NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. — Merrimack scored early and often against Minnesota State on Saturday night at Lawler Arena, rolling to an 8-2 win.
The Warriors, who won Friday’s opener 4-3 in overtime, completed the weekend sweep after building a 7-0 lead early in the second period.
Five different Warriors scored, and Ty Daneault and Nathan King each had two goals.
“We were fortunate to score a couple of goals in transition,” Merrimack coach Scott Borek said. “That kind of opened up the game. We’re happy with the result. I hope we can learn from it. There are certainly some things that we can do a lot better than we did tonight. But any time you can get a win, you’ll take a win.”
Keyes solid in his return to the crease
Ryan Keyes made his first appearance in Merrimack’s net since March 2025 and stopped 20 of 22 shots, including a third-period glove save that brought the Lawler Arena crowd to its feet. He didn’t allow a goal until the third period.
“It felt good,” Keyes said. “I have a lot of confidence in the guys. Watching them play and seeing them in practice every day, I know we have a good team. I saw some pucks early, and that helped me settle in. Then the guys made it pretty easy.”
“Ryan 100 percent earned that start,” Borek said. “He did great all summer and he had a good fall. And it’s tough. You watch three games, and he had to make three or four big saves early. He’s played really well for us when he’s played, and that means our goalie room is really good. It’s exciting to see. It makes our team better. Each of them makes each other better by competition.”
Freshmen making the grade
Freshman forwards Alex Mercier, Mavrick Lachance and Connor Dale and defenseman Keaton Orrey made their Merrimack debuts Friday night, and all four were back in the lineup Saturday. Freshman Jakub Hes joined them, making his NCAA debut.
Lachance and Hes picked up their first career points, assisting on King’s second goal of the night in the third period.
“I thought all of our freshmen made impacts all weekend,” Borek said. “Hes hasn’t been in there yet, but he looked like he’s been in the lineup all season. What stood out to me is that we had those guys in all situations. I thought they all did a good job.”
Borek was also impressed with Daniel Astapovich, who played every game his freshman year and the first two games of his sophomore season before slotting out of the lineup on Friday night.
“I was impressed,” Borek said. “He played every game from last year to his sophomore year, he came out last night but went back in tonight and played really, really well.”
Kungle back earlier than expected
Cam Kungle returned to the lineup a few weeks ahead of schedule, according to Borek. The senior defenseman finished with two shots on goal and made several key defensive plays with his long stick.
“I thought he did really well,” Borek said. “He had a great week of practice. He felt comfortable. It’s a good time to see how he feels, where it’s a nonconference game. For a guy who hasn’t played in a while, and for a guy who came back from what he came back from, that’s an impressive performance. He’s going to make our team better.”
Notes: Fitzpatrick stays out despite move back to the middle
Caelan Fitzpatrick had three points (1 goal, 2 assists) and has 33 points in his last 31 games dating to last season. Most of that production came after he moved to the wing, but with Parker Lalonde out, Fitzpatrick moved back to center and had four points (2 goals, 2 assists) on the weekend.
Speaking of Lalonde, he said he skated late this week and hopes to return in the next couple of weeks.
Daneault scored his two goals 15 seconds apart, both within the first 25 seconds of the second period. According to College Hockey News data, which dates to 1999, it’s the fastest pair of goals by a Merrimack player in at least 27 years. Joe Cucci scored twice in 30 seconds March 4, 2011, against Providence. Brett Seney (Dec. 29, 2017) and Karl Stollery (Jan. 1, 2011) each scored two goals 44 seconds apart, and Lalonde (Oct. 18, 2025) scored two 50 seconds apart. They’re the only Merrimack players in that span to score twice in less than a minute.
Daneault’s two goals were the fastest two goals in college hockey in two years. Former Union forward Ben Muthersbaugh, who is now with Arizona State, scored two goals 12 seconds apart on Oct. 18, 2024.
