
NORTH ANDOVER — Merrimack captured the Turkey Leg Classic championship with a 4-3 win over Bentley on Saturday at Lawler Arena. It was Merrimack's first tournament win in 19 years, dating back to when the Warriors won the 2004 Coffee Pot in Providence.
"It's a tournament, and someone has to win it, so it might as well be us," Merrimack coach Scott Borek said. "That's how we approached it. The momentum will probably last until Monday, and then we have to start getting ready to play BU."
The Warriors fell behind by two goals for the second straight night. On Friday, the Warriors trailed Army 3-1 before they scored six unanswered goals en route to a 7-3 win. On Saturday, the Warriors fell behind Bentley 3-1 before scoring three straight goals in the final 12 minutes of the second period to take a 4-3 lead.
"I really like the way (Bentley) plays," Borek said. "That's a good team. They bring a lot of physicality and combat ot the game. They confronted the puck all night. We had to work very, very hard to get back on top but I was pleased how we came back for a second time in a row being two goals down."
Luke Weilandt put the Warriors up 1-0 at the 2:45 mark of the first period when he scored his first collegiate goal. Weilandt tipped a shot that was sent to the net by defenseman Zach Bookman.
"Coach always says get bodies to the net and good things will happen," Bookman said. "It was a great tip by Luke. That puck was going about three feet wide, it was an unbelievable tip. I'm happy for him."
Bentley scored the next three goals before Ty Daneault cut Merrimack's deficit to 3-2 when he followed up his own rebound for his third goal of the weekend at the 7:18 mark of the second period. Daneault scored his first two collegiate goals on Friday and was promoted to Alex Jefferies' line when Michael Citara went down with an upper-body injury.
"The first time we put Ty with Jeff (earlier this season), he was a church mouse," Borek said. "I'm not sure if he really believed he belonged there on that line. But now he believes he belongs there, and he does. I thuoght he played really well again tonight."
Filip Forsmark and Jefferies scored in the final 10 minutes of the second period to give the Warriors a lead.
The Warriors held the lead through a scoreless third period despite missing three of their top defensemen. Mike Brown and Ivan Zivlak have been out for several weeks with injuries, and the Warriors lost Christian Felton to an injury on Friday.
"You can make the argument that we are down three of our top defenders going into the season," Borek said. "But the guys we have who are healthy and playing really well and have grown their game. Adam (Arvedson) was very physical tonight and that wasn't his game when he got here. Mat Wattvil, Frankie (Djurasevic) and Bookman have been relied upon. Trevor (Griebel) came out of the lineup and then got the call to go back in and he played well."
Liam Dennison has been a rock as a grad student on the back end.
The Warriors improved to 6-4-1-2. Bentley dropped to 7-7-0-1. Merrimack is unbeaten all-time (10-0) against Bentley.
Bookman continues to put up points
Bookman is tied for the team lead with 16 points in 13 games after he assisted on Weilandt’s goal in the first period.
The sophomore is tied for third in the nation in scoring among defensemen, only trailing Michigan's Seamus Casey (22 points) and Air Force's Chris Hedden (18 points). Bookman is tied with BU's Lane Hutson.
"If you pay attention (to points) then they stop happening," Bookman said. "I just want to play hockey. I'm focusing on just making the right plays and I have good teammates. They seem to score when I get them the puck, so it's nice."
Bookman broke most of the scoring records for defensemen in the Alberta Junior Hockey League two years ago. Last season as a freshman, he had 16 points (4 goals, 12 assists), which were the most points by a Merrimack freshman defenseman since Declan Carlile (22 points) and Zach Uens (18 points) in 2019-20.
He has made huge strides in his game this season.
"I'm not as nervous to make plays," Bookman said. "Coach Borek has given me a lot of confidence. He's given me the confidence to just play by game. I have a year of experience too, so I knew what to expect coming into the year. I just want to keep it going."
NOTES: Matt Copponi extended his point streak to 12 games, which is among the longest in the nation. ... Ty Daneault led the Warriors with six shots.
NEXT: Merrimack will host No. 3 Boston University on Friday night at Lawler Arena. The Terriers are led by Macklin Celebrini, a 17-year-old forward projected to be the No. 1 pick in next year's NHL Draft.
Merrimack 4, Bentley 3
at Lawler Arena
Bentley (7-7-0-1): 2-1-0—3
Merrimack (6-4-1-2): 1-3-0—4
First Period: 1. MC Luke Weilandt 1 (Zach Bookman, Mark Hillier), ev, 2:45; 2. BU Nik Armstrong-Kingkade 6 (Ethan Leyh, Nick Bochen) pp, 5:50; 3. BU Chase Davis 3 (Matt Thomson, Garrett Horsager), ev, 10:46.
Second Period: 4. BU Matt Thomson 1 (Ethan Leyh, Nik Armstrong-Kingkade), ev, 5:53; 5. MC Ty Daneault 3 (Alex Jefferies, Mac Welsher), ev, 7:18; 6. MC Filip Forsmark 2 (Matt Copponi, Alex Jefferies), ev, 9:25; 7. MC Alex Jefferies 7 (Ben Brar, Matt Copponi), ev, 19:06.
Third Period: None.
Shots: MC 8-12-8—28; BU 13-10-11—34
Saves: MC Ollas (60:00) 31/34; BU Grabko (57:40) 24/28
Power Play: MC 1 for 2; BC 1 for 1
Penalties: MC 2-4:00; BU 1-2:00
Attendance: 1,547