For the past few weeks, it seems like every player or coach I’ve spoken to has brought up the importance of scoring first. How important is it, though?

Truth is, it’s pretty important.

Across the nation this season, the team that has scored first has won almost 70 percent of the time (69.8%). Atlantic Hockey drags that percentage down, actually. In every other conference, the winning percentage for teams that score first is over 70 percent. In Hockey East, it’s the highest at 74 percent.

Here is a league-by-league breakdown:

HEA — .740
NCHC — .724
ECAC — .720
B1G — .711
WCHA — .711
AHA — .589

I’ll use Merrimack College as an example, after the Warriors started the season as one of the hottest in the nation, but more recently have dropped nearly 20 spots in the Pairwise over the last month.

Since Dec. 5, Merrimack has gone 4-10-3 after starting the season 10-4-0 in the first 14 games of the season. In the season’s first 14 games, Merrimack scored the first goal eight times (57.1%). In the last 17 games, the Warriors have potted the first goal just five times (29.4%).

It should come as no surprise, but Merrimack’s dip in win percentage correlates to the same time period where the Warriors have struggled to score first in the large majority of their games.

“Playing with a lead is easier than playing from behind,” Merrimack coach Mark Dennehy said.

Theoretically that makes a lot of sense. And with this evidence, the numbers prove it.

Monday, February 23rd, 2015 - 3:19 pm | Blogs, Commentary, Notes, Thoughts, Ramblings