Merrimack Men's Hockey All Quarter Century Team
Now that we’ve turned the calendar to 2026, it’s a fitting time to reflect on the last 25 years of Merrimack men’s hockey.
Around the end of the calendar year, a popular exercise on outlets like The Athletic and elsewhere is the unveiling of an “All Quarter Century Team.” I decided to do the same for Merrimack men’s hockey. I’ve watched nearly every game during this era and was in attendance for approximately 85–90 percent of them.
Players whose careers started with the 2000–01 season through the 2024–25 season were taken into consideration. Again, these are my picks.
Quarter Century First Team
(F) Stephane Da Costa (2009–11)
Da Costa produced the most prolific offensive numbers of any player in the program’s Hockey East era, averaging 1.32 points per game with 90 points in 67 contests. In 2009–10, he was named the Tim Taylor Award recipient as the nation’s Rookie of the Year.
During that span, Merrimack’s overall leading scorer was Chris Barton, who finished with 119 points. Da Costa was on pace for a 180-point, four-year career before signing with the Ottawa Senators following his sophomore season.
(F) Chris Barton (2007–11)
As noted above, Barton stands as the leading point producer of this period, recording 48 goals and 71 assists for 119 points in 141 games. Much of that offense came while the Warriors were among the lowest-scoring teams in Hockey East, underscoring his importance to the lineup.
(F) Mike Collins (2010–14)
Collins led all players from this era with 53 goals and finished second behind Barton with 118 points (53 goals, 65 assists) in 138 career games. At the time, he was one of Merrimack’s biggest local recruits, having played high school hockey at Catholic Memorial.
(D) Bryan Schmidt (2002–06)
Schmidt still owns the Merrimack career record for goals by a defenseman (34). Over four seasons with the Warriors, he served as a two-year captain and totaled 90 points in 134 games, the highest point total by a defenseman in this period.
(D) Declan Carlile (2019–22)
From a points-per-game perspective, Carlile matched Schmidt with a 0.67 average, finishing his career with 56 points in 83 games. His 13 goals rank fifth among defensemen during this period, despite playing just three seasons—every defenseman ahead of him logged four. Carlile also tied Jared Kolquist for the most blocked shots in this span (198), despite playing one fewer season.
(G) Joe Cannata (2008–12)
Cannata made more appearances than any goaltender in the past 25 years, skating in 122 games — well ahead of the next closest, Zachary Borgiel (71). He posted a .915 save percentage and remains the only goaltender in Merrimack’s Hockey East era with more wins than losses (59–46–16). Cannata backstopped the Warriors to the NCAA Tournament in 2011 and nearly carried them back again in 2012.
Quarter Century Second Team
(F) Brett Seney (2014–18)
Seney ranks third among forwards from this period with 115 points (42 goals, 73 assists) in 139 career games.
(F) Alex Jefferies (2020–24)
Jefferies sits fourth in goals (41) and fifth in points (97) over this span, despite playing fewer games than many peers on the leaderboard. His freshman season was limited to just 18 games due to COVID.
He finished one point behind Jesse Todd, despite appearing in 33 fewer games.
(F) Marco Rosa (2001–05)
Rosa concluded his Merrimack career with 97 points in 135 games and served as a two-year captain. He was an important early recruit in the Chris Serino era, having come to Merrimack in his draft year and earning a selection by the Dallas Stars.
(D) Karl Stollery (2008–12)
Stollery ranks second among defensemen in points (83) during this period and posted the best plus-minus rating at +21. We don’t have time on ice data from his time with the Warriors, but I’d be willing to bet he average 25-30 minutes per night.
(D) Jordan Heywood (2010–14)
Heywood finished third among defensemen in this era with 65 points (14 goals, 51 assists) in 147 games. He also wore a letter in three out of his four seasons, first donning an “A” on his shirt his sophomore season.
(G) Rasmus Tirronen (2012–15)
Tirronen owns the best career save percentage of any goaltender over this 25-year stretch (.918). He backstopped the Warriors to a win in the 2015 Hockey East First Round, highlighted by what is believed to be a modern program record of 63 saves in Game 2 of that series.
Tirronen accounts for three of the top four single-game save totals from this period, and four of the top six overall. He recorded 50 or more saves on three occasions.
Because this is a Quarter Century Team, consideration was cut off at last season (2024–25). Had the current season been included, Max Lundgren would have warranted strong consideration. He carries the same career save percentage as Cannata (.915). While Tirronen holds a slight edge statistically, Lundgren has played in an era with increased scoring compared to Tirronen’s time.
Merrimack’s Quarter Century Top Five Teams
2010-11
Head Coach: Mark Dennehy
Record: 25-10-4
Reached the HEA Championship Game and NCAA Tournament
2022-23
Head Coach: Scott Borek
Record: 23-14-1
Reached the HEA Championship Game and NCAA Tournament2011-12
Head Coach: Mark Dennehy
Record: 18-12-7
Lost in the HEA Quarterfinals to Maine, Finished #17 in the Pairwise2021-22
Head Coach: Scott Borek
Won the HEA First Round, Lost in the HEA Quarterfinals to Lowell, Finished #22 in the Pairwise2014-15
Head Coach: Mark Dennehy
Record: 16-18-4
Beat Northeastern in the HEA First Round, Lost to BU in the HEA Quarterfinals
Great stuff Mike! That’10-‘11 team was terrific! Do I remember correctly that Barton was injured for the HE Final? Kyle Bigos, Ryan Flanagan were also key contributors. They were really unfortunate in the regional against Notre Dame. Dominated OT but ND got a chance and buried it. Thought I’d be making a trip to Tampa that year!