The Merrimack men’s hockey team will play against UMass Amherst in the Hockey East semifinals at TD Garden on Friday, according to a March 18 announcement. The Warriors advanced after an overtime win over top-seeded Providence and a first-round victory against UMass Lowell.
This matchup is significant as it marks the second time in four seasons that Merrimack has reached the Hockey East semifinals. The game will be held at TD Garden, home of the Boston Bruins, with puck drop scheduled for 4 p.m. Eastern Time.
Head coach Scott Borek said, “I’m really excited for our team. We’ve gone through a long year, some really good times and some tough times. We started a really difficult year. We got here. We got out of the gate really poorly, and the way we built back in the second half is a real testament to who our guys are, and I’m excited that they got rewarded for it.” Borek added, “We’re really looking forward to it.”
UMass Amherst advanced after defeating Northeastern in the quarterfinals and had earned a first-round bye as the regular season’s second seed. Borek commented on their opponent’s strengths: “Their goaltending is outstanding,” he said about UMass netminder Michael Hrabel. “Typically, they’ve always had a real strong goalie but Mike Hrabel is taking that to another level. Record-breaking season almost. But we have a very good goalie, too, so I think our matchup there is good.” He continued, “Their defense is very active, more active than Providence is… They’re just a heavy, physical team… This is going to be a tough game, but we’re excited about it.”
Merrimack’s recent playoff run has included several overtime games; five of their last nine postseason contests have gone into extra time. Goaltender Max Lundgren set a program record for single-season saves during the quarterfinal win over Providence and currently leads all Hockey East goaltenders with 1,036 saves this season.
The Warriors also lead Hockey East in power-play goals and percentage and have scored power-play goals in each of their last five games. Trevor Hoskin enters the semifinals with three goals in two playoff games and was named Hockey East Player of the Week after scoring game-winning goals against both UMass Lowell and Providence.
Justin Gill and Parker Lalonde were named finalists for Hockey East Rookie of the Year following All-Rookie team honors earlier this season.
Looking ahead, Merrimack will rely on its depth—eight players are averaging more than one point per game this postseason—as they prepare for Friday’s semifinal matchup.
