Brown gets to the net and pulls away from Merrimack
NORTH ANDOVER — Brown University scored five unanswered goals, including an empty-netter late in the third period, to erase an early one-goal Merrimack lead and roll to a 5-1 win over the Warriors on Tuesday night at Lawler Arena.
In the first period, Ty Daneault scored for the Warriors on the power play. It was Daneault’s fifth goal in the last eight games. However, the Bears took control after scoring a power-play goal with 35 seconds left in the first period.
Nils Wallstrom made 25 saves for the Warriors. Lawton Zacher made 20 saves for the Bears.
This post contains storylines coming out of Tuesday’s game, along with my instant reactions below the box score.
Brown’s power-play goal turned the game
Merrimack head coach Scott Borek liked the way his team started the game. Not only did Merrimack have a lead, they had a sizable advantage in shots early in the game. Brown’s late power play in the first period turned the tide. Not only did the Bears tie the game, but the Warriors struggled to wrestle momentum back from the Bears after the goal.
“Once they scored, it was kind of their game,” Borek said. “Credit to Brown, they played really well, and after that goal they outworked us. I don’t want to comment much on how we played, because I haven’t watched the video, but I thought Brown played really well. They took advantage on special teams and just did a good job.”
Bears find success near the net
Dean Bauchiero’s game-winning goal in the second period was scored within a foot of Nils Wallstrom’s crease. The Bears added goals on a deflection from Mike Cataldo in front of Wallstrom’s net and another tight-area goal from Ryan St. Louis in the third period.
“Every goal scorer wants to live near the crease,” Borek said. “It seems like a lot of goals are scored within three feet of the crease.
“Especially after they scored their goal, we wanted to play a transition game and to their credit they didn’t allow us to do that. They got some bounces, but they got some bounces because they worked so hard.”
Injury updates on Bookman, Zivlak
Merrimack defenseman Zach Bookman left the game with a lower-body injury and did not return. Bookman’s injury looked serious at first, but after being evaluated, he returned to the Merrimack bench briefly and took a lap around the ice during a media stoppage before ultimately being removed from the game.
“I’m not sure with [Bookman],” Borek said. “He went into the wall awkwardly. I think he’ll know more when he wakes up tomorrow. He tried today, but it wasn’t going to happen.”
The Warriors were also without Ivan Zivlak, who was a late scratch are coming down sick.
“Those are two of our best defensemen,” Borek said. “Ziv was going to try to play, even though he was sick, and that says a lot about him, but it wouldn’t have been smart for me to play him.”
Hunter Wallace makes NCAA debut
Speaking of injuries, freshman forward Hunter Wallace made his NCAA debut after missing the first half of the season with an injury. Wallace played almost 11 minutes alongside Luke Weilandt and David Sacco.
“He can really scoot,” Borek said. “His effort is always the highest level possible. He will have to adjust to the amount of traffic in the college game, but he can do some exciting things. It was nice to see him get out there. His teammates were really excited having him in the lineup, which says a lot about him. You saw that when they announced his name for starting lineups, the whole team lit up. That’s unique. Hunter has fought through a lot this year to get that opportunity and I thought he handled himself well.”
Brown (7-9-2): 1-1-3--5
Merrimack (9-13-1): 1-0-0--1
First Period: 1. MC Ty Daneault 6 (Seamus Powell, Caden Cranston), PP, 11:55; 2. BR Max Scott 11 (Brian Nicholas, Ryan St. Louis), PP, 19:25.
Second Period: 3. BR Dean Bauchiero 2 (Tanner Hartman, Mike Cataldo), ev, 8:18.
Third Period: 4. BR Mike Cataldo 1 (Alex Pineau, Ethan Mistry), ev, 5:28; 5. BR Ryan St. Louis 3 (Tony Andreozzi, Nick Traggio), ev, 12:36; 6. BR Dean Bauchiero 3 (Max Scott), EN, 17:24.
Shots: Merrimack 7-5-9--21; Brown 6-9-15--30
Saves: MC Wallstrom (59:16) 25/29; BR Zacher (59:59) 20/21
Power Play: Merrimack 1 for 5; Brown 1 for 5
Pen-PIM: Merrimack 5-10; Brown 3-6
Faceoffs: 36-30 Brown
Attendance: 1,758 at Lawler Arena
Instant Reactions
— The game came down to the few feet in front of the crease. Three of Brown’s goals were scored within inches of the blue paint. Dean Bauchiero’s first goal was a tap-in from the top of the crease after a behind-the-net feed from Tanner Hartman. Mike Cataldo’s goal was a tip on top of the crease through traffic, and Ryan St. Louis’ goal was a tip at the top of the crease through some traffic.
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