Merrimack Warriors Post Highest Scoring Average in Hockey East

Merrimack men’s hockey players produced 10 goals across two games against UConn on the weekend, extending an unbeaten streak to seven contests. The Warriors posted a win and a tie in the series. Their current offensive output stands at 4.5 goals per game. That pace leads the Hockey East conference. It also ranks sixth in the country. The squad returned 18 players from last year’s roster. That group captured the program’s first Hockey East tournament title. They advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Those veterans generated 89.1 percent of the team’s points during the previous season. The return of that core has fueled the current run, which consists of five wins and two ties.

Junior Nick Pierre has led the team’s attack. He recorded eight goals in the first eight games. His output includes a hat trick in Saturday’s 5-5 draw with UConn. Pierre leads Hockey East in total points. He is tied for second place in the nation behind Jayden Perron of Michigan. His 12 points are the highest on the Merrimack roster. Last season, Pierre finished with 13 goals and 12 assists. The team now faces a defensive adjustment. They conceded nine goals during the UConn series. Tightening that unit will determine if the Warriors maintain their position among the top contenders.

Elsewhere in the conference, Boston University secured five of six possible points against Maine. The Terriers won Friday’s matchup 7-2. They scored on their first three shifts. A fourth goal came 4:49 into the second period on the power play, establishing a 4-0 lead. Saturday’s contest proved closer. Maine took a 2-0 first period lead. Tynan Lawrence scored two third period goals to tie the game. Freshman Caleb Malhotra deked two defenders to score the winning goal in overtime.

Providence suffered its first loss of the season in a visit to Quinnipiac. The Bobcats won 5-1. Andon Cerbone recorded a hat trick for the victors. This result mirrored the first round outcome of the previous NCAA Tournament. Boston College and Northeastern split their weekend series. Boston College won Friday’s game 3-2 in overtime. Dean Letourneau scored the decisive goal. Northeastern responded on Saturday with a 4-3 victory. Tyler Fukakusa scored with 2:06 remaining in the extra session. Lawton Zacher returned for Northeastern from an upper body injury. He stopped 91 of 97 shots across the two games. That total set a new career high for the goaltender.

Harvard defeated UMass 2-1 in the first game of a nonconference series. Senior captain Matthew Morden scored the winning goal with 17:55 left in the second period. The game marked the debut of Rob Rassey as head coach for Harvard. UMass won the Friday rematch 4-2. Senior Jack Musa scored the game winner in the third period. Larry Keenan added an empty net goal with 15 seconds remaining. The result completed the series for UMass.

Holy Cross and Bentley split their home and away series. Danick Leroux stopped 32 shots for Holy Cross in a 2-0 win in Worcester. That performance marked his third career shutout. Bentley won the return game 4-3 at home. Four different players scored for the Falcons. Alec Leonard’s goal at 8:08 of the third period proved decisive. UMass Lowell and Colgate also split their series. Colgate forced overtime in the final game to win 4-3. Jacob McDonald scored three times for the River Hawks during the weekend.