BOSTON — For the first time in 10 games, Merrimack College played a poor period. For the upstart Warriors, it was bound to happen at some point. Unfortunately for the Warriors, it was the decisive factor in last night's 6-4 loss at Boston University.
The Warriors surrendered four goals on 15 first-period shots. BU scored 44 seconds into the game and dominated the opening 20 minutes. Starter Andrew Braithwaite was pulled after the opening period and Joe Cannata, Friday night's starter in a 6-3 win, took over.
The rest of the way, the Warriors outscored the Terriers 4-2 (BU added an empty netter) and outshot BU 23-14. But it couldn't make up for a daunting opening period, by far the Warriors' worst of the season.
"You can't spot any team four goals," said head coach Mark Dennehy. "I told Braithwaite that I'm not Mike Keenan. I rarely take a goalie out, and I didn't think we played well in front of him. I believe we have the best two goalies in the league.
"I didn't think we were ready to play, but you don't know that until the puck drops. This is as resilient as a group as I've ever been around, including Hockey East championship teams. They challenged themselves a little too much tonight by going down four goals before we showed up."
The Warriors applied pressure from the opening minutes of the second period, forcing BU into turnovers and slowly chipped their way back into the game.
"We got up 4-0 and tried to make too many cute plays," said BU coach Jack Parker. "And we made stupid penalties and almost self-destructed. We had complete control of the puck, no pressure, and then we'd turn a puck over. It was nothing they were doing to us; we were trying to do too much."
Merrimack has adjusted itself to playing behind. Despite the strong start, the Warriors have been seen their opponents score first in six of 10 games (3-3).
"There is a lot of belief in that locker room," Dennehy said. "We just took it and tried to win the second period and make it a game."
Freshman forward Stephane Da Costa potted a goal and added two assists. The phenom has eight goals and six assists (14 points) in just eight games.
"He's really good," Dennehy said. "I'm not being factious. He's ridiculous."
Da Costa, despite the strong start of his rookie season, knew the Warriors' effort in the first period wasn't a recipe for success.
"We just didn't come out with the intensity we needed," he said. "We didn't play our game."
The loss drops the Warriors to 6-4 on the season. Merrimack is 6-0 at home and 0-4 on the road. They'll travel to Tsongas Arena on Saturday to face off with UMass Lowell.
Boston University 6, Merrimack College 4
at Agganis Arena, Boston University
Goals: Merrimack — Brandon Brodhag, Stephane Da Costa, Elliott Sheen, Joe Cucci; Boston University — Kevin Shattenkirk, Ross Gaudet, Chris Connolly 2, Max Nicastro, Colby Cohen
Assists: Merrimack — Da Costa 2, Cucci, Kyle Bigos, Jesse Todd, Adam Ross, Brandon Sadlowski, Chris Barton; Boston University — Connolly, Joe Pereira, Eric Gryba, Ryan Santana, Nick Bonino, Luke Popko, Vinny Saponari, Shattenkirk
Saves: Merrimack — Andrew Braithwaite 11, Joe Cannata 16; Boston University — Grant Rollheiser 25
Record: MC 6-4-0, BU 3-6-0
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