NORTH ANDOVER — The Warriors may not have had their best on Friday night, but it hardly mattered. Merrimack’s power play carried the night, striking three times in a 5–2 win over Vermont.
“We had a good night on the power play and on the penalty kill, but our 5-on-5 play wasn’t very good,” Merrimack coach Scott Borek said. “The good thing was, our goalie was very good and we were able to find a way to get a win.
“You’re not going to have your best every night. That’s a game that we would have lost a couple of years ago, or even last year. It would have gotten away from us. I was impressed with our team because we found a way to win the game, even though we knew we didn’t have our best.”
Max Lundgren made 34 saves for the Warriors and was sharp throughout, particularly on Vermont’s seven power plays.
The offense came from the kids. Caelan Fitzpatrick and Parker Lalonde scored twice apiece, with Caden Cranston adding the other. Every goal — and every point — came from underclassmen. Ethan Beyer added two assists from the back end.
The seven power plays for Vermont were the most Merrimack has allowed an opponent all season.
“We took too many penalties and when you do that, you give up the zone,” Borek said. “Then they were generating momentum off those power plays, even if they didn’t score. … In the second and third periods, we did a better job staying inside the dots. I thought they exploited us a little in the first period, but we were better in the second and third.”
Sophomore forward Caelan Fitzpatrick posted a five-point night (two goals, three assists), becoming the first Merrimack player to reach that mark since early in the 2023–24 season, when Alex Jefferies and Zach Bookman each had five points in a 6–3 win over UConn.
Fitzpatrick is also the first Merrimack player to record five points at home since Derek Petti did so against Arizona State in 2016.
“I wasn’t completely aware of it [during the game],” Fitzpatrick said. “You’re just focused on the next play, the next shift. It got tight there [when UVM made it 3–2] so we were really focused on just securing the win.”
It was a meaningful result in the standings. With New Hampshire’s win over Providence, the Warriors kept pace and maintained a three-point lead over the Wildcats for the final home-ice spot in the first round of the Hockey East playoffs.
Mathematically, Merrimack can still finish as high as fourth in the Hockey East standings. The Warriors would clinch a home playoff game with a regulation win over Vermont on Saturday night, combined with a New Hampshire regulation loss to Providence.
“For us, I think we can just focus on the next game, and focus on tomorrow,” Fitzpatrick said. “This is something we can build off of, but we need to be ready to go tomorrow.”
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Fitzpatrick has 12 points in his last seven games, with six goals and six assists.
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Lalonde reached the 30-point mark with his three-point night (two goals, one assist). He joins Justin Gill as 30-point scorers this season. It’s the first time Merrimack has had two 30-point scorers in the same season since 2010–11, when the Warriors had six.
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Merrimack’s power play now ranks No. 10 nationally, converting at a 24.8 percent clip.