Merrimack Defeats UConn to Win First Hockey East Championship in School History
- Sam Smith
- 12m
- 2 min read
15,759 people would fill the stands in TD Garden as the #8 seed Merrimack and #3 seed UConn battled it out in the 2026 Men’s Hockey East Championship Game on Saturday night, and the game did not disappoint.
Merrimack would have a 5 on 3 power play late in the first period but only got one shot away as UConn’s penalty kill came through to keep the game scoreless through 20 minutes, with UConn controlling the pace of play for the majority of the first period, outshooting Merrimack 12-5.
Just 2:29 into the second period, Ryan O’Connell, who was unanimously named to the Steve Nazro All-Tournament Team, would open the scoring for Merrimack, just like he did the night before in their semifinal vs UMass. It started from a slap shot from teammate Trevor Hoskin, sailing the puck wide off the end boards, which would then bounce back in front and score to give the Warriors the 1-0 lead early in the second period.
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UConn would respond late in the second period, as Ethan Whitcomb would bury a rebound off a slap shot from the blue line past Max Lundgren to tie the game at one for the Huskies, with just 2:38 to go in the second period. The game would remain tied at one going into the third period.
Just 26 seconds into the third period, sophomore captain Caelan Fitzpatrick would put home the rebound on a shot from teammate Parker Lalonde to give Merrimack the lead.
Merrimack would lock it down defensively and would hold on to win their first Hockey East championship in school history. Merrimack joined the conference back in 1989.
Merrimack goaltender, Max Lundgren would make 49 saves in the victory, which is the most in a Hockey East title game that ended in regulation, passing Matt Delguidice of Boston University back in 1989.
Max Lundgren was also unanimously named to the Steve Nazro All-Tournament Team and would be named the William Flynn Hockey East Tournament MVP. In back-to-back nights, he stopped 72 of 73 shots on goal. When asked about the final five minutes, where he would face many great chances from UConn, Lundgren said: “I was just trying to stay focused, I mean, not thinking of how many shots they have or what’s coming next. Just like… just focus on (the) next shot, always the next shot, and the guys did a great job in front of me, blocking shots, helping me with the rebounds, which helped me today. I think it was such a team effort today.”
The other members of the Steve Nazro All-Tournament Team alongside O’Connell and Lundgren were Merrimack’s Nathan King and Trevor Hoskin, along with Tom Messineo of UConn and Dean Letourneau of Boston College.
While Merrimack is guaranteed to make the NCAA Division I Men’s Hockey Tournament, the rest of the bracket will be announced Sunday at 3 p.m.
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