No. 8 Merrimack upsets No. 2 UMass to clinch spot in men’s Hockey East Championship

Jack Lawhorne — Student Reporter

“I don’t think we’re ever the underdog, but we are the disrespected.”

That was the message Merrimack head coach Scott Borek sent heading into his No. 8-seeded team’s Hockey East Semifinal matchup against No. 2 UMass.

And Borek’s comments were justified after Merrimack defeated No. 1 Providence in the Hockey East Quarterfinals last Saturday.

“At times it’s frustrated me, with some of the award voting, the all-star teams, and things like that — not to take away from anyone who made the teams because there are great players on those teams — but I think we have some great players too. So I feel like we’re disrespected,” said Borek.

“We’re not the little engine that could. We’re not the underdog. We’re a team who’s gonna go in and try to earn someone’s respect.”

And boy, did the Warriors earn their respect, with a 2–0 victory over UMass Friday to advance to the Hockey East Championship game back at TD Garden on Saturday.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Merrimack goaltender Max Lundgren was stellar in net, stopping all 24 Minutemen shots on goal to record the first shutout in the Hockey East Semifinal since Connor Hellebuyck in 2014.

Lundgren stood on his head all game, especially during heavy attacks from UMass at the end of each of the first two periods.

“Winning mentality,” Lundgren attributed his performance to. “The whole team has it, we just want to win so badly. I have great players in front of me helping me take care of rebounds and helping me stop shots. I just try to stay focused, make saves, and rely on some great help from my teammates.”

“I liked our game. I thought we had enough chances,” said Massachusetts head coach Greg Carvel. “Our best players had pucks on their sticks to score goals. We just couldn’t find a way to get one past their goalie who played particularly well.”

In addition to the excellent play in net, Merrimack largely limited UMass from generating sustained offensive pressure, even as the Minutemen created their share of chances.

“Its interesting. We haven’t been great in our own end,” said Scott Borek. “I thought tonight we were much more aggressive and much more urgent, and that’s what got us through those situations. We didn’t stay in our own zone as much as the last few times we played them.”

Furthermore, the Warriors controlled the neutral zone and deployed a relentless forecheck all game which wore the Minutemen down and helped keep them off the board.

After two scoreless periods, Merrimack broke the deadlock three minutes into the third, when Ty Daneault fed Ryan O’Connell as he soared past two UMass defenders to notch the game’s first goal.

“I kind of blacked out,” O’Connell recalled. “But from what I remember, I saw a low blocker, and just kind of shot there.”

“I always tell Ryan my nickname for him is Elmers,” said Borek. “Because he is the glue guy. He is special. Every team needs a guy like him, and we’re fortunate to have even more than one.”

With under two minutes to play and the UMass net empty, Austin Oravetz intercepted a pass in the defensive zone and sent an outlet pass to Parker Lalonde, who found Caden Cranston, who muscled in an empty netter to give the Warriors a two-goal edge.

And that was all she wrote.

“How about that?” said Scott Borek following the win.

“We didn’t come to the Garden just to play. We wanted to win this thing, earn some respect. I couldn’t be happier for our group.”

With the win, Merrimack became the first No. 8 seed and the lowest-seeded team to ever advance to the Hockey East Final.

It’s safe to say they’ve earned their respect.

But the job is not finished.

The Warriors will be back at TD Garden Saturday night at 7 p.m. ET where they will take on the UConn Huskies in the Hockey East Championship game.