Men's Hockey Defeats Merrimack, 5-1

Feb. 27, 2004

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Senior co-captain Stephen Wood (Sudbury, Mass.) scored two goals and added one assist as the Providence College men's hockey team defeated Merrimack, 5-1, on Friday, February 27 at Schneider Arena. With the win, the Friars clinched a spot in the Hockey East playoffs.

Merrimack took a 1-0 lead as Marco Rosa converted a pass from Brent Gough at 5:51 of the first period. The Friars responded at 9:58 when freshman Colin McDonald (Wethersfield, Conn.) skated past two Merrimack defenders and beat MC goaltender Jim Healey to the stick side. Moments later Wood gave the Friars the lead for good as he fired a slap shot past Healey from inside the left face-off circle at 11:03. For Wood, it marked his career-high 10th goal of the season.

In the second period, the Friars added two more goals to increase their lead to 4-1. Junior Chris Chaput (Pawtucket, R.I.) tallied his 11th goal of the season from in close at 7:48. Freshman Bill McCreary (Howell, Mich.) pounced on loose puck in front of net and scored his fifth goal of the season at 10:09 as PC was on the man advantage.

Wood capped off the night with his second goal of the game and his 11th of the season at 5:59 of the third period. Wood, who was coming out of the penalty box after serving a two minute minor penalty, received a pass from senior Jonathan Goodwin (Taunton, Mass.) and beat goaltender Casey Guenther on a short-handed breakaway.

PC goalie Bobby Goepfert (Kings Park, N.Y.) made 32 saves as the Friars won their first game against Merrimack since December 1, 2001. Healey, who was replaced by Guenther in the second period, made nine saves, while Guenther stopped 13 shots.

The two teams will complete the home-and-home series on Saturday, February 28 at 7:00 p.m. in North Andover, Mass.

Friday, February 27, 2004Merrimack (11-17-4, 6-11-5)     1       0       0       --      1Providence (15-11-6, 7-10-5)    2       2       1       --      5
Per Time    Team    Goal Scorer (Assists)1   5:51    MC  Marco Rosa (Brent Gough, Tony Johnson)1   9:58    PC  Colin McDonald (Stephen Wood, Tony Zancanaro)1   11:03   PC  Stephen Wood (Jonathan Goodwin, Chris Chaput) PP2   7:48    PC  Chris Chaput (Peter Zingoni)2   10:09   PC  Bill McCreary (Cody Loughlean, Eric Lundberg) PP3   5:59    PC  Stephen  Wood (Jonathan Goodwin) SH
Saves:Jim Healey (MC)         6       3       -       --      15      (30:58)Casey Guenther (MC)     -       5       8       --      13      (29:02)Bobby Goepfert (PC)     6       13      13      --      32      (60:00)

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Players Mentioned

Colin McDonald

Tony Zancanaro

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