Merrimack comes back to beat Vermont
BURLINGTON, Vt. — The Merrimack men’s hockey team got back in the win column on Sunday afternoon with a 4-1 victory over the Vermont Catamounts at Gutterson Fieldhouse.
“I thought we played well,” said Merrimack coach Scott Borek. “They play really hard and really physical but I thought we did a good job of dealing with it and getting behind them.”
The Warriors fell behind in the second period when Vermont captain Andrew Lucas potted his third goal of the season. But, the Warriors scored four straight goals en route to their 15th win of the season and their 10th win in their last 14 games.
“Once they took the lead, that raised our level of play,” Borek said.
Declan Carlile got the Warriors started with his seventh goal of the year at the 17:09 mark of the second period. Jake Durflinger scored the game-winning goal just 3:10 into the third period.
Merrimack’s streak of games with at least one power-play goal continued after Alex Jefferies found the net at the 5:55 mark of the third for his sixth goal of the year.
“That was a huge goal,” said Borek. “We’ve had so much confidence and success on the power play that it helps not only in that particular situation, but it helps carry the momentum forward.”
Liam Walsh tacked on an empty-netter — his seventh goal of the year — with 11 seconds left to preserve the victory.
Hugo Ollas made 20 saves for his seventh win of the season (7-4). Ollas now has the 14th-best save percentage in the nation (.923) and he has the fourth-best save percentage in the nation among freshmen goalies.
GAME NOTES: The Warriors outshot Vermont 36-21. … Vermont won the faceoff battle 26-17. … Steven Jandric had two assists, which extended his point streak to five games. He has three goals and eight assists (11 points) in this five-game stretch.
NEXT: The Warriors return home on Friday for the first of back-to-back games against the same Catamounts. The puck drop is set for 7 p.m.
Merrimack 4, Vermont 1
at Gutterson Fieldhouse
Merrimack (15-12-1): 0-1-3--4
Vermont (6-19-2): 0-1-0--1
First Period: None.
Second Period: 1. UVM Andrew Lucas 3 (Philip Lagunov, Isak Walther), ev, 6:46; 2. MC Declan Carlile 7 (Jordan Seyfert), ev, 17:09.
Third Period: 3. MC Jake Durflinger 3 (Zach Uens, Matt Coppni), ev, 3:10; 4. Alex Jefferies 6 (Zach Vinnell, Steven Jandric), pp, 5:55; 5. MC Liam Walsh 7 (Steven Jandric), en, 19:49.
Shots: Merrimack 15-6-15--36; Vermont 7-6-8--21
Saves: MC Ollas (60:00) 20/21; UVM Harmon (58:26) 32/35
Penalties: Merrimack 2-4:00; Vermont 2-4:00
Power Play: Merrimack 1 for 2; Vermont 0 for 2
Attendance: 2,158