After a weekend full of offensive prowess, the Huskies looked to take their momentum up north to take on fellow Hockey East foes, the Merrimack Warriors, in a two-game weekend series. They played game one on Friday at Lawler Rink in North Andover, Mass.; the Warriors then traveled down to the Toscano Ice Forum the following day for game two.
On Friday, Merrimack was able to stifle the hot sticks of the UConn Huskies in a 4-1 win in front of over 2000 fans. The Warriors played a great game on defense while scoring timely goals to secure a home victory.
In the first period, the Huskies outshot the Warriors 11-9. Despite this, neither team was able to find the back of the net. Huskies junior goaltender Tyler Muszelik put on a show early, hunkering down in the crease and keeping the puck out of the net for the entirety of the period.
However, the Huskies’ defense began to bend as Warriors forward Antonio Venuto snuck the puck past the stick of Muszelik for the first goal of the game, bringing the score to 1-0. However, this lead was short-lived. On a power play, Joey Muldowney found first-year defenseman Trey Scott open to tie the game at 1-1. The game would remain tied for the rest of the period.
It was not until the third period that the Huskies’ defense faltered, allowing the Warriors to score three consecutive goals to ice the game. Merrimack’s Ethan Bono lit the lamp two times, while David Socco added a goal himself to add to the Warriors’ 4-1 win in game one of the series.
Although the Huskies had a home rink advantage for game two, the result was much of the same as Merrimack prevailed by a score of 5-2.
The Warriors jumped on the Huskies early in the first period with a goal from David Socco, giving Merrimack a 1-0 lead for the entire period. Despite many scoring chances, the Huskies’ offense failed to capitalize.
In the second period, Caelan Fitzpatrick found Zach Bookman open to add to the Warriors lead. Then, Fitzpatrick took matters into his own hands, finding the back of the net to give Merrimack a 3-0 lead. On a power play, freshman Ethan Gardula found a wide-open Joey Muldowney open to narrow the Warriors lead to two; however, Ethan Bono found the back of the net for his second goal of the weekend to give his team a 4-1 lead going into the final period.
UConn’s Hugh Larkin started the third period off with a bang, bringing the score to 4-2, making the Huskies hopeful for a third period comeback win. Nevertheless, the Huskies’ offense remained dormant for the rest of the game, marked by stellar goaltending play by Merrimack’s Nills Walstrom. Caden Cranston tacked on an insurance goal at the end of the game, helping Merrimack win 5-2.
The Huskies (5-5-1) look to snap their two-game losing streak on Friday in a thrilling 7 p.m. matchup against perennial powerhouse Boston College.