NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. - The Merrimack College men's ice hockey team dropped its penultimate game of the first half, falling to No. 10 Providence College on Friday night at Lawler Rink.
The Basics
Score: Providence 6, Merrimack 0
Records: Merrimack (4-11-1, 2-7-0 HEA) | #10 Providence (9-4-3, 6-2-1 HEA)
Location: Lawler Rink | North Andover, Mass.
Attendance: 2,011
Game Duration: 2:21
How It Happened
- Providence potted a pair in the opening frame, lighting the lamp early (3:27) and late (19:14) in the period - with the latter tally coming on the power play - to build a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes of play.
- Another two-goal period pushed the Friars lead to 4-0 after finding the twine twice more in the middle stanza.
- The visitors netted two more in the third to account for the final margin of victory; they netted another power play strike early on before getting one last tally in the final five minutes of regulation.
Scoring Summaries
Goal #1 (PC, 0-1): Kasper Bjorkqvist gave Providence the lead 3:27 into the game, scoring in transition. Jack Dugan set him up from the top of the right circle, sending a diagonal feed to the weak side post for a tap-in goal.
Goal #2 (PC, 0-2): Spenser Young made it 2-0 Friars late in the first while on the power play. Providence worked the puck in from the right circle down below the dot to Brandon Duhaime, who fed young for another one-timer at the back post.
Goal #3 (PC, 0-3): Greg Printz pushed the Providence lead to 3-0 with his seventh of the year at 5:53 of the second. An outlet pass from Young glanced off Jay O'Brien in front of the PC bench to Printz, who skated it in from the right wing and buried a wrister from just inside the right circle.
Goal #4 (PC, 0-4): Josh Wilkins gave the Friars another goal less than two minutes later, going the distance from his own zone to make it 4-0.
Goal #5 (PC, 0-5): Scott Conway netted another goal on the power play for the Friars to make it 5-0 just 2:21 into the third. Tyce Thompson found the puck near the edge of the left circle and fired a shot that was stopped, but Conway put in the rebound.
Goal #6 (PC, 0-6): Duhaime registered the last Providence goal at 15:14 of the third, scoring on an odd-man rush sequence. Thompson again was the catalyst of the play, working around a defender to create the odd-man sequence before feeding Duhaime at the back post.
Highlights
- Senior Michael Babcock led all players with 10 faceoff wins, finishing 10-of-12 on the night.
- Junior Johnathan Kovacevic and sophomore Dominic Dockery each had three blocked shots to lead all Merrimack skaters.
Notes & Numbers
- Merrimack fell to 1-9-2 in its last 12 games against Providence dating back to the start of the 2015-16 season.
- The Warriors also saw their season-long winless streak move to five games (0-4-1). Merrimack's last win was at Bemidji State on Nov. 10 (1-0).
- Goaltenders: Craig Pantano (24 saves, 4-8-1) // Hayden Hawkey (20 saves, 9-4-2)
- Power Plays: 0-2 | 2-6
- Shots on Goal: 4-9 // 7-11 // 9-10 - 20-30
- Faceoffs: 30 // 31
- Blocks: 15 // 16
Merrimack Lineup
Forwards
Gresock | Babcock | Irvine
von Ungern-Sternberg | Petti | Tavernier
L. Drevitch | Kramer | McBride
Coomes | T. Drevitch | Bales
Defense
Dockery | Kovacevic
Cook | Carle
Heidt | McArdle
Solow
Goaltenders
Pantano | Vogler | Halladay
Up Next
Merrimack concludes the first half of the regular season when it hosts No. 13/12 Northeastern tomorrow night. Puck drop from Lawler Rink is set for 7 p.m.
