Friday, December 3, 1993 at Walter Brown Arena, Boston, MA
HOCKEY EAST GAME
Merrimack Warriors (6-6-1, 0-4-1 HE) 0 1 3 - 4
Boston University Terriers (7-3-0, 3-2-0 HE) 4 3 3 - 10
FIRST PERIOD BU-MC
1. BU1, Jay Pandolfo 4 (Rich Brennan, Shawn Bates), 3:13. 1-0
2. BU2, Mike Prendergast 7 (Doug Friedman, Dan Donato), 12:06. 2-0
3. BU3, Mike Pomichter 9 (Jacques Joubert, Chris O'Sullivan),
15:03. PPG 3-0
4. BU4, Bates 3 (Brennan, Pandolfo), 18:45. 4-0
SECOND PERIOD
5. MC1, Tom Costa 1 (Dan Hodge, Rob Atkinson), 0:41. 4x3 4-1
6. BU5, Pandolfo 5 (Steve Thornton, O'Sullivan), 3:51. PPG GWG 5-1
7. BU6, Bates 4 (Bob Lachance, Jon Jenkins), 14:00. 6-1
8. BU7, Prendergast 8 (Jon Coleman, Pomichter), 15:47. PPG 7-1
THIRD PERIOD
9. BU8, Pandolfo 6 (O'Sullivan), 0:51. PPG 8-1
10. BU9, Lachance 1 (Shane Johnson, Joubert), 1:23. 9-1
11. BU10, Jenkins 4 (Bill Pierce, Mike Grier), 8:42. 10-1
12. MC2, Daryl Krauss 2 (Claudio Peca, Mark Cornforth), 10:24. PPG 10-2
13. MC3, Tom Johnson 4 (Ryan Mailhiot, Chris Ross), 11:36. PPG 10-3
14. MC4, Peca 2 (unassisted), 14:18. SHG 10-4
SHOTS ON GOAL: Merrimack 4-10-10 = 24
Boston University 16--7-19 = 42
GOALIES: Merrimack, Martin Legault (20:00, 16 sh-12 sv),
Eric Thibeault (20:00, L, 2-1-0, 7-4),
Matt Poska (20:00, 19-16).
BU, J.P. McKersie (48:42, W, 5-1-0, 18 sh-17 sv),
Chris Bise (11:18, 6-3).
POWER PLAYS: Merrimack 3 of 9. BU 4 of 8.
PENALTIES: Merrimack 16/38. BU 18/52.
REFEREES: Drew Taylor, Scott Leavitt. LINESMAN: Jeff Bunyon.
ATTENDANCE: 3,539.
THREE STARS: 1. LW Jay Pandolfo, BU (3-1--4, GWG).
2. RW Shawn Bates, BU (2-1--3).
3. C Mike Prendergast, BU (2-0--2).
Saturday, December 4, 1993 at Volpe Center, North Andover, MA
HOCKEY EAST GAME
Boston University Terriers (8-3-0, 4-2-0 HE) 1 2 1 - 4
Merrimack Warriors (6-7-1, 0-5-1 HE) 0 1 2 - 3
FIRST PERIOD BU-MC
1. BU1, Steve Thornton 3 (Jay Pandolfo, Chris O'Sullivan),
19:56. 5x3 1-0
SECOND PERIOD
2. BU2, Shawn Bates 5 (Pandolfo, Thornton), 6:55. 2-0
3. BU3, Thornton 4 (Mike Pomichter, Bob Lachance), 8:17. PPG 3-0
4. MC1, Tom Costa 2 (Daryl Krauss, Dan Hodge), 9:25. 3-1
THIRD PERIOD
5. MC2, Mark Cornforth 1 (Claudio Peca, Krauss), 0:44. 5x3 3-2
6. BU4, Pomichter 10 (Rich Brennan, Kaj Linna), 10:29. PPG GWG 4-2
7. MC3, Rob Atkinson 8 (Hodge, Cooper Naylor), 11:40. PPG 4-3
SHOTS ON GOAL: Boston University 17-15-16 = 48
Merrimack 5--8--6 = 19
GOALIES: BU, J.P. McKersie (60:00, W, 6-1-0, 19 sh-16 sv).
