Freshman Rob Ricci scored his sixth goal of the season and classmate Patrick Watson made 40 saves as Merrimack College earned a 1-1 tie with No. 16 New Hampshire in Hockey East action Friday night at Lawler Arena.
Jamie Fritsch scored for the Wildcats, who finished the season series against the Warriors 1-1-1 and leave North Andovor with a record of 15-10-5 (1 1-6-4 HEA). Merrirmack, meanwhile, improves to 5-19-4 overall and 2-15-4 in Hockey East.
Ricci gave the Warriors a 1-0 lead at 10:33 of the first when he poked home a loose puck in front of Wildcat netminder Jeff Pietrasiak. Sophomore Jordan Fox and freshman Mickey Rego picked up the assists on Ricci’s second goal against UNH this season.
The score remained 1-0 Merrimack until 14:19 of the third period when Fritsch tallied his second goal of the season on the power play. With junior Justin Mills in the penalty box for slashing, Fritsch took a cross-ice pass from Daniel Winnik and beat Watson to tie the game at one.
The Wildcats outshot the Warriors 41-28 on the night and held Merrimack scoreless on nine power play opportunities. Merrimack killed off six of the seven power-play chances for UNH, while Pietrasiak finished the night with 27 saves.
