NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. - The Merrimack College men's ice hockey team fell to No. 8/7 Denver on Friday by a 3-1 score. Junior Tyler Drevitch scored the lone goal for the Warriors late in regulation but the visiting Pioneers denied the comeback attempt from there on out.
The Basics
Score: Denver 3, Merrimack 1
Records: Merrimack (4-13-1, 2-8-0 HEA) | #8/7 Denver (9-4-2, 4-4-0 NCHC)
Location: Lawler Rink | North Andover, Mass.
Attendance: 2,011
Game Duration: 2:20
How It Happened
- Denver took an early lead just 16 seconds into the game, but that would be the lone goal recorded in the opening stanza. The Warriors recovered soundly after that, finishing with 11 shots for the period with a few solid looks on the power play but found themselves down by one after 20 minutes.
- The Pioneers made it 2-0 on the power play early in the second, one of five man advantages called in the middle stanza. Merrimack had three of them but could not find the back of the net either time, as the Warriors still were looking for their first goal heading to the final intermission.
- The visitors stretched their lead to three goals on an odd-man rush from a clearing attempt near the halfway point of the third before Drevitch brought the Warriors to within a goal in the final two mintues of the contest. That was the closest the home side would get, as Denver held on from there to take the match.
Scoring Summaries
Goal #1 (DU, 0-1): Michael Davies put the Pioneers in front just 16 seconds into the game. He collected a puck at the left wing wall and sent a shot through traffic from the right point that found the lower right corner of the net.
Goal #2 (DU, 0-2): Liam Finlay pushed the lead to 2-0 at 3:43 of the second. Finlay put a puck on net from the slot that was stopped, but Colin Staub found the puck behind the net and pushed it back to Finlay for a one-timer down low at the weak side post.
Goal #3 (DU, 0-3): Ryan Barrow made it 3-0 at the 9:18 mark of the third. Tyson McLellan cleared the puck out to the neutral zone from the right wing boards of the Denver zone; Jake Durflinger tapped the puck up to Barrow to start a 2-on-1, and Barrow snapped a shot from the near circle through the five-hole.
Goal #4 (MC, 1-3): Drevitch's third goal of the year came with the Warriors skating with an extra man at 18:37 of the third to get the hosts within two. Classmate Patrick Kramer put the puck on the pads of Denver goalie Devin Cooley from the edge of the far circle and Drevitch pushed in the rebound at the blocker side post.
Highlights
- Drevitch's third goal of the year set a new career-high, while Irvine increased his team-leading point total to 13 by means of his eighth assist.
- Junior Sami Tavernier led all Warriors and players with two blocked shots.
- Senior Michael Babcock led all players with 12 faceoff wins on 27 attempts.
- Senior Craig Pantano finished with 27 saves.
Notes & Numbers
- The opening goal by Denver was the earliest goal yielded by Merrimack to an opponent in any game this year.
- Merrimack saw its all-time record with Denver move to 1-3-0; the Pioneers were making their first-ever appearance at Lawler Rink after the previous three meetings were all played at Magness Arena.
- The Warriors also saw their season-long winless streak move to seven games (0-6-1). Merrimack's last win was at Bemidji State on Nov. 10 (1-0).
- Goaltenders: Craig Pantano (27 saves, 4-9-1) // Devin Cooley (23 saves, 8-4-1)
- Power Plays: 0-4 | 1-4
- Shots on Goal: 11-10 // 5-10 // 8-10 - 24-30
- Faceoffs: 25 // 31
- Blocks: 6 // 9
Merrimack Lineup
Forwards
Gresock | Babcock | Irvine
von Ungern-Sternberg | Petti | Tavernier
L. Drevitch | Kramer | McBride
Coomes | T. Drevitch | Seyfert
Bales
Defense
Heidt | Kovacevic
Dockery | Carle
McArdle | Cook
Goaltenders
Pantano | Vogler | Halladay
Up Next
Merrimack will close out the 2018 portion of the calendar year with a New Year's Eve matinee against Colorado College on Monday (Dec. 31). Puck drop from Lawler Rink is set for 4 p.m.