Merrimack, Martin Legault (60:00, L, 4-6-1, 48 sh-44 sv).
POWER PLAYS: BU 3 of 11. Merrimack 2 of 5.
PENALTIES: BU 8/16. Merrimack 15/38.
REFEREES: Frank Cole, Bob Fowkes. LINESMAN: Jeff Bunyon.
ATTENDANCE: 1,022.
THREE STARS: 1. C Steve Thornton, BU (2-1--3).
2. G Martin Legault, Merrimack (48 sh-44 sv).
3. LW Jay Pandolfo, BU (0-2--2).
NOTES: at BU 10, Merrimack 4
This one was over almost from the word go. The Terriers skated circles
around the outclassed Warriors and scored 4 times in the first period
to run Martin Legault from the game, although he can't be blamed - poor
defense was a direct cause of at least 3 of the goals. Dean Capuano
coughed up the puck to Shawn Bates right in front of Legault, and Bates
slid it to Pandolfo for a 1-0 lead at 3:13. Hometown scoring was in
effect tonight, as leading defensive scorer Rich Brennan inexplicably
also picked up an assist despite not being near the play. Prendergast,
Pomichter and Bates added goals in the first, with Bates' being the
prettiest - he converted a 2x1 from Brennan with just over a minute
remaining.
Eric Thibeault replaced Legault for the start of the second as Ron
Anderson hoped the change would fire the team up, and for a short while,
it did. Sophomore D Tom Costa scored his first collegiate goal on the
power play 41 seconds in with a blast from the point, but the tide swung
the other way at 3:51 when Pandolfo banged in a rebound on the PP.
Bates then scored another nice one when the puck took a weird hop at
center ice and landed on Lachance's stick for a 2x0, Bates converting.
Prendergast made it 7-1 at 15:47 on the PP with a blast from the circle.
With the game clearly over, Matt Poska made only his second collegiate
appearance to start the third in the Merrimack net, and he fared no
better. Pandolfo completed his hat trick at 0:51 on the PP, and then
Lachance made it 9-1 just 32 seconds later. Just when you thought it
couldn't get worse for MC, Poska swept the puck into his own net at 8:42
when he tried to pull it in to cover it up, and the goal was credited
to BU's Jon Jenkins. But somehow Bill Pierce and Mike Grier were awarded
assists on a goal that should clearly have been unassisted.
At this point, BU backup Chris Bise came in for what was apparently his
first ever appearance, and perhaps Tony can relate a little more about
him (I think he said Bise was a band member!). Bise allowed 3 goals on
6 shots over the last half of the period, as MC's Daryl Krauss and Tom
Johnson scored PPGs, and Claudio Peca added a SHG for the 10-4 final.
That gives Bise a GAA of 15.93. :-)
NOTES: BU 4, at Merrimack 3
Merrimack followers weren't quite sure what to expect in the rematch,
but they had to have been pleasantly surprised as the Warriors showed a
lot of heart in playing BU tough and putting a scare into them. Legault
got the call again and it was nice to see the freshman goalie come back
with an outstanding showing just 24 hours after being pulled at BU.
The first period was played closely with BU getting the better scoring
chances but Merrimack controlling play for a good part of the time, but
when the powerful BU power play was handed a 5x3 by two bad Merrimack
penalties late in the period, you knew there was going to be trouble.
It looked like Merrimack was about to kill the two-man advantage, but with
just 4 seconds remaining in the period, Thornton banged in a rebound to
give BU a 1-0 lead after one.
Merrimack had a great chance to tie it early in the second when Mark
Goble was sent in alone up the right side, but his blast hit the post.
Right afterwards, Bates scored to make it 2-0, and then Thornton
converted a 2x0 with Lachance as Merrimack was caught up ice at 8:17.
