NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. — Nick Pierre scored twice on the power play in the third period, and Merrimack extended its unbeaten streak to eight games (6-0-2) with a 6-2 win over Holy Cross on Friday night at Lawler Arena.

It’s the Warriors’ longest unbeaten streak in nearly 10 years, and their 6-1-2 start is their best since 2011-12, when they opened 9-0-1 and rose to No. 1 in the nation.

“We’re happy with the win,” Merrimack coach Scott Borek said. “We were a little loose, but only giving up two goals was a testament to our goaltending. [Linards Feldbergs] made some big saves, and we limited their second chances.”

Pierre tied for the national lead in goals

With two more goals Friday, Pierre is tied with Michigan’s Jayden Perron for the national lead with 10. He’s three shy of his career high of 13, set last season.

Going back to 1999, as far back as game-by-game data is available, Pierre’s 10 goals over his last eight games are the most by any Merrimack player in an eight-game span. The previous best was nine, by Chris Barton from Jan. 9 to Feb. 6, 2010.

“This can’t happen without everyone else around me,” Pierre said. “I’m a shooter, I think the guys in our room know that, and they’ve done a great job looking to get me the puck. I couldn’t be more fortunate.”

Merrimack’s offense continues feverish pace

Merrimack has scored 42 goals through nine games, the fourth-best offense in the country after Friday’s games at 4.7 goals per game.

By comparison, the Warriors didn’t score their 42nd goal last season until Dec. 12, in their 16th game.

“The thing is, we understand that we have to grind to keep getting those chances,” Borek said. “We have a lot of depth of sticks on our team. I think even more than we had last year. All four of our lines can score. That’s really fun. We really haven’t been in that position before. Every night it’s a different line getting us jumpstarted.

“We have a good hockey team, here.”

The Warriors also continue to get production from the back end. Seamus Powell entered the weekend leading all Hockey East defensemen in points, and on Friday, Nathan King got the scoring started late in the first period, while Ethan Beyer had two assists.

“All of our D are contributing,” Borek said. “We’re getting pucks to the net, and down low. King has a bomb. We’re really confident in that group. I’ve never seen our D so comfortable with the puck on our stick.”

King added: “We have all nine D who can play every night. It’s unfortunate that two guys have to sit.

“You didn’t see us scoring five or six goals a lot in my first two seasons, so it’s nice to have some scoring. I think it’s the returners all gaining more confidence, and that instills confidence in our freshmen as well.”

Notebook: David Green left the game with an injury

— David Green left in the first period after taking a hit along the wall and didn’t return. Borek said after the game that the Warriors wouldn’t know more about his condition until Saturday.

— The Warriors had their best night of the season in the faceoff circle, winning 33 of 57. Parker Lalonde led the way at 10-6.

— There were 15 combined power plays. Merrimack went 3-for-8, and Holy Cross went 1-for-7.

— There were also two buzzer-beaters. Mavrick Lachance scored for the Warriors with 1.6 seconds left in the first period, and William Elias scored for Holy Cross with one second left in the second.

Scoring Summary

Quick Takeaways

— To me, the two goals the Warriors allowed mattered more than the six they scored.

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NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. — The Warriors host Holy Cross tongiht at Lawler Arena. Merrimack enters the game ranked No. 15 nationally in the latest USCHO.com poll.

There are some lineup changes on the fourth line. Connor Dale and Jakub Hes will slot into the lineup for Daniel Astapovich and Ryan O’Connell. Defenseman Cam Kungle is also back in the lineup, replacing Keaton Orrey. The rest of Merrimack’s lineup remains the same as it was last Saturday against UConn.

In goal, Linards Feldbergs is expected to start.

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Jeremiah Anderson scored 18 points to lead Merrimack, but Merrimack Valley rival UMass Lowell beat the Warriors 71-61 Thursday night at Lawler Arena.

Denver Anglin added 10 points for the Warriors, who fell to 0-2. He also led the team from 3-point range (2-for-9) on a night when Merrimack shot just 12.5% from beyond the arc (3-for-24).

Jayden Harris led the River Hawks with 26 points.

Headlines

Warriors’ home winning streak snapped

The loss was Merrimack’s first at home since an 83-78 loss to Rider on Feb. 28, 2025. The Warriors went 11-0 at home last season and had won 13 straight at Lawler Arena.

