
Kevin O'Sullivan banged in a rebound. There was no more scoring until a
barrage of four goals in 3:23 - the first three in 52 seconds, and
Merrimack got three of those four to suddenly tie the game at 4-4. On
the power play, Rob Kelley scored his 10th of the year on a rebound at
14:14 to make it 3-2. But Mark Bavis answered back 20 seconds later from
close range to give BU a 2-goal lead again.
Goals by Jeff Massey (10-footer) and Teal Fowler (deflection) brought
Merrimack into a 4-4 tie by the 17:37 mark. Fowler's goal was his 20th
of the year, to go with 15 assists for the team's 2nd-leading scorer.
Doneghey made an unconscious glove save late in the period to keep the
score tied after two, and things looked good for Merrimack entering the
third.
But defensive mistakes in the third allowed BU to go ahead for good. At
4:33, Koskimaki took a feed from Steve Thornton and walked right by two
defensemen to beat Doneghey for the eventual game-winner. Koskimaki
added an insurance goal halfway through the period, his 19th of the year.
Doneghey seemed indecisive as to whether or not to come out and get the
puck which was sitting untouched about 8 feet from him while several players
battled for it. After moving back and forth a little, he finally came
out after it to try to knock it away, but Koskimaki broke free and shot it
through Doneghey's pads. That goal was the backbreaker, and Rich Brennan
added another just 24 seconds later from the bottom of the right circle
for the 7-4 final.
EPILOGUE
Merrimack would really have liked to pull the upset win on BU's home ice
to close out the regular season in a game BU needed to win, but it was
a very sloppy game on both sides and key mistakes that BU was, as usual,
quick to jump on led to the Terrier win. It's obvious that BU has not
been playing well lately and they had to feel lucky to escape with the
win.
BU took the season series from Merrimack, 2-1-0, but the teams played
three tough games and Merrimack reached a turning point by finally
playing well this year against a team it had never beaten before Jan 24.
Quite an improvement from just over two years ago when Merrimack lost
to BU, 8-0, and was outshot 40-10 including 19-0 in the third period of
that game. Last year, Merrimack was outscored 24-4 in the teams' four
meetings. This year, BU held a slim 17-14 edge in the three matchups.
BU has lost quite a few players from those teams that dominated Merrimack,
but considering their 22-7-4 record and year-long high rankings, the
Warriors' showing this season against BU is something very positive.
BU forward John Lilley, who has missed several weeks of action due to
a shoulder injury, I believe, is due back for the quarterfinals next week.
Merrimack D Mark Cornforth, who returned last night against UNH after
being out several weeks with a broken collarbone, injured his shoulder in
the first period and did not return for the rest of the game. I do not
expect he will play at Maine. Several other Warriors were severely banged
up and may be questionable as well.
BU will host BC Sat 3/7 at 7 pm in the q-finals, while Merrimack travels
to Maine on Sun 3/8 at 7 pm. BU is 0-2-1 against BC this year and has
been outscored 11-9. Merrimack is 0-3-0 against Maine and has been
outscored 23-8.
The Terriers honored their seniors prior to this game, and they will lose
only two - defensemen Tom Dion and Mark Brownschidle. With everyone
else returning next year, they are sure to be a force once again - and
who knows what they may do the rest of this year. But the Terriers are
still concerned about their NC$$ hopes and believe they need a good showing
in the Hockey East tournament to nail down a bid, other than winning the
whole thing and getting an automatic bid.
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Mike Machnik [log in to unmask] mikem@{beanpot,bubba}.ma30.bull.com
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