Merrimack College Rallies To Tie St. Francis Xavier, 2-2

Junior forward Vinny Scotti scored a goal for the Warriors
Prd Time  Team Score Type Scored By Assists
1st 5:32  SFX1-0 EV Blake GalCole Grbavac, Ted Stephens
3rd 13:43  SFX2-0 EV Trey LewisTed Stephens, Cole Grbavac
3rd 16:07  MER1-2 EV Vinny ScottiBen Bahe, Justin Hussar
3rd 17:05  MER2-2 EV GT Marc BiegaQuinn Gould, Hampus Gustafsson
Scoring 1st 2nd 3rd OT Final
St. Francis Xavier  10102
Merrimack  00202
Shots on Goal 1st 2nd 3rd OT SOG
St. Francis Xavier  288220
Merrimack  20618549
Team Stats and Records  PP PIM SHGF
St. Francis Xavier  0/3 7/17 0
Merrimack  0/4 7/14 0
St. Francis Xavier Goaltending MIN GA 1 2 3 OT Saves
Morgan Clark (T)65:002 20616547
Merrimack Goaltending MIN GA 1 2 3 OT Saves
Rasmus Tirronen40:001 18009
Collin Delia (T)25:001 00729

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. - Junior Vinny Scotti (Vineland, N.J.) and freshman Marc Biega (Point-Claire, Quebec) scored less than a minute apart late in the period period, helping the Merrimack College men's ice hockey team to a 2-2 draw in its exhibition opener on Sunday against St. Francis Xavier.

How It Happened

Despite dominating the shot chart, Merrimack found itself trailing by a 2-0 margin in the final four minutes of regulation.

With his team down by two, Scotti put the Warriors on the board after burying a rebound in the right side of the net after classmate Ben Bahe (Stillwater, Minn.) set him up. Fellow junior Justin Hussar (Lancaster, N.Y.) earned the secondary assist on the scoring play at the 16:07 mark of the third period.

Less than a minute later, Merrimack was the beneficiary of a turnover after freshman Hampus Gustafsson (Ljungby, Sweden) picked off an errant pass. He fed senior Quinn Gould (Fort McMurray, Alberta), who drew in 2-on-1 with Biega; after a give-and-go feed, Biega tapped in the equalizer at 17:05 to send it to overtime.

In the sudden-victory session, Merrimack generated the majority of chances but was held in check, as both sides settled for the 2-all draw.

Inside The Numbers

Merrimack dominated the scoring chance department, holding a 49-20 edge in shots on goal, including a 20-2 advantage in the first period alone

Senior Rasmus Tirronen (Espoo, Finland) played the first two periods and totaled 10 saves over that span; freshman Collin Delia (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) played the third period and overtime and also stopped 20 shots

Both sides came up empty on the power play, with Merrimack finishing 0-for-4 on the night Merrimack won 46-of-85 (54.1%) of the draws

Up Next

Merrimack opens the regular season on Friday, Oct. 10, with a short trip to Worcester, Massachusetts, to meet Atlantic Hockey foe Holy Cross at 7 p.m. The Warriors then welcome the Crusaders back to Lawler Rink the following night for the 2014 home opener.