Ollas makes a career-high 46 saves in Merrimack's 2-1 win over Providence

NORTH ANDOVER — Hugo Ollas made a career-high 46 saves in Merrimack's 2-1 win over Providence on Friday night.

The last time a Merrimack goalie made that many saves in a game was March 14, 2015, when Rasmus Tirronen stopped 50 shots in a playoff loss to Boston University.

"[Providence] had a lot of shots, but I don't think that shows the whole picture of the game," Ollas said. "We did a great job keeping them on the outside, and most of them were easier shots from the outside. It was a great team effort. Guys were blocking shots."

The Warriors were outshot heavily (47-16) but blocked 21 Providence shot attempts.

None of those blocks were more significant than Zach Bookman's, with under 30 seconds left on the lock, which helped secure the win.

Minutes earlier, the Warriors were pinned in their zone minutes and needed a change. Mark Gallant got a piece of a shot from the point, and the puck ricocheted over the glass, which allowed the Warriors to get a much-needed line change.

"At the end, you saw two guys get their bodies in front of pucks," Merrimack coach Scott Borek said. "They found a way, and that was nice to see.

"Hugo had a ton of shots on him, but he pretty much saw every puck," Borek said.

After rotating with Zachary Borgiel for much of the season, Ollas took over the starting role on February 10. Borgiel has been out of the lineup since Merrimack traveled to Vermont two weeks ago.

In that time, Ollas has started the last five games for the Warriors, and the team is 3-2 in those starts. Ollas sports a 2.01 goals-against average and a .937 save percentage in the five-game stretch.

"[Playing every night] helps for sure," Ollas said. "It helps when you can go back-to-back and get comfortable, that helps out a lot."

Providence outshot the Warriors 10-0 to start the game. Early in the second period, it appeared that the Friars took a 1-0 lead but the goal was waived off due to goalie interference. Providence coach Nate Leaman challenged the call, but Scott Hansen affirmed his call after a video review.

Midway through the second period, Michael Citara scored to give the Warriors a 1-0 lead despite trailing at the time, 23-8, in shots.

It was Citara's first goal since November, and it came against his former team. Citara transferred to Merrimack last offseason after two seasons at Providence. He nearly scored on a similar play Thursday night at Schneider Arena.

"It's been kind of been a slow second half for me, but it was definitely awesome to score there," Citara said. "Right now, heading in the playoffs and especially against my old team, it felt good to get a win.

"It was almost the same chance as [Thursday] but I missed the net. It's been awesome playing with these guys."

Mac Welsher scored on a tip a few minutes later which gave the Warriors a 2-0 lead.

Merrimack survived the third period despite allowing a goal to Liam Valente with 14:56 left, and getting outshot 15-4 over the final 20 minutes as the Friars put together one last push.

"That win was very needed," Borek said. "I loved the battle level our team. We played a lot of hockey without the puck tonight, and we played really hard without the puck. Providence is a really good team, as we know. I just liked the way we played. We were opportunistic, which is nice to see, but it was a great effort by everyone and obviously by Hugo."

Vermont beat Maine last night, and UConn beat Northeastern. Those results lock the Warriors into either 10th or 11th place in Hockey East. The Warriors are four points ahead of UMass Lowell, but the River Hawks have three games remaining, and the Warriors will close the regular season next Saturday against Boston College

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