Sixty minutes of hockey was not enough Friday night at Lawler Arena, as Merrimack and Providence ended regulation in a 2-2 draw.<\/p>\n
With two minutes remaining in the extra period, it appeared this game would end in a draw, as it well deserved to. Both teams left everything on the ice and then some. <\/p>\n
It took a Merrimack defensive turnover for Providence senior and assistant captain Tim Schaller with 37.6 ticks left on the clock to win a rough-and-tumble, up-tempo, 3-2 game for the Friars. <\/p>\n
“It ended up being the bounce of a puck tonight,” concluded Merrimack coach Mark Dennehy, whose team had “plenty of chances,” but couldn’t come away with a point.<\/p>\n
This one was as exciting as it could get and had the beginnings of a bitter rivalry. <\/p>\n
“The Merrimack-Providence games seem to be pretty high-spirited and emotional,” noted Friars’ coach Nate Leaman, whose team has now won three of four against the Warriors. <\/p>\n
Last season, Providence took down an undefeated Merrimack team, then ranked No. 1 in the country.<\/p>\n
“We try to keep it simple,” explained Schaller. “There’s no place to re-enact this [playing at Lawler] in practice.”<\/p>\n
Simplicity was the key to this game, as both teams battled toe-to-toe from start to finish. <\/p>\n
The scoring opened with a Providence goal by freshman Noel Acciari at 9:28 of the first, with sophomore Drew Brown getting the assist. Just minutes later though, junior Rhett Bly would knot the score at 1 (13:59) when he caught a rebound from junior Thomas McCarthy out front and shoveled it past Providence goaltender Jon Gillies.<\/p>\n
A chippy game turned ugly in the second though when Merrimack defender Kyle Bigos drew a five-minute major and game misconduct for contact to the head. Brown put Providence back on top 11:43 into the second on assists from junior Steven Shamanski and sophomore Ross Mauermann.<\/p>\n
Providence, however, would go on to commit three straight penalties with about three minutes remaining in the second period, giving Merrimack a huge opportunity with several minutes of five-on-three action. <\/p>\n
The Warriors were unable to capitalize, though, and the period ended with Providence clinging to a lead.<\/p>\n
“It was big, really big,” said Leaman on killing the penalties heading into the third. “Fortunately, our kill came through for us.”<\/p>\n
Just 40 seconds into the third period though, Merrimack sophomore Connor Toomey tied the game at 2 on assists from junior Mike Collins and sophomore Kyle Singleton.<\/p>\n
A high-octane third period was filled with dazzling saves by Merrimack goalie Sam Marotta, who Leaman called “excellent,” and several close calls by both teams. <\/p>\n
“That’s the most consistent game we’ve had all season long,” said Dennehy. “Life is not instant gratification – you don’t just get rewarded for hard work right away and that’s what we have to know. You’ve got to put efforts like that together on a consistent basis and then you’ll be rewarded.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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