UNH Ousted from Hockey East Tourney with 4-1 Loss to Merrimack

Wednesday, February 23

Durham, N.H.

7 PM

University of New Hampshire

11-21-2

Merrimack College

8-24-1

Merrimack

New Hampshire

Photo by: China Wong

UNH Ousted from Hockey East Tourney with 4-1 Loss to Merrimack

2/23/2022 10:27:00 PM | Women's Ice Hockey

Box Score

DURHAM, N.H. – Sophomore Chavonne Truter (Uxbridge, Ontario) scored a goal but the University of New Hampshire women's hockey team was defeated 4-1 by Merrimack College in Wednesday night's Hockey East opening round game at the Whittemore Center.

Truter's goal lifted UNH within 3-1 with 5:09 remaining in regulation but Merrimack scored a shorthanded, empty-net goal with 59.5 seconds left to secure the win.

Senior goalie and captain Ava Boutilier (Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island) made 12 of her 23 saves in the second period.

MC goaltender Emma Gorski stopped 30 shots. Gabby Jones (one goal, two assists) and Katie Kaufman (two assists) led the Warriors' offense.

UNH, which entered the league tournament as the No. 8 seed (9-16-1 Hockey East), finishes the 2022 season with a 11-21-2 overall record. Ninth-seeded Merrimack improves to 8-24-1 overall and advances to play top-seed Northeastern University in a Feb. 26 quarterfinal.
WHOC scoreboard_02.23.22

FIRST PERIOD

UNH recorded a 6-4 shot advantage in the scoreless opening stanza.

SECOND PERIOD

Merrimack netted a pair of second-period goals with a 14-11 edge in shots.
On a delayed penalty against UNH, Julia MacLean's shot from the left circle was redirected into the cage by Sam Lessick for an extra-attacker goal and 1-0 lead at 6:22.
Jones netted a 4-on-4 goal to give the Warriors a 2-0 lead at 17:10.

THIRD PERIOD

New Hampshire recorded a 14-9 shot advantage in the final frame.
MC extended the advantage to 3-0 with a power-play goal at 8:20. Boutilier stopped Jones' initial shot from the left point but Courtney Maud was at the top of the crease to deposit the rebound into the net.
UNH trimmed the deficit to 3-1 at 14:51 when Truter, with her back to the goal, redirected a shot between her legs and the puck bounced under the crossbar. Senior Emily Rickwood (Brantford, Ontario), with the initial shot from the left point, and senior captain Lauren Martin (Cambridge, Ontario) were credited with the assists.
The 'Cats went on their fourth power play of the game with 2:54 remaining and pulled Boutilier in favor of an extra skater with 2:05 on the clock to give the home team a two-skater advantage.
New Hampshire called time out at 18:34 and Gorski denied junior Tamara Thiérus (Saint-Jérôme, Quebec) seven seconds later to preserve the 3-1 lead.
With just over a minute remaining, Teghan Inglis corralled a loose puck in the defensive zone, spun and fired the puck off the boards the length of the ice into the open net with 59.5 seconds to play.

GAME NOTEBOOK

UNH finished with a 31-27 shot advantage and 29-18 edge in faceoffs.
Merrimack went 1-for-4 on the power play. The Warriors also netted a shorthanded goal – the first allowed by the 'Cats this season – and a 4-on-4 goal.
The Wildcats were scoreless on four power plays.
MC blocked 15 shot attempts; UNH had seven blocks.

UNH NOTEBOOK

Boutilier increased her school-record career saves total to 2,907.
Sophomore Brianna Brooks (Whitby, Ontario) won 14 of 20 faceoffs (70.0%).
Junior Annie Berry (Milton, Mass.) was 7 of 10 in the faceoff circle.
Martin won 8 of 12 faceoffs.
Junior Rae Breton (Brighton, Ontario) led UNH with two blocked shots.

SERIES NOTEBOOK

UNH has a 14-5-1 lifetime record against Merrimack that includes 7-2-1 at home and 0-1-0 in the postseason.
The Wildcats won the regular-season series (2-1-0); all three games were decided by one goal.