Daneault scores first two collegiate goals in Merrimack's win over Army

NORTH ANDOVER — Merrimack freshman Ty Daneault had been searching for his first collegiate goal for almost two months.

Daneault came to Merrimack with a lot of scoring on his resume. He scored 45 goals in 66 games last season in the Alberta Junior Hockey League, and he had four goals in six games for Canada West in last year's World Jr. A Challenge.

But through 10 games as a Warrior, he was still trying to find the back of the net for the first time.

Friday against Army in the first round of the Turkey Leg Classic, Daneault not only scored his first collegiate goal, he scored twice in Merrimack's 7-3 win over the Black Knights.

The goal wasn't as Daneault would have drawn it up. It wasn't a pretty toe-drag-release type of goal, but they all count just the same.

After the Warriors won a faceoff, defenseman Adam Arvedson collected the puck and snapped a shot from the left point. Daneault wrestled himself away from a defender, and the puck deflected off his leg and into the net.

That goal gave the Warriors a 3-2 lead after they fell behind 2-0 in the first period.

"I've been looking for it for a couple of games here, and I was lucky enough to get one bouncing off of me," Daneault said. "It's definitely nice to get the first one. ... It's definitely not how you draw it up, but it was nice to get it anyway."

Merrimack head coach Scott Borek has been as impressed with the defensive side of Daneault's game as the offensive side.

"He can score," Borek said. "He also had a huge block at one point in the same and we were able to get a puck out of the zone. His goals were great, but his play off the puck was really good too and that is what really pleased me."

"Yeah, I missed a block on their first goal," Daneault added. "I was goin to make sure I didn't miss another one after that. It's definitely somethign I'm focusing on and it's weird to get used to coming from junior. But it's something I'm working on every day. It's a faster game (in college)."

Warriors respond after early deficit

Merrimack fell behind 2-0 in the first period despite outshooting the Black Knights 18-5.

"They were a hard team to play against," Borek said. "They play fast. They gave us a lot of trouble especially early. We had the puck for most of the first period. We didn't hang our heads even though we gave up the first two goals."

Bookman avoids scare

Merrimack defenseman Zach Bookman was removed from last Saturday's game against Lowell after taking a shot off his foot. There was concern that Bookman might miss time, but he was able to return to the lineup on Friday.

"As it turned out, it must have just hit some nerves because his foot went numb," Borek said. "That's why they wouldn't let him play. But he's back which is a great thing for us. It's the first injury we've been able to dodge."

Bookman had two assists against the Black Knights. He leads the Warriors in scoring with 15 points (2g-13a) in 12 games.

Citara goes down

Michael Citara left the game in the second period. He took a hit in front of the Merrimack bench and favored his shoulder. He did return to the game after that hit and blocked a shot that appeared to shake him up as well.

"He's probably out for a while," Borek said. "We'll see."

Warriors have a chance to win their first tournament in 19 years

Merrimack will play Bentley in a true championship game of the Turkey Leg Classic on Saturday at Lawler Arena. The last time the Warriors won an in-season tournament was Thanksgiving Weekend 2004, when they won the old Coffee Pot Tournament, hosted at the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence.

Merrimack beat Union in a shootout in the first game of the tournament on Nov. 27, 2004. Jeff Caron, Mike Alexiou, Jordan Black, and Bryan Schmidt all scored, and Jim Healey made 25 saves. Current Colorado College head coach Kris Mayotte was the goalie for Union.

The Warriors beat Providence 5-2 in the championship game. Alexiou had two goals for the Warriors, and Healey made 36 saves. The Warriors also had goals from Rob LaLonde, Black, and Brian Boulay.

NOTES: Frank Djurasevic led the Warriors with 11 shot attempts. ... Merrimack out-attempted Army 80-46. ... Hillier's goal was Merrimack's first shorthanded goal of the season and the first shorthanded goal for the Warriors since Christian Felton scored a shorthanded goal in the Hockey East championship game last March.

NEXT: Merrimack will host Bentley tomorrow in the championship game of the Turkey Leg Classic.

Merrimack 7, Army 3
at Lawler Arena
Army (2-8-0-2):         2-0-1—3
Merrimack (5-4-1-2):    0-5-2—7
First Period: 1. ARM Jake Hewitt 3 (Nik Hong, Hunter McKoy), ev, 1:33; 2. ARM Vincent Salice 1 (Ricky Lyle, John Driscoll), ev, 12:38.
Second Period: 3. MC Ben Brar 2 (Matt Copponi, Zach Bookman), ev, 11:18; 4. MC Max Wattvil 2 (Devlin O'Brien, Filip Forsmark), ev, 12:11; 5. MC Ty Daneault 1 (Mac Welsher, Adam Arvedson), ev, 14:27; 6. MC Mac Welsher 3 (Alex Jefferies, Frank Djurasevic), ev, 17:19; 7. MC Mark Hillier 3 (Zach Bookman), sh, 18:25.
Third Period: 8. ARM Brent Keefer 5 (Joey Baez, Sean Vlasich), ev, 0:33; 9. MC Ty Daneault 2 (Alex Jefferies, Trevor Griebel), ev, 5:26; 10. Mark Gallant 2 (Mark Hillier, Trevor Griebel), ev, 16:32.
Shots: MC 18-13-14—45 ; ARM 5-7-10—22
Saves: MC Borgiel (60:00) 19/22; ARM Szary (40:00) 26/31, Abric (20:00) 12/14
Power Play: Merrimack 0 for 3; Army 0 for 3
Penalties: Merrimack 3-9:00; Army 3-6:00
Attendance: 2,034