HAMDEN, Conn. - After dropping its last two contests, the Merrimack College women's ice hockey team got back on track Tuesday night, upending Quinnipiac 2-0. Freshman Gabby Jones recorded her first-career game winner, junior Léa-Kristine Demers tallied her first career shutout, and the team saw six points spread among six different players in the win.
Jones, who now has four goals and five assists, got her first game winner seconds after a Quinnipiac penalty; the 12th Merrimack power play goal of the season gave the visitors a late lead going into the second intermission. Senior Jessica Bonfe ripped the go-ahead goal just minutes into the third period, finalizing the score a 2-0.
Getting her first start of the season, Demers was on full display, recording her first career shutout with a 30-stop performance including 14 saves in the final 20 minutes.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 2, Quinnipiac 0
Records: Merrimack (10-3-2, 6-3-1 HEA) | Quinnipiac (3-7-1, 3-2-0 ECAC)
Location: Frank Perrotti Jr. Arena | Hamden, Conn.
Scoring Summaries
Goal #1 (1-0 MC) - Merrimack's power play unit has been exceptional to start the season, converting on nearly 23% of its opportunities to this point. With both sides playing clean hockey, the Warriors saw just one power play through the first 38 minutes. With under two minutes to play in the second period, the visitors were on the positive side of just the third whistle blown and took full advantage. Senior Felila Manu and Katelyn Rae connected with freshman Gabby Jones to give the Warriors a 1-0 lead into the intermission.
Goal #2 (2-0 MC) - Three different Warriors got involved in the second goal of the game, just three minutes after the team's first goal and two minutes into the final frame. Senior Jessica Bonfe netted her fourth of the season with the helper from seniors Paige Sorensen and Emily Volpe.
Notes and Numbers
- Demers's first shutout is the team's third clean sheet of the season; the most in program history.
- This is the first win-loss final between the two teams, with the only two previous meetings in 2016-2017 coming as ties.
- As a team, Merrimack is sitting at a +61.
- This is the second time this season where Merrimack has committed just one penalty; the team has averaged 3.1 penalties per game.
- Goaltenders: Lea-Kristine Demers (30 saves, 1-0-0) // Allison Small (19 saves, 3-7-1)
- Power Plays: 1-2 // 0-1
- Shots on Goal: 5-6 // 9-10 // 7-14 - 21-30
Up Next
Merrimack is back home for the weekend, playing its first and only exhibition game of the season against the HTI Stars. Puck-drop inside Lawler Rink is slated for 2 p.m.
