Durham, NH- The Merrimack College women's ice hockey team made it four straight wins in the Hockey East Tournament opening round with a complete 3-1 victory over the New Hampshire Wildcats on Wednesday night at the Whittemore Center.
Merrimack (9-22-4, 5-18-4): 3, New Hampshire (15-17-3, 11-14-2): 1
A scoreless first period saw chances on both sides with New Hampshire holding a 10-7 shot advantage through the opening twenty minutes of play.
In the second period, the Warriors took advantage of sloppiness in the New Hampshire zone and cash in as the puck would head to the blue paint with Abby Poitras potting the opening goal unassisted with 11 players in the crease that would stand after an official review.
The Warriors withstood a barrage of Wildcats pressure for several minutes following their goal, and took their chance when it came as Tara Blackburn picked up the puck after a Sage Babey forced turnover and Blackburn would whirl around the back of the net and rifle the shot into the roof of the net to double the lead at 2-0.
In the third period, the story would be Merrimack freshman goaltender Margaux Favre who held strong through the peppering of shots by the Wildcats, including a sprawling toe save on a wrap around chance just past the midway point of the third. The Warriors killed more clock with a late powerplay and Sage Babey put the game to bed with an empty net goal with two minutes to play to send the Warriors into the second round, despite the Wildcats scoring a consolation goal.
Notes and Numbers:
- Abby Poitras' goal was her fifth of the season.
- Tara Blackburn scored her second goal of the season.
- Sage Babey's goal was her eighth of the season.
- Alex Ferguson had the lone assist for the Warriors in the game.
- Margaux Favre made 33 saves to win her first postseason game.
UP NEXT:
The Warriors advance to Storrs CT, as they get set to take on #1 seeded UConn Huskies on Saturday in the Hockey East Tournament Quarterfinals.
