Merrimack Skates Past Army West Point, 4-1
Sophomore forward Sami Tavernier scores goal and assist for Warriors

Sophomore forward Sami Tavernier scored a goal and an assist for the Warriors
Prd Time  Team Score Type Scored By Assists
1st 6:30  ARM1-0 EV Brendan Soucie (2)Dominic Franco/11
1st 13:43  MER1-1 EV Laine McKay (1)Logan Coomes/3, Alfred Larsson/3
1st 19:38  MER2-1 PP GW Jace Hennig (6)Brett Seney/8, Jared Kolquist/9
2nd 2:58  MER3-1 PP Sami Tavernier (5)Brett Seney/9, Jared Kolquist/10
3rd 0:13  MER4-1 PP Ludvig Larsson (5)Sami Tavernier/4, Jared Kolquist/11
Scoring 1st 2nd 3rd Final
Army West Point  1001
Merrimack  2114
Shots on Goal 1st 2nd 3rd SOG
Army West Point  29819
Merrimack  145928
Team Stats and Records  PP PIM SHGF
Army West Point (7-8-2)  0/2 9/18 0
Merrimack (3-9-3)  3/7 4/8 0
Army West Point Goaltending MIN GA 1 2 3 Saves
Jared Dempsey (L, 1-1-1)60:004 124824
Merrimack Goaltending MIN GA 1 2 3 Saves
Craig Pantano (W, 3-4-1)59:351 19818
Empty Net0:250     

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. - The Merrimack College men's ice hockey rallied from an early deficit thanks to a potent power play and four different goal-scorers, as the Warriors defeated Army West Point, 4-1, on Friday night at Lawler Rink. Merrimack has Saturday off before heading to New Hampshire on Sunday afternoon.

The Basics

Score: Merrimack 4, Army West Point 1
Records: Merrimack (3-9-3, 1-6-1 HEA) | #RV/-- Army West Point (7-8-2, 6-7-2 AHA)
Location: Lawler Rink | North Andover, Mass.
Attendance: 2055
Game Duration: 2:04

Rapid Recap

- Both sides started slowly in terms of offensive chances before Army broke through on a semi-turnover 6:30 into the contest. The hosts, however, would not only draw even, but take a late lead, as the Warriors outshot the Black Knights by 12 (14-2) in the opening period and converted a late power play to carry a 2-1 lead into the break.

- The Warriors used the power play to their advantage yet again to pad their lead early in the second, as Merrimack, at one point, was outshooting Army by a 19-3 margin at the midpoint of the game. The Black Knights had the last eight shots on goal in the period, however, and also had a pair of power plays to try to inch closer, but junior Craig Pantano (Bridgewater, Mass.) kept the two-goal lead intact heading to the final frame.

- Merrimack lit the lamp just 13 seconds into the third period, accounting for its third power play strike of the night, and that proved to be more than enough as the Warriors picked up their first win since Nov. 10 against Bentley to snap an 0-3-1 slump.

Scoring Summaries

- Army West Point broke the deadlock 6:30 into the game on Brendan Soucie's second of the year. After a collision just outside the Merrimack zone, Dominic Franco collected the puck and brought it in down the right wing boards. He would find Soucie in front, who went to the backhand and tucked it past netminder Craig Pantano (Bridgewater, Mass.) for the opening salvo.

- The Warriors drew even seven minutes later on the first collegiate goal by freshman Laine McKay (Thunder Bay, Ontario) at the 13:43 mark. Senior Alfred Larsson (Malmo, Sweden) and sophomore Logan Coomes (Northvillel, Mich.) helped dig the puck out of the far corner, and the pass found McKay, who snuck it by Army netminder Jared Dempsey's five-hole to draw even.

- Late in the first, Merrimack grabbed its first lead of the night while on the power play, as senior Jace Hennig (Port Moody, British Columbia) lit the lamp for his team-leading sixth time. Classmate Brett Seney (London, Ontario) tapped a pass from fellow senior Jared Kolquist (Hermantown, Minn.) from the left wing boards to Hennig, who ripped home a wrist shot from dot to put the Warriors in front.

- Merrimack converted on another power play early in the second frame, with sophomore Sami Tavernier (Morzine, France) potting his fifth of the season just 2:58 into the stanza. Seney and Kolquist once again set up the score, with Seney threading a feed through the zone to Tavernier, who let it fly from the near circle and found the twine, pushing the hosts in front by two.

- After needing less than three minutes to score to start the second, the Warriors lit the lamp a mere 13 seconds into the third frame, as junior Ludvig Larsson (Malmo, Sweden) collected his fifth of the year with the hosts on the power play yet again. Kolquist got the play started by feeding Larsson in the neutral zone; the latter gained the zone, connected with Tavernier on the opposite wing, and then tipped in the return feed at the back post to make it 4-1.

Notes and Notables

- After outshooting the Black Knights by eight (12-4) through the first period, Merrimack would eventually have a 19-3 edge in shots on goal on the way to eventually outshooting the Black Knights by a 28-19 margin.

- Pantano finished with 18 saves to improve to 3-4-1 on the season, while Dempsey turned away 24 in a losing effort for the visitors.

- Merrimack posted its fourth multi-power-play-goal game this season, finishing with a 3-for-7 clip on the night against the Black Knights. The penalty kill, meanwhile, was perfect for only the fourth time this season, turning away both Army power plays.

- Merrimack improved to 23-16-1 all-time against Army, and more impressively, to 13-0-0 against the Black Knights at Lawler Rink.

- Merrimack posted just its fifth three-plus-goal game on the year and remained undefeated (3-0-2) when surpassing that three-goal threshold.

Merrimack Lineup

Hennig | Seney | Irvine
Petti | L. Larsson | McBride
Babcock | Kramer | Tavernier
Coomes | A. Larsson | McKay
Kolquist | Cook
Biega | Carle
Dockery | Kovacevic
Pantano
Vogler
Halladay

Up Next

Merrimack travels to the University of New Hampshire for a Sunday matinee two days from now. Puck drop from the Whittemore Center is set for 4 p.m.