2016-17 MERRIMACK COLLEGE MEN’S ICE HOCKEY GAME #35 2017 Hockey East Tournament Opening Round // Game 1 MERRIMACK COLLEGE WARRIORS UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE WILDCATS Friday, March 3, 2017 • 7:00 p.m. • Lawler Rink (2,549) • North Andover, Mass. (14-14-6, 8-8-6 HEA) Webcast: MerrimackAthletics.TV (Pack Network) • Radio: WMCK (John Leahy & Mike Machnik) (12-17-5, 7-11-4 HEA) SETTING THE STAGE 2016-17 SCHEDULE/RESULTS 14-14-6 (8-8-6 HEA) DROP THE PUCK » After finishing seventh in the league’s regular season standings for the second year in a row, OCTOBER (3-4-1) the Merrimack College men’s ice hockey team opens up the postseason with a Hockey East Sat. 1 NEW BRUNSWICK (EX.) .... W, 5-3 Tournament Opening Round matchup against the University of New Hampshire starting on Friday Sun. 9 SACRED HEART .............L, 2-1 night at Lawler Rink. Puck drop for all three nights is set for 7 p.m. @MerrimackMIH Fri. 14 at #RV/-- Clarkson ..........L, 4-0 Sat. 15 at #15/RV St. Lawrence ..... L, 4-1 ALL-TIME VS. NEW HAMPSHIRE Fri. 21 COLGATE ! ................. W, 4-3 » Meeting for the 106th time since 1960 this weekend, New Hampshire has fared well in the all-time Sat. 22 COLGATE ! (FCS ATLANTIC). W, 5-2 series against Merrimack, as the Warriors own just a 22-72-11 mark against the Wildcats. Tue. 25 #8/8 BOSTON COLLEGE* ..T, 2-2 (OT) » In the regular season, UNH took 3-of-4 points with a win and a tie on home ice, as Merrimack Fri. 28 #RV/-- CORNELL .......... W, 3-2 dropped a 6-2 decision on Oct. 29 and skated to a 3-3 tie against the Wildcats. Sat. 29 at New Hampshire * .........L, 6-2 » At home, the Warriors have gone just 12-27-7, including a 2-2-1 mark last year. » After the regular season results, Merrimack is now 9-45-3 all-time on the road against the NOVEMBER (3-2-2) Wildcats, including a 6-28-3 record at the Whittemore Center. Fri. 4 MERCYHURST ..............W, 5-1 » The Warriors hosted all five games against the Wildcats last season, including a best-of-three Sat. 5 at #15/14 Providence * . T, 2-2 (OT) postseason series in the Hockey East Tournament Opening Round. Fri. 11 MASSACHUSETTS * .........L, 3-1 » In that postseason series, the Warriors rallied from down a game to win back-to-back contests – Sun. 13 at New Hampshire * ....T, 3-3 (OT) including a 3-2 win in double overtime to keep the series alive – to take the series and advance to Sat. 18 at #RV/-- Wisconsin ........L, 3-2 the league tournament’s quarterfinal round. Sat. 19 at #RV/-- Wisconsin .......W, 2-0 » Merrimack and UNH have met 12 times in the postseason, and Merrimack is 3-9-0 in that span. Fri. 25 #RV/RV PROVIDENCE ..... W, 5-2 Game #35 vs. New Hampshire CAT TALES DECEMBER (1-3-0) » New Hampshire finished the regular season ranked 10th in the league standings and has trudged Fri. 10 at #9/7 UMass Lowell * ..... L, 4-1 through a difficult second half that featured only four wins in 17 games (4-10-3). Sat. 11 #9/7 UMASS LOWELL * .....L, 5-1 » The Wildcats’ last regular season win was a 4-2 victory on the road against Vermont on Feb. 10; Wed. 28 vs. Colo. College $ ...........L, 3-0 they closed out the regular season on a five-game winless stretch (0-4-1). Thu. 29 vs. Northern Michigan $ ...W, 4-2 » UNH boasts an impressive offense headlined by senior Tyler Kelleher, who is the nation’s top scor- er in terms of points per game (1.74) and assists per game (1.09), and he also ranks ninth national- JANUARY (3-4-0) ly in goals per game (0.65). His scoring line is an impressive 22-37--59. Sat. 7 #RV/-- CORNELL ............L, 1-0 » Junior forward Michael McNicholas ranks second on the team in scoring with a 11-27--38 line, Fri. 13 #13/13 NOTRE DAME * ......L, 2-1 while junior Jason Salvaggio has potted 21 goals, second-most on the squad, and 33 total points. Sat. 14 #13/13 NOTRE DAME * .... W, 4-2 » The Wildcats have also generated plenty of offense from the blue line, as senior defenseman Fri. 20 at Northeastern * ........... L, 4-1 Matias Cleland ranks third nationally in points per game from defensemen (1.00 / 2-22--34) and Sat. 21 NORTHEASTERN * ..........L, 4-2 third on the team in overall scoring. Tue. 24 #1/2 BOSTON U. * ..........W, 3-1 » Finally, freshman Patrick Grasso finished the regular season with 28 points (17g, 11a). Fri. 27 at #1/2 Boston U. * ..........W, 4-1 » Kelleher ranks fourth nationally with 12 power play goals, while McNicholas and Grasso both rank tied for eighth in that category with nine power play strikes. www.MerrimackAthletics.com FEBRUARY (4-1-3) » Overall, the Wildcats have 11 double-digit scorers and 17 different goal-scorers. Fri. 3 CONNECTICUT * .......T, 2-2 (OT) » Junior Daniel Tirone is UNH’s primary goaltender; in 32 starts, he has gone 12-15-5 