Wildcats Tie Merrimack, 0-0, in Hockey East Opener

Friday, October 18

North Andover, Mass.

7 PM

University of New Hampshire

1-0-1, 0-0-1

Merrimack

1-2-1, 0-0-1

OT 1

OT 2

New Hampshire

Merrimack

Jared Whale posted his first shutout as a Wildcat.

Photo by: Matt Solan

10/18/2024 11:43:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey

Box Score

Jared Whale posts first shutout as a Wildcat.

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Junior goaltender Jared Whale (Calgary, Alberta) recorded his first shutout as a Wildcat with 16 saves as the University of New Hampshire men's hockey team tied Merrimack, 0-0, on Friday evening at Lawler Rink in the Hockey East opener for both teams. The Warriors won the shootout, 1-0, to pick up two Hockey East points, while UNH earned one point.

The Wildcats are now 1-0-1 (0-0-1 Hockey East), while the Warriors are 1-2-1 (0-0-1 Hockey East).

UP NEXT:

The Wildcats return to action on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 25-26 at No. 7 Quinnipiac. Friday's game starts at 7 p.m. on NESN and ESPN+, while the contest on Saturday begins at 4 p.m. on ESPN+.
The next home game for the 'Cats is on Saturday, Nov. 2 versus Providence at 4:30 p.m. on NESN and ESPN+ with a UNH hockey pennant giveaway
Tickets can be purchased at UNHWildcats.com/BuyTickets or by calling the ticket office at (603) 862-4000. Don't miss the most exciting family entertainment in New Hampshire.

Score: New Hampshire 0, Merrimack 0 (OT-MC wins shootout, 1-0)
Records: UNH (1-0-1, 0-0-1 Hockey East), Merrimack (1-2-1, 0-0-1 Hockey East)
Location: Lawler Rink (North Andover, Mass.)
Date: Friday, Oct. 18, 2024
Attendance: 2,476

BOXSCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The first period went scoreless as the Warriors outshot the Wildcats, 7-5, while Merrimack went 0-2 on the power play and UNH went 0-1.
The second period also went scoreless with UNH outshooting MC, 8-5, and the 'Cats going 0-1 on the man-advantage.
With 4:44 left in the third period, the Warriors went on a five-minute major power play but the Wildcat defense kept the game tied at 0-0 going into overtime, including a big blocked shot by sophomore forward Marty Lavins (Riga, Latvia) with under 20 seconds remaining.
Neither team could find the back of the net in overtime as the game went to a shootout as Zach Bookman scored the only goal of the shootout to give Merrimack the extra point.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

UNH outshot Merrimack, 19-16.
The Wildcats went 0-2 on the power play, while the Warriors went 0-3.
Whale made 16 saves and is 1-0-1 this season, while Ryan Keyes tallied 19 saves for the shutout in his collegiate debut.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

Whale now has three career shutouts as he had two previously for Alaska Anchorage.
Whale has only allowed one goal over the first two games with a 0.47 goals against average and a .975 save percentage.