Merrimack Warriors men's ice hockey

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Merrimack Warriors men's ice hockey
Current season
Merrimack Warriors men's ice hockey athletic logo
UniversityMerrimack College
ConferenceHockey East
Head coachScott Borek
4th season, 21–57–8 (.291)
Captain(s)Vacant
ArenaJ. Thom Lawler Rink
Capacity: 2,549
Surface: 200' x 85'
LocationNorth Andover, Massachusetts
ColorsBlue and gold[1]
   
NCAA Tournament championships
DII: 1978
NCAA Tournament Frozen Four
DII: 1978, 1984
NCAA Tournament appearances
DII: 1978, 1984, DI: 1988, 2011
Current uniform
HE-Uniform-MC.png

The Merrimack Warriors men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents Merrimack College. The Warriors are a member of Hockey East. They play at the 2,549-seat J. Thom Lawler Rink in North Andover, Massachusetts, which underwent renovation in 2010. Merrimack's 92.08% capacity during the 2013–14 season was second in Hockey East.[2]

History[]

The Warriors started intercollegiate play in 1954-55, as the college offered more support to the program in the form of a modest budget, new uniforms and varsity letters. Babson, Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Keene Teachers were among the first intercollegiate competition Merrimack hockey faced that year. And for the first time, the college recognized hockey as a varsity sport.[3]

They were successful in the late 1970s and early 1980s while playing in the ECAC Division II. Merrimack won the division II national title in 1978 and were the runner up in 1984. They became an NCAA Division I independent team in 1984 but did not play a schedule against predominantly Division I teams until they joined the Hockey East conference in 1989.[4][5]

Led by Coach Ron Anderson, a new era began for Merrimack hockey in 1989 when the Warriors competed in their first season as a member of the Hockey East Association. That team posted an overall record of 10-24-1, but pulled off the surprise of the season by taking eventual league champion Boston College to a third and decisive playoff game. And after being picked for the bottom part of the league in three of the last four seasons, the Warriors continued to baffle the experts by battling for home-ice advantage all season long while defeating several Top 20 teams. And with the roots of the Merrimack hockey tree that were planted in Hockey East seven years earlier firmly entrenched, the 1996-97 Warriors entered a new chapter in history by qualifying for a Hockey East playoff home ice berth. The 1997-98 team raised the bar a little higher by upsetting top-ranked Boston University in the quarterfinals and earning a trip to the conference semifinals at Boston's FleetCenter.

The 1998-99 season began yet another era in Merrimack hockey history with the dawning of the Serino age. On April 24, 1998, Chris Serino became just the sixth head coach in the program's history. The Warriors posted a mark of 11-24-1 in Serino's inaugural campaign, and senior forward and captain Rejean Stringer was named an All-American, Merrimack's first ever in the University Division. In Serino's second season, the Warriors set an NCAA record for consecutive overtime contests by playing in six straight at the end of January, and in 2000-01, the Warriors notched 14 victories, the most for Merrimack since 1996-97. Several of those victories were over nationally ranked opponents.

In 2002-03, senior goaltender and captain Joe Exter led Merrimack to a surprising race for home ice throughout much of the season, including the team's first-ever regular season Division I tournament title with wins over host Rensselaer and Wayne State at the 52nd Annual Rensselaer/HSBC Holiday Hockey Tournament in late December. Exter was selected to the All-Hockey East Team by league coaches. Long-time assistant coach Stu Irving was also honored, as the American Hockey Coaches Association presented him with its Terry Flanagan Memorial Award in recognition of an assistant coach's career body of work. The season also saw the inauguration of the Blue Line Club, the program's official support organization.[6]

The program struggled in the highly competitive Hockey East. The 2006–07 season, in which they won only 3 games, was the nadir of their struggles. In the 2010–11 season, however, they had unprecedented success against several of the nation's top teams.[2] They finished the regular season 22–8–4 and were ranked 9th in the nation. Merrimack gained a home ice advantage for the first round for the first time since 1997.[4]

The program received its first No. 1 ranking in the USCHO Poll during the 2011-12 season.

Mark Dennehy was fired as the team's head coach at the conclusion of the 2017-18 season following a 12-21-4 record and a sixth straight losing season. Scott Borek was hired as the team's head coach on April 9, 2018.

