Union breezes past #13 Merrimack, 4-0

Box Score

by Ryan Fay

Union didn't look like a team that hadn't played in two weeks.

Union netminder Alex Sakellaropoulos turned aside
23 shots for his first shutout of the season.
(photo: Union athletics)

Off since Nov. 14 for first trimester final exams, the Dutchmen returned to action and breezed to a 4-0 non-conference win over 13th-ranked Merrimack Saturday at Lawler Rink.

The Dutchmen snapped Merrimack's five-game unbeaten streak and handed the Warriors their first home shutout since Feb. 1, 2014 against UMass-Lowell.

Union goaltender Alex Sakellaropoulos turned aside 23 shots for his first shutout of the season and the second of his career. His other shutout was against Brown on March 1, 2014.

Union (4-6-3) picked up all the offense it needed in the first period. The Dutchmen grabbed a 1-0 lead at 7:58 after Brendan Taylor won a faceoff and sent the puck back to Noah Henry at the right-point. Henry fired a shot that found its way through traffic and into the back of the Merrimack net.

Just over two minutes later, Nick DeSimone doubled Union's advantage with a blast from the mid-point.

Matt Wilkins extended the cushion to 3-0 midway through the second. Brett Supinski stole the puck from a Merrimack player behind their net and fed it out front to Wilkins, who slid it past Warriors goalie Colin Delia on the far side of the crease.

Merrimack (6-2-4) replaced Delia with Drew Vogler at the start of the third, but it didn't matter. Eli Lichtenwald knocked home a rebound of a Michael Pontarelli shot at 1:41 to effectively put the game away.

The Dutchmen outshot Merrimack 30-23.

Union and Merrimack will meet again on Jan. 2 in the Ledyard Bank Classic at Dartmouth.

The Dutchmen return to action next weekend when they host 8th-ranked Harvard on Friday and Dartmouth on Saturday.

HIGHLIGHTS (via the Pack Network)



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