(ctron's link to the outside world seems to be hosed this weekend, so
I hope this and the following post will at least make it eventually...)
Saturday, October 15, 1994 at Volpe Center, North Andover, MA
EXHIBITION GAME
Concordia Stingers 1 0 1 0 - 2
Merrimack Warriors 0 1 1 0 - 2
FIRST PERIOD MC-CU
1. CU1, Patrice Martineau (Daniel Paradis, Benoit Therrien), 3:44. 0-1
SECOND PERIOD
2. MC1, Tom Costa (Chris Silvestro, Daryl Krauss), 14:45. 5x3 1-1
THIRD PERIOD
3. MC2, Steve McKenna (Gaetan Poirier, Mark Goble), 3:38. PPG 2-1
4. CU2, Mathieu Brunet (Andrew Chiebus, Sebastien Moreau), 10:57. 4x4 2-2
OVERTIME
No scoring.
SHOTS ON GOAL: Concordia 6--6--9--1 = 22
Merrimack 12-15-13--0 = 40
SAVES: Concordia, Angelo Karitsiotis (T, 65:00, 40 sh-38 sv).
Merrimack, Martin Legault (40:00, 12 sh-11 sv),
Eric Thibeault (T, 25:00, 10 sh-9 sv).
POWER PLAYS: Concordia 0 for 7. Merrimack 2 for 9.
PENALTIES: Concordia 15/30. Merrimack 13/26.
REFEREES: Jeff Bunyon, Tim Benedetto. LINESMAN: Steve Arnold.
ATTENDANCE: appr. 150.
MIKE'S THREE STARS: 1. G Angelo Karitsiotis, Concordia (65:00, 40 sh-38 sv).
2. D Steve McKenna, Merrimack (1-0--1).
3. C Martin Laroche, Merrimack (0-0--0).
In an afternoon exhibition game, Concordia University of Montreal rebounded
from a tough loss to Mass Lowell the night before to tie Merrimack, 2-2.
Lowell had beaten the Stingers 4-3 in overtime on a shorthanded goal.
Merrimack, playing its first competition of the season against an outside
team after just beginning practice a week ago, seemed sluggish at the outset
and Concordia carried the play early on. But Merrimack gradually gained
momentum and would outshoot the visitors in each period except for overtime.
The combination of an outstanding performance by Concordia goalie Angelo
Karitsiotis and good play in front by his defense, as well as Merrimack's
inability to convert several good chances, led to the tie.
Merrimack dressed 13 forwards and 8 defensemen, and all along with two goalies
saw time. Both Merrimack goals were scored on the power play and by
defensemen. The offense looked rusty but improved as the game went on, and
there was clear evidence that this year's team will have even more speed
than in the past. However, they still need to start burying the chances
they get.
Some of the more impressive players were freshman, as Merrimack played a
total of 5 rookies, 4 at forward. D Chris Silvestro did not look too out
of place and has a solid chance to see some time this year, especially if
Chris Ross ends up playing forward (he played D today). Up front, Martin
Laroche centered the first line with seniors Matt Adams and Mark Goble,
and Laroche both won faceoffs and displayed a keen sense of playmaking.
Several times he made nice passes only to have the recipient lose control
of the puck.
Gaetan Poirier, a 6-2/200 LW, steps in as the biggest Merrimack forward,
and he should help give the team an added dimension of size up front. He
hit everything that moved while taking only one penalty, a double minor
for roughing after the whistle. Poirier had a chance to win it with
seconds left in regulation, but his shot was stopped by Karitsiotis.
Tom O'Grady centered the third line and did well on draws while also setting
up some nice plays. He took a heavy hit into the boards and was down for a
few minutes, but he seemed okay as he got up and skated off and returned to
play the rest of the way. Dan Hodge, watching from the skybox, commented
that if it had been at BC, where the boards don't have nearly as much give,
"they would have had to peel him off with a squeegee."
In goal, Martin Legault and Eric Thibeault were not tested much, but each
made several nifty saves to stay even with their counterpart at the other
end.
Matt Adams was awarded a penalty shot in the second period with Concordia
up 1-0, after a Concordia player covered the puck in the crease. But
Adams did not make much of a shift and shot the puck right into the pads
of Karitsiotis.
Perhaps the best defensive pairing was that of McKenna and fellow sophomore
Karl Infanger. Both shot the puck well from the point on power play, with
McKenna scoring the goal that put Merrimack ahead early in the third. He
also seemed much more confident handling the puck. This is something that
will be needed with the loss of Hodge the first semester.
In fact, the staff seems to feel that the forwards and goal will be the
strengths, with defense a question mark. Dean Capuano is not back, I
believe because of the season-ending injury he suffered in the middle of
last year. This leaves Merrimack with six lettermen on D plus one freshman
and one junior transfer (Alex MacLellan from Union) for the first half until
Hodge returns. Avoiding injuries will be a prime concern.
Concordia had one transfer from Kent on its roster, sophomore center Marc
Drouin. He did not do anything of note.
Merrimack opens the season next weekend, as the Warriors will travel to
Halifax, Nova Scotia, for a pair of games at Dalhousie University of the
AUAA (Atlantic Universities Athletic Association) on Saturday night and
Sunday afternoon. By all accounts, this will be a tough series, as
Dalhousie split with UNH last season and has several players who were
apparently pursued heavily by US DivI teams. A split will make me happy.
--- ---
Mike Machnik [log in to unmask]
Cabletron Systems, Inc. *HMM* 11/13/93
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