Saturday, December 10, 1994 at Volpe Center, North Andover, MA
HOCKEY EAST GAME
Maine Black Bears (12-0-5, 7-0-5 1 HE 1st) 1 0 2 - 3
Merrimack Warriors (4-9-3, 3-5-3 2 HE t5th) 0 0 1 - 1
FIRST PERIOD ME-MC
1. ME1, Jamie Thompson 3 (Jeff Tory), 17:56. 1-0
SECOND PERIOD
No scoring.
THIRD PERIOD
2. MC1, Ziggy Marszalek 1 (unassisted), 7:03. 1-1
3. ME2, Brad Purdie 6 (Tony Frenette, Chris Imes), 14:52. GWG 2-1
4. ME3, Purdie 7 (Frenette, Shawn Wansborough), 17:52. 3-1
SHOTS ON GOAL: Maine 15-12-14 = 41
Merrimack 6--5--7 = 18
SAVES: Maine, Blair Allison (W, 12-0-5, 60:00, 18 sh-17 sv).
MC, Martin Legault (L, 3-8-3, 58:46, 41 sh-38 sv).
POWER PLAYS: Maine 0 for 3. MC 0 for 1.
PENALTIES: Maine 6/12. MC 8/16.
REFEREES: Drew Taylor, Scott Leavitt. LINESMAN: Steve Arnold.
ATTENDANCE: 2,632 (capacity 3,617).
THREE STARS: 1. G Martin Legault, Merrimack (41 sh-38 sv).
2. C Brad Purdie, Maine (2-0--2, GWG).
3. C Ziggy Marszalek, Merrimack (1-0--1).
Brad Purdie's goal with 5:08 left snapped a 1-1 tie and sent Maine
on to a 3-1 win at Merrimack, keeping Maine's unbeaten string alive
at 17. Purdie would add another goal with 2:08 left to seal the win.
Maine dominated the game from start to finish, outshooting Merrimack
41-18 and outattempting them for the game 75-35. But Merrimack goalie
Martin Legault came up with perhaps his best outing of the season and
got great support from his defense in front to keep Merrimack in it
until the waning monents.
Despite a shot advantage of 27-11 through the first two periods,
Maine still only held a 1-0 lead on the strength of a first period
goal by Jamie Thompson. Maine took advantage of one of the few
defensive errors in the game by the home team, as Jeff Tory intercepted
a bad clearing pass at the blue line and quickly fed Thompson for the
goal.
Maine's strength comes from its defense, and the Black Bears seemed to
pay much better attention to checking Merrimack off the play in the
neutral zone and allowing very few Merrimack shots from in front of
Blair Allison.
Maine went on the power play three times in the game, all in the second
period, but was unable to score as the MC D allowed Legault to see the
shots and then cleared rebounds.
Wayne Conlan suffered an injury to his knee early in the second when
he and Merrimack D Steve McKenna collided. He was helped off and did not
return. Early reports did not sound good, but more will be known when
Maine returns home and tests are done.
Into the third, Merrimack was still down one in a game it seemed to have
no right being in, except that the key components of its game (defense,
goaltending, penalty killing) had all performed extremely well thus far.
An early penalty in the third afforded MC its first (and only) power play
of the series, but Maine efficiently killed that off.
Then at 7:03, fourth line center Marszalek picked up a loose puck at
center ice during a line change and went in alone to beat Allison to
knot the game at 1-1, making things interesting. It was perhaps the
one glaring mistake by the Black Bears all evening. Merrimack gained
momentum from that goal and carried play the next few minutes, but
Maine weathered the storm until Purdie's two goals late in the game
which were the difference.
After Purdie's second goal, which made it 3-1 with 2:08 left, Legault
uncharacteristically complained vociferously to the officials, and
during a timeout, MC assistant coach Stu Irving picked up the torch
and really let the referees have it. At first I wasn't sure what
Legault and Irving were upset about, but then from what I could see
of the NESN monitor and hear from NESN's Bob Norton, it sounded as if
the complaint was that Tony Frenette, who assisted on the goal, was
in the crease and/or taking some swipes at Legault's glove moments
before Purdie's shot went in.
However, that was the third goal for Maine and didn't decide the game,
as by that time it seemed like a longshot that Merrimack would be able
to come back and tie. Merrimack would pull Legault at that point for
a sixth attacker, but was unable to generate anything.
WRAPUP
Maine established its strong defensive play this evening as expected,
and it led to them dominating the game. In fact, it would have been
an injustice of sorts had Merrimack come back to tie or win, since
Maine had played so well. The Black Bear forwards did a good job of
keeping pressure on the Merrimack defense and forcing Legault to make
some tough saves. With a lesser goaltender, this game would have been
over early.
I believe that if Maine can continue to play like this, they will be
awfully tough to beat. I respect and admire teams that give a solid 60
minute effort and win on the basis of a team performance with no real
stars. Maine is no exception. Maine has a number of very solid
defensemen, forwards who can make things happen and give the other team
fits, and solid goaltending in Allison. But it takes a combination of
all these things and players working together for Maine to be successful.
That they have been able to do that consistently and win is a tribute
to the attitude of those players and the coaching of Shawn Walsh.
For Merrimack, there were a number of positive things despite the loss:
* The shorthanded unit killed 3 of 3 attempts by the best power play
in the league.
* Legault made some of the most incredible saves of his career over the
first two periods to keep his team in the game.
* The defense pulled together and gave an outstanding performance for
the second straight game against a high caliber opponent.
* For the most part, the team remained disciplined and did not take
bad penalties that have cost them in the past.
Things to work on:
* Merrimack seemed unable to solve the Maine forecheck and start good
rushes out of its own end.
* Forwards were unable to cash in on the few good chances they got.
* The strongest aspect of their game, hard physical play, was slightly
off tonight and this hurt them in establishing sustained momentum that
might have led to more offense as it had in the first game. However,
this may be due to the fact that it was the second game of a tough
series and also that they were on their heels most of the night.
Overall, a good showing by the Warriors with many things to be proud
of and also some things to pay attention to. This was a series that
Merrimack can learn from. They can learn from the fact that Maine
was able to play two good games and dominate play tonight without
taking dumb penalties. To be successful, Merrimack needs to play with
its head in the game and an eye towards the repercussions of their
actions. They can be proud of the fact that they did this and had a
chance to win both games. Tough, physical play and staying out of the
box aren't mutually exclusive. In the past, Merrimack has explained
away its penalty total by the fact that they check hard, but this
weekend showed that this isn't true. Good teams know when to walk away
for the better of the team.
The challenge will be to keep this mindset and carry it on the rest of
the way.
NEXT
Maine is off from HE play until Jan 11 when they host BC. That will
be their only HE game until Jan 20, as the rest of the league will try
to narrow the distance between themselves and Maine. Maine will
play the first two of six straight nonleague games this coming weekend
when they host St Cloud for a pair. They then return home for the
Dexter Classic, followed by a trip to the RPI Invitational after
Christmas.
Merrimack goes on hiatus until the RPI Invitational on Dec 29-30
where the Warriors will face host RPI and then either Maine or Miami.
MC returns to HE play Jan 3rd with a game at Valley rival Mass Lowell.
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Mike Machnik [log in to unmask]
Cabletron Systems, Inc. *HMM* 11/13/93