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• Enjoying the show? Subscribe and leave a review.

• The Mack Report is an independent publication and is not affiliated with Merrimack College.

In today’s daily update:

• We preview tomorrow’s men’s hockey game between Merrimack and Holy Cross at Lawler Arena. We have notes, plus a rundown of the numbers.

• Nick Pierre and Seamus Powell were both named Hockey East monthly award winners for October.

• Football is heading to Wake Forest on Saturday for its second FBS opponent of the season. We’ll preview the numbers, and talk a little about what they might get for a guarantee, based on previous data.

• In the notebook, you’ll be able to watch former Merrimack defenseman Declan Carlile if you’re local in the Boston TV market tonight, and Ernest Shelton made his Boston College debut.

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Preview: Merrimack looks to keep winning ways going against Holy Cross

When: Friday, 7 p.m.
Arena: Lawler Arena
Where: North Andover, Mass.
Watch: ESPN+

Tickets: Click here to buy tickets from the Merrimack box office
Student Tickets: Available at the Merrimack box office or through the distributed email

Merrimack hosts Holy Cross on Friday night at Lawler Arena in a nonconference game, the Warriors’ only game of the weekend.

The Warriors are coming off a 1-0-1 weekend against UConn that extended their unbeaten streak to seven games. Holy Cross split its series with Bentley.

It’s Merrimack’s longest unbeaten streak since last spring, when the Warriors capped a seven-game run with the Hockey East championship.

Merrimack has put together several seven-game unbeaten streaks in recent years, including two in 2022-23. But the Warriors haven’t gone unbeaten in eight straight since 2016-17, when they went 5-0-3 from Jan. 24 to Feb. 18, 2017.

They also haven’t opened a season with an unbeaten streak of at least eight games since 2011-12, when they started 9-0-1.

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Thanks for spending part of your day with The Mack Report.

Today’s issue features a mailbag, plus a lot more.

In the mailbag:

• Is there any update on the proposed ban on midseason additions?

• How did Tuesday’s election results affect the college sports bills in Congress, if at all?

• What did I think of the Warriors’ shootout choices Saturday?

• How did Merrimack drop in the NPI despite a 1-0-1 weekend?

• What’s going on with attendance?

Also in today’s report:

• Merrimack and UMass Lowell tip off Thursday night at Lawler Arena, and we have a KenPom preview.

• David Green was named Hockey East Rookie of the Week.

• An update on former Merrimack guards Budd Clark and Kevair Kennedy.

Mailbag: Where do the college sports acts stand after Tuesday night’s election results?

Q. Any update on the proposed ban on midseason additions? — Will S.

Yes. The NCAA Division I Cabinet has delayed the vote. Initially, the cabinet was expected to vote on the proposal during its Oct. 6-7 meeting and implement the policy immediately. That has changed. Now, the cabinet is expected to vote on the proposal in January, and if approved, the policy will take effect Aug. 1, 2027.

That means midyear enrollees are still allowed in hockey (and other sports that span two semesters) this season. However, that will likely change for the start of the 2027-28 season.

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Charlottetown Islanders captain Owen Conrad committed to Merrimack on Tuesday.

Conrad is a 2007-born defenseman who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 214 pounds, according to Elite Prospects. He’s a shutdown defenseman who has added significant offense to his game this season, recording 17 points in 17 games.

Conrad is currently the QMJHL’s leading scorer among defensemen through the first month of the season.

Neutral Zone has Conrad graded as a four-star prospect.

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Mike and Ian talk about Merrimack’s early wakeup call for the start of the basketball season. Plus, hockey talk. Attendance talk, and a lot more.

No video this week — something happened with our video recording. It won’t encode correctly. So back to just audio for at least this week!

Merrimack recruit Jack Good scored twice for the Brantford Bulldogs over the weekend. In his first season with the Bulldogs, Good is an alternate captain and has six points (3 goals, 3 assists) in nine games.

Here is this week’s full recruit report, with current stats for every player committed to the Warriors.

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NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. — Merrimack extended its unbeaten streak to seven games with a 5-5 tie against UConn on Saturday afternoon at Lawler Arena. The Huskies took the extra Hockey East point by winning the shootout.

