Tomahawks battling for home-ice

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Correspondent photo by JOE MARCHILENA Chris Fortin of Merrimack battles for the puck with Oyster River's Craig Goddard.

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Correspondent photo by JOE MARCHILENA Merrimack goalie Alex Scanlon tries to cover up the puck during the second period of Monday's game.

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Correspondent photo by JOE MARCHILENA Merrimack's Erik Glendye skates by Connor Clark of Oyster River on his way toward goalie Dylan Strogen during Monday's game at the West Side Arena in Manchester. Merrimack lost, 3-1.

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Correspondent photo by JOE MARCHILENA Chris Fortin of Merrimack battles for the puck with Oyster River's Craig Goddard.

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MANCHESTER – The Merrimack High School boys hockey team got off to a slow start on Monday.

That might be simplifying things a bit.

Before most members of the crowd had settled into their seats, the Tomahawks trailed. By the end of the first period – one in which coach Dan Legro said his team was outplayed – Merrimack was down two goals and on its way to a 3-1 loss to Oyster River in a Division II game.

It was the second loss in a row for the ’Hawks, with both defeats coming against the Bobcats, who recorded a 3-2 win over Merrimack on Saturday in Dover.

“The other team wanted to win more,” Legro said. “They outskated us in the first period. They hustled more, they were faster, they had more fight in them. They skated circles around us.”

Tyler Caron had the only goal for Merrimack (10-3), with Pat Parker getting the assist.

Sean Leahy had two goals and an assist to lead Oyster River (11-2-1) while Connor Clark had a goal and two assists.

Leahy’s first goal came just 13 seconds into the game. The Bobcats controlled the opening face-off and got the puck into the ’Hawks zone. A Merrimack turnover gave Oyster River a second chance and Leahy found the back of the net.

“We made some careless mistakes and we’re already down 1-0,” Legro said. “It was deflating. It was aggravating. They came out harder than they did on Saturday.”

A little more than 90 seconds later, the Bobcats were celebrating again, but this time, the goal was waved off. But it wasn’t long before Oyster River scored a goal that held up.

With Merrimack’s Phil Gerard in the penalty box, Leahy took a pass from Clark to the right of the net and buried the shot before goalie Alex Scanlon could get over.

The ’Hawks took two more penalties before the end of the first period, but caught a break on the second one when Oyster River’s Steven Rohde was sent to the box just 37 seconds into the power play.

Oyster River was called for two more penalties before the period was over, giving Merrimack a 5-on-3 advantage that carried over into the second for 27 seconds.

Merrimack controlled the puck to open the second and Caron collected a deflected shot by Parker and got it past Oyster River goalie Dylan Strogen to cut the deficit to 2-1.

But the goal came six seconds after the two-man advantage ended, meaning the Bobcats were now back at full strength.

“I was disappointed,” Legro said. “We should have scored six seconds earlier. There were some missed opportunities on our part.”

Clark scored for Oyster River with 10:07 left in the second period to stretch the lead back to two goals, and although Legro thought Merrimack played better in the third, the ’Hawks were unable to get anything past Strogen.

“We didn’t shoot enough and their goalie made some good saves,” Legro said.

Merrimack has five games left in the regular season, but four of those are against Bow (two), Timberlane and Goffstown – three teams that the ’Hawks are battling for home-ice advantage in the Division II quarterfinals.