Merrimack out-muscled by Providence in weekend sweep

NORTH ANDOVER — Merrimack opened a lead on No. 6 Providence for the second night in a row. However, the Warriors couldn’t hold on for the second night in a row.

Providence scored two second-period goals, including a Tomas Machu goal with 0.9 seconds left in the period, to defeat Merrimack, 2-1, on Saturday night at Lawler Arena.

The Friars outshot Merrimack 34-13. Providence dominated puck possession, out-attempting the Warriors 64-27.

“What you saw tonight was the difference in our strength programs, period.” Merrimack coach Scott Borek said. “We were tired. They weren’t.

“We just need to get stronger. We need to get opportunities to get stronger. We need to give this team the opportunity to get stronger. With the people we have, if we do that, I know we can be a good team. But we need to do that.”

The shot disparity became wider as the game progressed. Providence outshot Merrimack 27-7 over the final 30 minutes.

Merrimack’s Mistakes costly

Borek felt that a handful of mistakes resulted in goals for the Friars last night and on Saturday.

“A high-zone turnover ended up in our net,” Borek said. “Then we let a puck out of the corner, which never should have happened, and we didn’t block a shot on their second goal, and we needed to have that block. Their goals weren’t hard this weekend. They were off of our mistakes, so that was disappointing.

“But for the 120 minutes we played, I was really proud of the way we played for probably 110. These were two winnable games because, for the most part, we did a good job of controlling their opportunities. We played our butts off, and our guys gave as much energy as they had, given our challenges.”

Griebel moves to forward

Trevor Griebel is listed as a defenseman and forward on Merrimack’s roster, and he has some experience playing as a forward in junior hockey. But, his first action up front for the Warriors was last night after a mid-game switch put Griebel on the wing.

“The player I put him in there for was turning over too many pucks,” Borek said. “I needed someone there I could trust.

“He did the right things. He played the puck forward and kept it simple. I put him in the spot where he was changing positions, so he really had no choice but to keep it simple. He did a great job.”

Lundgren gave the Warriors a chance to win

Max Lundgren made 32 saves on Saturday night and finished the weekend stopping 56 out of the 61 shots he faced (.918 save percentage).

“He was good in all six periods,” Borek said. “[Providence] is a volume-shooting team so we knew he’d face shots. He made some from Grade A, but a lot of the shots came from outside areas. Still, he was kept busy and in the third period, especially he swallowed pucks and didn’t allow second chances.”

Notebook: Merrimack honored the 1970 team

— The Warriors honored the 1970 men’s hockey team before the game. John Power, the team’s captain, dropped the ceremonial first puck.

— Caden Cranston assisted on Seamus Powell’s first-period goal. Cranston extended his point streak to four games, and since the game against Brown on Jan. 21, Cranston has scored 10 points (5g-5a) in 10 games.

— Caelan Fitzpatrick was the only Warrior with a positive winning percentage on faceoffs (12-8).

— Former Merrimack goaltender Zachary Borgiel started for Providence and picked up the win against his former team, stopping 12 out of the 13 shots he faced.

Merrimack (13-18-1):  1-0-0--1
Providence (20-8-5):  0-2-0--2
First Period: 1. MC Seamus Powell 4 (Caden Cranston, Ty Daneault), ev, 17:57.
Second Period: 2. PC Chase Yoder 5 (Connor Kelley, Nick Poisson), ev, 12:31; 3. PC Tomas Machu 2 (Tanner Adams, Logan Will), ev, 20:00.
Third Period: None.
Shots: MC 3-7-3--13; PC 5-13-16--34
Saves: MC Lundgren (57:19) 32/34; PC Borgiel (60:00) 12/13
Power Play: MC 1 for 4; PC 0 for 3
Pen-PIM: MC 3-6; PC 4-8
Attendance: 2,439