Game Report: Warriors fall short in season opener
River Hawks beat up the Warriors on the forecheck, and the scoresheet
LOWELL — The Merrimack Warriors opened their 2025-26 campaign on a sour note Friday night, dropping a 4-0 decision to UMass Lowell at the Tsongas Center.
The game was still within reach early, with Merrimack trailing 1-0 after the first period, but two late second-period goals — one of them a shorthanded dagger — broke the contest open and sealed the Warriors’ fate.
“It’s our first game of the year, but it was a pretty disappointing night,” said Merrimack head coach Scott Borek. “Our competitive level wasn’t as good as theirs, and they ran us out of the building. That’s pretty disappointing.
“If I thought we stunk, I would say we stunk. We don’t stink, but we stunk tonight.”
The Warriors struggled to match the River Hawks’ pace, particularly in transition, and couldn’t generate sustained offensive pressure.
Trouble with the forecheck
The River Hawks imposed their will on the Warriors from start to finish, hemming them in their own zone for long stretches behind a relentless forecheck that set the tone of the night.
Lowell’s physicality was unrelenting — every Merrimack defenseman seemed to end up plastered into the glass at some point — and the Warriors never found a rhythm in transition. Each attempted breakout appeared to meet a wall of red and blue sweaters, forcing turnovers that tilted the ice heavily in Lowell’s favor.
But Borek believed some of the issues were self-inflicted.
“We know what it’s like when you play Lowell,” he said. “They’re not going to out-skill you. They’re going to try to beat you up — and they did exactly that to us tonight. We gave them a lot of space. I’ve been talking about this game being a rock fight since July, and we just didn’t answer the bell. It was humbling for us.”
Borek didn’t mince words when dissecting his team’s struggles. Merrimack’s identity under his watch has been built on simplicity, structure, and direct play — all of which went missing in the opener.
“We aren’t a team that makes three passes coming out of the zone, but we tried to be that type of team tonight,” Borek added. “It has to be first touch and going north. That’s how we needed to play. We gave their forcheck time for them to get on top of us.”
Lundgren was solid despite allowing four
The final score hardly told the full story for Max Lundgren, who was one of the few bright spots in Merrimack’s season opener despite allowing four goals.
Lundgren was under siege for much of the night, facing 36 shots and a steady stream of high-danger chances from inside the dots. According to advanced metrics, Lowell’s expected goals (xG) for the game was 3.9 — a reflection of just how frequently the River Hawks generated quality opportunities near the net front. Lundgren was forced into several difficult lateral saves and kept the Warriors within striking distance until late in the second period.
“He battled,” Borek said. “I was disappointed for him because we didn’t play great in front of him. I was really happy with Max’s fight and compete, though. He stayed in the game, and he was getting a lot of work. I was impressed with his performance.
“I think all four of their goals were off turnovers. We made it hard on him. I’ll watch the video, but I think all four of their goals came off our stick — and 15 seconds later, they were in our net.”
Notebook: Faceoffs were an issue in the final 40
— The Warriors opened the night strong in the faceoff circle, winning 11 of 21 draws in the first period. But UMass Lowell flipped the script as the game went on, dominating possession with a 17-5 advantage in the second period and finishing 30-13 over the final two frames. Parker Lalonde (8-7) was the only Warrior with a winning percentage on draws, while Daniel Astapovich came through in several key defensive-zone faceoffs, particularly after icings.
— On the blue line, Seamus Powell led all Merrimack skaters with 22:36 of ice time, logging heavy minutes against Lowell’s top forwards. Hunter Mayo, his partner, was second among defensemen with 18:53. Meanwhile, freshman Nolan Flamand paced all forwards with 18:58, a notable workload for his collegiate debut.
— Freshman defenseman Ethan Beyer quietly impressed, leading the Warriors with six shots on goal in just 11:40 of ice time — a sign of his confidence and willingness to activate offensively.
— In net, Max Lundgren posted a .923 save percentage at even strength (22 saves on 24 shots), with the two remaining goals coming on Lowell’s power play and shorthanded opportunities.
— Merrimack’s power play struggled to gain traction, managing just one shot attempt over two chances — a lone shot attempt came from Trevor Hoskin.
— Defensively, the Warriors’ penalty kill bent but didn’t entirely break, surrendering nine shot attempts (eight on goal) across five Lowell power plays. But the unit did allow a power-play goal.
I’ll be back with a Weekend Reactions column following Saturday’s exhibition game (either late Saturday or early Sunday). That column will be exclusively for TMR subscribers.