Warriors complete the sweep of Northeastern, move up five spots in the Hockey East standings

Merrimack 3, Northeastern 1

Photo: Merrimack Athletics

NORTH ANDOVER — The Warriors completed a two-game sweep of Northeastern on Friday night at Lawler Arena with a 3-1 win over the Huskies. Merrimack had to come from behind to do it after Griffin Erdman gave the Huskies a 1-0 lead in the first period. Justin Gill and Parker Lalonde scored five minutes apart in the second period to swing the game in the Warriors’ favor, and Michael Emerson sealed it with an empty-net goal in the final seconds.

“We played really hard,” Merrimack coach Scott Borek said. “This game was a lot more difficult than [Thursday]. They got out in front of us, and their goaltender was very good, and so was ours. It’s hard to sweep in this league. That’s a really big win for us.”

Max Lundgren surrendered Erdman’s goal on the eighth shot he faced in the opening period, but he shut the door from there, stopping the final 23 shots that came his way. The goal appeared to deflect off a defender’s stick and change direction before slipping over Lundgren’s glove.

Borek said Lundgren apologized to his teammates during the intermission for allowing the goal, and then backed it up with a flawless final 40 minutes.

“He had no reason to apologize,” Borek said. “He’s been so great for us, but it shows you that he owns it. That’s who he is every night. They’re a really difficult team to goaltend against because they move across the royal road really well. They make you move, and Max does what he always does — he stayed calm and made some big saves. They had a lot more traffic in this game. Max was elite tonight.”

Gill returns and makes an impact

Gill returned to the lineup after serving a one-game suspension from Hockey East and made an immediate impact, scoring the game-tying goal. He finished the night with a goal and three shots, and quickly found chemistry with new linemates Daniel Astapovich and Ryan O’Connell.

“I talked to him before the game, because he also missed some practice time this week,” Borek said. “I didn’t want to rush him back, not because he missed a game but because he was ramping back up after missing a few days of practice. So we put him on a different line, and I give him a lot of credit because I think he played really well and drove some production with those guys. His effort tonight was great.

“[Astapovich] and [O’Connell] work so hard and they’re so selfless. Whoever is with them is going to get chances, and Justin got some chances tonight playing with those guys.”

The defense gets on the scoresheet

It was a productive weekend offensively for Merrimack’s defensive unit. Austin Oravetz (two assists) and Seamus Powell (one assist) got on the scoresheet Friday night. On Thursday, Cam Kungle recorded two assists and Nathan King scored a goal.

“It’s a balance, taking chances when they’re there and knowing when to stay back on D,” Powell said.

Powell and Oravetz have been paired together for an extended stretch. Oravetz, known primarily for his relentless defensive play, has allowed Powell more freedom to jump into the rush.

“I’ve relied on him quite a bit,” Powell said. “More than I probably should sometimes. But he’s great to play with. He’s always in the right place, he always works so hard, he makes it super easy.”

Notebook: Warriors make big jumps in the standings

— The Warriors moved up to No. 32 in the NPI after the dust settled on Friday. To illustrate how tightly packed the middle of the rankings are, had the Warriors held third-period leads against Notre Dame and BU, they would sit at 14–10 and be ranked No. 19.

In Hockey East, the Warriors moved into a tie for sixth place with Maine.

— Vinny Borgesi, who leads the nation in time on ice, logged 30:04 on Friday, more than half the game. Powell led all Merrimack skaters with 27:13.

— The Warriors blocked 23 Northeastern shots, accounting for 31 percent of the Huskies’ 74 shot attempts. Lalonde and Oravetz each recorded three blocks.