NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. - The Merrimack men's hockey team fell behind midway through the second period but were able to tie the game late in the third and win in overtime as they upset the #5/5 ranked UMass Minutemen on Saturday night at J.Thom Lawler Rink.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack: 2 UMass: 1
Records: Merrimack (4-3-0, 2-1-0 HEA) | UMass (5-1-1, 1-1-0)
Attendance: 2,533
Merrimack was unable to cash in on their first powerplay of the evening, as they only recorded one shot in the two minute advantage, but were successful in their lone penalty kill as well. Mac Welsher had two great chances to put the Warriors on the board first but was thwarted by two saves.
The first period ended scoreless but the action was frantic throughout, as the Warriors outshot the Minutemen by a 2:1 ratio (12-6)
Hugo Ollas would start the second period with a spectacular save, moving right to left with a blocker stop on a two on one.
The Minutemen would snag the lead on an unassisted breakaway goal at 3:15 of the second period.
In the third period Merrimack continued to push the play in the contest but couldn't solve the opposition's goaltender.
In the final minute, Coach Borek chose to call his timeout and put the extra attacker on hoping for an answer.
The answer would come in the form of Mac Welsher as he took the deflection on the intial shot from Alex Jefferies and put it in the back of net short side to tie the game at one with 36 seconds to play.
From there, overtime would commence and despite UMass having a heavy possession advantage, Merrimack would weather the storm and would only need two shots as Ben Brar drove past his man and the crease to score the game winning goal at 1:23 of the extra period to complete the win, and the comeback as the crowd of 2,533 came unglued.
Facts and Numbers:
- Mac Welsher scored his third goal of the season and maintains his point a game pace with seven points in seven games
- Ben Brar also scored his third of the season and his first game winning goal of the campaign
- Slava Demin and Alex Jefferies each had an assist.
- Hugo Ollas made 18 saves and recorded the secondary assist on the overtime winner.
- This is the seventh straight game between these two teams that has been decided in overtime, four have ended in overtime.
- This is Merrimack's second win over a ranked opponent this season, with the first coming in their victory at Clarkson on 10/8.
Stats:
Power Plays: MC 1-3 | UMass 0-1
Shots on Goal: MC 12, UMass 6| MC 8, UMass 5 | MC 5, UMass 15| MC 34, UMass 19
Faceoffs: 30 MC | 34 UMass Blocks: 12 MC | 8 UMass
UP NEXT:
The Warriors have a quick turnaround as they will get set to face the Boston College Eagles next week with that game happening on Thursday November 3rd at Lawler Rink. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. and the game can be seen on ESPN Plus.
