Warriors can't find the equalizer at UMass Lowell
LOWELL — Merrimack battled back from two one-goal deficits but couldn’t find the equalizer a third time in a 3-2 loss to UMass Lowell on Saturday night at the Tsongas Center.
Luke Weilandt scored a shorthanded goal in the second period to erase a 1-0 Lowell lead. Ryan O’Connell scored his first NCAA goal late in the second period after Lee Parks gave Lowell a 2-1 lead earlier in the period.
Jack Robilotti’s goal at 1:57 of the third period was the game-winner.
“It was a grind, and we came out on the wrong side of it,” Merrimack coach Scott Borek. “I wish we had created a little more offense. There were times that we did, and we worked through it and created opportunities, but we didn’t finish and they did.”
Issues with Zone Exits
Some of the issues that plagued the Warriors on Friday night against UMass were evident again on Saturday, particularly a struggle to clear the defensive zone at times, which led to sustained possessions for the River Hawks.
“There were times we were too complicated coming out of our own end,” Borek said. “The way we are playing our D zone right now, I expect that there might be some shot differentials, but if most of those shots are on the outside that doesn’t bother me. But when we complicate our game coming out of the zone, trouble happens. That led to their third goal and their second goal. We had a long shift, needed a change, didn’t get a change, and we put ourselves in two bad situations, so that was frustrating.”
28-25-16 shine despite loss
Luke Weilandt scored his first goal of the season and Ryan O’Connell scored his first NCAA goal on Saturday. That was on the heels of linemate David Sacco scoring on Friday night against the Minutemen.
Weilandt was a plus-2 and had two shots.
“They just play the right way, I know we keep saying that,” Borek said. “They don’t complicate it at all. They play in straight lines, and they get easy exits. That was a heck of a shot by Ryan on that goal. That’s a big-time goal.”
With just under one minute left, Borek had those three forwards back on the ice with Max Lundgren on the bench for the extra attacker (Caelan Fitzpatrick).
“You’re not going to beat Lowell with skill, you’re going to beat them with will,” Borek said. “We had a couple of situations where we tried to beat them with skill and it didn’t work. They were the perfect fit for that situation. I’m sure there are some guys even in my own locker room who were looking kind of cross-eyed at me, but you want to play more? Play better.”
The Warriors will host Boston University on Friday night.
Merrimack (10-15-1): 0-2-0--2
UMass Lowell (14-8-3): 1-1-1--3
First Period: 1. UML Jak Vaarwerk 4 (Mitchell Becker, Chris Delaney), ev, 19:03.
Second Period: 2. MC Luke Weilandt 1 (Caelan Fitzpatrick), shg, 3:25; 3. UML Lee Parks 5 (Ben Meehan, Ian Carpentier), ev, 8:31; 4. MC Ryan O'Connell 1 (Josef Mysak, Nathan King), ev, 11:22.
Third Period: 5. UML Jack Robiliotti 2 (Isac Jonsson, Owen Cole), ev, 1:57.
Shots: Merrimack 6-7-5--18; Lowell 6-12-17--29
Saves: MC Lundgren (58:02) 32/35; UML Halasz (60:00) 16/18
Power Play: Merrimack 0 for 3; Lowell 0 for 2
Penalties-PIM: Merrimack 2-4; Lowell 3-6
Faceoffs: 31-21 Lowell
Attendance: 6,006