Potsdam N.Y.- The Merrimack Men's Ice Hockey team was able to earn the weekend split in New York and get their first win of the campaign on Saturday night, when they defeated the #17 ranked Clarkson Golden Knights by a score of 3-2.
The Basics
Score: #17/17 Clarkson 2, RV/RV Merrimack 3
Records: Merrimack (1-1-0, 0-0-0 HEA) |Clarkson (0-2-0, 0-0-0 ECAC)
Attendance: 2200
How it happened:
Merrimack opened up the game strong nearly outshooting the Golden Knights two to one, and they killed off their only man disadvantage of the period and nearly converted right after the penalty but Ben Brar put the shot just wide only three seconds after completing the kill. Zachary Borgiel also made five saves as the first period ended scoreless.
Borgiel then made a fantastic save to keep the game scoreless at the 3:34 mark, but Clarkson grabbed the lead shortly thereafter.
Merrimack found their equalizer right before the midway point of the game, when Mac Welsher received the pass from Zach Bookman off a turnover and he snapped the shot home to tie the game for the Warriors. Bookman was awarded the assist on the tally, his first collegiate point.
The tie did not last long as Clarkson re-took the lead just over two minutes later. Merrimack once again held the shot advantage but only by one in the period.
Mac Welsher appeared to get his second of the game to tie the score, but after discussion the original call of no goal was upheld, and the Warriors trailed heading in to the third period.
In the third, Merrimack got the early answer as Alex Jefferies started the play and a great pass from Otto Leppanen was finished off by Matt Copponi to tie the game at 2, at just under two minutes in.
As the third period progressed Merrimack's pace and push overwhelmed Clarkson, and their big opportunity came at 5:34 mark when Merrimack was awarded a five minute powerplay.
Tristan Crozier was the man who put the Warriors on top in the game when he scored on the rebound, with assists going to Mark Hillier and Ben Brar.
The Warriors defense must also be commended as they held Clarkson to only three shots in the final period, as well as not allowing a shot from the opposition until five minutes to play in regulation.
Notes & Numbers
- 8 Warriors recorded points in the victory.
- Zach Bookman recorded his first point on his assist on the Welsher goal, and led the team in blocks with two.
- Matt Copponi led the team in shots on goal with seven, as well as scoring the tying goal.
- Tristan Crozier scored the game winning goal and led the team in faceoff wins with 10.
- Zachary Borgiel made 18 saves to capture his first win of the season.
- This is the Warriors first win against opponent this season, their last since victory was last season when they completed the weekend sweep of the University of Massachusetts-Lowell 3-2 on January 22nd 2022.
Stats:
Power Plays: MC 1-3 | CLA 0-1
Shots on Goal: MC 9, CLA 5 | MC 11, CLA 12 | MC 13, CLA 3 | MC 33, CLA 20
Faceoffs: 24 MC | 31 CLA Blocks: 4 MC | 16 CLA
UP NEXT:
The Warriors will play their home opener in ten days, as they begin Hockey East play when they take on the University of New Hampshire at Lawler Rink on Tuesday October 18th. That game will begin at 7:00 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN Plus.