The Warriors improved to 5-1-2 and are 5-0-2 since their opening-night loss to Quinnipiac on Oct. 3.

Merrimack’s offense stayed hot, scoring five goals for the second straight game, and the Warriors have 16 goals in their last three games. But they allowed nine goals over the weekend.

“It just felt like we couldn’t get stops,” Merrimack coach Scott Borek said. “We were fortunate to keep scoring, but we need to do a better job of getting stops. And if we could have done that, I think maybe the result would have been different. But overall, we want points every game we play, and if we keep on getting points we’ll be in a good place at the end of the year.”

For now, the Warriors have the No. 6 offense in the nation and the best in Hockey East, averaging 4.5 goals per game.

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NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. — Fresh off Friday night’s 5-4 win, Merrimack goes for a weekend sweep of UConn on Saturday afternoon at Lawler Arena.

The Warriors are also looking to extend their unbeaten streak to seven games. Fittingly, their last seven-game unbeaten streak came during last season’s playoff run, which ended with the Hockey East championship win over UConn at TD Garden.

The only lineup changes are on defense. Simon-Pier Brunet moves up to play alongside David Green, and Keaton Orrey enters the lineup as the seventh defenseman and Cam Kungle comes out of the lineup.

Merrimack vs. UConn

When: Friday (4:30 p.m.)
Where: Lawler Arena
Location: North Andover, Mass.
Watch (Sat): NESN (TV), ESPN+ (watch)

Merrimack’s Lines

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. — Merrimack and UConn open a two-game series at Lawler Arena tonight in a rematch of the 2026 Hockey East championship game, which the Warriors won 2-1 at TD Garden in March.

The Warriors shuffled two of their forward lines from last Saturday’s win at Notre Dame. Most notably, Parker Lalonde is back with Caelan Fitzpatrick and Caden Cranston. Last Saturday, Lalonde centered Cranston and Justin Gill. Tonight, Gill moves from the wing back to center between Nick Pierre and Trevor Hoskin.

The rest of Saturday’s lineup is unchanged.

Although it isn’t indicated on the line chart, Linards Feldbergs is expected to start in goal after starting both games at Notre Dame.

Mike Machnik and I will have the call tonight at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

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Merrimack vs. UConn

When: Friday (7 p.m.)
Where: Lawler Arena
Location: North Andover, Mass.
Watch (Fri): ESPN+ (watch)

Merrimack’s Lines

Merrimack and UConn meet for two games at Lawler Arena this weekend, their first matchup since the Warriors beat the Huskies in last season’s Hockey East championship game.

Merrimack is 4-1-1 and coming off a road sweep at Notre Dame. UConn is 3-3 and has split every weekend, with wins over Penn State, Colorado College and Boston University and losses to BU, CC and Bowling Green.

Merrimack vs. UConn

When: Friday (7 p.m.), Saturday (4:30 p.m.)
Where: Lawler Arena
Location: North Andover, Mass.
Watch (Fri): ESPN+ (watch)
Watch (Sat): NESN

— I’m curious to see what UConn does in goal this weekend. The Huskies have alternated Kam Hendrickson and Veeti Louhivaara through six games, but there’s no doubt Hendrickson has been better. He’s 3-0 with a .943 save percentage, while Louhivaara is 0-3 at .872.

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NHL Central Scouting released its Players to Watch list for the 2027 NHL Draft on Monday. Included on the list were Merrimack recruits Ilya Nikitins and Gavin Clark.

Both palyers were assigned “W” grades, projecting them as late-round picks.

Nikitins is a goaltender who is in his first season for the Sioux Falls Stampede in the USHL. The Latvian native had a 2.85 GAA and .910 save percentage in the NAHL last season for the Philadelphia Rebels. Through four games with the Stampede, he has a 3.03 GAA and .899 save percentage.

Clark is also in his firs tseason with the Stampede after spending last season in the WHL. The California native has six points (3 goals, 3 assists) in 11 games this season. He committed during the 2024-25 season when he burst onto the radar of many NCAA teams after scoring 59 points in 53 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite 16U program.

Here is this week’s full recruit report, with updated statistics on all players currently committed to the Warriors:

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