NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. - The Merrimack Warriors Women's hockey team played a complete 60 minute effort as they scored the lone goal to defeat the defending Hockey East champions, the Northeastern Huskies by a score of 1-0 at Lawler Arena.
In the first, a tentative start from both teams left both scoreless through the first 20 minutes, Calli Hogarth made 6 saves in the first.
In the second period, the Warriors found the breakthrough as Alex Ferguson forced the takeaway and put the puck into the net to put the Warriors in front just over halfway through the contest.
In the third, as the time ran lower, the pressure for both teams to find the game's second goal increased, as Calli Hogarth continued to stand tall, including a calm glove save on a two on one opportunity.
As Northeastern pulled the goalie with 90 seconds to go, the Warriors looked to lockdown the win, clogging shooting lanes including a huge block and clear by Allison Reeb in the final seconds to preserve the win.
Coach Hamlen's post game comments: "I told the team, I thought they played, the most complete game that I've seen, it was fast and we knew that it was going to be fast. We knew they were going to be gritty. We knew that we had to play hard and we had to take care of our systems very well. And I thought we did that from start to finish of the game. So many people played so hard, played through people back checked. Calli held the net, uh, all the way down to the end and, uh, you know, I just can't praise, uh, all those players enough, um, based on just how they executed all of our systems and, and completed this game and (Ferguson)you know, buries it again and she's kind of been our clutch player at times this season and she comes through again.
(On Calli Hogarth's performance) "Calli has come into her own already this season. She spent the summers really spending a lot of time, um, in a deep dive and just getting better and from a physical and a mental standpoint and I think she's a rock back there right now. She's done a great job of staying calm and she's got a calm personality anyway. And I think with her size and her presence, she's, she knows how to control the crease. I couldn't ask for more."
(On the end of the game) "We changed our practice style this year and we've gone to a lot more pace and practice and, and I think that's helped quite a bit in terms of just our endurance during the game, we primarily played three lines tonight and, and so there were definitely was time where I thought we got caught a little bit, but in the end, I thought that our players probably could have played another 20 if they had to, with the legs that they had."
(On the win for the program) "This is a team that has always been a perennial hockey team. I respect them a ton for what they've done. Certainly they're a different team this year just based on some losses from just the players that have been there for five years prior to. So I think that they'll still be an incredible hockey team and, and I think we're always going to have problems with them, but very excited that we could play toe to toe with them tonight, that we felt like we were in this game from the start to the finish and that we, uh, we just kept up and, and did our job the way we knew we had to."
Notes and Numbers
- Calli Hogarth has had two shutouts in her last three starts.
- Alex Ferguson has scored three goals in her last three games.
Stats:
Powerplays: MC: 0-1 | NU: 0-2
Shots on Goal: MC: 17, NU: 29
Faceoffs: 20 MC | 26 NU Blocks: 17 MC | 11 NU
Up Next:
Merrimack heads on the road tomorrow as they face the New Hampshire Wildcats at 7 PM.
