LOWELL, Mass — It didn't take long for Merrimack College to turn heads in Hockey East. Last week, with a 6-3 record, the Warriors were arguably the biggest surprise of the entire league. But two-straight losses, including last night's 6-3 setback to¬ UMass Lowell, brings the Warriors' record to a more pedestrian 6-5. Even more alarming is the disparity in Merrimack's play at home and on the road.
At J. Thom Lawler Arena, Merrimack is a perfect 6-0 with wins over nationally ranked Vermont, Boston College and defending national champions Boston University. On the road, the Warriors are an ugly 0-5.
"There's nothing to it," head coach Mark Dennehy said of his team's road woes. "At least not on our end. We've been down in games at home, too. There's nothing to it."
Last night, it was Merrimack's fondness for the penalty box that helped the fourth-ranked River Hawks roll with relative ease. Merrimack's first two power plays were cut short by penalties of their own — neither of their first two man-advantages lasted longer than 40 seconds — and the River Hawks power play made the Warriors pay, going 3 for 7.
Not only did the penalties cut short power plays which could have resulted in scores, it killed any momentum from holding possession for nearly two minutes in the offensive zone. Lowell, on the other hand, pressured Merrimack's killers and rotated the puck all over the zone.
"Our penalty kill was poor," Dennehy said. "Even in the penalties that we killed, we weren't as aggressive as we need to be. When we're killing penalties we need to eat pucks and we weren't doing that. We needed to be more aggressive."
Lowell also imposed its will on a Merrimack team that at times looked as if it were playing in slow motion, especially in front of goaltender Joe Cannata.
"I wasn't happy with the way we played in front of (Cannata)," Dennehy said. "We didn't give him a lot of help."
The River Hawks won puck battles along the boards and in front of the Merrimack net. They bottled up Merrimack's breakout and prevented the Warriors from holding possession in the offensive zone.
"They're a talented team," said UML forward Chris Auger, who had five points. "We knew coming in that one of the things we needed to do was take away time and space. We wanted to force them to do something with the puck."
The Warriors have allowed 12 goals in their last two games, losing both. It's the first two-game losing streak since dropping the opening series at North Dakota.
"We didn't play the way we need to play to win a game," Dennehy said.
The Warriors were return to friendly confines, Lawler Arena, when they host UNH Saturday.
¬
UMass Lowell 6, Merrimack 3
Merrimack (6-5-0, 3-3-0 HE):¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ 1-1-1—3
UMass Lowell (8-2-1, 4-1-1 HE: 3-2-1—6
First Period: 1. MC Chris Barton 8 (Jesse Todd), 6:44; 2. UML Jeremy Dehner 1 (Chris Auger, Paul Worthington), ppg, 10:28; 3. Chris Auger 3 (Scott Campbell), 12:14; 4. Chris Auger 4 (Nick Schaus), ppg, 15:00.
Second Period: 5. UML Scott Campbell 4 (unassisted), 7:27; 6. UML Paul Worthington 5 (unassisted), 16:00; 7. MC Justin Bonitatibus 2 (Adam Ross, Brandon Sadlowski), ppg, 19:29.
Third Period: 8. MC Jeff Velleca 3 (Stephane Da Costa, Kyle Bigos), 8:38; 9. UML Paul Worthington 6 (Chris Auger), 10:15.
Shots: Merrimack 10-12-11—33; UMass Lowell 12-6-8—26
Saves: MC Cannata (3-3-0) 9-4-7—20; UML Hamilton (4-0-1) 9-11-10—30
Power play: Merrimack 1 for 3; UMass Lowell 3 for 7
Attendance: 4,700
Next: Hosts UNH Saturday, 4 p.m.
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