Poturalski’s Two Goals Powers Men’s Hockey Over No. 17 Merrimack, 4-2

Saturday, October 31

North Andover, Mass.

7:00 PM

University of New Hampshire

3-2-1, 1-0-1HEA

Merrimack College

3-1-2, 1-1-2HEA

New Hampshire

Merrimack

Photo by: Paige O'Donnell

Poturalski’s Two Goals Powers Men’s Hockey Over No. 17 Merrimack, 4-2

10/31/2015 10:10:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey

Box Score

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Sophomore forward Andrew Poturalski (Williamsville, N.Y.) scored a pair of goals as the University of New Hampshire men's hockey team downed No. 17 Merrimack College, 4-2, Saturday night at Lawler Rink. Both of Poturalski's goals came on power plays.

The win bumps the Wildcats up to 3-2-1 on the year and 1-0-1 in Hockey East play while the Warriors fall to 3-1-2 and 1-1-2 in conference play. Also scoring goals for the Wildcats was freshman Ara Nazarian (Boxford, Mass.) and sophomore Richard Boyd (Delray Beach, Fla.).

Just 2:18 into the first period, the Wildcats took a 2-1 lead on a goal by Nazarian, the first of his career. The play came when rookie Chris Miller (Windham, N.H.) played a pass over to junior Jamie Hill (Glassboro, N.J.). Hill fired a shot on net that Merrimack netminder Collin Delia saved, but Nazarian was there to put the rebound away for the goal.

Just 18 seconds later, Boyd increased UNH's lead to 2-0 with his second goal of the season and his career. Freshman Marcus Vela (Burnaby, British Columbia) won a puck battle behind the Merrimack net and played a pass to linemate Jason Salvaggio (Hanson, Mass.) along the boards. Salvaggio played a cross ice pass to Boyd, catching Delia off guard as Boyd was able to finish the play with his goal.

Merrimack leveled cut its deficit to one goal at the 7:21 mark of the first period with a goal by Brian Christie. Justin Hussar initiated the play with a pass to Ben Bahe. Bahe found Christie in the faceoff circle who fired a shot through traffic and into the net.

At the end of the first period, UNH held a 2-1 lead. Wildcat netminder Adam Clark (Sherwood Park, Alberta) made saves on 14 of 15 shots faced in the frame.

Forty nine seconds into the second period, Poturalski scored his fourth goal of the season to give UNH a 3-1 lead. The goal came while the 'Cats were on a power play and started with junior blueliner Matias Cleland (Longmont, Colo.). Cleland skated the pick into the Merrimack zone and played a pass to classmate Tyler Kelleher (Longmeadow, Mass.). Kelleher skated from the left to right side of the zone and played a pass back to the left side to Poturalski who was between the faceoff circle and the redline. Poturalski controlled the puck and then lifted a wrister into the top of the net past Delia.

Just over midway through the second period, the Warriors had scored a goal, however the play was reviewed by the refs and eventually overturned due to goaltender interference.

With two periods of play in the books, the Wildcats held a 3-1 advantage.

At the 2:38 mark of the third period, Poturalski notched his second goal and power play goal of the game. Kelleher initiated the play with a saucer pass to rookie Matt Dawson (Delta, British Columbia) who then played a pass over to Poturalski along the boards. Poturalski would up and ripped a shot that found the back of the net. Poturalski's two power play goals were the first two that Merrimack had relinquished all season.

Merrimack notched its second goal of the game at 11:16 of the third period on a play by Mathieu Tibbet. Brett Seney picked up the puck in the UNH zone and played a pass over to Tibbet who then fired a shot to the right side of the net.

With 2:15 left in the third and the Wildcats on the penalty kill, Merrimack pulled Delia for a 6-on-4 advantage, but New Hampshire remained resilient on defense and thwarted the MC advantage.

After three periods of play, the Wildcats defeated the Warriors, 4-2.

Clark made 28 saves on 30 shots faced and earned his second win of the season, improving to 2-0-0 on the year. Delia made 16 saves on 20 shots faced and was given the loss. His record falls to 3-1-2. The Wildcats went 2-for-7 on power plays while Merrimack was held scoreless on five chances.

The Wildcats take on Michigan State on Friday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. and on Saturday, Nov. 7 at the same time. New Hampshire is home next on Friday, Nov. 20 when it hosts Massachusetts at 7 p.m.

For more information on men's hockey, visit www.UNHWildcats.com.