College hockey: SLU men edge Merrimack, Clarkson falls in overtime

Oct. 8—CANTON — There were many things for the crowd of 1,426 who attended the St. Lawrence University men's hockey home game Friday night to enjoy, especially a 3-1 nonconference win over Merrimack.

After being shut out 4-0 by UMass-Lowell last weekend, SLU's offense scored two goals in the first period Friday. Greg Lapointe, playing his first game at Appleton Arena in front of fans, picked up two assists. Defensemen Tucker McIntosh and Drake Burgin scored goals and the Saints protected a lead heading into the third period.

"I thought we settled in," Saints coach Brent Brekke said. "I didn't think we were real energized the first couple minutes. We got too relaxed at times. We got some physicality going and made some plays as the game went on. I thought we did some good things."

Lapointe, who missed all of last season battling cancer, nearly scored a goal 6 minutes, 19 seconds into the game when he had a short breakaway chance on Merrimack's 6-foot-8, 253-pound goalie Hugo Ollas. Ollas thwarted the attempt with a pad save.

"He was good," Brekke said of Lapointe. "Last week we only had the one game and he hadn't played in 18 months. I thought he managed his game better. He was better as far as shortening up his shifts. He managed his puck possession. I thought it was a good growth step for him."

Merrimack was called for three penalties in the first period, including two just 12 seconds apart giving the Saints a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:48.

With 45 seconds left in the two-man advantage, the Saints (1-1 overall) struck first with a goal from Max Dorrington on the rebound of a shot from Lapointe. Mason Waite also assisted.

Later in the period, the Saints took a 2-0 lead when McIntosh scored on a shot from just inside the blue line at 16:07. Philippe Chapleau assisted on that scored.

"I was pretty surprised," McIntosh said of his goal. "I saw it got up and it was in. I happened to take a little toe pick at center ice too. I was happy it went in."

Merrimack was playing its opening game in a tough situation after 38-year-old assistant coach Josh Ciocco died Monday. The team voted Wednesday whether it wanted to make the trip for this weekend's games.

"It was as good as we expected," Merrimack coach Scott Borek said. "We created our own problems in the hockey game, but we were overly emotional, which is not shocking. We put ourselves in some bad situations which they capitalized on, credit to them. I liked our bounce-back after the first period. We left (playing) up to the players, to see where they were at emotionally. They wanted to play."

The Warriors cut SLU's lead to 2-1 during a power play at 6:52 of the second period when Mark Hillier scored on a pass from Filip Forsmark.

Merrimack came close to tying the game about a minute later when a shot from Ivan Zivlak hit the post.

SLU regained a two-goal advantage when Lapointe hooked up on a two-on-one breakaway with defenseman Drake Burgin, who scored his first career goal at 10:29 of the third period.

"It feels great, especially in our home rink," Burgin said. "The atmosphere was amazing. It's something special and I'm really glad it happened tonight. When it's a one-goal lead, you don't want to give that up. Being able to have that extra cushion and know that we can pull it off, it felt amazing. (The pass) was amazing. (Lapointe) is a good player so I knew it was getting to me."

Said Lapointe, "It was fun in Appleton, my first game in front of fans. I'm getting back to it and I'm just glad to be back. The student section is amazing. Every time there is a big hit they yell. Every time there is a scoring chance you hear them. We are glad that they show up every game."

Holding onto a lead heading into the third period was big for the Saints, who saw games slip away in similar situations last season.

"When you find a way to win with a lead going into the third period, that's a growing piece for us to get better as a team, so that's a good sign," Brekke said.

Said McIntosh, "Good teams find a way to win going into the third up by one goal. They find a way to bury it. I think it's a good push for the boys and shows that we can win games."

N. HAMPSHIRE 4, CLARKSON 3 (OT)

The Wildcats rallied back from a 3-1 deficit in the third period to beat Clarkson in overtime before 2,267 fans in the nonconference opener for both teams at Cheel Arena in Potsdam.

The Golden Knights led 2-0 heading into the third period after goals from Alex Campbell and Ellis Rickwood.

UNH cut the lead to 2-1 with a goal from Cy LeClerc, then Noah Beck scored for Clarkson to make it 3-1 with 15:30 left to play.

Nick Cafarelli scored at 5:57 and Chase Stevenson scored at 7:13 to tie the game for the Wildcats.

Liam Devlin scored a power-play goal at 4:03.5 of overtime to win the game for New Hampshire.

WOMEN'S HOCKEY

CLARKSON 3, MERCYHURST 1

Darcie Lappan scored a goal and assisted on another as the Golden Knights (4-0-1) defeated Mercyhurst in a nonconference game at Erie, Pa.

Kirstyn McQuigge and Jenna Goodwin also scored for Clarkson. Chantal Ste-Croix scored for the Lakers (2-3).