After Merrimack jumped ahead with Jordan Heywood's second goal of the night late in the first period, the Warriors and 15th-ranked Northeastern Huskies played scoreless hockey in the middle stanza at Matthews Arena.
The teams each had strong chances throughout the stanza but NU senior Bryan Mountain and Merrimack junior Sam Marotta were equal to the challenge with 15 saves between the two. The Huskies held a 9-6 advantage in shots on goal, after losing that battle in the opening period, as well as taking over the lead in total chances with a 24-18 stanza.
At the conclusion of the period, NU took a pair of penalties, including a five-minute major to junior Braden Pimm, so the Warriors will have 4:44 of power play time when the third period begins. 1:23 of that time will be 5-on-3 as sophomore Joseph Manno was called less than 30 seconds earlier.
The Huskies scored just their second power-play goal of the season in the opening period, but are still just 1-for-5 in the game. Merrimack is 0-for-4 but will have an extended try to open the third.
Joshua Kummins is the Hockey East beat writer and a weekend editor for SB Nation Boston. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKummins.