Friday, January 13, 1995 at Walter Brown Arena, Boston, MA
HOCKEY EAST GAME
Merrimack Warriors (7-11-4, 4-6-4 3 HE 5th) 2 1 0 - 3
Boston University Terriers (13-4-3, 6-3-3 2 HE 4th) 1 1 0 - 2
FIRST PERIOD MC-BU
1. BU1, Chris Drury 6 (Shawn Bates), 5:33. 0-1
2. MC1, Claudio Peca 5 (Tom Johnson, Martin Laroche), 6:02. 1-1
3. MC2, Gaetan Poirier 6 (Mark Goble, Chris Davis), 9:55. 2-1
SECOND PERIOD
4. MC3, Mark Cornforth 6 (John Jakopin), 4:32. PPG GWG 3-1
5. BU2, Ken Rausch 7 (Bates), 14:08. SHG 3-2
THIRD PERIOD
No scoring.
SHOTS ON GOAL: Merrimack 12--7--1 = 20
Boston University 14-20-22 = 56
SAVES: MC, Eric Thibeault (W, 3-1-1, 60:00, 56 sh-54 sv).
BU, Tom Noble (20:00, 12 sh-10 sv),
Derek Herlofsky (L, 6-3-3, 39:10, 8 sh-7 sv).
POWER PLAYS: Merrimack 1 for 3. BU 0 for 11.
PENALTIES: Merrimack 12/24. BU 5/10.
REFEREES: Rich Fowkes, Jim Doyle. LINESMAN: Chuck Wynters.
ATTENDANCE: 2,901 (capacity 3,684).
THREE STARS: 1. G Eric Thibeault, Merrimack (56 sh-54 sv).
2. Thibeault.
3. Thibeault.
On a Friday the 13th, strange things are bound to happen.
If you told me that:
* Merrimack would start backup goalie Eric Thibeault for the third
straight game, even though Martin Legault, one of the better goalies
in HE, was able to play;
* BU would outshoot Merrimack 56-20 for the game, 42-8 over the last
two periods and 22-1 in the third;
* BU would have 11 power plays to Merrimack's 3;
* Merrimack's top line of Beck-Kesselring-Adams would be held scoreless;
I would have expected a final of about 10-2 for the Terriers.
Instead, Merrimack got great goaltending from Thibeault, outstanding
defense, and superb penalty killing to pull off possibly the biggest
upset of the 1994-95 DivI hockey season, 3-2. The win was the first
ever for Merrimack at BU and only the second all-time win over BU
(barring a forfeit in 1972-73) in 37 games. It was also the lowest
number of goals BU has ever scored against the Warriors in a series
that dates back to 1964-65.
Thibeault turned aside 54 of 56 shots to establish a new HE regular
season record for saves in a game. He was named the game's first,
second, and third stars by BU SID Ed Carpenter. Thibeault stopped
41 of 42 shots over the final two periods and all 22 in the third,
allowing only a SHG by Ken Rausch in the second.
The Terriers were held scoreless in 11 power play chances by a Merrimack
penalty kill that entered the game ranked second last in HE.
Despite the record set by Thibeault, credit for the win belongs equally
to Thibeault and the Merrimack defense. Even in the third when BU
held the 22-1 shot advantage, Merrimack's defense was masterful,
allowing Thibeault to see nearly all first shots and using their size
advantage in front of the net to muscle the Terriers away from rebounds.
FIRST
Through the first period, shots were close at 14-12 for BU, but BU
would have 5 power plays to MC's 1. Here, the Merrimack penalty kill
was at its best, preventing BU from getting any shots on goal until
late in the second man advantage and effectively clearing the zone.
But BU scored first at 5:33 on one of the few Merrimack defensive
mistakes of the night. Chris Drury got the puck off the boards from
Shawn Bates and skated into the slot, then saw a wide open lane to
the net. Drury skated in and put a shot on that Thibeault stopped
with the blocker, but Drury deposited the rebound for his 6th of the
year and a 1-0 lead. That was one of the few rebound shots BU would
have all night.
Merrimack tied it 29 seconds later when Claudio Peca beat Tom Noble
on the rebound of Tom Johnson's shot, Martin Laroche also assisting.
At 9:55, the Warriors took the lead for good on a goal Noble probably
wished he had back. Mark Goble took a long shot from the top of the
circle, but Noble could not contain the rebound and left the puck
sitting in the crease. Big Gaetan Poirier, who had yet another superb
game, muscled his way inside and rapped in the puck for his 6th of
the year and a 2-1 lead.
Merrimack held a 9-4 shot advantage at this point and was outplaying
BU at even strength. But 4 of BU's 5 PPs in the period would take
place in the final ten minutes, enabling the Terriers to bounce back
and take the shot advantage for the period. Still, Thibeault and
the defense did their job and Merrimack escaped with the lead.
SECOND
Jack Parker replaced Noble with Derek Herlofsky to start the second,
and the result was that BU would totally dominate play for the rest
of the game. But on the power play at 4:32, Mark Cornforth's solo
rush put Merrimack up by 2 when he came up the right hand side, beat
Doug Wood and cut in front to shoot it past Herlofsky for the senior
defenseman's 6th goal.
Penalty wise, the second period was more of the same, as BU would have
4 more opportunities to Merrimack's 2. And defensively, it was more
of the same for the Warriors who stymied the Terrier attack with
good goaltending and a dominance of the area right in front of
Thibeault.
