Delia Makes 33 Saves as Merrimack Shuts Out Wisconsin, 2-0
Junior netminder Collin Delia makes 33 saves for Warriors

Junior netminder Collin Delia made 33 saves for the Warriors
Prd Time  Team Score Type Scored By Assists
1st 13:23  MER1-0 EV GW Sami Tavernier (2)Brett Seney/8
2nd 5:52  MER2-0 EV Mathieu Tibbet (2)Mathieu Foget/3, Ethan Spaxman/3
Scoring 1st 2nd 3rd Final
Merrimack  1102
Wisconsin  0000
Shots on Goal 1st 2nd 3rd SOG
Merrimack  169429
Wisconsin  7121433
Team Stats and Records  PP PIM SHGF
Merrimack (5-6-3)  0/3 7/14 0
Wisconsin (6-4-0)  0/6 4/8 0
Merrimack Goaltending MIN GA 1 2 3 Saves
Collin Delia (W, 1-1-0)60:000 7121433
Wisconsin Goaltending MIN GA 1 2 3 Saves
Matt Jurusik (L, 4-4-0)17:411 130013
Jack Berry40:191 28414
Empty Net2:000     

MADISON, Wis. - Junior goaltender Collin Delia (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) returned to the lineup after an 11-game absence and secured his second career shutout after stopping all 33 shots he faced, helping the Merrimack College men's ice hockey team defeat Wisconsin, 2-0, to split both sides' weekend series on Saturday night at the Kohl Center.

The Basics

Score: Merrimack 2, Wisconsin 0
Records: Merrimack (5-6-3, 0-2-3 HEA) | #RV Wisconsin (6-4-0, 0-0-0 B1G)
Location: Kohl Center | Madison, Wis.
Attendance: TBA
Game Duration: 2:23

How It Happened

1st Period

After a slow start last night, Merrimack controlled most of the pace in a back-and-forth first period, throwing 16 shots on net after totaling 19 in all of yesterday's game.

Merrimack took the lead 13:23 into the period; freshman Sami Tavernier (Morzine, France) finished off a gritty scoring sequence to pick up his second goal of the season and give the Warriors a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes.

2nd Period

After turning away Wisconsin's first power play of the night, Merrimack doubled its lead off a faceoff play that ended with junior Mathieu Tibbet (Dover, Del.) burying his second goal of the year at the 5:52 mark.

That score went unchanged the rest of the period, which saw Wisconsin hold a 12-9 edge in shots on goal but none made their way by Delia.

3rd Period

Despite playing shorthanded from the middle of the first period onward due to an injury, Merrimack withheld the late surge from the hosts, as Wisconsin - thanks in part to having four power play opportunities and skating with a 6-on-4, extra-attacker advantage over the final two minutes - racked up 14 shots on net.

None of those 14 got by Delia, though, as Merrimack secured its first road win of the season and its first shutout victory since last February, as well as its first victory ever against Wisconsin.

Notes & Notables

Merrimack improved to 1-4-2 on the road this season, winning away from Lawler Rink for the first time since a 6-4 victory at Maine on Feb. 19, 2016.

The win was the first in the all-time series against Wisconsin, as the Warriors improved to 1-2-0 against the Badgers.

Wisconsin finished the weekend 2-for-14 on the power play but Merrimack's penalty kill fended off all six on Saturday and five out of the last six it faced on Friday night.

The road shutout was Merrimack's first since Rasmus Tirronen '15 blanked Vermont, 0-0, in a 49-save performance on Feb. 21, 2015. It was the first shutout for the team overall since a 2-0 win against Vermont on Feb. 27, 2016, and the first for Delia since a 3-0 home blanking against Clarkson on Nov. 28, 2014.

Goal Descriptions

MC #1 (Tavernier/Seney) | P1 13:23 - Wisconsin attempts to clear the puck out from the near corner of the defensive zone, but Sami Tavernier leaps to intercept it before dishing a pass across to Brett Seney in the far circle. Seney then sends the puck toward the net where Tavernier poked it home from the crease.

MC #2 (Tibbet/Foget/Spaxman) | P2 5:52 - Off a faceoff win in the offensive zone, Ethan Spaxman passes up to Mathieu Foget in the slot, who turns and fires a shot that deflects off a Badger and right to Mathieu Tibbet for a one-timer into a wide-open net at the bottom of the left wing circle.

MERRIMACK LINEUP

Hennig | L. Larsson | Irvine
Seney | A. Larsson | Tavernier
Petti | Babcock | LeBlanc
Drevitch | Foget | Tibbet

Biega | Lashyn
Kolquist | Kovacevic
Spaxman| Carle

Delia
Vogler
Pantano

Game Leaders (MC // WIS)

Points: Five players (1) // None
Goals: Mathieu Tibbet/Sami Tavernier (1) // None
Assists: Three players (1) // None
Shots: Alfred Larsson (4) // Ryan Wagner (8)
Faceoffs Won: Ludvig Larsson (10) // Cameron Hughes (14)
Saves: Collin Delia (33-for-33) // Jack Berry (14-for-15) / Matt Jurusik (13-for-14)

Facts and Figures (MC // WIS)

Power Plays: 0-3 // 0-6
Penalties: 7 Penalties - 14 Minutes // 3 Penalties - 6 Minutes
Faceoffs: 28 // 34
SOG: 16-7 // 9-12 // 4-14 // 29-33

Up Next

Merrimack will host Providence College to close out both sides' regular season series on Black Friday (Nov. 25) in its lone game on Thanksgiving weekend. Puck drop at Lawler Rick is 4 p.m.