| Prd | Time | Team | Score | Type | Scored By | Assists |
| 1st | 5:16 | MER | 1-0 | PP | Brett Seney (3) | Alex Carle/4, Jared Kolquist/7 |
| 1st | 8:41 | UNI | 1-1 | PP | Matt Wilkins (3) | Mike Vecchione/7, Sébastien Gingras/4 |
| 1st | 12:54 | UNI | 2-1 | EV | Nick Cruice (1) | - |
| 2nd | 18:53 | UNI | 3-1 | PP GW | Brett Supinski (3) | Nick DeSimone/7, Spencer Foo/8 |
| 3rd | 10:18 | MER | 2-3 | PP | Ben Bahe (6) | Marc Biega/4, Jonathan Lashyn/4 |
| Scoring | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final |
| Merrimack | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Union | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Shots on Goal | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | SOG |
| Merrimack | 7 | 7 | 12 | 26 |
| Union | 11 | 10 | 4 | 25 |
| Team Stats and Records | PP | PIM | SHGF |
| Merrimack (7-6-5) | 2/4 | 6/12 | 0 |
| Union (8-6-4) | 2/5 | 5/10 | 0 |
| Merrimack Goaltending | MIN | GA | 1 | 2 | 3 | Saves |
| Drew Vogler (L, 1-2-0) | 59:44 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 4 | 22 |
| Empty Net | 0:16 | 0 |
| Union Goaltending | MIN | GA | 1 | 2 | 3 | Saves |
| Jake Kupsky (W, 2-2-0) | 60:00 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 24 |
HANOVER, N.H. - The No. 20 Merrimack College men's ice hockey team fell, 3-2, to Union College in the opening round of the 2016 Ledyard Classic on Saturday afternoon at Thompson Arena. The Warriors will wrap up tournament play against host Dartmouth tomorrow evening at 7 p.m.
The Basics
Score: Union 3, Merrimack 2
Records: #20 Merrimack (7-6-5) | Union (8-6-4)
Location: Thompson Arena | Hanover, N.H.
How It Happened
Playing in the Ledyard Classic for the third time in program history, Merrimack squared off against Union in the tournament's opening game looking to avenge an earlier 4-0 loss against the Dutchmen back on Nov. 28 at Lawler Rink.
Merrimack started strong, outshooting the Dutchmen by a 6-1 margin before drawing a power play just over three minutes into the game. With less than a second left on that man advantage, sophomore Brett Seney (London, Ontario) - who was playing in his first game since Nov. 21 - scored his third goal of the season by gathering his own rebound and burying a wrist shot from the slot to put the Warriors in front, 1-0. Freshman Alex Carle (Anchorage, Alaska) and sophomore Jared Kolquist (Hermantown, Minn.) both assisted on the play.
But Union would outshoot the Warriors, 10-1, over the remainder of the period, and drew even about three minutes later after Matt Wilkins hopped on a loose puck at the weak side of the Merrimack crease and scored with the Dutchmen on the power play at 8:41 to make it a 1-1 game.
About five minutes later, Nick Cruice picked off an errant pass at the Merrimack blue line and threw a shot on net from the edge of the circle near the right-wing half boards that snuck in to put the Dutchmen up by a 2-1 margin, and that score held through the remainder of the first.
The penalty kill saw plenty of action over the course of the second period, as the Warriors found themselves shorthanded three times. That would ultimately lead to Union's third goal, as Brett Supinski found the back of the net from the center of the far circle to give the Dutchmen a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes.
Senior Beh Bahe (Stillwater, Minn.) brought the Warriors to within one while Merrimack was on a power play midway through the third; sophomore Marc Biega (Pointe-Claire, Quebec) blasted a shot from the blue line that went wide but caromed off the glass to Bahe, who snuck it by Sakellaropoulos at 10:18 to make it a one-goal affair. Junior Jonathan Lashyn (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) also earned an assist on the play.
Merrimack would have one last power play opportunity late in the third and had the extra skater out for the final 15 seconds but never found the equalizer.
How They Scored
MC #1 | P1 5:16 - Seney gathers his own rebound in the high slot and fires a wrist shot low trapper side.
UC #1 | P1 8:41 - Wilkins picks up a loose puck in the crease off a rebound and buries it back door.
UC #2 | P1 12:54 - Cruice picks off an errant Merrimack pass near the blue line, shoots near the edge of the circle at the right-wing half boards and sneaks it by Vogler.
UC #3 | P2 18:53 - Supinski beats Vogler on a wrist shot over the blocker from the middle of the far circle.
MC #2 | P3 10:18 - After a shot from the point banked off the end board glass, Bahe squeezes a shot by Sakellaropoulos from close range at the edge of the crease.
Inside The Numbers
- Merrimack scored a first-period goal for the first time in nine games; its last first-period goal was against UMass on Nov. 13
- Merrimack also finished with two power-play goals for the second time this season (and in the last four games), as the Warriors' man advantage improved to 5-14 in its last four games
- The Warriors finished with a 26-25 edge in shot attempts, including a 12-4 lead in the third period
- Six different skaters registered a point for Merrimack, while Seney and Bahe collected their third and sixth goals of the season, respectively
- Freshman Drew Vogler (Florissant, Mo.) turned away 22 shots for Merrimack, while Union netminder Jake Kupsky finished with 24 stops for the Dutchmen
Up Next
Merrimack concludes play in the Ledyard Classic tomorrow night against host Dartmouth. Puck drop from Thompson Arena is set for 7 p.m.