Don’t call it a goalie controversy.
Because Merrimack coach Scott Borek doesn’t see it that way.
With sophomore Zachary Borgiel and freshman Hugo Ollas sharing time between the pipes so far this season for the Warriors (2-2-0, 0-1-0 Hockey East), Borek said competition at the position can only be a positive for his club.
“I feel the best I’ve felt about our goaltending situation in a long time,” Borek said. “I think we do have some guys who are going to compete with each other and continue to push each other, and that’s going to make us a better team overall.”
Borgiel started three of Merrimack’s first four games, recording 76 saves and a 3.02 GAA. On Saturday at Colgate (ECAC), Ollas notched 30 saves in a 2-1 overtime loss.
Despite the result, Borek liked what he saw in the 6-foot-8 freshman from Linköping, Sweden, calling Ollas “an economy of movements.”
“He’s a really big body,” Borek said. “Very few pucks seemed like they were being saved, they really seemed like they were just hitting him. That means he was in the right spots and that means I think he’s playing the game the right way.”
As of Tuesday, Borek hadn’t announced who will start at home Friday against No. 16 Boston University (2-2, 1-1), the first of a two-game weekend set.
“I’m very comfortable whoever we play on Friday will give us a chance to win that game,” Borek said. He also added that junior Troy Kobryn will also see ice time this season.
The two teams meet again Saturday at 7 p.m. at Agganis Arena.
BU coach Albie O’Connell said whoever the Terriers face in goal, the key will be to create as much traffic around him as possible.
“It sounds like he’ll be able to see over everyone,” O’Connell said, with a chuckle, about Ollas. “Screening him would probably be a little more of a challenge. (A) lot of it is getting to the scoring area, the blue paint. There’s a lot of really good goalies in college hockey — if they see the puck, they’re going to stop it. If they don’t have traffic or pressure toward the net, normally they can stop it. It’s going to be the same approach to every goalie that we face.”
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A scheduling quirk created what New Hampshire coach Mike Souza compared to a “baseball series” starting this weekend, when UNH (2-2, 0-0) and No. 12 Providence (3-2, 1-0) play the first of three straight games against each other. The teams face off Sunday (5 p.m.) at UNH, then Oct. 29 (7 p.m.) at Providence and Oct. 30 (7 p.m.) back at UNH.
“There’s nothing we can really do about the schedule,” Souza said. “You have to take them as they’re scheduled. We’ll certainly do that. The big thing for us is, we’re only focused on the first one.”
Providence coach Nate Leaman acknowledged pros and cons of playing the same time thrice consecutively.
“Our guys are going to be familiar with (UNH),” Leaman said. “They’ll know what to expect in the games. Two of the games are at their place. The cons are, it’s hard to beat the same opponent three times in a row. (It’s) an interesting challenge, that’s for sure.”
Leaman said his team is eager to get back on the winning track after the then-10th ranked Friars dropped a pair of games against then-No. 1 Minnesota State (CCHA) and No. 5 Minnesota Duluth (3-1) at the Icebreaker tournament at Duluth last weekend.
“You have to get pushed to see where you are a little bit,” he said. “I thought we lost our poise a couple times, and it really cost us. Offensively, we need to be a lot more dynamic.”
Before traveling to UNH, Providence hosts No. 8 Denver on Friday at 7 p.m..
“They like to get up and down a little bit,” Leaman said about the Pioneers. “There’s probably going to be a lot more space in the game than there was last weekend. Denver’s dangerous in transition, that’s for sure.”
