Harvard beats Merrimack in Friendship Four consolation game

Harvard beat Merrimack in the Friendship Four consolation game on Saturday, 4-2, at SSE Arena.

Harvard’s Casey Severo opened the scoring at the 12:37 mark of the first period but David Sacco answered for the Warriors a little more than two minutes later.

Ian Moore put Harvard ahead again at the 12:19 mark of the second period, and Sacco again responded for the Warriors, tying the game less than two minutes later.

The Crimson added an early third-period goal and an insurance goal halfway through the final period.

“It’s another disappointing result,” said Merrimack coach Scott Borek. “We worked for 60 minutes. Getting pucks to the net has been a tough chore for us, and that continued today. But I can’t complain about our effort.”

The Warriors had to kill almost nine consecutive minutes to open the second period. Josef Mysak was given a major and misconduct for hitting from behind. Ivan Zivlak was called for holding near the end of the majors and the Warriors were called for too many men on the ice a few seconds after Zivlak’s penalty expired.

The Warriors blocked 17 Harvard shots. Seamus Powell led the team with four blocks, and Zach Bookman had two. At the end of the third period, he stopped a point-blank shot to prevent an empty-net goal in the final seconds.

“He answered the bell,” Borek said. “We’ve challenged him. He’s a very good offensive player, and he’s becoming a very good defensive player. When there’s a block like he had at the end, that lifts up everyone on the bench.”

The Warriors will head back to the U.S. and host Alaska Anchorage next weekend for two games at Lawler Arena.