| Prd | Time | Team | Score | Type | Scored By | Assists |
| 1st | 1:54 | MER | 1-0 | PP | Sami Tavernier (4) | Brett Seney/6, Jared Kolquist/6 |
| 1st | 7:24 | MER | 2-0 | EV | Alex Carle (1) | Jace Hennig/6, Ludvig Larsson/5 |
| 1st | 7:39 | PRV | 1-2 | EV | Vimal Sukumaran (3) | Robbie Hennessey/1 |
| 1st | 11:52 | MER | 3-1 | EV | Jace Hennig (5) | Ludvig Larsson/6, Jared Kolquist/7 |
| 1st | 17:06 | MER | 4-1 | EV | Ludvig Larsson (3) | Cole McBride/1 |
| 1st | 19:58 | MER | 5-1 | PP | Jared Kolquist (3) | Jace Hennig/7, Brett Seney/7 |
| 2nd | 6:09 | PRV | 2-5 | PP | Erik Foley (5) | Josh Wilkins/5, Brian Pinho/5 |
| 2nd | 8:30 | PRV | 3-5 | PP | Erik Foley (6) | Josh Wilkins/6, Jacob Bryson/8 |
| 2nd | 9:06 | PRV | 4-5 | EV | Spenser Young (2) | Vimal Sukumaran/3, Ben Mirageas/4 |
| 3rd | 0:24 | MER | 6-4 | PP | Ludvig Larsson (4) | Jace Hennig/8, Jared Kolquist/8 |
| 3rd | 9:36 | PRV | 5-6 | EV | Jacob Bryson (1) | Erik Foley/5, Brandon Duhaime/4 |
| 3rd | 17:01 | PRV | 6-6 | EV GT | Shane Kavanagh (2) | Robbie Hennessey/2, Erik Foley/6 |
| Scoring | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | OT | Final |
| Providence | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| Merrimack | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| Shots on Goal | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | OT | SOG |
| Providence | 11 | 16 | 13 | 2 | 42 |
| Merrimack | 10 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 26 |
| Team Stats and Records | PP | PIM | SHGF |
| Providence (7-4-1) | 2/6 | 7/22 | 0 |
| Merrimack (2-7-3) | 3/6 | 6/12 | 0 |
| Providence Goaltending | MIN | GA | 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | Saves |
| Hayden Hawkey | 20:00 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Gabe Mollot-Hill (T, 0-0-1) | 44:59 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 15 |
| Empty Net | 0:01 | 0 |
| Merrimack Goaltending | MIN | GA | 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | Saves |
| Craig Pantano (T, 2-3-1) | 64:59 | 6 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 2 | 36 |
| Empty Net | 0:01 | 0 |
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. - The Merrimack College men's ice hockey team held a four-goal lead at the end of one and led by two with just over 10 minutes to play, but No. 10/9 Providence rallied late to force a 6-6 tie, which would wind up as the final, as the Warriors and Friars skated to a draw to each earn a point in the league standings on Saturday night at Lawler Rink.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 2, Providence 2 (F/OT)
Records: Merrimack (2-7-3, 1-4-1 HEA) | #10/9 Providence (7-4-1, 4-3-1 HEA)
Location: Lawler Rink | North Andover, Mass.
Attendance: 2201
Game Duration: 2:42
Rapid Recap
- Merrimack got off to a quick start, exploding for five goals in the first period while limiting the Friars to only one to take a four-goal lead into the first intermission. Five different skaters lit the lamp for the home side in the opening frame alone while two of the five goals came on the power play.
- Providence, however, used the man advantage to chip away at the deficit and eventually got as close as one after netting three in the second, with two of those tallies coming on the power play. After boasting a four-goal lead after 20 minutes, Merrimack's lead was down to one (5-4) heading to the final stanza.
- After starting the third period with a power play, Merrimack needed only 24 seconds to pick up what proved to be a huge goal to up the lead to 6-4. Providence got to within one midway through the period and then drew even with just over three minutes left to send the game to overtime. The Warriors had one last power play with seven minutes left but were unable to capitalize, while neither side would find the back of the net in overtime on the way to the tie.
Scoring Summaries
- Sophomore Sami Tavernier (Morzine, France) gave Merrimack an early lead while on its first power play of the night, snapping home a wrist shot from the top of the far circle at 1:54 of the opening frame. Senior Brett Seney (London, Ontario) set him up with a cross-ice feed from the left circle, and classmate Jared Kolquist (Hermantown, Minn.) also assisted on the play.
- Merrimack doubled its lead six minutes later while skating at even strength after junior Alex Carle (Anchorage, Alaska,) lit the lamp for the first time at 7:24 of the first. Senior Jace Hennig (Port Moody, British Columbia) set up Carle with a behind-the-net feed, while junior Ludvig Larsson (Malmo, Sweden) also secure da helper on the play.
