Warriors searching for answers after UConn shut them out to open two-game series
UConn 3, Merrimack 0
NORTH ANDOVER — For the second straight outing, the Warriors couldn’t buy a goal, falling 3-0 to UConn on Friday night at Lawler Arena.
UConn outshot Merrimack 36-19, and the disparities were even more glaring in shot attempts, where the Huskies held a staggering 75-34 advantage.
“We just didn’t play well,” Merrimack coach Scott Borek said. “Give [UConn] credit, but I’ve got to focus on us right now. That was probably one of our worst games of the year.
“Our forecheck never got going. They broke out way too easily. We gave pucks back to them. Including the first goal, we had the puck and gave it back to them. That’s not how we roll.”
Despite a scoreless opening frame, the first period was anything but dull. The teams combined for 36 penalty minutes, including 10-minute misconducts assessed to Merrimack’s Cam Kungle and UConn’s Carlin Dezainde. In a bizarre twist, no penalties were called in the second or third periods.
Goaltender Max Lundgren was the primary reason the Warriors lingered within striking distance, turning away several cross-ice chances while Merrimack was hemmed in its own zone for long stretches.
At the other end, the Warriors forced UConn netminder Tyler Muszelik into a handful of highlight-reel stops, but he was largely untested as the night wore on.
“At the end of the day, this is one game,” Borek said. “It’s not the end of our season.”
Alexandre Blais scored the game-winning goal in the second period, jamming in a loose puck after he couldn’t convert on a wraparound attempt. The goal was scored after the Warriors were trapped in their own end for an extended shift.
The Warriors may have suffered a bigger blow than the final score. Forward Parker Lalonde was knocked out of the game following a first-period hit by Blais — the collision ignited the scrum that resulted in the misconducts to Dezainde and Kungle — and Lalonde did not return.
“We lost a player tonight, and he’s been a big player for us,” Borek said. “But now someone else has a chance. There’s nothing really you can say about this game. We need to put it behind us and move forward.”
They won’t have much time to dwell on it. Merrimack travels to UConn for a 4 p.m. puck drop on Saturday afternoon.
Notebook
The Warriors generated nearly as many shots from their defensemen (8) as their forwards (11).
Merrimack blocked 22 shots, with Seamus Powell and Ethan Beyer leading the way with three each.
The Warriors finished with their lowest expected goals (xG) mark of the season: just 1.4.
