Merrimack College upset No. 12 Providence on Saturday night at Lawler Rink, scoring the only goal of the evening when Brian Christie ripped a shot over Jon Gillies to help Merrimack earn the 1-0 victory.
“It’s a little early for playoff hockey, but I thought that’s what this weekend was, two playoff games,” said Merrimack coach Mark Dennehy said. “He’s got a real good team over there. You can’t make many mistakes, and you have to play well to get a point against them. Both teams played pretty hard.”
The first period was very physical, with both teams getting their fair share of scoring opportunities on numerous power plays, but not being able to cash in with any goals. Both Gilles and Merrimack netminder Rasmus Tirronen were strong.
The second period saw much of the same, as both teams relied on their PK units to get the job done defensively and shut the door. About five minutes into the period, the Friars had a great opportunity in the slot, but Tirronen came up with a huge save with the left pad to keep Providence scoreless. With about six and a half remaining in the middle frame, Providence’s penalty kill scooped up a puck and raced down the ice on a short-handed bid, but Tirronen denied the opportunity.
At 9:57 into the third, Merrimack’s Craig Wyszomirski fired a shot on Gillies and followed his rebound and found Brian Christie in the slot, who fired a shot that went over the blocker of Gillies to give the Warriors a 1-0 lead.
Later in the period, PC’s Nick Saracino had a golden chance when he walked in the slot and fired a shot that was turned away with a pad save from Tirronen. There was a scary moment when Friars’ defenseman Jake Walman went down on a hit from Kyle Singleton, but Walman recovered. Singleton was given a game misconduct penalty and a five-minute major, but Providence couldn’t convert and Merrimack’s Ben Bahe won a race for a loose puck and drew a hooking call on PC that eliminated the five-minute major.
“It was a great game; it’s always tough game in this building,” said Providence coach Nate Leaman. “I just thought we didn’t capitalize on our chances. We missed the net on our best chances. It was a tight game, and I thought both goaltenders played great. It’s just too bad we made a mistake that cost us the game.”
Merrimack improved to (6-2-1) on the year and Providence is now (3-4-1) on the year.