Season-by-season results[]

Main article: List of Merrimack Warriors men's ice hockey seasons

Source:[7]

All-time coaching records[]

As of the completion of 2019–20 season[7]

Tenure Coach Years Record Pct.
1956–1964 8 46–45–3 .505
1964–1965 Ron Ryan 1 6–8–0 .429
1965–1978 J. Thom Lawler 13 218–138��10 .609
1978–1983 5 100–76–5 .566
1983–1998 Ron Anderson 15 254–253–24 .501
1998–2005 Chris Serino 7 78–149–27 .360
2005–2018 Mark Dennehy 13 168–243–60 .420
2018–Present Scott Borek 3 21–57–8 .291
Totals 7 coaches 65 seasons 891–969–137 .480

Awards and honors[]

NCAA[]

Individual Awards[]

All-American Teams[]

AHCA Second Team All-Americans

Hockey East[]

Individual Awards[]

All-Conference Teams[]

First Team All-Hockey East

Second Team All-Hockey East

Third Team All-Hockey East

Hockey East All-Rookie Team

Statistical Leaders[]

Source:[8]

Career points leaders[]

Player Years GP G A Pts PIM
Jim Vesey 1984–1988 140 110 134 244
1985–1989 124 103 128 231
1972–1976 124 113 111 224
1977–1981 138 102 119 221
1976–1980 140 99 121 220
1977–1981 136 94 108 202
1985–1989 136 84 100 184
1976–1980 132 90 91 181
1972–1975 102 81 96 177
1986–1990 144 77 89 166

Career goaltending leaders[]

GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

minimum 30 games played

Player Years GP Min W L T GA SO SV% GAA
2010–2014 47 2360 14 19 4 94 3 .917 2.39
2011–2015 68 3893 22 34 8 159 3 .918 2.45
Joe Cannata 2008–2012 122 7145 59 46 16 294 7 .915 2.47
Collin Delia 2014–2017 56 3240 21 24 10 134 4 .911 2.48
2015–Present 44 2416 12 22 6 111 1 .902 2.76

Statistics current through the start of the 2018-19 season.

Current roster[]

