Colton Goal In Overtime Gives Vermont 2-1 Win At Merrimack
Sophomore forward Ross Colton scores with 55 seconds remaining in overtime for Catamounts

Sophomore forward Ross Colton scored with 55 seconds remaining in overtime for the Catamounts
Prd Time  Team Score Type Scored By Assists
1st 7:04  MER1-0 PP Jace Hennig (9)Brett Seney/15, Sami Tavernier/9
2nd 10:59  VER1-1 EV Matt Alvaro (3)Alex Esposito/8, Ross Colton/4
OT 4:05  VER2-1 EV GW Ross Colton (14)Alex Esposito/9, Matt Alvaro/6
Scoring 1st 2nd 3rd OT Final
Vermont  01012
Merrimack  10001
Shots on Goal 1st 2nd 3rd OT SOG
Vermont  8109229
Merrimack  1097228
Team Stats and Records  PP PIM SHGF
Vermont (7-15-4)  0/3 5/10 0
Merrimack (7-15-4)  1/4 4/8 0
Vermont Goaltending MIN GA 1 2 3 OT Saves
Stefanos Lekkas (W, 7-14-3)64:051 997227
Merrimack Goaltending MIN GA 1 2 3 OT Saves
Craig Pantano (L, 7-9-2)63:512 899127
Empty Net0:140      

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. - The Merrimack College men's ice hockey program and the University of Vermont battled to a 1-1 tie after 60 minutes of play on Saturday night at Lawler Rink, but it was the Catamounts who prevailed in overtime, 2-1, with the game-winning marker coming with 54.7 seconds remaining in the game.

The Basics

Score (OT): Vermont 2, Merrimack 1
Records: Merrimack (7-15-4, 4-11-2 HEA) | Vermont (7-15-4, 4-9-3 HEA)
Location: North Andover, Mass. | Lawler Rink
Attendance: 2379
Game Duration: 2:20

Rapid Recap

- After a quiet first five minutes, the Warriors earned a power play that gave the Navy and Gold their first goal of the evening, courtesy of senior Jace Hennig. The Warriors outshot the Catamounts, 10-8, in the opening frame and successfully killed off a late penalty to enter intermission with a 1-0 advantage

- Merrimack killed an early penalty in the second period to keep its lead. Shortly after the midway point of the frame, however, Vermont found an equalizer to knot the scoring at one-all. The Warriors drew a tripping penalty with just over six minutes left in the frame, but could only muster one shot on the extra-man chance. Neither team garnered a quality chance over the remainder of the period, keeping the score tied entering the third

- The Warriors started the third period strong, peppering the Vermont net with shots. Merrimack was then forced to kill a penalty with 12:18 on the clock, which they did so successfully, before getting a power play of its own at 6:35 after junior Ludvig Larsson was hooked down. Vermont was able to kill it off, however, and neither team scored over the remainder of regulation

- Merrimack's best chance in overtime came with 90 seconds left. Senior Brett Seney sent in sophomore Cole McBride on a breakaway, but his shot was blocked aside by Stefanos Lekkas. On the other end, an attempt from the left circle by the Catamounts was deflected home for the game-winner

Scoring Summaries

Goal #1 (MC, 1-0): Senior Mathieu Tibbet drew a penalty at the 5:53 mark of the opening period, giving the Warriors a power play that resulted in the Navy and Gold's goal. Sophomore Sami Tavernier sent a cross-zone pass Seney, who in turn delivered a feed to Hennig in front. After Hennig's one-timer deflected off Lekkas, the senior pounced on the rebound and banged the marker home

Goal #2 (UVM, 1-1): Vermont's Matt Alvaro broke in on junior goaltender Craig Pantano, who made the initial save on the Catamounts sophomore. Freshman Alex Esposito collected the puck behind the net, circled in front and found Alvaro still on the goalmouth for a one-timed game-tying goal

Goal #3 (UVM, 1-2): Alvaro was also involved in the game-winner. The sophomore positioned himself below the left circle, firing a shot towards Pantano that deflected off sophomore Ross Colton and just through Pantano to cap the weekend sweep

Notes and Notables

- Hennig moved into a tie for the team lead with his ninth tally of the year, registering his 36th career goal

- Merrimack fell to 17-17-7 all-time against Vermont while seeing its record at Lawler against the Catamounts drop to 8-7-4

- The Warriors suffered their fifth loss of the season when scoring first and fourth when holding a first-period lead

- Goaltenders: Craig Pantano (27 saves, 7-9-2) // Stefanos Lekkas (27 saves, 7-14-3)

- Power Plays: Merrimack (1-4) | UVM (0-3)

- Shots on Goal (MC-UVM): 8-10 // 9-7 // 2-2 - 29-28

Merrimack Lineup

Hennig | Seney | Tibbet
Petti | L. Larsson | McBride
Tavernier | Kramer | Irvine
Babcock | A. Larsson | McKay
Kolquist | Titcomb
Biega | Cook
Loof | Kovacevic
Pantano
Vogler
Halladay

Up Next

The Warriors play a two-game set next weekend in Orono against the University of Maine.