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Sports

November 2, 2009

Packed house at Lawler Arena

A jam packed crowd of 2,660 watched the Warriors skate to a 5-3 win over Boston College and beat a nationally ranked opponent for the second straight weekend.

Merrimack beat Vermont, then ranked seventh, 5-2 last Friday.

The recent success has fans jamming Lawler Arena, making the rink reminiscent of games in the late 1970s.

"It's neat to see the place full again," said Robert Giorgio, a 47-year-old Methuen resident, who remembers watched the Warriors battle UMass Lowell in what was one of the hottest rivalries around (Merrimack and then ULowell were both Division 2 at the time).

"There were times when Lowell fans were on one side, where the press box is now, and Merrimack students were on the other side, where the blue line club is now," Giorgio said. "In the middle, there were just groups of police, because we had one game here when the fans just brawled. I think it was while the teams were brawling, too. There was a huge passion back then, and it's good to see it coming back."

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