As of August 24, 2021.[9]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1 Sweden Hugo Ollas Freshman G 6' 8" (2.03 m) 238 lb (108 kg) 2002-04-24 Linköping, Sweden Linköping J20 (J20 Nationell) NYR, 197th overall 2020
2 Ohio Christian Felton Sophomore D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2000-02-04 Medina, Ohio Bentley (AHA) —
3 Michigan Declan Carlile (A) Junior D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 2000-05-18 Hartland, Michigan Muskegon (USHL) —
4 Massachusetts Mike Brown Freshman D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 209 lb (95 kg) 2001-04-03 Belmont, Massachusetts Youngstown (USHL) —
5 Florida Kevin Sadovski Sophomore D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1999-07-06 Palm Coast, Florida Utica (NCDC) —
6 Alberta Zach Vinnell Junior D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1998-04-03 Cochrane, Alberta Camrose (AJHL) —
7 Ontario Zach Uens Junior D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2001-05-13 Belleville, Ontario Wellington (OJHL) FLA, 105th overall 2020
8 Ontario Liam Dennison Junior D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 172 lb (78 kg) 1999-02-07 Manotick, Ontario Youngstown (USHL) —
9 Pennsylvania Liam Walsh (A) Junior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 191 lb (87 kg) 1999-07-14 Bridgeville, Pennsylvania Cedar Rapids (USHL) —
10 British Columbia Max Newton (C) Graduate F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1997-11-14 Vancouver, British Columbia Alaska (WCHA) —
11 Wisconsin Mick Messner Senior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 193 lb (88 kg) 1999-04-20 Madison, Wisconsin Wisconsin (Big Ten) —
12 Pennsylvania Jordan Seyfert Senior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 179 lb (81 kg) 1999-04-03 Annville, Pennsylvania Fargo (USHL) —
13 British Columbia Steven Jandric Graduate F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1997-08-18 Prince George, British Columbia Denver (NCHC) —
14 California Jake Durflinger Graduate F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1997-10-06 Walnut Creek, California Denver (NCHC) —
15 Sweden Hugo Esselin Junior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 199 lb (90 kg) 2000-07-15 Stockholm, Sweden Djurgårdens J20 (J20 SuperElit) —
16 Ontario Regan Kimens Junior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 1999-03-28 Vaughan, Ontario Coquitlam (BCHL) —
17 Michigan Mac Welsher Junior F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 182 lb (83 kg) 1999-04-24 Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan Des Moines (USHL) —
18 British Columbia Ben Brar Junior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 193 lb (88 kg) 1998-11-19 Abbotsford, British Columbia Prince George (BCHL) —
19 Massachusetts Alex Jefferies Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 199 lb (90 kg) 2001-11-08 Lunenburg, Massachusetts The Gunnery (USHS–CT) NYI, 121st overall 2020
20 Newfoundland and Labrador Mark Hillier Freshman F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2002-03-18 Labrador City, Newfoundland and Labrador Summerside (MHL) —
21 Massachusetts Matt Copponi Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 161 lb (73 kg) 2003-06-04 Mansfield, Massachusetts Dexter Southfield (USHS–MA) —
22 Massachusetts Logan Drevitch (A) Senior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 168 lb (76 kg) 1998-04-14 Middleborough, Massachusetts Boston Bandits (NCDC) —
23 Ontario Devlin O'Brien Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2002-04-05 Toronto, Ontario Penticton (BCHL) —
24 Illinois Ryan Nolan Junior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 198 lb (90 kg) 1998-07-14 Winnetka, Illinois Victoria (BCHL) —
25 Sweden Filip Karlsson-Tägtström Sophomore F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1999-07-14 Stockholm, Sweden Sioux Falls (USHL) —
26 Sweden Ivan Zivlak Freshman D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 179 lb (81 kg) 2002-08-08 Gislaved, Sweden Linköping J20 (J20 Nationell) —
27 Sweden Adam Arvedson Freshman D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 176 lb (80 kg) 2001-08-30 Karlstad, Sweden Färjestad (J20 Nationell) —
28 Sweden Filip Forsmark Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 166 lb (75 kg) 1998-06-23 Skövde, Sweden Tri-City (USHL) —
29 Michigan Zachary Borgiel Sophomore G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2000-04-27 Fort Gratiot, Michigan Cowichan Valley (BCHL) —
30 New Jersey Troy Kobryn Junior G 6' 0" (1.83 m) 198 lb (90 kg) 1999-02-14 Hillsborough, New Jersey Cedar Rapids (USHL) —

Warriors in the NHL[]

Player Position Team(s) Years Stanley Cups
Greg Classen Center NSH 2000–2003 0
Brett Seney Left Wing NJD 2018–present 0
Mark Cornforth Defenseman BOS 1995–1996 0
Stéphane Da Costa Center OTT 2010–2014 0
Collin Delia Goaltender CHI 2017–Present 0
Matt Foy Right Wing MIN 2005–2008 0
Jim Hrivnak Goaltender WSH, WIN, STL 1989–1994 0
John Jakopin Defenseman FLA, PIT, SJS 1997–2003 0
Bob Jay Defenseman LAK 1993–1994 0
Johnathan Kovacevic Defenseman WIN 2022–present 0
Steve McKenna Defenseman LAK, MIN, PIT, NYR 1996–2004 0
Darrel Scoville Defenseman CGY, CBJ 1999–2004 0
Karl Stollery Defenseman COL, SJS, NJD 2013–2017 0
Jim Vesey Center STL, BOS 1988–1992 0

References[]

  1. ^ "Merrimack College Brand Guidelines". Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  2. ^ a b Buckley, Steve (February 13, 2011). "Merrimack foundation... rock solid". The Boston Herald. Retrieved February 15, 2011.
  3. ^ "Warrior Hockey".
  4. ^ a b Powers, John (March 10, 2011). "New ice age dawns at Merrimack". The Boston Globe. Retrieved March 11, 2011.
  5. ^ "Merrimack Men's Hockey Team History". USCHO.com. Retrieved March 11, 2011.
  6. ^ [warriorhockey.org/history "warriorhockey.org/history"]. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  7. ^ a b "Merrimack Warriors men's Hockey 2018-19 Year-By-Year Results" (PDF). Merrimack Warriors. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  8. ^ "Merrimack men's Hockey 2018-19 Record Book without Year-By-Year" (PDF). Merrimack Warriors. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
  9. ^ "2020–21 Merrimack College Men's Ice Hockey Roster". Merrimack Warriors.

External links[]

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