Game 17 Pregame: Merrimack returns from the semester break on the road against Brown
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Merrimack opens the second half of the season tonight at Brown's Meehan Auditorium.
#30 Merrimack (6-7-1-2)
#55 Brown (4-4-1-3)
Puck Drop: 7 p.m. ET
TV/Stream: ESPN+
Officials: Kenneth Gates (R), Mike Baker (R), Stephen Draine (L), Tim Daley (L)
LIVE UPDATES: Click here to follow me on Twitter/X @MikeMcMahonCHN for live updates all night from Meehan Auditorium.
Game Notes
— Zachary Borgiel is the projected starter for the Warriors. Hugo Ollas isn't listed on the line chart for the Warriors and isn't dressing tonight. I'll check on his status postgame. This isn't confirmed, but I suspect his absence could be travel-related (all players went home over the semester break, including international students). Steven Bacovsky is backing up Borgiel tonight.
Ollas was not injured before the break.
— Michael Citara returns to the lineup for the Warriors tonight. Mike Brown remains out of the lineup.
— This feels like a big spot for Merrimack. Back in September, a Dec. 29 game at Brown felt fairly inconsequential, but given how the first half ended, a good showing by the Warriors tonight can feel like a get-right game to kickstart the second half. At the same time, a poor showing could prove that the issues that haunted this team at the end of the first half could persist in the second half.
This is a big spot tonight.
I'll say this: Watching the Warriors warmup from afar feels like a different vibe pregame. The Warriors were loud, and the warmup ended with a vociferous pregame speech from someone in a huddle.
Merrimack's Lineup
Scratches: Mike Brown, Brady Hunter, Chase Stevenson, Tyler Young, Nikita Borodayenko, Luke Weilandt, Adam Arvedson