2008 Woodie Awards
Ice hockey drops two
Merrimack sweeps men, Bears fall to 4-6-1
Kevin Bailey
Issue date: 11/19/07 Section: Maine Sports
This past weekend, the University of Maine men's hockey team traveled to North Andover, Mass., for a two-game series with Merrimack College. After dropping two tough losses to Providence last weekend, Maine hoped to rebound and begin an ascent in the Hockey East standings. However, the Warriors of Merrimack had a different plan, as they downed the Black Bears by scores of 5-1 and 2-1. They were Maine's first losses to Merrimack since 2002 and brought the Black Bears' record to 4-6-1 overall.
Friday's game saw lots of back-and-forth action until midway through the first period when Merrimack struck first. Maine was on a power play due to a hooking penalty on the Warriors. After a Black Bear shot, Merrimack's Derek Pallardy mounted a counter-attack with a pass to J.C. Robitaille. After beating his defender, Robitaille had a one-on-one breakaway and was able to beat Ben Bishop in the top corner.
After the short-handed goal, Maine picked up the intensity and almost tied it with just over two minutes left in the first period. Glenn Belmore had a key breakaway chance, but Merrimack goalie Patrick Watson came up with a big save. While he denied the shot, he couldn't deny the efforts of the Black Bears. A minute later, a Jeff Dimmen laser was deflected to Andrew Sweetland. He pushed the puck to Billy Ryan, who buried the puck for his second goal of the year.
The second period came and went without another score, though UMaine had twice as many shots as Merrimack. They really locked down on defense as well, allowing just four shots to the Warriors. The third period would lead to the Black Bears' undoing. Over a 10-minute span, Merrimack had a flurry of opportunities and put away four unanswered goals. The eventual game-winner was buried by Matt Jones off a rebound at the 6:34 mark. Merrimack then took the momentum for good with goals by Kurtis Astle, Derek Pallardy and Chris Barton. While Maine out-shot the Warriors 32-26 for the game, Merrimack made theirs count. Bishop finished with 19 saves in 50 minutes of action, and Dave Wilson added two saves in nine minutes.
Friday's game saw lots of back-and-forth action until midway through the first period when Merrimack struck first. Maine was on a power play due to a hooking penalty on the Warriors. After a Black Bear shot, Merrimack's Derek Pallardy mounted a counter-attack with a pass to J.C. Robitaille. After beating his defender, Robitaille had a one-on-one breakaway and was able to beat Ben Bishop in the top corner.
After the short-handed goal, Maine picked up the intensity and almost tied it with just over two minutes left in the first period. Glenn Belmore had a key breakaway chance, but Merrimack goalie Patrick Watson came up with a big save. While he denied the shot, he couldn't deny the efforts of the Black Bears. A minute later, a Jeff Dimmen laser was deflected to Andrew Sweetland. He pushed the puck to Billy Ryan, who buried the puck for his second goal of the year.
The second period came and went without another score, though UMaine had twice as many shots as Merrimack. They really locked down on defense as well, allowing just four shots to the Warriors. The third period would lead to the Black Bears' undoing. Over a 10-minute span, Merrimack had a flurry of opportunities and put away four unanswered goals. The eventual game-winner was buried by Matt Jones off a rebound at the 6:34 mark. Merrimack then took the momentum for good with goals by Kurtis Astle, Derek Pallardy and Chris Barton. While Maine out-shot the Warriors 32-26 for the game, Merrimack made theirs count. Bishop finished with 19 saves in 50 minutes of action, and Dave Wilson added two saves in nine minutes.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Harry Tucci
posted 11/19/07 @ 9:13 AM EST
The hockey program is in shambles, what has happened???? Coach Whitehead has consistently underperformed of late and is making a mockery of the Shawn Walsh legacy. (Continued…)
Post a Comment