Then Costa scored his second goal in two nights at 9:25 from the point
to wake the crowd up and get Merrimack back in it at 3-1, as McKersie
got his glove on it but was leaning the wrong way and couldn't stop it
from trickling in. Peca and Johnson had two good chances for Merrimack,
but Peca also hit the post on an open net and McKersie made a nice pad
save on Johnson.
To this point, Merrimack had been the victim of some very bad penalties,
with BU getting 8 power plays to Merrimack's 1 - and that Merrimack PP
lasted only 4 seconds. But with 12 seconds left in the period, BU's
Rich Brennan vented his anger from the bench against what could have been
a slashing call on Merrimack's Naylor, and instead it was Brennan who
drew a penalty - for slashing, which was odd since he was on the bench
and banging his stick against the boards. BU coach Jack Parker was upset
with the call, and he was given a bench minor. At the time, Merrimack
was killing a penalty to Costa, but when Costa came out of the box early
in the third, Merrimack was on a 5x3.
And they took advantage of it, scoring just 4 seconds into it. D Mark
Cornforth wound up in the front of the net and slammed the puck home to
make it 3-2 at 0:44, and it was a new game. Merrimack had the clear edge
in play over the first part of the period, but after a questionable
penalty to Matt Adams for charging (he did not appear to have either
left his feet or taken steps in landing a check on a BU puckman deep in
the zone), BU went up 4-2 on Pomichter's 10th (team leader) at 10:29.
Pomichter backhanded the puck into an open net after Legault stopped
two initial shots by Brennan and Linna.
It looked like that goal could have been the backbreaker, but Merrimack
bounced back with a PPG of its own just over a minute later as Rob
Atkinson put in the rebound of Dan Hodge's shot, and it was 4-3. Merrimack
had a great chance to tie with six and a half minutes left, but the
snakebitten Peca hit the crossbar after Cornforth had walked in from the
point and slid it across to him. Merrimack killed yet another penalty
late in the game and tried to get the puck up ice so Legault could be
pulled for an extra attacker, but the Terriers did a masterful job of
keeping the puck deep in the zone and Legault was never able to come out.
FINAL NOTES
The way Merrimack bounced back after the 10-4 thrashing was very
encouraging, especially with all the freshmen the Warriors have in the
lineup. They put more pressure on McKersie, and he almost buckled a few
times - but in the end, he made the saves he had to. The defense did a
much better job of clearing the puck (BU actually had more shots in the
2nd game) and Legault responded with one of his better performances of
the year. Things could be interesting the next time these two teams
meet in the second half.
BU looked like a HE and national championship contender this weekend,
that's for sure. While McKersie is a more than capable backup, their
chances will be increased when Derek Herlofsky returns from the
shoulder injury he suffered last week in practice. BU's defense has to
be among the best in DivI. In fact, it's so deep that Dan Donato, who
played all last season on D, has been converted to LW. Brennan and
O'Sullivan are outstanding, and Linna didn't look TOO bad this weekend :-)
(right, Tony?). And freshmen Johnson and Coleman were steady and are
sure to be very good when they develop further. Up front, well, when you
have Mike Prendergast (8-5--13) centering your third line, you clearly
have some scoring depth. All of the Terriers' top 3 lines are threats,
and the fourth line is a good checking line in the typical Terriers' mold.
Bates, the best of the frosh, is a pure gun and deserves his spot on
the top line with Pandolfo and Thornton.
Keep in mind that BU skated only three seniors this weekend, and they
had a combined total of only 6 goals. Barring defections, this team will
be a national championship contender for a couple of years to come, at
least (if not forever!).
Merrimack closes out the first semester by hosting Providence on
Wednesday. BU travels to Brown that night for an ECAC-HE clash of two
teams that seem to be playing pretty well. That PC-MC game will be on
NESN.
--- ---
Mike Machnik [log in to unmask]
Cabletron Systems, Inc. *HMM* 11/13/93
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