WARRIORS TOP MAINE FOR FIRST TIME IN 17 YEARS, 3-1
North Andover, Mass. -- Martin Legault stopped 33 shots and Merrimack
scored a goal in each period to post its first win over Maine in 17 years,
3-1.
The last time Merrimack (6-12-1, 3-7-1 Hockey East) defeated Maine was on
Feb. 13, 1980, also by a score of 3-1. Since that game, Maine (12-9-1,
4-6-1 Hockey East) had posted a record of 27-0-1 against the Warriors in
28 meetings, not counting two Maine wins in November 1993 that were later
forfeited to Merrimack. Maine was the only Hockey East opponent that
Merrimack had not defeated since the school joined Hockey East in 1989-90.
Warrior leading scorer Rejean Stringer (8-11-19) scored with just 30
seconds remaining in the second period to give Merrimack a 2-0 lead after
two, and that was the eventual game winning goal.
The Black Bears entered the game with a three game winning streak and
had scored 25 goals in those three wins. But Maine was stymied by the
tough Warrior defense and strong play along the boards and could only
beat Legault once on the night, a third period power play goal by leading
scorer Steve Kariya (12-17-29) that made the score 2-1.
Late in an evenly played first period, Merrimack took the lead for good
at 1-0 when John Jakopin moved in from the point and rifled a shot under
the crossbar, beating Maine goalie Javier Gorriti (30 saves). The goal
came with just 48 seconds remaining in the period. Each team had a pair
of power play chances in the period, with Maine having the better of the
play when up a man.
Reg Cardinal nearly tied the game early in the second, but his shot
went off the post to Legault's right. Play was again even, but Merrimack
scored another last minute goal to go up by two when Kris Porter stole
the puck in the Maine end with 30 seconds left and fed Stringer, who
quickly slipped the puck past Gorriti.
In the third period, Legault stopped Cardinal on a shorthanded bid, but
at 12:05 Kariya broke the shutout and cut the lead to 2-1 late in a power
play when he picked up a loose puck in front and shot it past Legault
for an unassisted goal.
Maine continued to press, but Merrimack picked up an insurance goal at
18:10 during a Maine line change. Martin Laroche skated the puck out of
his own end and connected with Casey Kesselring, who carried up the left
side. Laroche raced up the other side to make it a two on one,
receiving a pass from Kesselring and flipping a backhander past Gorriti
to make it 3-1.
The game was an exciting and well played one by both teams, thrilling
the crowd of 1,109 - unusually small due to poor weather conditions in
the area.
With the win, Merrimack posted its third victory in four games since
Christmas and won for the first time in Hockey East play since a Nov. 15
win over UMass-Amherst. Maine's one goal marked the first time since a
season opening 3-0 loss at Michigan that the potent Black Bear offense
had failed to score at least two goals in a game.
BOX SCORE
Merrimack 3, Maine 1 (HE)
Friday, January 10, 1997 at Volpe Complex (North Andover, MA)
Score By Periods Shots on Goal Pen - Min Power Play
ME 0 - 0 - 1 -- 1 14 - 9 - 11 -- 34 5 - 10 1 - 5
MC 1 - 1 - 1 -- 3 14 - 9 - 10 -- 33 6 - 12 0 - 4
Records: Maine (12-9-1, 4-6-1 HE)
Merrimack (6-12-1, 3-7-1 HE)
SCORING
1st Period
MC-1 John Jakopin (3) (Rob Beck, Drew Hale) 19:12
2nd Period
MC-2 Rejean Stringer (8) (Kris Porter) GWG 19:30
3rd Period
ME-1 Steve Kariya (12) (unassisted) PPG 12:05
MC-3 Martin Laroche (4) (Casey Kesselring, Tom Johnson) 18:10
Goaltenders Saves By Period
ME - Javier Gorriti (59:57) 13 - 8 - 9 -- 30 (3 GA)
MC - Martin Legault (60:00) 14 - 9 - 10 -- 33 (1 GA)
OFFICIALS: Referee Tim Benedetto; Assistant Referees Bill Jones,
Andrew Hennigar.
ATTENDANCE: 1,109.
--- ---
Mike Machnik [log in to unmask] *HMM* 11/13/93
***** (Part-Time) Color Voice of Merrimack Hockey WCAP 980 AM *****
***** Unofficial Merrimack Hockey home page located at: *****
***** http://www.tiac.net/users/machnik/MChockey/MChockey.html *****
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