Marcus Antonelli – Sports Editor
Photo by Nate Tacey
BRIGHTON, Ma – It’s no ordinary college hockey game when you’re set to play at an NHL teams practice rink. This contest was anything but ordinary for the Merrimack Warriors.
MC took the trip down to Warrior Ice Arena, the official practice facility of the Boston Bruins, where they had a post-Veterans Day dance with a familiar foe, the Stonehill Skyhawks.
Stonehill notably beat the Warriors (3-2 in OT) earlier this year in their home opener at Lawler Rink. Despite the fact that Merrimack had a student manager in goal due to roster difficulties, they still lost to a team that had 2 wins in program history leading up to that point.
Merrimack came off a series sweep against the UConn Huskies this past weekend, so momentum was to be built on heading into this game. At the start, revenge for opening night looked very unlikely.
THE RECAP
The Warriors were down 2-0 at the end of the first. Stonehill pressured the opposition almost every time the puck wasn’t in their hands. Even where shooting opportunities presented themselves for MC, the Skyhawks stood tall to block shots, tallying 6 in the opening frame.
The second started out in much of the same fashion, a failed attempt to generate offense for the Warriors led to a Stonehill odd-man rush where forward Anthony Galante tucked one under the blocker of Warrior goaltender Nils Wallstrom, who replaced Max Lundgren, the games original starter. The scoreboard read 3-1.
This game was looking sour for MC, but we were far from the final buzzer and there was life sparked in the Warriors. Caelan Fitzpatrick scored an amazing turnaround snipe to give his team life. It was an awesome goal, which notched the Saskatoon native’s 3rd goal of the season. For Coach Borek’s incoming freshman, Caelan has had no problem settling into the NCAA game.
“He’s an effort player every single shift, every practice. His effort’s extreme, and I think he’s being rewarded by it.” Said Coach Borek, “he’s been a really pleasant get for our team and a need that we have, especially right now, but I think he’s played great for us. Playing in three situations as a freshman, That’s big anyways, and then to add some contribution offensively, that’s obviously great too.”
“I thought it’s been a pretty easy transition.” Caelan said when asked about his acclimation to D1, “We practice pretty hard, so practicing hard like that really translated to the game. So I think that’s helped.”
Antonio Venuto and Tyler Young would set up the Warriors heading into the 3rd. Both contributed a goal to tie the game at 3. Young had a great solo effort on his goal to make the score level.
For Young, a Bruins fan through and through, playing this game had a little more meaning to him, “You try to go into it like it’s another hockey game, but I was actually here when it (the facility) was first being built.” Said Young, “And yeah, it definitely means something– seeing Bergeron on the walls and stuff. That was the first number I ever wore growing up. So, yeah, definitely special.”
The third was highly contested between both sides, so it was back to Overtime for the second game between these two teams this season. Unfortunately for Merrimack, the result remained the same.
“I call it on us, the Coaching Staff,” said Coach Borek, “we had to put them in the best position to be successful and tonight, we didn’t do that.”
Merrimack lost to Stonehill, again, 4-3 the final in OT.
“I think tonight was a little bit of a revenge game and obviously the first period wasn’t how you want to come out and start.” Caelan Fitzpatrick told, “I thought we did a good way of battling back, but in this league, it’s just hard to come back once you can give up too early in the game like that so– I thought that was a little disappointing but we put a good effort in trying to claw back.”
Looking ahead, The Warriors have a lengthy road trip, which includes a flight across the pond to Belfast, Northern Ireland for the Friendship Four. It’s safe to say, the team is pumped.
“I think it’s an unbelievable opportunity for the school to be included with that group of teams. I think it will be a really great trip.” Coach Borek explained, “I’ve been on the trip before (with Providence), and it’s an unbelievable educational opportunity for the guys as well.”
Before Merrimack packs up their suitcases for Belfast, they have the week off to rejuvenate. Then, they’ll face Boston University down at Agganis Arena on Friday November the 22nd.
