NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. - Chase Gresock had the hot hand Saturday night at Lawler Rink for the Merrimack College men's hockey team, as it flew past RPI 5-1.
The sophomore's first career hat trick and Ben Brar's first collegiate goal served as the highlights, as the Warriors bounced back with a convincing victory over their visitors from Troy, New York.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 5, Rensselaer 1
Records: Merrimack (3-9-2, 1-4-2 HEAM) | Rensselaer (5-8-1, 2-4-1 ECAC)
Attendance: 1,301
Game Duration: 2:10
How It Happened
- The Warriors needed just 22 seconds to get over their defeat from Friday thanks to a great feed from Tyler Irvine and a milestone marker for Brar. Sam Tavernier started the play when he worked a puck to Irvine for a 2-on-1 break. Irvine saucered a pass to the doorstep for Brar, who jabbed it home for his first collegiate goal.
- Merrimack's onslaught continued just over three minutes later when Gresock got a pass on the right half wall from Jordan Seyfert. The sophomore curled and dragged at the top of the faceoff dot and rifled a wrist shot to the top shelf. Jacob Modry also picked up an assist on the play.
The Engineers stopped the Warrior run six and a half minutes into the second period when Jake Marrello brought the deficit to one.
- Gresock and the Warriors had a quick response, which helped start put the game out of reach. Zach Vinnell rimmed a puck around to the back of the net for Logan Drevitch. The sophomore curled around in front and played a pass to the far side for Gresock, who made no mistake for his second of the evening.
- Gresock completed the trick just under 10 minutes later when he converted on a partial breakaway. He took a feed from Liam Dennison and willed his way to the cage, then slid it home. Vinnell earned his second assist of the night on the play.
- Tyler Drevitch capped the scoring in the third period on a highly skilled play. Regan Kimens flipped a bouncing puck into the high slot, where Drevitch fought for positioning and dropped to a knee to slam it home.
Notes & Numbers
- Gresock's hat trick was the first by a Warrior since Hampus Gustafsson did it Feb. 10, 2017 at Boston College.
- Jere Huhtamaa made the start in the Merrimack net and earned second star honors with 28 saves on 29 shots.
- Seyfert, Gresock and Dominic Dockery shared the team lead with +3 ratings on the night.
Up Next
The Warriors visit rival UNH Dec. 6 in Durham, N.H. for a 7 pm start.
