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Merrimack Upsets New Hampshire

Warriors Rally in Third

by Melissa Parrelli /USCHO Arena Reporter
What Curse?

North Andover, Mass., home of Merrimack College, is approximately 29 miles north of Boston's historic Fenway Park. That being the case it hardly means that the Warriors are immune from curses.

When you look at the Warriors record in recent years against New Hampshire, a program that albeit has been stellar for the most part of the last decade and a half, you have to wonder if there's a higher power controlling the outcome when the two teams meet.

There have been plenty of close games over that time, but for one reason or another, most have gone the way of the Wildcats. When we say most, it may be better said almost all.

The numbers for the Warriors have simply been ugly. Former head coach Chris Serino, who once was an assistant under UNH head coach Dick Umile, won just once (1-24-2) in 27 games against New Hampshire while coaching Merrimack. Three times, his Warriors were swept in the playoffs by the Wildcats.

Current bench boss Mark Dennehy won his first game against the Wildcats by the score of 1-0 and since was 0-6-1.

When the numbers played out, since 1995, Merrimack was 2-35-5 against New Hampshire entering Saturday's tilt at the Whittemore Center on UNH's campus.

So when Merrimack stormed the UNH net early in the third only to see Wildcats' winger Bobby Butler walk in alone to break a 2-2 tie and give the Wildcats their first lead of the night with 13:12 remaining, anyone of Merrimack ilk simply might have shook their head saying, "Here we go again."

Then, amazingly, tides turned. A perfect pass from behind the net to Rob Ricci allowed the senior captain to get a first shot on Wildcats' netminder Brain Foster and bury the rebound that returned exactly to his stick with 12:23 remaining. A little more than three minutes later, a UNH breakdown led to rookie Jesse Todd (heck, what does he know about curses) burying a goal-mouth feed to give the Warriors the lead, 4-3, with less than 10 minutes left.

After that, it was left to another freshman (remember, what curse, right?), goaltender Joe Cannata, possibly Merrimack's best recruit in nearly a decade, to do the job. With 7:29 remaining, he literally stonewalled UNH's Danny Dries and then with less than five minutes remaining, Cannata was the backbone to killing off a UNH man advantage.

By the time the buzzer sounded, it was as if a curse couldn't be thought of.

"I thought our guys were resilient tonight," said Dennehy. "Whittemore is a tough place to play and it's the first time [playing here] for six of our guys."

With freshman playing such a large role on the evening, might it simply be that ignorance is bliss?

"They got pretty significant minutes," said Dennehy about the rookie class. "I thought they handled the emotion of the game."

Maybe, though, reversing such a curse can be solved much easier, as Dennehy said it best.

"We haven't been scoring many goals," Dennehy noted. "This game is pretty easy when you're scoring goals."

by Jim Connelly

DURHAM, N.H. (Nov. 29, 2008) — Disappointment is the word going around the New Hampshire locker room these days, as the Wildcats (5-6-3, 3-4-2 HE) lost 4-3 Saturday night to Merrimack (4-7-3, 2-6-2 HE), marking the first home loss of the season and only the team’s third loss in 13 years against the Warriors.

More: Box Score
Merrimack: Team Page | Schedule
New Hampshire: Team Page | Schedule

“We’re in a difficult position right now, disappointing,” said UNH coach Dick Umile. “We’re finding ways to lose games; we don’t defend very well and we give the puck away. We do have opportunities, but we just give up when we get the opportunities.”

Merrimack’s fourth line got the scoring started when sophomore Bobby Kramer deflected Karl Stollery’s shot from the left point at 8:46 in the first.

There were only five penalties all game and the first didn’t come until 16:42 in the opening period when Merrimack’s Carter Madsen was put in the box for hitting from behind. UNH capitalized on the next Merrimack penalty less than 30 seconds later getting a five-on-three power-play goal at 18:02. Kevin Kapstad shot a bullet from the top right circle off a pass from co-captain Joe Charlebois, sending the puck past goalie Joe Cannata to tie it up 1-1.

The Warriors reclaimed the lead at 4:08 of the second period when rookie Elliott Sheen sent the puck through Brian Foster’s legs for his first collegiate goal.

Madsen had a quick breakaway two minutes later in the UNH zone, but he let Foster off easy, sending the puck to the far right of the net.

The Wildcats clawed their way back when James van Riemsdyk took the puck down the left wing on a two-on-one and dished it to Steve Moses in the center, who then put it in at 14:16. Van Riemsdyk’s assist continues his seven-game point streak; the sophomore has at least a point in all but two games this season.

A little over two minutes into the third period, there was a disallowed goal when Merrimack got a high-sticking call.

However, less than five minutes later, UNH’s Bobby Butler took the puck from the neutral zone, beat two Merrimack defenders and put it past Cannata at 6:46 for his sixth point of the season. For the first time Saturday night the Wildcats, had the lead 3-2.

Merrimack didn’t waste any time and answered back when Sheen fed the puck from the corner to co-captain Rob Ricci in front of the net. Ricci shot the puck at Foster, but was there for his own rebound and this time put it in at 7:37.

Umile holds the defense accountable for losing the lead so quickly.

“The third goal was the same thing,” Umile said. “We lose a one-on-one battle in front of the net, guy gets a shot. All our effort, or lack of effort defending.”

The Warriors weren’t done fighting, as they continued their offensive domination three minutes later when freshman Jesse Todd scored on the rush off a goal mouth feed from Pat Kimball in the left corner at 10:53.

“At the end of the day it’s about putting together a good effort and being shift-to-shift somewhat consistent, outworking the opponent,” said Merrimack coach Mark Dennehy. “I thought for a stretch of this game we did, so they [his players] had reason to be positive. The prerequisite for our team is to play hard. If we play hard, good things are going to happen for this team. If we consistently match the other team’s effort level or outwork them then we are going to have success.”--