Merrimack Men's Hockey Slips To No. 10 In National Polls

NORTH ANDOVER, MA — The Merrimack College men's hockey team remained in the top 10 in both major polls this week, but just barely.

The Warriors (14-6-1 overall, 9-2-0 in Hockey East) were ranked No. 10 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll released Monday. Merrimack also was No. 10 in Monday's USCHO Division I Men's Poll. Quinnipiac University (17-1-3) is No. 1 in both polls.

Merrimack was flying before the holiday break, climbing as high as No. 5 in the national rankings. It was the first time the Warriors had cracked the top 10 in a decade.

Since returning to the ice from a 20-day hiatus on Dec. 30, the Warriors have gone just 1-2-1, the most recent setback was a 6-2 home loss Saturday to a Brown team that is just 5-10-2.

A day earlier, at Lawler Rink, the Warriors did come back from a two-goal deficit to tie Yale 3-3. Yale is just 2-10-2 on the season.

Trailing 3-1 in the third, Merrimack got goals from junior defenseman Christian Felton and forward, Will Calverley, a graduate student. Calverley also found the net in the first period.

Patrick Donnelly, of NCAA.com, put out his own rankings on Tuesday and also had Merrimack at No. 10.

"Merrimack was teetering on falling out of the top-10 after a brutal weekend against beatable teams in Yale and Brown," Donnelly wrote. "Give them credit though, after being down 3-1 heading into the third against Yale, Merrimack fought back for a tie. But any momentum they might have had going into the Brown game quickly evaporated in a 6-2 loss that saw them give up two shorthanded goals."

The Warriors still sit atop Hockey East, and they return to league play this weekend when they welcome Providence (11-5-6, 6-2-5) to North Andover. The teams will play at Lawler Rink at 7 p.m. Friday and 7 p.m. Saturday.

Jefferies Honored

On Jan. 4, Merrimack junior forward Alex Jefferies was named Hockey East Player of the Month for December.

In December, the Lunenburg native had 8 points (1 goal, 7 assists) in five games as the Warriors went 4-1-0.

Jefferies, who won the award for the first time, currently leads the Warriors with 25 points. He is tops on the team with 18 assists and is third with seven goals.