NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. — Gustav Nyquist and Brian Flynn each scored two goals, and goalie Shawn Sirman stopped 24 shots as the University of Maine clinched a berth in the men’s Hockey East playoffs with a 5-1 victory over Merrimack on Saturday night.

It was just the third loss of the season at home for the Warriors (14-17-1, 11-13-1).

The Black Bears (16-13-3, 13-10-2 Hockey East) took a 1-0 lead on Flynn’s short-handed goal at 16:40 of the first period. Nyquist got the puck to Ryan Hegarty, who sent a shot toward Merrimack goalie Joe Cannata. Cannata stopped the shot, but Flynn put in the rebound.

Just over a minute later, Nyquist wristed a pass from Will O’Neill past Cannata for a power-play goal.

John Heffernan scored with 1:06 left in the first for the Warriors, assisted by Carter Madsen. But Nyquist countered with a second-period shot just inside the far post for a 3-1 lead entering the final period.

Robby Dee gave the Black Bears a 4-1 lead at 4:28 of the third, and Maine capped the scoring when Flynn tapped home Nyquist’s pass at 16:40.

The Black Bears outshot Merrimack, 36-25. Maine was 1 for 5 on the power play while holding Merrimack to 0 for 8.

 

Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or to participate in the conversation. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.

Related Stories
Latest Articles