BU pulled within one on a SHG by Rausch with 5:52 left in the period,
and it seemed as if it was only a matter of time before the home team
would translate its chances into enough goals to win.
THIRD
Again, the Thibeault and Defense Show. Two more PPs for BU to none for
Merrimack, but no goals. Despite the incredibly lopsided shot total
of 22-1, the shot chart (which I dutifully kept) shows that nearly all
of BU's shots came from outside the quality shot area, with the best
chances probably coming from Prendergast and then Grier late on a cross
ice feed that Thibeault quickly slid over to cover with just minutes
left in the game.
Merrimack clearly was content to hold onto the one goal lead, tasting
upset, and while a defensive shell against BU is usually the last
thing any team should attempt, tonight everything went their way and
it worked. The BU fans did their part in trying to urge the Terriers
on in the final minutes, but this was a night for the record books.
Herlofsky was pulled with 50 seconds left to no avail.
POSTGAME
While the stats would seem to show that BU just ran into a hot
goaltender, I would assert that more was in evidence here: they also
ran into an extremely good defense. Earlier this week I commented
on the fact that Merrimack's hopes lie with its D and goaltending,
and that if they take care of things in their own end, they will be
in a position to beat anyone.
Is Thibeault as good as he has shown the last couple of games against
two of the better teams in the country, UNH and BU? I don't know...
right now it is hard to say no. New goalie coach Mike Geragosian (thank
you, Lowell) seems to have done a wonderful job with Thibeault, as well
as with Legault, and suddenly Merrimack appears to have one of the better
tandems in the league. Thibeault has stopped 92 of 97 shots against
BU and UNH for a save percentage of .948.
But as I have said, the defense is the real key to this team's chances.
Pairings tonight were Cornforth-Hodge, McKenna-Jakopin, and Costa-
Infanger, with Eric Weichselbaumer resting his sore wrist again and
Chris Silvestro sitting out. The Twin Towers, McKenna and Jakopin,
did a superb job while paired on the penalty kill and they bothered
BU all night long in front of Thibeault. I never thought I would see
the day when Merrimack would take the physical play to BU after several
years of witnessing the opposite. The best thing is that "only" Hodge
and Cornforth will graduate after this season from the blueline,
leaving 6 Ds who have played very well this season.
Thibeault's play gives Ron Anderson a very nice dilemma. Who plays
vs Lowell Sunday night? Do you come back with the hot goalie who has
confidence, or do you play Legault after the (former?) iron man has
sat out for three and a half games? Merrimack is off from HE play for
almost three weeks after Sunday, so on the one hand, I'd think it is
time to get Legault back in there. But Thibeault has earned the right
to play, and Anderson has a history of going with the hot hand. The
competition is bound to be good for Legault, too, as well as the rest.
On the BU side, Parker seemed not to be too upset with his team's play
from what I heard, and the Terriers did play very well except for some
lapses that led to Merrimack goals. On any other night this would have
been an easy win. But as Parker no doubt knows, there will be times
that you run into a goalie who stands on his head.
Perhaps the big concern is that Merrimack tossed the Terriers around like
no other team has done this season, and if BU is to compete for a national
title, they're bound to run up against some bigger Western teams who
will try to do the same. BU is simply not as big or physical as they
have been in the past, and it is easy to see how a team like Merrimack
with its size could give them problems.
BU did a superb job of turning around the even strength advantage MC
enjoyed early on to totally dominate the game the rest of the way,
allowing Merrimack only 8 shots in the third. Usually, that type of
defensive play will be enough to win.
Bates had a good game, picking up two assists (also 3 penalties) and
generally being a pest in the offensive zone. But the big guns like
Joubert, O'Sullivan, Grier, Pandolfo, etc. were all held in check.
BU's inability to get to rebounds and force screen shots on Thibeault
was what ultimately did them in.
After the game, some of the BU crowd asked me where this win ranks
in Merrimack's history. Biggest ever? No...that has to go to the
NC$$ win over Northeastern in 1988. Without that, it is conceivable
that Merrimack wouldn't be in HE right now. But I do have a sort of
mental list of milestones this team has achieved since 1989, and it
does rank as one of those since it is the first time they have won
at BU. Others are:
* 1989-90 HE q-final second game upset of BC
* 1991-92 first win ever over BU
* Earlier this season, first HE points ever taken from Maine
Perhaps the only one left in regular season play would be to win
or at least take some points at Maine.
NEXT
Pity Northeastern...the Huskies get to face BU only 24 hours later,
Saturday night at BU on WABU-68. However, Northeastern apparently
blew a lead and lost in OT at UNH, so the matchup of two teams with
something to prove to themselves looms as very interesting.
Merrimack returns home to host Lowell in the conclusion of the season
series between the Valley rivals on Sunday night at 7 pm, WNDS-50.
This stands as a very big game for MC, who still has to prove that
the team that lost to Lowell 8-3 on 1/3/95 is not the same team that
pulled off the surprise at BU. As well, Merrimack remains in the thick
of the race for a home ice berth, and before going on a hiatus from HE
play which will see everyone else pick up 4 games on them (except
Providence which will pick up 3), it is imperative that they salvage a
win from Lowell to stay in the hunt.
Interesting stat: away from home, Merrimack is 6-7-0 (one neutral win).
At home they are a pitiful 1-4-4, with the only win coming over DivIII
Salem State. It is time to start winning these home games...else it
just might be better to open the playoffs on the road after all.
--- ---
Mike Machnik [log in to unmask]
Cabletron Systems, Inc. *HMM* 11/13/93
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