2008 Woodie Awards
Men's hockey disarms Merrimack Warriors 3-1
Game ties Ben Bishop with Jimmy Howard for all-time wins
Sean Sullivan
Issue date: 12/10/07 Section: Maine Sports
The University of Maine men's hockey team took to the ice Saturday, looking for redemption against a Merrimack College squad that took two games from them earlier this season. On the shoulders of junior forward Matt Duffy, UMaine was able to improve to 5-6-2 on the season and 3-4-2 against Hockey East competition. Merrimack now holds a 6-7-2 overall record with 3-7-1 in the conference.
The game started off at a slow pace with neither team scoring in the first period. UMaine would get on the board first just over four minutes into the second period. Simon Danis-Pepin teed-up a shot from the blue line that missed the net but hit Black Bear's forward Wes Clark, who was standing on the left side of the Merrimack doorstep. Clark was able to settle the puck and slide it over to Jeff Marshall, who attempted to bury it but was stuffed by goalie Patrick Watson. Watson kicked the rebound to his right where Duffy was ready to bury it for his second goal of the season.
The game was quiet for the remainder of the second, but UMaine would add to its 1-0 lead early in the third period. Marshall led the offensive possession from behind the Warriors' goal. He was able to thread a pass to linemate Clark, who immediately found Duffy in front of the net. Duffy was again able to get the best of Watson for his second goal of the night.
Merrimack was able to narrow UMaine's lead late in the third period when forward Francois Ouimet took a shot from the slot that just barely beat junior goaltender Ben Bishop. With 1:54 remaining in the game and one goal deficit, the Warriors elected to pull Watson in favor of the extra skater to attempt to tie the game.
UMaine countered Merrimack's one-man advantage with first-year Tanner House, senior Rob Bellamy and Duffy at forward. House picked the puck up in the defensive zone and laced a pass to Bellamy on the breakout. Bellamy was able to find a wide-open Duffy who skated across the blue line and buried an empty netter for the hat trick and a 3-1 UMaine victory.
UMaine's defense played phenomenally with Bishop as its backbone, making 26 saves. Big Ben improved to 5-6-2 on the season and is now tied with former UMaine standout goalie Jimmy Howard for fifth on the all-time win list with 47.
Watson did not fare as well on the other end of the ice, making just 22 saves and falling to 4-6-2 on the year.
UMaine will look to better its record at the University of New Hampshire on Sunday, Dec. 18th at 4 p.m. Merrimack, on the other hand, is staring down the barrel of a 22-day layoff. They will return to the ice on Dec. 30 against conference rival Boston University.
The game started off at a slow pace with neither team scoring in the first period. UMaine would get on the board first just over four minutes into the second period. Simon Danis-Pepin teed-up a shot from the blue line that missed the net but hit Black Bear's forward Wes Clark, who was standing on the left side of the Merrimack doorstep. Clark was able to settle the puck and slide it over to Jeff Marshall, who attempted to bury it but was stuffed by goalie Patrick Watson. Watson kicked the rebound to his right where Duffy was ready to bury it for his second goal of the season.
The game was quiet for the remainder of the second, but UMaine would add to its 1-0 lead early in the third period. Marshall led the offensive possession from behind the Warriors' goal. He was able to thread a pass to linemate Clark, who immediately found Duffy in front of the net. Duffy was again able to get the best of Watson for his second goal of the night.
Merrimack was able to narrow UMaine's lead late in the third period when forward Francois Ouimet took a shot from the slot that just barely beat junior goaltender Ben Bishop. With 1:54 remaining in the game and one goal deficit, the Warriors elected to pull Watson in favor of the extra skater to attempt to tie the game.
UMaine countered Merrimack's one-man advantage with first-year Tanner House, senior Rob Bellamy and Duffy at forward. House picked the puck up in the defensive zone and laced a pass to Bellamy on the breakout. Bellamy was able to find a wide-open Duffy who skated across the blue line and buried an empty netter for the hat trick and a 3-1 UMaine victory.
UMaine's defense played phenomenally with Bishop as its backbone, making 26 saves. Big Ben improved to 5-6-2 on the season and is now tied with former UMaine standout goalie Jimmy Howard for fifth on the all-time win list with 47.
Watson did not fare as well on the other end of the ice, making just 22 saves and falling to 4-6-2 on the year.
UMaine will look to better its record at the University of New Hampshire on Sunday, Dec. 18th at 4 p.m. Merrimack, on the other hand, is staring down the barrel of a 22-day layoff. They will return to the ice on Dec. 30 against conference rival Boston University.
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