Hockey Preview: Merrimack returns from the break against Army and Dartmouth
Merrimack men’s hockey returns from the semester break tonight. The Warriors are in West Point to take on Army and will return home to face Dartmouth on Sunday afternoon at Lawler Arena.
Details: Merrimack vs. Army
When: Friday, 7 p.m. ET
Venue: Tate Rink (2,648)
Where: West Point, N.Y.
Watch: FloHockey
Details: Merrimack vs. Dartmouth
When: Sunday, 2 p.m. ET
Venue: Lawler Arena (2,549)
Where: North Andover, Mass.
Watch: ESPN+
Tickets: Click here to purchase tickets
Inside the Numbers
Game Notes
— The series between Merrimack and Army dates back to Dec. 19, 1959. The Warriors have a 25-17-1 advantage in the series. The teams have met four times in the last 10 seasons and have split those games. The latest meeting was a 7-3 Merrimack win last season. The Warriors fell behind 2-0 in the first period but exploded for five second-period goals. Ty Daneault scored twice for the Warriors.
Merrimack’s last visit to Army was Oct. 13, 2018 (a 3-2 Army win). The Warriors fell behind 3-0 in that game before Pat Kramer and Derek Petti scored third-period goals.
— Dartmouth is 9-6-1 against Merrimack all-time, with the series dating back to Dec. 6, 1972. The Warriors won the last meeting in overtime, 3-2, on Dec. 30, 2022. Dartmouth’s last visit to Merrimack was Dec. 17, 2021 (a 2-2 tie). Mick Messner and Mac Welsher scored for Merrimack.
Matchup Breakdown
— Let’s start with Army. The Black Knights have similar numbers as the Warriors, but Merrimack has played the more challenging schedule. That said, Army’s best player has been their goaltender — freshman JJ Cataldo — and he’s been lights out (1.97/.932).
Army is strongest on the PK (No. 30 in the country) but ranks near the bottom nationally in goals (1.7), shooting percentage (6.2%), power play (7%), and 5v5 goals for percentage (39.7%).
The Black Knights are in the midst of a seven-game losing streak. They were shutout in back-to-back games last weekend (1-0 to Princeton and 6-0 to Vermont). Army has just one goal in its last three games and three goals in its last six games. Army hasn’t scored more than one goal since Nov. 22 against Holy Cross.
— Dartmouth is interesting. The Big Green stormed out of the starting blocks and were one of the best teams in the nation to start the year, but dropped from No. 3 in the Pairwise to No. 19 in recent weeks.
Offensively, Dartmouth is fifth in goals per game (3.5) but dead last in shots per game (21.2). This has resulted in a nation-leading 16.3% shooting percentage.
Generally, GF% and SF% should line up. But Dartmouth is 18th in 5v5 GF% and 55th in 5v5 SF%.