Cranston's last-minute goal powers Merrimack past Vermont
The Warriors earned critical Hockey East points with the win, and moved into a fifth-place tie in the league standings
NORTH ANDOVER — Merrimack erased three Vermont leads and Caden Cranston’s goal with 34 seconds left gave the Warriors a 4-3 come-from-behind win on Saturday night at Lawler Arena.
Cranston was also credited with the game-tying goal with nine minutes left after he tipped a shot from Seamus Powell at the point.
“That’s huge for our team,” Cranston said. “A comeback win like that. It feels like we got the momentum going back our way. I was just trying to get a shot on net [on the game-winner]. The rebound came right back to me and I was able to get it around him.”
The Warriors bounced back after a disappointing 4-2 loss on Friday in the series opener.
“I told the guys after the game, they deserved to win that game because we played a great 40 minutes to end it,” said Merrimack coach Scott Borek. “I had a piano on my back in the first period. If we played a great 60, it wouldn’t have been a game. But we played a great 40 and found a way to get it done when we needed to get it done. That was a hard win to get, but I’m really happy we got it.”
Warriors start slow, but finish strong
Merrimack trailed 2-1 at the end of the first period and were outshot 20-6 by the Catamounts. The Warriors outscored Vermont 3-1 over the final 40 minutes and outshot the Catamounts 23-16.
“Max [Lundgren] was outstanding in the first period,” Borek said. “He kept us in that game. We didn’t have our sea legs, and I can’t explain why, but we were not playing with a lot of confidence or aggression. I really liked our response in the second and third period.”
“We were stagnant in the first period,” added forward Nick Pierre. “We were letting the game come to us instead of dictating the pace and enforcing our game.”
Borek shuffles lines after sluggish start
Borek shook up Merrimack’s lines entering the game on Saturday night. Tyler Young and Ryan O’Connell were back in the lineup at forward and Max Wattvil entered the lineup with Zach Bookman out with an injury following that big hit he took from UVM’s Daniel Sambuco on Friday night.
After the first period, the Warriors emerged from the locker room in the second period with juggled lines, which helped spark the comeback.
“The lines, a few of them weren’t working well,” Borek said. “Sometimes when you shake up lines like that, it gets players going.”
Pierre scored his fifth goal of the season in the second period after the shakeup.
“I’d like to think I can play with anyone,” Pierre said. “This team is really well connected. I think any of us can play with anyone else.”
Merrimack’s power play cashes in when it mattered most
The Warriors power play finished 1 for 5 in the game, but cashed in when it mattered most late in the game when Cranston found the net for the game-winner.
That power play was set up by a hooking penalty on UVM’s Philip Törnqvist. Off a turnover, Ty Daneault was able to find space and get to the net with 1:15 to play, drawing the hooking penalty on Törnqvist.
“What a play by Ty,” Pierre said. “That’s all hard work. He kept his feet moving. That play is a perfect example of how hard he works. That set up everything.”
Griebel has his best game of the season with Bookman shelved
Junior defenseman Trevor Griebel played a season-high 18 minutes with Bookman out of the lineup, filling in on the power play as well.
Griebel assisted on Pierre’s goal in the second period and has quietly found himself on a three-game point streak.
“He has explosive feet,” Borek said. “He moves the puck well. When he’s going downhill, he’s very dangerous. He ate a lot of minutes tonight, for a guy who hasn’t played a lot to this point, so that’s a big shift for him. He was great. I was really happy for him because he gave it all for our team.”
Vermont (11-14-3): 2-0-1--3
Merrimack (13-16-1): 1-1-2--4
First Period: 1. UVM Joel Maatta 8 (Sebastian Törnqvist, Isak Walther), ev, 8:05; 2. MC Caelan Fitzpatrick 5 (Ryan O'Connell, Ivan Zivlak), ev, 8:57; 3. UVM Phillip Törnqvist 2 (Daniel Sambuco, Xavier Henry), ev, 13:19.
Second Period: 4. MC Nick Pierre 5 (Trevor Griebel, Cam Kungle), ev, 14:26.
Third Period: 5. UVM Daniel Sambuco 2 (Thomas Sinclair, Blake Steenerson), ev, 9:35; 6. MC Caden Cranston 4 (Seamus Powell, Nick Pierre), ev, 11:00; 7. MC Caden Cranston 5 (Nick Pierre, Seamus Powell), pp, 19:26.
Shots: MC 6-10-13--29; UVM 20-4-12--36
Saves: MC Lundgren (60:00) 33/36; UVM Mangbo (59:34) 25/29
Power Play: MC 1 for 5; UVM 0 for 3
Pen-PIM: MC 3-6; UVM 5-10
Attendance: 2,031