with a 3.01 Sat. 4 at Connecticut * ........T, 2-2 (OT) goals-against average and a .908 save percentage. Fri. 10 at #7/7 Boston College * (NESN/ASN) W, 6-3 » UNH ranks 14th nationally in scoring offense (3.21) and 52nd in defense (3.47); its special teams Tue. 14 at Massachusetts * .........W, 3-0 feature the seventh-best power play (22.8) and 44th-ranked penalty kill (80.0). Fri. 17 MAINE * .............. W, 4-3 (OT) » Tue. 18 MAINE * ...............T, 4-4 (OT) Head coach Dick Umile, who is in his 27th season behind the bench at New Hampshire, brought in Fri. 24 at #15/17 Vermont * .........L, 3-1 a 575-338-104 all-time record into this season. Sat. 25 at #15/17 Vermont * ....... W, 3-2 UP NEXT » Merrimack and UNH return to the ice for Game 2 on Saturday night at Lawler Rink at 7 p.m. MARCH (0-0-0) Fri. 3 NEW HAMPSHIRE % ........7 p.m. Sat. 4 NEW HAMPSHIRE % ........7 p.m. LAST TIME OUT: SENEY LEADS MERRIMACK PAST #15/17 VERMONT, 3-2 » Sun. 5 NEW HAMPSHIRE % ........7 p.m. Junior forward Brett Seney broke a 2-2 tie with under seven minutes to play to lead Merrimack 10-12 HEA Tourn. Quarterfinals % ....TBA past No. 15/17 Vermont, 3-2, in both teams’ regular season finale last Saturday. Fri. 17 HEA Tourn. Semifinals ^ ......TBA » Merrimack hopped out to a quick break after sophomore Derek Petti scored 2:14 into the game. Sat. 18 HEA Tourn. Championship ^ ...TBA » Vermont’s response came off the stick of Jarrid Privitera at the six-minute mark, but junior Jace Hennig netted his eighth of the season at 12:49 to give the Warriors the lead back. * = Hockey East Game | ! = Homecoming Weekend » The Catamounts responded on their second power play of the period to lock things up at 2-2. $ = Florida College Hockey Classic (Estero, Fla.) » Things calmed down from an offensive standpoint in the middle stanza, as neither side found the % = HEA Tournament Opening Round/Quarterfinals (Best-of-3) back of the net. Merrimack had the better of the chances and the only power play of the period, but ^ = TD Garden (Boston, Mass.) the game remained deadlocked at 2-2 heading to the third. HOME GAMES AT LAWLER RINK IN CAPS » With the score still tied late in regulation, it was Seney who came through in the clutch, beating ALL TIMES EASTERN AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE UVM goaltender Stefanos Lekkas with a wrist shot from the far circle to push the Warriors in front. Media Relations Contact: Chris Aliano » Nearly four minutes later, the Catamounts appeared to draw even, but the hosts’ would-be goal Email: [email protected] was deemed illegal due to interference with the goaltender, and Merrimack held on from there on Phone: 978-837-3472 (O) // 973-632-1342 (C) out to earn the weekend split. 2016-17 Merrimack College Men’s Ice Hockey 2016-17 HEA/National Rankings 2016-17 SCORING LEADERS 2016-17 GOALTENDING LEADERS GOALS ...............................HAMPUS GUSTAFSSON (14) GP ...................... COLLIN DELIA/DREW VOGLER (18) Scoring Offense: 2.47/game (11th/46th) ASSISTS .....................................BRETT SENEY (19) GAA.........................................COLLIN DELIA (2.17)* Scoring Defense: 2.56/game (5th/18th) POINTS ........................................ BRETT SENEY (29) SAVES .........................................COLLIN DELIA (471) Power Play: 14.6% (10th/44th) PIM ..............................HAMPUS GUSTAFSSON (43) SAVE PCT ............................... COLLIN DELIA (.927)* PPG .................................HAMPUS GUSTAFSSON (5) WINS ...............................................COLLIN DELIA (8) Penalty Kill: 79.0% (12th/47th) SHG ................. BABCOCK/GUSTAFSSON/IRVINE (1) HUTOUTS OLLIN ELIA Special Teams Net: -11/46.4% (11th/52nd) GWG ............................................. BRETT SENEY (6) S .......................................C D (2) MINUTES ..........................DREW VOGLER (1023:22) Penalty Minutes: 12.3/game (7th/36th) +/- ...............................................BRETT SENEY (+11) * = (Min. 33% Team Minutes Played) SOG ...................................... SAMI TAVERNIER (95) 1 2016-17 MERRIMACK COLLEGE MEN’S ICE HOCKEY SERIES HISTORY VS. NEW HAMPSHIRE NOTES & NOTABLES FIRST MEETING: ...........................Jan. 16, 1960 (A) (L, 3-2) TOURNEY TIME » Merrimack is making its 22nd appearance in the Hockey East LAST MEETING: .................................Nov. 13, 2016 (A) (T, 3-3) Tournament and 23rd Division I postseason appearance all-time. » The Warriors qualified for the NCAA Tournament when it was still com- SERIES RECORD: .......................Merrimack trails, 22-72-11 peting as an independent squad in the 1988 postseason, and then again in the 2010-11 campaign (2-3 all-time NCAA Tournament record).