- Providence got to within one 15 seconds later after Vimal Sukumaran tipped in a centering feed at the back post. Robbie Hennessey did most of the work, hopping on a failed clearing attempt in the right corner and throwing it toward the net where Sukumaran finished the sequence.
- Merrimack would answer that goal four minutes later on the stick of Hennig, who finished off a pretty 2-on-1 sequence for his fifth goal of the season at 11:52. Kolquist set up the rush after getting his stick on a Providence shot in the defensive zone, and the puck eventually found Larsson to start the odd-man rush. He and Hennig went down the length of the ice before Larsson dished to Hennig at the back post to make it 3-1.
- Larsson lit the lamp for the first time on the evening with just under three minutes to play in the first with a pretty wrist shot from the far circle. Sophomore Cole McBride (Kindersley, Saskatchewan) earned his first collegiate assist after picking up the puck near the far boards and fed Larsson, who curled from behind the net up to the far dot and beat PC goaltender Hayden Hawkey for his third of the season at 17:06.
- Merrimack wasn't done in the first; after earning a late power play, Kolquist ripped a slap shot from the left point through traffic to give the Warriors a four-one edge after 20 minutes. Hennig and Seney each recorded assists on the play, as well.
- Providence began chipping away at the lead while skating with a 5-on-3 power play early in the second. Erik Foley netted his first of two straight tallies with a shot from the high slot that beat Merrimack netminder Craig Pantano (Bridgewater, Mass.) and made it a 5-2 lead.
- Just over two minutes later, and while skating on another power play, Foley got the Friars within two after burying a rebound at 8:30. Josh Wilkins had the initial shot from the far circle and Foley cleaned it up at the glove side post to cut the Warrior lead to 5-3.
- Spenser Young got the visitors to within one just over 30 seconds later, scoring on a pretty wraparound attempt. Ben Mirageas fired a shot that glanced off Sukumaran and into the far corner where Young found the puck and wrapped it home at the blocker side post.
- Larsson picked up a huge goal for the hosts only 24 seconds into the third period to give the Warriors a multi-goal lead once again. With Merrimack on the power play, Kolquist fired a shot from inside the point that was tipped by Hennig and blocked by a Providence defenseman. Larsson, who was stationed in front of the crease, was able to squeeze off a blind backhand shot between his legs and through the pads of goaltender Gabe Mollot-Hill to push the lead to 6-4.
- Providence did not go quietly as Jacob Bryson's first marker of the year brought the Friars within one with just over 10 minutes to play. Brandon Duhaime's forecheck broke up the play in the near corner, allowing Foley to dig it out and feed Bryson, whose wrister from the top of the far circle found the twine.
- The Friars completed the comeback with just under three minutes left in regulation after Shane Kavanagh scored off a faceoff for his second goal of the season. Hennessey won the draw and pushed it back to the point to Kavanagh, who threw it toward the net. The shot was blocked, but Hennessey poked the puck through to Kavanagh, who charged in from the point and took the puck to the net and went to the backhand for the equalizer.
Notes and Notables
- Coincidentally enough, the last time Merrimack scored five goals in a period was the last time Providence was at Lawler Rink on Nov. 25, 2016, with all those goals coming in the third period on the way to a 5-2 win. The last time Merrimack netted five in the opening frame was in its 10-0 win over Arizona State on Jan. 31, 2016.
- Merrimack had its most productive game in the year in all offensive categories, while Providence was the second opponent to record 40 or more shots in a game against the Warriors.
- It was a career night for a number of Warriors, as Hennig (4 points, 1g/3a) and Larsson (4 points, 2g/2a) each set new single-game scoring highs while Kolquist tied his with four points (1g, 3a).
- Pantano turned away a career-high 36 saves in net while Hawkey lasted only through the first period and made just five saves before giving way to Gabe Mollot-Hill, who stopped 15 shots.
- Merrimack finished 4-for-9 on the weekend against the Providence penalty kill, which was a top-five unit nationwide coming into the weekend.
- Merrimack moved to 1-2-3 when scoring first this season and is still winless when leading after one (0-1-3).
- Seney also had a multi-point night to push his scoring streak to four straight games. He has seven points in that span (2g, 5a).
Merrimack Lineup
Petti | Seney | Tavernier
Hennig | L. Larsson | McBride
McKay | Drevitch | Irvine
Babcock | A. Larsson | Tibbet
Kolquist | Titcomb
Biega | Carle
Dockery | Kovacevic
Pantano
Vogler
Halladay
Up Next
Merrimack will break for Thanksgiving and return to action with a home-and-home series against Northeastern University on Dec. 1-2. Puck drop each night is 7 p.m., and the series starts at Matthews Arena in Boston before concluding at Lawler Rink the following night.