NORTH ANDOVER — Even after Caelan Fitzpatrick scored late in the first period to cut Boston College’s two-goal lead in half, the game felt as though it was beginning to slip away from the Warriors as the second period opened.
Merrimack was already chasing the game, and when Filip Nordberg was whistled for a penalty at the 20-minute mark of the first period — coming just 23 seconds after a call on Joseph Henneberry — the Warriors were staring down the barrel of a 1:37, five-on-three penalty kill.
One more goal at that moment would have gone a long way toward putting the game out of reach for the Eagles.
Instead, the Warriors survived. In fact, they thrived.
Merrimack killed off nearly two full minutes down two men, with Fitzpatrick, Austin Oravetz, and Cam Kungle logging a punishing, extended shift. They kept Boston College to the perimeter, blocked shots in waves, and when pucks did reach the net, Max Lundgren was there to clean it up — most notably with a point-blank save on a rebound attempt by Andre Gasseau.
“We communicated well,” Kungle said. “The mindset is just go out there and put our bodies on the line. That’s all we were talking about. That was a huge team effort. It takes a lot of buy-in from the whole group to get a kill like that. We went out there with the mindset of, ‘we’re gonna kill this thing,’ and it worked out.”
A few minutes later, Parker Lalonde tied the game, and the momentum swung for good.
“That kill was the turning point in the game,” Merrimack coach Scott Borek said. “The effort those guys made, how much they laid out, and Max was there with some big saves. Those guys did a great job, and I think that started our comeback.”
Kungle has been playing his best hockey of late. Long known for his defensive reliability, he’s among Merrimack’s leaders in blocked shots. Recently, he’s added offense to the mix.
Over his last six games, Kungle has five points (one goal, four assists).
“It’s always fun to put up some points,” he said. “But I know my role. I’m a defensive D-man. If I can chip in with some offense, that’s great, but I know I’m out there to block shots and shut down other players. We just want to be successful and win games. I’ll do whatever I need to do to help make that happen.”