NORTH ANDOVER, Mass.— Joe Cannata entered his freshman season at Merrimack College with a lot of hype.
The first recruit Merrimack ever plucked from the U.S. National Development Program, Cannata, an 18-year-old true freshman from Wakefield, is living up to the billing.
In last night's 2-0 win over Brown, the rookie made 18 saves for his second shutout of the season, backstopping the Warriors to the win after Merrimack had trouble solving a tricky Brown defense until the third period.
"It's been a while since we've had a W," said Cannata, who snapped the Warriors' eight-game losing streak. "We've had a lot of close games lately and some have been hard to swallow. This helps going down the stretch. It feels good, especially after (Friday night when they blew a 3-2 lead and fell to Northeastern 4-3)."
Cannata made several key stops, including a point-blank pad save on Brown's Matt Vokes in the first period. The puck slid across the top of the crease and Vokes jammed it towards the net, but Cannata's right pad came flying across the paint and kicked it out.
"Joe has played pretty well as of late," said Merrimack coach Mark Dennehy. "What we've talked to him about is that it's not so much the quantity of the saves, but the quality. It's 2-0 in the third and they had a break and the puck popped up and hit him in the pad. That's the save we needed and we haven't been getting those all the time since Christmas. He made the saves we needed him to make tonight."
Cannata competed alongside Brown goaltender Mike Clemente (39 saves) last year with the NTDP. Last night, they were in opposite creases for the first time.
"Last year, out of all the other goalies in the program, I was closest with Mike," said Cannata, who led B.C. High to a Super 8 Championship in 2007. "He kept them in it tonight and made some key saves. He's a good goalie. It was good to see him, fun to play against him."
The Warriors hope the win, Merrimack's first in 2009 (last win came on Dec. 30 against UConn), will serve as a launching pad for the rest of the season.
"Guys are feeling good, we're excited," Cannata said. "Next weekend we have Vermont here and they are a good team. Without a win here it makes next weekend tough, so this was nice."
Added Dennehy, "Wins cure anything. You feel better about yourself. If you're a player, you're girlfriend looks prettier, your cornflakes taste better, everything is better if you win."
Farnham returns home
North Andover's Bobby Farnham, a freshman on the Brown squad, skated at Lawler Arena for the first time as a Bear.
Farnham skated at right wing on the third line, registering a shot. The former Phillips Academy star has three goals in 21 games this season.
Merrimack 2, Brown 0
Brown University (2-17-4): 0-0-0—0
Merrimack College (6-17-3): 0-0-2—2
Third Period: 1. MC Rob Ricci 9 (Karl Stollery, Jesse Todd), PPG, 6:15; 2. MC Joe Cucci 4 (Pat Bowen, Fraser Allan), PPG, 6:36.
Shots: Merrimack 15-12-14—41; Brown 9-4-5—18
Saves: MC Cannata (4-7-3) 9-4-5—18; BU Clemente (1-5-0) 15-12-12—39
Power play: Merrimack 2 for 10 (12 shots); Brown 0 for 5 (1 shots)
Attendance: 1,657
Next: Hosts Vermont Friday, 7 p.m.
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