NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Here are three thoughts on both Merrimack College and Holy Cross, after the Warriors completed the weekend sweep on Saturday night. The Warriors took two one-goal games – 3-2 on Friday and 2-1 on Saturday – but Holy Cross showed plenty of promise at the start of the David Berard era.

Three Thoughts on Merrimack
1. Entering the third period with the lead on Saturday, the Warriors locked down and hardly gave the Crusaders a chance to tie the equalizer. There was one chance, which resulted in a review, but it was really the only threat of the period.

Merrimack stayed out of the box in the third, which first and foremost was important, but Holy Cross was limited to just 12 shot attempts (5 on goal) in the period; Merrimack attempted 18 shots in the period.

Merrimack only allowed two shot attempts in the last 12 minutes of the game, pinning possession in the offensive zone, and didn’t allow a shot to reach Rasmus Tirronen after the 11:45 mark of the period.

2. Quinn Gould was excellent as the net-front presence on the power play all weekend. His unit was out for Merrimack’s power-play goal in the second period on Saturday, and it had little to do with Gould in front, but his play at the net front is going to result in plenty of power-play goals this season.

He used his body well in screening Matt Ginn and was clearly frustrating him. In the third period, during two power plays for the Warriors, Ginn was shoving and Gould away with his blocker. He was positioned perfectly at the top of the crease, but not in the blue paint. Merrimack hit three posts on the power play in the third period, and with Gould screening in front, I don’t believe Ginn saw any of those shots.

3. The Warriors showed resiliency on Friday, but it was only after some self-inflicted wounds put themselves in that position. Merrimack took a 2-0 lead with a terrific opening period, but saw it evaporate after a sloppy second period. The Warriors did respond with another strong 20 minutes in the third, and ultimately earned the win.

I think there’s something to be said for a team that needs to learn how to play with the lead. Merrimack has gone back to recruiting some players out of high-profile teams that are used to winning games, but none of the Warriors’ 10 freshmen (5 who dressed) were ever part of a college hockey game before Friday night.

Also, let’s face it, Merrimack didn’t lead much last season. The program needed to learn how to win in 2009 and 2010 before breaking out in 2010-11, and I think this team at this point is in a very similar situation. They’re learning how to play with the lead again. It’s something that happens with young teams.

Between coming back in their exhibition last week to earn the tie and battling back after losing a lead in this game, if you’re Mark Dennehy, you have to be happy with what you’ve seen in terms of a never-say-die attitude coming from his bench.

Three Thoughts on Holy Cross
1. Holy Cross was picked to finish eighth in Atlantic Hockey this season in the league’s annual coaches poll.

Yeah, about that.

There’s no way the Crusaders finish eighth; it’ll be higher than that. There’s still plenty to work on – there is for every team in early October – but you could see glimpses of what’s going to be a very good team in Atlantic Hockey. David Berard said he wanted his team to use its speed and play aggressive, and they did a much better job of that on Saturday night at Merrimack’s Lawler Rink.

The Crusaders are a team built from the net out. Their defense was solid all weekend and their forwards, when able to take advantage of numbers in transition, used their quick feet to create some chances and even some goals – look at Matt Vidal’s from Friday.

Brett McKinnon was all over the ice for the Crusaders both nights, even after he was shaken up late in the game on Friday. Senior forward Jake Youso didn’t score, but totaled seven shots on goal in the series, leading his team.

Holy Cross also won more face-offs on the weekend (71-68), with junior Brett Lubanksi taking 51 of the series’ 139 draws for the Crusaders, winning 30 of them.

2. Matt Ginn might be the best goaltender in Atlantic Hockey. Merrimack tested him early in the series with Friday’s first period blitz, throwing 22 shot attempts Ginn’s way in the opening 20 minutes, but he kept his team in the game. He made a gorgeous save on a Ben Bahe breakaway in the second period Saturday, following Bahe’s movement and stealing a goal away with a glove save he made with confidence; he made it look easy.

Ginn stopped 64 of the 69 shots he saw on the weekend – a save percentage of .929 – and he faced 136 total shot attempts.

3. Speaking of Ginn, he’s a captain of the Crusaders along with Vidal, and it was impressive watching them in the postgame press conference on Friday.

Merrimack won Friday’s game on a Justin Mansfield third-period goal, that came about after a breakdown off a draw in the Merrimack offensive zone. Both Holy Cross captains took responsibility for the goal.

Ginn said it was on him, and he needed to make that save. Vidal said he “fell asleep out there,” and lost his man.

No matter what happened, the two leaders of the team willing to take responsibility like that in a room full of media was more than impressive. It speaks to the type of locker room Berard has at Holy Cross. There is definitely a lot of accountability there.

Sunday, October 12th, 2014 - 5:11 pm | Atlantic Hockey, Hockey East, Notes, Thoughts, Ramblings