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October 25, 2007

Shocking start: Merrimack College has already matched last season's win total

By Mike McMahon , Staff Writer

NORTH ANDOVER | If you take a look at the Merrimack College hockey team's record, you might think we were back at the beginning of the 1987-88 season. That was the year the Warriors went 34-6 en route to their only Division I NCAA tournament appearance.

Two years later, they joined Hockey East and have been perennial bottom-feeders ever since.

After going 9-50-9 in his first two seasons, there is hope that head coach Mark Dennehy's rebuilding plan is finally taking root.

The Warriors beat Niagara on opening night, 4-2, and followed that up by sweeping Bemidji State in Minnesota last weekend, the first team to accomplish that at the John Glas Fieldhouse since Miami of Ohio in 2000. That was an impressive streak of 52 straight series.

The 3-0 start is their best since 1993-94, and they were rewarded on Monday by receiving votes in the top-15 national polls for the first time in nearly five years. The USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine has them 22nd overall.

Only one member of this year's team, the lone senior, captain Derek Pallardy, played for former head coach Chris Serino. The junior class was largely recruited by the now Malden Catholic High School athletic director, but have only played for Dennehy.

"We have 20 or so guys in our locker room now that haven't lost 100 games in their career," Dennehy said. "Those are the guys that, with the game on the line, believe that we are going to win. Just that belief is a positive vibe that can work its way around a locker room and a bench.

"The kids that were here when I took the program over, the majority were wonderful young men, I wish I could have coached them longer. But, the losses piled up and that affects your psyche. The hard work those guys put in is paying off for the guys that are here now."

Friday night, the Warriors open their Hockey East schedule against the No. 5 Boston College Eagles. Though BSU and Niagara were predicted to be the top two teams in the CHA, this will be the Warriors' first conference game.

These Eagles are much different than last year's NCAA runner-up team. After graduating star Brian Boyle and tough forward Joe Rooney, the Eagles also saw their superstar goaltender, Cory Schneider, sign with the Vancouver Canucks over the summer. They also lost one of last season's top-returning scorers, Brock Bradford, to injury earlier in the season.

But, BC (1-1-2) is still very skilled up front with the likes of Nathan Gerbe (1-1|2) and Benn Ferriero (1-3|4), who Dennehy believes are two of the most talented forwards in Hockey East. They will provide the Warriors with their toughest challenge of the young season.

"You know, it's like teeth for a great white shark, once they lose one, another just rolls to the top," Dennehy said of BC's ability to replace talent. "They were still picked to finish first in our league with UNH. We still haven't played a league game yet and it's all about our league.

"What's going to make the difference for us is that there were moments in our first three games that we needed to make a play, and we did. On Friday night in Bemidji, we didn't play well. They tied the game at the start of the third period, but we get a power play a few minutes later and go ahead again. It's that sort of timely plays that hadn't happened for us in the past."

Merrimack game moved for World Series

Merrimack has moved Saturday's BC game from its original Saturday 7 p.m. face-off to Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. to avoid the conflict with the Red Sox World Series game at Colorado.

"Well, our hope is that people will come to our game at 1, then they'll be home to see the Pats at 4, and then watch the Sox at 8," Dennehy said.

"We understand that this is the World Series. More students, and more members of the local community will now have a chance to still come to our game and not miss anything else. Boston College and Jerry York were very accommodating as well. They didn't have to move this game, they could have said no, but Jerry was great."

Merrimack will travel to Boston College on Friday night for the first game of the home-and-home series

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