Friday, January 22, 1993 at Schneider Arena, Providence, RI
HOCKEY EAST GAME
Merrimack Warriors (8-12-2, 2-10-0 HE 8th) 1 2 1 - 4
Providence Friars (11-10-2, 4-7-2 HE 6th) 2 6 1 - 9
FIRST PERIOD PC-MC
1. PC1, Bob Cowan 6 (Erik Sundquist, Craig Darby), 0:55. 1-0
2. MC1, Mark Cornforth 3 (Mark Goble, Wayde McMillan), 9:06. PPG 1-1
3. PC2, Brian Ridolfi 14 (Darby, Cowan), 10:59. 2-1
SECOND PERIOD
4. MC2, Matt Adams 3 (Goble, Jim Gibson), 2:13. 2-2
5. PC3, Cowan 7 (Ridolfi, Darby), 3:23. 3-2
6. PC4, Cowan 8 (Ridolfi, Mark Devine), 9:42. 4-2
7. PC5, Ridolfi 15 (Darby, Gary Socha), 12:06. PPG GWG 5-2
8. PC6, Socha 7 (Chris Therien, Trevor Hanson), 13:23. 6-2
9. MC3, Goble 9 (McMillan, Gibson), 16:55. PPG 6-3
10. PC7, Ridolfi 16 (Cowan, Sundquist), 18:09. 7-3
11. PC8, Chad Quenneville 14 (Brady Kramer), 18:31. 8-3
THIRD PERIOD
12. MC4, Rob Atkinson 8 (Cornforth, Cooper Naylor), 0:53. PPG 8-4
13. PC9, Cowan 9 (Darby), 10:55. 9-4
SHOTS ON GOAL: Merrimack 9--9--8 = 26
Providence 12-20-13 = 45
SAVES: Merrimack, Mike Doneghey (L, 7-7-1, 40:00, 32 sh-24 sv),
Dan Millar (20:00, 13-12).
Providence, Brad Mullahy (W, 5-5-1, 60:00, 26-22).
POWER PLAYS: Merrimack 3 for 5. Providence 1 for 4.
PENALTIES: Merrimack 7/14. Providence 8/16.
REFEREES: Frank Cole, Drew Taylor. LINESMAN: Jeff Bunyon.
ATTENDANCE: 1,127.
THREE STARS: 1. C Bob Cowan, PC (4-2--6).
2. LW Brian Ridolfi, PC (3-2--5, GWG).
3. RW Craig Darby, PC (0-5--5).
The Friars got four goals in ten minutes during the second period to
break open a 2-2 game and went on to a 9-4 win over Merrimack. A total
of six goals in the second gave PC an 8-3 lead after two. The newly-
combined line of Brian Ridolfi, Bob Cowan and Craig Darby sparkled with
a total of 7 goals and 9 assists on the night. Cowan, who entered the
game with 8 goals in 10 career games vs Merrimack, picked up four more
while Ridolfi had a trick of his own.
Cowan got things started just 55 seconds into the game when he got to
the rebound of Erik Sundquist's shot and banged it through Mike Doneghey's
pads. Halfway through the period, with his team on the power play,
Merrimack's Mark Cornforth came in from the left point, took a cross-ice
feed from Wayde McMillan, and shot it past Brad Mullahy for the defenseman's
3rd goal of the season. But just about 2 minutes later, the Friars took
the lead again when Darby fed Ridolfi high in the slot for a quick shot
that found nothing but net.
With about two minutes remaining in the period, PC's Chris Therien fed
Dennis Burke for what should have been an easy goal, but Burke missed
a wide open net by just inches.
Merrimack tied the game 2:13 into the second when Matt Adams, Mark Goble
and Jim Gibson combined for a 3x2. Gibson had just returned to the ice
seconds earlier after spending two minutes in the box. Goble fed Adams
and the result was a shot that beat Mullahy to the stick side, making it
2-2.
At this point, that top line of the Friars really cranked up and fired
off three straight goals, with Cowan netting the first two for his hat
trick. At 3:23, he put in a rebound with Doneghey down on the ice, and
at 9:42, as the trailer, he took a feed from Ridolfi and put it just
under the crossbar. When Ridolfi flipped the rebound of Darby's shot
into an open net at 12:06 for a PPG and a 5-2 Friar lead, Merrimack
called time out. It didn't help, though, as Gary Socha took a pass from
Therien and put it past Doneghey only 1:17 after the timeout, and the
Friars were rolling.
Merrimack killed off a power play and then went on one of its own, and
Goble picked up his third point of the game and 9th goal of the season
to cut the lead to 6-3. On the PP, Gibson and McMillan worked the puck
behind the net and McMillan found Goble in front who shot it upstairs.
Merrimack was still in the game at 6-3, but two goals in 22 seconds
late in the period by Ridolfi and Chad Quenneville gave PC a commanding
8-3 lead after two. First, Ridolfi completed his hat trick at 18:09
when he got to a rebound after Doneghey stopped the initial shot, and
then Quenneville fired one from the left circle that got by Doneghey's
glove. PC had a 20-9 edge in shots in the period.
Dan Millar relieved Doneghey in the Merrimack net for the third period.
Doneghey had not played badly, but his defense was again very poor. With
the game seemingly out of reach (8-3), this wasn't a bad time to give
Millar, a freshman, a chance to see some action and perhaps regain his
confidence. He played extremely well in turning away 12 of 13 shots, so
perhaps something was salvaged out of the loss for Merrimack.
The third was pretty uneventful, with each team scoring once and PC
having a goal waved off. 53 seconds into the period, Merrimack's Rob
Atkinson scored his 8th of the season on the power play to make it 8-4.
Several minutes later, Darby appeared to have scored off the draw when
Millar could not control his shot between his pads and it slowly rolled
into the net, but the whistle blew before the puck went into the net. It
was a quick whistle, as the referee who blew it (Taylor, I think) was
situated at the blue line and from there, through traffic, it must have
seemed as if Millar had it covered.
Cowan added his 4th of the game soon afterward at 10:55 when he put in
his own rebound for the 9-4 final.
POSTGAME
PC coach Mike McShane appears to have settled on two lines who can do
some scoring, such that if one is off, chances are the other one will
pick up the slack. Ridolfi (16-14--30 on the season), Cowan (9-15--24)
and Darby (6-12--18) are all dangerous offensive players, but the
second line of Kramer (11-12--23; played for Team USA in the World
Juniors), Quenneville (14-15--29), and George Breen (9-5--14) is also
pretty good.
For the third time in the last five games, Merrimack surrendered six
goals in a period - but it wasn't the third, for once. My joke was that
the third period came early. It has seemed as if Merrimack tends to
fall into lapses at certain points in the game and the opponent fires
off 4-5 quick goals to take an insurmountable lead. This team needs to
recognize that it must play solid defense for a full 60 minutes, because
during those times when they slack off, the other team can and will take
advantage.
The win was a big one for PC, which was only four points ahead of
Merrimack in the standings coming into this game; PC increased its lead
over MC to 6 points and with BC's loss to Maine, the Friars took a two
point lead over BC and were all alone in 6th place. See my other post
for details on the second game in this home-and-home series.
---
Mike Machnik [log in to unmask] Color Voice of the Merrimack Warriors
(Any opinions expressed above are strictly those of the poster.) *HMN*
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